The Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice (JoPP) has awarded Stephen Soumerai with its inaugural Helen Clark-JoPPP Award for Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice Research. The award recognizes the talents of exceptional researchers, who are making a significant contribution to the field of pharmaceutical policy and practice. It was presented to Dr. Soumerai in recognition of the scientific merit of his work, as well as its impact on patients, decision makers, and governments.

Dr. Soumerai is an Institute faculty member, Professor of Population Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and the founding and former director of the Division of Health Policy and Insurance Research. His work focuses on pharmaceutical outcomes, quality of health care studies, and health policy. He also co-chaired the Statistics and Evaluative Sciences concentration within Harvard University’s health policy Ph.D. program for over 20 years, and continues as an active faculty member in the concentration. Dr. Soumerai has led or been a member of numerous NIH and international advisory and peer review committees for prioritizing and funding health policy research. He is the recipient of numerous honors including numerous article of the year awards from national and international scientific societies, named lectureships, and the Everett Mendelsohn Excellence in Mentoring Award from the Harvard University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

He has published more than 300 original scientific articles in leading scientific journals, such as the New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of the American Medical Association. He is well known nationally and internationally for his work on the impacts of health policies and methods to improve the quality of medical practice. He frequently advises Congress, state legislatures, and federal and international agencies on the design of drug cost containment, coverage and quality-of-care policies, and evidence-based health policy. His research has been used extensively to support expanded economic access to medications in Medicaid and Medicare.  

Please join us in congratulating him on this well-deserved honor!