first shell prize symposium features distinguished … of pharmacy news summer 2007 first shell...

SCHOOL OF PHARMACYNEWS

Summer 2007

First Shell Prize Symposium features distinguished cancer researchers

Dr. Rajesh Agarwal honored for his work with silibinin

The John and Barbara ShellPrize for Excellence in Researchand Graduate Education wasawarded to Rajesh Agarwal, PhD,in 2006. Activities planned toaward the annual prize were

expanded to include a half-day sym-posium open to Health SciencesCenter campus faculty, researchstaff and students. Agarwal andtwo renowned researchers he invit-ed, presented their work in a series

The 2006 Harold C. Heim Awards for Excellence in GraduateResearch were presented to Natalie Lassen and Erica LynnBradshaw Pierce. The presentations were made at the dinner fol-lowing the Shell Prize Symposium.

The graduate faculty program directors, Vasilis Vasiliou, PhD,and Tom Anchordoquy, PhD, respectively, spoke of the students’research projects. They were joined in presenting the awards byWarren Heim, a supporter of the endowment funding the awardsand son of Harold Heim, a former dean of the School ofPharmacy responsible for the development of graduate studentresearch. The selection process to identify recipients of the 2007Shell Prize and Heim Awards was initiated in July.

Harold C. Heim Awards recognize excellence in student research

of seminars on March30, 2007.

Agarwal presented aglimpse into his exten-sive work with silibininand its use in cancerprevention and treat-ment. ChinthalapallyRao, PhD, professorand Kerley-CadeEndowed Chair at theUniversity ofOklahoma HealthSciences Center, pre-sented his work on colorectal can-cer prevention with celecoxib.Zigang Dong, PhD, professor andthe McKnight PresidentialProfessor in Cancer Prevention atthe University of Minnesota’sHormel Institute, presented a thirdseminar covering some of his workwith in the chemoprevention ofcancer. All three professors are wellknown internationally for theirwork with natural products and theuse of these compounds in cancertreatment as well as extensive workin carcinogenesis.

The presentations were followedby a reception and a dinner attend-ed by invited administrators,researchers and graduate students.

The symposium topic, CancerChemoprevention, was based onthe long-standing interest andexpertise of Agarwal,recipient of the ShellPrize. Cancer chemo-prevention is currentlya cutting-edge approachto lower overall cancerincidence and associat-ed mortality and mor-bidity. Also importantis that the most successachieved clinically inthe cancer chemopre-vention arena is withcolon cancer, where thecontribution of Rao,one of the two invitedspeakers, is unparal-leled. Several times, Rao has beenthe first to report targetedapproaches for the prevention ofcolon cancer by both synthetic andnatural agents.

The other important aspect of

cancer prevention research in last10 years has been the use of phyto-chemicals present in fruits, vegeta-bles, beverages and spices, either inpure form or as an extract with amixture of them. Dong is recog-nized as the pioneer in this area ofcancer prevention research. Overthe years, Dong has been the firstto identify various agents and tar-gets through which they exert can-cer preventive efficacy in variousepithelial cancers.

The Symposium was attendedby more than 100 campus academi-cians ranging from faculty to post-doctoral fellows, graduate and phar-macy students. The enthusiasm ofthe attendees was so high that thediscussion following each talkexceeded the time allowed and con-tinued at the reception following

the symposium.John and Barbara Shell are

alumni of the School of Pharmacyand generous contributors to theendowment that funds the awards.

Zigang Dong, Rajesh Agarwal andChinthalapally Rao were honored at areception following the Shell PrizeSymposium.

Dean Ralph Altiere (L) and David Ross,department chair (R) present Dr. Agarwalwith the Shell Prize engraved bowl.

NEWSSCHOOL OF PHARMACYPAGE2

SCHOOL OF PHARMACYNEWS

Ralph J. Altiere, PhD Dean, School of Pharmacy

Susan SaundersAssistant to the DeanSchool of Pharmacy

Mitzi SchindlerDirector of PublicationsOffice of Public Relations

Mike Cobb Art DirectorOffice of Public Relations

Kenna BrunerCommunications SpecialistOffice of Public Relations

UCDHSCSchool of PharmacyMail Stop C-2384200 E. Ninth Ave.Denver, CO 80262

[email protected]

http://www.uchsc.edu/sop

Summer 2007

Christopher Turner, PhD, Experiential Programs director, upperleft corner, poses with, from left (Row one) Geta Anteneh, KellyPham, Kim Dao Dang, Habtama Woldeyes, and (Row two) LisaYacko and Jeremy Ortega, all P1 students, and the poster thatwon them a pizza lunch and praise. The class poster competitionfocused on producing educational material that might be postedin a community pharmacy setting.

P1s for some one-on-one

e Student Awards fKappa Epsilon Leader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Elyse AttwoodPhi Delta Chi Pharmacy Spirit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Patrina McCauleyPhi Lambda Sigma Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tara VlasimskyRho Chi Outstanding Student . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Katherine MillerStudent National Pharmaceutical Association . . . . . . . . Stephanie ChoRoche Pharmacy Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Olivia RapacchiettaSchool of Pharmacy Clinical Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Raenna NerpelGlaxoSmithKline Patient Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Julia LoganMylan Pharmaceuticals Excellence in Pharmacy . . . . . . Diane DeSugnyAPHA/ASP Mortar and Pestle Professionalism . . . . . . Sarah AndersonFacts and Comparisons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kevin FlynnPharmacists Mutual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Danna ZhenMerck Awards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . So Yeung, Momein Refaat,

Hodan NoorPerrigo Excellence in Non-Prescription Medication Studies . . . . . . .Troy WesterbergSchool of Pharmacy Valedictorian. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jessica Meier, James VintonTEVA Outstanding Student . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Matthew MarshallSchool of Pharmacy Outstanding Scholastic Achievement . . . . . . . .Katherine MillerSchool of Pharmacy Scholastic Achievement . . . . . . . . . Ri HolbrookDepartment of Pharmaceutical Sciences . . . . . . . . . . . Shannon YessakSchool of Pharmacy Professional Achievement Awards . .

Jamela Urban, P1, Dominique Minjarez, P2, Stephanie Cho, P3, Michael Appel, P4

The Lilly Achievement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tara VlasimskyStudent Council Presidential . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sarah CarsonThe Dean’s Distinguished Student . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sarah AndersonHolden Community Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Student National

Pharmaceutical AssociationUSPHS Excellence in Public Heath Pharmacy Practice . . . . . . . Student National

Pharmaceutical Association

ScholarshipsAnnibel Gardner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ashley Garcia , Jacqueline PugaBurroughs Wellcome Endowment Scholarships . . . . . . . . Kelley Carlstrom, Adrienne LightColorado Pharmacists Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shannon Matsko, Sarah SumnerEckerd Scholarships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tram Do, Ashley Letourneau,

Jennifer Paul, Sarah Sumner, Hung Tran

Erwin-Vincent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Crystal Nester, Kyrian UzoeshiSara Kwon Memorial Scholarship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stephanie ChoJM Long Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Samuel Addae, Geta Anteneh, Helen

Asuquo, Julie Bohm, Dmitri Cohen, Joyce Gallegos, Michelle Garcia, Irina Kandinova, Ashley Hall, Steven Musielak, Kelly Pham, Michelle Pulido, Aden Tsegay, Trang Van, Habtamu Woldeyes

James L. McDowell Memorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . William Anderson, Sarah Carson, Allison Garnhart, Shannon Matsko, Tasheba West

The Lefler Book Award. . . . . . . . . . . . Ashley Letourneau, Amber SimpsonNACDS Scholarship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brandy Shalberg, Mike EgebergThe Linda Newman Memorial Scholarship . . . . . . . . . . Emily Arndt, Momein RefaatPearl Surbrugg-Stehley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Patrina McCauleyPharmacists Mutual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Elyse Attwood, Charles FosterSafeway Pharmacy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lubna Farah, Michelle Hanselin,

Kyong Kim, Stacey Schomberg, Lindsay Stansfield

Walgreens Pharmacy Scholarships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joshua Cluff, Melinda Lam, Loc Lee, Lam Hoang Nguyen, Troy Westerberg

Wal-Mart Pharmacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stella Abramova, Brittany Hanselin, Brandon LaMarr, Michele Sampayan

Kaiser Permanente Kent M. Nelson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stephanie Cho, Olivia Rapacchietta, Thu Tran, Tara Vlasimsky

King Soopers Scholarships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kassandra Bankovich, Sarah Chen, Vina Dam, Hanna B. Gurara, Jessica Hoang, Nancy Q. Hoang, Raisa Katanova, Rory Lambert, Andy Lei, Valerie M. Moore, Artem Muradyan, Anh Tuyet Thi Nguyen, Jenny Nguyen, Xuan Nguyen, Adam Nielsen, Myhao Pham, Angela Stevens, Kimberly Strube, Berin Vattappillil, Danna Zhen

Teresa McMahan-Shulkin Memorial Scholarship . . . . . . Kathleen Simons

Summer 2007 NEWSSCHOOL OF PHARMACY

Awards and scholarships were presented to pharmacy students, facultyand practitioners at the annual Awards Convocation on May 4. Students,faculty, friends and families were present to honor the recipients of awardsfor excellent performance in academics and service. The awards were pre-sented by School of Pharmacy Dean Ralph Altiere, PhD.

