Newsletter Fall 2012 - School of Pharmacy

University of Connecticut
Volume 8, Number 1 · Fall 2012
Prescriptives
School of
harmacy News
School of Pharmacy Receives $125,000 Gift
from Cardinal Health Pharmacy Scholarship
A Message
from the Dean
By: The University of Connecticut Foundation
Dear Friends:
The University of Connecticut has
received a $125,000 gift from Cardinal
Health to provide scholarships to
students in the School of Pharmacy.
UConn is one of eight pharmacy
schools across the nation selected to
receive funding from the 2012 Cardinal
Health Pharmacy Scholarship Program
designed to support students interested
in careers in independent community
pharmacy. Cardinal Health has donated
more than $2.1 million to 20 universities
through this program, since its launch in
June 2011.
The schools were selected to
participate in the program because of
their commitment to advancing the
independent pharmacy profession by
offering curricula focused on operating
an independent pharmacy; supporting
student-run chapters of the National
Community Pharmacists Association;
endorsing internship and experiential
programs with local independent retail
pharmacies; and demonstrating highpost-graduate rates in community
pharmacy settings.
“Cardinal Health serves more than
7,000 independently owned retail
pharmacies across the United States,
and we’re committed to supporting
the continued growth of community
pharmacy,” says Mike Kaufmann,
chief executive officer of Cardinal
Health’s Pharmaceutical segment. “We
passionately believe in the essential role
that community pharmacists play in
making sure patients have convenient
access to high quality, personalized
What a wonderful time to be the dean
of the UConn School of Pharmacy.
Every time I turn around, I find another
example of exceptional leadership from
one of our students, faculty, staff, or
alumni. Two of our alumni, Rick Carbray
and Angelo DeFazio, were appointed
to the Connecticut Commission of
Pharmacy.
Dean Robert McCarthy, Joe Bourque,
director of retail sales for Cardinal Health,
and Angelo DeFazio ‘85, president and CEO
of Arrow Pharmacy & Nutrition Centers
health care, and we’re proud to partner
with UConn to develop tomorrow’s
pharmacy leaders.”
The company would like its scholarships
to be a significant source of financial
support to the recipients, perhaps paying
for all or most of their final year of
pharmacy school, so it suggests the
gift provide a scholarship to one or two
students a year rather than to a handful.
“The goal is to provide support to one
or two pharmacy students, especially
with financial need, with a passion
for entrepreneurship in community
pharmacy,” says Angelo DeFazio, ’85,
president and chief executive officer
of Arrow Pharmacy and a graduate
of UConn’s School of Pharmacy, who
was instrumental in getting UConn
included in the Cardinal Health Pharmacy
Scholarship program.
- Continued on Page 3 -
Our faculty have also been busy. Last
semester, Stefanie Nigro won an APhA
One to One Patient Counseling Award
and Lisa Holle began her term as national
president for HOPA, the Hematology/
Oncology Pharmacy Association. We,
along with the Connecticut Pharmacists
Association and the Connecticut
Department of Social Services, were
awarded a very prestigious APhA Pinnacle
Award for our MTM project.
After nearly 20 years here at UConn, my
predecessor as dean, Dr. Michael Gerald,
has retired. Now a Professor Emeritus,
we wish Mike much success in his
future endeavors and thank him for his
leadership of and service to the school.
This fall, we were visited by the ACPE
as part of our reaccreditation. The team
found much to commend about our
school including the professionalism of
our student body; Experiential Education;
Student Affairs; dual degree programs;
development; assessment; student
participation on school committees; and
library access for preceptors. I continue
to be proud to be dean at this institution
and I thank all of you in the UConn
Pharmacy Family for your support.
Visiting Professors Bring Special Expertise and Unique Collaborations to
Research in both Pharmacy Practice and the Pharmaceutical Sciences
By: Myles Udland
Dr. Fujimoto: Drug Modeling
Dr. Ghanem: Intestinal Tract
Intercontinental collaboration suggests
the advent of new work and new research.
The School of Pharmacy recently hosted
several visiting professors to share their
expertise. Dr. Carolina Ghanem of the
University of Buenos Aires in Argentina
spent six months at the University
of Connecticut working in Dr. José
Manautou’s lab. Dr. Ghanem’s stay not
only represented Dr. Manautou’s first time
hosting a visiting scholar, but was the first
time he worked closely with the intestinal
tract, a complementary area to his primary
focus, the liver.
As the president of mechanisms specialty
section for the Society of Toxicology
(SOT), Dr. Manautou was part of a global
task force focused on increasing SOT’s
global presence, specifically targeting
toxicologists in Spanish-speaking countries.
Dr. Manautou’s five-member committee
ultimately identified the Argentinean
Society of Toxicology (ATA) as the
association that best synched with the
mission set forth by SOT leadership.
At the 2010 ATA annual meeting in
Buenos Aires, each member of the SOT
task force presented their research and
was given a chance to network with ATA
members to discuss the benefits of SOT
membership, as well as share research
ideas. During this visit, Dr. Manautou
met with Dr. Aldo Mottino and Dr.
Ghanem to discuss collaborative research
opportunities. “I was familiar with Dr.
Mottino and Dr. Ghanem’s research, but
had never met either personally,” says
Dr. Manautou. “I met with Drs. Mottino
and Ghanem and we shared our research
approaches. After our meeting we decided
to try and get Dr. Ghanem to come to
UConn to work in our lab.”
Dr. Carolina Ghanem and Dr. José Manautou
With Dr. Manautou’s endorsement, Dr.
Ghanem successfully applied for and was
granted a scholarship funded by Consejo
Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y
Técnicas of Argentina. These scholarships
are aimed at funding collaborative
research between U.S. scholars and their
internationals peers. Dr. Ghanem’s award
funded six months of research at UConn
that was completed in May 2012.
Dr. Ghanem’s research focuses on the
intestinal tract, specifically intestinal
regulation of ABC transporters in
response to acetaminophen toxicity. Dr.
Ghanem’s work applies techniques used in
Dr. Manautou’s lab working with the liver
towards working with the intestine. The
primary goal of this collaboration is to see
if liver and intestinal changes in response
to acetaminophen can be mapped onto
transport proteins.
“Aside from my primary work with the
liver I’ve worked with the kidneys, but
have done very little work analyzing gene
expression of intestinal proteins,” says Dr.
Manautou. Dr. Manautou’s own research
focuses primarily liver function, and in
working with Dr. Ghanem, he hopes to
learn more about different approaches
that are taken in examining other organs
within the gastrointestinal system.
In the fall of 2011, Dr. Urs Boelsterli,
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals,
Inc. Professor of Mechanistic Toxicology,
began working with Dr. Kazunori
Fujimoto to predict idiosyncratic
drug toxicities. Dr. Fujimoto comes
to UConn from Japan and represents
Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., one of Japan’s
largest pharmaceutical companies. He
worked with Dr. Boelsterli through
September 2012 developing prediction
strategies that can help eliminate
problematic drugs at early stages of
drug development.
According to Dr. Fujimoto, many
pharmaceutical companies suffer from
an inability to predict idiosyncratic
drug toxicity because it is difficult to
reproduce toxicity in experimental
animals. Although the prediction of a
drug’s toxicity comes at the very early
stages of development, the inability to
successfully test a drug in an animal
can greatly delay development.
Dr. Boelsterli has been working with
the problem of idiosyncratic drug
toxicity for years. “This has been a
huge problem for all the pharmaceutical
companies because it is a killer, and
many drugs have had to be pulled from
the market because of unpredictable
liver toxicity,” said Boelsterli. As an
academic, Dr. Boelsterli notes that he is
not directly involved in the development
of drugs, but is interested in why and
how certain drugs can cause toxicity.
“In academia, we try to analyze and
elucidate the mechanisms.”
A central problem when looking to
identify the toxicity of various drugs
is finding a suitable model to test. A
- Continued on Page 6 -
Contributors:
American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, Elizabeth Anderson, Daniel Buttrey, Christie’s Photographic
Studios, Mary Ann Dolan, Jennifer Gayda, Jacquelyn Lomp, Robert McCarthy, Brody McConnell, Peter Morenus,
Myles Udland, and the University of Connecticut Foundation.
Prescriptives, the official newsletter for the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy and the UConn Pharmacy
Alumni Association, is published semiannually. Please send comments, news and story ideas to: Elizabeth Anderson,
Director of Marketing & Communications, at (860) 486-0847 or via e-mail: [email protected].
Former Dean Michael Gerald Retires after nearly
20 Years of Service
Cardinal Health
By: Jennifer Gayda
Cardinal Health hopes to provide
additional support to its scholarship
recipients in the form of networking
and educational opportunities,
according to Joseph Bourque, Jr.,
director of sales for Cardinal health,
who presented the check to School of
Pharmacy Dean Robert McCarthy. “Our
goal is to help make sure that students
interested in community pharmacy
have the information they need to be
successful,” says Bourque.
