COVID Front Lines
COVID-19 Response Commander
“I was born for this.” Alum Nick Ladell (PharmD ’11) leads Aurora West Allis Medical Center’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic on the Incident Command Team. Learn what it takes to get a hospital ready for a global health crisis.
Keeping it Clean
The School's Zeeh Pharmaceutical Experiment Station compounds batches of an in-demand medical supply for UW Health: hand sanitizer.
Alumni COVID Experiences
From a small Alaskan fishing town to large metropolitan areas, these are the stories of our School of Pharmacy alumni working to keep COVID-19 in check.
Black Lives Matter
Photo Gallery: White Coats 4 Black Lives Rally
Alumni, students, faculty and staff of the School of Pharmacy joined health care professionals from around Wisconsin to show solidarity for Black lives and to raise awareness of how racism impacts patient care.
Message of Solidarity
Dean Steve Swanson shares the steps the School of Pharmacy is taking to rededicate ourselves in advancing diversity and inclusion and to recommit our efforts to address our own conscious and unconscious biases.
Learn and Reflect
As part of the #ShutDownSTEM movement on June 10, the university compiled a list of resources for all community members to use as a launching point for self-reflection and education on racial justice and allyship.
Congrats, Grads!
Congratulations, Class of 2020!
The School of Pharmacy hosted its first-ever virtual Graduation & Awards Ceremony to commemorate the Class of 2020's incredible accomplishments. From the recognition of our graduates to speeches by Bruce Scott (BS '79) and others, we captured it all.
Award-Winning Alumni
Honorary APhA President
Gregory Higby (MS ’80, PhD ’84) is a national resource on the history of the pharmacy profession. The American Pharmacists Association is recognizing his prolific career and contributions to pharmacy.
Powering Neurotechnology
Alumna Tracy Laabs (BS '01), who has spent her career propelling advances in neuroengineering and neurotechnology, is the 2020 PharmTox Alum of the Year.
Praiseworthy Precepting
Nick Zetes (PharmD '10), outpatient pharmacy coordinator at the American Family Children’s Hospital, is the 2020 recipient of the Larry Boh Clinical Instructor Excellence award.
Advancing Research
Better Ketamine Therapy
Assistant Professor Cody Wenthur is using a vaccine approach to develop safer and more effective antidepressants from ketamine.
Blood-Brain Barrier
With new NIH funding, Assistant Professor Michael Taylor is researching what makes the brain's vasculature unique.
Hypoxic Crabs
Professor Lingjun Li's lab is using crabs to understand hypoxia's effect on the body, with implications from cardiovascular disease to cancer.
Industry Impact
Bridging Basic Science and Patient Care
Biotechnology leader Mark Rogge (BS ’82, MS ’84) has helped develop breakthrough drugs to treat multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. Now, as a leader at Takeda Pharmaceuticals International, he has COVID in his sights.
Getting New Drugs to Market
One of the founding members of the Industry Pharmacist Organization, Novartis executive Rob Kowalski (BS ’91, PharmD ‘93) has secured the approval of over 100 new products and indications throughout his 27-year career.
Pharmacy's Future
Study Spots Growth Opportunities in Pharmacist Workforce
The National Pharmacist Workforce Study got its start at the UW–Madison School of Pharmacy two decades ago. The latest survey, still led by faculty and alumni of the School, uncovers where the profession is headed and how it’s getting there. See the study’s three key trends.
Program Spotlight
Research to Rethink Health Care
The Health Services Research in Pharmacy PhD program, previously named Social and Administrative Sciences in Pharmacy, at the UW–Madison School of Pharmacy provides the next generation of health services researchers the interdisciplinary training and tools to design the future of health care delivery. Hear from faculty, students, and alumni about the program’s catalyzing effects.
Improving Practice
Platinum Designation
The Madison VA is the first practice to receive the VA’s Clinical Pharmacy Platinum Practice Designation for their integration of clinical pharmacy specialists, including six School of Pharmacy alumni, on patient-aligned care teams.