Several School of Pharmacy faculty received awards for their outstand-ing contributions to education, research and community health care. Anumber of pharmacists and preceptors were also acknowledged for theirinfluential roles in the health of Colorado communities.

Students vote for best instructorsExcellence in Teaching by P1 class – James Ruth, PhDExcellence in Teaching by P2 class – Connie Valdez, PharmDExcellence in Teaching by P3 class – Doug Fish, PharmD

Celebrating convocation night

Among those receiving awards were pharmacy studentsStephanie Cho, Olivia Rapacchietta, and Nicolas Pollard, andSOP Dean Ralph Altiere, PhD. Cho, Rapacchietta andPollard were honored as outstanding students by demonstrat-ing a high level of commitment to diversity throughout theirpharmacy school education.

Specifically, this team has driven the development, studentparticipation, coordination, training and leadership of sever-al health fairs for underserved communities, including theDenver Indian Health and Family Services Diabetes HealthFair, the Native American Wellness Health Fair, theWellspring Health Fair, the National Western Stock ShowHealth Fair and the Empowering a Health CommunityHealth Fair.

The three students also planned and coordinated the 2007Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA)Regional Conference, which was aimed at addressing diversi-ty and health care barriers. More than 13 schools were invit-ed to attend with more than 150 registrants and 11 financialsponsors attending and supporting the conference.

Former Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders served as keynotespeaker. The conference offered immunization certificationas well as several other continuing education programs relat-ed to medical conditions frequently encountered in under-served populations.

Long before becoming the dean of the School ofPharmacy, Altiere was a strong supporter of diversity. Heplayed an important role in organizing SNPhA as a studentorganization within the school. Because he understood theimportance of its mission to support underserved and diversecommunities, Altiere supported funding the expenses for theSNPhA founding members at the SOP to attend the nationalconference in 2003.

He was instrumental in the success of the 2007 SNPhARegional Conference hosted by local chapter in March.

The awards luncheon is part of the Celebrate DiversitySeries hosted by the UCDHSC’s Office of Diversity.

Diversity efforts recognized

SOP Dean Ralph Altiere, third from left, along with (left toright) pharmacy students Stephanie Cho, OliviaRapacchietta, and Nicolas Pollard, and SOP Dean RalphAltiere, are honored for their commitment to diversity.

The School of Pharmacy was well representedat the Chancellor’s Diversity Recognition

Awards Luncheon held April 26.

Leadership Award – Shari Bohn, RPh, president, ColoradoPharmacists Societywith ExperientialPrograms DirectorChristopher Turner, PhD

Connie Valdez, PharmD,(right) received theChancellor’s TeachingRecognition AwardLauran Hansen, PharmD,received the President’sExcellence in Teaching Award

Preceptor of the Year awardsGrant Bray, PharmD

Not pictured: Josie Snyder,PharmD, who was

unable to attend

Preceptor of the Year awardsLeticia Silva, PharmD

Summer 2007NEWSSCHOOL OF PHARMACY

On their trip, organized by Pura Vida, anon-profit organization that focuses solelyon Guatemala, they served on teams withother medical professionals.

They were based in Chichicastenango,located in the highlands about four hours bybus from Guatemala City. Each day theteams traveled to clinics set up in outlyingfarming areas to provide health care toindigenous Mayan Indians, who are a poor,underserved and generally neglected seg-ment of the population.

Fish, Carson and Billotti dispensed pre-scriptions, compounded medications, coun-seled patients and consulted with otherhealth care providers. They treated 200 vil-lagers a day and dispensed 3,100 prescrip-tions over five days.

Counseling patients was a challengesince in most cases one translator was usedto translate English into Spanish and anoth-er was then used to translate that Spanish toQuiche, the native Mayan language.

This is Carson’s second medical trip.Last year she went to Ecuador and wants tomake more trips into Third World areas.She taught a group of little girls a few wordsin English and they taught her someQuiche. On the last day as the bus drove outof the village, the youngsters ran behindwaving and yelling “good-bye” in English.

“Learning to use what you have to treatsomeone adequately when resources are lim-ited forces you to think about the patho-physiology behind the disease and whatmedication or non-pharmacologic therapywill work to cure or treat the patient,” shesaid. “You begin to understand the trueimportance of non-pharmacologic therapywhen you realize that a one month supply ofan anti-hypertension medication is all youhave to give them.”

Students benefit from medical trips suchas these in numerous ways. They have theopportunity to put their pharmacy educa-tion directly into practice and are able towork independently under non-traditional,somewhat challenging conditions wheretherapeutic substitution and improvisationare the norm due to limited supplies of avail-able medications. Students also gain experi-ence in working directly with other healthcare providers.

“The experience is an opportunity topractice pharmacy and to interact closelywith other health care providers in uncon-ventional ways, plus you gain a first-handunderstanding of the difficult conditionsunder which much of the rest of worldlives,” said Fish, who went on medical tripsto Guatemala in 2005 and Peru in 1997.

Providing pharmacy care in GuatemalaFor 10 days this spring, Doug Fish, PharmD, chair of the

Department of Clinical Pharmacy, and P4 students SarahCarson and Jamie Billotti were immersed in the rural cultureof Guatemala while providing pharmacy services to impover-

ished villagers through a volunteer medical mission.


Jenni ProsserOffice of Public Relations

A common theme continuesto develop in cancer research; aconcept that is far from new: eatyour fruits and vegetables.

Chapla Agarwal, PhD, assis-tant research professor at theSchool of Pharmacy, recentlyreceived a five year, $1.9 millionNational Institutes of Healthgrant to study the effects of grapeseed extract on colorectal cancer.She believes it may become amajor factor in the prevention ortreatment of cancer.

“Our aim is to basicallyextract the grape seed, see howconcentrated it is, observe howthe cancer acts in the body andsee how we can use the grape seedextract against the cancer. I don’tknow if it can cure the cancer, butit could help prevent people whoare at high risk for colon cancerfrom developing the disease,”Agarwal said.

Grape seeds are rich in antioxi-dants, which act as inhibitorsagainst the disease by scavengingthe free radicals that can cause col-orectal cancer. Agarwal’s pre-clini-cal trials at the School of Pharmacyhave shown success in treatinginduced tumors in mice modelsand treating them with grape seedextract. Further research still needsto be done before the findings areapplied to human cancers.

The potential benefits are huge.“If you could prevent the cancersomewhere, or at least stop one

Grape seeds show potential in fighting cancer

stage of the cancer development, itwould help control the disease,”Agarwal said. “Chemopreventativeagents, such as grape seed extract,can do this.”

Prevention is the best form oftreatment for cancer, and chemo-prevention is a rapidly growing areain the field cancer research.

One of the major interests inAgarwal’s research stems from thelack of side effects from grape seedextract compared to other forms ofcancer treatment.

“A promising element of studiesso far is that, the mice haven’tshown toxicity to very high doses ofthe extract. That’s amazing, becausetoxicity is the main problem withthe current cancer drugs and theirside effects. Many people die, notfrom the cancer itself, but because

of side effects from the treatment.That’s why this natural productresearch is good,” Agarwal said.

The antioxidants can be foundin all forms of grapes, but they areespecially prevalent in red grapeswith seeds. Because the entiregrape is used in the process of mak-

ing wine, red wine is agood source of the antioxi-dants found in grape seeds.