After almost twenty years at UConn,
Dr. Michael Gerald, sixth dean of the
School of Pharmacy, retired at the end
of August. Dr. Gerald served as dean for
almost nine years, from 1993 to 2002.
He is now an emeritus professor of
pharmacy practice and currently has two
books in various stages of development.
Dr. Gerald began his career at The Ohio
State University College of Pharmacy
in 1969 as an assistant professor of
pharmacology. He moved up the ranks,
becoming a full professor in 1980 and
eventually becoming associate dean in
1984. He has spent about half of his
42 year career teaching and half in
administrative roles between the two
universities.
Dr. Gerald has seen the school through
a number of changes. When he came
to UConn in 1993, the School of
Pharmacy was in the midst of moving
from a bachelors degree in pharmacy
to a Doctor of Pharmacy program. At
the time, some faculty members were
opposed to this change and felt it was
unnecessary to add another year to the
program. Dr. Gerald recognized the fact
that it was necessary to make the change
in order to remain an accredited school
of pharmacy, and for students to be
educationally prepared and competitive
in pursuing career opportunities as
graduates of other schools of pharmacy.
It was his responsibility to mobilize
the faculty to vote for the Pharm.D.
degree, as well as to receive approval
from the University’s Board of Trustees
and the Connecticut Department of
Higher Education. The school adopted
and accepted their first class for the
all-Pharm.D. program in 1997. It was also
the first professional doctoral program
offered on the Storrs campus. Under his
leadership, the size of the clinical faculty
expanded from three to fifteen.
When Dr. Gerald arrived, the School
of Pharmacy was organized by a single
department. He played a role in splitting
the school up into the Department of
Pharmacy Practice and the Department
of Pharmaceutical Sciences. This allowed
each department to develop further on
Dr. Michael Gerald, emeritus professor and
sixth dean of the University of Connecticut
School of Pharmacy
its own and maximize their potential.
Dr. C Michael White, head of the
Department of Pharmacy Practice said,
“I am personally indebted to Mike. He
saw potential in me, invested in that
potential, and I will always be grateful.”
Dr. Gerald also played a major role in
developing the new Pharmacy-Biology
Building. The previous building had been
built in the 1950s, and was no longer
an attractive environment for teaching,
learning and research. He helped the
university decide on a new site, and
worked closely with the architects in
designing the building to fit the school’s
“I’ll miss the students.
They are what makes
it all exciting.”
specific needs for the 21st century. By
the time Dr. Gerald left his role as dean
in 2002, ninety percent of the building
had been designed, and it was completed
in 2005.
As much as Dr. Gerald enjoyed his role
as dean, he also loved his time spent
teaching. He describes being a professor
as a more self-directed role, where he
gets to work closely with students, be
able to control his own calendar. As
Continued from Page 1
“We wish to express our deep
appreciation to our friends at Cardinal
Health for their most generous gift and
to Mr. DeFazio for his support,” says
McCarthy. “It will be of tremendous
benefit to our students who share their
entrepreneurial spirit, and is especially
welcome in these challenging economic
times,” noted McCarthy. “This gift
recognizes our pharmacy program as
one of the nation’s finest, one that
supports those of our students who
still hold the dream of pharmacy
ownership.”
dean, he had to consider what was best
for the school as a whole, even if it
wasn’t necessarily what was best for his
particular area of interest.
Dr. Gerald plans to continue writing
in retirement. He is in the final stages
of editing and publishing his book
entitled, “The Drug Book,” which is
scheduled to appear in spring 2013.
This book is being written to appeal to
a general audience, not just those in
the pharmaceutical and science fields.
He is also in the early stages of writing
another book, not yet titled, which deals
with aphrodisiacs. He has previously
written five other books.
Dr. Gerald is looking forward to
spending time writing, traveling,
volunteering, catching up with his
children and grandchildren and spending
more time with his wife of 47 years. Dr.
Gerald says that most of all, he will miss
the students because, “they are what
makes it all exciting.” He says that he
loves being on college campuses and will
continue to return to UConn after he
retires.
3
Faculty & Staff News Briefs
Bill Baker presented “Effect of
Therapeutic Hypothermia on the
Disposition of Drugs” during the
“Therapeutic Hypothermia Symposium”
held at Hartford Hospital; “Update on
Pharmacologic Management of Patients
with Advancing Heart Failure” at the
2nd Annual UConn Health Center
Heart Failure Symposium: Shifting
Heart Failure Care University of
Connecticut Health Center, Farmington,
CT; and “Do Differences Exist Between
Oral Anticoagulants in Patients with
Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation? An
Adjusted Indirect Comparison MetaAnalysis” at the American College of
Cardiology 61st Annual Meeting.
Marcy Balunas has received the D.
Devra Dang was inducted as a
Distinguished Practitioner and Fellow
of the National Academies of Practice,
an interprofessional organization
composed of elected representatives
from ten different health professions
(dentistry, medicine, nursing, optometry,
osteopathic medicine, pharmacy,
podiatric medicine, psychology, social
work, and veterinary medicine). Dr.
Dang, with Ruth Goldblatt, DMD of the
UConn School of Dental Medicine, gave
a presentation at the National Academies
of Practice called “The Urban Service
Track in Connecticut: A National Model
for Interprofessional Learning.”
Lisa Holle was a participant in the
Fei Wang has received the 2011 CSHP
Xiuling Lu has received the a Faculty
Bodhi Chaudhuri received a
research grant from Boehringer
Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to work
on Pharmaceutical Powder Modeling
and Technology. He also received
funding from FDA-NIPTE to work on
Modeling of Aerodynamic Flow through
MDI Spacer and Characterization of
Aerodynamic Particle Size. The U.S.
Congressional Report, Volume 157,
Issue 116, published from Congressman
Joe Courtney’s office, congratulates the
research efforts of Bodhi Chaudhuri’s
Group. The text may be seen at: www.
gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2011-07-29/
html/CREC-2011-07-29-pt1-PgE1445-2.htm
4
Marie Smith, Tom Buckley, Devra
Dang, and Alumna Margherita
Giuliano were cited by the American
Stefanie Nigro was awarded a
Michelle Breland and Marie Smith,
entitled, “Southeast Asian Americans:
Health Beliefs, Practices, and Culturally
Appropriate Care” in the Low Learning
Center at the UConn Health Center.
Ethics in Research,” at the Northeastern
Educational Researcher Association
meeting. She also earned a Masters in
Educational Psychology.
from the American Petroleum Institute
entitled “Rat nasal explants responses to
naphthalene.” He was appointed to the
NIH Special Emphasis Panel for NIDCD
Clinical Research Center (P50) proposal
reviews.
John Faulkner Travel Award from the
American Society of Pharmacognosy.
Tom Buckley presented a seminar
Lauren Schlesselman presented, “On
Pharmacists Association as one of
Pharmacy’s Top Ten News Items for
2011. Dr. Smith was also invited by AACP
and APhA to work on two nationallevel MTM and quality improvement
workgroup initiatives through the
Pharmacist Services Technical Advisory
Coalition (PSTAC) and Pharmacy Quality
Alliance (PQA). Dr. Smith also made
several presentations including: “Building
a Room for Pharmacists in the PatientCentered Medical Home” and “Improving
Patient Safety and Health Outcomes in
the Patient-Centered Medical Home “ at
the APhA Annual Meeting; “Pharmacist
Medication Management Services for
Chronic and Complex Patients“ at the
Academy Health Annual Research
Meeting; “Health Care Reform: Are
Pharmacists Ready for Innovation and
Integration?” and “Strategies for a New
Practice Model” for a new practice
model consortium of University of
Iowa and Drake pharmacy faculty, Iowa
Pharmacists Association staff, and Iowa
pharmacy practice leaders; “Meaningful
Use: Primary Care Office Medication
Management Processes and Safety” at
the CT E-Health Summit in Hartford,
CT; Building Ambulatory Care Services:
Patient-centered Medical Home and
Neighborhood” at the ASHP Midyear
Clinical Meeting.
panel discussion following Odysseus
D.O.A. on Thursday, March 1st held at
the Nafe Katter Theater on campus.
with Susan Spiggle of the School of
Business, received a grant from the
Community Pharmacy Foundation
for a qualitative study on “Consumer,
Physician, and Payer Perspectives on
Primary Care Medication Management
Services with a Shared-Resource
Pharmacists Network.”
also presented the poster “Shared
Medical Appointments: A coordinated,
team-based approach to improve
diabetes control” at the 2012 APhA
Annual Meeting. Dr. Nigro has earned
certification by the AADE as a boardcertified advanced diabetes manager.
