The Pharmacist - Spring 2023

8 UIC EXPANDS ACADEMIC DETAILING NATIONWIDE

12 PARTNERSHIP SPOTLIGHT: UCHICAGO MED

20 INVESTING IN THE FUTURE

Springing Forward–A Community Effort

BY DEAN GLEN SCHUMOCK

Welcome to the spring 2023 issue of The Pharmacist —the magazine of the University of Illinois Chicago College of Pharmacy that has been published since 1868! The magazine features the many great success stories about our faculty, staff, students, alumni, and partners—and how we impact our patients and communities.

I am proud to report that the college continues that success and impact in all aspects of our mission— education, research, and service. This was affirmed again recently by the American Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), which in January granted the college a full eight years of accreditation of our PharmD program. This is a tribute to the hard work and dedication of the entire UIC College of Pharmacy family.

We are successful because of the people that make up our pharmacy community. A key part of that is the healthcare organizations that partner with us. They employ our alumni, collaborate with our faculty, precept our students, and much more. In this issue we describe our partnership with the University of Chicago Medicine (UCM). Led by UCM vice president and chief pharmacy

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officer Denise Scarpelli, PharmD ’96, that relationship has benefited countless UIC pharmacy students over the years. For example, students in UCM’s Longitudinal Advanced Pharmacy Program become intimately knowledgeable about the institution—making them very competitive for residencies or employment at UCM. That, of course, also benefits UCM.

Experiences for our students, like that at UCM, are just part of how the UIC College of Pharmacy stays on top. Another exciting effort described in these pages is our rapidly expanding academic detailing program highlighted on the cover. Known as “Illinois ADVANCE,” the program is a partnership with Illinois Medicaid that pairs UIC pharmacists with physicians across the state to improve prescribing of opioids and other drugs. The program is headed by Mary Moody, BS ’79, associate dean for professional and governmental affairs, who recently secured a large grant from the FDA to expand the program nationally. Improving prescribing through academic detailing will ultimately impact the health of potentially millions of patients.

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Programs like Illinois ADVANCE rely on talented pharmacy faculty, engaged students, and the infrastructure to support innovation. Engaged alumni and friends of the UIC College of Pharmacy have time and again shown their willingness to provide that support—by volunteering their time or by contributing financially for important causes. In this issue we recognize some of that recent support.

The Sandra and Tae Park Family Scholarship, established by sisters Sharon Park, PharmD ’04, and Caro Park, PharmD ’05, is a great example. The scholarship, for immigrant or first-generation pharmacy students, honors Sharon and Caro’s parents, who immigrated from South Korea to start a new life. The Dr. Matthew A. Horney Memorial Fund is also featured. This fund was established by the family of Matthew Horney, PharmD ’17, a graduate of the Rockford campus who passed away in 2021 and left a legacy of love and dedication to learning. Finally, we also recognize the Dean Rosalie Sagraves Student Travel Fund. This was established by Dean Emerita Rosalie Sagraves to support student travel to meetings and conferences in order to enrich their professional experiences.

The success of the UIC College of Pharmacy is a community effort. It comes from the combined efforts of our faculty, staff, students, alumni, and partners. It comes from our partnerships, our spirit of innovation, and by our engagement. Thank you for being part of this community.

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

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

PHARMACIST CE PROGRAMS

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

SPECIALTY PHARMACY PROGRAMS

Please visit go.uic.edu/SpecialtyPharm for our new specialty pharmacy programs.

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 Opioid Analgesic Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) education requirement by the FDA and meets DEA requirements for opioid education. For more information, please visit academicdetail .pharmacy.uic.edu.

CHICAGOLAND CRITICAL CARE CONFERENCE

issuu.com/uicpharmacy

Please save the date for the 8th annual Chicagoland Critical Care Conference to be held at UIC College of Pharmacy on Saturday, August 26, 2023. More information and registration coming soon!

ILLINOIS TRANSPLANT PHARMACISTS ASSOCIATION (ITPA) SYMPOSIUM

Please save the date for the 6th annual Illinois Transplant Pharmacists Association (ITPA) Symposium to be held at the UIC College of Pharmacy on Saturday, September 16, 2023. More information and registration coming soon!

Zackery Bulman Receives $3.6M Grant to Combat Drug-Resistant Superbugs

THE FIVE-YEAR R01 GRANT IS THE LARGEST EVER FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF PHARMACY PRACTICE

Dr. Zackery Bulman, assistant professor of pharmacy practice, recently received a $3.66 million, fiveyear R01 grant as PI for his project titled “Precise Combination Strategies Targeting CarbapenemResistant Klebsiella pneumoniae” (R01AI173064). This project will develop new antibiotic combination treatment approaches for drug-resistant superbugs, which can cause serious infections associated with high mortality rates.

DEVELOPING NEW TREATMENTS FOR A MAJOR GLOBAL THREAT

Superbugs, such as the antibiotic-resistant bacterium K. pneumoniae commonly found in the intestines, are considered a top priority by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO). According to the CDC, more than 2.8 million microbial-resistant infections occur in the United States each year, resulting in over 35,000 deaths. These pathogens also impose a large financial burden on society, costing an estimated $2.8 billion per year.

Bulman’s project will strategically combine two different classes of antibiotics, beta-lactam/beta-lactamase inhibitors and aminoglycosides, to develop new, more personalized therapies for drug-resistant K. pneumoniae infections.

“There is a significant opportunity to improve the effects of aminoglycosides by selecting ones that are tailored to the patient’s isolate based on the pathogen’s resistance gene signature,” says Bulman. The project will also optimize antibiotic doses, timing, and duration and will aim to better clarify the process of interaction between aminoglycosides and beta-lactams, which remains unclear.

The grant is also a significant milestone for the Department of Pharmacy Practice. “Dr. Bulman’s award is the largest R01 in the history of our department and will support advancing his important work to find much needed treatment options for drug-resistant superbugs,” says Dr. Edith Nutescu, head of the department.

This project is made possible through collaborations with renowned experts in antimicrobial pharmacology from around the world. Dr. Bulman (PI) leads a team that includes coinvestigators Dr. Alexander Mankin, UIC Pharmaceutical Sciences; Dr. Juergen Bulitta, University of Florida; Dr. Yinzhi Lang, University of Florida; Dr. Alan Hauser, Northwestern University; and Dr. Egon Ozer, Northwestern University, and Dr. Jian Li, Monash University, Australia. “The collective expertise of this team provides an unparalleled opportunity for us to be able to overcome some of the therapeutic challenges presented by these superbugs,” Bulman says.

Dr. DAPHNE SMITH MARSH participated as a subject matter expert during Rep. Jan Schakowsky’s press conference on the high costs of diabetes treatments and how they could be reduced through the Inflation Reduction Act.

Dean GLEN SCHUMOCK took part in the ribboncutting for the new Specialty Care Building at 1009 South Wood Street. The building includes six floors of patient-care space with eight operating rooms, eight procedure rooms, and 48 surgery bays. It also includes 182 rooms for gastroenterology, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, transplantation, and urology specialty clinics and a pharmacy.