Through the grant shereceived, Agarwal has beendedicating her research tothe effects of grape seedextract on colorectal can-cer, however, she believes itmay also affect other formsof cancer, such as prostate,skin and breast cancers.

There is still a signifi-cant amount of research todo before any conclusionscan be made, but Agarwalthinks grape seed extracthas a lot of potential forthe future of cancer treat-ment, “I think it will takemy whole research career;

there’s a lot we don’t know. Maybeit will take over as the main form ofcancer treatment. That’s what Iwant, but we haven’t reached thatpoint yet.”

For now, she says, people woulddo well to focus on eating morefruits and vegetables.

2007 Ebert Prize shared by Schoolof Pharmacy and Amgen, Inc.

Professors Theodore W. Randolph and John F. Carpenter and gradu-ate student Renuka Thirumangalathu from the School of Pharmacy andSampathkumar Krishnan and David N. Brems from Amgen, Inc., receivedthe 2007 Ebert prize for an article they published in the Journal ofPharmaceutical Sciences.

The article, titled Effects of pH, temperature, and sucrose on benzylalcohol-induced aggregation on recombinant human granulocyte colonystimulating factor, examines how benzyl alcohol causes protein aggregationin therapeutic protein products, specifically recombinant human granulo-cyte colony-stimulating factor (rhGCSF). By studying this, the researchershope to create ways to prevent the aggregation. In the article,Thirumangalathu and her colleagues proposed some effective strategies toinhibit or partially counteract preservative induced aggregation in multi-dose protein product development.

The annual prize is awarded by the American PharmaceuticalAssociation (APhA) for new findings that have a good chance of signifi-cantly impacting pharmaceutical sciences.

The Ebert Prize, established in 1873, is the oldest pharmaceuticalaward in the United States and is named after former APhA PresidentAlbert Ethelbert Ebert.

Chapla Agarwal, PhD, studies beneficial effects of grape seeds.

The School of Pharmacy announces the following faculty promotions:• Doug Fish – professor• Laura Hansen – associate professor, clinical/teaching track• Brian Hemstreet – associate professor,

clinical/teaching track• Kavita Nair – associate professor with tenure• Chris Turner – professor• Vasilis Vasiliou – professor

Faculty promotions and tenure

Long time service

LaJuana Cotton, Charlotte Klaus and Jill Rogers are picturedat the UCDHSC Staff Recognition luncheon. Charlotte repre-sented the dean in making the awards to LaJuana for 25 yearsof service to the university and to Jill for 20 years.


Victor Lewis, PharmDTell a little about your background.I am coming from The University of Georgia College of Pharmacy in beautiful

Athens, GA. I grew up in Jesup, GA, and still call it home. Jessup is a small townand I came across my first exposure to pharmacy as a junior in high school. A phar-macist from church needed a new delivery boy to deliver meds, and set up hospi-tal beds and oxygen concentrators for his independent (business) in town. I reallyenjoyed it and stayed with it, so he began letting me do more and more behind thecounter. When it came time for college, I decided to take the pre-pharmacy trackand try to get into pharmacy school. I still used vacations and holidays to go backhome and work with the pharmacy to stay in touch with the pharmacist and theprofession and I haven’t looked back since!

Why pharmacy as a career?My first job really opened my eyes as to how large an impact a pharmacist can

have on patients and the community. As I delivered medications and hospitalbeds, so many patients expressed how much Alan (my pharmacist) meant to themand how much he had helped them to navigate through medical issues. I saw thisand realized that this is the impact I want to have on patients in a career. Manytimes, pharmacists are the last line between the patient and the medication, so itis up to us to make sure everything is okay before the medication is administered.

For rotations, I decided to try to get as much hospital exposure as possible, soI went to the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, GA, for my fourth year. Ifound this to be incredibly rewarding and have decided to pursue a career in thistype of practice.

What are your plans for the future?My goals are to get the most out of my opportunities as a pharmacist and to

develop myself as a clinician as much as possible. So many options exist for phar-macists today with so many different ways to practice pharmacy that I want to expe-rience as many practice types as possible and maximize my patient care abilities. Asfor more concrete goals, I would like to work in academia because I have seen whata large impact a good professor can have on students. I would get a lot out of see-ing students grow and develop. For the next few years, I am interested in clinicalpharmacy, preferably at a large academic medical center which could offer a mixof both clinical pharmacy and academia. For the long term, it is hard to say at thispoint. The dynamics of the profession are changing so much that it is hard to saywhat pharmacists will be able to do in 10-15 years. I feel that my roots in inde-pendent pharmacy will eventually pull me back to that practice area, but there areso many options with wellness clinics and ambulatory care now, even that is hardto describe specifically.

How do you feel about moving from Georgia to Colorado?I am very excited to be coming to Denver! I enjoy hiking and skiing, and I guess

all the other activities that people who come to Colorado are interested in. I lookforward to beginning and am enthusiastic about coming across so many new peo-ple and experiences.

Phillip Owen, PharmDWhat’s next for you?I will be taking a clinical assistant professorship at Mercer University in

Atlanta, GA. My practice site will be the Atlanta Medical Center med-ical and surgical ICUs.

Any particular experiences you will be taking with you from SOP?My two most memorable moments in residency were participating in

specimen collection from a subject enrolled in a drug study at the SOPand giving a lecture for the first time to pharmacy students.

How did you choose pharmacy as a career?I have an undergraduate degree from the University of Tennessee in

biology and I worked in an emergency department at a hospital inKnoxville, Tenn., for one year. I then decided medicine was not really forme, so I chose clinical pharmacy as a career. It offers direct patient careand still has a high degree of intellectual pursuit and fulfillment associ-ated with it.

What are your plans?I would like to start building my career towards being a clinical

researcher and educator. I chose academia because it forces you to staycurrent on medical and pharmacy literature and allows you to be creativein the ways you teach students and carry out research. Faculty membershave to keep up with the current literature and know how to apply it,and contribute to it. I am still learning how to do all these successfully,but that is part of the fun.

How do you think the future of pharmaceuticals affects your plans?Pharmacy is at an interesting point in which schools are opening so

fast that good faculty members are in demand. The next few years

Getting to know the incoming and outgoing residentsshould be interesting for salaries in community and academic settings. I expect thegoverning bodies responsible for pharmacy school education credentialing, resi-dency credentialing, and board specialization will work more in tandem with oneanother to prevent the quality of the workforce from declining. My hope is that thetrend for faculty salaries will continue to stay competitive or rise based on the levelof new students.

Kenneth UtzWhat education have you had in pharmacy so far?I completed my pre-pharmacy work at the University of Arkansas and then

graduated from the University of Okalahoma College of Pharmacy. Following mygeneral residency at UCDHSC, I have accepted a position as a specialty residentin oncology at the University of Colorado Hospital, so I will be staying in Denverfor another year and am very excited about it.

What experiences at the SOP will stay with you?My most memorable moment at the SOP was the first lecture I gave to phar-

macy students. I prepared and presented the alternative therapies used in heart fail-ure. It was a very surreal feeling to move from someone sitting in class just a fewmonths earlier to an actual clinical professor. I will never forget that feeling.

What led you to a career in pharmacy?I chose a career in pharmacy for many reasons. I have always enjoyed life sci-

ences, especially biology and chemistry. Pharmacy provided a way to combine bothof my interests. Furthermore, it gave me the option of pursuing a field in which Icould make a difference in patients' lives, while still being able give a large portionof my time to my family. Also, I was exposed to pharmacy at a very young agebecause my father is a pharmacist. In all honesty, I am just not imaginative anddecided to follow in my father's footsteps. I think he was happy that I did.

What are your plans for the future?I will be completing a specialty residency in oncology and plan to practice as an

oncology pharmacist. I prefer the outpatient setting to inpatient, but I am keep-ing an open mind as I travel through my residency life. Also, I have always enjoyedteaching and am currently considering a career in academia.

How do you feel about your experience?This pharmacy practice year has been quite a ride. I have grown in many areas

that I did not anticipate. I don't think that I would have been able to complete thisyear without the encouragement and laughter of my fellow residents. Kelli, Jessie,and Dorothy will always hold a special place with me and I wish them all the bestof luck in the years to come.