Large Grant Award to initiate a
project entitled, “Nanoemulsions for
Overcoming Hypoxia and Elevated
Interstitial Fluid Pressure in Tumors
to Enhance the Effects of Cancer
Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapy.”
She is also one of the five recipients of
the UConn Diet and Health Initiative
research grant, which will support
her collaborative project “Quercetin
Nanoemulsions for Enhancing its Oral
Bioavailability and Chemoprotective
Effect” for two years. This project
represents an innovative area of research
at UCONN by multi-disciplinary
investigators from pharmaceutical
sciences/nanotechnology, nutritional
biochemistry, cancer biology and
biostatistics.
John Morris received a research grant
$1000 APhA Foundation Incentive
grant for a project entitled, “Impact
of pharmacist-generated asthma action
plans to improve asthma control in a
federally-qualified health center.” She
Meritorious Achievement Award.
Adam Wilbur joined the school as
associate director of development.
UConn Part of APhA
Pinnacle Award Team
The Connecticut
Department of
Social Services,
the Connecticut
Pharmacists
Association,
and the UConn
School of
Pharmacy
received the
2012 American
Pharmacists
Association Foundation’s Pinnacle Award
for Government Agency–Nonprofit
Organization–Associations. The Pinnacle
Award recognizes organizations that
have demonstrated approaches to assist
patients and their caregivers in achieving
better outcomes from their medications.
This collaboration recognizes work
on the CMS Medicaid Transformation
Grant “Medicaid MTM Project” that
involved several UConn School of
Pharmacy faculty and staff including
Marie Smith, Tom Buckley, Devra Dang,
Diana Sobieraj, and Lisa Bragaw, as well
as alumna Margherita Giuliano and
honorary alumnus Mike Starkowski.
This award has been given over the
last 15 years and some past recipients
include: The Patient Safety and Clinical
Pharmacy Services Collaborative
(HRSA), Pharmacy Quality Alliance
(PQA), National Diabetes Education
Program, National Coordinating Council
for Medication Error Reporting and
Prevention, KatrinaHealth.org, National
Committee for Quality Assurance
(NCQA), and City of Asheville, NC: The
Asheville Project, and the Institute for
Safe Medication Practices. The awardees
were honored on June 25, 2012, during
a ceremony at the APhA headquarters
in Washington, DC. “Connecticut may
be a small state, but we have larger-thanlife expectations,” Giuliano said.
To learn more about the award, visit
the School of Pharmacy YouTube page
accessible from our website and read the
article from Pharmacy Today.
Dr. Stefanie Nigro
Wins APhA
One to One Patient
Counseling Award
By: Jennifer Gayda
While visiting family in West Babylon,
NY, Dr. Stefanie Nigro, assistant clinical
professor of pharmacy practice, ran into
a patient from the CVS pharmacy where
she previously worked. At the time, Dr.
Nigro had no idea that this encounter
would be a contributing factor to her
winning the American Pharmacists
Association (APhA) One to One Patient
Counseling award for the second time.
While catching up with her former
patient, Dr. Nigro learned that the
woman was recently diagnosed with
Hepatitis C. Dr. Nigro offered to bring
educational materials to her home since
she would be in town for a few days.
The patient told her that she would
soon be starting Pegasys® (a selfadministered injection), ribavirin, and a
new investigational drug which required
multiple doses per day. Dr. Nigro could
tell that she was anxious about the
injections so she showed her how to do
them.
Dr. Nigro followed up with the patient
even after her visit had ended. She sent
the patient information that she received
from the Community Health Center
of New Britain, where she worked.
Dr. Nigro informed the patient about
Pegassist, a program for those on the
specific medication which offers 24-hour
nurse support. The patient was set up
with a nurse educator to help her cope
with her diagnosis. The patient was so
grateful to Dr. Nigro for her exceptional
assistance that she nominated her for the
APhA award.
The APhA award is given out once a
year to twenty pharmacists and five
student pharmacists who go above
and beyond in helping patients achieve
optimal heath outcomes. Dr. Nigro
won the award in 2005 as a student
pharmacist, and is being honored again
as a 2012 pharmacist winner. Dr. Nigro
has been a member of APhA since her
years in pharmacy school.
- Continued on Page 10 -
The award was presented at the APhA
Annual Meeting and Exposition
in New Orleans, LA. Dr. Nigro
received complimentary airfare and
hotel accommodations as well as free
registration to attend the meeting.
In addition to this accomplishment,
Dr. Nigro recently helped publish a
Pharmacotherapy Self-Assessment
Program (PSAP) book chapter. Dr. Marie
Smith, assistant dean for practice and
public policy partnerships, was asked to
write a chapter about Patient Centered
Medical Homes after she published
an article for Health Affairs entitled,
“Why Pharmacists Belong in the Medical
Home.” Dr. Smith asked Dr. Nigro to
partner with her since she has direct
experience in a Patient Centered Medical
Home model.
This chapter was especially important
because it was the first time that such a
topic was introduced. PSAP topics are
usually repeated and written about more
than once by different authors. The
chapter was published in October 2011.
Dr. Nigro hopes to continue her
work with patient care and ensuring
that medications are used safely and
effectively. She would love to do more
scholarly work and find a unique niche
in the pharmacy profession. She says
that being recognized for this APhA
award is a great start.
5
Visiting Professors
Continued from Page 2
normal animal model will not always
reproduce toxicity, and even a specifically
engineered test animal might not
express an adverse reaction to a drug.
Dr. Boelsterli also says that, “the vast
majority of humans tolerate these drugs
well. So I think we have to change our
approach and say, ‘What is different in
these few susceptible patients?’ because
they are still safe drugs, they are still
good drugs.”
Dr. Fujimoto’s aims, however, are focused
on the stages of drug development
that are a long way off from taking a
drug to market. Dr. Fujimoto said that
his company has developed some toxic
mechanisms for early stage screening
of drugs, but hopes to work more
closely with Dr. Boelsterli in predicting
mitochondria toxicity.
Overall, this collaboration is aimed
at identifying problematic drugs at
the early, not critical, stage of drug
development. By developing a system
for identifying these drugs, Dr. Fujimoto
will perhaps be able to help rank drugs
at these early stages. “If there are ten
drug candidates, maybe you can identify
the two really bad guys,” said Boelsterli.
“But there is a long, long way until you
can actually apply it to humans to take a
drug to market.”
Dr. Buffington:
Pharmacy Practice Models
6
Healthcare
in the U.S. is
undergoing
massive change,
a change
to which
pharmacists are
closely tied. In
preparation for
this shift, Dr.
Dan Buffington
has been
working, since
1991, in a non-traditional private practice
model for pharmacy. “I consider it an
experiment that has continued to evolve,”
said Buffington. “The evolution that has
taken place in healthcare over the last
fifteen or twenty years has positioned
pharmacists to not only be responsible
for medication management, but also into
a role that focuses on optimizing drug
therapy as a specialty, with medications
to augment the work of primary care
physicians or medical specialists.”
A member of the faculty at University of
South Florida’s College of Medicine, Dr.
Buffington is working with UConn School
of Pharmacy Department of Pharmacy
Practice faculty member Dr. Lisa Holle
to reevaluate pharmacy-billing practices
in Connecticut. “This is an opportunity
to help build advanced practice models
that are more focused on patient care
services than prescription models,” said
Buffington. This reevaluation of the
way that pharmacists approach their
relationships with prescribers, patients,
and payers is not an effort to make
changes for the sake of change, but
is rather an effort to more accurately
reflect pharmacy’s clinical role within the
healthcare community.
Dr. Buffington, who holds both Pharm.D.
and MBA degrees, sees pharmacy at the
intersection of business, medicine, and
the changing face of U.S. healthcare. “I
call it a perfect storm,” said Buffington.
“There are minor changes [in healthcare]
happening right now that will radically
change how pharmacists are utilized
moving forward.” Some of this change,
says Dr. Buffington, will see pharmacists
move away from being merely dispensers
of medications, and towards being
providers of clinical services.
As an educator, Dr. Buffington’s goal
has been to instill in pharmacists, both
new and established, an entrepreneurial
approach to their work. “It is imperative
that pharmacists embrace learning
business principles, because no longer is
pharmacy an isolated, standard, packaged
type of career path.”
Dr. Buffington first came to UConn in
May of 2011 to speak at the Arthur E.
Schwarting Pharmacy Practice Symposium.
At this event, Dr. Buffington focused
on collaborative practice, a joint effort
between a pharmacist and physician to
help manage patients with chronic medical
conditions. During his brief time on
campus, the School of Pharmacy faculty
expressed an interest in adopting a
model similar to Dr. Buffington’s practice
in Tampa, Florida. In this model, Dr.
Buffington serves as the practice director
at Clinical Pharmacology Services, Inc., a
medical specialty practice that provides
services including drug information,
medication therapy management, and
clinical research.
