Rafia Rasu, PhD
Professor of Pharmacotherapy
Education & Experience:
Dr. Rasu holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Pharmacy from the University of Dhaka in Bangladesh, where she also earned an MBA. In 2005, she completed her Ph.D. at the University of Texas School of Public Health, graduating with distinction as a member of the Delta Omega Honorary Society. With a unique interdisciplinary foundation that blends pharmacy, epidemiology, economics, finance, and health services outcomes research, Dr. Rasu has well-rounded expertise that bridges multiple fields.
As a dedicated health services and outcomes researcher, Dr. Rasu’s work focuses on enhancing patient and population health. She has received support from federal and state agencies, private foundations, and corporations, with her research frequently involving the analysis of national datasets to assess prescription trends, medication exposure, effectiveness, and opportunities to improve care.
In recognition of her significant contributions, Dr. Rasu was named a Butler-Williams Scholar by the National Institute on Aging. Her tenure at HSCCP has been marked by numerous honors, particularly those achieved by her mentees, several of whom have received the prestigious USPHS Excellence in Public Health Pharmacy Award.
Teaching Areas & Interests:
For over two decades, Dr. Rasu has distinguished herself as an educator and leader in health services, making a lasting impact on professional students and the broader academic community. Her teaching and research focus areas include pharmacoepidemiology, evidence-based practice, risk adjustment, machine learning, medication safety and effectiveness, health literacy, outcomes research, health services research, economic evaluation of healthcare interventions, and public health.
Dr. Rasu has been a pioneer in distance learning for 15 years, incorporating innovative, interactive tools to enhance the educational experience for PharmD students. As the founding director of the Applied Health Outcomes programs at the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth, she established fully online certificate and master’s programs in health outcomes research, paving the way for accessible, advanced training in this field.
In addition to her PharmD teaching, Dr. Rasu has mentored and graduated six MS-AOR students and successfully guided over 30 mentees, including PhD students, outcomes research fellows, postdoctoral researchers, MDs, nurses, pharmacists, healthcare decision-makers, junior faculty, and PGY1 managed care residents, both nationally and internationally.
Professional Activities & Awards:
Dr. Rasu’s research has garnered recognition at local, regional, and national levels, with her findings featured in prominent healthcare news outlets, including The New York Times and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Innovations Exchange. As a mentor, her guidance led a student chapter to win prestigious national Pharmacy and Therapeutics (P&T) competitions. For her teaching excellence, she was awarded the “Apple Polisher” award, and in 2017, she received the Health Literacy Trailblazer Award from the Kansas Public Health Association.
Dr. Rasu also contributes to the advancement of health research through her role as a grant reviewer for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the American Heart Association (AHA). Additionally, she serves on the editorial boards of several respected PubMed-indexed journals, furthering her commitment to high-quality research dissemination.
Scholarly Interests:
With over 60 publications in high-impact, peer-reviewed journals and more than 100 research posters, two book chapters, and numerous presentations at national and international conferences, Dr. Rasu’s research reflects her broad expertise and her collaborative work with professionals on both national and international levels. Her academic and research efforts are focused on advancing health services research, population health, pharmacoepidemiology, and outcomes research, utilizing national-level datasets, electronic medical records, and hospital quality and safety data. Dr. Rasu’s expertise encompasses essential areas, including risk adjustment, medication effectiveness, patient safety, machine learning, healthcare delivery, and the economic evaluation of healthcare interventions.
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