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SCHOOL NEWS
SCHOOL NEWS NIAID Awards PSC Faculty $2.5 Million to Study Multi-Drug Resistant Bacteria
Amanda Oglesby and Angela Wilks
Angela Wilks, PhD, the Isaac E. Emerson Chair of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Amanda Oglesby, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences (PSC), have received a grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to study how infections caused by the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa develop multi-drug resistance. The award provides nearly $2.5 million over five years to support their interdisciplinary work in biochemistry and microbiology that will research iron homeostasis and virulence in the bacteria, which often leads to chronic and untreatable conditions.
“The goal of our project is to understand how chronic Pseudomonas infections in biofilms utilize heme as an iron source,” Wilks says. “If we can understand the systems that are important for establishing and sustaining chronic infections, we can then understand how to target these systems as potential mechanisms to disrupt biofilms and treat them.”
Bacterial biofilms are slimy layers of sticky cells that form on living or non-living surfaces during chronic infections, which contributes to antimicrobial resistance.
All bacterial pathogens, which can take the form of biofilms, require the micronutrient iron for survival and infection. A major source of iron in infection is heme, a precursor to hemoglobin, which is prevalent in the body. The ability of bacterial pathogens to use heme as an iron source is essential for infection and virulence. “The award from NIAID reflects the many years of strong collaboration between Drs. Wilks and Oglesby and a great example of the cross-disciplinary research in the PSC department,” says Peter Swaan, PhD, Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, professor and chair of PSC, and the School of Pharmacy’s associate dean for research and advanced graduate studies.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has prioritized Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a critical pathogen for the development of new antibiotics. Wilks’ research group has studied its heme uptake pathway to identify novel therapeutic strategies. Oglesby’s research group has been instrumental in characterizing the regulatory networks of small RNA (sRNA) in P. aeruginosa, showing that these sRNAs are essential for the survival and virulence of the pathogen.
The current NIAID award brings together the expertise of both groups to understand how heme utilization is integrated into the sRNA regulatory network. The project will provide a platform for future identification of novel antibacterial strategies at the interface of iron homeostasis and virulence in P. aeruginosa.
Says Oglesby: “My role in this project is understanding how some small RNAs that we’ve been working on in our lab for a long time contribute to the regulation of heme uptake by different bacterial pathogens, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which is a really important and notorious antimicrobial resistant pathogen.
“Studying the basic science underlying how Pseudomonas aeruginosa adapts its micronutrient strategies to infect a human host will allow us to better understand how to develop new therapies to treat this notorious bacterial pathogen.” b
Besser, Smith Named UMB Employees of Month
Michelle Besser Victor Smith
It takes more than a pandemic to keep School of Pharmacy (SOP) employees down.
That was recognized in February 2022 and September 2021 as Victor Smith and Michelle Besser were saluted as University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) Employees of the Month, respectively.
Besser, business services specialist in the Department of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research (PHSR), started her job just two weeks before COVID-19 forced her to begin teleworking in March 2020.
Still she hit the ground running, supporting PHSR’s graduate program along with duties in procurement and administration.
“Michelle gladly took ownership of the massive undertaking of supporting the grad program, which included a new admissions and review process — learning, designing, and partnering with several other colleagues and departments,” her supervisor, Ronald Cisneros, office manager in PHSR, wrote in the nomination. “All the while, Michelle continued to execute the regular duties of her role. Relentless some would call her. And she did it with a smile on her face. Michelle truly has been a rock star.”
Besser downloaded applications to Image Now so the admissions committee members could review them. She worked with the Qualtrics system, which allows faculty to answer questions to judge the applications. And she set up PHSR’s first all-virtual interview day for 30 prospective students.
“We did interviews with breakout rooms in Zoom, funneling them back and forth through different sessions. We rotated them every half-hour so they could get to meet and be interviewed by multiple members of the faculty,” Besser said.
“It was the first time we took the interview day virtual, so we had to plan: ‘How do we want to do this?’”
Fadia Shaya, PhD, MPH, a professor in PHSR who chaired the admissions committee, thanked Besser for her flawless work.
