The Pharmacist - Fall 2022

FROM THE DEAN

No Time for Cat Naps

BY DEAN GLEN SCHUMOCK

The first issue of The Pharmacist appeared in 1868. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time a cat has appeared on the cover! Her name is Duchess. Her owner and caretaker, also on the cover, is Lauren Forsythe. Dr. Forsythe is a veterinary pharmacist at the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Urbana and part of a growing intrasystem collaboration between our Department of Pharmacy Practice and the UIUC College of Veterinary Medicine. Veterinary pharmacy is a growing field and was identified by the college as a desired advanced pharmacy experience (APPE), especially for students in our Rural Pharmacy Program (RPHARM) at the Rockford campus. After several years of success, the collaboration expanded to include a new joint PGY1 residency in veterinary pharmacy—one of only six in the country. And Duchess gets to contribute to that training . . . when she feels like it.

The collaboration with UIUC Veterinary Medicine is one example of the ways the UIC is preparing the next generation of pharmacists. In this issue of Pharmacist, we describe

another such partnership—that with the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center. Located just across Damen Avenue from the UIC Campus, the relationship has existed for several decades and is the closest of our external affiliations. Jesse Brown VA hosts 100 pharmacy students annually on experiential rotations, and its unique clinical pharmacy practice opportunities make it among the most sought after by students. Many former students also work there, and its innovative VALOR internship program has been the foundation for a strong legacy of current and future pharmacy leaders. The pharmacy leadership team at the Jesse Brown VA—led by chief of pharmacy Isabel Sanvanson Karceski—are not only UIC alumni but are truly dedicated to the educational mission of the college and to the profession of pharmacy.

The UIC College of Pharmacy also fulfills its mission through groundbreaking research. No area of research could be more important today for practicing pharmacists than that of workplace stress and burnout. In this issue of The Pharmacist you will learn about the work of faculty

in the college who are finding ways to identify and test the effectiveness of organizational remedies for pharmacist burnout. Led by Dr. Brianna McQuade, the team of researchers and clinicians found a startlingly high rate of burnout among health-system pharmacists during the COVID-19 pandemic and reported on coping methods and solutions to promote resiliency. It is this kind of scholarship, combined with advocacy, that can make real impact.

Our annual White Coat Ceremony, also included in this issue, celebrated the 193 P1 students from 19 states/ territories and 26 countries who comprise the Class of 2026. This diverse, highly talented group promises to set new records of excellence and achievement on their way to leading the profession. They will do it with your help. Your support, guidance, and mentorship in the classroom or workplace is critical. And your support of scholarships and other programs will allow them to succeed.

Whether through partnerships and opportunities or research and advocacy, the UIC College of Pharmacy is leading the way to find better ways to educate current students and to advance the scope and methods of practicing pharmacists and more. We thank you for making it possible. Our Digital Edition issuu.com/uicpharmacy

Continuing Education Opportunities

The University of Illinois Chicago College of Pharmacy Office of Continuing Education and Meeting Services (OCEMS) offers continuing education courses for pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmaceutical representatives. We have also partnered with the College of Medicine and UI Health to offer a new REMS academic detailing program. See below for more information.

PHARMACY TECHNICIAN CE PROGRAMS

Over 20 ACPE-approved pharmacy technician continuing education programs are available. For more information, please visit go.uic.edu/PharmTechCE

PHARMACIST CE PROGRAMS

Over 30 ACPE-approved pharmacist continuing education programs are available. For more information, please visit go.uic.edu/PharmacistCE.

SPECIALTY PHARMACY PROGRAMS

To learn more and enroll in our new specialty pharmacy programs, visit go.uic.edu/SpecialtyPharmCE

PHARMACEUTICAL REPRESENTATIVE PROGRAMS

Pharmaceutical representative continuing education programs are available for the City of Chicago and the State of Oregon. For more information, please visit go.uic.edu/PharmRepCE

UIC OPIOID ANALGESICS REMS PROGRAM

The program includes 15–20 minute academic detailing virtual visits (each program is approved for 0.5 contact hours of CPE/ CME/CNE). Fully compliant with the education requirement of the FDA’s Opioid Analgesic Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) program and meets DEA requirements for opioid education. For more information, please visit academicdetail.pharmacy.uic.edu

UIC College of Pharmacy Moves Up to #7 in the Nation for Total Research Funding

BY LAURA HAYES

The University of Illinois Chicago College of Pharmacy has moved up two spots to #7 in the national rankings for total research funding according to a June 2022 report released by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP). For this year’s ranking, a total of 111 schools of pharmacy in the United States reported extramural research funding.

For the past federal fiscal year (October 1, 2020–September 30, 2021), the college received a record $24.5 million total, $15.3 million of which were from

NIH grants. This represents a 5% increase from the previous year’s total ($23.3 million) at a time when overall national funding remained flat.

“These rankings are important because they serve as a metric for the quality of the research being done here,” says Dean Glen Schumock. “The funding agencies only support research that they believe will have major scientific impact.”

The college’s research funding has been steadily increasing over the past decade thanks to talented and dedicated faculty and the labs and teams who support them. Over the past eight years, total funding at the college has increased almost 50%.

“I could not be prouder of our college once again showing that research and the scientific process at UIC has led us to a top seven position in the U.S.,” says Joanna Burdette, professor and associate dean for research and graduate education. “Our faculty are among the most talented and successful in their fields, and this makes our college an amazing place to train.”

The $24.5 million in funding represents awards to 43 faculty investigators. The college is ranked #9 nationally for NIH grants and #6 for other federal grants.

AACP, founded in 1900, is the national organization representing pharmacy education in the United States. AACP publishes funded research grant data annually on its website.

Professor Brian Murphy Honored with UIC’s Inaugural Global Engagement Faculty Award

BY NEAL MCCRILLIS

UIC’s Office of Global Engagement has named Brian T. Murphy, professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, as the inaugural winner of UIC’s Global Engagement Faculty Award.

The award recognizes and celebrates faculty who have made outstanding contributions to UIC’s global engagement in support of UIC’s internationalization vision “to serve the citizens of Chicago and the world by being an international leader in research, scholarship, and innovation and by creating a globally connected campus community that supports faculty, staff, and students as they address the challenges and opportunities of the twenty-first century.”

The selection committee recognized that Murphy’s internationalization efforts reflected a commitment to these enterprises well beyond what would be expected of a faculty member’s teaching, research, and scholarship. Murphy’s scholarship includes 19 international coauthored publications, 12 research seminars abroad, and several major international grants. Through his research and scholarship, he has made significant contributions to the global engagement of his department, college, and UIC.

In addition, Murphy developed a crucial ongoing research partnership with the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, hosted visiting scholars from the University of Iceland and Seoul National University, and supervised a large number of international students and postdoctoral fellows. These contributions have had and will continue to have a lasting impact through ongoing international collaborative research and the mentoring of scholars.

When he arrived at UIC, Doel Soejarto encouraged Murphy to collaborate with a prospective new partner in Vietnam. Murphy traveled to Vietnam in 2011 and from these initial encounters, he developed a strong partnership, supported initially by a small seed grant from UIC and, later, an NIH grant that supports what has become a collaboration based on infrastructure capacity building and drug discovery. Seed grants for international faculty research are critical, Murphy states, to building more international partnerships and increasing UIC’s global engagement.

When asked about his most memorable experiences abroad, Murphy mentions his visit to Vinh Moc, an underground Vietnamese village that was built between 1965 and 1967 to protect the villagers from regular U.S. bombing. With his own father having served in Vietnam, Murphy was tense when he sat down with villagers for a dinner. After a few minutes, these tensions evaporated as everyone realized they shared many of the same human concerns and experiences. In this instance and in others, breaking bread together is crucial to making international collaborations, Murphy states.

Murphy will be visiting his Vietnam partners this coming year after several years of travel restrictions due to the pandemic. He also hopes to renew his NIH grant and, working with Sanghyun Cho and Scott Franzblau (UIC Institute for Tuberculosis Research), to focus on building a regional TB screening and discovery center in Hanoi.

Paul Carlier Joins UIC as Director of UICentre and Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences

BY LAURA HAYES

On August 16, UIC welcomed Paul Carlier, previously professor and director of Virginia Tech’s Center for Drug Discovery, as the new director of its collaborative, campus-wide drug discovery center UICentre (Collaborative Engagement in Novel Therapeutic Research and Enterprise). Founded in 2013, UICentre is a university hub for supporting translational, bench-tobedside scientific research and drug discovery that has successfully launched four new drugs into clinical trials.

“I am very excited to be the incoming director of UICentre,” says Carlier. “The creative and high-energy faculty and staff members I’ve met at UIC and the commitment to excellence in basic and translational sciences I’ve seen across the entire university have greatly impressed me. UIC is clearly poised to further expand its enviable legacy of therapeutic development. As director, I will build new partnerships to help bring these drug discovery efforts to fruition.”

“Paul Carlier’s appointment as director of UICentre is an exciting next step in the center’s development,” says vice chancellor for innovation TJ Augustine. “UIC has a

world-class track record in drug discovery with multiple drugs on the market, and he will build on UIC’s legacy with exciting new discoveries and opportunities for commercialization.”

Carlier’s arrival comes at an important moment in UICentre’s growth. The center is slated to move into a new state-of-the-art home at the proposed Drug Discovery and Cancer Research Pavilion (DDCRP) within the next few years. This will provide the center— currently housed on the College of Pharmacy building’s fourth floor—a more defined space as well as added visibility within UIC, with prospective faculty, and with the drug discovery community at large.