“In my practice in Tampa, I don’t do
any medication dispensing, though I
am a pharmacist,” said Buffington. “It’s
more about changing the design and
physical structure of the practice, as
well as the organizational structure and
staffing to function like a medical clinic.
It’s designed just as if you went to your
doctor’s office.” Dr. Buffington says that
a typical patient in his practice will be
seeing multiple doctors and be taking
upwards of a dozen prescription drugs.
Although Dr. Buffington has formalized
his procedure in counseling patients, the
patient relationships are not altogether
different from what many traditional
pharmacists already have with their
patients in most pharmacy settings.
“What we’re hoping to get out of
having [Dr. Buffington] here as a guest
professor is his assistance and guidance
on establishing reimbursement for care
we already provide,” said Dr. Holle, who
led the nomination for Dr. Buffington’s
professorship for the spring semester.
Although this process of examining
reformed billing procedures is beginning
at UConn, Dr. Holle hopes other
pharmacists practicing in Connecticut can
also adopt this approach.
Going forward, Dr. Holle hopes that Dr.
Buffington’s time at UConn will jumpstart a process of rethinking pharmacy
practice in UConn’s academic research
setting. “What we’re trying to do this
year is give students a view of alternative
types of pharmacy practice models,” said
Dr. Holle. “This is something students
haven’t been exposed to through their
curriculum and may not see on their
clinical rotations.”
Over time, Dr. Holle hopes to bring
a vision of this unique practice and
reimbursement model to both pharmacy
and business students, as well as those
working at the UConn Health Center.
“This change will impact not only the
School of Pharmacy, but the Health
Center, the business school, and the
greater state of Connecticut. We are
not only embracing the university’s
mission for public engagement, but also
encouraging multi-disciplinary healthcare
services.”
UConn Faculty Member Elected as
National President of HOPA
By: Myles Udland
Dr. Lisa Holle first wanted to cure
cancer. “That was my lofty goal as a
high schooler.” Holle, now an assistant
clinical professor at the UConn School
of Pharmacy, began her academic
career with an eye towards biomedical
engineering, but found the curriculum
too structured for her taste. “I wanted
to have more liberal arts classes as part
of my education,” said Holle.
After changing her academic path, Holle
soon found herself drawn to pharmacy.
“As soon as I got out of engineering, I
got a job in the pharmacy department
at the University of Wisconsin Hospital
& Clinics in Madison,” said Holle. In
this position Holle, who earned her
B.S. in Pharmacy and post-baccalaureate
Pharm.D. from the University of
Wisconsin at Madison, was exposed
to the wide variety of responsibilities
pharmacists can have. “I learned that
being a pharmacist was more than
standing behind a counter, and that
through pharmacy I could do what I
ultimately wanted to do, which was help
patients with cancer.”
Continuing her efforts to work with
cancer patients, Holle recently began
a full-time position with the School of
Pharmacy. Holle’s practice site is at the
UConn Health Center’s Neag Cancer
Center. Dr. Holle will be working
with the Health Center’s Pharmacy
Department and the Neag Cancer
Center to establish an interdisciplinary
hematology/oncology pharmacy clinical
practice and teaching model.
With this position, Holle hopes to be
able to balance her passion for patient
care and interaction with her expertise
in oncology pharmacy. Holle’s core
responsibilities will be fluid, changing
to meet the needs of the patients, the
needs of the cancer center, and her
own interests. “I’ve had experience
helping patients prevent and manage
the side effects of chemotherapy or
their disease,” said Holle. “And I hope
to be able to develop a role in the
clinic whereby patients regularly have
appointments where we discuss issues
such as these, and my students and I can
make recommendations to improve care.”
In addition to this new role at the
UConn Health Center, Holle was
also appointed president-elect of the
Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy
Association (HOPA) in the spring of
2011 and began her term as president
in March 2012. Holle has been involved
with HOPA since the organization’s
inception in 2005. HOPA formed to
help specifically address the needs and
concerns of oncology pharmacists who
had not previously had an organization
dedicated to their needs.
As president, Holle hopes to continue
implementing HOPA’s strategic plan
which began rolling out in 2011. This
strategic plan aims at better educating
the public and healthcare professionals
about what role oncology pharmacists
can serve on a healthcare team, becoming
influential in decisions affecting care
of cancer patients at the health policy
level, as well as establishing standards of
practice within oncology pharmacy.
Even with these new roles at the Health
Center and with HOPA, Holle maintains
her work as assistant clinical professor.
Holle’s responsibilities with the UConn
School of Pharmacy include teaching,
producing scholarship, providing service
to the University and Cancer Center, and
fulfilling clinical responsibilities. As an
instructor, Holle coordinates and teaches
in a patient assessment course and a
writing course as well as giving lectures
in the pain management elective and the
oncology therapeutics module. Holle
also oversees P4 students completing an
ambulatory oncology rotation.
One of Dr. Holle’s current scholarly
projects is a book geared towards
practicing oncology pharmacists and
trainees that she is co-editing with
Trinh Pham, Pharm.D., BCOP, associate
clinical professor of pharmacy practice
at UConn. Holle is also involved in other
book chapters and manuscripts, as well
as presentations relating to pharmacy
education and oncology pharmacy.
Dr. Lisa Holle balances her passion for patient
care and interaction with her expertise in
oncology pharmacy.
With so many irons in the fire, one
would understand if Holle was unsure of
her identity as pharmacist or educator.
When asked if she saw herself as one
or the other, however, Holle noted
that for pharmacists these roles are
never mutually exclusive. “I think of a
pharmacist as always being involved in
education,” said Holle. “Whether it is
educating a patient, a patient’s family, or
educating a healthcare giver or students,
I think pharmacists always have an
educational aspect to what they do.”
7
Alumni Association News
Alumna featured on Dr. Oz Show
By: Jacquelyn Lomp
On April 26, 2011 alumna, Dr. Catherine
Ulbricht was featured on The Dr.
Oz Show, a daily television program
focusing on medical issues/personal
health, to discuss alternative medicine,
the Natural Standard and the Journal
of Dietary Supplements, a scientific
journal that presents research in any
area involving dietary supplements,
nutraceuticals, or herbal medicine.
Dr. Ulbricht is co-founder of Natural
Standard, an international research
collaboration that provides high-quality,
evidence-based healthcare.
Dr. Oz and Dr. Ulbricht investigated
why some healthcare providers may be
cautious of alternative medicines and
discussed whether common therapies
may be safe and effective. In detail,
they conversed about Dr. Oz’s guide to
alternative medicine supplements. They
presented three supplement “rules:”
determine how long the supplement has
been used, avoid false claims, and work
with healthcare providers to establish
the safety of the supplement. Natural
Standard, which Dr. Oz’s team uses for
the show, is a tool to aid clinicians and
consumers to choose safe and effective
therapies.
Dr. Ulbricht graduated from the
University of Connecticut School of
Pharmacy with a Bachelor of Science
degree in pharmacy in 1994 and
earned her Pharm.D. at Massachusetts
College of Pharmacy and Allied Health
Sciences. Currently, she is in school
part-time, working toward her MBA at
Northeastern University.
8
In addition to working with the Natural
Standard, Dr. Ulbricht serves as senior
attending pharmacist at Massachusetts
General Hospital and assistant clinical
professor at multiple universities. She
is experienced in the areas of quality
improvement, healthcare informatics,
regulatory affairs, clinical trial protocol
analysis and drug therapy decisionsupport. Dr. Ulbricht is giving back to
students by providing internships and
academic rotation opportunities at the
In Memoriam
It is with great sadness that we announce
the passing of our alumni and friends.
Naomi Rudnick Bernard ‘46
July 1, 2012
Thomas S. Durica, Jr. ‘48
June 23, 2012
Jack Gordon ’43
July 1, 2012
Natural Standard. They also launched
a new residency/fellowship program in
2011.
Edward E. Hausman ‘49
UConn students and many others,
participate in training programs with
Natural Standard staff in healthcare
publishing/integrative medicine research.
The students work at the Natural
Standard Boston offices and virtually
via distance learning programs. These
rotations promote evidence-based
research methodology and practical
application in a multidisciplinary team
setting.
October 8, 2012
At the end of a program, students are
able to recognize and utilize pertinent
data to identify and resolve integrative
medicine-related health problems such
as: therapies lacking adequate scientific
support for purported indications,
inappropriate therapy choice, dose or
route of administration, therapeutic
duplication, safety issues including
adverse event risk, allergies, crosssensitivity and presence or potential
for herb/supplement/drug/food/lab
or nutrient depletions. “These rotations
can lead to paid freelance work or
full-time hire for the students, which in
turn helps the collaboration grow while
providing much-needed jobs in this
economy” says Dr. Ulbricht. “Giving
back to the community is one of the
things I enjoy the most about working
around here.”
