About us

Led by Dr. Almut Winterstein, the Winterstein Research Group (“AWesome” Research Group) is a team of researchers and trainees dedicated to addressing important issues in medication utilization, safety, and healthcare outcomes. We work within UF College of Pharmacy (COP) Department of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy (POP) and the Center for Drug Evaluation and Safety (CoDES) to collaborate with national and international researchers,  and clinicians united to a common goal of improving patient care. We are a diverse group of individuals from around the world with unique backgrounds, experiences, and expertise working together to address some of the most pressing research questions facing healthcare today.

We apply pharmacoepidemiologic methods to the analysis of real world data ranging from large healthcare claims databases to local electronic health records. We tackle safety and drug effectiveness questions with rigorously developed methods and tailored algorithms to understand for who a medication has favorable risk-benefit, for who is does not, and how we can optimize its use. Working with support from NIH, FDA, CDC, the state of Florida, private foundations and the pharmaceutical industry, our goal is to provide evidence which translates to better patient outcomes across all levels of care and diverse populations.

“Doing” research is as important as course work and we therefore immerse our trainees early on in the research process. Junior students will gradually take on larger components of ongoing research studies and develop their own research questions, either based on ongoing research or following their own interests. Our culture is open, collaborative, and nurturing with senior trainees becoming the mentors of juniors, enhancing their learning by teaching others. Our trainees typically encompass graduate students at the MS and PhD level, pharmacy students, fellows and visiting scholars, all contributing a host of experiences and perspectives.