The President's Newsletter | Issue 3

from The President's Newsletter | Issue 3

by Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

/ MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT /

DEAR MCPHS COMMUNITY,

As our cover photo aptly depicts, the bonds that we form through friendship and support have enduring qualities and are not easily weakened. That dynamic presented itself in unprecedented fashion as we welcomed our students to the opening of the fall semester. The ability of our faculty, staff, and students to engage with one another (albeit in a more controlled fashion) played out in the classrooms, the labs, the hallways, and the residence halls.

The summer months were long and filled with uncertainty as we tracked the course of the Delta variant. However, our Community never wavered in its confidence that our reopening plans, grounded in our commitment to a safe and healthy campus, would continue to be successful. It was right.

Our vaccination policies and very high participation levels along with our extraordinarily low COVID-19 positivity rate and stringent safety protocols have served us well. They have allowed us to reconnect, and we should all be very proud.

Our steadfast resilience to the impacts of the pandemic has been truly remarkable, yet we have also used this time for our University to do some self-reflection. It was clear that this seismic shift required us to reevaluate our mission and goals to ensure that our strategic priorities aligned with the changing dynamics in healthcare and higher education.

Accordingly, we conducted a thorough and collaborative evaluation of our Strategic Plan that was approved a number of years ago. Through broad outreach to our Community we were able to bring to light additional priorities that needed to be clearly defined so that work could begin. Those priorities included, among others, our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion as well as environmental sustainability. They also focused on the critical importance of alumni engagement and external collaborations. Student success and academic quality and assessment also formed the foundation of our Strategic Plan.

This new MCPHS Strategic Plan will be rolled out over the course of the next few months as we begin to prepare for our bicentennial year and weave these priorities into the fabric of our culture. This is truly a transformational time for our University, and we have never been stronger and better positioned to continue our leadership position in healthcare education. I hope you enjoy this issue as we all celebrate the remarkable people who are part of our Community and their inspiring accomplishments that tell “Our Story.”

/ COVER STORY /

A Successful Start To The Fall 2021 Term

THIS FALL TERM, MCPHS has returned to operations as usual, after a year of adapting to and overcoming challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although stringent health protocols are still in place, Community members are more united than ever, having joined their efforts to get vaccinated, maintain testing compliance, and commit to all required safety measures.

An impressive 98% of the on-campus population fulfilled the University vaccination requirement by the start of the fall 2021 semester—that includes international students who went the extra mile to plan their travels, documentation, and vaccinations all well in advance of their first classes. Despite the high number of total tests processed each week, the University has managed to sustain an extraordinarily low seven-day positivity rate of 0.120%. Perhaps the best evidence of the effectiveness of MCPHS’s COVID-19 protocols is the success of a seamless move-in day, which was supported by communications sent to students and their families on pre-arrival testing guidance. Similarly, the University’s clinics and treatment centers have reopened with extra health measures in place, such as requiring arrival tests and screening questionnaires for patients.

While the pandemic upset the way that classrooms and healthcare settings used to be, MCPHS has responded by evolving its educational model to accommodate health concerns and improve virtual learning environments. For example, class sizes have been reduced to smaller cohorts so that lecture halls and laboratories are no longer at capacity.

Classrooms have been updated with podium microphones, ceiling camera mounts, and wiring for webcam compatibility so that professors may lecture to both in-person and virtual audiences with ease. The University has invested in various software so that exams can be proctored remotely, laboratory experiments can be performed via simulation, and lectures can be recorded with closed captioning. These updates were initiated because of the pandemic, but they have created a permanently more accessible and enhanced learning environment for all students and employees. The effect has been unifying for Community members across all campuses and online programs, as we have reconnected through one shared virtual network.

The successful start to the new academic year can be attributed to all students, faculty, and staff who have made efforts to bring joy and normalcy to the Community. The University has been bustling with activity both on campus and online as students and staff take part in club meetings, volunteer services, wellness shops, and more. The uniqueness of each University experience can best be understood by reading snippets from the lives of MCPHS students themselves:

On the Boston campus, Colton Lacouture, BS (Premedical Health Studies) ’25, is a first-year student with undergraduate research positions at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Boston Children’s Hospital. He says that the world-renowned location provides students with opportunities “at their fingertips.”One of his favorite places to study is the lounge at New Residence Hall where he has a panoramic view of the city. Aside from the advantages of living in the Longwood Medical Area, Colton appreciates the faculty’s commitment to student success. “Every professor has gone out of their way to help me . . . that makes all the difference between success and stress for the student.” Colton is also involved on campus as a Brain Cell because he loves to help prospective and current students, meet alumni, and continuously learn more about the University as a whole.

