Ashkan Ara, MD, MPH

As a rheumatologist, pharmacoeconomist, and decision scientist, Dr. Ara's goal is to improve pharmacoequity and pharmacotherapy decisions for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). He is currently doing a dual clinical fellowship in rheumatology and a PhD in health policy and management/pharmacoeconomics through UCLA’s Specialty Training and Advanced Research (STAR) Program.

Under Dr. Essien’s mentorship, Dr. Ara and his colleagues researched racial and ethnic disparities in the utilization of specialty drugs among RA patients using Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) data from 2011 to 2021. He also used the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data from 2013–2018 to study cost-related medication non-adherence (CRN) among 26,534 U.S. adults with chronic arthritis compared to 163,579 participants without it. We found that CRN remains significant among those with chronic arthritis, with ongoing gaps for some patient populations.

Since starting his PhD at UCLA, Dr. Ara's dissertation focuses on using Medicare Claims data to explore equitable access to specialty drugs among Medicare enrollees with RA, the root causes of these disparities, and whether enhanced access to specialty care can help reduce them. During his, PhD, Dr. Ara has also been mentored and supported by Dr. Susan Ettner (health economist and Chair of his PhD committee) and Dr. John FitzGerald (rheumatologist and Co-chair of his PhD committee).