SPRING 2020 • Volume 42 • Issue 3
The Magazine of the UIC College of Pharmacy
CLOSING A DOOR TO OPIOID ADDICTION
The transplant pharmacy team at UI Health spurs the effort to minimize the use of opioids following surgery.
Key Role in a Vital Community For 30 years, UIC College of Pharmacy has been helping CommunityHealth serve the uninsured.
Driving Diversity The Urban Health Program brings diversity to the college and the profession.
Labs of Innovation New capstone course gives students hands-on experience.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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12 Features 8
Closing a Door to Opioid Addiction The Transplant Pharmacy team at UI Health spurs the effort to minimize the use of opioids following surgery.
12 UIC Tends to the Underserved in CommunityHealth Partnership UIC Pharmacy plays a key role in a vital clinic.
16 Turning Classrooms into “Labs of Innovation� Capstone course allows for fresh exploration of material.
18 Driving Diversity
The UIC College of Pharmacy Urban Health Program helps diversify the profession.
20 All the Way to Malta
UIC Pharmacy continues to strengthen the ongoing partnership with the University of Malta.
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18 EDITORIAL CREDITS Publisher Dr. Glen T. Schumock PharmD, MBA, PhD Professor and Dean Editors Chris Gummert Associate Director of Communications
20 Departments 2
Dean’s Letter
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Calendar
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College News
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Student News
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Alumni Profile
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Alumni News
Ben Stickan, MBA, CFRE Associate Dean of Advancement Proofreaders Nate Downing Deb Fox Imani Watson Contributing Writers Michael Dhar Chris Gummert Daniel Smith Photography Adam Biba Designed by Godfrey Carmona UIC Creative and Digital Services +++ The Pharmacist 833 S. Wood St. (MC 874) Chicago, IL 60612 Phone: 312-996-7240 E-mail: pharmacy@uic.edu ©2019. All rights reserved.
In September of 1868, our college published the first issue of a trade journal simply named The Pharmacist. The magazine you see before you is named in honor of that historic journal.
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FROM THE DEAN
Impact at the Intersection of Education and Service BY DEAN GLEN SCHUMOCK
The mission of the UIC College of Pharmacy is to
CommunityHealth — the largest volunteer-based, free
educate the current and next generation of pharmacists,
medical facility in the nation. Our partnership with this
pharmaceutical scientists, and pharmacy leaders; to
organization, which was started by Dr. Sandra Durley
conduct impactful and cutting-edge research; and to
15 years ago, has benefited countless uninsured and
provide innovative patient care and serve our local,
underserved patients through improved access to and
national, and global communities. Education, Research,
counseling on medications.
and Service. In this issue of The Pharmacist, you will read about our successes and impact in each — but in particular at the intersection of education and service.
for our students. This intersection is also illustrated by the award-winning diversity and inclusion initiatives of the
College of Pharmacy runs seven outpatient pharmacies
college, which are headed by Dr. Clara Okorie-Awe and
and a hospital pharmacy and has an enormous number
described in this issue. For example, our Urban Pipeline
of clinical faculty embedded in ambulatory clinics and
Program — which seeks to expose underrepresented
on inpatient clinical services who are providing care
students from Chicago Public Schools to careers in
team at UI Health — which includes Drs. Maya Campara, Jamie Benken, and others — is an excellent example of the type of practice-advancing care our college is known for. In this issue, you will learn how our transplant pharmacy faculty are helping solve the opioid epidemic — which is just part of the impact they have every day. As noted in our mission statement, our commitment to service expands well beyond our own healthcare facilities — to our communities in Chicago, Rockford, and across the state of Illinois and the nation. In this issue, you will also read about our collaboration with
Online pharmacy.uic.edu go.uic.edu/PharmFBChicago go.uic.edu/PharmFBRockford go.uic.edu/PharmTwitter go.uic.edu/PharmLinkedIn go.uic.edu/PharmInstagram go.uic.edu/PharmYouTube
SPRING 2020
example, by creating practice-leading experiential sites
or commitment to the provision of service as UIC. The
health care team members. The transplant pharmacist
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provide support for our educational mission — for
Few schools of pharmacy in this country have the scope
to patients and working interprofessionally with other
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The service efforts of the College of Pharmacy also
pharmacy — improves career opportunities for students and benefits our educational programs. And finally, in the article about our partnership with the University of Malta, you will learn that we are serving and educating students and communities internationally. The successful PharmD program in Malta allows students there to receive lectures and training from UIC professors. Graduates of the program, who have come from 18 different countries, have gone on to advance the practice of pharmacy and pharmaceutical care across the globe. Local, regional, national, and international impact. It is what our faculty, students, and alumni do every day.
Our Digital Edition issuu.com/uicpharmacy
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5–8 p.m. • Room 134-1, UIC College of Pharmacy, 833 S. Wood St., Chicago
SPRING ALUMNI & STUDENT NETWORKING SOCIAL 6–8 p.m. • Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery, 1 W. Grand Ave., Chicago
26TH ANNUAL SNPHA BANQUET 7–11 p.m. • Maggiano’s Little Italy, 516 N. Clark St., Chicago
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68TH ANNUAL DOCTOR OF PHARMACY HONORS CONVOCATION
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PHARMACY TIMES 10TH ANNUAL SPRING CE CONFERENCE: DIRECTIONS IN PHARMACY Chicago Marriott O’Hare, 8535 W. Higgins Rd., Chicago
CLASS OF 1970 GOLDEN GRADUATE CELEBRATION 10 a.m.–3 p.m. • Credit Union 1 Arena, 525 S. Racine Ave., Chicago
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Advance the profession through leadership and advocacy
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Foster a culture of excellence, collaboration, and inclusiveness
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Got News? Change jobs? Get a promotion? Publish a paper? Publish a book? Get married? Have a baby? We want to hear about it all! Now you can send your news directly to the magazine editor. We’ll do our best to fit it into our publications and/or social media! If you don’t see it in The Pharmacist, please go to go.uic.edu/PharmNews.
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ISPOR 2020 ANNUAL MEETING 8 a.m.–3:30 p.m. • Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, 1000 W. Buena Vista Dr., Orlando
SAVE-THE-DATE: 2020 ALUMNI REUNION 6–11 p.m. • UIC College of Pharmacy, 833 S. Wood St., Chicago
SAVE-THE-DATE: 2020 RESEARCH DAY 9 a.m.–6 p.m. • UIC College of Pharmacy, 833 S. Wood St., Chicago
For a full list of events, visit go.uic.edu/PharmEvents.
CALENDAR
FIVE-POINT VISION
COLLEGE NEWS
Dr. Juliana Chan and husband, Laurence Smith, welcomed their first child, Mikiko Bo Chun Chan Smith, on September 13, 2019.
Dr. Michael J. Federle became the director of the Center for Biomolecular Sciences (CBS), on November 16. Dr. Federle is professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. His appointment was unanimously supported by the faculty in CBS. Dr. Federle is stepping into the role vacated by Dr. Alexander “Shura” Mankin, who stepped down after 10 years in the position.
