The UF CV med Lab is focused on cardiovascular effects of drugs, particularly in real-world populations. This includes conventionally cardiovascular drugs (e.g., antihypertensives), but also drugs not typically associated with cardiovascular effects (antidiabetic drugs, antibiotics, antidepressants, etc…), but which have, or may have, cardiovascular consequences.

I lead a lab of thoughtful, smart, hardworking trainees interested in studying treatments for cardiovascular disease. Interested in joining us? See the bottom of this page.

People

PI

Steven Smith, PharmD, MPH is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Outcomes & Policy (College of Pharmacy) and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine (College of Medicine) at the University of Florida. I also serve as the Associate Director (population sciences) for the UF Center for Integrative Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disease. My research methodology is fairly wide-ranging, encompassing clinical trial work and observational methods (e.g., with claims and electronic health record data), though my therapeutic focus is primarily in the field of hypertension.

Current Postdoc(s)

Christie Monahan, PharmD is the 2021-2023 postdoctoral fellow in the Departments of Pharmacotherapy and Translational Research and Community Health and Family Medicine. Her work is primarily centered on health services research around pharmacist-managed transitions of care. She is also involved in our hypertension research.

Current Grad Students

Shailina Keshwani, MS is a PhD student in the Department of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy. Her research is focused on the intersection of pain and cardiovascular disease and specifically use of analgesics in patients with cardiovascular disease who have contraindications to such medications.

Asinamai Ndai, MS is a PhD student in the Department of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy. His research is focused on the intersection of hypertension and HIV.

Kayla Smith, PharmD is a PhD student in the Department of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy. She previously worked with me on several project characterizing antihypertensive use patterns during her Doctor of Pharmacy degree program.

Analyst(s)

Marta Walsh, MS is our analyst and basically single-handedly manages our messy data and keeps us moving forward. She’s a former UF and Embry-Riddle grad and our shop wouldn’t be what it is without her.

Former Trainees

Raj Desai, PhD was my first PhD student in the Department of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy. His work was primarily centered on use of secondary datasets (administrative claims, EHR) for studying cardiovascular outcomes and performing comparative effectiveness research in patients with complicated antihypertensive regimens. He is now an Associate - Health Economics and Outcomes Research at the Analysis Group in Boston, MA.

Chris Piszczatoski, PharmD was our 2019-2021 postdoctoral fellow in the Departments of Pharmacotherapy and Translational Research and Community Health and Family Medicine. He is now on staff in the UF Community Health and Family Medicine.

Ghadeer Dawwas, PhD was a postdoctoral fellow (2019-2020) in pharmacoepidemiology, with a focus on cardiometabolic outcomes of novel antidiabetic agents. She is now on faculty at Vanderbilt University.

Scott Garland, PharmD was our 2017-2019 postdoctoral fellow in the Departments of Pharmacotherapy and Translational Research and Community Health and Family Medicine. He is now on faculty of the FSU College of Medicine.

Andrew Hwang, PharmD was our 2015-2017 postdoctoral fellow in the Departments of Pharmacotherapy and Translational Research and Community Health and Family Medicine. He is now on faculty at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.

Join the Group

If you are a current graduate student or pharmacy student at UF and interested in working with our group on comparative effectiveness research for cardiometabolic drugs, in particular antihypertensives, or interested in methods related to use of EHR data in epidemiologic research, please feel free to email me to discuss.

If you are a prospective graduate student interested in working with me specifically then send me an email describing your interests along with your CV. I take graduate students in the Pharmacoepidemiology and Safety Sciences program. Note you must meet the qualifications for admittance to the respective PhD program and be accepted into the program. More information is available at the above link.

If you are a prospective postdoctoral fellow interested in pharmacoepidemiologic/outcomes research, please contact me directly and include your CV.