**L) Jasmine Saini, PharmD ’24, and (R) Rezarta Kolludra, PharmD ’24, transferred together into the accelerated program at MCPHS Worcester.**

On the Worcester campus, a pair of roommates enjoy discovering their new stomping grounds together, having transferred from the Boston-based PharmD program to the accelerated PharmD program at MCPHS Worcester. Rezarta Kolludra, PharmD ’24, and Jasmine Saini, PharmD ’24, met each other during orientation and became inseparable soon after. In the thick of the pandemic, they continued to study together via virtual channels since Jasmine is an international student who lives in Canada when not on campus. They both are grateful to their professors for setting up virtual study sessions and discussion boards on Blackboard so that they can engage with and learn from their peers regardless of any in-person limitations that remain in place. Although they are new to the Worcester campus, they already have a favorite spot to study at the Borysek Living Center and a go-to taqueria downtown.

**Lindsay Barrows, MSOT ’22, is chair of the Coalition of Occupational Therapy Advocates for Diversity — MCPHS Chapter.**

At MCPHS Manchester, Lindsay Barrows, MSOT ’22, finds the charm of the campus to be its quaint size, enabling her to feel a strong connection with professors who are “very accessible and personable.” She says students meet between classes at the stone fireplace in Brant Hub—one classmate often brings snacks for everyone—and during lunch, she and her classmates all eat together at the picnic tables. Lindsay also praises the laboratories on campus, which are equipped with pediatric and adult living amenities. Regarding the campus surroundings, she says Manchester has many outdoor spaces, whether students want to hike the one-mile loop at Turner’s Park or watch the sunset at Lake Massabesic. She personally likes to spend her time as MCPHS’s chair of the Coalition of Occupational Therapy Advocates for Diversity organizing meetings open to all.

Online student Samson Akinyanju, MPH ’20, MBA (Healthcare Management) ’23, is a full-time clinical sleep specialist for a medical diagnostics company in addition to being a full-time graduate student. Before moving to the United States, he was a physician in Nigeria. He wanted to learn about the healthcare system on a broader scale to find solutions for financial, administrative, and medical supply challenges. At MCPHS, he obtained his Master of Public Health before continuing with the MBA program for the “niche” perspective it offered. His aim: “connect the dots between the clinical and the nonclinical aspects of medicine with the hopes that the knowledge and skills I gain will give me the opportunity to give the best to my patients.” He says that his professors are very accommodating and the curriculum is structured in a way that enables all students to grasp the concepts of the administrative world.

Just as students, faculty, and staff have joined efforts against COVID-19, so too have they come together to bring academic innovations, technological improvements, and equitable initiatives into the University. This year, the University is thriving in its recent advances, and the Community is reconnected even more strongly and more unified across the three campuses and many remote networks.

/ ACADEMIC NEWS /

CASE Reaches More Students with New Remote Model

IN RESPONSE TO THE PANDEMIC, the Center for Academic Success and Enrichment reshaped how it provides support for students, which was largely in person prior to March 2020. Associate Dean for Student Achievement and Success Tiffanie Pierce, MEd, led the effort among her colleagues by reviewing existing office procedures and developing flexible, innovative ways to support MCPHS students remotely—all while working from home themselves. Despite initial concerns that they wouldn’t be able to provide a sufficient level of support during a hectic and unprecedented time, Associate Dean Pierce and her colleagues assisted 650 more students than they had the previous year. “The pandemic truly allowed us to creatively reimagine and review best practices in the field to continue to provide quality student support to our students,” Pierce says.

The office has helped students navigate the class registration process, offered time management advice to students juggling asynchronous classes, counseled students who felt alone in their academic struggles, and helped students adjust to moving home and no longer having dedicated study spaces.

Associate Provost for Student Achievement and Success Craig Mack, EdD, says that Pierce’s leadership in student development, international education, and organizational behavior has enabled her to provide an unparalleled level of service to students and staff. “Whether it is a basic academic-related question or a more complex matter, Tiffanie and her team ensure that students get the answers they need,” he says. “She’s a role model for her 15 staff members, and her team’s positive spirit is infectious.”

