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University of South Florida College of Pharmacy
Huge strides for the USF Health Taneja College of Pharmacy
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USF Health’s pharmacy program made significant strides in the past year, continuing to advance quality education and student experience across Florida. It was clearly a year of highs and lows.
Our biggest news: A generous $10 million gift boosted our efforts and gave us a new name – the USF Health Taneja College of Pharmacy.
And our biggest hurdle: COVID-19. Like the rest of the world, our program had to make swift adjustments to keep our students on track while facing a global pandemic that forced us all to work and learn remotely.
Across the past three months, we were reminded just how important our roles in pharmacy are – as part of health care teams, teachers, researchers and career pharmacists, and now as experts in the surge to treat and halt COVID-19.
We are proud that our program prepares our students for the resiliency they just displayed. Through interdisciplinary experiences and collaborative approaches to patient care, we prepare them to work together with other health professionals during “normal” times, and this skill set was undoubtedly necessary during this pandemic.
Here are some highlights of our past year.
USF Announces $10 Million Gift to Name the USF Health Taneja College of Pharmacy
In August 2019, the University of South Florida announced it had received a $10 million gift from Taneja Family Foundation to name the USF Health Taneja College of Pharmacy. The donation, made through the USF Foundation, is the largest philanthropic gift to a pharmacy school in the
state of Florida.
As result of the gift, the Taneja College of Pharmacy aims to move into the new USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute facility in downtown Tampa, which opened in January 2020. Pharmacy students are tentatively expected to start classes there in fall of 2021.
At a special announcement ceremony Aug. 16 inside the Amalie Arena in downtown Tampa, community and university leaders, students, friends and supporters heard news of the gift and its impact on the young pharmacy college.
“This is a thrilling moment and it is an honor to be here to celebrate another important milestone for USF, one of the fastest-rising universities in the country,” said USF President Steve Currall. “Jugal and Manju Taneja share a passion for education, for giving back to their community, and for transforming the health care system for future generations. This gift will do so much for the trajectory of USF’s success — advancing innovation at our College of Pharmacy and elevating the academic stature of the entire university. Therefore, I am pleased to announce that in recognition of this transformational gift, the USF Health College of Pharmacy will now be known as the Taneja College of Pharmacy.”
The USF Health College of Pharmacy was established by the Florida Board of Governors in 2009 and welcomed its charter class in August 2011. From the start, the pharmacy program set out to build an innovative program that would be a pacesetter in both pharmacy curriculum and clinical experience. Since opening to the charter class of 53 students, the college has steadily progressed with key accreditation and academic milestones. Today, the Taneja College of Pharmacy welcomes 100 new students each year for its Pharm.D. program, and has expanded its offerings to include five master’s degree programs.
Already a leader for attracting Florida’s best pharmacy students, the appeal of USF’s pharmacy school will grow greater with this philanthropic endorsement, said Kevin B. Sneed, Pharm.D., dean of the Taneja College of Pharmacy and senior associate vice president for USF Health.
“This year we celebrate 10 years since the Florida Board of Governors approved the opening of our college. From the very beginning, we set out to build a college built for the future of healthcare, and not simply exist in the past. With the generosity of Mr. Taneja, we will now have the opportunity to build a new home that allows us to truly build the pharmacist clinician of the future.
“Alongside our Morsani College of Medicine, and the Col-
leges of Nursing, Public Health, our School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences, and our Physician Assistant program, the Taneja College of Pharmacy is one of the best positioned pharmacy schools in the country to achieve true interprofessional education, creating the best possible trained workforce for the future,” Dr. Sneed said.
The gift marks a huge milestone for the young school and validates the innovative education experience offered to USF pharmacy students, he said.
This drive to revolutionize how pharmacists are trained is what attracted the Tanejas to USF.
“The way that technology is changing, the old way of compounding, the old way of discovering medicines, are going to go away,” Jugal Taneja said. “Now, medicines are going to be targeted for a particular disease. And pharmacists are going to play a big, big role in this. And for that, you have to educate 21st century pharmacists and clinicians. That’s what we come here today to do.
“Making money makes you happy but when you give money to a cause, to an institution, or to places where money is needed, you gain a special kind of satisfaction. The other day when we signed the gift agreement, with Dr. Lockwood and Dr. Sneed, Manju and I were both going out and we looked at each other. We were much happier and we were $10 million less! But we didn’t feel that – we felt $10 million richer. I often believe in people. Machines don’t make money – people make money. If I ever lost money, it was because it was to a bad man. Not today. We are putting money in very safe hands.”