UIC Faculty Awards Ceremony

On Wednesday, October 26, 2022, several College of Pharmacy faculty were honored at UIC's Faculty Awards Ceremony and Reception (pictured).

■ JOANNA BURDETTE was named University Scholar.

■ MARLOWE DJURIC KACHLIC received the Teaching Recognition Program Award.

■ BRIAN MURPHY was awarded the Global Engagement Faculty Award.

■ MARIANNE POP and KEVIN RYNN were presented with the 2022 Interprofessional Teaching in Action Matters (I-TEAM) Award Recipients.

The UIC Pharmacy’s SPECIALTY PHARMACY SERVICES group completed the Accreditation Commission for Health Care Specialty Pharmacy Re-Accreditation with zero deficiencies.

Drs. TERRY MOORE and PAVEL A. PETUKHOV won UIC Proof of Concept Awards. The awards recognize innovative research that can translate into impactful business ventures.

Dr. RODRIGO BURGOS was recognized by the National Institute for Health Clinical Center for his significant contribution to the consensus guidelines “Prevention and Treatment of Opportunistic Infections in Adults and Adolescents with HIV.”

Dr. ANDREW RILEY was named a 2023 Thieme USA Chemistry Journals Awardee. This award is presented yearly to up-and-coming researchers worldwide who are in the early stages of their independent academic careers as assistant or junior professors.

Dr. ALICE HEMENWAY received a Pilot Grant from the UIC Center for Clinical and Translational Science. The CCTS Pilot Program supports projects that span the translational spectrum. Dr. Hemenway's study is titled “Association of Race or Ethnicity with Extended-spectrum Beta-lactamase production in E. coli.”

Drs. BEATRICE DRAMBAREAN and ELIZABETH VAN DRIL received commendations from the American College of Clinical Pharmacy for their outstanding contributions and for

serving as authors for chapters published in the Pharmacotherapy Self-Assessment Program.

YU “TOM” GAO was awarded two new multiyear federal grants totaling $2.4 million to learn about cancer progression and cancer outcomes.

Dr. BLAKE MAX is the coinvestigator on a $3 million grant that will help the Midwest AIDS Training and Education Center (MATEC) expand it’s services nationwide.

Student pharmacist OLAMIDE K. ADEBOGUN was selected as a UIC Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Scholar. Olamide said, “This scholarship will contribute towards my educational finances substantially. I am honored to…carry on his legacy.”

CAROLYN STRAUB , Pharmaceutical Sciences PhD student in the Andrew Riley Lab, created the cover art for the January 12, 2023, issue of the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. It depicts an iboga plant (Tabernanthe iboga), which produces ibogaine, with its roots wrapped around a human brain.

Matthew Rim, Brian Murphy, Marianne Pop, Tim Killeen, Kevin Rynn, Mike Koronkowski, Joanna Burdette

Catching Up with the Class of 2017

Dr. Prital Patel Rises to Senior Medical Safety Position at AbbVie

For Dr. Prital Patel, PharmD ’17, earning her degree from the well-respected UIC College of Pharmacy was her first big achievement in pharmacy—and one that opened important doors in her career.

Today, Patel serves as a senior medical-safety analyst at AbbVie. In this role, Patel analyzes adverse event data and, with the more senior title, stays abreast of new AbbVie medical compounds from initial stages to clinical trials. Currently, that includes an upcoming neuroscience compound.

Patel credits UIC with opening her eyes to possibilities in the pharmaceutical industry, which she learned about from speakers at UIC Pharmacy organizations. Through a rotation at Baxter, she additionally gained handson experience that “gave me an idea of . . . the contribution I could make to patient safety and helping patients,” she said.

Importantly, that UIC degree on her resume made her current position possible, Patel said. “I’m fortunate that I was able to go to UIC and land a job in the pharma industry . . . without a fellowship or residency,” she said. “I’m also very proud to have gone through UIC because that’s where my career really started.”

Dr. Katherine S. DeSanctis Makes Director in Five Years

In just five years, Dr. Katherine S. DeSanctis, PharmD ’17, went from graduation to a leadership position at a 1,000-bed hospital. Now director of pharmacy operations at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), she attributes her rapid ascent to an eagerness to keep growing.

“Every time there was an opportunity that was traditionally outside my role . . . I saw it as a chance to develop a skill in a different way,” she said. “I would say yes to those opportunities.”

DeSanctis oversees three operations with three managers and about 100 pharmacists and technicians. She said she got a leg up in pharmacy administration at UIC, where rotations and the pharmacy’s integration with the hospital exposed her to the field. “Had I not been at UIC, I probably wouldn’t have seen that practice model.”

At MGH, DeSanctis transformed the pharmacy into a more integrated team. Under her “One Pharmacy Operation” slogan, everyone gets cross-trained to help other areas, particularly important amid COVID-19 staffing challenges. “My goal was—we’re going to be one pharmacy,” she said. “I’m really proud of that . . . we’ve definitely improved our culture.”

Dr. Dawn Hyatt Takes Nontraditional Path in Managed Care Pharmacy

For Dawn Hyatt, PharmD ’17, encouragement from UIC Pharmacy mentors and experiences at the college set the groundwork for a nontraditional pharmacy career—one she hadn’t expected as a new student.

Today, Hyatt lends her clinical expertise to CVS’s Caremark Pharmacy program as a clinical advisor. She helps strategize recommendations on trending medicines that companies may want to manage with formulary programs, among other costmanagement clinical projects.

Hyatt was attracted to this field by the complexities of specialty medications, including their financial implications for payors and patients.

She credits now-retired UIC College of Pharmacy professor Nick Popovich, whose courses featured speakers from an array of pharmacy professions, for opening her eyes to nontraditional paths.

“He really encouraged us to try something different,” which can take bravery “when all your peers are going to work in the hospital or retail pharmacy,” she said. Hyatt encourages current students to muster that courage. “My advice is just don’t be afraid to try something new.”

Dr. Ruchik Patel Advances Specialty Pharmacy Innovation

Dr. Ruchik Patel, PharmD ’17, business coordinator for specialty pharmacy services at UI Health, says he wouldn’t have found his career’s focus without the UIC College of Pharmacy.

Thanks to the college’s pioneering involvement in specialty pharmacy, Patel gained early exposure to the field, volunteering as a student with UI Health’s specialty pharmacy group starting in 2013.

“Through my volunteer experience . . . I found my calling,” he said. “If I had gone to some other college of pharmacy, I’m not confident I would have had that same experience.”

Patel devoted himself to specialty pharmacy thereafter, including completing a residency in managed care and specialty pharmacy at CVS.

He began his current role in March 2020, just as COVID-19 arrived. His group not only succeeded in protecting patients and staff during the pandemic, but grew prescription volume by 10% in 2020–2021—all while continuing to innovate, Patel said.

“I’m proud of what we’re doing day in and day out with specialty pharmacy,” he said. “We’ve continued to evolve and push the envelope with how we’re bringing care to patients.”

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UIC EXPANDS Academic

Illinois ADVANCE, the nation’s largest academic detailing unit, takes its existing opioid program nationwide while extending its efforts in Illinois to address other disease states.

