Q&A with Sharaf Ahmed: Examining How Treatment of Depression Affects People with Opioid Use Disorder

Sometimes it takes a few tries to figure out what you are passionate about.

Iftekhar (Sharaf) Ahmed, BPharm, MS, was in his first year of pharmacy school when he realized he wanted to be a scientist. His initial foray into research was in a pharmaceutics lab focused on formulation development, but after a while, he realized that wasn’t the right fit for him.

Next, Ahmed began working in pharmacoepidemiology, which examines the use, effects, and safety of medications in real-world populations, and he knew he had found his niche. “Pharmacoepidemiology allows me to answer research questions that involve and directly impact patients,” he said.

Now a PhD student at the Purdue University College of Pharmacy, Ahmed received a 2024 PhRMA Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship in Value Assessment and Health Outcomes Research for his work exploring the connection between depression and opioid use disorder.

Nearly one-third of patients with opioid use disorder also have depression, which increases the risk of opioid use and overdose and is associated with poor retention to buprenorphine therapy. Ahmed is using real-world data to understand the impact of antidepressant treatment on health outcomes during buprenorphine therapy. Watch this video to learn about Ahmed and his research.

Learn more about the PhRMA Foundation’s fellowship and grant opportunities. Check out more researcher stories on our blog.