Zaina Qureshi

Assistant Professor Department of Health Services Policy and Management; Adjunct Professor Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Outcomes Sciences; Principal Investigator William Jennings Bryan Dorn Veterans Affairs Medical Center, University of South Carolina

Zaina Qureshi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Services Policy and Management of the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina and an Adjunct Professor in the Clinical Pharmacy and Outcomes Sciences Department at the South Carolina College of Pharmacy and holds a research appointment (Principal Investigator) at the Dorn VA Medical Center.

Her work falls in the area of personalized healthcare delivery, particularly as it relates to cancer prevention and control. Her most current research is centered on optimizing cancer care for prostate cancer by developing risk-based screening strategies for patient populations to enhance early detection of cancer as well as to improve understanding of care-seeking behavior and treatment preferences that influence the patient’s decisions about treatment.

Given the prominent role of prescription drugs in the treatment of cancer, she is studying medication safety for common cancer therapies. Some of her recent work has focused on evaluating newer treatment options available for cancer patients. In a series of articles appearing in Lancet Oncology, she has reported on use of oncology biosimilars – drugs that are less expensive or “generic” versions of proven biologic drugs - and summarized their regulatory frameworks, clinical experiences, and safety concerns. Biological oncology drugs are integral to cancer treatment, but their high costs pose challenges to patients (especially those from vulnerable populations), providers, and health systems. Her work aims to provide evidence to inform the FDAs development and approval of biosimilar products in the US.

In addition, she is examining prescription drug abuse, predominantly opioid abuse, that is a growing public health concern and is particularly concerning among cancer patients. Beyond describing its occurrence locally and nationally, her research seeks to identify ways to intervene or disrupt the opioid epidemic based on the patterns of abuse.