# Elisabetta Patorno
**Elisabetta Patorno** (MD, DrPH, MPH) is an Italian-trained physician and pharmacoepidemiologist who studies the safety and effectiveness of medications in routine clinical care.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Field | Pharmacoepidemiology[1](https://profiles.ucla.edu/elisabetta.patorno) |
| Current position | Professor of Medicine, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, since January 2026[1](https://profiles.ucla.edu/elisabetta.patorno) • [2](https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisabetta-patorno-39b389181) |
| Program role | Founding Co-Director and Principal Investigator, Program in Pharmacoepidemiology, UCLA[1](https://profiles.ucla.edu/elisabetta.patorno) • [5](https://www.uclahealth.org/departments/medicine/research/pharmacoepi/our-research) |
| Training | MD (magna cum laude) and Preventive Medicine residency, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia; MPH and doctorate in Pharmacoepidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health[6](https://www.radcliffecardiology.com/authors/elisabetta-patorno?language_content_entity=en) • [1](https://profiles.ucla.edu/elisabetta.patorno) |
| Signature work | "Lithium Use in Pregnancy and the Risk of Cardiac Malformations," New England Journal of Medicine, 2017[3](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5667676/) |
| Method specialty | Trial emulation with claims and electronic health record data, using confounding-adjustment methods for non-interventional studies[4](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10130954/) • [6](https://www.radcliffecardiology.com/authors/elisabetta-patorno?language_content_entity=en) |
| Recognition | Fellow of the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology; NIH K08 career development award; Diabetes Care editorial board[1](https://profiles.ucla.edu/elisabetta.patorno) • [7](https://grantome.com/index.php/grant/NIH/K08-AG055670-04) |
## Education and training
Patorno graduated magna cum laude with a [Doctor of Medicine](https://www.edgepedia.org/doctor-of-medicine) degree from the University of Modena and [Reggio Emilia](https://www.edgepedia.org/reggio-emilia) in Italy, where she also completed her residency training in Preventive Medicine.[6](https://www.radcliffecardiology.com/authors/elisabetta-patorno?language_content_entity=en) She then earned a Master of Public Health and a doctorate in Pharmacoepidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health,[6](https://www.radcliffecardiology.com/authors/elisabetta-patorno?language_content_entity=en) completing the DrPH in Epidemiology/Pharmacoepidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.[1](https://profiles.ucla.edu/elisabetta.patorno) A grant record describes her as a preventive medicine physician and pharmacoepidemiologist by training.[7](https://grantome.com/index.php/grant/NIH/K08-AG055670-04)
## Career
Her Harvard career followed a dated progression. At [Brigham and Women's Hospital](https://www.edgepedia.org/brigham-and-womens-hospital) she served as Director of PROMISE, a research faculty group of the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and [Pharmacoeconomics](https://www.edgepedia.org/pharmacoeconomics).[8](https://www.bwhpromise.org/our-team.html) In January 2026 she moved to UCLA as Professor of Medicine and founding Co-Director of the Program in Pharmacoepidemiology in the Department of Medicine, where she is also Principal Investigator.[1](https://profiles.ucla.edu/elisabetta.patorno) • [5](https://www.uclahealth.org/departments/medicine/research/pharmacoepi/our-research)
## Representative work
Her 2017 cohort study Lithium Use in [Pregnancy](https://www.edgepedia.org/pregnancy) and the Risk of Cardiac Malformations, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, examined 1,325,563 Medicaid pregnancies delivering live-born infants between 2000 and 2010, including 663 first-trimester lithium-exposed pregnancies.[3](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5667676/) Cardiac malformations occurred in 16 of 663 lithium-exposed infants (2.41%) versus 15,251 of 1,322,955 unexposed infants (1.15%), an adjusted risk ratio of 1.65 (95% CI, 1.02 to 2.68); results were similar against lamotrigine-exposed infants (27 of 1,945, or 1.39%).[3](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5667676/) The study concluded that first-trimester lithium was associated with increased cardiac malformation risk, including [Ebstein's anomaly](https://www.edgepedia.org/ebsteins-anomaly), but that the magnitude was smaller than previously postulated, and it was funded by the [National Institute of Mental Health](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-institute-of-mental-health).[3](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5667676/) In an author's account of the findings, the increase was described as roughly one additional case of cardiac malformation per 100 live births, consistent with a dose-dependent association, and substantially smaller than estimates from the 1970s International Register of Lithium Babies.[9](https://medicalresearch.com/lithium-use-in-pregnancy-and-the-risk-of-cardiac-malformations/)
## Methods: real-world data and trial emulation
Patorno's group studies medication safety and comparative effectiveness in real-world patients, applying advanced epidemiologic and statistical methods for confounding adjustment in non-interventional studies.[1](https://profiles.ucla.edu/elisabetta.patorno) • [6](https://www.radcliffecardiology.com/authors/elisabetta-patorno?language_content_entity=en)
The clearest demonstration of the approach is the RCT-DUPLICATE project.[4](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10130954/) It emulated 30 completed and 2 ongoing randomized trials of medications using new-user cohort designs with propensity score matching in three US claims databases (Optum Clinformatics, MarketScan, and Medicare).[4](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10130954/) Among the 16 trials for which close emulation of the design elements defining the research question (PICOT) was not possible with insurance claims data, agreement was weaker (Pearson r, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.00 to 0.83; 56% of emulations met statistical significance, and 50% agreed with the trial estimates).[4](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10130954/) These results quantify where emulated trials diverge from randomized evidence: agreement was weaker when the target trial's design could not be mirrored in the claims data.
