Email: ytzhang@pitt.edu
Phone: 412-383-5340
Room: A664 Crabtree Hall
Education: MS, PhD, Harvard University
http://www.pitt.edu/~ytzhang/
PDF of CV

Position:
Graduate Faculty - Assistant Professor University of Pittsburgh
Assistant Professor of Health Economics
Director, Pharmaceutical Economics Research Group
     Group webpage: http://www.per.pitt.edu

Research Interests:
Pharmacy and insurance benefit design, comparative-effectiveness of medications and medical devices, substitution effect of pharmacy and medical treatments, and economics of mental health.

Biosketch:

Dr. Zhang has developed a body of research on the impact of various pharmaceutical policies on medication utilization patterns, costs and health outcomes. She is an expert in using large private and public insurance claims data to evaluate the effects of pharmaceutical policies and interventions on health outcomes.

Dr. Zhang has been selected by the Institute of Medicine as a subcontractor to evaluating the geographic variation in health care spending and promotion of high-value care. Recently Dr. Zhang has been awarded a prestigious RC1 NIMH Challenge Grant Award of $1 million to compare the most cost-effective, or even cost-saving, methods to cover psychiatric medications among Medicare beneficiaries with severe mental health (RC1 MH088510-01 from the National Institute of Mental Health). Dr. Zhang has been awarded another R01 from AHRQ (R01 HS018657) to evaluate the racial/ethnic differences in medication use and in response to the Medicare Part D’s coverage gap.

In addition, Dr. Zhang currently serve as Principal Investigators for four projects evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of Medicare prescription drug program, especially its effects for vulnerable American population such as under-served minorities, patients with severe mental health and chronic physical conditions such as cardiovascular diseases. She is also evaluating creative solutions to encourage the use of more cost-effective medication treatments, including deep-discounted generic drugs.

Dr. Zhang has been invited to present her work on Part D to senior advisors at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, as well as many international and national meetings such as the International Health Economics Association (iHEA), the Society of General Internal Medicine, AcademyHealth, International Society of Pharmacoeonomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR), and American Society of Health Economists (ASHE).

Dr. Zhang's work has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Forbes, US News & World Report, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Kaiser Network, National Public Radio, and many other international TV and newspapers. She was a finalist for the prestigious National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation (NIHCM)’s Sixteenth Annual Research Award in May 2010. She received the Excellence in Mental Health Policy and Economics Research Award, recognized by the International Center for Mental Health Policy and Economics in March 2009. She was the 2008 recipient of the best New Investigator Podium Presentation Award at the ISPOR 13th Annual International Meeting and she was a finalist for the Hamolsky award for junior faculty at the Society of General Internal Medicine in April 2008.

Dr. Zhang received her BA summa cum laude from Renmin University of China, and a MS in Health Policy & Management and a PhD in Health Policy (economics concentration) from Harvard University.