Dima Qato

Dima M. Qato
Education
Known forResearch on pharmacy deserts, medication access, and pharmacy equity
Awards
Scientific career
Fields
  • Pharmacy
  • Pharmacoepidemiology
  • Public health
WorkplacesUniversity of Southern California

Dima Mazen Qato is the Hygeia Centennial Chair and a tenured associate professor in the Titus Family Department of Clinical Pharmacy at the USC Alfred E. Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.[1] She directs the USC Mann Program on Medicines and Public Health and is a senior fellow of the USC Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics[2] and holds an appointment with the USC Spatial Sciences Institute.[3]

She coined the term "pharmacy desert" in a 2014 Health Affairs article that found there were far fewer pharmacies in Chicago's Black neighborhoods than in white and mixed neighborhoods.[4]

Her research focuses on the way pharmacy access, or lack of it, affects people's ability to get the medications they need to adhere to the drug regimens prescribed by their doctors.[5]

Education

She earned a Doctor of Pharmacy degree (PharmD) from the University of Illinois Chicago, a master of public health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and a PhD in public health from the University of Illinois School of Public Health.[1]

Career

Before coming to the University of Southern California in 2020, Qato served as an associate professor at the University of Illinois Chicago. She was the National Academy of Medicine Fellow in Pharmacy in 2018-2020.[5]

Research

She is known for research on pharmacy deserts, communities with limited geographic access to pharmacies, which has influenced discussions of pharmacy access as a component of health equity and public health infrastructure. Her research has examined disparities in pharmacy availability, prescription drug access, medication affordability, and the effects of pharmacy closures on patient care.[1] At USC, she led the development of a national pharmacy deserts mapping tool.[6]

She has also published research on medication use among older adults, contraceptive access through pharmacies, insulin affordability, pharmacy benefit managers, and prescription drug policy. Her work has appeared in academic journals including JAMA, JAMA Health Forum, JAMA Internal Medicine and Health Affairs. She has been quoted widely in the media in outlets including the New York Times, Associated Press,[7] Axios, the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, CNN, the BBC, PBS Newshour, National Geographic, California Healthline and NPR.

Academic

Qato directs the USC Mann School's masters and graduate certificate programs in pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety.[8]

Selected publications

  • "More U.S. Pharmacies Closed Than Opened In 2018–21; Independent Pharmacies, Those In Black, Latinx Communities Most At Risk" (Health Affairs, 2024)[9]
  • Pharmacist-Prescribed and Over-the-Counter Hormonal Contraception in Los Angeles (Health Affairs, 2020)[10]
  • Ensuring Access to Medications in the U.S. during the COVID-19 Pandemic (JAMA, 2020)[11]
  • "Changes in Prescription and Over-the-Counter Medication and Dietary Supplement Use Among Older Adults in the United States, 2005 vs 2011" (JAMA Internal Medicine, 2016)[12]
  • "Pharmacy Deserts are Prevalent in Chicago's Predominantly Minority Communities, Raising Medication Access Concerns" (Health Affairs, 2014)[13]
  • "Use of Prescription and Over-the-Counter Medications and Dietary Supplements Among Older Adults in the United States" (JAMA, 2008)[14]

Honors and recognition

Among Qato's honors are the National Academy of Medicine Pharmacy Fellowship (2018-2020) and a Fulbright Scholarship to Jordan.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Dima M. Qato, PharmD, MPH, PhD". USC Alfred E. Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Retrieved 2026-08-01.
  2. ↑ "Dima M. Qato, PharmD, MPH, PhD". USC Schaeffer. Retrieved 2026-08-01.
  3. ↑ "Dima Qato". USC Dornsife. Retrieved 2026-08-01.
  4. ↑ Qato, Dima M.; Daviglus, Martha L.; Wilder, Jocelyn; Lee, Todd; Qato, Danya; Lambert, Bruce (2014). "Health Affairs Journal". Health Affairs. 33 (11). doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2013.1397. Retrieved 2026-08-01.
  5. 1 2 "Exploring the Importance of Pharmacies to Public Health". www.nationalacademies.org. Retrieved 2026-08-01.
  6. ↑ Medzerian, David (2022-11-02). "Map of 'pharmacy deserts' promotes a basic right: Access to medicine". USC Today. Retrieved 2026-08-01.
  7. ↑ "In cities across the US, Black and Latino neighborhoods have less access to pharmacies". AP News. 2024-06-04. Retrieved 2026-08-01.
  8. ↑ Zong, David (2025-08-20). "USC Mann Launches Pharmacoepidemiology Master's and Certificate Programs". USC Alfred E. Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Retrieved 2026-08-09.
  9. ↑ Guadamuz, Jenny S.; Alexander, G. Caleb; Kanter, Genevieve P.; Qato, Dima Mazen (December 2024). "More US Pharmacies Closed Than Opened In 2018–21; Independent Pharmacies, Those In Black, Latinx Communities Most At Risk". Health Affairs. 43 (12): 1703–1711. doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2024.00192. ISSN 0278-2715. PMC 12988438. PMID 39626155.
  10. ↑ Qato, Dima Mazen; Alexander, G. Caleb; Guadamuz, Jenny S.; Choi, Sun; Trotzky-Sirr, Rebecca; Lindau, Stacy Tessler (July 2020). "Pharmacist-Prescribed And Over-The-Counter Hormonal Contraception In Los Angeles County Retail Pharmacies". Health Affairs. 39 (7): 1219–1228. doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2019.01686. ISSN 0278-2715. PMID 32634349.
  11. ↑ Alexander, G. Caleb; Qato, Dima M. (2020-07-07). "Ensuring Access to Medications in the US During the COVID-19 Pandemic". JAMA. 324 (1): 31–32. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.6016. ISSN 0098-7484. PMID 32271871.
  12. ↑ Qato, Dima M.; Wilder, Jocelyn; Schumm, L. Philip; Gillet, Victoria; Alexander, G. Caleb (2016-04-01). "Changes in Prescription and Over-the-Counter Medication and Dietary Supplement Use Among Older Adults in the United States, 2005 vs 2011". JAMA Internal Medicine. 176 (4): 473–482. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2015.8581. ISSN 2168-6106. PMC 5024734. PMID 26998708.
  13. ↑ Qato, Dima M.; Daviglus, Martha L.; Wilder, Jocelyn; Lee, Todd; Qato, Danya; Lambert, Bruce (November 2014). "'Pharmacy Deserts' Are Prevalent In Chicago's Predominantly Minority Communities, Raising Medication Access Concerns". Health Affairs. 33 (11): 1958–1965. doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2013.1397. ISSN 0278-2715. PMID 25367990.
  14. ↑ Qato, Dima M.; Alexander, G. Caleb; Conti, Rena M.; Johnson, Michael; Schumm, Phil; Lindau, Stacy Tessler (2008-12-24). "Use of Prescription and Over-the-counter Medications and Dietary Supplements Among Older Adults in the United States". JAMA. 300 (24): 2867–2878. doi:10.1001/jama.2008.892. ISSN 0098-7484. PMC 2702513. PMID 19109115.
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