Trained as a chemist, Carlier’s primary home as professor will be in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences with a joint appointment in Department of Chemistry.

“Paul’s vision and experience will bring scientists together from across UIC. It’s an exciting time to be part of the efforts on campus that will lead to new therapeutics,” says Nancy Freitag, head of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

“I am thrilled to join an excellent core of medicinal chemists and look forward to learning from my colleagues in many critically related disciplines. Being jointly appointed in the Department of Chemistry will provide me with many additional opportunities and strengthen collaboration of UICentre with research groups in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences,” Carlier says.

In addition to his work for UICentre, Carlier brings his own lab to the College of Pharmacy, the Carlier Group, which has worked on potential therapeutic agents for depression and Alzheimer’s disease and has more recently begun to develop therapeutics for infectious diseases, particularly malaria.

Dr. Reham Awad, PGY2 ambulatory care resident, was awarded the American College of Clinical Pharmacy’s Ambulatory Care PRN 2022 Resident/Fellow Travel Award. This award is granted to assist residents to attend the ACCP annual meeting to present their research.

Drs. Scott Benken and Jin Han have been elected as fellows of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy and will be recognized during a special ceremony at the college’s 2022 Global Conference on Clinical Pharmacy.

Dr. Stephanie Crawford was awarded the DIA Americas Inspire Award for Excellence in Service. This is awarded to the “Member of the Year” who has consistently provided outstanding service as a DIA volunteer and who has contributed to the advancement of the DIA mission.

Dr. Charles McPherson has been appointed to the IDPH Diversity in Health Care Task Force. The task force was created to achieve greater diversity within the healthcare workforce. The task force will advise the Office of the Governor and General Assembly to engage students and the community at large to ultimately diversify the healthcare workforce.

Dr. Mukti Patel, PGY2 ambulatory care resident, was awarded the American College of Clinical Pharmacy’s Endocrine and Metabolism PRN 2022 Resident/Fellow Travel Award. This award is granted to assist residents to attend the ACCP annual meeting to present their research.

Dale Rush, associate dean for administrative affairs, received the 2022 Distinguished Service Award from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Administration and Financial Officers Special Interest Group.

Dr. Cindi Schaefer, director of student affairs, Rockford, earned her EdD degree from Northern Illinois University.

Dr. ELIZABETH FOSTER (PGY1) received the Richard A. Hutchinson Award for Excellence in Pharmacy Practice.

CLARA GARY was awarded the Staff of the Year Award, as selected by the PGY1 Residency Class of 2021–2022.

Dr. MARC MCDOWELL received the Preceptor of the Year Award, as selected by the PGY1 Residency Class of 2021–2022.

Dr. BRIANNA MCQUADE was recognized with the Interprofessional Teacher of the Year Award by the UIC

family medicine residents for academic year 2021–2022. This award is given for excellent teaching and service to the UIC Family Medicine Residency Program.

Dr. NANCY SHAPIRO was recognized with the Amy Lodolce Mentorship Award by the Illinois Council of Health-System Pharmacists. Dr. Lodolce was a UIC Pharmacy faculty member who touched lives with her passion for teaching.

Dr. Burdette Named University Scholar

Dr. JOANNA BURDETTE has been named a university scholar. The University Scholars Program provides tangible recognition of faculty excellence. The program provides a three-year award to faculty members who have demonstrated superior performance and show great promise for future achievements. The 2022–23 university scholars will be honored at the Faculty Awards Ceremony and Reception later this year.

UIC Creates Mobile Drug Treatment Center

The UIC College of Pharmacy, College of Medicine, and School of Public Health, through the Community Outreach Program (COIP), created a mobile drug treatment center to dispense Suboxone on Chicago’s west side. Suboxone is used for narcotic dependence. The COIP was founded in 1986 to address HIV/AIDS, particularly among people who use drugs. The program was even featured in the Chicago Sun-Times

Dr.

Vaval

Taylor Wins Diversity Fellowship

Dr. DIANDRA VAVAL TAYLOR of the Freitag Lab was awarded the Carl Storm International Diversity Fellowship for underrepresented minorities. The fellowship helped Dr. Vaval Taylor attend the Gordon Research Conference on Microbial Toxins and Pathogenecity.

Donald Waller Named UIC’s 2021 Inventor of the Year

BY LAURA HAYES

On September 15, the UIC Office of Technology Management recognized pharmaceutical sciences professor Donald Waller as the UIC Inventor of the Year for 2021 at its third annual Innovation Celebration.

The keynote speaker was Katherine Atkinson, chief commercial officer of Evofem Biosciences, the San Diego biotech company that licensed Waller’s invention —the first new contraceptive to be introduced to the United States in 20 years. The contraceptive is now sold as Phexxi.

“The CEO of our company, Saundra Pelletier, came into the company long after the discovery that we had licensed in the early 2000s,” said Atkinson, referring to Waller’s invention. “When she heard that the company had licensed this technology, she was like, ‘OK, we’re going to stop everything else that we’re doing, and we’re going to focus on this,’ because she thought it was so revolutionary.”

Waller developed the contraceptive, a nonhormonal vaginal gel, in response to women’s needs for more options for birth control, in particular nonhormonal, spontaneous birth control. He and his collaborators struggled to find funding for their initial work, but eventually were supported by the Rockefeller and Packard Foundations and, later, the national government of Brazil. Licensing his patent to Evofem

and taking it to market was an even lengthier ordeal, with multiple clinical trials and regulatory hurdles.

“If I were to have an assessment of what it takes to get a product to market, I should have put ‘marketing and production’ in great big letters, because that’s what really allows the product to move forward,” Waller said. “You can have the best product in the world, but if it’s sitting on your shelf, and you can’t get it out to the manufacturer or get somebody to sell it, it’s not going to be that useful to anybody. So the marketing and production is extremely important.”

Dean Glen Schumock also gave remarks at the event, noting Waller’s global impact: “Millions of women around the world have new options to safely prevent pregnancy and STDs. And women from all socioeconomic backgrounds will be able to take control of their reproductive rights and sexual health.”

Waller’s impact is also felt deeply among the faculty, students, and staff of the UIC College of Pharmacy. As Schumock noted, “Whether in the lab, lecture hall, or conference room, Don has been a tireless contributor to all aspects of our mission. In particular, I want to thank him on behalf of the literally thousands of pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists whose careers have benefited from his phenomenal teaching and mentorship.”

During her visit to UIC, Evofem CCO Katherine Atkinson visited the College of Pharmacy science labs and met with students and faculty in Pharmaceutical Sciences.

STUDENT

JANE MIGLO , PharmD/PhD candidate, received the Phi Lambda Sigma—American Foundation of Pharmaceutical Education First Year Graduate Research Fellow Scholarship.

MARK PULVER , P4 student pharmacist, was awarded the Kappa Psi Foundation Pfizer Scholarship during the biennial Grand Counsel Convention.

NICOLE SZYDLOWSKI , P4 student pharmacist, was selected as the Phi Lambda Sigma regional liaison for the Central C region.

UIC PHARMACY’S ICHP STUDENT CHAPTER won the Outstanding Student Chapter Award for the fourth year in a row. They accepted the award at the September 2022 ICHP Annual Meeting.

MEGAN MURTAUGH , P4 student pharmacist, represented the college in a roundtable discussion with Senator Tammy Duckworth and representatives from UI Health to discuss the high cost of prescription medications.

Megan Murtaugh shakes hands with Senator Tammy Duckworth.

UIC Pharmacy’s ICHP Student Chapter with Dr. Chris Crank, executive vice president of ICHP.

P3 Student Niam Vora Awarded the Frank J. Indihar, Albert Schweitzer Fellowship

BY MICHAEL DHAR

P3 student pharmacist Niam Vora has been awarded a unique fellowship by the Chicago-based nonprofit Health & Medicine Policy Research Group. The fellowship, called the Frank J. Indihar, Albert Schweitzer Fellowship, tasks its recipients to perform public health service projects throughout Illinois to empower women and communities of color.

Niam’s service project will develop a “Transitions of Coordinated Care” program for hepatitis C- and HIV-positive inmates being released from the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC). The program will ensure that recently incarcerated populations have access to medication, therapy, addiction resources, health literacy, and insurance.

“I am absolutely ecstatic to have the opportunity to implement this much-needed program,” Vora said. “Incarcerated populations are often overlooked by the healthcare system, rendering them a population in high need of attention and resources.”

This innovative program will be the first of its kind in the nation.

“Approximately 23% of inmates in the United States prison system are infected with hepatitis C, often undiagnosed. This program will help to eradicate the spread of hepatitis C and help these patients live a better quality of life as they rehabilitate into society.”

The project will be implemented under the guidance of clinical assistant professor Dr. Juliana Chan. Dr. Chan has been providing telehealth to inmates in all 26 of IDOC’s facilities since 2010.

Case management and social support programs, provided by donations as well as private funding, will ensure recently incarcerated populations have access to hepatitis C medication, mental health counseling, addiction resources, health literacy, and insurance. Initially, students from the UIC College of Pharmacy will act as case managers for this underserved population, providing a valuable learning opportunity for other students as well.

The Health & Medicine Policy Research Group is working to improve the health of all people in Illinois by promoting health equity. Its mission is to promote social justice and challenge inequities in health and healthcare.

