Linda Wastila, BSPharm, MSPH, PhD, is the Parke-Davis Chair in Geriatric Pharmacotherapy and director of research for the Peter Lamy Center on Drug Therapy and Aging.

Linda Simoni-Wastila, BSPharm, MSPH, PhD

About Dr. Wastila:

Dr. Linda Wastila is professor and Parke-Davis Chair in Geriatric Pharmacotherapy in the Department of Practice, Sciences, and Health Outcomes Research and director of research for the Peter Lamy Center for Drug Therapy and Aging. For more than two decades, she has conducted research focusing on prescription drug policy, quality, and outcomes. She received her Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she also completed a Master of Science in Public Health. In 1993, she received her doctorate in health policy from Brandeis University, where she served as a Pew Health Policy Fellow. From 1994–2001, she served as senior scientist at the Schneider Institute for Health Policy, and was a lecturer at the Harvard Medical School.

Research Interests:

With a focus on older adults and other vulnerable populations, Dr. Wastila examines issues such as:

  • Prescription drug use, abuse, and diversion
  • Intended and unintended policy impacts on prescription drug utilization and outcomes
  • Psychopharmacological medication use, quality, and outcomes in community- and residential-residing older adults
  • Innovative methods addressing multi-morbidity and poly-pharmacy
  • Mental health disorders and impact on medication use, adherence, and outcomes
  • Medication quality and falls prevention

Dr. Wastila’s current research portfolio includes papers on psychopharmacological treatment and quality of treatment in long-term care beneficiaries, substance use disorders epidemiology, and co-morbidity of psychiatric and physical health conditions. She has received grants and contracts from the National Institute of Aging, National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Agency for Health Research and Quality, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Research Retirement Foundation, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and other sources.

To view selected manuscripts authored and co-authored by Dr. Wastila, please visit http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/browse/collection/48620682/?sort=date&direction=ascending.

Contact Information:

Linda Wastila, BSPharm, MSPH, PhD
Department of Practice, Sciences, and Health Outcomes Research
Saratoga Building, Second Floor
Phone: (410) 706-4352
Fax: (410) 706-1488
Email: lsimoniw@rx.umaryland.edu