“We had a record number of challenges. And yet, the outcome was stellar, in big part thanks to Michelle,” Shaya said. “I will always remember how quickly she adapted to Zoom and how seamlessly and effortlessly she made it seem to all of us, with a wonderful outcome of eight new PhD students coming into the department this fall and five master’s students.”
Victor Smith, the School’s moving and storage specialist, also serves with a smile as he makes his rounds in four buildings. His popularity was evident as four dozen SOP colleagues logged in to see his virtual award ceremony.
“Victor maintains a positive attitude and a ‘consider it done’ communication style. His problem-solving skills have averted chaos on multiple occasions, always with a smile, a suggestion, and a reminder to folks to wear their masks properly,” said his supervisor Pam Crowe, MS, facilities and laboratory services director.
A caring and calm presence, Smith is responsible for all moving projects, coordinating event setups, sending work orders to keep SOP buildings safe, and overseeing ultralow freezer maintenance and remote monitoring. He remained on campus in 2020 during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I never skipped a beat,” Smith said. “I continued to do what I always did to make sure everything’s running OK: checking equipment, checking eyewashes, and making my daily rounds.”
Crowe said Smith, who came to SOP in 2014, has been a reassuring presence.
“As one of the few essential employees on campus, he made sure important deliveries continued and that vital research equipment was set up, broken down, transferred, and set up again. Construction projects did not stop at the School, with Victor facilitating moves and building access,” Crowe said.
Smith also was integral to UMB’s Blue Cart program, helping the Office of Emergency Management build the carts, distribute them across the University, and restock them. These carts contain disinfectant spray, paper towels, hand sanitizer, and polyethylene gloves.
“Victor truly is a team player. He is cordial, professional, and demonstrated his ability to pivot during the pandemic, helping another unit with a vital service — one that helped us all get back on campus,” Crowe said. b
SCHOOL NEWS SGA President Receives UMB Diversity Award
When Sean Kim arrived in Atlanta as a 16-year-old foreign exchange student in 2007, he was placed with host families who instilled in him the values of inclusiveness, engagement, and leadership. Fifteen years later, as a School of Pharmacy student, Kim lives those values every day. “When I came to the United States from South Korea, I was fortunate to meet two loving host families who raised me as a part of their families and taught me about intercultural competence,” said Kim, who is pursuing a Doctor of Pharmacy degree as part of the Class of 2023. “They showed me the way to love different cultures without being biased, which had a great impact on me as a person.”
In less than three years on campus, Kim has been involved in a variety of extracurricular activities focused on leadership and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) at the School. He has served as the Class of 2023 president; Student Government Association secretary and president; co-chair of the Interfraternity Council; member of the School’s DEI Task Force; and student co-chair of the Maryland Pharmacy Coalition.
He also helped to plan the Korean-American Scientists and Engineers Association’s virtual 2021 Young Generation Technical and Leadership Conference and is a student ambassador in the School’s Career Navigation Program, helping to organize professional development events and career fairs for students. On a broader level at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), he has served as a senator with the University Student Government Association (USGA), and worked with the USGA affiliate International Students Organization to petition for changes to international student visa requirements regarding COVID-19 implemented during the Trump administration. He Sean Kim also finds time to volunteer with the UMB Health Alliance, another USGA affiliate in which students work to reduce the gaps in health care access and services, social resources, and legal aid for West Baltimore residents. These yeoman efforts have not gone unnoticed, as Kim received UMB’s 2022 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Award for Outstanding Student. Kim was “ecstatic” to learn of the award. “It’s hard for me to express how grateful I am to UMB and its Diversity Advisory Council for recognizing me with this award,” Kim said. “It is one of my highest achievements as a student at UMB. The award is given to advance efforts to spread Dr. King’s legacy, which is to foster diversity and inclusion. Winning this award makes me feel I am part of that legacy to carry his dream.” b
PATIENTS Program Wins Diversity Staff Award