Dr. Julie Golembiewski was selected for the 2019 Best of Marengo (IL) Awards in Pharmacy. This award program honors the achievements and accomplishments of local businesses throughout the Marengo, Illinois, area. Dr. Alan Gross was appointed chair of the Policy and Government Affairs Committee for the Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists (SIDP). Dr. Alan Gross and colleagues were awarded the “Top Oral Abstract” by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America IDWeek for their work titled “Serious Aantibiotic-related Adverse Effects Following Unnecessary Dental Prophylaxis in the United States.”
RockStar Recruiter On November 18, college recruiter Katie Clarizio was recognized by her peers as the 2019 recipient of the UIC College of Pharmacy Rockford RockStar Award at a UIC Health Sciences campus event. This yearly award is given to a college staff member who exemplifies teamwork and goes above and beyond in their work.
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Dr. Vicki Groo was elected as the American College of Cardiology CV Team State Liaison for Illinois.
Dr. Les Hanakahi received the 2019-2020 UIC Teaching Recognition Program (TRP) Award. The TRP Committee stated that her teaching was “an excellent example of the high quality of instruction that characterizes the best of UIC.”
Dr. Laura Meyer-Junco has been awarded a grant from the AmerisourceBergen Foundation for the project titled “Healthy Living with Chronic Pain: A Self-Management Workshop.”
Save-the-Date: 2020 Alumni Reunion. The
Dr. Dima Qato has been appointed to the ASHP Foundation Research Advisory Council. The role of the council is to advise the ASHP Foundation in its review and oversight of the foundation’s programmatic work in research and developing researchers.
We are now accepting applications for
UIC College of Pharmacy has just announced the
the 2020 Alumni Awards. The awards,
date for the annual Alumni Reunion. October 10,
Rising Star, Jesse Stewart Service Award,
2020, 6–11 p.m. The event celebrates the class
and Alumnus of the Year, will be given out
years ending in -0 and -5 this year, but all
at the Alumni Reunion on October 10.
classes are welcome. The event will be
For more information and to nominate
held at the UIC College of Pharmacy,
a worthy classmate, go to go.uic.edu/
833 S. Wood St., Chicago.
UICPharmAlumniAwards.
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COLLEGE NEWS
Faculty Funded for Bortezomib Project Drs. Karen Sweiss, Jeremy Johnson, Greg Calip, Pritesh Patel, and Shawn Quigley received funding from the Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association to develop and test a multiplex assay for CYP450 phenotyping in multiple myeloma patients receiving Bortezomib.
Experiential Education Changes Dr. Sheila M. Allen is now the director of Experiential Education in Chicago and director of Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPEs) in Chicago. Dr. Alison Schriever is now the director of Experiential Education in Chicago and director of Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPEs) and Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences (IPPEs) in Rockford. Dr. Marlowe Djuric Kachlic is now director of Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences (IPPEs) in Chicago, Practice Week (P1), Community (P1/P2), and Hospital (P1/P2). Dr. Louise Parent Stevens is now assistant director of Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences (IPPEs) in Chicago and Direct Patient Care (P3). Dr. Tara Driscoll is now the Patient Care Skills Lab coordinator for PHAR 413: Hospital (P1/P2) and PHAR 414: Patient Care (P2). Dr. Amanda Eades is now the Patient Care Skills Lab coordinator for PHAR 411: Introduction to Pharmacy Practice (P1) and PHAR 412: (P1/P2). Jennifer Casamassimo, MBA, is now the senior program coordinator for Experiential Education in Chicago. Rhonda Larkin is now the administrative assistant for Experiential Education in Rockford.
STUDENT NEWS
IPhO Pharma Fair is a Huge Success
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SPRING 2020
On October 26, UIC’s Industry Pharmacists
companies and fellowship programs from across
Organization (IPhO) student chapter hosted their
the country. This year was the first year the student
4th Annual Pharma Fair. The Pharma Fair allows
organization opened up the event to pharmacy
representatives from pharma companies to promote
schools in the greater Chicago area and the Midwest
their opportunities to students. The event brought
region. Thank you to our wonderful UIC alumni and
over 80 students from 14 different schools who
representatives who were able to make this year's
networked and with representatives from nine
event a success!
STUDENT NEWS Kappa Psi
Student Chapter Award
On November 8, Kappa Psi Pharmaceutical Fraternity held an alumni mixer at the college. Thirteen alumni spoke about experiences they had in pharmacy school and how those experiences have inuenced their career.
The UIC Illinois Council of Health-Systems Pharmacists (ICHP) Student Chapter received the Outstanding Professional Development Project Award at the ASHP Midyear Meeting on December 8, 2019.
Student Leaders of the Month
P1 Student Leaders
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Justyna Mastalerz
Kevin Castro
Donna Vazirnia
Arturo Montero
Gavin Ng
Max Stone
Alec Thompson
Neha Patel
Shukri Ideis Krupa Patel
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And far too often, Campara observed, the opioids sparked vomiting, constipation, and potentially
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“This was the way it was done,” says Campara, a clinical transplant pharmacist since 2008 Be the epicenter of innovative who, along with her team, was tasked to manage pharmacy services pain for organ recipients and donors through DERSHI medication therapy management protocols with EA UI Health surgeons. L
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During morning rounds, she witnessed kidney donors — otherwise young and healthy people by design — dealing with postsurgical pain. The universal antidote? Opioids.
preventable patient suffering in addition to longer hospital stays.
Well intentioned as the prescription of opioids might have been, the routine practice also opened Advance the profession through the door to opioid abuse and misuse. leadership and advocacy
And that reality did not sit well with Campara.
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ive years before the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency in 2017, Dr. Maya Campara, PharmD ’06, noticed kidney donors at UI Health Hospital struggling with the ill effects of the commonly prescribed pain management drugs.
Lead the nation in pharmaceutical research that impacts health I
Transplant pharmacy team at UI Health spurs effort to minimize the use of opioids following surgery.
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S E E K I N G A B E T T E R W AY For Campara and colleagues like Dr. Jamie Benken, PharmD ’08, opioids in the postoperative setting seemed to drive unnecessary harm. Though medications such as morphine, hydrocodone, and oxycodone were regarded as effective therapeutics to manage pain, the drugs carried a litany of potential consequences. Alternatives, meanwhile, were seldom offered.
D R . M AYA C A M PA R A
“We got used to the assumption that everyone would need opioids at discharge and that became our culture,” says Benken, a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice. “We needed to reflect on what we were doing.” With surgery being identified as the top doorway to opioid addiction — one study, in fact, showing that one in seven postoperative patients would become addicted to opioids — Campara and her PharmD team stood eager to investigate other treatment options. “We were exposing people at such a high rate to develop side effects and possibly risk dependence,” says Campara, also a clinical associate professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice. “Our organ donors were doing something altruistic, yet far too many were paying a big price for their effort.” Together, Campara, Benken, and pharmacy colleagues, including residents and PharmD students, began exploring opioid use in the postoperative setting, specifically looking at kidney donors. The group reviewed patient charts, consulted partners, and began to examine the efficacy of opioid alternatives to pain management, namely ketorolac and acetaminophen. “A lot of addiction starts with the first prescription, so we wanted to know if we could change the likelihood of addiction to opioids while still controlling pain,” Benken says.