USF Health MCOM, PT, and Pharmacy Make Gains in USN&WR Rankings
The USF Health’s Taneja College of Pharmacy was among several USF Health graduate programs to have significant gains in this year’s rankings from U.S. News & World Report (U.S. News).
In the U.S. News 2021 Best Graduate Schools list released March 17, the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, TCOP, and the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences all moved up in rank. These improvements all highlight advances USF Health has experienced on the national stage, especially over the past five years. ■ #47 in Medical Schools for Research: The USF Health
Morsani College of Medicine broke into the top 50 for
U.S. medical schools for research, moving up a seismic five spots from last year, from #52 to #47. ■ #49 in Physical Therapy: The School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences shifted a remarkable 30 spots, going from #79 to #49. ■ #68 in Pharmacy: TCOP moved from #77 to #68.
And the USF Health College of Nursing maintained their positions in the top 50 for both its master’s and doctor of nursing practice programs.
U.S. News does not provide new rankings for all graduate programs each year, so the USF Health College of Public Health maintained its top 25 position, ranking #16.
“These improvements provide clear and unequivocal evidence of the sustained and disciplined commitment by all of us at USF Health to our pursuit of excellence in everything we do,” said Charles Lockwood, MD, MHCM, senior vice president for USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine.
“Over the past five years, we have seen a dramatic increase in the competitiveness of our students, impressive increases in our research funding, and rising peer assessment scores from the leadership of other leading universities. Now more than ever, it is fitting that we together honor and celebrate this national recognition of our growing programs.”
Pharmacy Hosts Interprofessional Research Group
In May 2019, the USF Health Taneja College of Pharmacy hosted a Interprofessional Translational Research Day, bringing together faculty from across disciplines to forge new collaborations.
Setting the tone for collaborative discovery, Charles Lockwood, MD, MHCM, senior vice president for USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine, urged faculty to find common themes within colleagues’ research.
“As a country, we are in a prime position to advance drug discovery and breakthrough treatments. The United States is already the world’s largest and most advanced pharmaceutical market. We are a behemoth – annual expenditures on pharmaceuticals now account for $500 billion, or about 16.7 percent of total U.S. health care spending.
But what we are facing today is a slowing of our progress – perhaps pointing first to the flat, or even shrinking, federal grant funding. Although USF has fared amazingly well in national research expenditure rankings, we are feeling the impact of that slowing progress.
To remain competitive in a global research environment and to ensure that our return on investment outweighs the time and resources poured into research, we must take action to restructure our research enterprise – we must lower the costs of research while improving its quality and outcomes.
One of my top priorities at USF Health has always been to add value to all the research we do – basic science, translational and clinical – to ensure that it helps improve patient outcomes while lowering costs.
More than ever before, this requires a keen focus on several variables.
It requires public-private partnerships to speed the translation of discoveries from bench to bedside, and to build commercialization opportunities that generate revenue and create new companies and jobs.
It requires promoting philanthropy to establish robust research endowments.
It requires creating new drugs, diagnostics and devices that dramatically improve quality of life while lowering costs, rather than just marginally improving outcomes at high costs.
And it requires developing our own, as well as recruiting new, top-level researchers in areas of NIH funding priorities – something that will be accelerated by the new MCOM and USFH-HI co-located downtown, and offering a ripple effect felt across all USF Health colleges.
At the heart of all of these variables is collaborative, crossdiscipline work.
There are ample ways we can capitalize on interdisciplinary research opportunities within the College of Pharmacy, within USF Health, and across our university.
And timing could not be better.
Within the pharmacy profession, for example, personalized health care using genetic testing is becoming available within retail pharmacy settings. Additional offerings of genome sequencing now cost under $1,000, and the results can be used to link a person’s genes with personalized, specific treatment to improve overall health outcomes. Patients are working directly with pharmacists to select the best drugs based on their DNA profile. Nanotechnology, pharmacogenomics, bioinformatics – there are so many innovative approaches on our horizon.
Our own, young College of Pharmacy has seen great strides, as well. In the past two years, Pharmacy has received two multi-million R01 grants, and last year’s overall research funding increased by 70 percent compared to the year before.
You are also inspiring the next generation of pharmacistscientists by offering a solid foundation for conducting research that your graduates can use throughout their careers.
Anyone who knows me knows that I am passionately committed to research. And our dedicated scientists in Nursing, Public Health, Pharmacy and Medicine are as equally committed as I am, so I know there is amazing opportunity for greater cross-collaboration here at USF Health.
We have more than 800 faculty among our colleges. We bring in more than $330 million in research. We’ve earned nearly half of the patents at USF. We have a supportive Research Office that aids in grant applications and offers a wide range of core services like biostatistics, epidemiology, research methodology, flow cytometry, microscopy, and even small animal imaging. And we just opened a new centralized clinical trials center.
