Current Fellows

Justin Yu, PharmD

Justin Yu is the 2024-2026 UIC/Pfizer Fellow in Health Economics and Outcomes Research (HEOR). Justin received his Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree from Northeastern University in 2024. During his time there, Justin conducted research projects involving electronic health record (EHR) based retrospective studies and real-world data. His current areas of interests include economic evaluation, real-world evidence, and patient-reported outcomes in the pharmaceutical industry setting.

Victoria Kulbokas, PharmD

Victoria Kulbokas is a 2024-2026 UIC/AbbVie Fellow in Health Economics and Outcomes Research (HEOR). She earned her Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Illinois Chicago College of Pharmacy in 2020. Since her time as a pharmacy student, Victoria has been passionate about research focused on educational outreach visits (academic detailing) to healthcare providers and the development of validated instruments. Her other areas of interest include patient-reported outcomes, quality-of-life research, and implementation science.

Lauren Lee, PharmD

Lauren Lee is a 2024-2026 UIC/Takeda fellow in Health Economics and Outcomes Research(HEOR). Lauren received her Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Illinois Chicago College of Pharmacy in 2024, where she developed an interest in HEOR by being involved in the UIC AMCP student chapter and AMCP’s Pharmacy and Therapeutics competition. She was also involved in research projects, including the Institute For Clinical And Economic Review obesity project, and worked as a medical writer intern at the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association during her years in pharmacy school. Her current research interests include economic evaluation, real-world evidence, and systematic literature reviews.

Minnie (WenHsin) Chen, BSN, MSc

Minnie Chen is the 2024-2026 UIC/AbbVie Fellow in Health Economics and Outcomes Research (HEOR). She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from Taipei Medical University and a Master of Science in Population Health (MSc) from University College London. Minnie’s interest and experience in outcomes research were fostered during her time at Texas A&M University, where she contributed to the Cancer Screening Training and Education Program and collaborated with the School of Pharmacy on pharmaceutical projects. Her current areas of interest include health service economic evaluation, real-world evidence, and strategic initiatives within the pharmaceutical industry.

Owen Jokinen, BS

Owen Jokinen is the 2024-2026 UIC/AbbVie fellow in Pharmacovigilance and Patient Safety. In 2024, Owen received his B.S. in Communication Studies from Ohio University’s Honors Tutorial College focusing on Health Communication and minoring in Mathematics. During his time as an undergraduate student, Owen conducted research examining behaviors that contribute to the spread of disease around college campuses. His current areas of interest include utilizing real-world data to determine the best treatment outcomes for patients.

Pearl Craig, PharmD

Pearl Craig is a 2025–2027 UIC/Pfizer Fellow in Health Economics and Outcomes Research (HEOR). She received her Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) from the University of Arizona in 2025 and a Bachelor of Science in Nutritional Sciences with minors in Biochemistry and Entrepreneurship & Innovation in 2021. Pearl developed an interest in HEOR at the end of her first year of pharmacy school after learning about career paths for PharmDs in the pharmaceutical industry. This led her to explore roles that aligned with her interests in patient outcomes, data analysis, and business strategy. During pharmacy school, she conducted research on perceptions of pharmacist roles in nontraditional settings and completed Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) rotations at Pfizer in Drug Safety and at Cencora in Health Outcomes and Managed Care. Her current research interests include economic evaluation and patient-reported outcomes within the pharmaceutical industry.

Mohammad Al Numan, BS, MS

Mohammad Al Numan is a 2025-2027 UIC/Takeda Fellow in Health Economics and Outcomes Research (HEOR). He received his Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy from the Jordan University of Science and Technology in 2017 and his Master’s degree in Pharmaceutical Science from the University of Pittsburgh in 2025. Mohammad developed his interest in HEOR during his graduate studies, when he was first exposed to Pharmacoeconomics and health outcomes research. During his graduate studies, he worked on several Pharmacoeconomics-related projects. His thesis focused on the cost-effectiveness of newly approved drugs for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer. His current research interests include economic evaluation and the use of real-world evidence.

Michael Pham, PharmD

Michael Pham is a 2025–2027 UIC/Pfizer Fellow in Health Economics and Outcomes Research (HEOR). He received his Master’s degree in Epidemiology from Montreal University in 2022 and his Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) from Midwestern University (AZ) in 2025. Michael developed an interest in HEOR during pharmacy school through his engagement with the Industry Pharmacists Organization as a chapter president. He continued to explore his interests aligned with patient outcomes, cost-effectiveness analysis, and both quantitative and qualitative research through coursework and Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience rotations in community and acute care settings. His current interests include economic evaluation, value generation from real-world evidence, patient-reported outcomes, and market access in oncology within the pharmaceutical industry.

Annika Pickard, MS

Annika Pickard, M.S., 2025-27 UIC/AbbVie fellow in Health Economics and Outcomes Research, graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Master of Science in Health Services Research in Pharmacy (2025). She previously graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor of Arts in Health Communication (2023). Annika developed an interest in HEOR during her undergraduate degree, working on the US Valuation study for the EQ-5D-Y-3L, where she was an interviewer administering time trade-off and pairwise comparison tasks. Her master’s thesis explored financial health literacy issues, focusing on patient perspectives on communication with health care providers regarding patient-centered care and medication costs. Her current research interests include value assessment of medications, patient-reported outcomes, and shared decision-making.

Lilah Khoja, PhD

Lilah Khoja graduated with a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Michigan in 2025. She developed an interest in HEOR during her doctoral studies when trying to better understand lines of therapy for ovarian cancer patients. Since she started her fellowship at UIC/Takeda, she has been primarily working on projects related to the cessation of anti-obesity agents and the impact of cessation on cardiovascular risk profiles. Her current research interests include the cost-effectiveness of catch-up HPV vaccination as cancer prevention and GLP-1 medication adherence and cost-effectiveness.