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Specifically, Campara’s retrospective chart review of 277 robot-assisted, laparoscopic, living-donor nephrectomies between 2009 and 2012 helped the team determine that scheduled ketorolac was a safe, effective alternative to opioids. It was an important conclusion and one the PharmD transplant team touted with UI Health’s surgeons and anesthesiologists. “This was a way to get away from the opioids while still providing great care to patients,” Campara says. In March 2014, the transplant group implemented a new ketorolac-based pain management protocol for kidney donors. After two years of tracking the results, Campara and her project team reported positive results: the shift to ketorolac had produced no harm to patients’ kidney function and the average length of stay for donors had dropped nearly one full day. Inspired by those findings, the pharmacy transplant team began seeking even greater gains at UI Health, which handles approximately 200 kidney transplants each year. I N V O LV I N G N U R S E S A N D R E C I P I E N T S Viewing nurses as critical frontline partners, though ones that had not necessarily embraced the new pain-management protocols, the PharmD transplant group held two nursing in-services in 2016 to educate nursing staff about the changes and the rationale guiding the shift. “Nothing works without the nurses,” Campara acknowledges. “A dramatic change in pain management approach requires all hands on deck.” During the in-services, the pharmacists and nurses reviewed existing pain assessment tools, equianalgesic doses, and opioid side effects, a collaborative endeavor designed to help nurses select the appropriate medication for pain and to view nonopioid therapies
We got used to the assumption that everyone would need opioids at discharge and that became our culture. like ketorolac and acetaminophen as valid alternatives. Those efforts sparked deeper understanding and, more importantly, positive results. “We learned a lot from each other about what pain strategy should be and how and when different medications might be administered,” Benken says, noting that length of stay for donors following the nursing in-services dropped to 2.6 days in 2017 before falling to 2.2 days in both 2018 and 2019. Alongside nursing education, the transplant pharmacy group also began shifting its attention from the donor population to kidney recipients, often a more medically fragile group. For decades, recipients were immediately given morphine, hydromorphone, or Norco upon leaving the operating room. The transplant team sought a move to acetaminophen or tramadol upon discharge, a decision fueled by increasing buy-in from care-team partners. “The transplant team worked on minimalizing use of opioids for kidney donors and they showed clear advantages and positive results,” says Dr. Enrico Benedetti, professor and head of surgery at UI Health. “It only made sense to try it on the recipient side as well.” The results, which the transplant pharmacists noted themselves in follow-up clinic visits, were clear as many kidney recipients were effectively recovering without the use of opioids. In 2018, fewer than nine percent of kidney transplant patients were discharged from the hospital with an opioid prescription, a nearly ten-fold decrease from 2015. “We’re still achieving our goal of pain control without the need for opioids, while these patients are leaving the hospital faster as well,” Benken says. “It’s a real victory.”
C O N F R O N T I N G A N AT I O N A L E P I D E M I C Powered by these outcomes, similar pain-management protocols are now being applied to other transplant patients at UI Health Hospital, while members of the transplant PharmD team are also involved in an ambitious, new hospital-wide effort to develop and implement opioid-free pain management for surgical patients. “We’ve taken the initiative to be leaders on the healthcare team and responded to the opioid epidemic on our level,” Benken says, adding that one crucial component to the reduced opioid use has been open dialogue with patients both before and after surgery regarding pain management expectations and protocols.
DR. JAMIE BENKEN
Benedetti considers his department fortunate to have access to one of the world’s largest contingents of trained transplant PharmDs in a single surgical unit. He says the pharmacists’ work in clinic and at bedside, participation in regular meetings, and professional insights help ensure that UI Health transplant patients receive the safe, effective care they need and deserve. “The PharmDs are integral members of our team, and there’s no question we benefit from their presence,” Benedetti says. For her part, Campara is pleased that she and her PharmD colleagues led a multidisciplinary effort that has challenged the status quo of opioid prescription and helped to combat a still-pressing national epidemic. “Because of our hands-on, collaborative practice model, we were not only able to better safety and care for patients, but to also improve key hospital outcomes like length of stay,” she says. “It’s been empowering to show how with well-executed intervention, pharmacists add value and make an impactful and lasting difference on a surgical team.”
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in
UIC
Tends to
Community For nearly three decades, CommunityHealth, the country’s largest free medical clinic, has provided health care services to Chicago’s uninsured population. And for about 15 years, UIC College of Pharmacy has played a key role in helping the clinic deliver vital pharmacy services to those patients.
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Advance the profession through leadership and advocacy
The partnership not only bolsters CommunityHealth’s capabilities; it also helps UIC deliver on its mission of service, said Dr. Sandra Durley, PharmD ’02, who’s shepherded UIC’s involvement at CommunityHealth since the beginning.
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ABORAT “As a public institution, we have an obligation to improve LL I the health of the community,” she said. "We can do it within the four walls of the institution. But I think it makes a broader statement when we are actually out in the community taking care of people." Foster a culture of excellence,
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UIC has been there since the start of the clinic’s efforts to provide medication services. The clinic’s first pharmacy partner, UIC is the only college to help in the establishment of MedAccess, CommunityHealth’s pharmacy; today, UIC’s involvement continues, with two UIC clinical pharmacists serving at CommunityHealth.
collaboration, and inclusiveness Dr. Durley, senior associate director for ambulatory care pharmacy at UIC, served on CommunityHealth’s board of directors from 2008 to 2016 and led the college’s involvement with the clinic starting in 2005. She currently serves on CommunityHealth’s alumni board.
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Having a clinical pharmacist gives the patient more one-on-one time with a provider and helps them understand better their disease state and … manage their condition much better. DR. SANDRA DURLEY
History CommunityHealth launched in 1993, after founder Dr. Serafino Garella, then at St. Joseph Hospital, glimpsed the size of Chicago’s uninsured population by surveying door to door. Today, CommunityHealth relies on philanthropy and volunteer hours from over 350 physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other health care providers to deliver more than 15,000 medical and dental visits yearly. Along the way, CommunityHealth opened a second clinic in Englewood (the original clinic is in West Town), later closing that location when the Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion brought coverage to more people in the area. (CommunityHealth serves only those who slip through the insurance network’s gaps and are uninsured.) The clinic also expanded its services, including establishing a pharmacy, MedAccess, in 2007 and adding clinical pharmacists in 2012. UIC College of Pharmacy, and Dr. Durley, played a key part in both efforts. The organizations’ partnership began as a feasibility study. CommunityHealth, in 2005, wanted to replicate a South Carolina program that delivers donated pharmaceuticals to rural populations, adapting it for an urban center. Due to legal considerations, UIC wasn’t able to donate medications or fill prescriptions for CommunityHealth, but Durley wanted to stay involved.