Surrounding Executive Director C. Daniel Mullins (center) are some members of the PATIENTS team: (clockwise from left) Michelle Medeiros, Godwin Okoye, Rodney Elliott, Thomas "Joe" Howarth, Genevieve Polk, and Eileen Eldridge. In its mission to conduct patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR), the PATIENTS Program at the School of Pharmacy prides itself on meeting West Baltimore community members where they live, work, or worship. When COVID-19 hit and halted in-person outreach, the program pivoted to meet people where almost everyone had moved: cyberspace. It launched a series of biweekly Facebook Live events titled “Real Time with Rodney” and “BJ’s Corner,” hosted by Rodney Elliott, engagement specialist, and Barbarajean “BJ” Robinson-Shaneman, senior program specialist. In the fall of 2021, Elliott’s program shared ideas from community partners about how being financially healthy has a direct impact on your physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.”BJ’s Corner” busted myths about how research is conducted. In 2021, the program began working on an exciting new project with a UMB community partner, Continued on page 5
Continued from page 4 the Southwest Partnership, to develop capacity for patientcentered outcomes research and comparative effectiveness research (CER). That project, COmmunity Based Development of CollaboRatIVE and Sustainable PartNerships in PCOR/CER (CO-DRIVEN), was funded through a $250,000 award from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute and is led by Michelle Medeiros, MS, MA, CCRP, the program’s director of research. The PATIENTS Program also delivered in 2021 by helping to address barriers preventing city residents from receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, working with Mount Lebanon Baptist Church and Walgreens to administer first and second doses to nearly 300 people. For its engagement efforts, the PATIENTS Program received the University of Maryland, Baltimore’s 2022 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Award for Outstanding Staff. b
Feemster Receives MSHP Purdum Award
Agnes Ann Feemster, PharmD, BCPS, associate professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science (PPS) and assistant dean for experiential learning at the School of Pharmacy and the medication safety officer for oncology with Johns Hopkins Hospital, received the 2021 W. Arthur Purdum Award from the Maryland Society of HealthSystem Pharmacy (MSHP). The Purdum Award — MSHP’s highest honor — is presented annually to an individual whose accomplishments, achievements, or performance relate to Maryland health system pharmacy.
“Dr. Feemster receiving the Purdum Award is a tribute to her work in experiential learning and medication safety,” said Jill Morgan, PharmD, BCPS, BCPPS, professor and chair of PPS. “She has done an excellent job revamping experiential learning in the School during her five years as assistant dean. Her work in medication safety at multiple institutions and with organizations such as MSHP and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health have led to safer care for patients in Maryland and beyond. I am very happy she was awarded this recognition.”
Feemster received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from
the University of South Carolina and her Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the Medical University of South Carolina. She completed a pharmacy practice residency at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta and is a board-certified pharmacotherapy specialist. She served as interim director of pharmacy and assistant director of clinical pharmacy, investigational drug, and central production services at the University of Maryland Medical Center before joining the School of Pharmacy in 2014. In her role as assistant dean for experiential learning, Feemster has made a significant impact including creation of seven new Advanced Practice Pharmacy Experience (APPE) Agnes Ann Feemster electives and new Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences, development of international student exchange programs, implementation of online preceptor development trainings, development of a preceptor report card, transition to an electronic preceptor approval process, and expansion of the APPE clinical track programs to include Walgreens, Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., and Kaiser. Feemster’s research interests include pharmacy practice management and leadership, medication safety, pharmacy informatics, global health, and interprofessional education. “I am honored to join many of my current and former colleagues in receiving the Purdum Award,” Feemster said. “I am fortunate to work with amazing professionals from all over the state who have been instrumental in shaping my pharmacy career.” b
SCHOOL NEWS School Hosts Pharmapreneurship Celebration
UMB President Bruce E. Jarrell and Dean Natalie D. Eddington cut the ribbon to officially open Pharmapreneurs' Farm.
The School of Pharmacy celebrated the next phase of its Pharmapreneurship™ initiative in October by cutting the ribbon to open its Pharmapreneurs’ Farm and announcing a new endowed professor in pharmapreneurship.
“I am so pleased that you are here with us today to join me in finally cutting the ribbon to officially open our Pharmapreneurs’ Farm and to announce our newly appointed Felix Gyi Professor in Pharmapreneurship,” said Natalie D. Eddington, PhD ’89, FAAPS, FCP, dean and professor, as she welcomed attendees to the celebration. The event, held in the Ellen H. Yankellow Grand Atrium in Pharmacy Hall, also was livestreamed.
