Improving Practice
Transforming Rural Health
Hussain Harun (PharmD ’12), Chris Barron (BS ’97), and Abigail Moore (PharmD ’17) are just three of many Badger pharmacists in Wisconsin’s rural areas developing new programs and services to help patients stay healthy.
Gaining Recognition
APhA-APRS Fellow
Associate Professor and Vice Chair of the Social and Administrative Sciences Division Michelle Chui is being inducted as a fellow of the American Pharmacists Association Academy of Pharmaceutical Research and Science.
Dean's Corner
Pharmacists change lives. Dean Steven Swanson explains why it's important for our pharmacy alumni to promote the profession and help prepare the next generation of future pharmacists to make a difference.
Shaping IPE Nationwide
Associate Professor Joe Zorek co-authors national guidance document for interprofessional education that will impact nearly every health profession. Learn how the School's programs influenced the new guidelines.
Alumni Pioneers
Award-Winning Visionary
Bruce Scott (BS '79) has earned the American Society of Health-System Pharmacy's highest award. "The fact that I’ve achieved nothing in my career alone isn’t lost on me," he says.
Above and Beyond
Luke Beirl (PharmD '11) worked his way up to CEO of Hayward Area Memorial Hospital within seven years of earning his PharmD. "I noticed an unmet demand for leaders in health care in rural areas,” he says, so he took on the challenge.
Photo Gallery
Milwaukee Pharmacy Alumni Event
The UW–Madison School of Pharmacy Associate Dean for Advancement Dave Mott (BS ’88, MS ’92, PhD ’95) kicked off a new series of pharmacy alumni events around the state of Wisconsin with a gathering in Milwaukee. The next event is coming to Green Bay on Tuesday, April 23 — find details and RSVP here!
See photo gallery >>
PharmD Innovations
Getting Students Rotation-Ready
The School's Pharmacotherapy Skills Course has won numerous awards and accolades for innovative teaching. Learn what sets it apart and how it gives our PharmD students an advantage.
New PharmD Option for Researchers
The School of Pharmacy's new Pathway of Distinction in Research recognizes PharmD students who have demonstrated an ability and interest in changing pharmacy practice through research.
Legends of Pharmacy
A School of Pharmacy ‘Change Agent’
As former dean and professor emeritus, George Zografi left an indelible mark at the School of Pharmacy and on the face of pharmaceutical research and pharmacy practice. Learn more about his life, career, and legacy of mentorship.
Research in Action
Re-Engineering Bacteria for Biofuels
Normally, Assistant Professor Jason Peters' research focuses on finding new genetic targets for future antibiotics. But now, he's using that same CRISPR technology to enable better bioenegy production.
Finding Pharmacists' Role in Cystic Fibrosis
Cystic fibrosis is one of the most common and complex life-shortening inherited diseases. Assistant Professor Olufunmilola Abraham (MS '11, PhD '13) is starting a new research project to learn how pharmacists can help.
Reconstructing Bacterial Communities
Assistant Professor Jason Kwan is building better computational tools for exploring microbial communities. The resulting tools will be broadly useful for many types of scientific questions, including how those communities form after forest fires.
Making Headlines
Alumni Spotlight
In the Crime Lab
PharmTox alumna Melisa Wittkowske (BS ’06) oversees the DNA Databank Unit of the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory. Her team processes DNA samples and enters them into the FBI-owned Combined DNA Index System to help uncover investigative leads.
Q&A with Dave Zgarrick
From his most recent streaming binge to what he'd be doing if not pharmacy, get to know School of Pharmacy alumnus David Zgarrick (BS ’88).
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Community Impact
Fab Four
Professor Betty Chewning's Tai Chi Prime program focuses on four tai chi forms older adults can do anywhere, anytime, to improve balance and prevent falls.
Operation Airways
PharmD students Elyse Keating and Rachel Gibbons integrated a new service at the student-run MEDiC clinic to help underserved community members.
Giving Back
Funding Student Success
Alumni and friends of the School of Pharmacy are responsible for nearly 80 percent of scholarships given to students in the PharmD and PharmTox programs. See the impact they make on both donor and student.
Pharmacy Alumni: 'We Want You'
Every graduate of the School of Pharmacy is an automatic member of the Pharmacy Alumni Association, and the PAA is enhancing efforts to connect with and provide opportunities to pharmacists and pharmacy students.