Dr. Ulbricht believes that she received
a sound educational background at
UConn and developed the motivation
to succeed by working with students
and faculty of all disciplines beyond just
pharmacy. She has also established the
May 15, 2012
Gloria (Bedrick) Hyman ‘44
Doris (Daria Yanishewsky) Latyk ‘59
June 19, 2012
Wolf Levine ‘40
September 18. 2012
John Robert Moore ‘77
June 27, 2012
Myron W. Moskey ‘53
June 25, 2012
Sean Michael Norton ‘06
September 8, 2012
Genevieve M. Schaffhauser ‘45
August 18, 2012
Natural Standard Research Collaboration
award given to graduating pharmacy,
allied health, and journalism students
who have exhibited professional
interest or expertise in evidence-based
integrative care or natural products. She
highly recommends UConn academic
programs and is proud to continue her
involvement as an alumna. She enjoys
coming back to campus and giving CE
lectures as well.
Dr. Gilbert J. Hite
From the Executive Secretary ~ Mary Ann Dolan ‘86
June 4, 2012
Gilbert J. Hite was an outstanding
medicinal chemist both as a researcher
and teacher. He earned his bachelor’s
degree from the New England College
of Pharmacy in 1954 and was licensed
to practice pharmacy in Massachusetts.
His interest in chemistry led him to
the University of Wisconsin, where he
graduated in 1959 with his doctorate in
medicinal chemistry. Dr. Hite taught for
3 years at Howard University, 12 years at
Columbia University and over 20 years
at University of Connecticut.
His former students describe him as
a challenging and devoted professor.
Dr. Hite was a strong advocate for
the teaching of medicinal chemistry in
the pharmacy curriculum. Colleagues
recall his strong mentorship of junior
faculty. He very clearly cared about and
nurtured the next generation, and took
great delight in discussing new ideas
being proposed by young faculty and
helping them to advance their careers.
Dr. Hite’s own research focused on
antibiotics and analgesics. His research
group was known for intricate, clever,
and often challenging syntheses of
molecules required to test new theories
and increase the understanding of
the required molecular structure
and detailed molecular orientation
to achieve drug effectiveness. One
major area of Dr. Hite’s research
was the design and synthesis of new
penicillin-like antibiotics. His research
group synthesized a penicillin analog
which was used to locate the penicillin
binding site in the penicillin target
enzyme of bacteria. Dr. Hite’s chapter
on “Analgesics” in Foye’s Principles
of Medicinal Chemistry provided
the definitive word on the structureactivity relationships of opiate drugs.
His research changed the prevailing
theory of the major molecular feature
required to anchor opiate drugs in
the receptor site to produce analgesia.
Dr. Hite’s scientific accomplishments
were recognized by his designation as
Fellow of the American Association of
Pharmaceutical Scientists.
What is the most enjoyable part
of an alumni director’s job?
Recently, I was interviewed by three
freshman, pre-pharmacy students who
are enrolled in the First Year Experience
(FYE) class that is designed to acquaint
them with the School of Pharmacy
and the profession they would like
to pursue. The students asked me a
number of questions, but my favorite
was, “What is the most enjoyable part
of your job?” because it presented an
opportunity for me to share stories
about our wonderful alumni. I hope my
enthusiasm will carry forward when they
present their interview to the rest of the
FYE class.
When one of you contacts the Office of
Alumni Relations with a career update or
news of a personal milestone, it’s my job
to share your story within the School of
Pharmacy community. Usually, I begin
by informal communication with Dean
McCarthy, who always enjoys alumni
news, and faculty and staff members,
who appreciate hearing of your many
accomplishments. I also consistently
share your stories with our students
because the paths you have taken are
truly a source of inspiration to them.
Who knows which conversation will
spark enthusiasm or result in a new
opportunity for a student to consider?
Alumni news is shared more formally
in Prescriptives so that everyone can
celebrate the successes of classmates and
friends. What constitutes “news?” It’s
up to you! To me, a milestone of 10
or 20 years in a position you enjoy, is
just as newsworthy as branching out in
a different career direction. Updates
can include your family or your hobbies
– anything that’s important to you
that you would like to share within the
School of Pharmacy community.
I know we have musicians, talented
craftspeople, civic leaders, marathon
runners, and volunteers within our
ranks, and I can assure you that your
fellow alumni will enjoy hearing about
your explorations beyond pharmacy in
addition to your career updates.
To send an item for publication you can
e-mail me directly at mary.ann.dolan@
uconn.edu or submit your information
electronically on the School of Pharmacy
website: pharmacy.uconn.edu/alumni.
Click on the Alumni Updates tab at the
top of the page. While you are there,
please visit the home page for recent
news articles, continuing education
updates and links to our social media
pages including our LinkedIn group
dedicated to UConn pharmacy alumni,
faculty, staff, and students nearing the
completion of their degree programs.
Of course, a phone call, or a note in
the mail, is also a wonderful way to
communicate with me at the Office of
Alumni Relations. If you have the time
to visit the School of Pharmacy, please
phone a few days in advance so we can
arrange a tour of the building.
So, keep sending your stories my way,
and I will be pleased to share them so
that others can enjoy them as much as
I do! Happy Holidays to all, and may
the New Year bring fulfillment of your
hopes and dreams.
9
Alumni Update
Dennis J. Chapron ‘71 was the
recipient of the 2012 George F.
Archambault Award for outstanding
contribution to consultant and senior
care pharmacy. Dennis was nominated
by the Connecticut chapter of ASCP and
was honored at the recent ASCP Annual
Meeting and Exposition.
Marc Summerfield ‘74, director of
pharmacy at the University of Maryland
Medical Center, continues as an author
with the publication of his new book,
Leadership Three Key Employee-Centered
Elements with Case Studies. Marc uses
historical and contemporary examples
to focus on connection, gratitude, and
responsiveness as employee-centered
elements of leadership.
Margherita R. Giuliano ‘75,
Marie Smith ‘77, and Michael
P. Starkowski ‘11 honorary alumnus,
were featured as the cover story of the
November 2012 issue of Pharmacy Today,
for their unique collaboration to deliver
pharmacist-provided medication therapy
management.
Brian DePaoli ‘78 was recognized at
the October 2012 Preceptor Dinner as
this year’s IPPE Institutional Preceptor of
the Year. This is a new award presented
by the Office of Experiential Education.
Brian practices at Norwalk Hospital in
Norwalk, CT.
U.S. Army Colonel Marc Caouette ‘86
has been named commander of the
Specialist Hugo V. Mendoza Soldier
Family Care Center at Fort Bliss, TX.
The center is the largest free-standing
primary care center in the Army,
with over 40,000 empaneled patients.
As commander, Marc is the CEO
of the health center, with leadership
and management oversight of Family
Practice, Soldier Care, Pediatrics, Aviation
Medicine, Behavioral Health, Physical
Therapy, Preventive Medicine, Pathology,
Radiology, Pharmacy, and supporting
services.
James Prota ‘86 was recognized as
APPE Preceptor of the Year for his work
with pharmacy students at Connecticut
10
Hospice in Branford. Jim has been the
director of pharmacy at CT Hospice
for the past six years, and enjoys giving
students the opportunity to experience
the delivery of pharmaceutical care in a
hospice setting.
Sean Jeffery ‘95 was installed as
president of the American Society of
Consultant Pharmacists at the ASCP
Annual Meeting & Exhibition. Sean is a
clinical professor at the UConn School
of Pharmacy and the PGY2 Geriatric
Pharmacy Residency Program Director at
the VA Connecticut Healthcare System.
Scott DeCesare ‘97 presented a
fall semester Lunch & Learn program
for UConn pharmacy students. Scott
is a district pharmacy manager with
Target, responsible for stores located in
Connecticut and western Massachusetts.
Scott spoke about Target’s internship
program and how employee training is
designed to develop leadership. Renee
Larouche ‘09 and Khrystyna
Tsar ‘11 both added comments on their
experience as recent graduates who are
now employed by Target.
Lauren Aleksunes ‘02, ‘06 was
honored by the UConn Alumni
Association as a Graduate of the Last
Decade. The Awards Celebration took
place Homecoming Weekend and all
of the award recipients were presented
to the crowd during the Homecoming
Game. Lauren is the first School of
Pharmacy alumna to be selected for this
award.
Stacy Robertson Vaeth ‘02
has returned to the east coast and
is currently director of pharmacy at
Bridgeport Hospital. Stacy was formerly
pharmacy manager and PGY1 residency
program director at Borgess Medical
Center in Michigan. Following her
UConn Pharm.D. degree, she earned
a MS in Health-Systems Pharmacy
Administration from The Ohio State
University.