“Over the 25 years—and counting—of our named fellowship programs, we have provided more than 120,000 hours of hands-on support to some 150 community organizations in the Chicago area,” said Health & Medicine executive director Margie Schaps. “Our Indihar fellows will continue to advance this longstanding tradition of service, passion,

BY DANIEL P. SMITH

the striking,

startling A new

are struggling

The striking, startling realities of pharmacist burnout

A new paper from UIC researchers shows the vast majority of pharmacists are struggling with burnout and advocates for organizational remedies.

realities of pharmacist burnout

As an academic/family medicine research fellow at the UIC College of Pharmacy in 2019, Dr. Brianna McQuade, MHPE ’20, saw signs of pharmacist burnout all around her.

She heard the chatter on social media.

She noted the weariness of her peers.

And McQuade herself admits she encountered burnout, defined as high emotional exhaustion and depersonalization coupled with low personal accomplishment from work.

In conversation with her fellowship director, Dr. Jennie Jarrett, an assistant professor in the college’s Department of Pharmacy Practice who researches workforce development issues, McQuade shared her observations.

“It was something I became interested in teasing out more,” says McQuade, who arrived at UIC in 2018. “After all, we can all relate to burnout on some level.”

Jarrett encouraged the study, and McQuade landed an innovations grant from the American College of Clinical Pharmacy Ambulatory Care Practice and Research Network in 2019 to dig deeper into the matter.

An already important research topic intensified by the arrival of COVID-19 and its impact on healthcare, the resulting work McQuade produced alongside Jarrett; Department of Pharmacy Practice associate professor Dr. Rob DiDomenico, PharmD ’96, RES ’97; and fellows Dr. Eden Keller and Dr. Abigail Elmes delivered the first study exploring burnout among health-system pharmacists during the COVID-19 pandemic using two validated burnout assessments. It was also the first to analyze ambulatory care pharmacists as its own cohort.

The UIC group’s work, published this past summer in the Journal of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (JACCP), fueled immediate reflection and has urged healthcare leadership to recognize the plight of pharmacists and respond in earnest.

STARTLING RESULTS

Prior to the pandemic, the burnout rate for pharmacists hovered in the 40–50% neighborhood, according to various published reports. The hearty burnout rate was most often attributed to a mix of factors: a high-stakes, highworkload environment; staffing inadequacies; and inefficient work processes, including cumbersome documentation requirements. The realities of the job drained many pharmacists at work and also challenged their ability to find a positive work/life balance on the outside.

McQuade wanted to understand more about the prevalence of burnout among all health-system pharmacists and, specifically, compare nonambulatory health-system pharmacist burnout rates to those of ambulatory care pharmacists, so many of whom are often alone at their practice sites.

“Debriefing with colleagues is one of the methods that seemed to invigorate pharmacists struggling with burnout, but the ambulatory care pharmacist doesn’t always have that opportunity readily available,” McQuade says.

When COVID-19 infiltrated the American landscape in March 2020, however, everything changed. The pandemic required a radical shift in personal and professional lives. Healthcare providers faced abrupt changes to their traditional workflow while isolation, the loss of support systems, and the impact of the illness and death further strained already challenging jobs. Pharmacists, in particular, found themselves

with burnout and advocates for organizational remedies.

paper from UIC researchers shows the vast majority of pharmacists

On the individual side, the UIC researchers noted, burnout is tied to increased risk of depression, alcohol dependence, suicidal ideations, and loss of productivity. Organizationally, burnout frequently sparks medical errors, patient harm, frayed interpersonal collaboration, and reduced patient satisfaction.

On the individual side,

UIC researchers noted, burnout alcohol dependence, suicidal ideations, and loss medical

incorporating COVID-19 testing while also balancing high hospital censuses and prescription volume. The work taxed the body, the mind, and the soul.

“Pharmacists, like so many others in healthcare, were challenged to do more with less,” McQuade says.

In June 2021, McQuade and her colleagues sent an electronic survey to healthsystem pharmacists at two academic health systems

in Chicago. The survey routed participants to two validated burnout assessments–the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory and the Maslach Burnout Inventory–and also asked them to reflect on their pre- and postpandemic burnout levels.

A total of 113 pharmacists completed the survey, and the results proved striking and startling.

Nearly nine in 10 pharmacists were found to be at high risk for burnout, and there was virtually no difference between burnout among ambulatory care pharmacists (88.4%) and nonambulatory health-system pharmacists (87.1%). Yet more, three in four pharmacists reported higher levels of burnout due to COVID-19, feelings often tied to staffing and scheduling issues, precepting requirements, and rising patient needs, which in some cases had come to include preparing and administering COVID-19 vaccines in addition to regular duties.

“To see these numbers was scary, and it highlighted what healthcare looks like today,” McQuade says.

ADDRESSING PHARMACIST BURNOUT

Pharmacist burnout has implications for the individual clinician as well as the healthcare organization. On the individual side, the UIC researchers noted, burnout is tied to increased risk of depression, alcohol dependence, suicidal ideations, and loss of productivity.

Organizationally, burnout frequently sparks medical errors, patient harm, frayed interpersonal collaboration, and reduced patient satisfaction.

“These results should serve as a call to action for pharmacy leadership to address and mitigate burnout and burnout risk among health-system pharmacists,” the UIC authors wrote in their JACCP paper titled “Stratification of burnout in health-system pharmacists during the COVID-19 pandemic: A focus on the ambulatory care pharmacist.”

In the study, participants reported coping with burnout by spending time with family and friends as well as sleep, exercise, and recreational or relaxation activities. While the authors tabbed individual stress-reduction strategies as important interventions to counter burnout, they ultimately labeled individual coping strategies as “poor buffers” for work-related burnout.

“Self-care like yoga or exercise is just another thing added to a person’s to-do list and when they’re already feeling exhausted, that’s just counterproductive,” Jarrett says.

Instead, the authors touted organizational-level remedies addressing burnout causes and contributors. They called upon healthcare leadership to be more involved in organizational research and solutions promoting a positive workplace culture, more invested in resources to promote resiliency and self-care, and more committed to fostering improved work-life integration.

the

errors, patient harm, frayed interpersonal collaboration,

The authors, in fact, cite one healthcare organization that developed a task force to reduce work overload. When that organization, spurred by the task force members’ own lived experiences, implemented ground rules for checking and responding to e-mails outside of work hours, team members’ efficiency jumped while perceived stress declined.

“Using a similar stepwise approach, institutions can develop an understanding of contributors to burnout and facilitate mitigation strategies within the organization to support pharmacists in an especially difficult period,” the authors wrote, though McQuade adds an important caveat.

“There’s no one-size-fits-all solution here. Every workplace is a little different,” she says.

UIC ALUMNI HELP PHARMACIST PARENTS find work-life balance

game, and Vellurattil acknowledges the struggle of progressing professionally while incorporating new responsibilities at home.

The firsthand experiences Soliman and Vellurattil have endured coupled with the knowledge that others face similar hurdles compelled the duo to produce A Pharmacist Parent’s Guide to Work-Life Balance

UIC classmates Dr. SUZY SOLIMAN , PharmD ’04, and Dr. ROSALYN P. VELLURATTIL , PharmD ’04, know firsthand the tricky feat of navigating life as a working pharmacist and mother. Between them, the two have seven children and active professional lives. Soliman recalls the pressing guilt of missing a son’s baseball

Published last December through the American Pharmacists Association with Soliman and Vellurattil as coeditors, the book identifies common struggles pharmacists face in balancing work and home life before offering advice and resources to help pharmacists find personal and professional equilibrium in an increasingly fast-paced, demanding world.

With content informed by the Pharmacist Moms online group Soliman started in 2017, a collective now boasting more than 45,000 global members, the 18-chapter book covers broad topics encountered

across the life continuum, such as childcare, homebuying, workplace relationships, career advancement, and financial planning. Each chapter is penned by a female pharmacist and includes battle-tested strategies to help colleagues navigate personal and professional adventures. Equally important are the suggestions authors give to policymakers, employers, and pharmacy organizations to better support work-life balance and promote a more positive workplace environment.

“We want women to be successful mothers as well as pharmacists and that requires a real honest look at how we manage both worlds, which is the precise goal of the book,” says Vellurattil, the UIC College of Pharmacy’s assistant dean for academic affairs and clinical associate professor in the Department of Pharmacy Systems, Outcomes, and Policy. “We’re a community and none of us are alone in how we experience these challenges. Our desire is to help other pharmacist parents move ahead in positive, productive ways.”

is tied to increased risk of depression, of productivity. Organizationally, burnout frequently sparks collaboration, and reduced patient satisfaction.

DR. ROB D I DOMENICO

REFLECTING ON THE RESEARCH

While many organizational fixes require time, financial investment, and intentional effort to achieve, the eyeopening results of the study prompted its authors to be more conscious of burnout in and around them and to inject potential remedies into their own lives.

As a practicing pharmacist, educator/trainer, and administrator, DiDomenico has experienced burnout firsthand in each of these roles. He regularly encourages faculty to have discussions with students, residents, and fellows about burnout, its risk factors, triggers, and potential mitigation steps. As the assistant head of faculty affairs and strategic initiatives in the Department of Pharmacy Practice, he also hopes to develop a culture encouraging work-life balance, which he aims to model himself amongst his peers.

“We want highly productive pharmacists and faculty members, but it’s important for our pharmacists, faculty, and trainees to understand how we achieve a work-life balance,” says DiDomenico, who evaluates some 60 clinical faculty members each year and has discussions with most, if not all, of those individuals about their personal and professional health. “For those struggling with perceived burnout, we try to develop strategies to better achieve that balance and minimize burnout.”