Kelli Gibson, PharmDWhat have you been doing since you finished at SOP?Currently I am interviewing for a position in pharmacy administration. Care to share any memorable moments from your time at SOP?One of my most memorable experiences occurred during my faculty rotation

month. My preceptor was Dr. Robert Page. At the time we were teaching first yearpharmacy students about proper aseptic technique. This involved rotating all 130students through the University of Colorado Hospital inpatient IV room in order

Residents new to the program or continuing in specialty tracks gathered inJuly for orientation. Pictured (L to R) are Phillip Owen, Kelli Gibson, JoeVandeGriend, Kenneth Utz, Dorothy Albright and Jessica Burch.

Continued on next page...

for the students to demonstrate their skills while preparing a parenteral medica-tion in a real IV room. Four students were scheduled per hour, so it took morethan 30 hours for us to facilitate all of the students!

Why did you choose pharmacy?I was initially an undergraduate pre-health major. After shadowing my cousin,

who was a pharmacy resident at the time, I decided I wanted to go to pharmacyschool. I was interested in working in the health care field, but I was also interest-ed in the many ways business knowledge is utilized in pharmacy.

Where do you want to go from here?Ideally, I would like to work as a pharmacy clinical coordinator. This position

would include the responsibility of working with pharmacists and other healthcare professionals to create optimal clinical pharmacy programs. I also hope tomentor students, residents, and other pharmacists through this position.

Joe VandeGriend What experience do you have in pharmaceuticals?I graduated from the University of Iowa, School of Pharmacy in 2005. Last

year, I completed a Pharmacy Practice Residency at the University of ColoradoHospital. I was fortunate to stay on this year as the Family Medicine SpecialtyResident at UCDHSC, School of Pharmacy with Joe Saseen. Recently, I accepteda position with the School of Pharmacy as an assistant professor in theDepartment of Clinical Pharmacy, which will begin in August.

What created your interest in pharmaceuticals?Pharmacy runs in my family: my great-uncle owns a pharmacy in my small Iowa

hometown, his son now runs it; my uncle also owns and operates several pharma-cies in NE Iowa; my first cousin is a pediatric clinical pharmacy specialist inPennsylvania. I chose pharmacy because the opportunities within the professionare almost endless: academia, ownership of own business, clinical pharmacy spe-cialist, etc…

What would you like to accomplish with your degree?My goal is to become an effective teacher and successful academician – I have

pursued an academic position because it is challenging and rewarding.

Erica Horinek, PharmDTell me about your background.I am currently a pharmacy practice resident in Salt Lake City with

Intermountain Healthcare / LDS Hospital. I graduated from the University ofWyoming School of Pharmacy.

What did you do before college?I am originally from Colby, Kan., and worked in a pharmacy during high

school, which led to my decision to be a pharmacist.What do you want to accomplish with your degree?My career goal is to be an adjunct faculty at a school of pharmacy, specializing

in either critical care or solid organ transplant services.

Dorothy Albright, PharmDTell me about your background.I graduated from the University of Buffalo School of Pharmacy in 2006 with a

PharmD, before starting a one-year pharmacy practice residency at the Universityof Colorado Hospital.

What do you plan to do next?After the residency is completed at the end of June, I will be starting a clinical

toxicology fellowship at Upstate Poison Control Center in Syracuse, NY. It is a two-year program and my long term goal is to become a board certified toxicologist.

What led you to a career in pharmacy?I chose a career in pharmacy because it is a challenging field in health care that

has many opportunities to specialize; in my case toxicology. I want a career as aPharmD toxicologist because I think PharmDs can contribute to the field of toxi-cology with their foundation in pharmacokinetics, drug information, and abilityto memorize detailed information without necessarily seeing a patient to relate tothe information; which is the way physicians learn.

What are your ultimate goals?I would like a career in toxicology that involves research and a teaching com-

ponent at a poison control center. These very different methods of learning canstimulate you and your colleagues for your entire career. I have thoroughly enjoyedmy experience as a pharmacy resident at UCH and I appreciated all the opportu-nities to have rotations and to work with the faculty.

Incoming and Outgoing ResidentsContinued from page 6

Angela Digiacinto Where are you from?I am coming from Omaha, Neb., as a recent graduate of the University of NE

College of Pharmacy.Why did you decide to study pharmacy?I am from a family with six children, my twin sister and I being the youngest. I

was born and raised in Omaha. My parents and three of my siblings still live inOmaha. I have an older sister who graduated from my same college of pharmacy10 years before I did, so she has been a strong influence in my career decisions.She was a huge role model for me as I worked my way through pharmacy schooland has always been my biggest supporter.

How do you feel about the upcoming year?I'm so excited about the opportunity given to me at the University of Colorado

Hospital with the pharmacy residency! I want to take this year to learn as much aspossible and expose myself to as many clinical pharmacy opportunities as I can.

What do you want to do after your finish your residency?I hope to have a career in clinical pharmacy in a hospital where health care is

implemented progressively and where I can really continue to refine my profes-sional skills.

Jennifer TobinTell me about your background.I am originally from Austin, Texas, but currently live in Houston and am fin-

ishing up at University of Houston College of Pharmacy. Why are you interested in pharmacy? I chose pharmacy as a career path because of my interest in how drugs work in

and affect the human body, as well as to have an opportunity to be a unique mem-ber of the health care team. I have noticed from my own experience with familymembers that patients are typically misinformed or not informed at all about theirmedications or why they are taking them. My older sister has been a practicing hos-pital pharmacist for more than 10 years, and that is another really big part of whyI chose pharmacy.

What do you want to do in the future?My short term pharmacy goals include graduating and passing the NAPLEX

and law exams for Texas and Colorado. Then of course, working hard at Universityof Colorado Hospital next year and completing the pharmacy practice residencyprogram. After that I would like to pursue a second year in oncology or infectiousdiseases, (but am also open to other possibilities based on my experiences duringmy first year of residency) with the goal of working as a clinical pharmacist.

Jessica BurchWhat are your plans for the upcoming year?I will be staying at UCHSC as the PGY2 family medicine resident. What do you hope to accomplish as a family medicine resident?My goal is to gain additional experience in ambulatory care pharmacy and work

with pharmacists who have set up effective collaborative practice agreements intheir clinics.

What did you do before you came to UCDHSC?I graduated from Colorado College with a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry

and I went to work for a genetics company in Utah. What made you decide to pursue a career in pharmacy?After spending a while doing genetics research I decided I wanted a career that

would allow me to work directly with patients. I looked at many career options inthe medical field and decided that pharmacy most closely matched my interest. Iwent to pharmacy school at Midwestern University in Glendale, Ariz. After grad-uation, I knew I wanted to do a residency and I knew I wanted to move back toColorado. I was lucky to achieve both of my goals by matching at UCH.

Chelsea HunterWhere did you go to college?I graduated from the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy.How do you feel about coming to SOP?I am very excited to be starting a new step in my professional pharmacy career.Why are you interested in pharmacy?My interest in pharmacy came from shadowing a hospital pharmacist during a

Medical Careers class I took my senior year in high school. Is anyone in your family in the pharmacy profession?My dad has been a pharmacist for more than 35 years.Which area of pharmaceuticals interests you most?My interests lie in women's health and neonatology. I am still keeping my

doors open as to which pharmacy career I will pursue.