The Pharmapreneurs’ Farm was envisioned in 2018 as a dedicated space for faculty, staff, and students to collaborate, nurture, and develop their pharmapreneurial ideas. Its prominent location is a visible reminder to all who enter Pharmacy Hall of the importance the School places on “cultivating and growing” the next generation of pharmapreneurs and cutting-edge ideas for pharmacy’s role in entrepreneurship, Eddington said.
In 2017, the School of Pharmacy launched its Pharmapreneurship initiative, which outlines the School’s commitment to supporting and best positioning faculty and students to achieve their career aspirations and address the nation’s health care, research, policy, and societal needs. The innovative initiative is used to advance pharmacy education, scientific discovery, patient care, and community engagement across the state of Maryland and beyond.
The Pharmapreneurs’ Farm, which was made possible by donor support, is equipped with state-of-the-art technology that allows for presentations and demonstrations both in person and virtually and is designed with collaboration in mind. It was completed in spring 2020 but sat empty due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Now, with UMB and the School of Pharmacy having returned to in-person activities, I’m excited to officially cut the ribbon and open the Farm for everyone to see and use it,” said Eddington, who was joined by University of Maryland, Baltimore President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, in snipping the red ribbon with oversized scissors.
The Farm is one example of how the School of Pharmacy continued to push forward during a global public health crisis, Eddington said.
“Despite the challenges presented by the ongoing pandemic, our community’s support has allowed the School of Pharmacy to persevere over the last 18 months,” she said. Eddington noted that the School created a robust online learning environment, expanded enrollment in its MS and PhD programs to reach more students, and played a leading role in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines on campus and in the community during that time.
“And we continued our vital patient care programs and research initiatives under extremely difficult circumstances and guidelines, none of which would be possible without our collective pharmapreneurial mindset, a mindset that is actively encouraged and cultivated at the School,” she continued. In the last four years, the School of Pharmacy has established partnerships with other leading entrepreneurial institutions to increase programmatic and mentorship opportunities for its faculty, staff, and students, Eddington added.
The ceremony also included naming Magaly Rodriguez de Bittner, PharmD ’83, BCPS, CDE, FAPhA, the Felix Gyi Endowed Memorial Professor in Pharmapreneurship. Rodriguez de Bittner, professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science and the School’s associate dean for clinical services and practice transformation, will lead all pharmapreneurial activities at the School, providing focus, direction, and support for the groundbreaking initiative.
Alumna Terry Gyi, BSP ’83, PharmD ’06, and her daughter, Rebecca Gyi-Hovis, MD, made a $1 million gift to the School to endow the Gyi Endowed Memorial Professorship in Pharmapreneurship in honor of their late husband and father. The founder of Chesapeake Research Review and pharmapreneur passed away in 2014.
“Magaly brings a wealth of expertise and enthusiasm to this role,” said Eddington. Later in the afternoon, Rodriguez de Bittner delivered the inaugural Gyi Professor Lecture and outlined her vision for the future of pharmapreneurship. The professorship follows the Gyi family’s gift of $750,000 in 2019 to fund the Felix A. Khin-Maung-Gyi Memorial Scholarship for Pharmapreneurship, which provides one full year of tuition for a student pharmacist who has demonstrated a commitment to entrepreneurship. b
PPS’ Brandt Receives Clinician of the Year
Nicole Brandt, PharmD ’97, MBA, BCGP, BCPP, FASCP, professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science (PPS) and executive director of the Peter Lamy Center on Drug Therapy and Aging, received the Clinician of the Year Award from the Foundation for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care (PALTC) Medicine. The award recognizes a health care practitioner who serves in long-term care settings, is directly involved in treating and caring for people, and embodies excellence in patient/resident care. Brandt is the inaugural recipient of the honor, which she received at PALTC’s 2022 annual meeting in March.
“I am deeply humbled and honored to be recognized by my peers with this award,” says Brandt. “I have been a practicing pharmacist for nearly 25 years and have dedicated my career to improving medication use and safety for aging adults through education, practice, policy, and scholarly activities.”
Since joining the faculty in 1999 following her 1997 graduation from the School of Pharmacy, Brandt has expanded geriatric training opportunities at the School, including the geriatrics/palliative care pathway in the Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacistsaccredited geriatrics residency, and a two-year post-PharmD fellowship. Recently, Brandt helped launch the Elder Care Medicine Network, a collaborative effort among three regional partners that aims to engage local communities in medication-related patient-centered outcomes research.