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“I personally have an interest in helping underserved communities,” she said. “So I remained engaged with them … in an advisory capacity.” Durley and UIC colleagues worked with Judith Haasis, then executive director of CommunityHealth, to transform the clinic’s unofficial dispensary into a licensed pharmacy — a requirement for many drug donors. Durley and colleagues advised CommunityHealth on funding sources, along with operational and legal considerations. The Otho S.A. Sprague Memorial Institute provided a grant to build the pharmacy. One of the UIC advisors, Ray Traficante, BS ’72, who owned his own pharmacy, even helped design the floor plan, while UIC College of Pharmacy law professor Edward Rickert provides pro bono legal advice. Today, MedAccess gathers medication donations from six partner institutions, offering services 60 hours per week and filling around 33,000 prescriptions yearly. The pharmacy makes a big difference for patients, Durley said. Most companies donate medications only if recipients are uninsured. Establishing lack of insurance for individual patients takes a lot of paperwork that can be difficult for patients, but those in CommunityHealth’s system go through extensive means testing to ensure that they meet criteria. So, companies can just donate to MedAccess in full confidence.
Beyond the pharmacy In one of Durley’s major efforts on the clinic’s board, she pushed UIC to get involved in clinical pharmacy at CommunityHealth. “After we opened the pharmacy, that gave patients access to medication, but it didn’t really give patients access to the clinical pharmacy services we’re able to provide here at UIC,” Durley said. So, Durley took the head of UIC’s Department of Pharmacy Practice at the time, Dr. Jan Engle, PharmD ’85, to visit CommunityHealth and see first-hand the need for clinical support. Engle agreed, and in 2012, the college began funding two clinical pharmacists to each serve two days a week at CommunityHealth (with two additional days at UIC pharmacies and one day for academic duties). Drs. Nazia Babul and Jennifer Marcelo, PharmD ’09, filled the spots, with Dr. Jewel Younge, PharmD ’17, stepping in for Marcelo in 2018. These pharmacists work frequently with patients facing chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension, helping them manage and adapt their medication regimens. “Sometimes a patient that’s newly diagnosed with diabetes may have an overwhelming experience because it requires so many lifestyle changes, not just medication, but you need to change your diet, you need to exercise,” said Durley. “The clinical pharmacists teach the patients about the disease and then help them manage the medications.”
Award-winning pharmacists The clinical pharmacy partnership has been a success. The pharmacists launched the interdisciplinary Diabetes Care Group in 2013 and the Hypertension Care Group in 2017, among other initiatives. They have also conducted studies of their work, including a poster presented at the Annual American Pharmacists Association Meeting. This study linked a statistically significant reduction, in comparison to standard of care, in A1c levels for patients who participated in diabetes visits with the pharmacists. CommunityHealth has recognized that work, too, awarding Dr. Babul, who serves on CommunityHealth’s
Associate Board, the 2019 Volunteer Fundraiser of the Year Award. She shared the Visionary Award with Marcelo in 2017 at CommunityHealth’s annual gala. That award, which recognized the founding of the Diabetes Care Group, was particularly meaningful, Babul said, as they were the first pharmacists to receive it. In 2013, Babul and Marcelo shared CommunityHealth’s Pharmacist of the Year Award. Their work has meant a lot to CommunityHealth’s patients, said Dr. Fatima Khaja, PhD ’14, codirector of pharmacy operations at the clinic. CommunityHealth’s primary care physicians have limited time and can’t give patients, especially those with “high-needs” conditions like diabetes, the education they need.
DR. NAZIA BABUL
“Having a clinical pharmacist gives the patient more one-on-one time with a provider and helps them understand better their disease state and … manage their condition much better,” Khaja said. Patients, in feedback collected by CommunityHealth, agreed. “How I started was very bad. I was shy, but I was helped by her [Babul],” said Juana (translated from Spanish by CommunityHealth). “Everything with my diabetes and blood pressure is getting better. I have a lot of confidence and trust in her."
DR. JENNIFER MARCELO
In turn, the work has been meaningful for UIC’s clinical pharmacists. “I’m very fortunate that this program is part of my job,” said Younge, who first became aware of CommunityHealth from its work at the Englewood clinic. “I wanted to get involved because their mission is a great mission. … It has been better than I could have dreamed or imagined.” Overall, UIC’s involvement with CommunityHealth continues to pay off for both institutions, Durley said. The clinic serves as an experiential practice site for UIC students and residents, and providing clinical pharmacist services at CommunityHealth also spreads awareness of what clinical pharmacy and UIC can do.
D R . J E W E L YO U N G E
“It’s a great opportunity for students to learn how to provide services for patients in underserved communities,” Younge said. “I think that’s one of the biggest benefits with being involved with this organization.”
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Award-Winning Capstone Course
TURNS CLASSROOM “LABS
INTO
OF INNOVATION”
Thanks to a group of creative educators, a core sequence of the UIC Pharmacy curriculum now ends with a bang — a capstone course that earned last year’s Frederick P. Siegel Innovative Teaching Award. The college’s PDAT (pathophysiology, drug action, and therapeutics) sequence now culminates with PDAT 10, designed by a working group in the college’s Phase 3 curriculum-revision project: Drs. Keri Kim, PharmD ’03, MS ’10; Mike Koronkowski; Kirsten Ohler; Renee PetzelGimbar, PharmD ’04; Tiffany Scott-Horton, MHA ’19; and Jeffrey Mucksavage. With Dr. Eljim Tesoro, Mucksavage coordinated PDAT 10’s first session in spring 2019. “I was excited,” Mucksavage said about the award. “I thought it was nice that the college recognized this capstone course. Capstone courses are not something that the college had done recently.” In establishing a capstone, the course designers wanted students to bring together knowledge from multiple previous courses and practice clinical pharmacy in complex cases. “The idea was not to teach new material but to refresh and apply a lot of the information that they had already received … and really giving the students hands-on experience,” Mucksavage said. The course creators aimed for, and the award recognized, four main avenues of innovation: course management, instructional design, technology, and testing.
DR. KERI KIM
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“LABS OF INNOVATION” PDAT 10 employs a team of 50 instructors, distributed among a five-block course structure: three blocks of advanced medicine, one geriatric, and one pediatric. In each block, teams of faculty devised exercises and assessments for randomly assigned disease states. Those blocks, Mucksavage said, serve as “laboratories of innovation” for activities and assessments. The blocks can also respond in real time to the latest pharmacy news, he said.
COMPLEX CASES Within those blocks, the instructional design pushes practicing clinical skills. Students engage in patient assessment, clinical decision-making, and modifying processes for complex, multidisease states. “So we’ll have a patient with hypertension that has a history of chronic kidney disease and they also have diabetes, and they come into the emergency room with an asthma attack,” Tesoro said. Discussion is key. “These classes are not your traditional didactic classes with a lecture and slides. A majority of them are group discussions between students … and faculty,” Tesoro said, so students hear a variety of perspectives on clinical problem solving.