PAGE 7Summer 2007NEWSSCHOOL OF PHARMACY

December 2006Natalie Lassen, Toxicology

May 2007Erica Lynn Bradshaw,

Pharmaceutical SciencesWenchang Guo, Toxicology

December 2006Joice Blesson AndrewsWilliam Arnold GaultDenise Marie HefleyCheryl Boyle LathumRebecca Ann LiggonAnne Ashton LoweEun Jung NamCindy Truong NatshehBernd Philipp Schwalbe

May 2007Rita Dana AnkusAnita M. BerkKevin ChoeSoonyang ChungDebra Lynn Painter CowanWilliam C. GarstSarah Hagler

Mary Patch HarringtonJeannie Marie HiserTracy Jane HouseholderErin Walsh KraemerCatherine Lai Michele Crossland LesterTamera Neyman McFarrenChad E. MillerJennifer Lynn PawelekEileen PengSuja A. PothenReneé Karen SchroederCharles Clifford SharkeyConnie Pie Chi ShiuMary Ann StuhanKumar SwamyMei TangMarcia Regina Cichello Whitbeck

CCoonnggrraattuullaattiioonnss,, SScchhooooll

dDoctor of PhilosophydDoctor of PharmacyNon-Traditional Program

PAGE 8 Summer 2007NEWSSCHOOL OF PHARMACY

Sammy O. AlwalaJing AnSarah Louise Mercer Anderson,

Rho Chi, Phi Lambda SigmaMichael John Andrews,

Rho ChiMichael Daniel Appel,

Phi Lambda SigmaRasha Ragaie BarsoumDaniel Warren Bates,

Rho ChiJordan David Bendinelli,

Phi Lambda SigmaMegan Ashley Berch-WegnerSandra Kay BerryJustin Bradley Bowles,

Phi Lambda SigmaElla Anne BreitenbachTyler Alan Byassee,

Rho ChiHeather Skye Cabiness,

Phi Lambda SigmaEmilyn Garcia Cabrera,

Rho ChiDanielle Mary-Alice Cassidy,

Phi Lambda SigmaReannon Lee CastillejaElena V. ChemanaevaTin Tin Chou,

Rho ChiJennifer Ann ConnellyJerilyn Theodora CookRaegan A. CormaciKimberly Diane Crine,

Phi Lambda SigmaTina Phuong DaoKai Erik DavidsMiciah William DavisMaria Rosella Villadiego de GuzmanDiane Reddington de Sugny,

Rho Chi, Phi Lambda Sigma

Christian DeAnn Dobbs, Phi Lambda Sigma

Megan Patricia EckJessica Anne EngelbertKevin Michael FanciulliJames Hunter Farrar,

Rho ChiCynthia Louise FeisDaniel Eric FingerSean Malone Fitzpatrick,

Rho ChiKevin Michael Flynn,

Rho ChiSamrawit GhezaeJeffrey David GoldMark Bradford GoreSonya Laurice HawkinsKatherine Marie HaysDawn Margaret Hollingshead,

Rho Chi, Phi Lambda SigmaDebrah Lucille Howell,

Phi Lambda SigmaJohn Michael JofferErin Elizabeth Johnson,

Phi Lambda SigmaSarah Louise JohnsonMarivic Rimas JoseKeith Thomas KappKristen KempNafisa KhanBonnie G. LandrumJennifer Louise LarsonHien Thi LeJasmine Trang Le,

Rho ChiTram Anh LeDarryl Ross LeopoldJulia Marie LoganXiaojun Lu,

Rho ChiTaryn Leigh Lujan

Monica Ann Manatt, Rho Chi

Matt Marshall, Rho Chi

Adrienne Ann MartinTheresa Rebecca MartinEugene Alexander Medley,

Phi Lambda SigmaJessica Meier,

Rho ChiKendra Kay MessingJennifer C. Meyer,

Rho ChiKelley Christine MillerLeanne Alisa MoriAhmed Abdi MudeyRaeanna S. Nerpel,

Phi Lambda SigmaBinh NguyenLeann ThuyAnh NguyenMinh-Thu Thuy NguyenTrang Thi NguyenFeliks ObertmanAdam David OderbergAsad Mansur Omar,

Rho ChiJoy Chinwe OsualaRandall William Parish IIChristien Travers PaynterAshley Rebecca PearsonJenna Lynn PechekJon Tor PetersonTuyet-Hong Thi PhamEvelyn Phuong Phan,

Rho Chi, Phi Lambda SigmaKatherine Kristine PietzNicolas Ross PollardJessica Lynn PoussonNicole Renee RaelJeffrey R. RauberKelly Nicole Rembold

Michael Douglas RexCraig Hamilton RhodesMarcello RodriguezAicha Mouna SadellahTammy Rae SchmitzErin Sloun SchulzSheila Kay ScottStacy Ann Shadburne,

Rho Chi, Phi Lambda SigmaJelina Jayendra ShahWilliam Alan ShelverSarah Kate Shore,

Phi Lambda SigmaRebecca Ashley SimpkinsLatrena Jonell SolomonMichelle Suzanne StaskaHilda TabanElaine Karen Thannum,

Rho ChiMatthew David ThielbarBethanie Lan Tran,

Rho ChiKate Huong Mai Tran,

Rho ChiAlison Kate VetoJames Warren Vinton,

Rho ChiNicholas Michael VogelLuan Kinh VuGhadeer Walid Wahdan,

Phi Lambda SigmaJory James WendlingShaun C. White,

Rho ChiRobert Thomas Willis, Jr. George F. WissaDevelyn Denise WrightChristina Jing-Won Yu

Where are the graduatingPharmD students going?

• Total graduates – 123• 72 percent will reside in Colorado • 10 percent will enter residency programs • One graduate received a fellowship• One graduate will pursue an advanced degree• 34 percent will practice in rural or

underserved populations • 69 percent will practice in community/retail

field• 24 percent will practice in hospitals • 7 percent will practice in settings such as

managed care, public health service, and home health

ooff PPhhaarrmmaaccyy ggrraadduuaatteessdDoctor of Pharmacy, May 2007

PAGE 9Summer 2007NEWSSCHOOL OF PHARMACY

By Kenna BrunerOffice of Public Relations

Students on rotation at PorterAdventist Hospital in Denver notonly get experiential experiences atthe inpatient hospital pharmacy,the outpatient ambulatory carepharmacy and the anticoagulationclinic, but they also have the oppor-tunity to participate in innovativeand award-winning programs.

Rotations in the hospital’s twopharmacies and the anti-coagula-tion clinic familiarize students withpatient interaction, gathering med-ication information, conductingresearch and making recommenda-tions about patient care.

Director of Pharmacy at Porter,Ryan Stice, RPh, BS, ’96, PharmD,’06, implemented three new pro-grams, two of which garneredindustry awards in 2006.

Porter was selected as a bestpractice site in the Centura Healthsystem for the use of pharmacy stu-dents in a Medication Reconcilia-tion Program.

Medication errors affect some1.5 million Americans each year,according to a study by the Instituteof Medicine. One of the most chal-lenging aspects of improving med-ication safety is ensuring that accu-

Rotation site rich in opportunities to impact patient care

Carrie Dunn; Steven Weis, P4; Ryan Stice; Susan Warburton; JamieBillotti, P4; and Eric Manchester, P4.

rate information about a patient’smedications is provided to physi-cians when a patient comes into thehospital. Compiling the list of med-ications requires very specific stepsas well as clearly defined roles andresponsibilities.

In the past, nurses at Porter col-lected this information frompatients when they were admittedto an assigned unit. Stice saw thatby implementing a formal processusing pharmacists and pharmacystudents to collect an accurate listof a patient’s current medicationsand reconciling the list with physi-cian’s orders could significantlyreduce adverse drug events. Theirsleuthing may involve calling fami-lies, pharmacies, doctors and nurs-ing homes to get truly completeinformation.

“People come into the hospitaland say they take a red pill twice aday for blood pressure, but thatcould be one of a thousand possi-bilities,” said Stice. “Someone hasto track down those details. I knewthat a dedicated pharmacy teamcould do the most accurate job.”

By having pharmacy studentsgather and check medication infor-mation, they have considerableinteraction with patients and fami-ly members.

Curing epilepsy

Manisha Patel, PhD, associate professor in the Department ofPharmaceutical Sciences at the School of Pharmacy (front row,far right), served as chair of the junior investigator session atthe spring conference, Curing Epilepsy 2007: TranslatingDiscoveries into Therapies. Leading scientists, health careproviders and leaders of health organizations gathered at theNational Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD, to discusspotential targets and technologies for new therapies for epilep-sy. Pictured with her are other members of the conferenceorganizing committee and Story Landis, PhD, (second fromleft, back row) director, National Institute of NeurologicalDisorders and Stroke.

“We’ve received tremendouslypositive feedback from physiciansand nursing staff,” said Stice. “Thepharmacy students do a great job oftracking down all these details andthey produce a very accurate homemedications list that reduces med-ication errors while the patient is inthe hospital.”

Another project Stice imple-mented at Porter received aColorado Patient Safety CoalitionAward for the safe use of FentanylTransdermal Patches.

Stice and his pharmacy staff hadidentified overuse and inappropri-ate use of the potent topical narcot-ic painkiller Fentanyl. The FederalDrug Administration had issued a“black box” warning aboutFentanyl cautioning that it’s appro-priate for opioid tolerant patients,those who already are taking othernarcotic painkillers, for chronicpain that is not well controlled withshorter-acting painkillers. Thewarning, outlined in a so-called“black box,” is the most serious adrug can bear.

