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Synapse The UCSF Student Newspaper
Thursday, March 13, 2014
NEWS
Translational Medicine Degree Offers All-in-One Training
synapse.ucsf.edu
Volume 58, Number 23
NEWS
Transforming Community Pharmacy
A look inside the new Walgreens at UCSF Parnassus
UCSF-UC Berkeley joint MTM program in developing medical technologies
By Linda Chen Staff Writer
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By Alexandra Folias Contributing Writer
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or those interested in the life science industry, specific training in one expertise can be impractical, and possibly career limiting, for the multi-disciplinary aspects that make up product development. That reality is echoed in biotech job descriptions that are increasingly demanding a diverse background in healthcare, bioengineering and business, in addition to an advanced degree from an innovative program. How then can a researcher find the righttraining to prepare for a potential career beyond research? One program offering such preparation is the Master’s of Translational Medicine (MTM) run jointly by UCSF and UC Berkeley. This 11-month program is focused on training students in the multiple disciplines needed for effective translational medicine in order to turn research discoveries into products or services that address unmet clinical
Photo by Mason Tran/D4 Clinic Manager Myra Pascua, PharmD, and fourth-year pharmacy student Raymond La working at the new Walgreens in Millberry Union.
needs and improve overall health. Emphasizing the use of engineering and scientific principles to solve biological questions (bioengineering), the MTM program is designed to accelerate early translational medicine. Before this program, training comprised of an advanced degree (MBA, PhD, PharmD or MD) coupled with years of industry or clinical experience—a long road that may lead to excess training in some areas, and a lack of training in others. Do you already know that you want to be
involved in the development of new medical technologies? Maybe you don’t have a specific unmet need in mind, but you have a strong entrepreneurial interest in how medical products are created. Before deciding on a career path, it is worth taking the time to define the specific areas of interest, and explore emerging options that offer more focused and concentrated training. Executive Director Kyle Kurpinski, PhD, describes how the MTM program “was cre-
ALL-IN-ONE TRAINING » PAGE 7
SPORTS
Pharmacy Faculty Defeat Students in Hoops Contest By Niki Arab Staff Writer
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late surge by the School of Pharmacy faculty team helped them come from behind in the final quarter to beat the pharmacy students, 37-33. The second annual American Pharmacy Association-Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP) Student-Faculty Basketball Game was held on March 7. Last year the students won the game in a buzzer beater. Four faculty members in the School of Pharmacy came to play and two came to support. Faculty players included Drs. Lisa Kroon, Conan MacDougall, Elaine Law and Philip Chan. Drs. Marcus Ferrone and Christie Robinson cheered their colleagues on to victory. The students outnumbered the facul-
HOOPS CONTEST » PAGE 3
Photo by Nicholas Do/P2 The School of Pharmacy faculty and student participants of the 2nd Annual American Pharmacy Association-Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP) Student-Faculty Basketball Game.
here’s something different about the new Walgreens in Millberry Union. From its clean minimalism and wideopen spaces to its frosted whites and pastel blues, the pharmacy exudes what is dubbed “the Apple Store experience.” Employees carrying iPads even greet you on your way in. But the design aesthetic hints at differences that are more than just skin deep. With merchandise pushed to the side and pharmacists and technicians placed front and center, the pharmacy physically de-emphasizes products, refocusing the community pharmacy as a viable center of healthcare. A feat more than a year in the making, Walgreens at UCSF is the result of a triple collaboration: Walgreens, the Department of Pharmaceutical Services in the UCSF Medical Center and the Department of Clinical Pharmacy in the UCSF School of Pharmacy. “The idea was how can an academic medical center, a school of pharmacy and one of the largest chains really work together to create a new vision for community pharmacy and look to study it,” said Dr. Marilyn Stebbins, Clinical Pharmacy Faculty. With the expected increase in the insured population from the Affordable Care Act, baby boomers hitting the age for multidrug therapies, and the primary care shortage, there is the drive to create a new type of pharmacy—one that tackles the increase demand for health care while delivering care in places most accessible—people’s communities. Walgreens at UCSF is a laboratory to explore how such issues might be addressed and a model for other community pharmacies. Several resources are at the disposal of the new Walgreens. The involvement of the Medical Center gives this Walgreens a terminal into their electronic Medical Record System (EMR) known as APeX. The information stored in the Walgreens’ system is woefully lacking—there are no lab results, diagnoses or anything outside a basic (and often incomplete) list of medications. APeX helps fill these data holes. With APeX, pharmacists can see a UCSF patient’s health information (height and weight, lab results, kidney function, etc.) to ensure that each person receives the correct medication at the correct dose.
WALGREENS » PAGE 5