DiDomenico also champions the value of “a division of labor” and bringing more people into projects, initiatives, and committees at the college. Not only will more hands make lighter work, but administrators spreading around opportunities can bolster individual faculty or staff member’s feelings of personal accomplishment and heighten engagement, two meaningful ways to battle burnout.

For Abigail Elmes and Eden Keller, both of whom joined the McQuade-led study while completing their own academic/family medicine research fellowships with Jarrett, the research effort compelled each trainee to

think more deeply about burnout, mitigation strategies, and their respective careers in pharmacy.

For Elmes, the research project spurred her to prioritize organizations investing in burnout-mitigation strategies as she pursued and evaluated different job opportunities. She is now a visiting clinical assistant professor and clinical pharmacist in family medicine at the UIC College of Pharmacy.

Keller, meanwhile, said her involvement with the project highlighted the importance of “not getting lost in the everyday workings of life as a pharmacist.”

“To be emotionally available is critically important as a practitioner, so you have to be self-aware and work toward that for yourself and for the patients,” said Keller, now a visiting clinical assistant professor and inpatient clinical pharmacist for UIC’s opioid use disorder consult service.

And for Jarrett, the work with McQuade continues shaping her efforts with the multiple Health Resources and Services Administration–funded workforce development programs she is crafting for health professionals as well as systems approaches to combat burnout. The research has also motivated Jarrett to implement wellness as a critical component into her work with trainees.

Having ignited conversations and reflection about pharmacist burnout at the college and far beyond with the JACCP paper, McQuade hopes organizational leaders take note of her team’s research and pursue thorough investigations of their own operations.

“Pharmacist burnout is real, and it needs to be addressed in thoughtful ways,” says McQuade, a clinical assistant professor of pharmacy practice working at UIC’s Mile Square Health Center. “Without relevant mitigation strategies, pharmacists are not at their best and that will impact patient care.”

DR. ABIGAIL ELMES

DR. EDEN KELLER

Latest UIC Pharmacy Diversity Award Adds to Impressive List of Recognitions

BY MICHAEL DHAR

This summer, UIC Pharmacy again showed its commitment to diversity, earning the 2022 Inspiring Programs in STEM Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. Honoring two Rockford pipeline programs, the award adds to a string of recognitions for diversity at the college.

Announced in August, the award recognized High School Pharmacy Camp, a half-day program for area high schoolers, and Summer Pharmacy Institute (SPI), a weeklong program for college students (with funding from the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois Dr. Louis and Violet Rubin Fund). These programs inspire interest in pharmacy and UIC via hands-on labs, faculty presentations, networking opportunities, and more. Most importantly for the award, they work to recruit students from underrepresented minority groups.

That includes targeted recruitment e-mails to members of these groups and, for SPI, seeking out historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and Hispanicserving institutions (HSIs). UIC also maintains strong relationships with Puerto Rican colleges and universities. For the high school program, “We reach out to those high schools . . . that represent the Rockfordarea diversity,” said Dr. Cindi Schaefer, Rockford director of student affairs, which keeps the pipelines running.

That work has paid off as 45% of this year’s High School Pharmacy Camp participants and 60% of 2021’s SPI students were from underrepresented groups.

The award joins an impressive lineup of recognitions. The Chicago campus’s Urban Pathways Program earned the same award in 2017, 2018, and 2021. Last year, UIC Pharmacy and Dr. Clara Awé, associate dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion, earned the Global Innovation and Inclusion Leadership Award from the Society for Diversity Inc. In 2019, UIC Pharmacy earned INSIGHT to Diversity’s Excellence Award.

Also a pipeline program, Urban Pathways targets underrepresented south- and west-side high schoolers. Over two months, participants shadow faculty, visit clinics, and serve as CVS and Walgreens pharmacy technicians. Tracking shows that roughly 67% of alumni have enrolled in pharmacy programs, with some giving back as pharmacists in their communities. Urban Pathways has served as a model for other colleges’ programs and shows that UIC’s efforts to bring more underrepresented minorities into pharmacy are working, Awé said.

With only 27% of U.S. pharmacists coming from underrepresented populations, these efforts address tremendous inequities. They also improve UIC Pharmacy for all, said UIC Rockford Pharmacy dean Dr. Kevin Rynn. “You’re working . . . alongside people from diverse populations. It opens your mind and your eyes to different thoughts and ideas and backgrounds.”

PAWSITIVELY COLLABORATIVE

DR. LAUREN FORSYTHE WITH HER CAT DUCHESS AND DR. ALEXANDRIA GOCHENAUER WITH HER DOG LOKI

PAWSITIVELY COLLABORATIVE

BY LAURA HAYES

A growing collaboration across the University of Illinois System improves education and health outcomes for humans and animals alike.

In July 2022, the UIC College of Pharmacy and the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Urbana welcomed their first official resident in veterinary pharmacy, marking the formalization of a new type of intercampus, interprofessional collaboration that demonstrates the strengths of the University of Illinois System.

This residency and partnership were several years in the making and would not have been possible without the work of Dr. Allison Schriever, PharmD ’99, clinical assistant professor of pharmacy practice and director of experiential education for the college’s Rockford campus.

The informal relationship between the college and the veterinary teaching hospital began when Schriever was developing the Rockford campus’s experiential education programs and Rural Pharmacy Education (RPHARM) program. She was hoping to add veterinary pharmacy to the list of educational experiences for UIC PharmD students.

“Contact with the veterinary hospital was something that initially happened through my work with RPHARM,” Schriever says. “It just made sense to develop this partnership: the College of Veterinary

PAWSITIVELY COLLABORATIVE

Medicine, which is one of the best, and the veterinary teaching hospital are part of our University of Illinois System, they service rural communities, and their campus has a large agricultural footprint.

According to Schriever, the collaboration started out small, with the college sending a handful of PharmD students to do advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs) in the veterinary hospital’s drug dispensary. She began conversations with Lauren Forsythe, PharmD, medication dispensary coordinator and service head for the hospital, about new and different ways to collaborate.

“Our collaboration really solidified once we started talking about the veterinary pharmacy residency program. It was important to Lauren to establish a veterinary pharmacy residency program in her hospital. There were requirements for the residency that the hospital wouldn’t be able to get on their own, so it made sense to see where we could collaborate and have their new residency become part of the College of Pharmacy.”

“This residency helps cement pharmacy as a veterinary hospital service with an emphasis on clinical support,” says Forsythe.

Although they are based in Urbana, the veterinary pharmacy resident receives the same support and access to resources as the other UIC Pharmacy residents. The college also assists the hospital with some accreditation and residency requirements, such as providing a human pharmacy experience to help navigate the differences between treating animals and people.

Schriever says this is only the beginning of the partnership. “Looking forward, we’re hoping to do more with interprofessional education between pharmacy students and veterinary students. And there may be other opportunities, such as research. In addition to clinical experts, our college has world-renowned scientists and researchers who could provide another avenue for collaboration.” Other possibilities include offering introductory pharmacy practice experiences and elective didactic courses on veterinary pharmacy.

“It’s an opportunity for us as a college and a university to be different and innovative, capitalizing on what is

happening right at our doorstep,” Schriever says. “We like to be trailblazers. We want to be the ones setting the pace and transforming practice.”

DISCOVERING THE WORLD OF VETERINARY PHARMACY

Schriever says she didn’t learn much about veterinary pharmacy in pharmacy school or as a practicing critical care pharmacist but was informally introduced through her experience living in the Rockford region. “Outside of Rockford, the area is fairly rural and farming is part of the landscape. Many not only have pets but livestock,” she explains. “Learning through my day-to-day conversations, if you have a pet or animal with significant health issues, veterinary teaching hospitals are an option.”

Other pharmacists, like Dr. Lauren Forsythe, who leads the new residency program, and Dr. Alex Gochenauer, who precepts the UIC PharmD students at the veterinary hospital, were introduced to veterinary pharmacy early in their career. Forsythe is the daughter of two veterinarians and watched them treat animals from a young age. Gochenauer says her love of compounding (a very important skill for veterinary pharmacists) got her interested in treating animals.

“Veterinary pharmacy as a concept is only about 40 years old,” says Forsythe. “American Pharmacists Association (APhA) has updated their materials to include nonhumans as patients, but veterinary medicine is typically 10 years behind human medicine. With human pharmacy, there always seems to be a right answer, and vet pharmacy is about getting used to ambiguity.”

The hospital accepts most animal species except for deer (which are treated in their natural habitat) and certain species that are very prone to rabies.

“There are fairly well-published and definitive guidelines for human pharmacy, but with animals we have all these different species, and so there’s always new things to learn as a veterinary pharmacist, and that learning aspect never ends,” says Gochenauer.

UIC’S FIRST VETERINARY PHARMACY RESIDENT

Dr. Jessica Barazowski, the college’s first veterinary pharmacy resident, says she decided to pursue pharmacy after working in an animal clinic. She did a

Looking forward, we’re hoping to do more with interprofessional education between pharmacy students and veterinary students.

“standard” PGY1 after graduation, but then decided to make the move to veterinary pharmacy after her dog passed away from cancer.

“It helped put in perspective that I really love animals and working with animals, and I wanted to be able to provide that care to them the way I was trained to do so on humans,” Barazowski says.