D R . J E F F R E Y M U C K S AVAG E
DR. KIRSTEN OHLER
The idea was not to teach new material but to refresh and apply a lot of the information that they had already received … and really giving the students hands-on experience. FIVE-POINT VISION
TECH AND EXAMS The online teaching tool for PDAT 10, Blackboard, gathers student feedback and houses all materials. It also hosts the video platform Panopto, which PDAT 10 uses for interactive evaluations. For example, “Students are able to practice delivering education to a simulated patient and get feedback from the faculty, even before they see a real patient … on rotations,” Tesoro said.
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“ACTUAL CLINICIANS” Feedback from students has been positive. One Provide unparalleled pharmacy appreciated that the capstone made the value of education and training prior courses apparent: “It makes me feel like I haven’t SEARCH RE forgotten everything I’ve learned in pharmacy school.” Others appreciated the practical experience, one highlighting “the fact that we were taught to think like actual clinicians.” Lead the nation in pharmaceutical For their part, Mucksavage and Tesoro said they hope research that impacts health that the Siegel award helps spread some of those OVATION NN innovations to other courses. “With all the things that we highlighted in this course, my theory is that [faculty are] going to go back and bring it to the other PDAT courses,” Tesoro said. Be the epicenter of innovative pharmacy services DERSHI EA
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For final evaluations, PDAT 10 has each member of a block review every exam question. Course designers also set requirements based on Bloom's taxonomy for the number of knowledge-based, comprehension-
based, and application-based questions, with the goal of mimicking board exams.
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The new course also highlights faculty diversity, from pairing an outpatient clinician with an ICU pharmacist, to ensuring at least one Rockford professor is involved in each block.
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Advance the profession through leadership and advocacy
D R . F R E D E R I C K P. S I E G E L D R . R E N E E P E T Z E L- G I M B A R
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DR. ELJIM TESORO
Foster a culture of excellence, collaboration, and inclusiveness IGNITE
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Through various programs, including an innovative pipeline program for high school students, the College of Pharmacy’s Urban Health Program helps to diversify the college and the profession. By Daniel P. Smith
As a junior at Chicago’s Morgan Park High School, Dr. Cassandra Clermont-Fadowole, PharmD ’18, admits she knew little of pharmacy, which was more a word on Walgreens or CVS signage than a potential career. That all changed when the South Side resident entered the UIC College of Pharmacy’s Urban Pipeline Program (UPP) in the summer of 2009. The marquee initiative within the College of Pharmacy’s Urban Health Program (UHP), UPP is an eight-week experiential and mentoring program designed to expose underrepresented minority students from Chicago Public Schools and south
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suburban Rich Township District 227 to careers in pharmacy. Through classroom instruction and hands-on work in a CVS retail pharmacy, students like ClermontFadowole gain an intimate look into the pharmacy world and its possibilities. “This opened my eyes to the valuable work pharmacists could do and the important roles they play in healthcare and people’s lives,” Clermont-Fadowole says. Since the UPP’s founding 15 years ago, the pipeline program has successfully exposed African American, Latinx, and American Indian students to pharmacy and increased the number of underrepresented minorities entering the professional ranks.
FIVE-POINT VISION According to Dr. Clara Okorie-Awe, director of the college’s UHP, two-thirds of pipeline participants are actively pursuing undergraduate science degrees five years after entering the UPP. After another five years, two out three pipeline students are studying pharmacy at UIC or another institution or establishing themselves in the profession. “Students from these underrepresented communities often view themselves as outsiders looking in, but we’re inviting students in and showing them they belong,” says Okorie-Awe, who welcomes upwards of 40 students each year into the UPP.
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Provide unparalleled pharmacy Students from these underrepresented education and training SEARCH communities often view themselvesREas outsiders looking in, but we’re inviting students in and showing them they belong. Lead the nation in pharmaceutical research that impacts health OVATION
The college’s efforts to attract and educate underrepresented minority students doesn’t end with its flagship pipeline program.
higher education, has twice honored the college for its diversity and inclusion endeavors, including its Urban Pipeline Program.
Alongside its UIC health sciences peers as part of UIC’s broader, mission-driven UHP — a university-wide program that has graduated more than 7,000 health professionals since its 1978 launch — the College of Pharmacy maintains a deep commitment to recruiting, training, and graduating minority students.
And the purpose-fueled work continues bearing fruit. Of UIC’s current first-year PharmD class, Okorie-Awe saysBe the epicenter of innovative 23 percent are from underrepresented minority groups. pharmacy services
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Advance the profession through Clermont-Fadowole, meanwhile, stands as a stellar leadership and advocacy example of the program’s intent and its accomplishments. ABORAT After earning her undergraduate degree in nutrition LL I at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, she returned to UIC in 2014 to pursue her PharmD. Now a pharmacist at a South Side Walgreens, Clermont-Fadowole is serving as a positive presence Foster a culture of excellence, in her customers’ lives and helping them overcome collaboration, and inclusiveness barriers to care. ON
Through these committed efforts and others, the college has emerged a national model for other U.S. pharmacy and health science institutions and captured national recognition. INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in
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Each year, some 100 high school, community college, and university students from underrepresented minority groups shadow a current UIC pharmacy student in the UHP’s Pharmacy Student for a Day program, while Pharmacy Enrichment field days allow students to tour the college, observe pharmaceutical demonstrations with faculty, and connect with current students. The college also claims a deep partnership with the City Colleges of Chicago that guarantees a select number of exceptional students admission into UIC’s heralded PharmD program.
“We’re accomplishing our goals, which is to expose students from diverse backgrounds to pharmacy and increase the numbers entering the profession,” Okorie-Awe says.
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“The Urban Pipeline Program exposed me to healthcare disparities and access as something that needs to be addressed, specifically in minority populations,” she says.
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BY DA N I E L P. S M I T H
All the way CHICAGO
UIC continues to strengthen and evolve longstanding Though the UIC College of Pharmacy sits more than 5,000 miles away from Malta, the Chicago institution continues having a major impact on pharmacy in the island nation surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea. Over the last decade, UIC has helped the University of Malta, the premier university in the European nation, launch its Doctor of Pharmacy program, initiated training programs for both faculty and students, collaborated on research projects, and expanded the University of Malta’s international network. “Being involved with the University of Malta is mutually beneficial,” says Dr. Alan Lau, professor emeritus and director of International Clinical Pharmacy Education at UIC. “It has expanded and strengthened our network of international collaborations and opened new doors for improved pharmacy education, research, and practice at both institutions as well as our partners.” Most notably, UIC assisted the European university in preparing the launch of its PhD-level Doctor of Pharmacy program in 2014. UIC arranged course contents, shared teaching materials and resources, and helped its Maltese partners define parameters for the new program. In the subsequent six years, UIC has remained a supportive, engaged partner. UIC faculty have led online discussion sessions and shared recorded lectures during the Malta program’s mostly didactic first year before hosting second- and third-year students at UIC for short-term clinical rotations. According to Dr. Lilian M. Azzopardi, head of the University of Malta’s Department of Pharmacy, UIC’s assistance has spurred her department to advance pharmacy
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knowledge, practice, and research for 76 students from 18 different countries. “[The UIC College of Pharmacy has provided] its distinctive characteristic of using proven excellence in pharmacy health systems as a platform to intensify knowledge, people-centered practice and nurture innovation through practice research,” says Azzopardi, the current president of the European Association of Faculties of Pharmacy.
