Excellence in Action
School of Pharmacy Rises in National Rankings
U.S. News & World Report ranks the UW–Madison School of Pharmacy seventh in the nation in the latest Best Pharmacy Schools rankings.
Dean’s Corner
During these unprecedented times, the School of Pharmacy is facing challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and headwinds in national enrollment trends. With resources from campus and support from alumni, the School is well positioned to be resilient.
Read Dean Steven Swanson’s message to alumni.
National Recognition
APhA Honors Duane Kirking with Schaefer Award
Duane Kirking (BS ‘74) is recognized for his outstanding voluntary contributions to society, the profession of pharmacy, and APhA. “I define my life in three phases: education, pharmacy professional career, major volunteer career,” says Kirking. “Success is when you can impact others, and that can happen in so many ways.”
PhD Student Wins Best Abstract Award at AAPS PharmSci360
Zhenxuan Chen, fourth-year graduate student, is selected from more than 1,000 for his innovative research in understanding the structure of molecular glasses and importance to pharmaceutical sciences.
Professor Betty Chewning To Receive AACP’s Dawson Award
AACP will award Social and Administrative Sciences Professor Betty Chewning with the Paul R. Dawson Award for Excellence in Patient Care Research for her outstanding research that has made sustained contributions to the quality of patient outcomes.
Legacy of Leadership
Badgers Shape Pharmacy Profession as National Leaders
Read Part 2: The stories of School of Pharmacy alumni who influenced pharmacy education and practice as presidents of professional pharmacy organizations ASHP and APhA.
PhD Alumni Research Impact
Flush with Data
PharmSci alum Ian Miller (PhD ’18) designs a ‘smart toilet’ to capture health information from drug metabolism to exercise that will help advance the field of personalized medicine.
Answering Healthcare’s ‘Big Picture’ Questions
Social and Administrative Sciences alum Jia Pu (PhD ’13) lands her dream job of doing research that puts patients first and impacts national healthcare policy.
Making Alumni Connections
School News
Class of 2019 Scores Among the Best NAPLEX First-Time Pass Rates
Their NAPLEX performance puts the School of Pharmacy in the top 10 percent of accredited pharmacy schools for highest first-time pass rate.
School Launches Master’s Degree in Applied Drug Development
The new degree program, developed with industry input, helps graduates succeed faster in the biopharmaceutical field.
Warren Heideman Retires After 30 Years
Professor Warren Heideman in the Pharmaceutical Sciences Division retires after teaching countless PharmD students and training 24 graduate students and 11 postdocs.
Advancing Research and Practice
Designing Better Pharmaceuticals with Glass
Professor Lian Yu studies how molecules pack in materials to design better drug formulations, cell phone displays, and other applications. Using insights into the structure and motion of molecules within amorphous solids, he and his research group are working on ways to improve drug solubility. With the potential to impact global health with his research, Yu has received funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to advance drug delivery.
Centering Teens in Cancer Education
Assistant Professor Olufunmilola Abraham (MS '11, PhD '13) is studying youth perceptions of cancer and developing a game-based approach that could be used in classrooms to teach teens about cancer prevention.
Battling Antibiotic Resistance with Better Antibiotic Prescribing
Associate Professor Susanne Barnett (PharmD '04) leads antibiotic prescribing interventions for patients leaving the hospital in a new study to improve prescribing during transitions of care.
Advanced Genetic Sequencing of Beetles for Natural Products Drug Discovery
Assistant Professor Jason Kwan is trying to understand how and why small molecules evolve by revealing the genetic history of beetle-bacteria partnerships that will help researchers decide where and how to look for new drugs.
Wed Nite @ The Lab
Each week, Wednesday Nite @ The Lab streams lectures from UW–Madison researchers sharing their latest research developments. Two School of Pharmacy faculty, Assistant Professor Natalie Schmitz and Assistant Professor Jason Peters, were invited to The Lab to talk about their work in cannabidiol and antibiotic resistance research.