There is support and encouragement for you all.
I urge you to connect with your colleagues, today and beyond this event, and find the common threads, the themes that will spark new work, and new discovery.
This is how true innovation works – interprofessionally. USF Health Takes COVID-19 Testing to Hillsborough Neighborhoods
University of South Florida Health teamed up with Hillsborough County to offer COVID-19 testing to residents in several neighborhood community centers. The effort is meant to make COVID-19 coronavirus testing as convenient as possible. The USF Health provider teams use nasopharyngeal swabs to collect specimens. Testing is now available for all, with or without symptoms.
There are three community sites with interprofessional teams from USF Health. They include: ■ Lee Davis Community Resource Center. ■ Plant City Community Resource Center. ■ SouthShore Community Resource Center.
Taneja College of Pharmacy clinical faculty volunteered at various sites throughout May and June. As licensed clinicians, and with new orders from both the governor of Florida and the federal HHS, the faculty were actively engaged in nasopharygeal swabbing of patients, management of sample medium, and putting information into commercial laboratory databases. This community outreach by TCOP clinical faculty couldn’t be more timely, and was greatly appreciated by both residents and county officials. Each site tested at least 300 people each day.
USF Creates Pandemic Response Research Network
USF’s COVID-19 Rapid Response Research Grants program selected 28 projects to receive funding for research on potential treatments, technologies and social mitigation strategies in the wake of the global pandemic.
USF required projects to be interdisciplinary, with TCOP faculty involved with various teams. Many of the projects involve patented or patent-pending technologies developed at USF. Four TCOP were awarded the USF Rapid Response Research Grants., including:
■ Remdesivir Ophthalmic Drops for Prevention of Cov
id-19 Transmission Via Eye
PI: Dr. Vijaykumar Sutariya, TCOP
The Center for Diseases and Control recommends Remdesivir as therapeutic option for patients with COVID-19. A study from China suggests that up to one third of people hospitalized with coronavirus experienced viral pink eye or conjunctivitis. The virus can spread by touching fluid from an infected person’s eyes or from objects that carry the fluids. The researchers plan to formulate and characterize Remdesivir ophthalmic as a potential for prevention of transmission of the diseases via eye and the potential for treatment for conjunctivitis caused by the infection.
■ A 2-in-1 Nano-aerosols Development to Mitigate COV
ID-19 Spread in Both Humans and PPE
PI: Dr. Alya Limayem, TCOP
The project would develop nanocomponents that have demonstrated effects on multi-drug resistance bacteria and are a promising agent against virus replication. The project will explore if the nanocomponents can be coated onto PPE as a preventive measure and possibly even in humans.
■ The USF Rapid-Risk Assessment and Intervention for
COVID-19
PI: Dr. Usha Menon, College of Nursing (Co-Investigator: Dr. Kevin B. Sneed, TCOP)
The human behavioral response during a pandemic illness such as COVID-19 is not well understood, and the abundance of information shared through various channels can reduce the public’s ability to identify and adhere to evidence-based guidelines. The project will lead an interdisciplinary study to analyze risk behavior, risk mitigation and chronic disease management and work to deliver tailored messaging to encourage safer behaviors among individuals at risk for infection.
■ Detrimental Effects of Hyperoxia on COVID-19 Infect
ed Mice Model
PI: Dr. Siva Panguluri, TCOP
Existing data on SARS-Cov-2 patients indicates an association of mechanical ventilation with the increasing death rates. USF researchers will investigate whether these high mortality rates are due to the viral infection or a condition called hyperoxia, where an excessive oxygen supply can cause heart damage. The study will determine how COVID-19 affects heart function and whether hyperoxia during mechanical ventilator treatment for COVID-19 exacerbates further damage.
■ Magic Bullet Antivirals for Prevention of COVID-19
PI: Dr. Shyam Mohapatra, Morsani College of Medicine and TCOP
The project would develop a proprietary nanomaterial recently discovered by the research team for the treatment of the common and highly contagious respiratory syncytial virus, which often strikes very young children, for the treatment of COVID-19. Like RSV, the novel coronavirus lands on the nasal mucous membrane. The researchers are working to create a spray that neutralizes the virus and inhibits viral replication.
TCOP Hosts First Virtual Graduation and Awards Ceremony
On May 1, TCOP livestreamed the virtual Medallion and Awards Ceremony in celebration of the class of 2020. It was the first time in the college’s history to have not only hosted a virtual Medallion Ceremony, but to have degrees conferred for 93 graduating students.