UIC’s active relationship with the University of Malta characterizes the Chicago school’s mission to . . . positively influence how pharmacy is practiced around the world. Beyond its efforts with the University of Malta’s Doctor of Pharmacy degree program, UIC faculty have also visited the island to teach students directly, supported doctorate-program research, developed training programs for practice-focused faculty members, and introduced University of Malta pharmacy personnel to UIC’s other international partners scattered around the globe. These efforts have contributed to a more robust academic environment at the University of Malta and enabled the university’s students and alumni to design
to Malta partnership with the University of Malta.
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and improve pharmaceutical service models in Malta and elsewhere, Azzopardi says.
As a new decade begins, both parties are committed to evolving the already dynamic and profitable relationship.
According to UIC College of Pharmacy dean Glen Schumock, UIC’s active relationship with the University of Malta characterizes the Chicago school’s mission to be the global leader in innovative pharmacy education and research and to positively influence how pharmacy is practiced around the world.
When University of Malta representatives visited UIC in July 2019, they explored new engagement opportunities with the College of Pharmacy as well Provide unparalleled pharmacy education and training as potential partnerships with UIC’s other health science colleges. Later this year, meanwhile, UIC SEARCH RE faculty members Drs. Karl Larsen, PhD ’93, and Frank Paloucek, BS ’81, will host a forensic science workshop at the Malta campus while a group of UIC fourth-year PharmDs will complete a clinical rotation in Malta. Lead the nation in pharmaceutical research that impacts health NN
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“We’re continuing to look for opportunities to support one another and working together with our partners to advance pharmacy globally,” Lau says.
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“Our partnership with the University of Malta is one that is both the most significant in terms of commitment of time and personnel, but also the most impactful in terms of the number of students trained by the program and the international reach that they have,” says Schumock, who visited Malta in June 2019 with UIC colleagues to meet with the country’s prime minister, national health officials, and University of Malta administration and faculty.
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ALUMNI PROFILE
Interdisciplinary Studies, International Research Give Dr. Suhair Sunoqrot an Edge SUH
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Dr. Suhair Sunoqrot Brings Interdisciplinary Edge Back to Jordan. SU
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When Dr. Suhair Sunoqrot returned to her native Jordan after completing her PhD in 2013, she came armed with a secret weapon: a multidisciplinary perspective that gave her a leg up in her career. Today, the Fulbright Scholar researches pharmaceutics and nanomedicine, in addition to teaching pharmacy students in Amman. During her time at UIC, Sunoqrot studied under Dr. Seungpyo Hong (now at the University of Wisconsin–Madison) in the Biopharmaceutical Sciences department (since merged with Medicinal Chemistry to form the Pharmaceutical Sciences department). “It was quite multidisciplinary,” Sunoqrot said, noting that Hong had a background in chemical engineering and she was surrounded by researchers in engineering, chemistry, biomedical sciences, and more. “I think that’s what gave me an advantage when I went back home,” she said. Coming home to Jordan after UIC in October 2013, Sunoqrot quickly found a teaching position at Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan in Amman, where she now teaches pharmaceutical technology as well as a range of pharmaceutics-related courses. Returning to Jordan, Sunoqrot said she needed to adapt to some differences. One, in Jordan, pharmacy students get a bachelor’s degree, not a PharmD; her Jordanian students are high-performing,
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but it was a change moving from the PharmD students she’d TA’d for at UIC to all undergrads. Plus, the teaching load was heavy, with fewer resources for establishing a research career, Sunoqrot said.
“She came armed with a secret weapon: a multidisciplinary perspective that gave her a leg up in her career.” “Although teaching has been quite a rewarding experience, basically 50% of our working hours are dedicated to teaching and related activities,” she said. Plus, researchers had limited funding opportunities, making it necessary to seek international collaborations. Since her first years, however, she’s become more focused on research, in part via a year-long (2016–17) Fulbright fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley. “The fellowship gave me a better idea of what direction I wanted to take my research,” she said. Today, Sunoqrot investigates biologically inspired nanomaterials for drug delivery, among related areas. She’s most proud, today, of the international research partnerships she’s developed. “I still have a long way to go,” she said, “but I’m satisfied with the trajectory I’m taking.”
Drs. Kyle and Maria Gordon Root for Each Other — and for Pharmacy Gordon: The Pharmacy Dream Team!
“It’s nice because we both understand the challenges we face, but we face them in different ways.” Maria started as a community pharmacist at Walmart, rising to pharmacy clinical services manager for the ChicagoMilwaukee market within a year. She took an equivalent position for Salt Lake County, moving back to community pharmacy after the birth of the couple’s son, Sean, now 2. A shared profession also means that the two, who met at UIC, root for each other as representatives of the field. Last year, Kyle received the UIC College of Pharmacy’s Rising Star Award, given to recent alumni showing great promise — well-deserved,
Kyle credits much of that respect to the habit of continual learning he gained at UIC. Maria, too, said UIC boosted her career by promoting leadership and independent research. At UIC, Maria served as chapter president of the American Pharmacists Association, among several leadership positions, and conducted research on Medicaid coverage and other areas. “I guess that showed [leadership] to my bosses, and so I got the promotion within eight months of being out of school,” she said.
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“Other healthcare professionals recognizing Kyle as part of the provider team makes me proud as a pharmacist considering the profession’s efforts in gaining provider status," she said.
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“It’s nice because we both understand the challenges we face, but we face them in different ways,” said Kyle, an advanced clinical pharmacist at Salt Lake City’s InterMountain Medical Center. He started as an emergency medicine clinical pharmacist there, following PGY1-2 residencies at UIC. Kyle also serves on the Utah Poison Control advisory board, along with teaching students and residents.
given the respect he’s earned from colleagues, Maria said.
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For Kyle and Maria (Tangonan) Gordon, both PharmD ’14, having a spouse in the profession means always having a source of support. And because they work in different areas, that support comes with a new perspective.
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Recognition for the Gordons has gone beyond promotions or awards, too. A recent InterMountain profile of Kyle highlighted a bit of heroism: Kyle saved a man who’d suffered a seizure in a sauna, pulling him to safety before he succumbed to heat stroke. “Him being passionate about helping others isn’t just in the hospital but just everywhere he goes,” Maria said. Follow Kyle’s pharmacy-focused Instagram account at er.nerd.rx.
