COVID-19 Front Lines
If You Build It, They Will Come
When the first COVID-19 vaccine was given emergency use authorization, alum Paul Winger (BS ’90) wasted no time in preparing his pharmacy in Northern Wisconsin to be a vaccination hub. Learn what it took for Winger, Jill Klay (PharmD ’07), and PharmD student Nick Batinich to build the COVID-19 vaccination program that drew patients from across the state.
More Frontline Alumni
Throughout the past year, we've been collecting stories from alumni who are working to control the COVID-19 pandemic. Read all of the self-submitted experiences here.
Students Expand Vaccine Access
Through volunteering, experiential rotations, and a modified immunization training schedule, hundreds of the School's student pharmacists help Wisconsin move past the pandemic.
Leading Research
Psychedelic Experience
Psychedelic drugs like psilocybin show great promise for treating psychiatric illnesses, including major depression. But is the psychedelic experience necessary to reap the benefits? School of Pharmacy researchers explore.
Pancreatic Remodeling
New research from Professor Lingjun Li and collaborators finds that the pancreas significantly remodels its proteins throughout childhood and stabilizes in adults.
New Patent for Fibrosis Treatment
As a graduate student, Pawel Zbyszynski (PhD ’19) worked with Professor Glen Kwon and collaborators to develop a promising potential therapy that could halt fibrosis, improving outcomes for a variety of inflammatory conditions.
Targeted Protein Degradation
Professor Weiping Tang and his team have developed a way to use a cell’s own recycling machinery to destroy disease-causing proteins, a technology that could produce entirely new kinds of drugs.
Alumni Who Educate
Teaching Academy Fellow
Kate Rotzenberg (PharmD '07) is honored by UW–Madison for her teaching excellence and leadership in education, joining nine other School of Pharmacy colleagues.
Illuminating Illustrations
With two other UW–Madison grads, alum Kelly Montgomery (MS '16) launched a website to use comics to explain complex research to non-researchers, covering cancer, HIV, and more.
Ending Human Trafficking
Alumna Julie Thiel (BS '98), a leader in psychiatric pharmacy, followed her love of education to be an advocate for human trafficking awareness. “Pharmacists can have a huge impact," she says.
From the Advancement Team
Dave’s Corner
The COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of many of the School of Pharmacy’s alumni events, but that hasn’t stopped us from staying connected. Associate Dean for Advancement Dave Mott discusses what’s been going on and what’s coming next for alumni to look forward to.
Read his message
Elevating Care
Detangling Medicare
“I’ve always been drawn to population health," says Eileen Murphy (PharmD '06). She turned that interest into a new patient-focused center to help improve outcomes for a vulnerable population.
Pharmacy Diagnostics
School of Pharmacy researchers launched a survey to understand where and how Wisconsin pharmacies are implementing point-of-care testing. Here's what they found.
Student Perspective
Serving Rural Wisconsin
“This immersive rotation opened my eyes to the daily experiences and barriers these communities face, which transformed my understanding of the importance of rural health care,” says PharmD student Anna Lattos. Through the Rural Health option in the PharmD program, she spent six weeks on rotation in Whitehall, Wis. Read her first-person account of her time in Whitehall and how it impacted her career plans and approach to care.
School News
Professor Ron Burnette Retires
After nearly 40 years at the School of Pharmacy, Professor Ron Burnette retires. Read his reflections on his career in leadership, research, and education — and how it all started in electrical engineering.
New MS in Psychoactive Investigation
This fall, the School of Pharmacy introduces the new master's degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences: Psychoactive Pharmaceutical Investigation — the only program of its kind in the U.S.
Student Emergency Fund
“Given the crazy COVID year we have been experiencing, I’m not surprised that students are facing more money problems than normal,” says Kenneth Miller (BS '64, PhD '69), one of the fund's first donors.
Virtual Exhibit
The Misappropriation of Native and Indigenous Imagery in Pharmaceutical Advertising
From patent medicines to traveling medicine shows, a new virtual exhibit by the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy and the School of Pharmacy documents the ways drug companies and pharmaceutical manufacturers have historically misappropriated Native and Indigenous imagery, customs, and beliefs for marketing.
Making Headlines
Class Notes
Spring 2021 Class Notes
Our Badger Pharmacists are busier than ever, protecting the health of their communities, growing their families, and so much more. Keep in touch with your Badger Pharmacy peers through class notes.
READ WHAT’S NEW >
LEARN ABOUT ALUMNI ON THE COVID FRONT LINES >
SUBMIT YOUR CLASS NOTE >
Rising Alums
Who Should We Know?
Our School of Pharmacy alumni graduate with the skills to practice at the top of their license, transform care through research, and advance pharmaceutical science. In an upcoming issue of DiscoveRx, we would like to highlight recent alumni, graduating within the last 15 years, from each of our programs who have already begun to make a splash in their field.
Your network is invaluable in helping us identify rising recent alums, so if a name comes to mind, please share it for our consideration.
Share your alum suggestions >
Upcoming Events
2021 Pinning Ceremony
April 25, 2 pm
The Pinning Ceremony gives third-year PharmD students the opportunity to renew their commitment to professionalism before entering the workplace for their fourth-year APPE rotations.
PharmD/PharmTox Research Symposium
April 28, 12 pm
Featuring 20 research projects and posters from 35 presenters, this interactive Zoom poster session will explore fascinating studies in pharmacy and interdisciplinary sciences.
Graduation Celebration
May 7, 1:30 pm
Join our livestreamed Graduation Celebration that honors Class of 2021 students receiving master’s degrees PhD degrees, and PharmD degrees.
Meet the Challenge
Make a gift to the School of Pharmacy’s Student Success and Support Fund by June 30 to unlock $13,000 in additional support for students. The Pharmacy Alumni Association will generously match donations from alumni graduating from 2010-2020 (up to $2,500).
Donate today >
Professional Development
Updates in Drug-Drug Interactions for Recently Approved Drugs
In this 5-session course for pharmacists, we will explore clinically significant pharmacokinetic drug-drug interactions observed with recently FDA approved drug therapies.
Online Short Courses for
Pharmaceutical Scientists
- CMC Project Team Leadership: The Science, Principles, and Practices for Successful Technical Teams | Tuesdays, April 27-May 25
- Principles of Solid Dosage Forms | Fridays, May 7-June 18
- Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics | June 8, 10, 15 & 17
DISCOVERx STAFF
Editor-in-Chief | Katie Gerhards
Photographer | Sally Griffith-Oh
Contributing Writers | Katie Ginder-Vogel, Nicole Etter, Anna Lattos
Editorial Interns | Mary Magnuson, Arushi Gupta
Editorial Advisors | Alyson Kim, David Mott
DiscoveRx magazine is a quarterly digital publication by the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Pharmacy.
HAVE AN ALUMNI UPDATE OR A STORY IDEA?
Get in touch with us to share your class notes, thoughts, or story ideas.