Graduates of the PEP Track use real-world evidence, pharmacoepidemiology, and health economics to inform clinical practice and health policy. Most graduates accept their first position in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry or in contract research organizations that support that industry. The second most common destination is academia. Many other sectors find the skills students gain from the PEP Track valuable.
Employment Sectors
Graduates of the Pharmaceutical Evaluation and Policy (PEP) Track are prepared to use real-world evidence, pharmacoepidemiology, health economics, health policy, and related analytic methods to inform health care decisions. PEP graduates pursue careers across the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, contract research organizations, academia, government, health systems, payers and managed care, consulting, and other research organizations.
Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Industry and Contract Research Organizations
Graduates may pursue roles such as health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) scientist, real-world evidence (RWE) scientist, pharmacoepidemiologist, epidemiologist, value and evidence scientist, safety or surveillance analyst, and outcomes researcher. These positions may involve evaluating treatment safety and effectiveness, comparative effectiveness, burden of illness, health care utilization and costs, economic evaluation, and evidence generation to support clinical, regulatory, reimbursement, and policy decisions.
Academia and Research Institutions
Academic and research careers include faculty, research faculty, staff scientist, research program manager, and other investigator roles. Graduates may design and lead research studies, obtain research funding, publish peer-reviewed research, mentor trainees, teach, and collaborate with clinical, health system, government, and community partners.
Government and Public Agencies
Government opportunities include positions within federal and state agencies such as the FDA, CMS, CDC, VA, and state Medicaid programs. Graduates may work as health scientists, epidemiologists, pharmacoepidemiologists, economists, policy analysts, or program evaluators examining medication safety and effectiveness, health care delivery, coverage policy, and program impact.
Health Systems, Payers, and Managed Care
Health systems, managed care organizations, pharmacy benefit managers, insurers, and other health care organizations employ researchers and analysts to evaluate population health, medication use, quality of care, formulary and coverage decisions, clinical programs, utilization, costs, and patient outcomes.
Consulting, Health Technology Assessment, and Analytics
Consulting firms, health technology assessment organizations, and health care analytics companies employ HEOR and RWE researchers, economic modelers, evidence reviewers, data scientists, analysts, and study leaders. Graduates may conduct research and develop evidence to support decisions across therapeutic areas, health technologies, and health care systems.
Career Paths by Degree
M.S. in Pharmaceutical Evaluation and Policy
The M.S. prepares graduates for applied research, analytics, and evidence-generation roles in multidisciplinary teams. Potential positions include HEOR or RWE analyst, research analyst, pharmacoepidemiology associate, health policy analyst, data analyst, and quality or outcomes analyst.
The M.S. can also provide advanced research and quantitative training for health professionals or serve as preparation for subsequent doctoral training.
Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Evaluation and Policy
The Ph.D. prepares graduates to design and lead independent research and evidence-generation programs. Potential positions include HEOR or RWE scientist, pharmacoepidemiologist, epidemiologist, health economist, faculty member, principal investigator, staff scientist, research director, and health policy or health technology assessment researcher.
Doctoral training includes advanced methods coursework, seminar participation, mentored research, elective training, and dissertation research. Students without a thesis-based master’s degree also complete a research practicum requiring a lead-author manuscript submitted to a peer-reviewed journal.
Where PEP Training Can Take You
PEP training is applicable across a wide range of research and decision-making environments. Graduates may work on questions involving medication safety and effectiveness, health care utilization and costs, access to treatment, comparative effectiveness, health technology assessment, regulatory and policy evaluation, implementation of health care interventions, and the generation of real-world evidence.
The combination of methodological training, applied research experience, and scientific communication prepares graduates to contribute to multidisciplinary teams and to translate health care data into evidence that can inform clinical, policy, and organizational decisions.
Skills PEP Graduates Develop That Employers Seek
- Research methods: pharmacoepidemiology, observational study design, real-world evidence, comparative effectiveness research, health economics and economic evaluation, health policy evaluation, implementation research, and applied quantitative methods.
- Data and analytics: analysis of administrative claims, electronic health records, and other real-world health data; data management; statistical programming; predictive modeling; and interpretation of complex health care data.
- Advanced analytic approaches: opportunities to develop skills in machine learning, artificial intelligence, biomedical informatics, and other emerging analytic methods through elective coursework and research experiences.
- Scientific communication: development of manuscripts, abstracts, scientific posters, oral presentations, research proposals, and communication of findings to technical and nontechnical audiences.
- Research collaboration and leadership: study development, interdisciplinary teamwork, project management, dissemination of research findings, grant and proposal development, and translation of research questions into studies that address clinical, policy, and health system needs.