Pharmacy students Carrie Dunnand Wendy Johnson who were onclinical rotation at the time, con-ducted an extensive audit of the useof the medication under the guid-ance of Oncology ClinicalPharmacist Robin Mower, BS, ’93,PharmD, ’97; and ClinicalCoordinator Diana Lehmna, BS,’96. They found that surgeons wereincorrectly prescribing the patch forimmediate acute post-surgical pain.

They also learned that patientswho were opioid naïve might notbe good candidates for Fentanyland were at risk of respiratorydepression.

Based on the literature and thedata the students collected, the hos-pital’s medical executive committeeauthorized the pharmacy to step inand override physicians’ prescrip-

tions for Fentanyl and make appro-priate changes.

“The students’ work was instru-mental in getting to that point,”said Stice.

In addition to her rotation,Dunn also worked as an intern atPorter while she was in pharmacyschool. She has since graduatedand is now a clinical and staff phar-macist at Porter.

“The Fentanyl patch project wasclinically significant for patient careand to have it win an award is grat-ifying,” said Dunn, who is now aPharmD. “I absolutely love workinghere. We have a wonderful group ofpeople who make Porter a very niceplace to work.”

Students at Porter also canrotate through the outpatientAnticoagulation Clinic locatednext to the emergency departmentat Porter to help educate patientstaking the blood thinning medica-tion Warfarin (Coumadin).

Dosing of Warfarin is compli-cated because it interacts negativelywith many commonly used medica-tions as well as some foods, vita-mins, minerals and herbal supple-ments. In order to optimize thetherapeutic effect without riskingdangerous side effects, the degreeof anticoagulation must be closelymonitored. At the clinic, patientsget their blood drawn by SusanWarburton, PharmD, with pre-scriptive authority to adjust theirmedication dosage under physicianprotocol.

Stice hopes the rotations atPorter give students the opportuni-ty to put a face on the diseases theylearned about from a text book.

“I’d like students to see thatthere are alternatives other than tra-ditional pharmacy,” he said. “Ihope they have a rich experiencewith considerable patient contact.”

PAGE 10 Summer 2007NEWSSCHOOL OF PHARMACY


For a few years, our articles have mentioned that the University ofColorado Health Sciences Center is moving to a new campus at the site ofthe former Fitzsimons Army Medical Center. The Ninth Avenue campusis in the process of being sold and will be vacated by December 2008. Ourarticles have referred to the move to “Fitzsimons” as we planned our sched-ule for inclusion in the whole campus transfer. The new campus has beendeveloping rapidly and recently was renamed the “Anschutz MedicalCampus (AMC).”

This September, upon completion of construction on the educationbuildings and a faculty office building at the AMC, the School ofPharmacy’s move will begin. Small waves of Department of ClinicalPharmacy faculty members, the dean’s office and other administrative staffmembers will move in each of four months, September, October,November and December. Some staff and faculty members will commutebetween the campuses to maintain services in both locations

Student moves begin following the fall break. The P1 classes will switchto some of the AMC’s new classrooms in late October, allowing all but twomonths of their pharmacy education to take place in the new setting. TheP2 and P3 classes will begin their classes at the AMC in January 2008when all the new classrooms will be ready for occupancy.

Following completion of the second research building at the AMC, inthe summer of 2008, the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences faculty

members and all remaining administrative staff will be moved betweenSeptember and December. Finally, when the school’s own new buildingis opened in mid-2010, the faculty and staff will move again to be consoli-dated under one roof.

Stay tuned for new addresses and phone numbers, but rest assured thecurrent ones will serve without disruption for another year.

Moving to the Anschutz MedicalCampus: When and Where?

School ofPharmacy beginsmove to AnschutzMedical Campus –September 2007

P1 classes move toAMC’s classrooms– late October2007

Department ofClinical Pharmacyfaculty, dean’soffice, administra-tive staff move toAcademic OfficeBuilding 1 –September toDecember 2007

P2 and P3 classesbegin their classesat AMC – January2008

Department ofPharmaceuticalSciences facultyand remainingadmin staff moveto ResearchBuilding 2 –September toDecember 2008

Ninth Avenuecampus is vacated– December 2008

School ofPharmacy movesinto new PharmacyandPharmaceuticalSciences Building– mid-2010

September 2007 Mid-2010


By Jenni ProsserOffice of Public Relations

School of Pharmacy alumna, Hien Pham,PharmD, ’03, brings a special kind of experience toher work in the oncology department at ProvidenceHospital in Mobile, Ala. Five years ago, as she wasstarting her training rotations, Pham was diagnosedwith a form of bile duct cancer and was told that shehad six months to live.

After being diagnosed, Pham followed her par-ents’ request for her to stay in Colorado to receivetreatments and continue her education, rather thanreturning home to Alabama. She underwent surgery,chemotherapy and radiation, a process that tookmore than four months and interrupted her pharma-cy education.

Returning to Colorado this June for a visit to theschool, Pham talked about her battle with split cellcholangiocarcinoma while studying to become a pharmacist and explainedhow that experience affected her career. Working in two pharmacy satel-lites at the hospital, Pham often shares her stories of fighting cancer withher oncology and renal failure patients.

Pham attributes much of her recovery to the support she received fromthe SOP community. “My decision to stay in Colorado to receive treat-ments was the best decision I’ve ever made. The support from my family,classmates, friends, SOP faculty, and the excellent medical care I receivedhelped me to survive my cancer. Without the people and the outstandingcare I wouldn’t be who I am today,” she said.

When she had completed a large part of her treatment, she returned toschool to address her rotations and to graduate.

The experience created a bond between Pham and Louis Diamond,PhD, who was dean of the School of Pharmacy at the time. A cherishedmemory from that difficult time was when Diamond gave her brotherTuong – who was staying with Pham to take care of her during treatmentand recovery – a Blockbuster gift card “in case he got bored at home,” saidPham, illustrating how Diamond was thinking about Pham and her fami-ly, as well. Because of this, Pham started to consider him as family, “he’sbeen like a dad to me,” she said.

Diamond speaks just as highly of Pham and his time working with her.“Hien Pham was an academically gifted student and an inspiration to her

Cancer experience shapes SOP alumna’s career

Francisco Gallegos and Leland Brollier, accompanied by hiswife Gayle, received mid-day tours of the current School ofPharmacy building and its future site at the Anschutz MedicalCampus in mid-May. In addition to recalling pharmacy schoolin the last half of the 1950s, the two were taken to lunch by thedean and caught up with the current status of the school’s var-ied programs and pending moves to the new campus. Gallegosalso attended 50th reunion activities on the Boulder campuswhere he reminisced with John Wiseman during meals, toursand the Boulder campus commencement march.

Class of ’57 reunion

Health care Careers Web site launched

Western Healthcare Alliance announces a new career Web site,Rural Health Careers Colorado (www.rhcco.org). RHCCO wasdeveloped to assist rural health care providers with the recruitingefforts, and was uniquely designed to bring providers and profes-sionals together via the internet. This Web site lists clinical and non-clinical opportunities at rural Colorado hospitals, their affiliatedclinics, and other health care facilities.

The Rural Health Careers Colorado Web site offers job seekersthe opportunity to search for positions based on type of position andlocation. This site also allows job seekers to post their resumesonline, offers helpful links, and is free to use.

Hospitals across Colorado have open positions available for physi-cians, nurses, lab technicians, and more. Once placed, professionalswill discover the benefits of working in a rural community, includingshort commutes, better quality of life, and close and easy access tothe scenic outdoors.

fellow students and to her faculty mentors. We'll never for-get the courage and determination she demonstrated in con-fronting a very serious, life threatening illness during herfinal year in pharmacy school. It is gratifying beyond descrip-tion to see her looking so well today and to learn of the enor-mous success she has achieved in her personal life and pro-fessional career.”

In addition to Diamond, many students and faculty sup-ported Pham’s recovery. She talked about them visiting herat the hospital and cooking Vietnamese food for her. Theyeven opened an account under Pham’s name and donatedto help pay for her medical care and medications.

Since graduating in 2003, Pham’s professional experi-ence has included working at Kindred Hospital in Denver, aWal-Mart retail pharmacy in Alabama, and ProvidenceHospital in Mobile, Ala., where she is currently working.

