Meet the Dean (SOP)
Arjun P. Dutta, PhD, B. Pharm
Dean, School of Pharmacy
A warm welcome from the School of Pharmacy (SOP) at the American University of Health Sciences (AUHS). Located a few miles from the beautiful beaches of Southern California in Los Angeles County, AUHS provides a student-centric learning experience in the health professions. The SOP offers degrees in pharmacy and clinical research: Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences (BSPS), Master of Science in Clinical Research (MSCR) and the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD).
AUHS has a long tradition of serving the community, especially those who are underprivileged and underserved. The SOP’s mission is to instill in our graduates strong Christian values, prepare them to practice evidence-based patient care, educate them in pharmacy research and scholarship, and enable them to meet the health care needs of diverse patient populations.
To realize these goals, the SOP has implemented advanced curricula enabling students to be team-ready and to practice at the highest level of the profession upon graduation. The SOP is committed to creating a holistic interprofessional healthcare education geared towards new models of care that offer patients a team of healthcare professionals working collaboratively to improve their outcomes.
Our pharmacy students interact with the nursing students in the didactic, co-curricular, and experiential settings. Students take common healthcare classes, work in the simulation labs, and work at interprofessional sites across the Los Angeles area. Our commitment to the community is strengthened by the requirement that each student provide 100 hours of community service during their time at AUHS. The SOP aims to meet the need for culturally competent practitioners by recruiting and graduating diverse individuals from minority and underserved communities.
I encourage you to explore our website, visit our campus, and see how the AUHS SOP can help you make a difference in the lives of patients in your community.
Bio
Dr. Arjun Dutta holds a BS degree in Pharmacy from Jadavpur University in India. He then completed his PhD in Pharmacy Administration from the Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University. Dr. Dutta specializes in Outcomes Research including the areas of Pharmacoeconomics, Quality of Life, and Epidemiology. Dr. Dutta has published extensively in Pharmacy Education including assessment of the curriculum, student admissions criteria, progression, and retention. Dr. Dutta has been involved in academic pharmacy for the past 22 years and has successfully started three pharmacy programs as a founding administrator in Oregon, New York, and California. His decanal appointments (over 12 years of administrative experience) include serving as the Interim Dean as well as Sr. Associate/Assistant Dean for Academic & Student Affairs at three new colleges of pharmacy. Prior to joining academia, he was an Outcomes Manager at a health economics firm specializing in Phase IV research for pharmaceutical companies. Dr. Dutta has over 71 publications in the form of research articles, abstracts, and book chapters in various peer-reviewed journals and professional meetings. He has received both federal (AHRQ, HRSA) and private funding and has conducted research in the areas of health services and outcomes assessment. Dr. Dutta has also been invited to speak at both national and international meetings.
Arjun enjoys travelling with his wife and two sons and is an avid reader and NFL-fan. He and his wife used to regularly compete in Ballroom Dance competitions.
Research Interests
Arjun graduated with a B.S. from Jadavpur University, India and a Ph.D. from MCV/VCU, Richmond, VA. He is published widely and has presented on pharmacy education issues both nationally and internationally.
“My research interest lies in the area of Outcomes Research- Optimal delivery and provision of health/pharmaceutical care can be achieved by the synergy of research, clinical practice and student/pharmacist education. The area of Outcomes Research attempts to unite these fore mentioned components into a streamlined process that provide optimal care to patients at a reasonable cost. This rapidly burgeoning field also consists of interdisciplinary areas like Pharmacoeconomics, Quality of Life, and Epidemiology. Currently, these topical areas have been incorporated not only in clinical trails (phases I-IV) but in pharmacy practice as well. My goal therefore is to further research in the areas of health services research, with special emphasis on disease/drug management and healthcare delivery. Furthermore, I would like to be involved in research in the area of pharmaceutical education; since only by reassessing the quality of our education process can we measure our progress.”
Published Research
- The Need to Integrate Public Health Courses in Health Professions Curriculum 2017
- Strategies to Improve Student Learning Of Pharmacology in Pharmacy Curriculum 2016
- Faith-Based Colleges and Schools of Pharmacy in the United States: A Taxonomic Survey And Results 2015
- Instructional Design and Assessment 2014
- The Fungal Meningitis Tragedy: Implications for Pharmacy Education and the Profession 2013