Barazowski is still in the first few months of her residency, but she is already learning a great deal. “I absolutely love every single day here, and I have never been so motivated to learn. Most of the medications we use for animals were created for humans, and we have to use our pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics brains way more often than for humans. We have to be able to extrapolate the data for a lot of the dosing that we use and do our research to be sure the doses are safe and effective.”

Working with pharmacists like Barazowski also helps veterinarians see the value of having a pharmacist nearby.

“Working alongside incoming veterinarians and having them exposed to what a workflow would be like with a pharmacist helps them recognize our value. Usually, veterinarians would use pharmacists for compounding and not much else, but working with us lets them know they can rely on pharmacists and they don’t have to know everything on their own.”

NEW EXPERIENCES FOR UIC PHARMD STUDENTS

Dr. Alex Gochenauer works directly with UIC PharmD students as part of their APPE rotations in veterinary

pharmacy. She recognizes that most PharmD students will not end up in veterinary pharmacy but ensures they develop skills and knowledge that will make them a better practitioner in any area of pharmacy.

“A lot of people are unaware when they arrive here that we have the same services that a ‘normal’ hospital would have, such as cardiology, neurology, dermatology, oncology, ophthalmology, emergency care, surgery, anesthesia. So, students can take what they’ve learned from different drug classes and apply that to veterinaryspecific medications.”

During the rotation, the students write articles advising veterinarians on pharmacy topics and give presentations comparing disease states in animals and humans to help them understand the differences in treatment.

“We love having the PharmD students here,” Gochenauer says. “I’ve been out of school for several years and we discuss guidelines with them for the disease states we’re talking about, and they always give me really nice updates that have been released since I graduated.”

P4 student pharmacist Axel Rios Natal recently completed an APPE rotation at the Urbana hospital. For any students considering a veterinary pharmacy APPE, he says, “If you’re thinking about taking this rotation, take it. It’s going to be a great opportunity. Even if you don’t want to end up in veterinary pharmacy, at some point in our pharmacy careers we’re all going to have to fill a prescription for an animal. So, it’s good to be familiar with how everything works.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA-CHAMPAIGN COLLEGE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE.

L TO R: AXEL RIOS NATAL, ROCKFORD P4 STUDENT; DR. ALEX GOCHENAUER; AND HOPE FENTON, VETERINARY MEDICINE STUDENT

Jesse Brown Partnership Spotlight

BY JESSICA CANLAS

One look at the leadership team from Jesse Brown Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC), and two striking facts surface.

First, all five of them are women.

Second, they’re all graduates of the UIC College of Pharmacy.

In a profession where the balance of women to men tips slightly—just over half—toward the former, the first piece may not be terribly surprising. And, when one considers that the two institutions have carefully and aggressively fostered a partnership established nearly 30 years ago, perhaps the second item becomes less so as well.

Nevertheless, the two facts together make it clear that not only does this collaboration between Jesse Brown VAMC and UIC educate the tomorrow’s pharmacists, it also, quite successfully, equips the profession’s next generation of leaders.

Located in the heart of the Illinois Medical District, UIC Pharmacy possesses a distinct advantage in its proximity to a number of major healthcare institutions. While UIC

works with several of these, the college’s most robust partnerships is with Jesse Brown.

“Of all the health systems or hospitals we work with, we have the closest relationship with [Jesse Brown],” says Dean Glen Schumock. “The U of I Hospital, of course, is our main training site for students. Outside of that, Jesse Brown takes more of our students than any other hospital.”

ENTIRE LEADERSHIP TEAM

Since 1995, the two facilities have held an exclusive arrangement: Jesse Brown only trains pharmacy students from UIC.

“One of our pillars for what we do here is providing quality education,” says Isabel Sanvanson Karceski, PharmD ’99, chief of pharmacy service at Jesse Brown VAMC. “That relationship [with UIC] is very strong and open to change and growth. Our goal is to make sure we complement the curriculum at UIC and continue to provide what they need for our students and interns.”

—ISABEL KARCESKI

In fact, it was Karceski herself who was the impetus for establishing Jesse Brown’s VALOR program, a unique training initiative aimed at preparing pharmacy students for leadership roles. She began her journey with Jesse Brown’s pharmacy leadership team with little experience in administration. She was grateful for onthe-job mentoring but thought it would be beneficial for pharmacy students to have the opportunity to learn those types of skills in school.

Sanvanson Karceski's subsequent proposal for an internship position for P2s with interest in administrative leadership was approved, and in 2010, the VALOR program was born. VALOR, which stands for “VA Learning Opportunities Residency,” offered pharmacy students hands-on experience and mentorship in various management roles throughout the VAMC.

Associate chief of pharmacy operations

Alexandra Riskus, PharmD ’15, currently oversees the current iteration of VALOR, now called the Pharmacy Student Administration Program. Interns, who are given the opportunity to choose their area of focus, are able to work directly with VA management in areas such as strategic planning, fiscal management, performance improvement, regulatory compliance, and patient safety.

“These interns are an integral part of our medication safety team,” explains Riskus. They actually manage the database for the patients, perform follow-ups, and identify trends. They also manage and update our policies. To be involved in these types of projects that are critical for our department—obviously with a level of oversight—is a unique level of exposure.”

OUR

CAME FROM UIC. THEY TAUGHT US, SO IT’S OUR TURN TO TEACH THEM.

L to R: Emily Kalusetsky, PharmD '17; Jennifer Lee, PharmD '18; Isabel Sanvanson Karceski, PharmD '99; Ashley Santore, PharmD '17; Alexandra Riskus, PharmD '15

Students also present at the monthly pharmacy and therapeutics meeting and even before the director of the medical center and chief of staff.

“Those are the things you can’t teach in a classroom,” says Sanvanson Karceski. “To live it and breathe it—those experiences are invaluable.”

Riskus, who is herself an alumna of the VALOR program, says she’ll always be grateful for the training she received at the VAMC as a student.

“For the student who’s contemplating the future, who maybe can’t decide what they’d like to pursue, learning those administrative and leadership skills always helps,” she says.

In fact, along with Riskus, two other members of the Jesse Brown VAMC pharmacy leadership team participated in the VALOR program while at UIC: Jennifer Lee, PharmD ’18, associate chief of clinical pharmacy services, and Ashley Santore, PharmD ’17, inpatient pharmacy supervisor.

“[VALOR] was so interesting and such a unique opportunity, I wanted to be a part of it,” says Santore. “It made administration so interesting to me—our care model, how everything works. Operations became a strong suit for me, and VALOR was the spark that made that possible.”

Currently, Jesse Brown VAMC accepts two interns a year for its Pharmacy Student Administration Program and, for the 2022–23 academic year, is hosting nearly 100 experiential education students. Historically, the VAMC has taken on as many as 160 UIC Pharmacy students in a given year.

Sheila Allen, PharmD ’03, UIC clinical assistant professor and senior director of experiential education, believes Jesse Brown provides students an exceptional experience in interdisciplinary collaboration throughout the medical center. Allen did a rotation there when she was a UIC student and is pleased to watch the partnership grow.

“It really opened my eyes to what pharmacy practice could look like,” she recalls. “The pharmacy community [there] and the strong pharmacy voice within those interprofessional relationships give our students a great opportunity to see pharmacy practiced at the top of the license.”

What sets the Jesse Brown VAMC practice model apart from other programs, says Lee, is the presence of clinical pharmacy practitioners, or CPPs. CPPs at Jesse Brown are independent practitioners licensed to prescribe without the requirement of meeting with providers.

“CPPs are an integral part of our healthcare model here at Jesse Brown,” she says. “When students or residents have the opportunity to work with these pharmacists, they get to experience firsthand what a pharmacist can do without limitations.”

Edith Nutescu, PharmD ’94, PGY2 ’96, professor and head of the college’s Department of Pharmacy Practice, values UIC’s key relationship with Jesse Brown. “They’re unique in the way they deliver clinical pharmacy services,” she says. “They are an excellent training site, and we are fortunate to partner with them in educating our students.”

In turn, the pharmacy leadership team at Jesse Brown is grateful for the knowledge that UIC students bring to the practice setting.

Santore, who oversees P4 students in their core advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) hospital rotation and also coordinates inpatient experiences for introductory pharmacy practice experience (IPPE) students, has witnessed the evolution of UIC Pharmacy’s curriculum since she began working at the VAMC in 2014. She believes that their work only benefits from the cutting-edge instruction UIC students take on in the classroom and bring to Jesse Brown.

“When the curriculum changes, we see the effects of that downstream in terms of new IPPE and APPE formats and additional requirements for rotations,” she says. “It keeps us abreast of new things coming down the pipeline for pharmacy practice. When they’re advancing, we make sure we align and grow with that as well.”

Emily Kalusetsky, PharmD ’17, outpatient pharmacy supervisor, now coordinates student onboarding at Jesse Brown, acting as a liaison between the two institutions. As a UIC student, she’d experienced rotations there and eventually did her residencies there as well.

“I see precepting these students as a way to give back,” she says. “I get to watch their development as a student, then as a resident and future pharmacist here.”

For Sanvanson Karceski, continuing to train UIC students will remain a priority.

“Obviously, our entire leadership team came from UIC,” Sanvanson Karceski comments. “They taught us, so it’s our turn to teach them. It’s very humbling for all of us, and I have the utmost respect for the faculty and the dean.”

“It’s a strong, collaborative relationship that works. Maintaining it is the only way to continue to succeed.”

meet the interns

meet the interns

MADIHA ALI P4

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE JESSE BROWN VAMC?

