FROM TESTIFYING AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL TO LEADING RESEARCH AND CLINICAL ORGANIZATIONS, CU FACULTY ARE MOVERS AND SHAKERS

This spring, Assistant Professor Kelly E. Anderson, PhD, MPP, watched as drug maker Ely Lilly slashed insulin prices – a move to make insulin more accessible to millions of Americans.

“It was a watershed moment,” she said.

Dr. Anderson, a nationally recognized leader in pharmaceutical outcomes research, has spent her career focused on public policy, and by extension public health, improvement. After years of research, testifying, and offering expert opinions on the cost of pharmaceuticals, the insulin price drop was a sign that her work was making an impact.

“It’s that moment of knowing that my research, Dr. Brett McQueen’s research, research from academics across the country, patient groups raising the issue, clinicians raising this issue, advocacy, it’s rewarding to see that there is a possibility of improving care for patients with diabetes,” Dr. Anderson said. “That all of these voices and all of this research has led to change, rather than shouting into a void. For me, it makes me hopeful that this is possible for other kinds of medications and other populations.”

The watershed moment this year happened for faculty across CU Pharmacy. Robert Page, PharmD, saw his work thrust into the spotlight when he published multiple articles on cardiovascular health and cannabis use. His work was republished more times in 2022 than any other CU Pharmacy faculty member, and in the fall, he was named the American College of Cardiology Colorado Chapter, Educator of the Year Award.

“I am the first pharmacist to win this,” he said, “and was completely surprised.”

Dr. Page went on to be selected as an official reviewer for the American Heart Association’s stance on the FDA Nonprescription Drug Product with an Additional Condition for Nonprescription Use Rule, and was selected by the American Heart Association to be on the writing panel for the AHA Health Policy Statement on Smokeless Tobacco.

Our experts were not limited to national boards. Jacci Bainbridge, PharmD, testified to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland about the importance of recognizing cannabis as a medication to broaden research efforts and provide evidence-based recommendations, reinforcing our expertise at an international level.

The list goes on.

Molly Huntsman, PhD, was appointed to the NIH Clinical Neuroplasticity and Neurotransmitters (CNNT) Study Section in the National Institutes of Health’s Center for Scientific Review; Jed Lampe, PhD, was appointed to the NIH Xenobiotic and Nutrient Disposition and Action (XNDA) Study Section in the National Institutes of Health’s Center for Scientific Review; Kavita Nair, PhD, represented CU Pharmacy at Neurology on the Hill, in which she met with Congress on legislative issues important for patients with neurological disease.

CU Pharmacy’s team of top-notch researchers and clinicians continues to see growth and make change in their fields – in and out of the classroom. We can’t wait to see what they do next.