NESA Clinical Director Presents on Integrative Health for Pediatric Pain Management

IN A VIRTUAL EVENT hosted by the Academy of Integrative Health & Medicine on September 29, 2021, Director of Clinical Education and Associate Professor for New England School of Acupuncture (NESA) Maria Broderick, EdD, MAOM, LicAc, presented alongside her interdisciplinary team members at the Pediatric Pain Clinic, Boston Medical Center (BMC), on an integrative health model for treating pediatric patients. They discussed the history of their innovative, interprofessional model at BMC’s Pediatric Pain Clinic, which dates back to 2010, as Maria Broderick, EdD, MAOM, LicAc well as the impact of integrative care on their patient outcomes. For example, their integrative health model at a safety net hospital has helped make pediatric pain treatment more affordable and time-manageable for underserved children with chronic diseases. Even before the inception of the pain clinic, Dr. Broderick had been delivering pediatric acupuncture at BMC since 2008, when it was part of a medical anthropology program called the Healing Landscapes Project. Now, pediatric acupuncture is widely considered a critical component of integrative medicine and a more accessible solution for treating pediatric patients with chronic pain.

NESA Accreditation Update

The New England School of Acupuncture (NESA) passed its accreditation evaluation on June 8-10, 2021, with a full, seven-year reaccreditation allowance. Noted among the School’s strengths were the cooperation and support of MCPHS administration; support of interprofessional education and engagement in interprofessional cooperation with other programs; organization that allows for peer tutoring and group study as well as individualized areas of specialization; depth of off-site clinical training programs and interdisciplinary clinics; and availability of faculty for advising, feedback, and help both during training and after students graduate. NESA had minimal areas in need of further development and was in full compliance with the 62 accreditation criteria.

Honoring Recently Retired Professor Maher

PRIOR TO RETIRING LAST SPRING, Timothy Maher, PhD, was the Chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sawyer Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Professor of Pharmacology, and Associate Dean of Graduate Studies for the School of PharmacyBoston. He received his Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmacology from MCPHS in 1980. Although his 41-year teaching career has ended, Maher will remain part of the MCPHS Community as professor emeritus. In a letter announcing the honor, President Richard J. Lessard cited Maher’s “longstanding commitment to faculty and student success and the institution as a whole” as well as his “visionary work in interdisciplinary teaching and research and interprofessional education.” In 1994, Maher was honored with the endowed Sawyer professorship. Throughout his career, he published more than 160 articles in high-impact peer-reviewed journals and had more than 450 poster presentations at local, national, and international conferences. In addition to unanimously approving Maher’s appointment in September, the Board of Trustees appointed six more retired faculty emeriti: Mary Amato, PharmD, MPH; Michael Carvalho, PharmD; Roger Denome, PhD; Alfred Garafalo, PhD; Ellen Ginsburg, PhD; and Susan Krikorian, PharmD. M

/ EMPLOYEE NEWS /

LIBRARIANS TO THE RESCUE

Not every hero of the COVID-19 pandemic is on the front lines of patient care, vaccine development, policy making, or essential services. Professionals like Associate Professor and Associate Director of University Libraries Joanne Doucette, MS, MSLIS, aren’t celebrated on the evening news, but they deserve recognition and thanks for their countless hours of pandemic-focused volunteer service. As a member of the Librarian Reserve Corps (LRC), Doucette and approximately 100 of her library-based information management colleagues across the world have played a key role in helping the scientific and healthcare communities craft timely responses to the virus.

Throughout the current crisis, Doucette and other LRC volunteers have partnered with the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) Global Outbreak Alert & Response Network to deliver continual updates to the organization’s mediated literature-searching services.

After creating a comprehensive search strategy, the LRC team has been able to efficiently prescreen scientific articles for relevance and contribute near real-time observations on publication trends. These activities have enabled the WHO to publish regular bulletins on the seroprevalence of COVID-19 worldwide—a key surveillance tool for managing the pandemic. Not that this has interfered with her day job. Throughout the pandemic, Doucette has continued to fulfill her core passion—helping students discover quality, comprehensive information that advances their research projects—a service for which the entire MCPHS Community is grateful.