BY DANIEL P. SMITH

EXPANDS Detailing Work

UIC-based Illinois ADVANCE (Academic Detailing Visits and New Evidence Center)—the nation’s largest academic detailing unit—is now talking opioids with prescribers across the country and broadening its existing academic detailing work in Illinois to include other chronic health conditions.

“Having an evidence-based presentation from a balanced, knowledgeable group of peers plays a valuable role in prescribing and clinical decision-making and helps to optimize patient care,” says Mary Moody, BS ’79, associate dean for professional and governmental affairs and head of Illinois ADVANCE.

Ultimately, we want prescribers aware and informed when prescribing. That’s our foremost goal.

ILLINOIS ADVANCE GOES NATIONWIDE

Last October, Illinois ADVANCE received a U.S. Food & Drug Administration grant to educate the nation’s healthcare providers about risk evaluation and mitigation strategies surrounding opioids, thereby extending the group’s well-established program in Illinois. Over the program’s first two months, academic detailers discussed opioid risks with more than 150 physicians across every region of the United States via virtual sessions.

“We’ve embraced the opportunity to take our unique approach to education, one that has resonated with physicians and proven successful in Illinois, to more prescribers across the country,” Moody says of her team, which features 30 clinical pharmacists.

In the one-on-one meetings, which often run 15–20 minutes, Illinois ADVANCE detailers share unbiased, up-to-date, and evidence-based information on the risks of opioids. Following an initial needs assessment, the detailers tailor subsequent information to each provider, sharing the latest research and insights on topics such as when and how to use the high-potency agents and how to successfully taper opioid use. The current grant runs through August 2023.

“These individualized visits offer providers a chance to ask questions they might not otherwise ask in a group setting,” says Moody, adding that Illinois ADVANCE has worked with state medical agencies, pharmacy societies, and physician organizations to spotlight its academic work while also leveraging social media campaigns and, increasingly, word of mouth among prescribers to broaden its reach.

In early December, Illinois ADVANCE detailer Dr. Amy Madhiwala, PharmD ’11, met with a physician in Michigan who shared gratitude for the opportunity to have a focused conversation with a pharmacist knowledgeable about opioids.

“She didn’t know academic detailing about opioids existed and was so grateful for our conversation,” Madhiwala says. “It’s nice to know we’re making an

impact across the United States and helping to make our healthcare colleagues’ lives a pinch easier.”

And Illinois ADVANCE’s impact extends beyond anecdotal reports. In a paper published in the November/December 2020 issue of the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association, a team of researchers from the UIC College of Pharmacy noted a reduction in opioid prescribing among clinicians following academic detailing visits.

“We’re seeing our education lead to changes in prescribing, which means our efforts are resonating,” Moody says.

ACADEMIC DETAILING BEYOND OPIOIDS

Embracing its leading role in the accelerating academic detailing field, an effort initially modeled after the work of pharmaceutical manufacturers to promote their drugs, the Illinois ADVANCE team has expanded in other ways too.

A 2019 Illinois law required the establishment of an evidence-based, noncommercial education program for the state’s Medicaid prescribers. While that effort began with opioids—an immediate and pressing statewide need—the law required academic detailers to eventually address other chronic diseases. As such, the UIC group has gradually incorporated various other conditions into its portfolio, including diabetes, asthma, smoking cessation, RSV, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. Following an unexpected increase in syphilis among adolescents in the state, the Illinois ADVANCE team introduced detailing on sexually transmitted infections as well as HIV PrEP and PEP.

Since January 2020, Illinois ADVANCE detailers have completed more than 700 visits with Illinois physicians and prescribers, Moody notes, and released numerous one-hour educational programs on topics such as asthma, RSV, and hypertension on its website.

Between the academic detailing visits and the online programming, Moody says Illinois ADVANCE continues to help prescribers keep pace with evolving medical

Ultimately, we want prescribers more aware and informed when prescribing. That’s our foremost goal.

more prescribing.

literature and to offer objective information that avoids touting any one treatment over another.

“We don’t have a dog in the race and are focused solely on the evidence,” Moody says. “Ultimately, we want prescribers more aware and informed when prescribing. That’s our foremost goal.”

UIC College of Pharmacy dean Glen Schumock considers the growth of Illinois ADVANCE and academic detailing as a whole important to helping physicians and other providers enhance patient care with respect to medications. It also represents an extension of the college’s overarching mission to educate and serve.

“Who better than pharmacists to be educating physicians about using medications?” Schumock asks. “While education is a function of every pharmacist, academic detailing formalizes it and makes it into a population-level program rather than a patient-level program. It expands education to the nth degree.”

A COMPELLING OPPORTUNITY FOR PHARMACISTS

Academic detailing’s continued rise is a significant development for pharmacists as well, elevating the standing of pharmacists in the healthcare landscape and unlocking another unique professional opportunity for pharmacists to practice at the top of their license.

When Madhiwala entered pharmacy school in 2007, she did so envisioning a career in retail pharmacy, prospects

she then fulfilled for nearly two years after graduation. In 2013, however, she transitioned to working in managed care at UIC, where she has been heavily involved in academic detailing over the last three years.

“Academic detailing has offered a completely different professional experience than I ever imagined for myself as a pharmacy student,” Madhiwala says. “I’ve enjoyed spending one-on-one time with providers and informing them about new medications and guidelines, hearing about the barriers and concerns they face, and identifying resources to help drive patient care in positive directions.”

At UIC, PharmD students can shadow academic detailers during their first year and complete an academic detailing rotation during their final year of pharmacy school as well. The exposure to academic detailing helps students understand potential professional roles outside of the traditional tracks in clinical or retail pharmacy and also arms them with universal skills they can employ in their careers, such as effectively communicating their knowledge to other healthcare professionals.

“The College of Pharmacy is always on the cutting edge of change for pharmacy, and academic detailing continues that tradition,” Moody says. “Before we started doing academic detailing in Illinois, no one else was doing it. We’re helping prescribers, patients, and students, and that’s an incredibly gratifying feeling.”

UCHICAGO MEDICINE

BY JESSICA CANLAS

uynh, PharmD ’21, was born and raised in Chicago. Her parents, however, were not.

With parents hailing from two different countries, Huynh experienced both the joys and challenges of being a second-generation immigrant. Since neither of her parents are native English speakers, Huynh witnessed their communication struggles in many settings, including healthcare. One exception, however, proved so impactful that it directed her career choice.

“I would go to this mom-and-pop pharmacy with my dad once a month,” she recalls. “They took the time to explain things to us. I associated [those visits] with good public health practice and Inspired by those recollections, Huynh went on to study global health as an undergraduate before earning her PharmD at UIC and is now

IT ISN’T UNUSUAL FOR STUDENTS WHO DO ROTATIONS AT UCM TO APPLY THERE FOR RESIDENCY, AND THEN JOIN ON AS STAFF.

Huynh isn’t new to UCM. As a UIC Pharmacy student, and thanks to the longstanding partnership that the two institutions have developed, she had the opportunity to do two rotations there for her P3 and P4 APPEs.

“[UChicago] is a dynamic institution that is known for its high-quality healthcare,” says Dean Glen Schumock. “This creates a lot of beneficial opportunities for our students.”

