Dima M. Qato

Dima M. Qato, PharmD, MPH, PhD is a nationally-recognized pharmacist and pharmacoepidemiologist and is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacy Systems, Outcomes and Policy at the University of Illinois College of Pharmacy. She has recently been selected as a National Academy of Medicine Pharmacy Fellow. Dr. Qato received her PharmD from UIC, an MPH from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and a PhD in Public Health from the University of Illinois School of Public Health.

Dr. Qato’s research focuses on access and safe use of medications in vulnerable populations in the United States and abroad. She utilizes population-based methods to better understand the underlying mechanisms responsible for the use, underuse and unsafe use of medications, how these patterns may influence health outcomes and health disparities, and what can be done from a community and policy perspective to address these growing public health problems.

Her work on polypharmacy, including drug-drug interactions, was awarded the 2017 American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Literature Award in Drug Therapy Research. Dr. Qato’s research has received widespread media coverage including in The New York Times, NPR, PBS News, Washington Post, The Atlantic, CNN, BBC, and National Geographic and is funded by various agencies, including the National Institutes of Health and has also influenced local and national policy around medication access and safety.

Dr. Qato’s goal is to promote public accountability in ensuring access to, and safe use of, medications at the national, state and local levels. In an effort to achieve this goal, Dr. Qato is interested in incorporating polypharmacy and role of pharmacies in ongoing health care reform.