It’s a great learning site for pharmacy students, and we get a chance to serve veterans through our small efforts! I enjoyed getting an opportunity to learn from the different clinical scenarios presented and, subsequently, being taught by pharmacists in the field.

WHEN DID YOU SPEND YOUR TIME THERE?

I was at Jesse Brown VAMC twice. Once for my IPPE rotation during third year, and the second was an APPE rotation during my fourth year.

WHAT AREAS DID YOU WORK IN?

First, I did an ambulatory care rotation at the Red [General Medicine] Clinic with Dr. Sindhu Abraham for IPPE. My second rotation was in the Emergency Department (ED) with Dr. Zane Elfessi for APPE. The contrast between the two was enlightening!

WHAT DID YOU MOST VALUE ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE THERE?

I felt welcomed at the Jesse Brown VAMC at all times. At the ambulatory care site, I developed a close connection with the patients over 12 weeks. It taught me how essential our role is as pharmacists. It was a very memorable learning experience.

The ED was a great place to learn about a wide variety of complex disease states. I got to experience code blue situations and learn about what role the pharmacist plays in an emergency setting. I also got a chance to work with different pharmacists and residents in the ED. It was a highly valuable learning experience for me before stepping into my other APPE rotations.

WHAT EXPERIENCES DO YOU FEEL WILL HELP FURTHER YOUR EDUCATION AND CAREER?

I greatly value learning directly from actual patient cases and experiences. It is very helpful for me to work with as many patients as possible, so I can best prepare for whatever situation I may face as a pharmacist. The Jesse Brown VAMC serves a wide variety of veterans, and I am happy I had the opportunity work there with guidance from my preceptors.

The culture of care at the VAMC is greatly inspiring! Thank you for always encouraging and teaching students.

I ENJOYED GETTING AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN FROM THE DIFFERENT CLINICAL SCENARIOS PRESENTED AND, SUBSEQUENTLY, BEING TAUGHT BY PHARMACISTS IN THE FIELD.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE JESSE BROWN VAMC?

I first became interested in working at the Jesse Brown VAMC after my IPPE rotation in the inpatient pharmacy there during my P1 year. I felt like I learned a lot, and everyone was super friendly. The pharmacy has a great atmosphere, which is a trait that I value in a workplace. There is a sense of unity within the pharmacy.

WHAT AREAS DID YOU WORK IN?

I started working in the inpatient pharmacy where I learned many valuable skills that would normally be difficult to attain working as a student in a different hospital. In May 2022, I became one of the pharmacy administration interns.

WHAT DID YOU MOST VALUE ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE THERE?

At the inpatient pharmacy, I developed skills like multitasking, inpatient experience, and most importantly, IV workflow. I was excited to work in the IV room, and it was my favorite shift.

Currently, as a pharmacy administration intern, I’m learning about planning and gaining operational-based skills and pharmacy knowledge. We have medication event meetings every Friday, and I learn so much from every meeting. These meetings cover all areas of pharmacy, teaching us not only clinical knowledge, but also retail and operational. I would find it difficult to find a similar job that can give me this experience as a student.

WHAT EXPERIENCES DO YOU FEEL WILL HELP FURTHER YOUR EDUCATION AND CAREER?

Working on the medication event committee as a pharmacy administration intern, I learned so much on top of everything we learn in class, in areas we often don’t cover in detail. Working on the Pharmacy and Therapeutics committee, I furthered not only my presentation skills but also gained experience in the planning and operational aspect that goes into any decision in the hospital. We also work on medical center policies and standard operating procedures. I spend a lot of time formatting, organizing, and even writing parts of them. This is something I never imagined I would be doing, but it feels great knowing that my input and hard work are contributing to something.

I FURTHERED NOT ONLY MY PRESENTATION SKILLS BUT ALSO GAINED EXPERIENCE IN THE PLANNING AND

ASPECT THAT GOES INTO ANY DECISION IN THE HOSPITAL.

WHITE COAT CEREMONY

WHITE COAT CEREMONY

On August 18, 2022, the UIC PharmD Class of 2026 celebrated their White Coat Ceremony. We would like to thank our alumni coaters for participating in the event for the newest class of UIC student pharmacists, which included some of the coaters’ own family members and friends:

• Sydney Fistler, PharmD ’20 (Friend Mahyan Khalili is in the Class of 2026.)

• Kyle Kwak, PharmD ’10

• Margaret Tomecki, PharmD '96 (Daughter Jacqueline is in the Class of 2026.)

• Edna Chima, PharmD ’05 (Niece Desiree Aririeri is in the Class of 2026.)

• Ed Cohen, BS ’75

• Jeff Debs, PharmD '89 (Son Austin Debs is in the Class of 2026.)

• Xuxuan Liu, PharmD ’17 (Brother Charles Liu is in the Class of 2026.)

• Jamie Benken, PharmD ’08 (Cousin Renny Thomas is in the Class of 2026.)

• Henry Okoroike, PharmD ’20

• Karie Gelyana, PharmD ’15

• Greg Chiu, BS ’83

• Margit Vizethum-Chiu, BS ’83

Did you miss the ceremony? You can watch it on YouTube at go.uic.edu /COPWhiteCoat2022.

If you would like to be an alumni coater for the Class of 2027, e-mail Deb Fox dfox4@uic.edu.

ALUMNI PROFILES

Dr. Edward Cherk Heads Alzheimer’s Drug Diagnostic Pathway for Roche

BY MICHAEL DHAR

Dr. Edward Cherk’s mix of clinical experience and business acumen has taken him from Chicago to China to Switzerland, where he now serves as global marketing leader for Roche.

Working on the drug pipeline team, Cherk, PharmD ’01, focuses on an upcoming Alzheimer’s disease medication. For Cherk, that means overseeing the diagnostic pathway so that patients who need medical care get the proper treatment. Cherk also works to identify diagnostic bottlenecks and find solutions that Roche or partners can provide.

Cherk, who completed an MBA at Northwestern University in 2008, has drawn equally on his clinical and business backgrounds in his pharmacy career, he said. And UIC helped set him up to master both sets of expertise.

“The foundational training of clinical practice that I received at UIC I still carry with me to this day when I need to learn about new disease states, when I need to learn about new drug mechanisms,” he said. Cherk also got his first exposure to the pharmaceutical industry at UIC, during an experiential rotation with Eli Lily sales representatives. In that rotation, he realized the important role pharma companies play in keeping doctors up to date.

“I gained a new appreciation for how much clinicians depend on the

pharmaceutical industry . . . sharing the latest product information and educating physicians,” he said.

That experience stayed with Cherk during his first few years after graduation working as a clinical pharmacist at Highland Park Hospital. That role showed him the rewards of helping to improve patient health, and when an opportunity arose in the pharmaceutical industry, Cherk saw it as a way to broaden that impact, he said. “A pharmaceutical company coming out with a drug, it touches thousands and thousands of patients,” he said.

Cherk began his pharmaceutical career in medical information, with Hospira in the Chicago area. After earning his business degree, he returned to his native Hong Kong and then mainland China with Johnson & Johnson. At a range of pharma companies in China, he additionally worked on strategic marketing and preparing for the arrival of biosimilars. Cherk opted for another transcontinental move in 2020, when the Roche opportunity became available.

A solid educational foundation and dedicated years of work have made it possible for Cherk to help improve lives from North America to Asia to Europe, he said. “Without my training and without hard work in my career, that wouldn’t be possible.”

EDWARD CHERK · PHARMD ’01

Startup Science: Dr. Shalaka Samant Leads Novel IBS Research at Kiwi Biosciences

BY MICHAEL DHAR

From probing pathogen genes to consulting with research organizations globally, Dr. Shalaka Samant, PhD ’08, has lent her scientific expertise to a range of worthy pursuits. Today, she serves as founding scientist for Kiwi Biosciences, a startup dedicated to easing the lives of those with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Launching in May 2021 as a venture capital–funded startup, Kiwi focuses on cofounder Anjie Liu’s enzyme mix that targets IBS “trigger” foods. The patentpending product, FODZYME, works on molecules (known as fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols, or FODMAPs) found in everyday foods like banana and garlic that cause IBS symptoms. When taken with such foods, FODZYME should help dampen such symptoms.

In her core work at Kiwi, Samant seeks to express FODZYME enzymes in host organisms “to make enough of these enzymes on a large scale such that it can be made available to the final consumer” at a reasonable price for everyday use, she said. The novelty of the product means Samant gets to pursue new and groundbreaking science. “There is no precedent for this kind of work,” she said.

Because of that newness, Samant’s work also involves leading clinical trials to establish FODZYME’s safety and efficacy and seeking to expand the product’s

efficacy to include polyols. That’s the one FODMAP category not currently targeted by FODZYME.

To do this new research, Samant operates in a similarly novel way: designing and leading research remotely from her home in India, while contract research organizations (CROs) carry out the lab work. Samant’s experience with CROs began before her time at Kiwi. After postdocs probing the genetic makeup of food-poisoning culprit Campylobacter jejuni at Yale University and studying macrophage development at the University of Texas, Samant joined Indian CRO Anthem Biosciences, deepening her lab experience there for nearly a decade.

In 2019, Samant struck out on her own, founding Biombrella, where she provided consulting services to pharmaceutical and other research organizations.