One such opportunity is UCM’s Longitudinal Advanced Pharmacy Program (LAPP), a unique experiential education program in which pharmacy students undergo a minimum of four different rotations on site.

“The advantage is that [students] get better acquainted with the institution—the people, the layout, the infrastructure—and experience a variety of practice experiences in the same location, which allows them to be more capable of contributing at a different level,” explains Schumock.

As clinical manager of pharmacy education and director of graduate studies at UCM, Olabisi Falana, who claims that she’d be a teacher if she wasn’t a pharmacist, is continuously investigating departmental and institutional opportunities to enhance learning experiences for LAPP students.

One of UCM’s current initiatives involves a pharmacogenomics study among surgical patients, who are allowed to enroll in the study during pre-op. Participants are swabbed, and information is collected to develop pharmacogenomic profiles. Students then assess the data, which includes current medications, to determine an appropriate therapy for a patient’s disease state. Falana and another colleague then review and sign off on recommendations.

in her PGY1 residency at the University of Chicago. Huynh says she selected UChicago Medicine with an interest in working with multicultural communities, as well as quality instruction.

“Healthcare should be a right, but it’s sometimes treated as a privilege,” says Hyunh. “It’s about being able to use the resources that you have to work with a diverse population.”

Being in multi-ethnic Hyde Park, UCM offers plenty of opportunity to treat a variety of patients.

“I feel I should have exposure to different community environments to better serve people in the future.”

“This is something that is rarely taught in a pharmacy school curriculum,” says Falana. “We’re giving students the opportunity to be involved in a life-changing practice that will be the norm in the next 10 years.”

As the LAPP coordinator, clinical pharmacist Hilary Sheridan is involved with every aspect of the LAPP student experience, including matching each student to a mentor for the duration of their time at UCM, which gives the pair an opportunity to build a relationship. The LAPP mentor advises students on goal-setting, residency program selection and even offers guidance through the residency application process, including CV preparation and sharpening interview skills. Sheridan herself has served as a preceptor since she started at UCM in 2015 and believes that the long-term mentorship aspect of LAPP is what sets it apart.

“Pharmacy is our profession,” says Sheridan. “Students are only going to be as good as their instructors. We all have a responsibility to make sure that new graduates are meeting certain expectations for our profession.”

“I would not be the clinician I am today if I didn’t have good preceptors, so we need to pay it forward.”

Among UCM’s current preceptors are about a dozen UIC-trained clinicians who feel the same, including Sana Said, PharmD ’16, RES ’18, clinical pharmacy specialist in the pediatric ICU and one of UCM’s PGY1 residency coordinators. Like Huynh, Said was drawn to the profession by observing the relationships that her neighborhood pharmacists developed with the community during her childhood and subsequently discovered clinical pharmacy as a student at UIC. She was first introduced to UCM during a visiting rotation in pediatrics when her residency program director at UIC connected her with a colleague-friend at UCM. After finishing her PGY2, Said secured a permanent position in UCM’s pediatric intensive care unit.

“What’s interesting about UIC students is that many come in with background knowledge of pediatrics that other students don’t have,” she observes. “It’s always nice to expand on an existing knowledge base. It allows for interesting discussion and learning.”

Patrick Costello, PharmD ’15, who attended to the college’s Rockford campus, came to pharmacy after getting his EMT license and working as a pharmacy tech after undergrad. A clinical pharmacy specialist in critical care, Costello completed both his PGY1 and PGY2 at UCM and is now also a PGY1 residency coordinator.

“Being a pharmacist is where it’s at,” says Costello, who believes he has the best job in the hospital. “Everything I’m doing is adding value to the patient experience.”

Unlike Said, Costello often works with students who have no experience in his area of expertise.

“They sign up because they know what they’re getting themselves into,” he says, “which leads to motivated students and a big reward for me to witness their growth over time.”

As residency coordinator, Costello continues to be impressed by the applicants he sees from his alma mater. He estimates at least two UIC students each year match to stay on as residents and is grateful to continue working with them as they continue their training.

“I often wonder how it is that I got a residency here,” he says. “All the [UIC alumni] are rock stars. But I’m probably biased.”

It isn’t unusual for students who do rotations at UCM to apply there for residency and then join on as staff. Vice president and chief pharmacy officer Denise Scarpelli, PharmD ’96, calls it “succession planning.” In fact, she says half of her management team completed their PGY2 at UCM in advanced pharmacy leadership.

“We have an extensive learner program,” she says. “We take on students in many different ways, and we have a large residency program. . . . To us, it’s on-the-job training. We can see their strengths and weaknesses, and they learn about us.”

To that end, as UCM learns more about the resident and discovers his or her interest, she says, they tailor the resident’s training to allow more exposure to that particular area.

“We look at the residency program as building our [employment] pool, so we do try to offer positions to all the individuals who complete the program.”

Scarpelli, who served as UIC Pharmacy’s commencement speaker in 2021, worked at Walgreens for more than 20 years before joining UCM in 2017. Alongside her other roles, she precepts students in the Advanced Pharmacy Leadership rotation. To her, the UIC student stands apart.

“When you’re a preceptor who sees students from other schools, you see the difference. The UIC student is a highly skilled top candidate who knows the basics and more. There is a higher trust level of allowing that student more autonomy because we know the education they’re getting.”

The relationship between the two institutions isn’t limited to student and resident programming.

Edith Nutescu, professor and head of the Department of Pharmacy Practice at UIC, praises UCM as one of UIC’s “premier partners, not only in the training of our students, but also in valuable relationships with several clinical pharmacists who collaborate with our faculty on practice, research, and teaching opportunities.”

Costello,

Specialist

Patrick

PharmD ’15, Clinical Pharmacy

at UCM

Deb Bondi, RES ’18, for example, is pediatric clinical pharmacy coordinator and director of the PGY2 pediatric pharmacy residency program. She was attracted to UCM because she found the practice environment similar to what she enjoyed at UIC.

Last year, Bondi, along with one of her colleagues, was invited to return to UIC as an adjunct assistant clinical professor.

“Teaching is something that offers multiple levels of satisfaction,” she says. “The most obvious is watching the growth of the learner, but there are other ways that we [instructors] can directly benefit from learners.”

In the NICU, Bondi typically offers APPE students the opportunity to participate in data collection projects, which can sometimes develop into full-blown research projects. Not only does the data inform her own work, she admits that she often finds herself learning from students about new treatments, populations she’s not familiar with, or even changes in practice methods.

Beyond the exchange of knowledge, however, lies a deeper and arguably more significant aspect of the collaboration between scientists and practitioners all fixed on a common goal. At the end of the day, they

all share a priority—easily seen through the way it is integrally woven through the partnership that UIC and UCM share—that enhances the practice of pharmacy, and, quite likely, the living of life: building relationships.

Scarpelli herself recalls the impact that the close relationships developed by the corner pharmacist in her family’s neighborhood had on her community. Her desire to engage with patients in that same way is what led her to retail pharmacy.

In her experience, UIC students arrive at UCM with a head start on that particular competency.

