Express Scripts FoundationResearch & Consumerology
Here are some of the key people at Express Scripts who turn data into insights and help transform those insights into innovative, customized solutions to help clients meet their biggest challenges.
Bob Nease, PhD, Chief Scientist, Research & New Solutions
Dr. Bob Nease joined Express Scripts in 2001. As chief scientist, Dr. Nease studies the convergence of consumer behavior and healthcare and is responsible for advancing our behavior-focused approach to the pharmacy benefit.
Dr. Nease leads the Consumerology® Advisory Board and is a reviewer for several medical publications, including the Journal of the American Medical Association, the Annals of Internal Medicine, the Journal of General Internal Medicine, Quality of Life Research and Medical Decision Making. He is also past president of the Society for Medical Decision Making and has served as a study section member of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Prior to joining Express Scripts, Dr. Nease was an associate professor of internal medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He retains adjunct faculty appointments at the Washington University School of Medicine and the School of Public Health at Saint Louis University. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of California and his master's and doctorate degrees from Stanford University.
Steve Miller, MD, Senior Vice President & Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Steve Miller joined Express Scripts in 2005. An international speaker and author of more than 80 scientific articles, Dr. Miller is recognized for his research in the areas of acute renal failure, transplantation, hypertension and healthcare economics. Dr. Miller has been actively involved in the development of Express Scripts clinical programs supporting the use of generic pharmaceuticals and specialty medications. He serves as a leader in the promotion of legislation to create a pathway at the FDA for regulation of biogenerics and biosimilars.
Dr. Miller earned his medical degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He received additional training in the Pathology and Research Fellowship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and in cardiology at the University of California, San Francisco. In addition to his medical education, Dr. Miller earned his MBA at the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis.
Sharon Glave Frazee, MPH, PhD, Vice President, Research & New Solutions
Dr. Sharon Frazee, who joined Express Scripts in 2010, is responsible for providing scholarly, actionable and timely research that helps make the use of prescription drugs safer and more affordable for all Americans.
Prior to joining Express Scripts, Dr. Frazee led clinical outcomes research efforts for companies including Walgreens, LabCorp and Landacorp (now an SHPS company). She was an instructor at North Carolina State University and provided evaluation research for various state and local government agencies before joining the private sector.
Dr. Frazee earned her doctorate at North Carolina State University and an MPH from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health. Her areas of expertise include medical sociology, statistics, research methods, predictive modeling and program evaluation. Dr. Frazee has an extensive background in healthcare and outcomes research and has authored numerous research articles, book chapters and white papers on healthcare and human behavior.
Sonja Larson, PharmD, Vice President, PharmacoAnalytics
Sonja Larson has been with Express Scripts since 1996. In her current role as Vice President of PharmacoAnalytics, she has responsibility for the overall strategy development and growth for Client Analytics, Reporting & Benefit Consultation, Product Management Analytics and Sales Analytics Support.
Sonja has more than 15 years of experience in the PBM industry, specifically in the area of benefit design consultation and client analytics. Prior to joining Express Scripts, Sonja worked as a staff pharmacist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Pediatrics & Oncology. She launched an interdisciplinary Diabetes Management Clinical in rural Minnesota, and has experience as a dispensing pharmacist in a staff model HMO and in the retail setting. Sonja received her BS and PharmD from the University of Minnesota.
Joseph Federer, MBA, Senior Director, PharmacoAnalytics
Joe Federer joined Express Scripts in 2005. In his current role, Joe has responsibility for the product and advanced analytics team for Specialty, Trend and Clinical product areas. His team supports the development of new products and services.
Prior to joining Express Scripts, Joe was SVP of Worldwide Services for SPSS, Inc., and previously VP of Professional Services for Teradata. Joe has a background in financial systems, health care, accounting systems, and credit card processing. He has deep experience in data warehouse, business intelligence, and customer relationship management solutions. Joe has an MBA from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio and a BS in Systems Analysis from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
Dave Tomala, MA, Senior Director of Analytics, Research & New Solutions
Dave Tomala has been with Express Scripts since 2008. In his current role, he is charged with applying cutting-edge quantitative methods to advance our understanding of the consumer. Among Dave's responsibilities are the quantitative assessment of Consumerology® pilots, the development and practical application of segmentation, predictive models and data-mined insights.
Prior to joining Express Scripts, he spent 10 years in various quantitative roles in financial services including investment banking, mortgage and credit card products. Most recently, he was vice president of Decision Science at the Credit Card Division of RBS Americas. He holds a master's degree in economics from the State University of New York at Buffalo where he specialized in econometrics and game theory.
Kit Sundararaman, PhD, Senior Director of Consumerology® Solutions, Research & New Solutions
Dr. Kit Sundararaman joined Express Scripts in 2008 and is currently the senior director for the Consumerology Solutions team. Dr. Sundararaman's team creates, tests and applies Consumerology concepts to improve drug mix, increase therapy adherence in key drug classes and better understand the unique needs of the specialty patient to ensure better health outcomes and reduced wasteful spending. With a PhD in communications from Southern Illinois University, Dr. Sundararaman specializes in tailoring communications based on personality traits.
ÂPrior to joining Express Scripts, Dr. Sundararaman worked for Anheuser-Busch Incorporated, Accenture and Computer Sciences Corporation in change management and organizational and process improvement. In these roles, she was responsible for creating programs that assisted employees through large-scale changes, developing business strategy and improving organizational structures and processes for U.S. and international subsidiaries.
Mark Engel, MBA, Senior Director of Strategic Applications, Research & New Solutions
Mark Engel has been with Express Scripts since 2009. Mark was intimately involved with the design and development of the Research & New Solutions Lab, which is part of our Technology & Innovation Center. In his current role, he is charged with ongoing development and deployment of new research capabilities in the Lab. In addition to responsibilities for the Lab, Mark's team supports the commercialization of many of the new solutions developed by this team.
ÂPrior to joining Express Scripts, Mark spent 12 of the last 15 years leading new product development and innovation teams with General Mills, SC Johnson and Little Tikes. Mark has an MBA from the Wharton School of Business and a MA in Chinese from the University of Pennsylvania.
Rochelle Henderson, PhD, Director of Health Services Research, Research & New Solutions
Dr. Rochelle Henderson joined Express Scripts in July 2011 as Director of Health Services Research. She is responsible for ensuring a steady stream of timely, clinically relevant rigorous research.
ÂPrior to joining Express Scripts, Dr. Henderson served as assistant professor at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. She continues to hold an adjunct faculty position at SIUE teaching courses in epidemiology and quantitative analysis. Dr. Henderson has 15 years of experience in pharmacoepidemiologic and pharmacoeconomic research. Her work focuses on the economic evaluation of drug therapy and the impact of plan design on pharmaceutical utilization.
ÂDr. Henderson received her doctoral training from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. She has extensive publishing credits including numerous peer-reviewed articles published in American Journal of Managed Care, Drug Benefit Trends, Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy, Annals of Pharmocotherapy, Clinical Therapeutics and other prestigious journals.
