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STUDENTS
Dean Paul Larrat, joined by URI President Marc Parlange and the faculty and staff of the College of Pharmacy, conferred degrees upon the Class of 2022 on May 22. Dean Larrat and the entire College of Pharmacy extend their heartfelt congratulations to the URI College of Pharmacy Class of 2022.
Hooding Ceremony Honors Pharmacy Doctorate, Master’s Degree Recipients
URI College of Pharmacy Dean Paul Larrat and director of graduate programs Angela Slitt congratulated graduating students receiving Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Doctor of Philosophy and Pharmaceutical Sciences degrees during the college’s annual “Hooding Ceremony” May 20.
The 2022 Master’s Graduates Include:
Michaela Anelundi Terra Marie Jouaneh Kara Torrey Justin Trickett
Graduates include:
Meiwen Ding Jaunetta Hill Oluwadolapo Lawal Margaret Rosario Christopher Via Yiwen Zhao
Big Ideas. Bold Plans.
Student Access
Cost should not prevent talented, hardworking students from achieving their dream career in pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences, but families confront that barrier every year. The Simpson Family Scholarship in Pharmacy will allow qualified students from under-resourced communities to attend URI College of Pharmacy for a Pharm.D. education, and the Tom Needham Graduate Scholarship for Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences helps make graduate education possible for M.S. and Ph.D. students.
The URI College of Pharmacy Class of 2022 will be impacting health and health care all around the country. Here’s a small sampling of some students’ immediate plans:
Julia Hodgins:
Julia Hodgins plans to become a pharmacy extern at Walgreens and will transition to a full-time pharmacist after passing her boards. Julia’s favorite URI memory: Graduation weekend with her PharmD friends.
Olivia Spence:
Olivia Spence will be pursuing a PGY1 residency at Yale New Haven Hospital in New Haven, CT.
Olivia’s favorite URI memory: Being able to live with her best friends right on the beach, and all the fun times they had together.
Megan Gray:
Megan Gray will be completing a PGY1 residency at UConn Health/ John Dempsey Hospital, where she will be exploring her interests in critical care and ambulatory care. Megan’s favorite URI memory: Attending the URI vs PC basketball game when Rhody won! Go Rhody!
Alexis Perry:
Alexis Perry will be completing a PGY1 residency at Seattle Children’s Hospital, where she will have the opportunity to develop her knowledge to provide the best possible care for patients. Alexis’ favorite URI memory: Meeting some of her closest friends throughout her six years at URI, and getting to spend time with them exploring new places in Rhode Island and around the world.
Graduating Students Achieve Academic Excellence
Lleayem Nazario-Johnson, B.S.P.S.
A native Rhode Islander, Lleayem’s career is on an impressive trajectory toward improving human health. While completing his B.S. degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Lleayem also engaged in an Honors Project in scientific research to find new drugs that may one day improve immunotherapies for cancer treatments. This coming fall, he will begin medical school at Brown University.
Marisa Jacobs, PharmD
A talented violist, artist, and writer...usually not what you typically think of when describing a pharmacist. However, Marisa Jacobs is no ordinary student! Through sustained academic excellence in pharmacy, Marisa earned the highest cumulative GPA in the PharmD program. She is a leader and mentor in various pharmacy organizations. Upon graduation, Marisa will continue her passion for writing and healthcare as a medical writer at AdMed in Philadelphia.
Pharmacy Graduate Aims To Share her Knowledge and her Music
While still a high school student, Marisa Jacobs was sitting in the admissions office of a pharmacy college at a large East Coast university, talking about her talents for math and science, her love of writing and art, and her lifelong passion for playing music, all of which she planned to continue in her chosen university. When the admissions officer informed her that the rigors of the pharmacy program would preclude her from playing the viola in that university’s orchestra, she left and drove north up the coast to URI. Here, she has excelled in the College of Pharmacy’s equally rigorous 0–6 Doctor of Pharmacy program, while also sharing her love of writing with her fellow students and, yes, playing the viola for six years in the URI Symphony Orchestra. “I am so happy I ended up going to URI, and I would choose URI again,” Jacobs said. “URI let me play in the orchestra. Maybe that doesn’t seem like it would be a big deal, but it was a big deal to me. Everyone at URI is so open-minded and willing. They allowed us the freedom to do things outside pharmacy. Even though the program is really busy, I was still able to do a lot of other things.” Jacobs also played viola in the string quartets and the jazz band, earning a minor in music. The Poughquag, New York, native also worked in the URI Writing Center, while becoming an exemplary student in the College of Pharmacy. She didn’t always know that pharmacy is where she would end up, just that she wanted to do something in the sciences. So, one summer during high school she spent every afternoon walking down the street to a Hannaford Pharmacy in her hometown, where she would stand back and watch how a pharmacy worked. “Since I was too young to work there, they let me stand there and shadow and see what goes on,” Jacobs said. “I couldn’t touch anything, I couldn’t do anything, but I stood there for 40 hours in total over the summer, and something about that clicked. After that experience, I started researching pharmacy schools and really looking toward pharmacy as a career.” The College of Pharmacy’s 0–6 program, which allows students to complete their general studies and earn their Pharm.D. in six years without having to reapply to a graduate school, attracted her to URI. This summer, Jacobs plans to combine her love of science and writing working for AdMed Inc. in Philadelphia, a company that contracts with major pharmaceutical corporations to create educational materials to educate sales reps on medications. “It’s kind of like teaching, which is one of the main reasons I like pharmacy, so I’m really excited,” said Jacobs, who one day plans to pursue academia, perhaps even back at URI. Wherever she ends up, her work in pharmaceutical sciences will be joined by her passions for writing, art, and especially music. “Since I was too young to work there, they let me stand there and shadow and see what goes on, I couldn’t touch anything, I couldn’t do anything, but I stood there for 40 hours in total over the summer, and something about that clicked. After that experience, I started researching pharmacy schools and really looking toward pharmacy as a career.”