The Boston VA team was recently
recognized in three of the four VA
MedRecon Award categories: For the
education category, they created a patient
education video titled “How to take
medications.” The improvement story
submission was their VA Boston “PILL”
Service (Pharmacological Intervention in
Late Life), which provides telephone and
clinic follow-up after hospital stay for
older patients with cognitive impairment.
Allison Paquin ‘09 was selected as the
MedRecon Champion.
Christopher Morales ‘10 was recently
featured in a CVS Caremark advertisement
in national pharmacy journals. In the
ad, Chris commented on the rewards of
working with pharmacy students through
internship and preceptor programs.
Chris is a CVS pharmacy manager in the
Boston area and a preceptor for UConn
pharmacy students.
Bijan Bandani ‘12 presented a recent
Lunch & Learn program for UConn
pharmacy students on the subject of
fellowship opportunities through the
Rutgers Institute for Pharmaceutical
Industry. Bijan is currently a fellow
with Sanofi. He reports that there
are currently 13 partner companies
offering 86 fellowships in areas such as
medical information, regulatory affairs,
market research and drug safety/
pharmacovigilance. The Office of Alumni
Relations would like to hear from other
UConn alumni who have participated in
the RIPIF program in the past.
To inform the Alumni Office of
professional and personal updates, please
submit information on the School of
Pharmacy website: www.pharmacy.uconn.
edu – click on the ALUMNI tab, and
then Alumni Updates. We always enjoy
hearing news from our alumni!
Save the Date
The 2013 Awards & Reunion Dinner
will be held Saturday, June 8, 2013
as part of UConn Alumni Weekend.
The anniversary classes are 1943, 1953,
1963, 1973, 1983, 1988, 1993, and 2003.
Please contact Mary Ann Dolan if you
are interested in reconnecting with
classmates prior to the reunion.
UConn Alumni Appointed to the Connecticut Commission of Pharmacy
By: Jacquelyn Lomp
The Connecticut Commission of Pharmacy
operates within the Department of
Consumer Protection and it consists
of members that are appointed by the
governor. In December 2011, Governor
Malloy appointed University of
Connecticut School of Pharmacy alumni
Rick Carbray ‘75 and Angelo Defazio ‘85 to
the commission effective in January 2012.
The Board of Pharmacy is comprised
of six members: four pharmacists and
two non-pharmacists. Commissioners
represent all segments of the pharmacy
profession including hospital pharmacists,
independent pharmacists, and chain
pharmacists. Responsibilities for the
commissioners range from approving
pharmacy design plans, approving first
time pharmacist managers, reviewing and
approving innovative pilot programs,
providing insight and counsel to
individuals seeking input from the
commission and enforcing pharmacy law.
The Connecticut Commission of
Pharmacy holds monthly meetings with
agendas driven by issues and topics
presented to the board for approval or
review. Each item is addressed by the
commissioners either through discussion
and reviews or presented by individuals
seeking approval from the board.
Angelo Defazio is president and CEO of
Arrow Pharmacies and is active on many
national and state pharmacy boards and
organizations. “I am very committed to
the profession of pharmacy and deeply
believe that pharmacists are an integral
part of patient centered care,” Defazio
says. “They can make a significant
difference in both the overall health
of the individual and the U.S. national
healthcare system. I was unaware that I
was being considered for this position,”
Defazio admits. “I am humbled and
honored to have been appointed to the
governing Board of Pharmacy in the State
of Connecticut.”
Rick Carbray, owner of Apex Pharmacy,
also served as president for the UConn
Alumni Board of Directors and the UConn
Pharmacy Alumni Board. He is currently
on the Board of Trustees at UConn. “I’ve
always had a career goal to aspire to be a
pharmacy commissioner,” Carbray says.
Being appointed to this position, Carbray
will use this opportunity to try to give
back to the
profession. “I
really enjoy
the pharmacy
profession and
throughout my
career I’ve always
tried to give
back,” Carbray
says. “Now I
Pharmacy Commissioner
can return the
favor and pay it Rick Carbray ‘75
forward.”
Alumni Association
Announces Dues
Increase in 2013
At the fall meeting of the Alumni
Board of Directors, a dues change was
approved for 2013. The new rates will
be $35 annual dues and $350 for a
lifetime membership. Pre-payments of
2013 dues postmarked by December
31, 2012 will be accepted at the current
rates - $25 annual dues or $250 for
a lifetime membership. Please use the
form included in this newsletter to
make the prepayment. Dues bills with
the new rates will be mailed in January.
Pharmacists Honor Hartford’s
Arrow CEO DeFazio
Angelo DeFazio,
president
and CEO of
Hartford's Arrow
Pharmacies, is the
2012 Pharmacist
of the Year for
the National
Community
Pharmacists Association.
DeFazio received the award at the
opening of the association's annual
meeting and trade expo in San Diego,
California.
The award recognizes an independent
pharmacist for exemplary leadership and
commitment to independent pharmacy
and to their community and is named in
honor of Willard B. Simmons, a former
executive secretary of the association and
a long-time NCPA Foundation trustee.
DeFazio is active in pharmacy-related
pharmacy issues, at both the state and
national level, the association said. He
bought his first pharmacy at the age of
26 and serves or has served on various
boards, including: the Connecticut
Pharmacists Association; the National
Retail Advisory Board of Cardinal Health;
Community Specialty Pharmacy Network;
Mercy Community Healthcare; UConn
School of Pharmacy Advisory Board, and
Malta House of Care.
2013 Alumni Dues at 2012 Rates
Pre-pay by December 31st to obtain the 2012 rates.
Make checks payable to: UConn School of Pharmacy Alumni Association
69 North Eagleville Road, Unit 3092 ~ Storrs, Connecticut 06269-3092
Dr.
Mr.
Mrs.
Ms.
Other
Name:
Address:
City:State:Zip:
E-Mail Address:
Annual Membership (Jan – Dec 2013) $25 (wallet-size membership card)
Note: Annual Membership is $35 beginning Jan 1, 2013
Life Membership $250 (8.5 x 11 membership certificate and wallet-size card)
Note : Life Membership is $350 beginning Jan 1, 2013
Dues contributions to the UConn Pharmacy Alumni Association are deductible as
charitable contributions on your federal income tax form.
11
APhA Students Host Healthcare Policy Debate
By: Myles Udland
Under the direction of student Ruchita Bhagat, the UConn chapter of the American
Pharmacists Association - Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP) hosted
a healthcare policy debate in the Oscar & Julia Roth Classroom in February. This
debate was designed to simulate the policy debates held at the APhA national meeting
in an effort to give School of Pharmacy students a better sense of how APhA’s
organizational positions on various healthcare topics are determined.
APhA is the oldest national professional society of pharmacists, established in 1852; and
with over 60,000 current members, APhA is the largest association of pharmacists in
the United States. The primary goal of APhA is to educate its members and the public,
and to engage in advocacy efforts that allow pharmacy professionals to improve patient
care.
At the APhA national meeting, held this year in New Orleans, the APhA House of
Delegates hosts discussions aimed at consensus building and policy setting for the
pharmacy profession. Bhagat, who represented UConn at the APhA national policy
discussions, said that the topics to be discussed at the national meeting are distributed
to participants two weeks in advance and each school is represented by one delegate
who individually argues for or against a resolution’s points.
At this years meeting, five of the seven topics debated were adopted into APhA’s 2012
resolutions. The adopted topics include: antimicrobial stewardship, expansion of schools
and colleges of pharmacy relative to pharmacist demand, proper medication disposal
and drug take-back programs, pharmacy benefit manager practice, and a measure to
encourage transparency about drug shortages.
In organizing the policy debate, Bhagat chose healthcare topics that were broader
than those discussed at the national meeting in an effort to engage an audience with
more diverse interests. “With a broader audience, I wanted to choose topics related
to healthcare, not just pharmacy,” said Bhagat. At the policy debate, the four topics
debated included: the required vaccination of children, the ethics of direct-to-consumer
advertising for prescription drugs, whether cigarettes should be sold in an area with a
pharmacy, and whether the healthcare system should be paying for chemotherapy.
By choosing these broad topics, Bhagat hoped to not only engage the audience
topically, but to demonstrate to the students and faculty in attendance the caucus
format of the discussions that take place at the national meeting. Bhagat does note,
however, that the tone of the debates at the national meeting is more professional and
organized than the debate she hosted, but this puts no damper on the response Bhagat
has received since the February event. “I’ve gotten a great response from teachers
and students,” said Bhagat. “I’ve received e-mails and text messages telling me that the
topics, the teamwork involved, and the mix between students and faculty made the
event enjoyable.”
The debate was well-attended by students and staff from not only the School of
Pharmacy but also nursing and healthcare management students as well. With the
help of Associate Dean Andrea Hubbard, Bhagat was able to alert students to the
debate topics beforehand, which encouraged audience involvement. In addition to Dr.