In addition to her academic responsibilities, Brandt has
consistently maintained a practice as a clinical or consultant pharmacist specializing in the care of older adults. A past president of the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists, Brandt also has been active in AMDA – The Society for PALTC Medicine, speaking at many AMDA conferences and publishing in the journals Caring for the Ages and the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. “Dr. Brandt has been a regional and national leader in geriatric and long-term care for many years, and I am thrilled that she has been recognized as such,” says Jill Morgan, PharmD, BCPS, BCPPS, professor and chair of PPS. “Dr. Brandt sets a high standard for balancing clinical responsibilities with teaching Nicole Brandt and administrative work. Her leadership has resulted in the creation of enduring resources for the post-acute and long-term care clinical community and for trainees across disciplines.” Brandt has led several projects that have focused on Medicare Part D Medication Therapy Management programs, high-risk medications, and stewardship of antimicrobials and psychotropic medications. She served as a co-chair of and partnered with several colleagues and the United States Deprescribing Research Network to develop and widely disseminate a Deprescribing Implementation Guide for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also is a co-author of the past three versions of the American Geriatrics Society Beers Criteria. “I have been fortunate and honored to work with Dr. Brandt in interdisciplinary education for many years, and I am so thrilled she is the first pharmacist to receive this award from PALTC,” says Barbara Resnick, PhD, RN, CRNP, FAAN, FAANP, professor and the Sonya Ziporkin Gershowitz Chair in Gerontology at the University of Maryland School of Nursing. “I have seen Dr. Brandt’s dedication to improving the lives of older adults, but she is also a skilled educator focused on exposing students and clinicians to educational opportunities in geriatrics.” b
Congratulations to the following faculty on their recent promotions!
Cynthia Boyle, PharmD ’96, FAPhA, FNAP, FASCP – professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science (PPS), to professor emeritus
Maureen Kane, PhD – associate professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences (PSC), to professor with tenure Cherokee Layson-Wolf, PharmD ’00, BCGP, BCACP, FAPhA – associate professor, PPS, to professor
Edward Moreton, PhD – professor, PSC, to professor emeritus Ebere Onukwugha, PhD, MS – associate professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research (PHSR), to professor with tenure
Francis Palumbo, PhD, JD, MS – professor, PHSR, to professor emeritus Neha Pandit, PharmD – associate professor, PPS, to professor
Danya Qato, PhD, PharmD, MPH – assistant professor, PHSR, to associate professor with tenure
Jia Bei Wang, PhD ’92 – professor, PSC, to professor emeritus
SCHOOL NEWS PSC Faculty Member Earns Inaugural MPower Professorship
The University of Maryland Strategic Partnership: MPowering the State (MPower) appointed eight professors, four from the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) and four from the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP), as the inaugural MPower Professors. Bruce Yu, PhD, a professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences (PSC) at the School of Pharmacy and director of the School’s Bio- and Nano-Technology Center, was selected for his expertise and collaboration in biophysics and bioengineering.
To be considered for the MPower Professorship, faculty must demonstrate collaboration on strategic research that would be unattainable or difficult to achieve by UMB or UMCP acting independent of one another and must embrace the mission of MPower — to collaboratively strengthen and serve the state of Maryland and its citizens.
Yu’s lab at the University System of Maryland’s (USM) joint Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research (IBBR) advances the development of analytical technologies for characterizing complex drugs and vaccines. He has worked on protein biophysics, imaging agents, and biomaterials engineering. His group developed defect-free synthesis of fluorinated dendrimers as F-19 MRI agents and explored how chirality affects biomaterials.
Most recently, his group pioneered a noninvasive analytical technology, termed wNMR, which has generated wide interest in pharma/biotech industry and instrument makers. He is an inventor of several new technologies and holds nine issued U.S. and European patents and multiple pending patents, including for dendrimer synthesis, biomaterials engineering, and noninvasive analytical technologies. Current research in his lab focuses on applying wNMR to biologics manufacturing and quality control, including detecting counterfeit and substandard vaccines and drugs.
