About Colligation LLC

Daniel J. Feldman, Ph.D.

Sole Proprietor

 

In 1988, I began doing psychological research at the University of Louisville on the topic of public speaking anxiety, using SAS for the first time to generate analyses.  During this time, I was also employed by Humana as a sales representative selling Medicare supplement insurance, consistently in the top ten representatives in the  200-person sales force.

Following graduation, I moved to the Medical Education department at Good Samaritan Hospital, a teaching hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, coordinating a number of studies for vascular surgery, neurology, general surgery, and trauma.  As part of the North American Symptomatic Carotid Endarterectomy Trial, an international multicenter prospective study on the surgical treatment of stroke and transient ischemic attacks, I developed an interest in neuropsychology and began taking graduate courses at the University of Cincinnati.  Other areas of interest while at Good Samaritan Hospital included postenteral feeding, cardiovascular effects of diabetes, coronary artery bypass grafting in the elderly, and cholecystectomy (gall bladder surgery). 

In 1990, I was employed at the University of Cincinnati in the departments of Occupational Medicine and Epidemiology.  I was trained by NIOSH as a pulmonary function technician and collected clinical data and workplace toxicology assessments as part of a national study exploring the pulmonary effects of exposure to refractory ceramic fiber (the asbestos replacement).  Not only did I collect data, but I became the database administrator for a nationwide clinical registry of workers in the RCF industry, using SAS to maintain databases, record ongoing annual assessments, and to complete logistic regression analyses to explore odds ratios for exposure.

In 1992, I was formally matriculated into the University of Cincinnati graduate program in clinical neuropsychology.  As part of the clinical training, I worked as an extern in the Psychological Services Center at the university, counseling patients for acute mental health disorders, developmental disorders (such as autism and learning disabilities), personality disorders, vocational counseling, gay and lesbian outreach, and family and couples counseling.  I completed internships in inpatient psychiatry and neuropsychology, assessing and treating patients with schizophrenia, mood and anxiety disorders, substance dependence, somatoform disorders, and neurotoxic exposure (organic brain syndromes).  I volunteered time in the homeless shelters, providing much needed assessments of cognitive and psychiatric functioning and attended the memory disorders clinic characterizing the differences between depression-related memory disorders and Alzheimer’s disease.

During this time, I continued several lines of research using SAS for data management and analysis: 1) continuing work in epidemiology and pulmonary functioning, 15-20 hours per week, 2) developing tuberculosis screening programs and nurse/physician adverse event tracking for the Center for Occupational Health, 3) completing research and performing neurosurgery and histology on rats in the exploration of compounds in order to treat cocaine and amphetamine addiction (intracranial self-stimulation model), and 4) side effect profile testing for Marion Merrell Dow pharmaceuticals in the therapeutic area of substance abuse.  I attained a grant from Marion Merrell Dow to develop a side effect profile assessment for my Master’s thesis, awarding me the Outstanding Graduate Research award by the Cincinnati Psychological Association in 1996.

Other clinical research at the time included my Oral Qualification Exam on adult autism, focusing on my 12-month treatment of an autistic savant, and my dissertation, exploring the neuropsychological components of impulsive behavior.  As part of my interest in impulsivity, I began a research program at the Cincinnati VA Hospital, examining the contribution of impulsivity to substance dependence disorders and genetic alleles that were related to both.

Completing my predoctoral internship in clinical neuropsychology at the Medical University of South Carolina, I split my time between the MUSC Hospital and the Ralph H. Johnson VA Hospital, assessing and treating neuropsychiatric disorders, particularly stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, learning disabilities, and head trauma.  I continued my research on substance dependence and impulsivity during this time.  I also held appointments in the department of pediatrics (treating encopresis, learning disabilities, and Munchausen’s syndrome), internal medicine (treating diet and medication compliance in hypertension and diabetes), women’s health, chronic pain, and psychiatry.

After receiving my Ph.D., I completed a postdoctoral program in clinical neuropsychology at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University, focusing on medical-legal neuropsychological assessment, memory disorders, learning disabilities,  and neurotoxic exposure, including pediatric lead exposure.  I began a project in the validation of neuropsychological tests, comparing performance on these to real-world functioning.  During this time, I also volunteered doing research for SAGE (Senior Action in a Gay Environment), helping to explore standards of care in nursing facilities.

Upon completion of my postdoctoral program in 1999, I was employed by HeadMinder, a medical device company dedicated to developing neurocognitive assessment and tracking tools for use in primary care and sports settings.  As the VP for Research and Development, I was responsible for coauthoring the tests as well as developing the validation protocols.  These tests, as they were developed, are still in wide-spread use today.

In June 2001, I began a private practice focusing on the assessment and treatment of head trauma and resulting post-traumatic and adjustment disorders of mood and anxiety.  But following the WTC attacks, I moved to Philadelphia to begin a career in pharmaceutical marketing, helping manufacturers to understand their patients and treatment patterns for disease.  At this time I was employed at NDCHealth, a health information company, and I was able to gain insight into the complex business questions that faced many pharmaceutical executives.

Moving back to New York City in 2003, I was employed as the head of the management science function at Forest Laboratories.  My in-depth experience with a myriad of clinical settings and therapeutic classes helped to guide executive decision-making.  Specifically, my functions at Forest Laboratories were divided among four areas equally:

1) Forecasting support: six promoted and multiple non-promoted brands, market opportunity forecasts for business development/licensing/early commercialization, sales and ex-factory forecasts;

2) Marketing Effectiveness: promotion response and ROI analyses for special sampling promotions, speaker programs, physician teleconferences, journal ad expenditures, direct mail, rep-triggered mail pieces, coupons, conventions, and eDetailing;

3) Targeting and segmentation to support sales analytics: development and validation of predictive modeling to identify early adopters, trial and repeaters during product launch; as well as to optimize targets to drive market share; and

4) Secondary data modeling to answer ad hoc business questions; maintain all market-level data audits.

Currently, I am employed full-time at Novartis Pharmaceuticals as an Associate Director of Management Science for the Neuroscience and Ophthalmics therapeutic areas.  Like my role at Forest, I am responsible for modeling, call planning, promotion response, and event forecasting.  I represent Novartis as an Ambassador, speaking to patients, caregivers, physicians, and other medical staff about the societal benefits of the growing pharmaceutical industry.  I also serve on the Executive Board for the Pharmaceutical Management Science Association (PMSA at www.pmsa.net), helping with their annual programming and special events, now in the role of Secretary/Member Relations.

During my time since attaining my Ph.D., I have consulted on a number of research projects and grant-writing, including human resource program evaluation for a managed care company; psychological profiling used in reproductive medicine; non-verbal and verbal learning disabilities; interactions between HIV, hepatitis, and substance dependence; cerebral reperfusion following stroke; and real-world functioning and insight of HIV and schizophrenic patients. 

This detailed description of my training and work experience demonstrates my breadth of knowledge with regard to assessment, non-pharmacological and pharmalogical treatment, medical devices, and managed care.  I feel I have successfully integrated these diverse areas into a comprehensive understanding of health care, the issues that face patients, practitioners, researchers, corporations, and managed care.  My strength is in the analysis of complex healthcare situations, from the assessment of neuropsychological disorders to the positioning of pharmaceutical products.  It is my ultimate priority to use this understanding to benefit patients, particularly those without adequate treatment options or resources to attain an accurate assessment of their difficulties.

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