S. Suresh Madhavan
2017

Chair and Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Systems and Policy
School of Pharmacy, West Virginia University

“I am very humbled to have been selected as a Distinguished Alumnus and to join the list of some of the greatest pharmacy educators and researchers that this institution has produced. My PhD training, outstanding mentors, and great peers from Purdue have been an inspiration to me throughout my career and helped me to make my contributions to the pharmacy profession and health services and outcomes research. This is an honor that my wife, Susan (MS 1989), and I will treasure.”
Education
  • PhD 1988, Pharmacy Practice, Purdue University
Career Highlights
  • Focused on making the West Virginia University (WVU) School of Pharmacy a major contributor to advancing healthcare in the state by impacting chronic disease health disparities and enhancing the role of the pharmacist in the healthcare system
  • Established the Rational Drug Therapy Program via contracts with WV Medicaid 20 years ago, and then with the Public Employees Insurance Agency 10 years ago
  • Developed, implemented, and evaluated multiple roles for pharmacists in patient care and medication use enhancement via research, teaching, and service initiatives
  • Established a PhD program in Health Services and Outcomes Research designated by the WVU Board of Governors as a Program of Excellence
  • Built an infrastructure for health outcomes and clinical and translational research

Suresh Madhavan is Professor and Chairperson of the Department of Pharmaceutical Systems and Policy at West Virginia University (WVU). His primary areas of research include health services and outcomes with particular emphasis on improving access to and quality of health and preventive care services. During his 25 years at WVU, he and his graduate students have studied chronic conditions such as breast, colo-rectal, prostate, and lung cancers, multiple sclerosis, insomnia, depression, diabetes, and autism, with a focus on issues related to access, cost, affordability, quality of healthcare, and economic burden of care. He has been involved in developing, implementing, and evaluating innovative roles for pharmacists in the healthcare system. Of particular note is a Centers for Diseases Control-funded study with the American Pharmacists Association which dealt with
the pharmacist’s role in immunizations, as well as a study of the pharmacist’s role as an academic detailer, which received the Council of State Governments’ National Award for Innovation.

Suresh has been involved in numerous grants and contracts exceeding $28 million. He has been a research grant reviewer for the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Cancer Institute. He serves on the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education accreditation site visit teams, is a Fellow of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) - Academy of Pharmaceutical Research and Sciences, and is an American Association Colleges of Pharmacy Leadership Fellow. He served as Chair-elect and Chair of the Economic, Social, and Administrative Sciences section of APhA. He is a recipient of the WVU School of Pharmacy Board of Advisors’ Excellence in Research Award and was inducted into the WVU Health Sciences Center Academy of Excellence in Teaching and Learning. In 2014, he was presented the WVU Health Sciences Center Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Research and Scholarship.