“As the first joint appointment between UMB and UMCP in 2007, I’m thrilled to receive the honor and recognition
bestowed by the inaugural MPower Professorship,” says Yu. “Our current work on biomanufacturing technologies can contribute to interactions between the two universities and to the economy and pandemic readiness in Maryland and beyond.” Adds Natalie D. Eddington, PhD ’89, FAAPS, FCP, dean and professor of the School of Pharmacy, “Dr. Yu’s unique expertise in biochemistry, biophysics, and bioengineering and his joint appointment with IBBR make him an exceptional MPower collaborator. His selection as an MPower Professor indicates USM’s recognition of his impact and investment in his research.” Yu received his bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Peking University in 1987 and his PhD in biophysics from Johns Bruce Yu Hopkins University in 1996. His postdoctoral training was in nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy at the State University of New York at Buffalo and protein engineering at the University of Alberta. In 2007, he received a U.S. Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. “With this investment, we are accelerating the pace of our research and the pace of our impact on the lives of Marylanders,” says UMB President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS. “By supporting these MPower Professors, we are recognizing the commitment and drive they’ve already shown, and we are opening up new possibilities for their work, giving them the freedom to think big, tackle new problems, and achieve results much quicker than ever before.” “This inaugural cohort of MPower Professors includes stellar leaders who have created significant collaborations,” says UMCP President Darryll J. Pines, PhD, MS. “Our two campuses are strengthened by interdisciplinary research, and I congratulate and commend these faculty members for their initiative and dedication.” Each professor receives $150,000, allocated over three years, to apply to their salary or to support supplemental research activities. The University of Maryland Strategic Partnership: MPowering the State is a collaboration between the state of Maryland’s two most powerful public research institutions UMB and UMCP. It leverages the sizable strengths and complementary missions of both institutions to strengthen Maryland’s innovation economy, advance interdisciplinary research, create opportunities for students, and solve important problems for the people of Maryland and the nation. b
Chanel Whittaker, PharmD, BCGP, FASCP, has been appointed the School of Pharmacy’s inaugural assistant dean of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). An associate professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science, director of the University of Maryland PGY2 Geriatrics Residency Program, and director of education and training at the School of Pharmacy’s Peter Lamy Center on Drug Therapy and Aging, Whittaker has been on faculty at the School since 2005.
“The national search process for this vital position at the School began a year ago to accomplish one of the key charges of our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion [DEI] Task Force,” says Natalie D. Eddington, PhD ’89, FAAPS, FCP, dean and professor of the School of Pharmacy. “I am so happy that we found the perfect candidate within our School of Pharmacy community.”
Whittaker is a board-certified geriatric pharmacist and a fellow of the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists. Her practice and teaching specialties include geriatric pharmacotherapy and chronic kidney disease. She has practiced in several ambulatory and community settings providing services to older adults in the Baltimore area, including the Baltimore Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
In 2013, Whittaker completed a fellowship in ethnogeriatrics with the Stanford Geriatric Education Center and has since leveraged this training to develop and incorporate new cultural competencies into the School’s Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum and national standards for training PharmD students and residents in geriatrics. She has developed several evidence-based educational programs and resources to increase access to health information and improve the medication literacy of older adults and caregivers.
