Pharmacy Faculty Member Honored with Bernstein Professorship

Dr. Patrice Jackson-Ayotunde, an associate professor at UMES’ pharmacy school, was named the Richard Bernstein Professor last year. She will hold the honorary title, made possible by an endowed fund established by its namesake, for three years.

One of the fund’s objectives is encouraging excellence among students and faculty. The Bernstein Professorship was created to attract and recognize university faculty members who distinguish themselves. JacksonAyotunde received a U.S. patent a year ago for a series of drugs developed to combat drug-resistant epilepsy. She shared the discovery credit with Dr. Tawes Harper, a UMES (Pharm.D. program) graduate who assisted with the research.

She also is known among admiring students as a hands-on advisermentor whom she has inspired to organize an epilepsy awareness fund

raising walk each spring.

“I feel honored to represent Mr. Bernstein and UMES with this professorship,” JacksonAyotunde said. “I hope to continue to be successful in scholarship, teaching, and service here at the university as a faculty member.”

Jackson-Ayotunde says she is committed to continuing research in pursuit of other potential drug agents for drug-resistant epilepsy, which impacts 65 million people. The Memphis, Tennessee native joined the UMES faculty in 2010. She and her husband have a four-year-old daughter.

AHEC Scholars Program

In 2018, UMES School of Pharmacy and the Eastern Shore Area Health Education Center (AHEC) initiated an interprofessional education (IPE) collaboration through the AHEC Scholars program. AHEC Scholars is a two year program for health professions’ students interested in supplementing their education by gaining additional knowledge and experience in rural and/or underserved urban settings. This is a longitudinal program with interdisciplinary curricula to implement a defined set of clinical, didactic, and community-based activities. All experiential or clinical trainings are conducted in rural and/or underserved urban settings.

The Eastern Shore AHEC facilitated two AHEC Scholars pilot programs in October 2018 and March 2019. With lessons learned and support from the UMES School of Pharmacy (SOP), six second-year pharmacy students joined three third-year medical students from University of Maryland School of Medicine and a nurse practitioner student from University of Maryland School of Nursing to make up the inaugural class of AHEC Scholars for 2019-2021. Recently students met for a Supper and Share dinner to discuss their scopes of practice, participate in a public health and interprofessional discussion about causes of lung injury, prevention, treatment, and complications related to vaping. Students also shared their experiences working with interprofessional teams and discussed advantages and challenges of their interactions.

Benefits to students participating in AHEC Scholars are having the opportunity to work hand-in-hand with other disciplines, learn their roles and responsibilities, participate in clinical settings as an interprofessional team, bolster clinical knowledge and join this hands-on opportunity to expand their knowledge about rural and underserved healthcare throughout Maryland. AHEC Scholars are able to meet leaders in their field and make connections with other participants, creating an invaluable network of mentors and colleagues. Maryland AHEC Scholar receive a Certificate of Completion, setting scholars apart from other students in an increasingly competitive environment. For more information or to apply online, please visit the following link: https://www.medschool.umaryland.edu/mahec/About-MAHEC/SignaturePrograms/ or contact Dr. Lana Sherr, Assistant Dean for Professional Affairs at UMES SOP, and Mrs. Andrea Dayton, Clinical Education Coordinator at Eastern Shore AHEC.