The pharmacy where she works is small, only about 200patients a day with 12 full-time staff, but it allows her to inter-act with the patients. “Sometimes I stop by to see the patients

for no reason but to say ‘hi,’ especially if they’re a cancer patient,” she said. One day, she encountered a woman she knew who was a medical stu-

dent and was being treated for leukemia at the hospital. Pham related herexperience with cancer to the woman. “When I told her, she started cry-ing. She gave me a hug, and I told her to just keep fighting,” Pham said.“I was supposed to be dead four and a half years ago and I’m still alive.”

Pham is an inspiration to her co-workers at Providence Hospital andthey are quick to praise her unselfish and gentle demeanor.

“Hien brings joy and laughter to our department,” said co-worker MaryShort. “There have been numerous times she helped another employee ora patient emotionally and financially when they were in need of help. Shetruly exemplifies our hospital’s mission.”

Not just a cancer survivor, Pham is athletic and determined to stay inshape. Several times every day, she climbs the 12 flights of stairs to the hos-pital pharmacy where she works. She also goes swimming after work.

As the first person in her family to go to college, Pham’s interest in howdrugs affect the body caused her to study pharmacy. She explained howher parents’ questions about medications led her to the pharmaceuticalfield.

“They would ask, ‘my symptoms are over, why do I still have to take themedication?’ By pursuing a career in health care, I can provide advice tomy family, take care of myself and give advice to other people,” she said.

Pham also loves traveling. One of the books she owns is “1,000 Placesto See Before You Die.” Her dream is to travel the world to explore the vastbeauty and diverse cultures.

“I just live my life one day at a time and enjoy every moment I have inmy life,” she said. “To me, everything happens for a reason. That’s keep-ing me positive.”

Hien Pham (R) and a com-panion on a recent trip toEurope.


Charlie Peterson, Class of ’55,wrote to say he gave up his pharma-cy license after 48 years, but stillkeeps his hand in a real estate dealnow and then. He and Susan visitwith their three children and sixgrandchildren and maintain theirhome at 8878 Red Mountain Rd,Livermore, CO 80536. They canbe reached by mail, phone, 970-493-2151, and by e-mail [email protected] .

Leland Brollier, Class of ’57, isliving in Colorado Springs wherehe and Gayle retired in 1997. Hiscareer included retail pharmacywork, but he found his niche in thehospital pharmacy setting and con-sulting. From the Springs toBurlington, Salida and CanyonCity, to name a few, he worked inthe Colorado regions hospitals andestablished several hospital systemsas well as setting up pharmacy sys-tems for nursing homes and theirdrug therapy monitoring.Retirement allows for lots of travel-ing while taking advantage of theirtime-sharing options.

e News from Classmates fFrancisco Gallegos, Class of ’57,

is living in Denver after retiring as astaff pharmacist with the VAMedical Center. Between gradua-tion and his return to Colorado, heearned a master’s in public healthin health administration at theUniversity of California atBerkeley, in 1976.

John Wiseman, Class of ’57, isliving in Ann Arbor, Mich. He is aprofessor emeritus of the Universityof Michigan’s Department ofChemistry. His career includedthree years in public health, a PhDin chemistry earned at Stanford in1964, and a faculty career atMichigan from 1966-2001. He andhis wife Carolyn celebrated 50 yearsof marriage in 2006.

William Blade, Class of ’58,and his wife Louise are living in St.Louis. He retired as a chemist fromPetrolite, in 1997 and then frompart-time analytical lab work at JostChemicals in 2003. He tries tokeep up with new medications viathe internet. Bill and Louise have adaughter in St. Louis and a son

with his family in Chicago. He canbe reached at: 314-821-0266, [email protected] or 10 HighlandPl., Glendale, MO 63122.

Hugh Kabat, PhD, 1961, has anew address in Oregon where he’scloser to family. He may be con-tacted by phone 503-222-5242, e-mail [email protected], and4815 SW 1st Ave., Portland, OR97239.

Lisa (Kranak) Shaver, Class of’98, and her husband are pleased toannounce the birth of their firstchild, Tyson Shaver, in January2007. Lisa can be reached at: 303-949-2561, [email protected] or12656 W. Mississippi Ave.,Lakewood, Colo. 80228.

Jennifer Bingham Willis, BS’99, PharmD 2000, and her hus-band Billy had a baby girl on April4, 2007. Their first child, JessicaRaine Willis arrived at a healthy8lb, 3oz under North Carolina blueskies. Jennifer can be reached [email protected].

IInn MMeemmoorriiaamm ––The sister-in-law of James

Morgan, class of ’51, notified usthat he passed away in Septemberof 2005, in Greeley, Colo.

The widow of Kenneth LeroySkinner, Jr., Class of ’52, notifiedus that he passed away in January of2006.

A niece of Richard Hart, Classof ’52, notified us that he passedaway at his Denver home, March10, 2006. He was born inMemphis, Tenn., and earned abachelor’s degree from theUniversity of Tennessee. After serv-ing in the Army during WWII, heattended the School of Pharmacy.He remained in Colorado follow-ing graduation until his death,working primarily at the SeventhDay Adventist Hospital (MemorialHospital) in Boulder. He nevermarried, but is survived by sixnephews and nieces.

Mark Meister, one of our P2students, passed away in Marchafter a battle with melanoma.

By Jenni ProsserOffice of Public Relations

Speaking at the School of Pharmacy’s annual Marguerite C. HoldenSeminar, Bruce Berger, PhD, RPh, discussed techniques for dealing withdifficult patients in his lecture about self-deception.

Berger, professor and head of the Department of Pharmacy CareSystems at Auburn University, explained how every problem in any rela-tionship, whether between spouses, students, faculty or patients, can betraced to issues of objectification and self-deception.

Viewing a person as an object can allow us not do right thing. We thenseek justification for our actions, a process Berger refers to as self-decep-tion. Through this, we ignore reality or “become blind.” This behavior hasdamaging effects on us and others, leading to unnecessary bursts of angerand other negative actions. By becoming more aware of self-blinding andavoiding this process we can have healthier interactions with others.

Through a series of examples, Berger showed how always treating a per-son as a person, regardless of how they are acting, will save energy andimprove relationships.

Berger believes that by considering what our personal source of truthwould do in difficult situations we can find guidance needed to appropri-ately treat others. Berger cited religious beliefs as his source of truth.

He related a story of an angry student who, upset with the grade hereceived on a paper, threw the document at Berger and cursed at him.Berger explained how because of his experience studying self-deception hewas able to see that the student was stressed and not take the incident per-sonally. He then told the student he would not tolerate his attitude butwas willing to discuss the grade if he calmed down.

After explaining the concept through a number of examples like these,both hypothetical and based his own life experiences, Berger applied theconcept to the pharmaceutical field. He expressed the frustrations phar-macists may experience when patients fail to follow their medication regi-ment or other instances that may cause aggravation and how pharmacistsmust not let these issues affect the treatment the patient receives.

“If we treat our patients as objects rather than people, might we decide

Avoiding self-deception can enhance your pharmacy career

Bruce Berger (L) gave tips on handling difficult patients in hisschoolwide talk. With him are Marguerite Holden and Jack.

it means they don’t deserve as much care?” Berger asked the audience. Healso described another problem that develops through self-deception asthe concept of “boxes” or states of mind that result from not seeing a per-son as a person. Berger said he goes into his box less frequently after study-ing self-deception. However, he still occasionally visits his “I’m-better-thanbox,” which leads him to feel underappreciated and self-important. Thisprevents him from seeing the reality of a situation and having healthy rela-tionships with others.

“If I’m in the ‘I’m-better-than box’, am I open to what other peoplehave to say? Am I open to suggestion? Am I open to hearing there maybe a better way of doing this? Probably not,” he said.

Berger warns against getting stuck in the better-than box, and becom-ing blind to others’ humanity. He believes that by truly treating everyoneas a person and not an object, we all can become better people, as well asbetter pharmacy professionals.

PAGE 13


Recognizing a job well done

Pharmacy school staff enjoyed a family-style Italian feast ata luncheon held in their honor on May 4 at Romano’sMacaroni Grill in Cherry Creek. The guest of honor, Dr.Louis Diamond, spoke at the event and graciously thankedthe staff for their contributions to the School of Pharmacy’ssuccess while he served as dean.