Hubbard’s support, Bhagat also got four School of Pharmacy professors to participate
including, Dr. Michael Nailor, Dr. Jeffrey Aeschlimann, Dr. William Baker and Dr.
Michelle Breland. With the support of students and faculty, Bhagat hopes this policy
debate can become an annual part of the School of Pharmacy schedule.
12
Pharmacy Student’s CE
Lesson Published in
U.S. Pharmacist
By: Jennifer Gayda
Plan B is a heavily disputed drug for both
practical and ethical reasons. While many
have issue with the drug due to religious
beliefs, others argue that the drug is harmful
because it could lead to an increase in
sexually transmitted diseases for individuals
who chose not to use protection, but rather
use Plan B as a fall back.
P3 student Kelly Cabral recently published
a continuing education (CE) lesson entitled,
“Pharmacists' Role When Plan A Fails: Patient
Considerations in the Dispute Over Plan B
and Emergency Contraception.” With the
help of associate professor in the Department
of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dr. Gerald
Gianutsos, the piece was released in U.S.
Pharmacist in October 2011.
This was the first time that Dr. Gianutsos
has ever helped a student publish something
of this nature. He says that he had thought
about other papers that he felt would be
good in the past, but this one was “so good
they actually did it” and he hopes they can
to do it again in the future.
The CE was originally a paper Cabral
wrote for Dr. Gianutsos’ course which she
took during the spring 2011 semester. The
assignment asked students to write a paper
about the media’s portrayal of a pharmacy
topic and Cabral chose to write about Plan B.
Dr. Gianutsos felt the essay stood out.
Although it wasn’t necessarily his intent for
the piece to be made into a CE, he explains
that he thought it should be published. Dr.
Gianutsos has written CE lessons for U.S
Pharmacist in the past, and he knew that at
the time the journal was looking for law CEs.
He sent the essay to them, and they said
they were interested. Upon hearing this news
Cabral was surprised. She says, “I had to ask
him if they knew I was just a student.”
The original paper had to undergo a number
of changes to be turned into a CE, including
removing personal opinion. The original
assignment for Dr. Gianutsos’ class required
that the students chose one side of a
controversial topic to argue. “The paper was
heavily laced with opinions,” Dr. Gianutsos
explains. “We
had to soften
them to get
it published.”
Instead of
choosing
a side, the
published
CE presents
each angle of
the dispute and discusses a pharmacist’s
obligation to put personal beliefs aside
in order to give patients the best care
possible.
There were also mechanical changes that
needed to be made in order to convert the
essay. Dr. Gianutsos helped Cabral edit and
revise the paper into proper CE format.
This included adding tables and charts, as
well as a final test for pharmacists to take at
the end to earn CE credit.
Cabral expressed great appreciation for Dr.
Gianutsos, who played a role as her guide
and support. She says, “Dr. G started it all.
He took the initiative to think it was good
enough. None of this would have happened
without him... He had no reason to
promote the article but he did it anyway.”
He’s “one of those professors who
genuinely cares about his students. He
always goes the extra mile.”
Conversely, Dr. Gianutsos’ emphasizes
that Cabral did 99% of the work herself.
He believed in Cabral’s essay and says, “It
was so well done it was obvious that it was
worthy of more than being handed in to
be graded and sit on a shelf.”
Cabral has always been capable of writing
and she performed well in her English
classes. She is not yet sure what she wants
to do in the future. She is considering
residency and hopes that her clinical
rotations next year will help her figure it
out.
Dr. Gianutsos has slightly different hopes
for Cabral. He is trying to encourage her
to return to the School of Pharmacy and
become a professor, although he admits
he is not sure how successful he’ll be in
convincing her. He says, “I’ve been here
for 33 years and she is one of the best
students we have ever had... I bet if you
asked anyone else in the faculty they would
say the same.”
U.S. Department of Public Health Regional Director
Christie Hager Speaks to Pharmacy Students
By: Myles Udland
Congressman Joe Courtney and Christie
Hager of the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services spoke at the School
of Pharmacy to students and faculty
from both the Schools of Pharmacy
and Nursing. Courtney and Hager’s aim
was to reinforce the reality to the next
generation of healthcare providers that
issues of healthcare and public policy
are, and will continue to be, intimately
intertwined.
Congressman Courtney, who represents
Connecticut’s second congressional
district covering much of eastern
Connecticut including Storrs, emphasized
that the picture of healthcare in the
U.S. is one that is constantly in flux. He
emphasized the fluid nature of legislation
by highlighting changes that have been
made to the Affordable Care Act (ACA)
since it was signed into law in February
of 2010, while also noting that Medicare
has been amended over 40 times since
its inception.
The relationship between existing
Medicare provisions and new ACA
policies significantly impacts those
entering pharmacy. Both Congressman
Courtney and Hager spent time spelling
out the relationship between Medicare
Part D provisions, which subsidize
prescription drugs for Medicare patients,
before and after the passing of ACA.
With the passing of ACA, Congressman
Courtney explained the ongoing efforts
to close what had previously, and
notoriously, been referred to as a “donut
hole” in Medicare Part D prescription
coverage. This “donut hole” previously
made all drug costs between certain
thresholds out-of-pocket for a Medicare
beneficiary, forcing many patients to
stop taking a particular regimen of drugs.
The closing of this gap in coverage will,
in the future, prevent pharmacists from
having patients stop their treatment
because of prohibitive costs.
Hager, who serves as the HHS Region 1
director, delivered a presentation that
aimed to give students and faculty a
broad outline of ACA, widely referred
to as “Obamacare.” Hager outlined a
number of provisions in ACA that
most directly impact college students
entering the workforce, regardless of
their profession. She discussed the
provision allowing children to remain on
their parents’ insurance plan until age
26, an increase of 5 years from previous
regulations.
Hager also spoke extensively about the
early retirement benefit program that
allows early retirees between the ages
of 55 and 65 to remain insured under
their employer. This program provides
incentives for early retirement programs
for both workers and employers, with
the hope being that those exiting the
workforce will create a wider array of
opportunities for new college graduates.
During a brief Q and A that followed
the talk, a question was posed regarding
the status of pharmacists as federal
healthcare providers. Currently,
pharmacists are not recognized as
federal healthcare providers, though
in 2008, pharmacists were given codes
in the American Medical Associations
Current Procedural Terminology manual.
These codes give pharmacists access to
the various ways in which healthcare
providers can bill for medical services,
but the government, which is the largest
provider of healthcare in the U.S., will
not yet allow pharmacists to bill for
patient services.
Congressman Courtney encouraged
pharmacists to continue advocating
for their recognition as federal
healthcare providers in the future. The
Congressman also emphasized that
although ACA has called attention
to healthcare issues, debate about the
relationship between healthcare and
public policy is ongoing and eternal.
13
Pharmacy Students
GEAR UP
Student News Briefs
By: Jennifer Gayda
On April 4th 2012, the School of
Pharmacy hosted 24 students from
Bridgeport Central High School’s Yale
–Bridgeport GEAR UP Partnership
program. GEAR UP is a federally funded
program whose main goal is getting high
school students interested in attending a
four-year university. The program first
came to UConn in 2005 through the
Connecticut State GEAR UP Program
with a high school from New Haven. This
year the event was coordinated by Katelyn
O’Brien, president of SNPhA, and it was
the first year that Central High School
students were involved.
Students are enrolled through participating
schools in the Yale- Bridgeport GEAR
UP Partnership in 7th grade and attend
about three college tours a year. The
students involved in this year’s event were
sophomores with an interest in careers
in science. “At this point in the program
the college tours are starting to be more
specialized to each student’s individual
interests,” explains Eddie Quiles, cluster
liaison for the Yale-Bridgeport GEAR
UP Program at Central High School and
the nineteen middle schools that filter
into it. Also accompanying the students
was UConn alumna Marlene Monteiro,
academic advisor for the program at
Central High School. Monteiro was
approached by a former Yale GEAR UP
academic advisor, who also worked for the
Connecticut State GEAR UP program in
New Haven, and played an integral role in
coordinating the tour.
The students started the day in the
computer lab and were taught how to
make prescription labels. They then
moved to the dosage lab, where they
learned how to make a generic version of
Vicks VapoRub®, created by combining
camphor, menthol and petrolatum. They
were then instructed to put the mixture
in a vial, mimicking the procedure of a
practicing pharmacist. The procedure was
completed by attaching the label they
made in the computer lab. The students
were allowed to keep the mixture as a
souvenir.
14
Doctor of Pharmacy Students
Shamsul Arif and Kayla Smith
This activity was proctored by Lanting
Fuh, last year’s SNPhA president. “They
seem like a really good bunch,” explained
Fuh, “They are all genuinely interested.”