Dr. Steven Currall, USF’s newly minted seventh president, was present to confer the virtual degrees to the students. This was followed by an individual recognition of each student, their legacy of participation in the college, and presentation of awards. The following students received departmental awards chosen faculty and administration and Class awards chosen by students themselves:
Class Awards: ■ Deena Albashir, BULL-iever Award: This award isgivento the student who has taken ownership of the four pillars; leadership, genomics, geriatrics, informatics and embraced the spirit of inter-professionalism of USF
Health. ■ Shane Laufer, Prescription Strength Award: This award is given to the student whovalues teamwork and helps to unify groups of people toward a common goal. ■ Heather Lyons, Unsung Hero Award: This award is presented to the student whohelps peers, faculty and staff and exemplifies leadership, commitment and strong ethics. ■ Jay Suresh Patel, Artistic Creator Award: This award is provided to the students whouses their creativity to add value to their academic performance and that of their peers through technology, artistic design and videography, instrumental or vocal talents. ■ Randy Rush, Contagious Enthusiasm Award: This award is given tothestudent whoconsistently provides encouragement and uplifting sentiments.
Departmental Awards: ■ Arun Abraham, Outstanding Community Service & Extracurricular Involvement: This award is given to the student whovolunteers for community-based events and encourages others to participate. ■ Spencer Heath, Outstanding Scholarship & Research: This award is given to the studentwhodemonstrates well balanced academic and research accomplishments. ■ Ruxandra Ivascu, Outstanding Leadership: This award is given to the student who inspires others through leadership, integrity and professionalism. ■ Michael Lake, Outstanding Professionalism: This award is given to the student whopromotes advancement of the profession and of inter-professional collaboration. ■ Shawn D. Somers, Outstanding Change Agent: This award is given to the student whois a leader and collaborator on new conceptswithin the classroom, team projects and individual work. Ruxandra Ivascu and Brittany Smith, Dean’s Award. This award is given tothe student of the Dean’s choosing. Laysa Marleen Vasquez, Student Affairs Award This award is given to the student who values include holistic growth and development, lifelong learning, engagement, leadership, academic achievement, integrity and a dedication to excellence. Frankie Leigh Patrick, Executive Award This award is given to the studentwith the highest academic achievement. Spencer Heath, Mylan Excellence in Pharmacy Award This award is given to the student as anacknowledgment ofacademic achievement, personal motivation and a unique ability to communicate drug information.
TCOP Aims to Increase Underrepresented Groups in Clinical Research
TCOP has a growing research profile and is home to a dedicated community outreach program known as WECARE, or the Workgroup to Enhance Community Advocacy and Research Engagement.
The goal of WE-CARE is to achieve health equity by educating, engaging and empowering the community, particularly members underrepresented in research and clinical trials, to overcome health inequities that lead to reduced health outcomes for underserved communities. TCOP and WECARE received a $100,000 grant to expand activities into the Tampa Bay community to achieve this ambitious goal.
The college will partner with various community-based and faith-based organizations to identify potential candidates to participate in various types of research being conducted at USF. By broadening diversity of clinical research participants, researchers will be better able to prove efficacy of drug therapies and study beneficial behavioral interventions that serve people from all communities.
WE-CARE also conducts conversations among community members, youth, researchers, clinicians and local leaders regarding effective strategies for engaging all populations in the research process; health equity; and how to optimally, efficiently and effectively address health disparities. The WECARE team is composed of: Dr. Angela Hill, Hiram Green, Kristy Andre, Maisha Standifer, and Executive Director Dr. Kevin B. Sneed.
P R O U D L Y P E O P L E “ P A S S I O N A T E P R O T E C T I N G P H A R M A C Y P R O F E S S I O N ”
130th Annual Meeting and Convention Schedule
A Cyberspace Adventure!