## Recent developments
According to the UCLA Health program page, the move to UCLA in January 2026 established the Program in Pharmacoepidemiology there; the research agenda includes which glucose-lowering medications patients with type 2 diabetes should take, including the PCORI-funded CER-4-T2D study comparing four second-line pharmacological strategies in type 2 diabetes with moderate cardiovascular disease.[1](https://profiles.ucla.edu/elisabetta.patorno) • [5](https://www.uclahealth.org/departments/medicine/research/pharmacoepi/our-research) At the 2025 ISPE Annual Meeting, then affiliated with Brigham and Women's Hospital, she presented an emulation of a modified [GRADE trial](https://www.edgepedia.org/grade-trial) on the comparative effectiveness of current glucose-lowering medications in type 2 diabetes.[10](https://2025ispe.eventscribe.net/ajaxcalls/presenterInfo.asp?PresenterId=2169656)
## Roles beyond research
She is a Fellow of the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology (FISPE) and serves on the Editorial Board of Diabetes Care.[1](https://profiles.ucla.edu/elisabetta.patorno) She held an NIH Career Development Award (K08) as a preventive medicine physician and pharmacoepidemiologist in the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology at Brigham and Women's Hospital.[7](https://grantome.com/index.php/grant/NIH/K08-AG055670-04)
## References
1. [Elisabetta Patorno | UCLA Profiles](https://profiles.ucla.edu/elisabetta.patorno)
2. [Elisabetta Patorno | LinkedIn profile (appointment dates)](https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisabetta-patorno-39b389181)
3. [Lithium Use in Pregnancy and the Risk of Cardiac Malformations (NEJM, 2017)](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5667676/)
4. [Emulation of Randomized Clinical Trials With Nonrandomized Database Analyses (JAMA, 2023)](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10130954/)
5. [Our Research - Program in Pharmacoepidemiology | UCLA Health](https://www.uclahealth.org/departments/medicine/research/pharmacoepi/our-research)
6. [Elisabetta Patorno | Radcliffe Cardiology](https://www.radcliffecardiology.com/authors/elisabetta-patorno?language_content_entity=en)
7. [NIH K08 AG055670 - Novel Approaches to Monitor the Safety and Effectiveness of Newly Marketed Diabetes Medications in Older Adults](https://grantome.com/index.php/grant/NIH/K08-AG055670-04)
8. [Our Team - PROMISE (Brigham and Women's Hospital)](https://www.bwhpromise.org/our-team.html)
9. [MedicalResearch.com | Lithium Use in Pregnancy and Risk of Fetal Cardiac Malformations](https://medicalresearch.com/lithium-use-in-pregnancy-and-the-risk-of-cardiac-malformations/)
10. [2025 ISPE Annual Meeting presenter record](https://2025ispe.eventscribe.net/ajaxcalls/presenterInfo.asp?PresenterId=2169656)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Life and health › Life and health scientists › Medical and health researchers › Clinical pharmacology researchers › Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety*
*Initially written Sep 21, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 25, 2026; Oct 15, 2026 · Last review: Sep 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license