“We trust that they can communicate professionally with colleagues and patients,” she says. “They can be a valuable member of interdisciplinary teams and round with doctors and nurses. They are able to begin training at a higher level and can have knowledgeable conversations.”

As an example, Huynh so impressed Falana with her compassion and approach to patient care that Falana offered to be her mentor even after she finished her student rotations. Huynh took her up on the offer and followed up by coming in on her own time to shadow Falana on weekends and continue to learn.

Joann Huynh, PharmD ’21; PGY1 Resident at UCM

Sana Said, PharmD ’16, Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor, UIC Pharmacy Practice, and Clinical Pharmacy Specialist at UCM

Help Us with a Further Boost of Curb Appeal and Leave Your Mark on the College!

meet the interns

AILEEN N. PHAM P4

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO PURSUE A CAREER IN PHARMACY?

Helping people who are sick is the most fulfilling career, in my opinion. Specifically, pharmacists are very accessible to the public compared to other health professions. When I worked as a community pharmacy technician at CVS and Walmart, I saw patients of all kinds ask my pharmacist questions about anything. I believe that knowledge should be shared, so I value that, as a pharmacist, I could counsel patients who come to me for advice.

HOW DID YOU LEARN ABOUT LAPP, AND WHY WERE YOU DRAWN TO IT?

I applied for LAPP after reaching out to a few past UCM LAPP students. This clinically focused program has prepared me for residency in geriatric specialization or medication safety, two of my biggest passions in pharmacy. Completing four rotations at UCM offered me the opportunity to be part of longitudinal research projects and presentations with residents and to form enhanced professional relationships with mentors.

WHAT HAVE YOU FOUND MOST VALUABLE FROM YOUR EXPERIENCE THERE?

I have been involved in the Implementing Pharmacogenomics in the Pharmacist’s Perioperative Care Setting study. I performed clinical review of perioperative patients using pharmacogenomics results as part of the ImPreSS trial, a study to prevent inappropriate medication use and increase providers’ adoption of pharmacogenomics in high-risk settings. I created a training video to train other pharmacy students involved in the study.

Another memorable project was assisting the chief pharmacy quality and medication safety officer with tracking fiscal year 2022 dispensing events and assessing data trends.

Exposure to these projects has been extremely valuable in helping me develop the leadership, clinical, and interprofessional skills I need to pursue PGY1 residency.

THIS CLINICALLY FOCUSED PROGRAM HAS PREPARED ME FOR RESIDENCY IN GERIATRIC SPECIALIZATION OR MEDICATION SAFETY, TWO OF MY BIGGEST PASSIONS IN PHARMACY.

MEZHGAN ASLAMY P4

WHAT PROMPTED YOUR INTEREST IN UCM?

I was immediately drawn into UCM when I learned that, as an 811-bed large academic medical institution, UCM offers a wide range of specialties. Additionally, patients at UCM may not have prior exposure to adequate healthcare and can be extremely sick. Having the opportunity to learn how pharmacists and other team members provide the best care to complex patients through advancements in technology and research in modern medicine seemed incredibly rewarding as a student who’s interested in clinical pharmacy.

HOW DID YOU LEARN ABOUT LAPP, AND WHY WERE YOU DRAWN TO IT?

The LAPP advertisement was placed on Blackboard as an announcement during perhaps one of the busiest weeks as a P3. I was excited about how a longitudinal experience within the same institution can offer insight of what a residency might be like, the ability to network with pharmacists/residents/other healthcare team members, and the research opportunities.

Thus far, I’ve had my rotations in Community Meds2Beds, Infectious Disease Consult, General Medicine, and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

WHAT HAVE YOU FIND MOST VALUABLE FROM YOUR EXPERIENCE THERE?

UCM has allowed me the opportunity to understand higher-level thinking by working with pharmacists and other team members in a variety of specialty areas. My preceptors encourage me and challenge me to develop skillsets that allow me to think critically and create recommendations to the rounding team for patients.

I feel motivated in continuing to learn in the profession of pharmacy by working alongside team members who are passionate about caring for their patients. I’ve had the opportunity to learn from my team members and their clinical expertise, in addition to their admiration towards research and development of best care of practice.

UCM HAS ALLOWED ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO UNDERSTAND HIGHERLEVEL THINKING BY WORKING WITH PHARMACISTS AND OTHER TEAM MEMBERS IN A VARIETY OF SPECIALTY AREAS.

INVESTING IN THE FUTURE

BY MICHAEL DHAR

investing

DR. MATTHEW A. HORNEY MEMORIAL FUND

A deep love of learning helped make Matthew A. Horney, PharmD ’17, not only an outstanding pharmacist, but also an accomplished woodworker. He built beautiful crafts and furnishings for the friends and family who meant so much to him.

When Matthew passed away in 2021, his sister-in-law Ashley Badgley decided a UIC scholarship would honor both his memory and dedication to learning. “He valued education for everyone,” she said. “I’m sure if he’d have had $30,000 to donate to give other people education, he would have done that himself.”

Starting in 2024, the fund will grant roughly $1,000 annually to a UIC Rockford student, with preference for those from nearby McHenry County, where Matthew grew up. That proximity helped sway Matthew toward UIC Rockford, said his wife, Abby Horney. “Matthew was very close with his family,”

A sterling math and science student, he also and appreciated that UIC helped him forge a STEM career. “Matthew was an incredible

skills after shifts at Phillips Total Care pharmacy in Wisconsin, where worked. “He could build things out of nothing,” turning “scraps of wood . . . into these absolutely beautiful things,” Ashley said.

But memories of Matthew’s gentle nature and dedication to family stand out most for Ashley. “He was firm in his love of the people he really cared about,” she said. That family includes two sisters, two brothers, and parents still in McHenry County. Abby and Matthew’s son, Isaac, arrived in 2020, spurring even deeper devotion to family.

“Watching him go from husband to also a father was the most amazing transition I’ve ever seen,” Abby said. “He’s never loved someone quite like our son.”

SANDRA AND TAE PARK FAMILY SCHOLARSHIP FUND

When Sandra and Tae Park came to the United States from South Korea in the 1970s, immigrants needed sponsorships. Sandra got hers from nursing friends who helped the young nurse establish her own career here, while Tae was sponsored by his brother and set up a life as an auto body shop owner.

The two would face many more challenges in the new country where they met and started a family. Their daughters, Drs. Caro and Sharon Park, PharmD ’05 and ’04 respectively, hope to honor that struggle for a new life with the Sandra and Tae Park Family Scholarship. First awarded in spring 2023, the $1,000 scholarship goes to immigrant or first-generation UIC PharmD students. “We were looking for a way to give back to the

Endowed scholarships created through UIC’s IGNITE campaign demonstrate the spirit and commitment of the College of Pharmacy community.

Matthew A. Horney

college,” Caro said, “and we wanted to acknowledge . . . what our parents did for us.”

For Sandra, who passed away in 2022, and Tae, the challenges of immigration included language barriers and losing the support systems of close-knit families. “But overall, the main challenges [are that] you're in a different place . . . navigating a foreign country and making your living there,” Caro said.

