Honors and Awards

Lucinda Buys, PharmD, is now an associate professor (clinical). Jay Currie, PharmD, has been promoted to professor (clinical).

Paul Abramowitz, Director of the Department of Pharmaceutical Care at UI Hospitals and Clinics, and assistant dean and professor, has been appointed to a third term on the Iowa Board of Pharmacy Examiners.

Abramowitz’s term will run through 2008. The Board of Pharmacy Examiners is responsible for regulating the practice of pharmacy and the legal distribution of prescription drugs throughout the state. It includes five pharmacist members and two representatives from the general public.

Abramowitz also serves as chair of the board of directors of the Iowa Statewide Poison Control Center, a joint venture of UI Hospitals and Clinics and the Iowa Health Systems. Abramowitz is chair of the University Health-System Consortium (UHC) Pharmacy Council, and a past president of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.

--------------------------------------

CAP Funds two STIR Awards: The recipients are Dr. Vicki Ellingrod et al. for the proposal, "Improving outcomes in schizophrenia: a pilot study of DHEA ad min istration on the metabolic consequences of the atypical antipsychotics," and Dr. Erika Ernst et al for her proposal, "A pilot study of the effects of amoxicillin on the development of tooth enamel defects."

The objectives of this research grant are to provide support for work that will 1) encourage formation of or exploit existing collaborative relationships between researchers, as well as clinicians and 2) gather pilot data to be used in extramural applications within major extramural funding areas stated by the NIH and AHRQ.

--------------------------------------

Teachers of the Year:
Maureen Donovan, PhD, associate professor of pharmaceutics, was named Teacher of the Year by first-year students. She also was honored as the College’s recipient of the UI Collegiate Teaching Award.

Craig Svensson, PharmD, professor and head of pharmaceutics, was named Teacher of the Year by second-year pharmacy students, and John Brooks, PhD, associate professor of clinical and administrative pharmacy, was honored as Teacher of the Year by the college’s third-year students. Elisabeth Swain, PhD, a lecturer in biochemistry in the UI Carver College of Medicine, was named the Non-Pharmacy Faculty Teacher of the Year.

Preceptor of the Year awards were given to Nancy Bonthius, ’86 BSPh, ’90 PharmD, assistant professor (clinical) of clinical and administrative pharmacy, and Lee Kral, ’93 BSPh, ’96 PharmD, a clinical pharmacy specialist at UI Hospitals and Clinics. Other Preceptor of the Year award winners included Jennifer Moulton, ’94 BSPh, RPh, Cheryl Clarke, RPh, Julie Kuhle, ’76 BSPh, RPh, and Thomas Temple, RPh, ’77 M.S., all from the Iowa Pharmacy Association. Preceptors serve as mentors to the fourth-year pharmacy students during the students’ clinical clerkships. The clerkships emphasize clinical pharmacy skill development and give students the opportunity to work closely with pharmacists in professional care settings.

Karen Bui represented the College at the Cardinal Health Leadership Conference in Houston, Texas from May 19-21, 2005. This is an all-expense paid student leadership conference with presentations on personal and professional leadership, workshops and introductions to health-system pharmacy.

--------------------------------------

Joshua Miller, P3, presented at the Pharmacy Student Research Conference in Denver on June 4 and 5, 2005. Miller, a laboratory assistant in Vicki Ellingrod’s laboratory, was also celebrated as a UI Student Employee of the Year. He designs laboratory assays and contributes to the scientific interpretation of these results. Josh has worked independently to design new primers or change assays. He analyzed data relating to his project on an examination of the relationship between polymorphisms of the glutamate receptor and response to olanzapine. He attends clinical rounds on the geriatric psychiatry unit to identify subjects appropriate to the studies.

--------------------------------------

Amber Goedken was selected as one of 20 scholarship recipients for the 2005 Wal-Mart Annual Conference Scholarship Program. The program provides $1,000 travel scholarships to a student/faculty pair from AACP (American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy) member institutions to attend the AACP Annual Meeting and Teaches Seminar in Cincinnati, Ohio from July 9-13, 2005.

Senior Dinner Awards
The annual senior and alumni dinner and awards banquet honored some of the College’s newest graduates. Dean Jordan Cohen welcomed those in attendance.

• APhA-ASP Mortar & Pestle Professional Award: Amanda Peffer
• ASP Certificate of Recognition: Shelly Lee
• College of Pharmacy Faculty Excellence Award: Heather Bream
• College of Pharmacy Faculty Award: Anne Pelc
• College of Pharmacy Achievement Award: Jennifer Book, Molly Kurpius, Yen-Ying Lee
• College of Pharmacy Leadership Award: Joseph Vande Griend
  Dean’s Achievement Award: Jisha Thekkaniyil
• Excellence in Clinical Practice Award: Michael Fertig, Tiffany Griebel, Stacy Nagle
• Facts & Comparisons Award: Lisbeth Avakian
• GlaxoSmithKline Patient Care Award: Howard Cobb
• James W. Jones Memorial Award: Brand Newland
• Lilly Achievement Award: Rebecca Fairbanks
• Merck Prize: Jacqueline Hodgins, Cynthia Weber
• Mylan Pharmaceuticals Award: Jessie Dunne
• Perrigo Company Award for Excellence in Nonprescription Studies: Renee McCarthy
• Roche Pharmacy Communications Award: Kirk Eckhoff
• TEVA Company Award: Brenda Patrick