Samant said the deep research skills and knowledge she gained at UIC helped her succeed in these relatively new entrepreneurial roles. At UIC, Samant investigated anthrax genes in the lab of the late Dr. Alexander Neyfakh. “Dr. Neyfakh was very different in that he encouraged me to take my time to understand these [scientific] principles . . . but at the same time, he also made sure that I think and work in the right direction,” Samant said. “It was an amazing experience.”

SHALAKA SAMANT · PHD ’08

Vikas Gupta, PharmD ’89

Director of Medical Affairs, BD Medication Management Solutions

Dr. Vikas Gupta is the director of medical affairs for Becton, Dickinson and Company Medication Management Solutions (BD) in San Diego. He earned his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the UIC College of Pharmacy in 1989 and completed a residency in general clinical pharmacy practice at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in 1990.

He joined BD and legacy companies in 1996 after working for several years as a clinical pharmacist and a clinical assistant professor at the University of Illinois Chicago College of Pharmacy. Dr. Gupta has also served as a hospital clinical pharmacy manager, built pharmacy formularies, and developed and managed antimicrobial stewardship programs. He was the lead clinical pharmacist in development of the BD Antimicrobial Stewardship Surveillance solutions.

Dr. Gupta has published extensively in the antimicrobial resistance space and now leads the BD Insights Research and Analytics efforts to collaborate, study, and better understand population-based outcomes and metrics related to antimicrobial resistance, pathogen prevalence, and related outcomes.

How did you decide to pursue a degree in pharmacy?

I originally wanted to go to medical school, but a dear family member suggested going to pharmacy school first. During my third year, I found my passion for clinical pharmacy and decided to pursue a career as a pharmacist.

What opportunities did you have at UIC that helped you get where you are today?

The numerous opportunities I had as a student were foundational and transformative. The professors were incredible and passionate about pharmacy. An internship at the UIC Hospital opened my eyes to pharmacy administration and analytics. My

first student project involved evaluating outcomes of anticoagulation therapy and taught me the impact of using data to help improve patient care. That experience was transformational as it exposed my passion for data and analytics.

What was the most important thing you learned while in pharmacy school?

Reaching for broad experiences. I learned about conducting animal studies and developing basic study methodology in Drs. Bhargava and Galati’s lab. I also was inquisitive and got to know the professors. Experiences and opportunities shape your future in unexpected ways, and the UIC College of Pharmacy afforded me those opportunities. I feel a special connection to the college and still feel moved when I am in the neighborhood.

What do you enjoy most about your current role?

Going on my 26th year at BD, including legacy companies, I feel very fortunate to be able to do what I do. What I love about BD is the broad experiences I was able to get over time. I feel like I have worked in different companies through the different roles I have had. I absolutely enjoy working with big data to evaluate the real-world impact of antibiotics and infectious diseases through a lens that isn’t possible in a single hospital. I am fortunate that BD has afforded me that opportunity, as our team has produced more than 100 presentations at national and international conferences and 30 to 40 peer-reviewed publications.

What are you working on right now, and what have you enjoyed about it?

One of our projects is creating new models and analytics that evaluate the impact and outcomes of antibiotic therapy and diagnostic stewardship in the real world. We are working to provide insights to clinicians on areas of opportunity across a range of infections. I am very excited about this work and the impact it can have on the health of people around the world.

You’ve had success in your career. How?

I have had success by taking chances, being flexible, gaining experience, and networking with colleagues. I had great mentors during my residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and during my stints as a clinician at UIC College of Pharmacy, Cardinal Health, CareFusion, and now at BD.

What do you see for your field in the future?

Data and analytics is a burgeoning field that needs clinicians who can understand and integrate clinical aspects to the analytic tools that are expanding. Having clinical pharmacists who can understand the clinical and analytic aspects will be very important and create opportunities for future pharmacy leaders.

Do you have advice for our current student pharmacists/pharmacists starting today?

What you envision for your career now can look very different five years, 10 years, or 30 years later. I remember sitting with Dr. Hutchinson (“Hutch”), the UIC College of Pharmacy dean at the time, discussing career opportunities. He asked me if I liked to write and publish, and I said no because I did not have any publications at the time. I look back at that discussion now, with 30 to 40 peer-reviewed publications and more to come. My advice is to be passionate, flexible, and willing to take risks and explore opportunities.

DAANISH ASHRAF , PharmD ’16, started a new position as associate director, U.S. Regulatory Affairs, at Biogen.

KARI (BABICH) BAVIRSHA , PharmD ’02, started a new position as a pharmacist at Ascension.

VICTORIA (GAVAGHAN) BOMBA , PharmD ’20, started a new position as a clinical pharmacy specialist, infectious diseases, at Advocate Aurora Health.

NAOMI (WELLS) BURCHILL , PharmD ’13, started a new position as a clinical staff pharmacist at Christus Trinity Mother Frances Health System.

CHRISTOPHER CAMPBELL , PharmD ’11, was promoted to associate director, U.S. Field Medical Strategy & Scientific Engagement, at Eisai.

GREG CALIP , PharmD ’08, started a new position as principal quantitative scientist at Flatiron Health.

CIBY CHACKO , PharmD ’14, started a new position as associate director, Medical Value and Outcomes, at Sanofi.

ED COHEN , BS ’75, was appointed the chair of the Alumni Board for the University of Illinois Alumni Association.

MEAGAN CONRATH , PharmD ’20, started a new position as a transplant pharmacist specialist at Harford Hospital

SHANNON DAHLGREN , PharmD ’19, received the Residency Clinical Staff Preceptor award for the 2021–2022 year from Rush University Medical Center.

CHRISTOPHER EDWARDS , PharmD ’08, served as the coeditor on the seventh edition of Basic Skills in Interpreting Laboratory Data. He also was named a fellow of the American Society of HealthSystem Pharmacists through their Practitioner Recognition Program.

JAN ENGLE , PharmD ’85, was named one of “The Next 10 Women in Pharmacy” by the APhA Foundation.

KARIE (VELLOS) GELYANA , PharmD ’15, started a new position as senior manager, Hospital Marketing, at Astellas Pharmaceuticals.

GERGANA GEORGIEVA , PharmD ’18, was promoted to senior manager, Medical Affairs, Oncology, at Astellas Pharmaceuticals.

JYOTI GILL , PharmD ’18, started a new position as the customer success manager at TailorMed.

JAE (GATCHALIAN)

ENCARNADO , PharmD ’15, was promoted to manager, Global Regulatory Affairs, at Pfizer.

RADHIKA GOMEZ , PharmD ’15, was promoted to associate director, Medical Promotional Review Advisor, at Bristol Myers Squibb.

Christopher Edwards

Jan Engle

What has changed in your life?

HITEN GUTKA , PhD ’13, was promoted to senior principal scientist, Sterile Product Development Group, at Bristol Myers Squibb.

GENIE LIL HERRERA , PharmD ’18, started a new position as a clinical pharmacist at Kindred.

JAY HILAO , PharmD ’05, started a new position as a clinical pharmacist, PNE, at Northwestern Medicine.

SARA HILLEBOLD , PharmD ’22, started a new position as a pharmacist at CVS Health.

ARSANY IBRAHIM , PharmD ’14, started a new position as a staff pharmacist at Walmart.

SOOJIN JUN , PharmD ’13, made the list of Top 30 Women Likely to Transform Healthcare.

WILLIAM E. KELLY , PharmD ’00, was promoted to captain in the U.S. Navy.

RYAN KOCA , PharmD ’10, started a new role as director, Pharmacy Sourcing, at MemorialCare in Southern California.

ELI KOHANPOUR , PharmD ’17, started a new position as the founding partner at Eli Equities.

MYRON LABAN , PharmD ’18, appeared on WGN’s Daytime Chicago to promote his new EP Feel

YANA LABINOV , PharmD ’11, was promoted to senior manager, Medical Affairs, Specialty, at Astellas Pharmaceutical.

ERNEST LAW , PhD ’18, started a new position as adjunct assistant professor at UIC.

GREGG LEVITAN , BS ’80, recently retired after almost 42 years practicing in retail pharmacy. He appreciates his education from the UIC College of Pharmacy for the knowledge and skills that helped him enjoy a wonderful career. Most of all, he shared he is grateful to have served and taken care of his patients and customers wherever he practiced pharmacy.

JUN MA , PharmD ’10, started a new position as a specialty pharmacy supervisor at CVS Specialty.

ANTONETT MADRIAGA , MS ’13, was promoted to senior associate scientist at the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson.

NANCY MARTIN , PharmD ’97, started a new position as chief medical officer, executive vice president, R&D, at TerSera Therapeutics.

MAGDALENA MASTALERZ , PharmD ’20, started a new position as associate director of pharmacy supply chain and procurement at UK HealthCare.

RENEE MCALISTER , PharmD ’15, started a new position as regional medical advisor at Myovant Sciences.

SHANNON MENARD , PharmD ’20, started a new position as a mental health clinical pharmacy specialist at Jesse Brown VA Medical Center.

NADIA NABULSI , PhD ’22, started a new position as associate director in HEOR Neuroscience at AbbVie.

PATRICK NDUNGU , PharmD ’21, started a new position as manager, pharmacovigilance scientist, at Horizon Pharmaceuticals.

BEDRIJA (ISIC) NIKOCEVIC , PharmD ’08, was promoted to associate professor of clinical sciences at Roosevelt University.

HENRY OKOROIKE , PharmD ’20, started a new position as clinical pharmacy specialist, Heart Failure, at Rush University Medical Center.

JANELLE PANGANIBAN , PharmD ’02, started a new position as clinical prior authorization pharmacist at Gainwell Technologies.