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ALUMNI NEWS
KUDOS Zachary Bannor, PharmD ’17, started a new position as data engineer at SPR Consulting. Heather Chapman, PharmD ’19, was promoted to pharmacy manager at Walgreens. Stefanie Cisek, PharmD ’17, is now a board-certified ambulatory care pharmacist (BCACP). Zena Darhoom, PharmD ’19, started a new position as pharmacist PRN at AMITA Health. Alex Endiakov, PharmD ’16, started a new position as patient program development at NurtiSense. Alvin Godina, PharmD ’16, started a new position as clinical pharmacy specialist – Ambulatory Care at Rush University Medical Center. He is now a board-certified ambulatory care pharmacist (BCACP), as well as a board-certified pharmacotherapy specialist (BCPS). Nicole (Sinsabaugh) Joyce, PharmD ’14, started a new position as clinical pharmacist at the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
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Chris Saffore, PharmD ’16, PhD ’19, started a new position as manager in health economic and outcomes research (HEOR) in immunology at AbbVie.
Ridge Lin, PharmD ’17, took a pharmacy manager position with Walmart in Springfield, IL.
Shivani Salvi, PharmD ’17, started a new position as senior clinical research scientist at Optinose.
Nicholas Liu, PharmD ’16, was promoted to manager, health economics and outcomes research, at Seattle Genetics.
Jillian Sanchez, PharmD ’10, started a new position on the Medicare Stars Team at Aetna.
Justin Kapke, PharmD ’19, started a new position as director of pharmacy operations at Tri-Unity Infusion Services. Nicholas Kelly, PharmD ’19, started a new position as pharmacist at CVS Health. Brittany Manzoline, PharmD ’17, started a new position as clinical pharmacist at Aetna, a CVS Health Company.
Ruixuan Jiang, PharmD ’15, PhD ’19, started a new position as associate director, Center for Observational and Real-World Evidence, at Merck.
Diana Nowicki, PharmD ’17, is now board-certified ambulatory care pharmacist (BCACP), as well as a board-certified pharmacotherapy specialist (BCPS) and AAHIVP.
Justin Kapke, PharmD ’19, started a new position as director of pharmacy operations at Tri-Unity Infusion Services.
Sharon Park, PharmD ’04, started a new position as associate director, reimbursement strategy, at Astellas Pharma US.
Nicholas Kelly, PharmD ’19, started a new position as pharmacist at CVS Health in the Milwaukee area. Choah Kim, PharmD ’15, started a new position as PV specialist at LSK Global Pharma Services.
Bethany E. Perez White, PhD ’12, was promoted to assistant professor of dermatology and associate director of the Skin Tissue Engineering and Morphology Core at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
Jenni (Snyder) Kim, PharmD ’14, started a new position as senior manager, health systems marketing, at Astellas Pharma US.
Ellyn Polley, PharmD ’18, started a new position as specialty pharmacist at SwedishAmerican, A Division of UW Health.
Khyati (Patel) Kotak, PharmD ’11, is now a board-certified ambulatory care pharmacist (BCACP). Dr. Kotak is also board-certified pharmacotherapy specialist (BCPS).
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William T. Lee, BS ’72, was recently appointed to the Virginia Board of Pharmacy. He also received the Pharmacy Practice Research Award from ASHP for an article titled “Impact of a pharmacists-physician collaborative care model on patient outcomes and health services utilization.”
Nicole Salata, PharmD ’10, received her Master of Science in health informatics from UIC.
Kyle Shick, PharmD ’07, was recognized by the Rockford Chamber of Commerce as a Forty Leaders Under Forty recipient. Forty Under Forty recipients have distinguished themselves in their professional field or organization, are engaged citizens, and provide leadership by volunteering their time and talents to community groups and causes. Leaders are chosen from various professional fields and walks of life including but not limited to business, education, engineering, nonprofit, and manufacturing. Hasan Siddiqui, PharmD ’17, started a new position as product management, rheumatology at Novartis. Suzanne Soliman, PharmD ’04, received the 2019 Next Generation Pharmacist Civic Award. This award recognizes a pharmacist who donates their time and resources to improve the health outcomes of the communities they serve. Suhair Sunoqrot, PhD ’13, was elected into the 2019 Class of the Arab-German Young Academy of Sciences and Humanities (AGYA) during their annual meeting in Beirut. Jewel Younge, PharmD ’17, is now a board-certified pharmacotherapy specialist (BCPS). Vladimir Yurukov, PharmD ’18, is now a board-certified pharmacotherapy specialist (BCPS).
Alia (Black) Birdwell Birdwell, PharmD ’14, and husband, Alex Birdwell, welcomed son Louis on December 26, 2018 . Ricky Li, PharmD ’15, and wife, Helen, welcomed daughter Summer. Ridge Lin Lin, PharmD ’17, and wife, Xuna Hu, welcomed son Archer Lin on October 1, 2019. Archer weighed 7 lbs. 4 oz. Katie (McCool) Nichols Nichols, PharmD ’12, and husband, Ryan, welcomed daughter Ava Joyce on October 19, 2019 at 5:06 a.m. Ava weighed in at 8 lbs. 9 oz. and measured 20 ¼” long. Ava joins big sister Natalie.
E D AY O T N TH I N T S PLA INVE AND
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,
of ol lege C o g Ch i c a the ois at n i l l ned by I e f h o t y g t i n ds. nivers l l y st r e d frien Th e U n ntinua a o i c n s i acy ’l l d alum Ph a r m pe you dicate o e h d e r w u o oals, sit y of ne fit own g r u o g e n e ro wil l be y t a n h o t t t d gif me. re f l e c e f e r re r lifeti d u As you o a y r r e e ft onsid l lege a a l so c the co
JD, for more information on how to invest in the future at the UIC College of Pharmacy. Office of Gift Planning and Trust Services 2525 University Hall, MC 002 | 601 S. Morgan St. Chicago, IL 60607 312.413.3394 | shuba@uif.uillinois.edu
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Olayinka (Steve) Fadowole and Cassandra Clermont, both PharmD ’18, got married on August 24, 2019. The newlyweds honeymooned in Mexico. “UIC College of Pharmacy … gave us our doctorate degrees but … we also found love,” the couple said. “We’re so grateful for everyone who supported us along the way.”
Attiya Khan, PharmD ’18, married Abad Majeed on August 30, 2019.
Anna Palafox, PharmD ’07, married Christopher Spatz on October 19 and honeymooned in Japan and Hawaii immediately after.
Thank You! Alumni and friends shared their career experiences and provided memorable advice to over 180 students each week in our fall Dean’s Leadership Forum elective. A huge thank you to our fall speakers!
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BRAD CANNON PharmD ’94
JOAN CANNON PharmD ’97
DAN GRATIE PharmD ’17
KENNETTH JOSEPH PharmD
GREG LENZ BS ’84
KATHY LENZ BS ’83
RACHEL O’KOREN PharmD ’02
JENNIFER PERRY PharmD ’98
GLEN SCHUMOCK PharmD, MBA, PhD
RINA SHAH PharmD ’05
KYLE SHICK PharmD ’07
ROLLA SWEIS PharmD ’02, MA
XAVIER TORRES PharmD ’16, MHA
JEFF YORDON
HASHIM ZAIBAK PharmD ’99
GEORGE ZORICH RPh
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Anastasia Shishkoff, PharmD ’18, is now engaged to Tommy Smith. Lauren Stambolic, PharmD ’19, is now engaged to Dejan Trajkov.