Independent Pharmacy Champion
Alumnus Mike Flint (BS '81) created one of the first buying co-ops in Wisconsin — and that is just one of his many contributions to pharmacy.
Community Connection
Three years after graduating, Moath Sarsour (PharmD '16) opened his own pharmacy, prioritizing comprehensive patient consultations.
Excellence in Education
Experiential Education Amid COVID
COVID-19 threatened to postpone our PharmD students' experiential education. But faculty, staff, alumni, and community partners made sure our students' education stayed on track.
Residency Match Success
With 81.6% of graduates matched, UW–Madison's PharmD students achieve one of the nation's highest 2020 American Society of Health-System Pharmacists residency match rates.
From the Dean
DEAN’S CORNER
The year 2020 has proven to be a transformative time, through both COVID-19 and the outpouring of rage over the killing of George Floyd. Dean Steven Swanson outlines what this means for the School and shares some reasons to celebrate.
Read his message
Legacy of Leadership
Tradition of National Pharmacy Leadership
Read Part 3: Alumni of the School have held 50 president positions with national pharmacy organizations. Here are the stories of School of Pharmacy alumni who led AAPS and AIHP.
Grad Student Achievements
Chemistry-Biology Traineeship
Pharmaceutical Sciences graduate student Chelsi Almodóvar-Rivera becomes the fifth School of Pharmacy student to earn a spot in the NIH program since 2003.
Antibiotic Stewardship in Nursing Homes
With Assistant Professor Jay Ford and collaborators in the UW Department of Medicine, Chi-Yin Liao researches the impact of antibiotic reviews in nursing homes.
Empowering Pharmacists for Opioid Education
As an HSRP student, Tanvee Thakur (PhD ’20) created a handout that's about to be disseminated nationally to guide pharmacists through conversations with patients about opioids.
Making Headlines
Class Notes
Summer 2020 Class Notes
From getting promotions and national awards to expanding families, your former School of Pharmacy classmates are staying busy, even during the COVID-19 shut-downs. Keep in touch with your Badger Pharmacy peers through class notes.
Read What’s New >
Submit Your Class Note >
Event Update
Canceled: 22nd Annual PAA and WSPS Scholarship Golf Tournament
Friday, August 14, 2020
University Ridge is unable to host the event as all university in-person events and large gatherings are canceled through August 17.
Contribute to History
Building the Rennebohm Memorabilia Collection
Rennebohm Drug Store, aka “Rennie’s,” owned by former Governor Oscar Rennebohm, was a Madison institution. If you have old prescription bottles of other memorabilia from Rennebohm Drug Stores, consider helping the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy expand their collection.
Donate memorabilia >
COVID-19 Pandemic Pharmacy Historical Documentation Project
The American Institute of the History of Pharmacy is documenting and preserving pharmacy stories and experiences during the COVID-19 global pandemic for the benefit of future historians and scholars, through pharmacy stories, photos, videos, artifacts, and other documentation.
Share your experience >
Professional Development
Drug Product Development Certificate Program
This program is for scientists and technical managers working at the drug discovery interface, responsible for lead optimization and candidate selection.
Learn more >
Upcoming Conferences
- Virtual Land O’ Lakes Bioanalytical Conference | July 13-15
- Virtual Land O’ Lakes Pharmaceutical Analysis Conference | August 10-13
- Madison Clinical Conference: Autoimmune Diseases | October 6-7 | Hilton Garden Inn | Sun Prairie, WI
DISCOVERx STAFF
Editor-in-Chief | Katie Gerhards
Photographer | Sally Griffith-Oh
Contributing Writers | Katie Ginder-Vogel, Jill Sakai
Editorial Interns | Mary Magnuson, Arushi Gupta, Iseult Gillespie
Contributing Photographers | Paul L. Newby II
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?
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