Fighting Antibiotic Resistance with Broken Scissors
Assistant Professor Jason Peters discusses the CRISPR-based tools he’s using to explore how antibiotics work and how to discover new tactics to take down resistant bacteria.
Deep into the Weeds: Cannabinoid Pharmacology, Therapeutics & Risk
Are cannabinoids as broadly therapeutic as they claim? Assistant Professor Natalie Schmitz breaks down what cannabinoids are, what the available evidence says, and their possible risks.
Alumni Making a Difference
Community Pharmacists at the Heart of Patient Care
Michelle Farrell (BS ’99, PharmD ’00) plays a key role in expanding community pharmacy into new areas statewide. She says community pharmacies need to offer clinical services and public health offerings, in addition to medication.
Making Drug Development Safer as a Risk Assessment Toxicologist
Like a detective hunting down clues, PharmTox alum Robert Jolly (BS ’87) is solving questions to improve drug and occupational safety assessments.
PharmD Degree Leads to Pharmacy Automation and Technology Deployment
Trisha Pedone (PharmD '15) initiates and leads high-priority projects for the pharmacy department. “I have the opportunity to be at the heart of strategic initiatives within our department, and my projects pivot to constantly improve patient care.”
Giving Back
Drug Discovery Research Gets Boost With Anna Apinis Professorship
Anna Apinis’ healthcare career inspires her son to endow a new professorship dedicated to drug discovery at the School of Pharmacy that will have double the impact with the Morgridge Match. Read about the inspiration behind John and Inara Apinis’ gift and the amazing journey of Anna Apinis — from pharmacist and pharmacy owner in Latvia to WWII refugee to custodian in America and finally a healthcare professional again.
Leading-Edge Research
Cheap Nanoparticles Stimulate Immune Response to Cancer in the Lab
Published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Professor Seungpyo Hong and his research team have developed nanoparticles that, in the lab, can activate immune responses to cancer cells. If they are shown to work as well in the body as they do in the lab, the nanoparticles might provide an effective and more affordable way to fight cancer.
Teaching Old Antibiotics New Tricks
New research by Associate Professor Warren Rose, published in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, finds that select strains of MRSA might be vulnerable to beta-lactams in human-like environments. His research breathes new life into current antibiotics, particularly beta-lactams, which is crucial as resistance is occurring faster than new drugs can be developed.
Photo Gallery
Making Headlines
WISC-TV Madison Editorial
PharmD students created an award-winning training program to educate and empower Alzheimer’s caregivers. The students and the School of Pharmacy are praised for “taking an innovative and forward-thinking approach to this issue with a student-led program to train caregivers for patients with Alzheimer’s disease.”
Alumni Reflection
WHY DO YOU LOVE PHARMACY?
Trent Thiede (PharmD ’06), Chief Operating Officer at PAAS National, shares what he finds most fulfilling about a career in pharmacy.
WATCH MORE ALUMNI STORIES >>
Class Notes
Spring 2020 Class Notes
From getting promotions and accolades to expanding families and pursuing personal passions, your former School of Pharmacy classmates are doing it all. Stay in the loop with your Badger Pharmacy peers through class notes.
Read What’s New >
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Online Professional Development
Biologics Series – Online
This 10-part program examines current topics in biologics, including FDA outlooks; manufacturing and delivery considerations; and bioanalysis during development.
- Now through July 1, 2021
- 100% online and self-paced
Register now
DISCOVERx STAFF
Editor-in-Chief | Katie Gerhards
Photographer | Sally Griffith-Oh
Contributing Writers | Katie Ginder-Vogel, Andrea Mongler, Stephanie Blaszczyk
Editorial Intern | Mary Magnuson
Contributing Photographers | Ingrid Laas, Todd Brown
Editorial Advisors | Alyson Kim, David Mott
DiscoveRx magazine is a quarterly digital publication by the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Pharmacy.
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