Jillian Sanchez, PharmD ’10, married Jorge Godinez, Jr., on October 19. The happy couple are planning to honeymoon in the spring of 2020.
Ellyn Polley, PharmD ’18, married Michael Chwistek on November 22, 2019, in Addison, IL. The newlyweds honeymooned in Hawaii.
Diana Nowicki, PharmD ’17, and Gary Shah, 2020 PharmD candidate, got married in Las Vegas during ASHP’s Midyer Clinical Meeting on December 11, 2019.
Charissa Valdez, PharmD ’18, is now engaged to Troy Daquioag and planning a May 2020 wedding.
Remembering Carol H. Retzky | Hon. DSc ’19 | 1929–2019
Dr. Carol Retzky, devoted wife of Mr. Herbert Retzky, BS ’46, passed away on December 10. She and her husband, Herb, were inseparable during their long marriage. As Herb enjoyed a successful career in community pharmacy, Carol worked alongside faithfully supporting the family business. The couple’s philanthropic gifts in support of our educational, patient care, and research missions have profoundly transformed the college. Carol's most recent gift was highlighted just this fall in The Pharmacist. The UIC College of Pharmacy is forever grateful for Carol’s long friendship. We send our condolences to her friends and loved ones.
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Ask an Alumnus Despina Kotis, BS ’83, PharmD ’94, FASHP Director of Pharmacy Northwestern Medicine Dr. Kotis received her Bachelor of Science in pharmacy at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she also received her Doctorate of Pharmacy. She completed a pharmacy residency at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Dr. Kotis was appointed a fellow of ASHP in 2013 and received the President’s Award from the Illinois Council Health-System Pharmacists in 2015. She was also the recipient of the 2017 Pharmacist of the Year Award from Illinois Council of Health-System Pharmacists. Dr. Kotis also serves as vice chair of the Illinois State Board of Pharmacy. Dr. Kotis is a strategic academic medical center leader in hospital pharmacy management. She has been integral in expanding the role of the pharmacist and pharmacy technician into a comprehensive patient-centered model in line with the ASHP PAI. She is vice chair of the Vizient Academic Medical Center Pharmacy Network.
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As a pharmacist, how can I best prepare to adapt to the inevitable changes ahead in the next 20 years?
Learn basic business skills. We are doing more and more with high-cost therapies, including CAR-T, gene therapies, immunotherapies that are very expensive. This will continue, and we need to be prepared to not only understand the clinical but the business side. Knowing the charging and reimbursement side of the business is key.
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What are you working on right now, and what have you learned from it?
A paper with colleagues from across the nation on the High-Value Pharmacy Enterprise. It should shape our future on how we practice in health-system pharmacy. After reading the draft of HVPE/pharmacy practice in the future, it is interesting to see the comparison to nursing Magnet status. Will we have a similar designation?
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How does your pharmacy degree influence your leadership style?
Having the PharmD in addition to the BS helped with clinical judgement and the treatment of patients. It is imperative to have been a bedside clinician pharmacist to make operational, clinical, and financial decisions. Everything we do is related to patient safety, so having that clinical base is crucial for taking care of our patients.
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What do you enjoy most about your work?
The people I work with. We have an amazing pharmacy department! I also love our Northwestern family. Amazing people work at NM.
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What was the most important thing you learned while in pharmacy school?
How to throw the best party. Also, physical chemistry is by far the hardest course I have ever taken. Thanks to my roommate Kelly Powers Golding (BS ’83) for getting me through that class.
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Who has influenced your career?
Karen Nordstrom, Mike Fotis, Henri Manasse, John Russell, Mike Powell, Rita Shane, and countless students and over 200 residents and fellows.
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What do you love about pharmacy? Management?
The possibilities in our profession are endless. There are so many twists and turns and tangents. Being a formal leader in our profession can make a large scale difference shaping our profession’s future. As Spiderman said, “With great power comes great responsibility.”
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Do you have advice for our current student pharmacists? Be yourself. Love yourself, and always be kind. It is much easier to be kind. What motivates you to support the college?
We need to support those that were good to us. I would never be where I am today without the foundation built in pharmacy school. Always pay it forward.
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NORMAN GARGES, PHARMD ’93 Dr. Norman Garges Eagle Scout Scholarship
Your Friendly Neighbor Norman Garges, PharmD ’93, an Eagle Scout for almost 35 years, attributes many of the skills that he acquired as an Eagle Scout to having made him the pharmacist that he is today. Norm volunteers his time, outside of his work as a staff
“Through this endowed scholarship, it is yet another great way to stay connected with the college after I retire from the university.”
pharmacist at the UI Health Hospital, as a Boy Scout Troop leader where he mentors future Eagle Scouts. Norm has established an endowment in his name that reflects what scouting means to him. Norm endowed the Dr. Norman Garges Eagle Scout Scholarship “by way of payroll deduction, which makes it easier to establish an endowed scholarship over time rather than contributing the entire amount all at once.” Norm didn’t need to go far after he graduated to find his career at UI Health, where he has worked for over 27 years! Over the years and through Norm’s long-standing connection
It only takes a minute to make the gift that lasts a lifetime. giving.pharmacy.uic.edu
to the UIC College of Pharmacy, he has found ways to stay connected with many alumni, students, and friends throughout his student years and career. Norm noted, “Through this endowed scholarship, it is yet another great way to stay connected with the college after I retire from the university.”
COLLEGE OF PHARMACY
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COLLEGE OF PHARMACY UIC College of Pharmacy 833 S. Wood St. (MC 874) Chicago, Illinois 60612
Did you pay income tax on a required minimum distribution you didn’t need? If so, join the millions of Americans who are eliminating or reducing the tax on their IRA required minimum distribution by transferring all or part of it to charity. Gifts to the University of Illinois Foundation (UIF) for the benefit of the UIC College of Pharmacy from your IRA are an easy way to make a gift from one of your major assets, not included in your taxable income (they’re a tax free distribution), and counted toward your required minimum distribution (RMD). TO Q UA L I FY U N D E R T H E A P P L I C A B L E L AW : • You must be 70½ or older at the time of your gift.
CO N TAC T O U R G I F T P L A N N I N G O F F I C E TO DAY. S TO P PAY I N G M O R E TA X ES T H A N YO U H AV E TO !
• The transfer must go directly from your IRA to the University of Illinois Foundation for the benefit of the college.
Jason James Shuba, JD, Director of Gift Planning 312.413.3394 or shuba@uif.uillinois.edu
• Your total IRA gift(s) cannot exceed $100,000 annually. • Your gift cannot result in anything of value in return (like income or ticket benefits).
