John K. McGlew
Director of Government Affairs

ACCP is pleased to welcome Tina Chhabra to its Washington office to begin the 2018–2019 American College of Clinical Pharmacy/American Society of Health-System Pharmacists/Virginia Commonwealth University Congressional Healthcare Policy Fellow program.

Launched in 2006 under the guidance of ACCP’s Ed Webb, Pharm.D., MPH, Director of Government and Professional Affairs, the program offers unique health care policy learning experiences in the U.S. Congress and the Government Affairs offices of ACCP and ASHP. Pharmacist participants in the program have the opportunity to gain real-world insight into health care policy analysis and development through immersion in the congressional environment. Fellows are actively mentored in legislative evaluation, policy development, research, and writing while integrating practical experience with theory. The 2017–2018 Fellow, Nilofar “Nellie” Jafari, spent the past 12 months working in the office of Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut.

The 2018–2019 Fellow, Tina Chhabra, recently completed a fellowship at Biogen Inc., a biotech firm based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in regulatory sciences and safety and benefit-risk management through the MCPHS University Biopharmaceutical Industry Fellowship Program. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and a Pharm.D. degree, also from VCU.

As the daughter of a Washington, D.C.–area physician, Chhabra spent her youth among “the incessant beeping” of hospitals and doctors’ offices, she recalls. While working at her first job as a receptionist in her father’s office, she says, “I learned that health care was equally scientific and political, and that access to a doctor was very important – but not everyone could afford it.”

This connection between politics and health care continued for Chhabra. While volunteering as secretary general of her high school’s model United Nations, she competed in science fairs and excelled in her math and science courses. Later, her Biogen fellowship gave her an opportunity to do a rotation with the company’s policy and government affairs teams, which led to her participation in Capitol Hill hearings on topics such as the opioid crisis and drug pricing.

Chhabra pursued the ACCP-ASHP-VCU Congressional Healthcare Policy fellowship as a result of these experiences. “I am passionate about health care policy and have a profound desire to make a difference,” she says. “I believe health care is a right, but I also realize the solutions to the problems that consume our system are nuanced and complex.” Moreover, “I strongly believe that there are not enough scientists and clinicians making the decisions that shape health care.”

Amee D. Mistry, associate professor of pharmacy practice at MCPHS University, called Chhabra a standout among her peers for her energy, communication skills, and determination to make a difference: “She has proven, on a number of occasions, to be an extremely focused, dedicated, and passionate pharmacist.”

The policies on which Chhabra would like to focus involve access to health care, medication accessibility, and health disparities. She says she intends to use her fellowship as a route to working on policy as part of the FDA or Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

The 2018 Congressional Healthcare Policy Fellow program began July 9 when Chhabra spent 1 week at the Brookings Institution, which will be followed by 3 weeks each with ACCP’s and ASHP’s Government Affairs offices. Finally, she will embark on her placement within a congressional office or on congressional committee staff in Washington through August 2019.

Applications for the 2019–2020 Pharmacy Healthcare Policy Fellow Program
Interested candidates should visit the Pharmacy Healthcare Policy Fellow program’s website for more information and instructions on submitting an application. For more information about the fellowship, click here.

For more information on any of ACCP’s advocacy efforts, please contact John McGlew ([email protected]).