Fuh made sure to stress the importance
of professionalism and neatness when
placing the mixture in the vial, so that
the student’s experience was a realistic
portrayal of pharmacy life.
The group then attended a Lunch & Learn
presentation on the Urban Service Track
program. This presentation introduced
students to one of the many opportunities
they would have if admitted to the School
of Pharmacy. “I thought the presentation
was really interesting. They told us reasons
why not to apply instead of just trying to
convince us that we should. It was a cool
way to present the information,” explained
Central High School student, Tanisha
Gardner.
The day ended with a presentation about
the School of Pharmacy and UConn in
general. Dean McCarthy spoke about
his personal experiences growing up in
an underprivileged area. He stressed the
fact that as long as students have the
motivation and are willing to work hard,
there are ways to make attending college a
reality. The dean also made it known that
the School of Pharmacy has a partnership
with the University of Bridgeport, and
students have the option of going there
for their pre-pharmacy years before
applying to the UConn program.
Katelyn O’Brien and Courtney DesJardins,
secretary for SNPhA, presented on the
requirements of admission for UConn as
well as the School of Pharmacy. They gave
students a break down of each year in the
school and the possible career paths after
graduation. The presentation also covered
a list of top ten reasons why a college
degree is important, ideas for boosting
a resume, and the benefits of taking AP
level science classes.
were selected as 2012 Walmart Scholars.
Along with their faculty mentors, Drs.
Lauren Schlesselman and Sean Jeffery,
they attended the American Association
of Colleges of Pharmacy Annual Meeting
in Kissimmee, Florida.
Jon Blazowski, Nadine Jaber, and
Rukshana Chowdhury won the
Quality Challenge portion of the Student
Pharmacy Compounding Competition
held at the University of Florida In
Gainesville. In this section, the team
had to design a system for improving
the quality of compounded preparations
and prepare a poster, all in a short 100
minutes. The team represented and
defended their ideas at the poster session
attended by representatives from IACP,
USP, IJPC, and PCAB.
Over the course of the day, students were
encouraged to ask questions and engage
in one-on-one conversation with any
of the staff involved. Peter Tyczkowski,
coordinator of educational outreach, was
a valuable source as many of the students
approached him for information about
topics such as the possibilities of obtaining
a minor and the realities of a pharmacy
student’s course load.
Overall, the event was a success. Central
High School students were given a glimpse
of life at UConn and in the field of
pharmacy. They were able to interact on
a personal level with pharmacy students
and staff members in the hopes that they
will consider UConn as a college choice.
Even if they are not interested in UConn
specifically, those involved in the event
did an excellent job promoting the overarching goal of encouraging students to
attend a four-year university.
Pharmaceutical Sciences
Graduate Students
Dr. Brian Aneskievich’s graduate student,
Priscilla Encarnacao, was the 1st
place recipient of a 2012 NESOT Travel
Award and a Hispanic Organization
for Toxicologists Graduate Student
Travel Award to attend the Society of
Toxicology 51st Annual Meeting in San
Francisco, California.
Mamta Kapoor, senior graduate
student in the Burgess laboratory, is
the recipient of the 2012 University
of Connecticut “Outstanding Senior
Women’s Academic Achievement
Award.”
Vincent Ramirez, in the lab of Dr.
Aneskievich, was selected to receive a
Dermal Toxicology Specialty Section
Battelle Student Research Award for
research work. It was presented at the
Society of Toxicology 51st Annual Meeting
in San Francisco, March 11-15, 2012.
In recognition of excellence in graduate
research, Ekneet Sahni, graduate
student in the lab of Dr. Bodhi Chaudhuri,
was selected as a speaker at the AAPS
Annual Meeting and Exposition Graduate
Student Symposium in Manufacturing
Science and Engineering sponsored
by Bristol-Myers Squibb company in
October 2012. In addition to the above
mentioned accomplishment, she also
competitively received the Doctoral
Dissertation Fellowships, Best Poster
Award in the Particle Technology Forum
(AIChE Annual meeting 2011), and was
the winner of the Boehringer Ingelheim
Pharmaceuticals Pre-doctoral Fellowship
on the basis of academic and research
accomplishments.
Venous Thromboembolism
Prevention Alternatives Studied
By: Jennifer Gayda
Dr. Diana Sobieraj,
assistant
professor and
Dr. C. Michael
White, head of
the Department
of Pharmacy
Practice, recently
completed a
two-year
analysis of available research on venous
thromboembolism.
Dr. Sobieraj and Dr. White worked with
six members of a national expert panel.
These members included two researchers
from the American College of Chest
Physicians, two from the American
Association of Orthopedic Surgeons,
and two local doctors including a
pulmonologist at Hartford Hospital and
an orthopedic surgeon at the UConn
Health Center. Together they reviewed
and analyzed available information to
create a report that summarized their
findings.
Along with the members of their panel,
Dr. Sobieraj and Dr. White compared
treatment options for preventing
venous thromboembolism in patients
who have undergone major orthopedic
surgery. Following this type of surgery
there is an increased risk of venous
thromboembolism such as deep vein
thrombosis, a blood clot in the leg, or
pulmonary embolism, which is a blood
clot that has traveled to the lungs.
There are a number of different
mechanical and pharmaceutical strategies
doctors use to prevent venous
thromboembolism. Dr. Sobieraj and Dr.
White used a statistical pooling technique
called meta-analysis to synthesize the
evidence and then rated the strength of
the evidence so that health care decision
makers, hospitals, and doctors could be
better informed while choosing which
strategy to use with their patients.
Their research allowed them to draw
conclusions about what the totality of
available literature says about the topic
at hand.
The first thing they analyzed was
whether it is best to administer
prophylaxis for the standard 7 to 10
days after surgery, or to prolong
treatment for 21 days or longer. They
found that the benefits outweigh the
harms in prolonging prophylaxis in
cases of hip replacement surgery. There
was, however, little data about the
effects of this treatment for hip fracture
and total knee replacement surgery.
The team also studied which class of
anticoagulation was best. They found
that low-molecular-weight heparin
(LMWH) was superior to unfractionated
heparin. While previous research might
only look at the most effective drug
and ignore the possible harms, they
compared both and found that LMWH
was not only more effective, but had
a lower risk for bleeding. They also
compared LMWH with the common
drug Warfarin and found that while
LMWH was more effective, it had a
higher risk for bleeding. The team
finally looked at newer anticoagulant
agents and found that they had
advantages over LMWH. Their report
will be extremely useful for health care
providers that need to make a fully
informed decision. Dr. White explains,
“one study alone may not be enough”
but “clinical trials are powerful when
looked at together.”
Dr. Sobieraj and Dr. White’s main report
was recently released. They also had two
manuscripts accepted for publication in
the Annals of Internal Medicine and the
journal Pharmacotherapy.
15
Robert & Beth Kruger
Inspired!
Inspired by School of Pharmacy staff
member, Barbara Murawski, several
members of the faculty are taking their
vacation time to accompany her back
to Mirebalais, Haiti with the Great
Commission Alliance January 13 – 19,
2013. Craig Coleman, Tom Buckley,
Stefanie Nigro, Jeannette Wick, and their
family and friends, a total of 12 team
members, will make the journey.
Dr. Robert Krueger ‘71 and his wife, Beth ‘71
(nee Lindberg) visited the School of Pharmacy
recently to donate reference books to the
laboratory of Dr. Marcy Balunas, assistant
professor of medicinal chemistry. Bob & Beth
met as students at UConn; Bob was a School
of Pharmacy undergraduate and Beth was in
the School of Home Economics (now CLAS.)
Their visit to campus was on the occasion of
their 41st wedding anniversary.
Faculty, staff, and students have raised
$1427 to date for the trip. Pharmacy
Student Government raised $552 and
the rest was donated directly by staff,
faculty, adjuncts, and former faculty
and staff. Ten bags were packed by the
team over Thanksgiving weekend. Each
50-pound bag included food items and
supplies. One additional bag to be packed
with medical supplies donated by Beacon
Pharmacy in Southington (owned by
Drs. Kevin and Annik Chamberlin), and
another will carry more baby formula
and other items to be purchased from
the donations that are still coming.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
STORRS, CT
PERMIT NO. 3
Philip Hritcko Elected
Speaker of the House
Dr. Philip Hritcko [left] is sworn in as the
speaker-elect of the American Association
of Colleges of Pharmacy House of Delegates
at the annual meeting in Kissimmee, Florida.
The oath is administered by Dr. Lucinda
Maine, executive vice president and CEO of
AACP. Dr. Hritcko is an AACP Academic
Leadership Fellow and has held many
leadership roles in the organization.
School of Pharmacy
University of Connecticut
69 North Eagleville Road, Unit 3092
Storrs, CT 06269-3092
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