Karen Blumenschein, PharmD

Associate Professor

Dr. Blumenschein's teaching includes the areas of substance use disorders, research design, and health outcomes assessment. She co-coordinates “Scholarship II” in the PharmD curriculum and is course coordinator and primary lecturer in "Substance Use Disorders: Health Implications, Policies and Prevention Strategies” in both the professional and graduate programs. In addition to didactic teaching, she coordinates the dual PharmD/MPA and PharmD/MBA programs. She has provided faculty mentoring for a number of student research projects, including two Merck Research Scholars, three AFPE "Gateway to Research" Scholars, and two NACDS Research Scholars.

She served as the University of Kentucky NCPA faculty liaison from 2001 – 2011 and Vice-Chair for the University's Medical Institutional Review Board from 2008-2014. Outside the University, she is a member of the Board of Directors for the American Pharmacy Services Corporation Foundation for Education and Research and a member of the Kentucky Pharmacist’s Recovery Network. She has served as a consultant for the U.S. Bureau of Primary Health Care Office of Pharmacy Affairs, the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved, and the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services.

Dr. Blumenschein's primary research interests include substance use disorder policy evaluation, the pharmacist’s role in suicide prevention, and validity issues associated with non-market valuation methods. Her research has received extramural funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute of Justice, Commonwealth of Kentucky, pharmaceutical industry, and various foundations. She is the author of scholarly work in both the economics and pharmacy literature.

PUBLICATIONS