Like many immigrant parents, the Parks placed tremendous value on education, making a scholarship the perfect tribute, Caro said. And like many first-generation children of immigrants, the Park sisters inherited solid work ethics. Honoring that work ethic and love of education with a scholarship thrilled their parents, including Sandra, who knew about the fund before she passed away. “She was super-happy that we were doing a scholarship with her name and my dad's name on it,” Caro said.

As that scholarship helps cement her parents’ legacy, Caro said she hopes it also helps bring success to more immigrant families. “The goal is to get as many people across that finish line as possible.”

DEAN ROSALIE SAGRAVES STUDENT TRAVEL FUND

Travel played a significant role in the impressive career of dean emerita Dr. Rosalie Sagraves. With the Dean Rosalie Sagraves Student Travel Fund, she hopes to make the enriching opportunities of professional travel available to more pharmacy students.

The fund will help students attend national pharmacy and healthcare meetings as officers of professional

organizations or to deliver research presentations. These meetings provide students opportunities to learn and network, boosting their careers while they also represent UIC Pharmacy. When deciding on gifts for various institutions, Sagraves and her husband, Arthur Kameshka, gravitated toward travel funds because both had experienced those same benefits.

“One of the things that helped our careers was getting to know pharmacists across the country, getting to network, going to national meetings,” Sagraves said. “He and I decided that one of the areas [we supported] should be for students, and it would be a travel fund.”

Before establishing this fund, Sagraves made a tremendous impact on UIC Pharmacy beginning in 1995; she served as dean until 2006 and professor until 2008. Under her leadership, the college doubled research funding and revamped its curriculum to offer more clinical opportunities, among many advancements. When she joined UIC, Sagraves became the first female dean at a Big 10 pharmacy school. Her husband, who passed away, dedicated his career to community and hospital pharmacy.

Reflecting the fund’s values, Sagraves has traveled broadly herself, visiting 50 states and 36 countries. She thrived in advancing pharmacy globally, including helping Kuwait establish a PharmD curriculum.

Sagraves said she hopes her fund inspires UIC students to similarly make connections far and wide—and strive for leadership positions. “What I want to see come out of this is that . . . some of these students would become pharmacy leaders or leaders in health professions in general.”

the future

Rosalie Sagraves

Dr. Ju Liu Brings UIC Lab Lessons to Senior Role at Eli Lilly

BY MICHAEL DHAR

While making her way through demanding UIC lab courses, Dr. Ju Liu, PhD ’05, developed skills that would help take her to a leadership position in drug development at Eli Lilly.

Joining the company as senior director of drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK) in October 2022, Liu credits the late Dr. Judy Bolton’s lab at UIC with providing crucial knowledge and experience. “The research work in the lab was very important to prepare me as a scientist,” Liu said. “That’s why I was hired afterward with different labs and companies.”

Liu helps in siRNA drug development from early research-and-development stages to clinical trials (siRNA, or small interfering RNA drugs, are RNA segments that can block gene expression). At each stage, she provides input on drug metabolism and kinetics—how the medicine gets converted into other compounds (metabolites) and how much remains available over time.

“I provide my input for how ADME [absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination] can support siRNA drug development, such as administration and absorption, major metabolites, and how the drug and metabolites get cleared,” she said.

In this work, Liu continues on from her focus in Dr. Bolton’s lab, where she investigated selective estrogen receptor modulators. “My training in medicinal

chemistry and skills I learned from Dr. Bolton have greatly helped me in understanding siRNA ADME properties and provided me insights for study design, problem-solving, and creative thinking during my whole career,” she said.

After UIC, Liu completed a postdoc at MIT, studying drug metabolism via a bioreactor cell model. She next took a position at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, focusing on bioanalysis and DMPK of siRNA drugs for preclinical studies. After more than 12 years a Alnylam, Liu joined gene-editing company Prime Medicine as associate director of DMPK, studying the drug distribution of prime gene editors.

Among many career accomplishments, Liu said her proudest came in developing a liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry method at Alnylam for bioanalysis of siRNAs. “The method has been widely used for preclinical and clinical studies for siRNA drug development,” she said.

Still, to this day, Liu looks back fondly on experiences and accomplishments in UIC labs, including a pharmacology experiment to isolate microsomes induced by drugs in rat livers. “The experiment is so helpful to understand the different fractions of liver homogenates and the P450 [major drug metabolism enzyme] pathway, which are used for studying in vitro drug metabolism in industry,” she said.

JU LIU · PHD ’05

Dr. Bill Reay Notched Wins from the Hockey Rink to the Hospital Floor

BY MICHAEL DHAR

From NCAA champion to clinical pharmacy pioneer, Dr. Bill Reay, PharmD ’87, has played many roles. Now five years retired, Reay attributes his success in a “long and adventurous career” to a willingness to keep growing.

“You must be a continuous learner. . . . You need to have a package of skills that you can bring to the table,” he said. “Don’t be afraid to look at another opportunity. Because with each opportunity, you learn [a lot] not only about that role, but about yourself.”

When Reay came to UIC in the mid1980s, he was already a practicing pharmacist with a family and a BS from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He took advantage of UIC’s then-new Continuation Curricular Option (CCO), which provided working pharmacists a path to a PharmD. After earning his doctorate, Reay took on director of pharmacy roles at three hospitals, championing what’s long been a cause of UIC Pharmacy: bringing pharmacists to the hospital floors.

“I would label my career as liberating pharmacists from the basement up into the patient care area,” he said. “It’s very common today, but in 1985, that was not common. . . . I was able to do that in three organizations.” (That’s United Hospital in North Dakota, St. Mary’s Medical Center in Minnesota, and Mercy Health System in Wisconsin.)

Reay continued updating his skills after UIC, earning master’s degrees in management and healthcare administration. Having developed interests in managed care, along with pharmacoeconomics and pharmacoepidemiology, Reay then changed careers, moving to managed care. All told, he spent about 10 years as a clinical pharmacist, 10 years directing hospital pharmacies, and 15 years in managed care, finishing his career with a leadership position at a medicationadherence startup.

Long before building that varied resume, however, Reay had already proven himself exceptionally capable. He became one of the few UW–Madison students to graduate pharmacy school as an NCAA Division I athlete, playing right wing for the 1973 championship hockey team. (Reay’s hockey roots reach to Chicago, too. His dad, Billy Reay, coached the Blackhawks from 1963 to 1977.)

Having come to UIC as a working professional, Reay said he appreciates the career-planning advice he got from professors, including Drs. Jerry Bauman, Jim Fischer, and Keith Rodvold.

“The vision of the college has been tremendous, and the leadership has been just unbelievably good,” Reay said. “It’s not until you experience it do you understand how strong that program is.”

BILL REAY · PHARMD ’87

Andrea Collaro, PharmD ’97

Senior Director, Product Development and Brand Management on Health Care, Walgreens

Dr. Andrea Collaro earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the UIC College of Pharmacy. She has a strong professional background rooted in healthcare, with positions spanning pharmacy operations and procurement to merchandising, and is currently the senior director of product development and brand management responsible for Owned Brand Healthcare at Walgreens Boots Alliance. She spearheads the strategy, commercialization, and product development of insight-driven, consumer-led healthcare products, including products that have won notable industry awards. She is a skilled strategist who articulates direction, promotes collaboration, and inspires diversity of thought to develop high-performing teams.