MARK PANGRAZZI , RES ’11, started a new position as vice president, Clinical Services, at CPS Solutions.

CAROLINE PARK , PharmD ’05, started a new position as the therapeutic area head, ImmunologyGastroenterology, U.S. Medical Affairs, at AbbVie.

AMOLEE PATEL , PharmD ’19, started a new position as clinical pharmacy specialist, Infectious Diseases, at Advocate Aurora Health.

JAMES PAVLACIC , BS ’69, officially retired from community pharmacy.

HANNAH ROPPO , PharmD ’20, started a new position as solid organ transplant clinical pharmacist at Oregon Health & Science University.

KYLIE RUSSELL , PharmD ’22, started a new position as specialist in poison information at Central Ohio Poison Center.

TINA SALEH , PharmD ’21, started a new position as clinical pharmacist, Specialty Pharmacy Services, at Michigan Medicine.

VERANIKA SASNOVSKAYA , PharmD ’18, was promoted to senior manager, Medical Affairs, Oncology, at Astellas Pharmaceuticals.

SETH SCHIFFBAUER , PharmD ’21, was promoted to acute care clinical pharmacist practitioner at Phoenix VA Health Care System.

PRATIK SHAH , PharmD ’14, started a new position as specialty pharmacy operations manager at CVS Specialty.

CHRISTOPHER STAEHLIN , PharmD ’13, started a new position as system director, Clinical Pharmacy, at Ascension

JAMES STOCK , PharmD ’15, started a new position as an analytical chemist at Woodstock Sterile Solutions.

JAMES TERNIG , PharmD ’19, started a new position as clinical staff pharmacist at Ingalls Memorial Hospital.

HARDIK THAKKAR , PharmD ’17, started a new position as district leader at CVS Health.

ALEC THOMPSON , PharmD ’21, started a new position as digital marketing manager at Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc.

MORGAN (BOLLECH) UMALI , PharmD ’19, started a new position as clinical pharmacy specialist, Ambulatory Care, at Ascension St. Joseph’s in Elgin.

KELLY VALLA , PharmD ’09, started a new position as a medical science liaison focused in lymphoid malignancies and plasma cell disorders at AbbVie.

ALINA VARABYEVA , PharmD ’19, started a new position as clinical pharmacy manager, Leukemia, at New York-Presbyterian Columbia University Medical Center.

JIM VASAVANONT , PharmD ’08, started a new position as clinical pharmacist at Gainwell Technologies.

GEORGE VASS , PharmD ’98, started a new position as national medical outcomes science liaison, Central Region, at AbbVie.

EMILY VIEHL , PharmD ’20, started a new position as an oncology pharmacy specialist at Yale New Haven Health.

CHRISTINA WILKINS , PharmD ’21, started a new position as senior scientist, Global Trial Optimization, at Merck.

DAN WOJENSKI , PharmD ’11, started a new position as medical science liaison at Bristol Myers Squibb.

MATTHEW WONG , PharmD ’20, started a new position as director of pharmacy at Aurora Lakeland Medical Center.

“BOB” A. ATKINS , MD ’45, passed away on October 20, 2022, at 100 years old. Bob’s memory will live on through his beloved family, friends, and the Dorothy Bradley Atkins Medicinal Plant Garden. Bob’s generosity has planted a space for health education, research, and solace that will live on in perpetuity.

MATTHEW HORNEY , PharmD ’17, passed away on September 6, 2021.

MICHAEL J. GROVES , former professor, head of the Department of Pharmaceutics, and director of the Institute for Tuberculosis Research at the UIC College of Pharmacy, passed away on May 15, 2022.

CRAIG KUELTZO , BS ’68, passed away August 4, 2022, at the age of 76.

ROBERT

Craig Kueltzo

Matthew Horney

Dr. Atkins celebrated his 100th birthday with Dean Schumock on October 2, 2022.

ZEBA AHMAD , PharmD ’20, and husband Zeeshan, welcomed their first child, daughter Jannah, August 6, 2022, at 5:28 a.m.

KATIE BREESE , PharmD ’19, and husband Paul Michalowski, welcomed their first child, son Arthur Andrew Breese, on August 15. He weighed in at 7lbs 11oz and measured 20.25 inches long.

KENDALL (BUCHMILLER)

DUNLAP , PharmD ’16, and husband Jason welcomed their fourth child, son Carson William Dunlap, on June 15, 2022 .

MIKE GANNON , PharmD ’15, and wife Amanda welcomed their second child, Macey Rae Gannon, on September 8, 2021. Macey Rae weighed 7lbs 5 oz and measured 20.5 inches long. She joins big sister Reese.

SHELBY (DUNCAN) HANDLEN , PharmD ’17, and husband Kyle welcomed son Caden Zeno Handlen on September 1, 2022. Caden weighed 5lbs 4oz and measured 19 inches long.

ASHLEY (MCMULLEN)

KOBYLINSKI , PharmD ’11, and husband Mark welcomed their third child, daughter Emma Kobylinski, on May 14, 2022. She joins big sisters Amelia and Clara.

BRIAN LEAV and SHREE PATEL , both PharmD ’11, welcomed their second child, daughter Naomi June Leav, on July 23, 2022. She weighed 7lbs 1oz and measured 20 inches long. She joins big sister Ellora Mei.

PETER LIN , PharmD ’21, and wife Wanlu welcomed their first child, son Yichuan Lin, on June 16, 2022.

NATALIA (JASIAK) PANEK , PharmD ’13, and husband Chris welcomed their second child, son Adrian Casey Panek, on July 19, 2022. He weighed 8lbs 3oz and measured 19.5 inches long. He joins big brother Alex.

Arthur Andrew Breese

Macey Rae Gannon

NADIA NABULSI , PhD ’22, married Michael Cloney on September 4, 2022. The newlyweds plan to honeymoon in Morocco next year but took a mini honeymoon to Michigan after the wedding.

ALEC THOMPSON and NICOLE “NIKI” FUCHS , both PharmD ’21, were married on May 27, 2022, in Waimanalo Beach, Hawaii. The newlyweds celebrated with a mini honeymoon in Turks and Caicos and will be traveling to Thailand later in the year.

DAVID UMALI , PharmD ’17 and MORGAN BOLLECH , PharmD ’19, were married on June 3, 2022. The newlyweds honeymooned in Africa.

STEVEN

BRIANNE PARRA , PharmD ’13, married Jared Willadsen on June 9, 2022, in Madison, Wisconsin. The newlyweds honeymooned in Hawaii in September.

NATASHA PATEL , PharmD ’16, married Chaitan Parikh on June 11, 2022. The

honeymooned in Antigua.

ANNESTI ELMASRI , PharmD ’21, married her husband Mohamad Abdallah on September 11, 2022. The newlyweds honeymooned in Italy.

ENGAGEMENTS

SANDY EZZET , PharmD ’17, is engaged to Jonathan Lam.

SYDNEY FISTLER , PharmD ’20, is engaged to Daniel Thorsen.

HALEY FOX , PharmD ’20, is engaged to Mike Cochran.

WAYMOND ZHOU , PharmD ’20, is engaged to Phuong Nguyen.

newlyweds

KANG , PharmD ’15, married wife Iris on July 30, 2022. The newlyweds honeymooned in Maui, Hawaii.

KATRINA CAPAPAS , PharmD ’17, married Michael Hufana on August 6, 2022. The newlyweds honeymooned in Maui, Hawaii.

KYLE HUTTNER and JACQUELYN PUNCHES , both PharmD ’19, were married on August 20, 2022. The newlyweds honeymooned in Maui, Hawaii.

TULSI JARIWALA , PharmD ’19, married Deven Patel on August 20, 2022. The newlyweds are planning a mini honeymoon to Turks and Caicos.

833 S. WOOD ST. (MC 874) · CHICAGO, IL 60612

Plan Today and Invest in the future

The University of Illinois Chicago College of Pharmacy is continually strengthened by the generosity of our dedicated alumni and friends. As you reflect on your own goals, we hope you’ll also consider a deferred gift that will benefit the college after your lifetime.

We can provide you the language to include the University of Illinois Foundation for the benefit of the college in your will or living trust and also custom language for a beneficiary designation via a retirement plan, whole-life insurance policy, or payable on death (POD)/transferable on death (TOD) account or to further designate your bequest in a way that is meaningful to you.

Please contact director of gift planning Jason James Shuba, JD, for more information on how to invest in the future at the UIC College of Pharmacy.

Office of Gift Planning and Trust Services, 1305 W. Green St., MC 386, Urbana, IL 61801 312.413.3394 | shuba@uif.uillinois.edu

The University of Illinois Chicago College of Pharmacy is continually strengthened by the generosity of our dedicated alumni and friends. As you reflect on your own goals, we hope you’ll also consider a deferred gift that will benefit the college after your lifetime.

We can provide you the language to include the University of Illinois Foundation for the benefit of the college in your will or living trust and also custom language for a beneficiary designation via a retirement plan, whole-life insurance policy, or payable on death (POD)/ transferable on death (TOD) account or to further designate your bequest in a way that is meaningful to you.

Please contact director of gift planning Jason James Shuba, JD, for more information on how to invest in the future at the UIC College of Pharmacy.

Office of Gift Planning and Trust Services 1305 W. Green St., MC 386 Urbana, IL 61801 312.413.3394 | shuba@uif.uillinois.edu

PLAN TODAY AND INVEST IN THE