She is an American Geriatrics Society (AGS) Tideswell scholar and one of the few pharmacists who has participated in AGS' Emerging Leaders in Aging Program. Whittaker is currently in the second cohort of the University of Maryland, Baltimore’s Faculty Leadership Program. Whittaker has served in a leadership role as a co-chair of the School’s inaugural DEI Task Force, formed in the fall of 2020. With emerging expertise on antiracism in pharmacy and in increasing access to health literate education in the community, Whittaker has worked collaboratively with School leadership, faculty, staff, and students to conduct internal and external environmental scans of EDI strengths and opportunities Chanel Whittaker within the School and to learn about programs on campus and nationally. The task force also has developed an initial strategic plan for EDI, of which Whittaker will now head implementation. “The University of Maryland School of Pharmacy has a long-standing reputation for excellence in its mission areas of education, practice, research, and community service, and now we have the opportunity to reimagine and redefine excellence through the lens of equity, diversity, and inclusion, making the School inclusive to all members of our community,” Whittaker says. “As assistant dean for EDI, I look forward to partnering with leadership, faculty, staff, and students to foster a community where EDI is foundational to how we operate the School, educate and train future leaders, conduct research, engage in clinical practice, and partner with communities. I am truly honored to be given this opportunity.” Whittaker will maintain some of her teaching and clinical responsibilities while leading EDI efforts and will work collaboratively with the DEI Task Force, which now transitions to an advisory council. “I offer my thanks to the faculty, staff, and students who served on our DEI Task Force and supported the search process,” says Eddington. “Their efforts helped lay a strong foundation on which future EDI efforts will be built. And I invite each member of our community to join me in committing to work with Dr. Whittaker and the advisory council on the advancement of EDI initiatives at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy.” b
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https://news.pharmacy.umaryland.edu
SCHOOL NEWS Swaan Named Distinguished University Professor
Peter Swaan University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, announced in May that Peter Swaan, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the School of Pharmacy and associate dean for research and advanced graduate studies, has been awarded the designation of Distinguished University Professor, the highest appointment bestowed on a
faculty member at UMB.
“It is a recognition not just of excellence, but also of impact and significant contribution to the nominee’s field, knowledge, profession, and/or practice,” Jarrell said in his letter to the UMB community announcing Swaan and six other honorees. “I’m extremely proud of the exceptional and transformational contributions each of these faculty members has made in support of UMB’s mission to improve the human condition and serve the public good. They are excellent examples of living the UMB core values, and it is my honor to call them colleagues.”
Swaan received his doctorate in biopharmaceutical sciences from Utrecht University in the Netherlands and served as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, San Francisco before accepting his first faculty position at Ohio State University. In 2003, he joined the faculty at the School of Pharmacy, where his research has focused on all aspects of transport proteins in drug targeting and delivery, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, and innovative methods for drug delivery, with a special emphasis on nanotechnology platforms aimed at increasing oral drug bioavailability.
“As a prolific and well-respected faculty member at the School of Pharmacy, Dr. Swaan is most deserving of the Distinguished University Professor honor,” said Natalie D. Eddington, PhD ’89, FAAPS, FCP, dean and professor of the School. “His 20-year tenure here is marked by outstanding scholarly, academic, and research contributions as a faculty member, administrator, and mentor to countless students, trainees, and fellows.”
Swaan is a fellow of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Sciences and currently serves as chair of the Board of Grants for the American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education.
“I am extremely honored and proud to be awarded the title of Distinguished University Professor,” Swaan said. “This is ultimately a sign that my colleagues across campus respect the contributions I have made to not just my research field, pharmacy profession, and our School, but also to the campus and the university system as a whole. Over my years as associate dean for research, I have interacted and worked with many colleagues from all seven UMB schools and served on campus committees and cross-campus workforces with peers at the University of Maryland, College Park and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. I have cherished these interactions and this expanded network has benefited our School’s visibility as a strong campus community partner. I’d like to thank all my current and former mentors, colleagues, and students, without whom this honor would not have been possible.”
Swaan and the six other UMB faculty members will receive Distinguished University Professor medals at UMB’s first-ever convocation in the fall. b
Faculty and Staff Laurels
The following School of Pharmacy faculty recently retired: • Cynthia Boyle, PharmD ’96, FAPhA, FNAP, FASCP, professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science – 17 years • Edward Moreton, PhD, professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences (PSC) – 48 years • Francis Palumbo, PhD, JD, MS, professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research – 48 years • Jia Bei Wang, PhD ’92, professor, PSC – 27 years
Cynthia Boyle, PharmD ’96, FAPhA, FNAP, FASCP, was appointed vice president of the board of directors of the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy. She also received the Maryland Pharmacists Association’s (MPhA) 2022 Mentor Award and will receive the 2022 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Pharmacy Practice Section Distinguished Pharmacy Educator Award at AACP’s annual meeting in Texas in July. Nicole Brandt, PharmD ’97, MBA, BCGP, BCPP, FASCP, received the Clinical Director of the Year Award from the Mid-Atlantic Medical Directors Association.
Continued from page 10 Wendy Camelo Castillo, MD, MSc, PhD, was named an associate editor of the journal Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety.
