Faculty Research

As a physician and behavioral scientist at Duke University, Dr. Peter Ubel’s research and writing explore the quirks in human nature that influence our lives — the mixture of rational and irrational forces that affect our health, our happiness, and the way our society functions. Professor Ubel’s Website

Professor David Ridley shines a light on “the FDA’s inspection of foreign manufacturers, which produce more than half of the drugs in America”. Professor David Ridley interviewed by the National Desk: Deadly eye drop infections tied to foreign facility the FDA had failed to inspect READ HERE

The COVID-19 pandemic focused attention on healthcare disparities and inequities faced by individuals within marginalized and structurally disadvantaged groups in the United States. Professor Don Taylor and others discuss their findings. READ HERE

For Medicare beneficiaries with full Medicaid benefits, how does the use of Medicare and Medicaid services and spending by payer differ across need-based subgroups?Kate Bundorf & Don Taylor READ HERE

Despite the ubiquity of celebrations in everyday life, little is known about how celebrations may contribute to consumer well-being. In this work, authors propose that celebrations promote perceived social support, which prior work has conceptualized as the belief that others will be there for you for future negative life events. READ HERE

The COVID-19 global pandemic reminds us of the importance of investing in preventing and treating infectious diseases. Until the COVID-19 pandemic, the largest US government-sponsored reward for infectious disease drug and vaccine development was the Tropical Disease Priority Review Voucher program. Under the voucher program, the Food and Drug Administration awards a priority review voucher […]

In a randomized control trial, Professor Don Taylor and others found that Palliative Care in Heart Failure improved heart failure related quality of life, though cost-effectiveness remains unknown. READ HERE

Politicians and patients are grappling with what to do about high prices for prescription drugs. To identify a solution, it helps to understand the cause of the problem. One critical problem is the way Medicare reimburses health care providers for drugs. Medicare and other insurers do not purchase drugs directly from manufacturers. Rather, providers act […]

Pharmaceutical benefit managers (PBMs) play an important but largely hidden role in administrating prescription drug benefits. They have profited immensely as intermediaries, obtaining fees from employers and insurers for administering benefits while receiving rebates from manufacturers for marketing their drugs. This PBM business model might change as health insurers have begun acquiring PBMs. Or it […]

Professor David Ridley and other researchers at Duke University have proposed a new mechanism for stimulating insecticide development to prevent the spread of deadly tropical diseases.  The system is based on their similar proposal that has been spurring drug development for those same diseases since 2007. Insecticides used in bed nets and homes have prevented […]