/ ALUMNI NEWS /

PHYSICAL THERAPY ALUM HONORED AS OLYMPIC FLAG BEARER FOR MALTA

At the Summer 2020 Tokyo Olympics, MCPHS alum Andrew Chetcuti, DPT ’19, competed in the men’s 100-meter freestyle swim for Malta, his country of origin. He previously swam at the London Olympics in 2012 and at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016.

Not only did Chetcuti represent Malta as an athlete, but he also received the great honor of being the nation’s flag bearer during the opening ceremony of the Olympics. Bearing the flag for one’s country is an exceptional honor and one that most Olympians never get the chance to experience. This is the second time that Chetcuti was chosen among Malta’s athletes.

In addition to being an Olympic swimmer, Chetcuti also works as a physical therapist at Physio/Select Medical and Luna PT in Atlanta, GA.

YOUNG ALUM BECOMES QUINCY PUBLIC HEALTH COMMISSIONER FOLLOWING GRADUATION

This past May, Marli Caslli, MPH ’19, MS (Regulatory Affairs and Health Policy) ’21, became the Commissioner of Public Health for the City of Quincy, MA, at the impressive age of 26 years old. Caslli is a longtime resident of Quincy, having moved there from Albania at the age of five. He now leads public health initiatives for the city of 101,500 people. While his work has been largely dictated by the pandemic (for example, his department set up several successful vaccine clinics throughout the city), Caslli has also spent his short tenure organizing free skin cancer exams, blood drives, and mammogram screenings.

Additionally, Caslli worked with Assistant Professor of Public Health and Master of Public Health Program Director Carly Levy, DHS, MPH, CPH, to arrange an internship for two MCPHS students this fall. Their work with Caslli includes COVID-19 contact tracing; observing housing inspections; observing food inspections at schools, supermarkets, and retail establishments; and running a weekly nutrition program for seniors. Reflecting on his own MCPHS experience, Caslli says, “The classes, professors, and students helped me reach my full potential in public health and health policy. The professors and classes pushed you to do more and expand your knowledge about public health. It has helped me in many ways and I am fully applying many of the things I learned at MCPHS every day.”

/ PAST EVENTS /

CAMPUS LIFE FAIR: A SLICE OF MCPHS LIFE

The Center for Campus Life hosted an involvement fair titled “Find Your Slice of MCPHS Life” on Tuesday, September 7, 2021. The event took place both in person and virtually and was held in Evans Way Park from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. and via Zoom from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. More than 70 student organization officers came together to recruit new members, highlight their missions, and advertise their involvement opportunities. Likewise, many campus departments attended to advertise services and resources. The fair was intended to guide students in finding their fit and exploring student clubs, professional organizations, campus departments, on-campus job opportunities, Colleges of the Fenway experiences, community opportunities, and more. To help students navigate the plethora of offerings, the organizations were grouped into the following four pizza-themed categories: “awesome sauce” cultural, identity, and faith-based groups; “crust and believe” Campus Life Big 5, Colleges of the Fenway and MCPHS departments; “extra flavor” special interest groups; and “find the right toppings” academic, graduate, honor, and professional societies and organizations.

COF NIGHT AT FENWAY PARK

**MCPHS President Richard J. Lessard and Student Government Association Executive President Jian Weng, PharmD ’24**

On September 22, 2021, the Colleges of the Fenway (COF) collective was celebrated at Fenway Park during the Boston Red Sox game against the New York Mets. Leadership from the five colleges, including MCPHS President Richard J. Lessard and Student Government Association Executive President Jian Weng, PharmD ’24, were awarded special recognition on the jumbotron. Additionally, the COF Chorus, led by Ray Fahrner, received the honor of performing the national anthem. Pregame activities included photos on the famous baseball field and intercollegiate mingling between student and university leadership representatives. The night was capped with a satisfying victory for the Red Sox.

/ FUTURE EVENT /

“SALT IN MY SOUL” MEMOIR: A HEALTH HUMANITIES DISCUSSION

On Tuesday, November 9, 2021, the Center for Health Humanities will host a talk with Diane Shader Smith on her daughter’s posthumously published memoir, “Salt in My Soul: An Unfinished Life.” Mallory Smith, who died at the age of 25, wrote a series of diary entries spanning 10 years in which she discussed invisible and visible illness, pain management, healthcare disparities, and caregivers’ power in the quality of a patient’s life. Her story resonates with the increasingly recognized importance of including the patient narrative as part of medical education.

The virtual event will be held via Zoom from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.