Mullins Named Chair of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research Department

Announcement comes after nationwide search.

By Malissa Carroll
June 25, 2014

C. Daniel Mullins, PhD, professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research (PHSR) at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, has been named chair of the department following a nationwide search.

“Dr. Mullins has been a trusted member of the School of Pharmacy’s faculty for nearly two decades and has served PHSR in many capacities,” says Natalie D. Eddington, PhD, FCP, FAAPS, dean and professor of the School and executive director of University regional partnerships. “He is an accomplished researcher, a dedicated teacher and mentor, and a thoughtful administrator. I am confident that he will be a stellar leader for PHSR as it works to expand its programmatic research within the department and across campus, and as it shapes the next generation of pharmaceutical health services researchers through its nationally renowned graduate program.”

Mullins, who joined the School of Pharmacy faculty in 1995, received his bachelor’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and completed his doctorate at Duke University. He has served the PHSR department in many capacities over the years, including as graduate program director, as a previous chair, and most recently as interim chair following the retirement of former chair Ilene Zuckerman, PharmD, PhD, in December 2013.

“Having served as both a previous chair and graduate program director for PHSR, I am strongly committed to the department’s success,” says Mullins. “I feel fortunate to have a career that has allowed me to work with such remarkable colleagues and students, and I am honored to have the opportunity to continue serving these individuals in this new role. Together, we will continue our department’s mission to improve health among diverse populations through health services and other drug-related research, education, service, and community outreach.”

Mullins research and teaching focus on pharmacoeconomics, comparative effectiveness research, patient-centered outcomes research, and health disparities research. He is co-editor-in-chief of the journal Value in Health and serves as a regular member of study sections for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

Mullins has also received funding as a principal investigator from AHRQ, the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), as well as a number of pharmaceutical manufacturers. Recently, he partnered with researchers from the University of Maryland, College Park and eight stakeholder organizations to establish the Patient-Centered Involvement in Evaluating the Effectiveness of Treatments (PATIENTS) program, which aims to reduce health disparities by leveraging relationships with patient communities and health care systems to ensure that patients, health care providers, and other partners are actively engaged in research.

In 2013, he was awarded the University System of Maryland’s Wilson H. Elkins Professorship in recognition of his contributions to the field of comparative effectiveness research and service to the University community and beyond.

“As chair of PHSR, I hope to lead the department by example and continue working with my collaborators to make health care more patient-centered and ensure that future health services research includes patients who represent the diversity of Maryland’s population,” adds Mullins. “My greatest desire is that the research conducted within our department will inspire researchers across the country to engage in similar projects aimed at achieving health equity for all citizens of the United States where health disparities currently persist.”

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