What do you enjoy most about your current role?

I handle all of our private-label products that we sell over the counter within the healthcare segment. The biggest area of enjoyment is doing research and understanding customers’ unmet needs, then developing products tailored toward those needs— that whole life cycle of identifying white space and then bringing products from an idea to our shelves.

An excellent example is within our vitamin space. We knew from consumer trends and insights that consumers were looking more and more for cleaner ingredients in supplements. So, we developed a line of free-and-pure vitamins and supplements that were nonGMO [genetically modified organism], gluten free, and free of artificial colors based on that insight.

We continue to develop products that have different elements of free and pure. For instance, we have developed many over-the-counter drugs where the national brand has dyes and we make a Walgreensbranded product that’s dye free.

You really need to be checking in with the consumer on a regular basis as their mindset is evolving. I want to make sure that we develop products that meet their needs.

What are you working on now, and what have you learned from it?

We’re working on our three-year pipeline for product development. That starts with an understanding of the customer mindset today, global trends, insights and then identifying white space opportunities. Diabetes, for example—that’s a disease state that crosses a lot of different product categories.

We’ll look at what a person with diabetes needs to help manage their condition. Then, we’ll look at products against each of those variables.

The biggest thing [I’ve learned] is that the customer’s mindset is evolving at a rapid pace. So, we are regularly having to check back in with the consumer to see where they’re at and pivot if needed. COVID changed the way that consumers think about their healthcare and the proactive approach that they have.

What advice do you have for those interested in a similar path?

What I do today is not something I was prepared for in pharmacy school. It’s an interesting opportunity that presented itself early in my career. That can be intimidating when opportunities come up and you say, “Well, that’s not what I was trained for, and I’m not sure if that’s something I should be doing.” But [I recommend] just taking a chance and not being afraid to step into territories where maybe you don’t have the experience that a particular role is calling for, to still put yourself in an uncomfortable situation to try something new out.

You were recently honored by the Women in Retail Leadership Circle with the Top Women in Store Brands Innovation Award 2022 and by Drug Store News with the Top Women in Health, Wellness & Beauty Rising Star Award (congrats!). What do you attribute your success to?

It’s around the discipline of really mining data to see where our customers are in their healthcare journey and then developing products that address their needs.

During COVID, for example, we worked with a supplier to enhance our pulse oximeters to have a respiratory rate-measuring component. That was useful in the middle of COVID when consumers couldn’t get to healthcare providers and the hospitals were all tapped out, so they could assess if respiratory rate and lung function were declining.

How have you learned to overcome challenges you have faced as you navigate your career?

When I’m confronted with something that I need to deal with, I just try to remain calm, take a step back. It’s a matter of sitting down with your stakeholders and understanding who needs what specific thing to happen on their end and see where you can meet in the middle. It’s usually taking a step back and thinking thoroughly about it and what concessions my team might have to make or what I might be asking of another team but trying to find a middle ground to problem-solve.

What is a fun fact about you?

I’m a Disney fanatic. Everything Disney, the parks, the cruises, I love it all. I’ve been on 10 cruises, and the parks, I probably have been to 15 times.

JELENA ANTIC , PharmD ’22, started a new position as pharmacy manager at CVS Health.

REHAM AWAD , PharmD ’21, is now a board-certified pharmacotherapy specialist.

BRENTON BIALIK , PharmD ’14, started a new position as associate scientific director, Medical Affairs Immunology, Dermatology, at AbbVie.

LAKESHA BUTLER , PharmD, CDFT, RES ’06, was named to Becker’s Healthcare “40 Diversity and Inclusion Executives to Know.”

JASON CHAN , PharmD ’03, is now a board-certified sterile compounding pharmacist and started a new position at the UI Health SCB Pharmacy as the cleanroom coordinator.

ASHLEY CHA-SILVA , PharmD ’19, started a new position as director, Value & Evidence, COVID Antiviral, at Pfizer.

ED COHEN , BS ’75, was appointed president of the UIC Alumni Association serving a two-year term from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2024. He also started a new position as COO of PharmTeam Associates.

ANDREA COLLARO , PharmD ’97, earned the Top Women in Store Brands 2022 Innovator Award from the Women in Retail Leadership Circle.

KAITLYN DALTON , PharmD ’19, started a new position as clinical pharmacy specialist, Cardiovascular/ Medical ICU, at Ascension Seton Medical Center in Austin, Texas.

KRIS DEMPSEY , PharmD ’14, started a new position as clinical pharmacy coordinator at Advocate Aurora Health.

SHYAM DESAI , PharmD ’19, started a new position as a regional medical scientific director on the Urologic Oncology team with Merck US.

KENDALL (BUCHMILLER)

DUNLAP , PharmD ’16, was promoted to associate director, RA Marketing, at AbbVie.

SANDRA DURLEY , PharmD ’02, retired on December 31, 2022, after a 25-year tenure at the UIC College of Pharmacy. She served in various leadership roles within the ambulatory care pharmacy.

HAYTHAM ELEISSAWY , PharmD ’17, started a new position as clinical operations pharmacist at Rush University Medical Center.

PAULA FARINA , PharmD ’14, started a new position as director of pharmacy operations at Elevance Health.

NAZIA FATIMA , PharmD ’07, started a new position as associate director, Global Regulatory Affairs, at Sunovion Pharmaceuticals.

HEATHER FITZGERALD , PharmD ’09, started a new position as director of medical strategy at SB Pharma Solutions, LLC.

JOSEPH FRIEDMAN , BS ’78, was appointed by Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation’s Illinois Medical Cannabis Advisory Board.

JUSTYNA FYDRYCH , PharmD ’20, is now a board-certified pharmacotherapy specialist.

RAZAN HENDI , PharmD ’22, started a new position as a clinical pharmacist at Optum.

CAROL (KRENEK) HEUNISCH , BS ’84, PharmD ’96, was elected ICHP president-elect.

JAY HILAO , PharmD ’05, started a new position as an information technology pharmacist at Northwestern Medicine.

MARILYN (GASKE) HILL , PharmD ’18, was nominated by her peers as the MVP of 2022 for the Dartmouth Health Pharmacy Department.

MANAR KANDIL , PharmD ’18, started a new position as a clinical assistant professor at the UIC College of Pharmacy Rockford.

BRITTANY (LEE) KARAS , PharmD ’17, started a new position as program manager, MedicationUse Policy, at Northwestern Medicine.

BRITTANY (JACOBSEN)

LASKEN , PharmD ’11, started a new position as lead pharmacist at Albertsons Companies Central Processing Pharmacy.

CLARA LEE , PharmD ’21, is now a board-certified pharmacotherapy specialist.

PHYLLIS LIN , PharmD ’08, started a new position as associate director, Account Medical Advisor, at Boehringer-Ingelheim.

HENRI MANASSE , BS ’68, was named the 2023 Remington Honor Medal recipient by the American Pharmacist Association.