Finding Genetic Weakness
“What we need to do is to figure out new weaknesses in these bacteria,” says Assistant Professor Jason Peters. He developed a new suite of CRISPR-based tools to do just that.
Testing the Limits of a New Antibiotic
Through a new research collaboration with UW Health, Associate Professor Warren Rose is examining the effectiveness of a new antibiotic and the risk factors for resistance.
#UWChangesLives
The Impact of Pharmacy
Through research, outreach, and education, the University of Wisconsin–Madison changes lives. February through June, UW–Madison is showcasing stories about the campus’ faculty and programming that effect real change for those living in the state of Wisconsin and beyond, including three of many contributions by the School of Pharmacy. Learn more about how #UWChangesLives.
Class Notes
Spring 2019 Class Notes
Families are growing, careers are taking off, books are being published and contributions are being honored — see what has been keeping who busy. Stay up to date with your UW–Madison School of Pharmacy alumni peers through class notes.
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Tune In
Medicine on Main Street
April 28 | 5 pm CST | WPT
Professor David Mott (BS ’88, MS ’92, PhD ‘95) and Assistant Professor Ed Portillo (PharmD ’14) are featured in a documentary on Wisconsin Public Television, sharing their perspective on the expanding role of pharmacists in rural areas. If you’re up late, the special is also airing April 12 at 11:30 pm CST, or watch it online.
Upcoming Events
Brown County Pharmacy Alumni Gathering
Saturday, April 23, 6:30-10 pm
School of Pharmacy alumni in the Brown County/Green Bay area: Reconnect with us at the Green Bay Distillery!
Associate Dean for Advancement Dave Mott (BS ’88, MS ’92, PhD ’95) is hosting Green Bay-area alumni for a party with food, drinks, and networking while the Milwaukee Brewers take on the St. Louis Cardinals. See more details and RSVP.
Busse Lecture:
Dale Wurster
Thursday & Friday, March 28–29
The School is hosting Dale Wurster, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Experimental Therapeutics professor at the University of Iowa, for a two-part lecture: “Determination of Adsorption Site Specificity: Activated Carbon as a Model” (Thursday) and “Compression Calorimetry” (Friday).
Hutchinson Lecture:
Janet Smith
Friday, April 5
Janet Smith, director of the Center for Structural Biology at the University of Michigan, is visiting the School to deliver a talk titled “Natural Product Biosynthetic Enzymes: Not All Domains Are What They Appear to Be.”
Rennebohm Lecture:
David Kingsley
Thursday & Friday, April 25–26
Professor of Developmental Biology David Kingsley, of Stanford University and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, is visiting the School to deliver a two-part lecture: “Fishing for the Secrets of Vertebrate Evolution” (Thursday) and “Applying Evolutionary Principles to Common Traits and Diseases in Humans” (Friday).
Professional Development
CE Programs and Events
Madison Clinical Conference
The Health Professional’s Role in Management of the Patient with Diabetes | CE: ACPE, ANCC | April 10-11, 2019 | Madison, Wis.
Certificate in Formulary Drug Evaluation Processes
Essential Skills for Evidence-Based Formulary Decision Making within Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committees | CE: ACPE | Through August 16, 2020 | Online
Pharmaceutical Courses
Cardiovascular Physiology, Pharmacology, and Safety
April 3–May 29, 2019 | Online
Principles of Solid Dosage Forms
May 13-17, 2019 | Madison, Wis.
Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics (PK-PD)
May 20-23, 2019 | Madison, Wis.
Stability Testing Series
May 9 & 30, June 20 & July 11, 2019 | Online
Land O’ Lakes Conferences
Annual Bioanalytical Conference
July 15-19, 2019 | Madison, Wis.
Annual Pharmaceutical Analysis Conference
August 12-25, 2019 | Madison, Wis.
Drug Metabolism and Applied Pharmacokinetics Conference
September 9-12, 2019 | Madison, Wis.
All three conferences are accepting poster abstracts for the 2019 poster session. Go to the conference of your choice for details.
DISCOVERx STAFF
Editor-in-Chief | Katie Gerhards
Photographer | Sally Griffith-Oh
Contributing writers | Katie Ginder-Vogel, Jill Sakai, Kristin Rattini
Contributing photographer | Ingrid Laas
Editorial Advisor | Alyson Kim
DiscoveRx magazine is a quarterly digital publication by the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Pharmacy.
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