Thursday, July 9 PASSIONATE PEOPLE PROUDLY PROTECTING PHARMACY 8:00am-8:30am Welcome and Instructions, FPA President David Mackarey
8:30am-9:00am FPA Annual Business Meeting
9:00am-11:00am
11:00am-11:30am
11:30am-1:00pm
1:00pm-2:00pm
2:00pm-2:30pm
2:30pm-4:30pm
Break
Legislative Update 2020, 1.5 hrs GCE/TECH
Michael Jackson
KEYNOTE ADDRESS, 1 hr GCE/TECH/STU Emily Jerry’s Story - “From Heartbreak to Victory”- Saving Lives
by Preventing Tragedies Before They Happen! Christopher Jerry
Break
FPA House of Delegates Second Session
Installation of House Leadership Presentation of House Awards Recognition of 50 Year Pharmacists
Friday, July 10 PASSION FOR THE PROFESSION 7:30am-7:45am Welcome and Instructions
7:45am-9:15am
9:20am-10:50am Putting Nutrition and Supplementation Therapy Into Pharmacy Practice, 1.5 hrs GCE/TECH/RC
Lynn Lafferty
Nutrition Plans to Improve Overall Health, 1.5 hrs GCE/TECH/RC
Marile Santamarina
11:00am-12:00pm
12:00pm-1:00pm
1:00pm-2:30pm
2:35pm-4:05pm Poster Presentations, 1 hr GCE/TECH
Exhibit Showcase
Biologics and Biosimilars: The Wave of the Future? 1.5 hrs GCE/TECH/RC
Dana A. Strachan and Harm Maarsingh
Multiple Sclerosis: The Disease of Many Faces, 1.5 hrs GCE/TECH/RC
Lillian Smith
7:30am-7:45am Welcome and Instructions
7:45am-9:15am Opioids: Past, Present and Future, 1.5 hrs GCE/RC
Joshua D. Lenchus
9:20am-10:50am
11:00am-1:00pm
1:00pm-2:30pm
2:35pm-4:05pm
4:15pm
5:00pm Marijuana – From Past to Present, 1.5 hrs GCE/RC
Carol Motycka
Exhibit Showcase
Oncology Pharmacy 101: What You Need to Know, 1.5 hrs GCE/TECH/RC
Irvin Molina
Pharmacogenomics 101: An Overview of Key Concepts and Case Study 1.5 hrs GCE/TECH/RC
Sue Paul
Pharmacy Foundation Student Awards Event
Presentation of FPA Awards
Sunday, July 12
PROTECT OUR PROFESSION
7:00am Welcome and Instructions
7:45am-9:45am
9:50am-10:50am
11:25am-12:25pm
12:30pm-2:30pm Reducing Medication Errors through Implementing a Continuous Quality Improvement Program, 2 hrs GCE/TECH
Michael Jackson
HIV/AIDS Update, 1 hr GCE/TECH
Briana Journee
Human Trafficking in Pharmacy, 1 hr GCE/TECH
Ann Pimental Kerr
Validation and Counseling of Prescriptions for Controlled Substance and Opioids, 2 hrs GCE/TECH
Bob Parrado
FPA 130 th Annual Meeting and Convention
July 9-12, 2020 Comforts of Your Home 1 5 , Participant Information 4 Daily Education Registration Name: _____________________________________________________ Name _______________________________________________ Daily registration includes continuing education and any event offered the day selected. Handouts will be posted on the Badge Name: _______________________________________________ Address______________________________________________ website the week of the convention. Mailing Address: ____________________________________________ City, State, Zip_________________________________________ Phone___ ________________________ Before July 3 Amount City, State, Zip: _____________________________________________ Email________________________________________________ FPA Member $165 $_______ Phone: (W) (H)_______________________ Practice Setting________________________________________ Fax: ______________________________________________________ License: PS______________ PU _____________RPT_________ License: PS________________ PU_________ Other State________ NABP e-profile#__________________ Date of Birth___________ Emergency Contact Name/Number_________________________ Non Member $215 $_______ Member Technician $65 $_______ Non Member Technician $90 $_______ Member Student $50 $_______
2 Registration
Registration includes up to 21.5 hours Continuing Education
Credit, House of Delegates, Poster Presentations, Exhibit
Showcase, Cyber Social, and Installation of Officers.
Handouts will be available the week of the convention on the website, www.floridapharmacy.org. Before July 3 Amount__ 2 FPA Member $345 $_______
Non Member $525 $_______
Pharmacist BEST Value $540 $_______
Member Technician $155 $_______
Non Member Technician $175 $_______
Technician BEST Value $185 $_______
Student Member $150 $_______ 3 Non Member Student $170 $_______ Non Member Student $70 $_______
Please select the day(s) you will attend:
Thursday
Payment 5
Friday Saturday Sunday
Total Enclosed: $______
Check (To: FPA) AMEX Discover MasterCard Visa
Account # ____________________________________________
Security Code _________________ Expiration Date __________
Billing Address ________________________________________
Signature ____________________________________________
(BEST Value includes Registration & Membership)
House of Delegates
Before June 11 Amount House of Delegates $165 (Non-convention registrants)
Four Ways to Register Mail: FPA, 610 North Adams Street, Tallahassee, FL 32301 Phone: 850-222-2400 Fax: 850-561-6758 Web: www.floridapharmacy.org Schedule and Fee Subject to Change