IOANNIS MANOLOPOULOS , PharmD ’18, started a new position as staff pharmacist at Accredo.

VICTORIA MARSHALL , PharmD ’20, started a new position as pediatric clinical pharmacist at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago.

MARC MCDOWELL , PharmD ’14, accepted a position at Advocate Christ Medical Center.

LORI MCGUIRE , PharmD ’14, started a new position as pharmacist clinical coordinator at FHN Memorial Hospital.

JAMES MOTYKA , PharmD ’22, started a new position as a research associate at National Pharmaceutical Council.

NEELESH NADKARNI , PharmD ’09, started a new position as a medical outcomes science liaison on the Value and Access Team at AbbVie.

RIAN NEUZIL , PharmD ’20, started a new position as anticoagulation pharmacist at Seattle Children’s Hospital.

CHRIS OH , PharmD ’19, started a new position as associate director, MSL, at Novartis Oncology for the Breast and Women's Cancer team.

VISHAL PATEL , PharmD ’20, was promoted to senior medical science liaison, Neurology, at Sanofi.

AMOLEE PATEL , PharmD ’19, is now a board-certified pharmacotherapy specialist.

PATRICK PRUNTY , PharmD ’18, as promoted to associate medical director at PRECISIONvalue.

LATHA RADHAKRISHNAN , PharmD ’98, received the 2022 Living the Mission Award from the National Community Oncology Dispensing Association Fall Summit. The award recognizes members who deliver positive, patient-centered outcomes by providing leadership, expertise, quality standards, and best practices.

MASOOMA RAZVI , PharmD ’14, was promoted to director, Global Regulatory Affairs, Pfizer.

LYNN RHEINECKER , PharmD ’15, is now a board-certified infectious diseases pharmacist.

ZACK SESSIONS , PharmD ’19, started a new position as senior medical science liaison, Oncology, at Astellas Pharma US.

AHLAM SHAABNEH , PharmD ’20, was promoted to senior manager, Regulatory Affairs, US Advertising and Promotion, at AbbVie.

PRATIK SHAH , PharmD ’14, completed his MBA from the Warrington College of Business at the University of Florida.

AALOK SHAH , PharmD ’13, was promoted to associate director, Regulatory Affairs, Advertising and Promotion, at Astellas Pharma US.

CAITLYN SOLEM , MS ’07, PhD ’10, started a new position as director of US VEO, Pipeline Strategy Oncology, at GSK.

SUZANNE (RABI) SOLIMAN , PharmD ’04, received the New Jersey Pharmacists Association Pharmaceutical Industry Award.

JENNIFER SPLAWSKI , PharmD ’10, was appointed to the ASHP National Advisory Group.

JOHN STREZEWSKI , PharmD ’05, started a new position as senior director, Medical Payer Strategy, Neuroscience, Specialty, and Eye Care, at AbbVie.

MALGORZATA (LABEDZ)

STROJNY , PharmD ’20, started a new position as an oncology clinical pharmacist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

SUHAIR SUNOQROT , PhD ’13, started a new position as head of the Department of Pharmacy at Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan.

LEANNA SZULKOWSKI , PharmD ’22, started a new position as a pharmacist with CVS Health.

MILAN THAKKAR , PharmD ’22, was promoted to staff pharmacist at CVS Pharmacy.

NICOLE (FUCHS) THOMPSON , PharmD ’21, started a new position as manager, Global Medical Affairs Oncology, at Gilead Sciences.

GEORGE VASS , PharmD ’98, was the recipient of the 2022 President’s Award from AbbVie.

LISA (ALEKSY) WALLEN , PharmD ’91, started a new position as director, Medical Promotional Review and Client Services, at Govise.

JAMI WEILAND , PharmD ’18, started a new position as a nuclear pharmacist at Hot Shots Nuclear Medicine.

RAWAN ZAYED , PharmD ’21, is now a certified HIV pharmacist.

ZOE ZHANG , PhD ’15, started a new position as scientific leader at GSK.

WILLIAM ZHOU , PharmD ’20, started a new position as pharmacist supervisor at PharmScript LLC.

STEVE ZIELINSKI , BS ’77, started a new position as vice president, 340B Operations, at Equiscript, LLC.

KEN CAPULONG

Donna Capulong welcomed son Oliver Elino Capulong on November 30, 2022.

TOMMY CHIAMPAS , PharmD ’11, and wife Amy Chiampas welcomed their first child, Jack Bruno Chiampas, on November 12, 2022.

ALISA (TERRY) GEER

PharmD ’16, and husband Brandon Geer welcomed their third daughter, Gabrielle Rose, in October 2022. Gabby joins big sisters Ruby and Layla.

JILLIAN (SANCHEZ)

GODINEZ , PharmD ’10, and husband Jorge Godinez welcomed their first child, daughter Paloma Camille, on November 11, 2022.

PHILIP (HYATT) HODUR welcomed their second child, son Asher Philip, on

December 4, 2022. Asher joins big brother Hunter.

ANNA (JOZEFIAK) HUSEK

PharmD ’16, and husband Michael Husek welcomed daughter Lilah Husek on

, PharmD ’19, and husband Ben Kim welcomed son Camden Kim on November 15,

SIERRA (DELEHANTY)

MEEKS , PharmD ’19, and husband Andrew Meeks welcomed their first child, daughter Aida Marilyn Meeks, on November 15, 2022.

NATALIA (JASIAK) PANEK

PharmD ’13, and husband Chris

child, son Adrian Casey Panek, on July 19, 2022. Adrian joins big brother Alex (2).

Lilah Husek

Oliver Elino Capulong

Jack Bruno Chiampas

Paloma Camille Godinez

Asher Philip Hodur

Camden Kim

Aida Marilyn Meeks

Adrian Casey Panek

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

CHRISTINA PHAM , PharmD ’19, married Giovanni Martinez on September 3, 2022, in Orange, California. The newlyweds honeymooned in Japan.

KATHERINE KATSIVALIS , PharmD ’19, married Peter Simantirakis on November 12, 2022. The newlyweds are planning to take their honeymoon this summer.

ANNETTE HAYS , PharmD ’16, married Ryan Carmichael on December 6, 2022, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

YUXIANG SAM OU , PharmD ’18, married Jiawen Li on September 24, 2022.

DAVID SILVA and ASHLEY CHA , both PharmD ’19, were married on November 12, 2022, in Cancun, Mexico. The newlyweds enjoyed their honeymoon hiking in Patagonia.

SEAN BEIRNE , PharmD ’18, is engaged to Hannah Ring.

PAULA BIELNICKA , PharmD ’18, is engaged to Ryan Wellington.

SARAH COTNER , PharmD ’15, is engaged to Pat Garvey.

RYAN HILL , PharmD ’20, is engaged to Caitlin Nicolai.

RENEE MCALISTER , PharmD ’15, is engaged to Bradley Jones.

MINA PAPPAS , PharmD ’19, is engaged to John Rekoumis.

ALAN PHAM , PharmD ’18, married Julia Huyen on October 15, 2022, in St. Louis, Missouri.

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 West Green Street (MC 386) Urbana, Illinois 61801 312.413.3394 | shuba@uif.uillinois.edu