Jing Luo, MD, MPH, is an Associate Professor of Medicine and board-certified general internist. Before coming to Pitt, he was a member of the faculty at Harvard Medical School and a physician and researcher at the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, located within the Department of Medicine at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He trained in primary care internal medicine at Yale-New Haven Hospital.
His research focuses on prescription drug use, pricing, and policy, especially for medicines treating chronic diseases such as diabetes. His work on insulin has been featured in The Lancet, JAMA, the NYTimes, and the Washington Post.
He lives with his family in Squirrel Hill. He enjoys playing pickup basketball.
Education & Training
- BS (Biology), Duke University, 2006
- MD (Medicine), University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine, 2011
- Internship and Residency, Yale-New Haven Hospital, 2014
- MPH (Clinical Effectiveness), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 2016
- Fellowship, General Internal Medicine and Primary Care Research, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 2016
Representative Publications
White GE, Shu I, Rometo D, Arnold J, Korytkowski M, Luo J. Real-world weight-loss effectiveness of glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists among patients with type 2 diabetes: A retrospective cohort study. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2023 Feb;31(2):534-544.
In this real-world study of more than 2,400 patients with overweight or obesity and type 2 diabetes, starting a GLP-1 agonist at standard glycemic control doses was associated with modest weight loss through 72 weeks.
Luo J, Feldman R, Rothenberger S, Kortykowski M, Fischer MA, Gellad WF. Incidence and predictors of primary nonadherence to sodium glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors and glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists in a large integrated healthcare system. J Gen Intern Med. 2022 Nov;37(14):3562-3569.
One third of patients prescribed SGLT2i or GLP-1 agonists in this sample did not fill their prescription within 30 days. Black race, male sex, older age, having greater baseline comorbidities, and having a primary care provider vs endocrinologist prescribe the index drug were associated with higher odds of primary nonadherence.
Zupa M, Feldman R, Luo J. Trends in out-of-pocket cost of glucagon, 2010-2020. JAMA Netw Open. 2022 Aug 1;5(8):e2229428.
This cross-sectional study investigates trends in out-of-pocket costs for unmixed and novel glucagon formulations among patients with Medicare Advantage and commercial insurance from 2010 to 2020.
Luo J, Gabriel N, Korytkowski M, Hernandez I, Gellad WF. Association of formulary restrictions and initiation of an SGLT2i or GLP1-RA among Medicare beneficiaries with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2022 May;187:109855.
This paper suggests having a greater number of target drugs available on less expensive formulary tiers is associated with increased odds of initiating an SGLT2i or GLP-1RA among Medicare beneficiaries with type 2 diabetes.
Click here for a more complete bibliography of Dr. Luo’s works.
Research Interests
- Pharmaceutical policy and pricing
- Pharmacoepidemiology
- Comparative effectiveness research
- Diabetes medications, insulin