View Larger Image
Aleda Chen, Pharm.D., Ph.D., (left) and Bita Fayaz-Farkhad, Ph.D., (right).
Aleda Chen, Pharm.D., Ph.D., Bita Fayaz-Farkhad, Ph.D., Join College of Pharmacy Faculty
| Aleda Chen, Pharm.D., Ph.D., and Bita Fayaz-Farkhad, Ph.D., have joined the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences’ (UAMS) College of Pharmacy faculty. Chen is director for assessment and a professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice, while Fayaz-Farkhad is an assistant professor in the department’s Division of Pharmaceutical Evaluation and Policy.
Chen joins UAMS after 15 years with Cedarville University in Cedarville, Ohio, where she served in a variety of roles, most recently as the associate dean of assessment, accreditation and research. She received her doctorate in pharmacy from Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio, and her Ph.D. in pharmacy practice and gerontology from Purdue University in Indiana. She has authored or co-authored more than 100 peer-reviewed papers, edited and contributed chapters to several pharmacy textbooks and made multiple presentations at national and international conferences.
“I am excited to join the UAMS College of Pharmacy and be part of a program known for developing outstanding pharmacists and advancing high-quality research,” Chen said. “I look forward to working with faculty, staff and students to continue strengthening student preparation, ensuring that they are exceptionally well-equipped to serve patients and communities.”
Chen will work alongside David Caldwell, Pharm.D., the college’s associate dean of academic affairs, collecting data to evaluate programs and student learning, as well as mentoring students. She will also continue her research on competency-based education and patient-provider conversations about vaccines.
Fayaz-Farkhad joins UAMS after several years with the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, where she was a research assistant professor at the Annenberg Public Policy Center, as well as associate director of the Penn Center for AIDS Research’s HIV Communication and Policy Scientific Working Group. She received her Ph.D. in economics from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
“UAMS’ mission and strong connections to patients, communities and health systems make it an ideal place to do policy-relevant research and to mentor the next generation of pharmacists and health policy leaders,” Fayaz-Farkhad said. “I’m excited to join the College of Pharmacy and the PEP division. I’m especially looking forward to collaborating across the college and UAMS to produce evidence that supports effective, equitable and scalable pharmacy-based solutions.”
Fayaz-Farkhad’s work intersects with health economics, pharmacoepidemiology and policy evaluation, with a focus on how pharmacy and public policies shape access to care and health outcomes, particularly in HIV prevention. She leverages large-scale administrative and claims data to find evidence that helps inform policy. She applies these same methods in her teaching methods, equipping students with practical tools to interpret evidence and translate their research into decision-making policies.