Kimberly Claeys, PharmD, was named a Scholar in Diagnostic Excellence by the National Academy of Medicine.
Andrew Coop, PhD, was named to the University of Maryland, Baltimore’s (UMB) Leaders in Education: Academy of Presidential Scholars (LEAPS) Council of Schools. He also has been named chair-elect of AACP’s Graduate Education Special Interest Group.
Denise Couch, BSN, RN, CSPI, of the School of Pharmacy’s Maryland Poison Center, has been recertified as a specialist in poison information (CSPI) for a fourth time.
Three School of Pharmacy preceptors — Ifeanyi Egbunike-Chukwuma, PharmD, BCPS, BCACP; Kristen Fink, PharmD, BCPS, BCACP, CDCES; and Patricia Ross, PharmD, MEdHP, BCACP — received 2021 AACP Preceptor of the Year Awards.
Meghan Ehret, PharmD, MS, BCPP, received MPhA’s 2022 Pharmacist Advocate Award.
Mathangi Gopalakrishnan, MS, PhD, has been named director of the School’s MS in Pharmacometrics Program.
Emily Heil, PharmD, BCIDP, BCPS-AQ ID, AAHIVP, received MPhA’s 2022 Excellence in Innovation Award.
Chad Johnson, PhD ’19, was named codirector of the MS in Medical Cannabis Science and Therapeutics Program.
Eric Kettering had his video — Tangerine Technique — accepted to the American Public Health Association’s Film Festival. A team of faculty and students from the Peter Lamy Center on Drug Therapy and Aging received the Howard Guterman Poster Award at AMDA — The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine meeting in March.
Cherokee Layson-Wolf, PharmD ’00, BCGP, BCACP, FAPhA, and Jill Morgan, PharmD, BCPS, BCPPS, received citations from Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan for their work on an interdisciplinary UMB team that set up the SMC Campus Center COVID-19 joint vaccination site in 2021. LaysonWolf also was appointed to the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) Health Equity Advisory Group.
Lisa Lebovitz, JD, MS ’21, was part of a multi-institutional group that received the Best Collaborative Publication Award from AACP’s Assessment Special Interest Group.
Raymond Love, PharmD ’77, BCPP, FASHP, was invited to serve on the USP Drug Allergy and Intolerance Classification Expert Panel.
Alexander MacKerell Jr., PhD, received the American Chemical Society’s 2022 Award for Computers in Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research.
Mary Lynn McPherson, PharmD ’86, MA, MDE, BCPS, CPE, received the Distinguished Hospice Interdisciplinary Team Member Award from the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM). She and Kathryn Walker, PharmD, BCPS, CPE, have been named Fellows of the AAHPM.
Zachary Noel, PharmD, was appointed to AACP’s Professionalism and Social Media Task Force.
Ebere Onukwugha, PhD, MS, was named program committee co-chair for the 2022 annual meeting of ISPOR - The Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research. She also has been re-elected to ISPOR’s board of directors and has been named to the Innovation and Value Initiative’s Health Equity Steering Committee.
Neha Pandit, PharmD, has been named president-elect of the School of Pharmacy’s Faculty Assembly.
Ryan Pearson, PhD, has been named the School of Pharmacy’s AACP 2022 Teacher of the Year.
James Polli, PhD, received the 2021 Award for Regulatory Excellence in Education from the Organization for Professionals in Regulatory Affairs.
Farideh Sistani, PharmD ’21, was an ISPOR 2022 Research Presentation Award finalist.
Deanna Tran, PharmD ’11, BCACP, was named a Baltimore Business Journal 40 Under 40 and was installed as president of MPhA.
Ester Villalonga Olives, PhD, MsC, was named an Early Investigator Advancement Program Scholar by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She and Fadia Shaya, PhD, MPH, were named UMB Center for Global Engagement 2021 GLOBALtimore Fellows.
Kristin Watson, PharmD, BCPS-AQ, was appointed chair of the Maryland Health and Wellness Council's Heart Disease and Stroke Committee. She also has been elected the School of Pharmacy’s alternate delegate to the AACP.
Zafar Zafari, MSc, PhD, has been appointed to the NIH Study Section for Organization and Delivery of Health Services.
