Bill Padula, PhD is Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical & Health Economics at the University of Southern California Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Senior Scholar at the USC Schaeffer Institute for Public Policy & Government Service. He is also a Co-Founder and Principal of Stage Analytics, a health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) group that supports manufacturers, payers, providers, and policymakers in applying rigorous economic evidence to real-world decisions.
Across these roles, Dr Padula’s work focuses on advancing economic evaluation methods to improve patient access, inform policy, and support efficient allocation of healthcare resources. Dr Padula is an internationally recognized expert in cost-effectiveness analysis, value-based decision making, real-world evidence, and health technology assessment.
He has authored more than 150 peer-reviewed publications and his research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the PhRMA Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and a range of public and private partners. Through his work with the Gates Foundation, he co-edited the Handbook of the Applied Economics of Vaccines for Global Health, contributing to global capacity building in immunization economics and health technology assessment in low- and middle-income country settings.
His scholarship is particularly known for bridging traditional welfare economics with emerging approaches to value measurement under uncertainty, including generalized cost-effectiveness analysis and dynamic modeling frameworks. In addition to his academic research, Dr Padula brings extensive experience translating HEOR into practice through his work in life sciences consulting at Stage Analytics. This dual academic-industry perspective informs his commitment to methodological rigor that is both scientifically defensible and operationally feasible. Dr Padula has advised on economic evidence generation across diverse therapeutic areas, payer contexts, and regulatory environments.
He has been an active member of ISPOR since 2010 and has contributed extensively to the Society’s scientific, educational, and governance activities. He currently serves as Associate Editor for Value in Health, ISPOR HEOR Ambassador, Chair of the Bernie J. O’Brien Award Selection Committee, and Faculty Advisor to the University of Southern California ISPOR Student Chapter. His prior service includes co-chairing the ISPOR Task Force on Machine Learning, serving on the Dynamic Simulation Modeling and Constrainted Optimization Methods Task Forces, serving on the councils for international planning and health science and policy, and co-founding ISPOR student chapters at the University of Colorado and Johns Hopkins University. He is one of only two individuals in ISPOR’s history to receive at least 3 of its major Society honors: the 2021 Bernie J. O’Brien New Investigator Award, the 2019 HEOR Excellence in Application Award, and the 2024 HEOR Excellence Methodology Award.
Dr Padula also has substantial nonprofit governance experience, including serving as President of the National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel. He holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University, an MS in Health Policy from Dartmouth College, a PhD in Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research from the University of Colorado, and an MSc in Analytics from the University of Chicago, where he also completed postdoctoral training in health economics.
Vision Statement
ISPOR occupies a unique and increasingly important position at the intersection of science, policy, and healthcare decision making. As innovation accelerates and health systems face growing financial pressure, the role of health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) has never been more consequential. In this environment, ISPOR must continue to lead not only in methodological excellence, but also in articulating a clear ethical purpose for economic evaluation. My vision for ISPOR builds on its Strategic Plan 2030 and centers on 3 priorities: methodological leadership with accountability, meaningful inclusion across stakeholders, and a renewed focus on access and patient benefit as the ultimate objective of value assessment.
First, ISPOR must remain the global leader in advancing HEOR methods while holding itself to the highest standards of rigor and transparency. The field is evolving rapidly, with growing interest in real-world evidence, uncertainty, dynamic value, and broader benefit frameworks. ISPOR is uniquely positioned to evaluate and refine these innovations – not to promote novelty for its own sake, but to ensure that new methods are scientifically grounded, empirically defensible, and usable in real-world decision making.
Second, ISPOR should continue to strengthen its role as an inclusive convener. The Society’s greatest strength lies in its diverse membership and ability to bring together patients, clinicians, payers, regulators, industry, and researchers in constructive dialogue. True inclusion requires more than representation; it requires processes that elevate diverse perspectives and allow disagreement to improve, not fracture, the science.
Third, and most importantly, economic evaluation must be positioned as a tool to extend access and coverage to high-value care, not as a gatekeeper that tells patients their care is unaffordable. At its best, HEOR helps health systems allocate resources efficiently so that more people – especially those currently underserved – can benefit from effective technologies and interventions. ISPOR should lead in reinforcing this principle: that the primary purpose of value assessment is to help patients gain access to care that improves their lives, not to justify exclusion. This framing is especially critical as debates around pricing, affordability, and coverage intensify globally. ISPOR can help ensure that economic evidence informs decisions in ways that balance sustainability with compassion, and efficiency with equity.
Finally, ISPOR must continue to invest in education, mentorship, and leadership development. The future of the field depends not only on better methods, but on professionals who understand the responsibility that comes with applying them. Serving on the ISPOR Board is an opportunity to help guide the Society through a period of rapid change. My goal is to support ISPOR in remaining scientifically rigorous, globally relevant, and unwavering in its commitment to improving patient access to high-value healthcare worldwide.