Recent graduate Michael Burkett (center) poses with Capt. Bill Lehault from the U.S. Public Health Service and his faculty mentor, Professor Jeffrey Bratberg.
URI College of Pharmacy student Michael Burkett has earned national recognition for his commitment to public health and community advocacy from the U.S. Public Health Service.
The service presents the annual pharmacy award to 75 college students around the country to increase the public’s awareness of the role pharmacists play in promoting healthy communities. Burkett has indeed taken an active role in public health, working with Professor Jeffrey Bratberg on a research project to take stock of pharmacists’ role in public health in Rhode Island. The pair brought together pharmacists in focus groups to talk about where they see the profession expanding in the state and how they can do a better job as a group advocating for those advances.
“Pharmacists are really uniquely positioned to impact public health as the most accessible care providers. It was really a chance to dive into advocacy on how to impact public health in Rhode Island and nationally,” Burkett said. It was not Burkett’s first experience impacting public health. During the summer of 2020, the recent Pharm.D. graduate joined the Junior Commissioned Officer Student Training and Extern Program through the U.S. Public Health Service. Burkett was placed with the Food and Drug Administration for 12 weeks, serving as a public health service officer. He has also worked in community pharmacies throughout his time at URI, which helped inspire his passion for public service.
Eight pharmacy students were awarded scholarships this fall during the college’s 63rd annual Heber W. Youngken Jr. Pharmacy Clinic in November. Students include Claire Burbridge, Matthew Campion, Emma Camara, Kaitlin Pothier, Stephanie Dowling, Jaidyn DeJesus, Jessica Samuel (not pictured), and Thomas Shugart (not pictured).
Willy Njeru, Class of 2027 Hometown: Houston, Texas
Why URI: “I was invited to a personal tour of URI in March of this year. This was the first and only tour I ever had of a college campus, yet it was enough to convince me that URI was where I belonged. I noticed how engaged and supportive the faculty were toward the students. Also, through interaction with older students, I got the sense that URI is ultimately a community in which every person is valued. On top of that, URI’s nationally ranked, direct-entry, six-year Doctor of Pharmacy program made this university the best option for me. Overall, choosing URI is a choice I don’t regret!”
Nisha Kakwani, Class of 2027 Hometown: Whitehouse Station, New Jersey Why URI: “One of the things that made me choose URI was the welcoming and friendly environment. Everyone I spoke to were all so kind and welcoming. I also admired the collaborative environment and how students helped each other academically. Another reason is all the opportunities within the College of Pharmacy and the University as a whole. There are a number of different pharmacy-related clubs and organizations. Additionally, I had the opportunity to continue my passion for journalism and yoga by writing for The Good 5 Cent Cigar and teaching yoga classes at the fitness center. I am confident in my decision in coming to school here and couldn’t imagine myself anywhere else.”
Pharmacy Class of 2025 White Coat Ceremony
More than 120 new University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy students officially entered the field of pharmacy this year as they donned their white coats for the first time. Pharmacy Dean Paul Larrat welcomes the new students and their families in Edwards Auditorium each year for the annual White Coat Ceremony, marking their first professional year of pharmacy training. “A commencement is a beginning, and this is a commencement of sorts,” Dean Larrat said. “You are becoming a member of the campus, but more globally, you are becoming a member of the health-care community.”
With subjects as varied as the effects of ibuprofen, the use of nanotech in solar energy, and a study of shrimp aquaculture, along with many more, dozens of URI College of Pharmacy students showed off their research projects during the annual Undergraduate Research Showcase in the lobby of Avedisian Hall April 28.
Award winners include:
Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.)
First place—Cassadra Compton, Nina Doyle, Emily Lamkin, Grace Mok, and Tiana Patriarca Second place—Olivia Hunt, Caitlin Nearing, Stephanie Robertson, Joel Seeram, and Braylee Wardwell. Third place—Maya Dakessian, Anna Kang, Jacob Lawrence, Christina Miller, and Shohini Ray.
Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Science (BSPS)
First place—Katelyn Burke Second place—Margaret Hill Third place—Dakota Watjen, Sam TenBrook, James McDermott, and Nate DiLoreto
Graduate Program in Pharmaceutical Science
First place—Andrea Gonsalves Second place—Gina M. Gallucci Third place—Juan Song
Pharm.D. Students Awarded Scholarships
Cassadra Compton, Nina Doyle, Emily Lamkin, Grace Mok, and Tiana Patriarca
Eight pharmacy students were awarded scholarships this fall during the college’s 63rd annual Heber W. Youngken Jr. Pharmacy Clinic, which brings together practicing pharmacists and pharmacy educators for a continuing education summit hosted by the College of Pharmacy and Office of Continuing Education for the Health Professions.
The URI Pharm.D student winners include: Matthew Campion ’23 Thomas Shugart ’23 Jessica Samuel ’24 Claire Burbridge ’24 Stephanie Dowling ’23 Katelyn Burke
Andrea Gonsalves