What’s new at the School of Pharmacy? The School of Pharmacy is expe-

riencing a number of major transi-tions that will change how andwhere pharmacy education andresearch will be conducted.

In July 2006, a new chancellorwas appointed at the University ofColorado at Denver and HealthSciences Center; in December2006 a new dean was appointed atthe school, and by 2010 the schoolwill be relocated from the NinthAvenue campus into a new phar-macy building on the AnschutzMedical Campus in Aurora.

To help pharmacy studentsadjust to these transitions,UCDHSC Chancellor M. RoyWilson, MD, MS, and School ofPharmacy Dean Ralph Altiere,PhD, spoke about the changes at alecture held February 23.

The chancellor stressed thevalue of approaching pharmacy andother areas of medical research asinterdisciplinary work. As an exam-

ple, and to highlight the impor-tance of working with theDowntown Denver campus,Wilson talked about the researchsurrounding the cardiovasculardrug BiDil. Studies found that thedrug was no more effective than thestandard medication, until theresearchers looked at the partici-pants in groups rather than thepopulation as a whole. They discov-ered it was effective with theAfrican American subset and soBiDil became a FDA-approved drugas a result. This research highlight-ed the role that anthropology – afield of study at the DowntownDenver campus – should play inthe pharmacy profession.

“There’s a whole concept ofpharmacogenetics and how a popu-lations’ response to medicationsmay differ within groups. I think toreally understand, you have tounderstand the origins of people;you have to understand anthropol-

engagement in the decision makingprocesses at the school and intendsto increase involvement with theschool’s alumni.

Altiere described how all ofthese components affect the futureof the school and its role on thenew campus, while expressing hisexcitement about the transition.

The ALSAM Foundation hascommitted $10 million toward con-struction of a pharmacy schoolbuilding on the Anschutz MedicalCampus, to be completed in 2010.The building is projected to cost$42 million. Following completionof the building, the school will berenamed the Skaggs School ofPharmacy and PharmaceuticalSciences. ALSAM is the Skaggsfamily’s philanthropic foundation.Sam Skaggs has been a benefactorof the school for 18 years and pro-vided the lead gift for the currentpharmacy school building on thecampus at Ninth Avenue.

The new building will be locat-ed at the north end of the campusacross from the Colorado Science +Technology Park at Fitzsimons,thus providing unique opportuni-ties for faculty and students to workwith biotech companies in drugdevelopment.

“At the School of Pharmacy, weare in an extraordinarily advanta-geous position from which we canbridge the research that goes on atthe Health Sciences Center withemerging technologies – offeringmuch for our faculty as well as ourstudents who are interested in drugdevelopment and clinical trials,”said Altiere.

The journey ahead will be anexciting time for pharmacy studentsand faculty with new opportunitiesfor the school to continue as one ofthe premier schools of pharmacy inthe country.

ogy as well as genetics. That’s justone example of how being a con-solidated university can benefityour education,” Wilson said.

“The way we practice healthcare is going to change. It’s in tran-sition now. I strongly believe thatour academic health center can bea leader in the way that health carewill be delivered.”

Dean Altiere discussed theaccomplishments of the School ofPharmacy and its position at theforefront of pharmacy schools inthe country. He listed the impor-tant roles of the faculty on a nation-al and international scale, includ-ing writing textbooks, chairinglarge organizations and earningsubstantial grant funding.

“Every year our faculty ranksamong the top pharmacy schools inthe country and in one of the toptwo places at the Health SciencesCenter for the amount of NationalInstitutes of Health funding wereceive compared to other basic sci-ence departments on the campus,including all of those in the med-ical school,” said Altiere.

Altiere discussed the numerousachievements of pharmacy studentsand some of their achievements onboth the local community level,providing pharmacy care servicesthrough their various organiza-tions, and on the national levelthrough leadership activities innational pharmacy associations, aswell as the importance of theirinvolvement in programs in each ofthe school’s mission areas: educa-tion, research, service and clinicalpractice.

He talked about developmentsat the school from the time hejoined the faculty in the mid-1990s,and how those compare to thechanges happening now. As dean,Altiere wants to increase student

SOP Dean Ralph Altiere talks with students at a reception heldafter his presentation on transitions at the school.


Dennis Helling, PharmD, gave a school-wide presentation on phar-macists impacting patient care.

By Kenna BrunerOffice of Public Relations

How clinical pharmacists are impacting patient care was the subject ofa school-wide talk presented in April by the 2007 Dean’s DistinguishedLecturer Dennis Helling, PharmD, FCCP, FASHP.

Helling is executive director of Pharmacy Operations and Therapeuticsfor Kaiser Permanente in Denver and an adjoint professor at the School ofPharmacy. To illustrate his point, Helling gave examples from the per-spective of an integrated health care delivery system.

“One of the most important aspects of the work that pharmacists dois to help patients understand their medications and how to use them safe-ly,” he said.

Kaiser Permanente is the largest non-profit health maintenance organ-ization in the United States and serves more than 8 million membersnationwide with 500,000 members in the Colorado region.

Visionary leadership and implementation of innovative initiativestransformed the pharmacy department into a role model in pharmacypractice recognized nationally and internationally for emphasizing expand-ed roles for pharmacists.

Pharmacists at Kaiser provide clinical pharmacy expertise in a variety ofareas, including primary care, diabetes management, coronary artery dis-ease, travel medicine, infectious diseases, cardiology and rheumatology.

They function aspart of a multi-disciplinary teamconsulting indrug therapies;developing pre-scribing guide-lines; and educat-ing patientsabout their med-ications. In addi-tion to a PharmDdegree and resi-dency training,board certifica-

tion is required for clinical pharmacy specialists.In order to free pharmacists’ time for patient care, the Pharmacy

Automated Refill Center (PARC) was established in 1999. It is an auto-mated centralized refill center where 40 percent of the four million pre-scriptions at Kaiser are filled. PARC utilizes bar codes, radio frequencytransmitters and drug imaging to fill prescriptions. Pharmacists performclinical screening and provide final checks on prescriptions filled through

Many opportunities exist to profoundly impact patient care

PARC. The 10-year-old system currently fills 8,000 prescriptions in aneight-hour shift. New technology scheduled to be installed this summerwill have the capacity to fill 20,000 prescriptions in the same amount oftime.

“Because of the increasing volume of prescriptions across the UnitedStates, I can’t build pharmacies big enough or hire enough pharmacists tofill all those prescriptions the traditional way,” said Helling. “Are jobsbeing lost? No. We still need to take care of drug distribution, but by usingtechnology whenever possible, we can keep pharmacists in contact withpatients, impacting their care.”

The Clinical Pharmacy Cardiac Risk Service was developed in 1998.Twenty pharmacists care for 11,000 patients. More than 70 percent ofthese patients are less likely to die from cardiac related complications, withan annualized cost savings of $3 million from keeping patients out of thehospital with repeat heart attacks or procedures.

Established in 1996, the Clinical Pharmacy Anticoagulation Service isstaffed by 20 pharmacists managing 7,000 patients. The impact is thatpatients are 40 percent less likely to suffer bleeding, clotting or fatal com-plications; one Warfarin complication is prevented every day.

“I can assure you that patient satisfaction with these services is wellabove 90 percent,” said Helling. “Patients love being able to talk to theirclinical pharmacist. My intention today was to inspire and show you thatpharmacists can significantly impact your patients. It’s all about making adifference.”

Pharmacy students Jamela Urban and DimtriCohen attended the University of Utah School onAlcoholism and Other Drug Dependencies in June.They participated in workshops on the pathophysi-ology of addiction, chemical dependency and diver-sion among health care professionals, treatment andcounseling, pharmacy ethics and law, group therapyexperience, the 12-step recovery program, and a casestudy of a recovering pharmacist.

During the week-long school, they had the oppor-tunity to hear stories of pharmacists and otherhealth professionals who have battled the disease ofaddiction and to learn how to effectively help some-one in need.

A hurdle the two students faced was overcomingmisconceptions about the terms “abuse” and “addic-tion.” Abuse refers to intentional misuse; addictionrefers to pathological dependence, a true medical

disease. The school provided information on how to

assist pharmacists in their recovery process and waysto educate pharmacists, pharmacy students andother health care providers about chemical depend-ence.

Urban and Cohen will be sharing their newknowledge with the incoming P1 students. Theywant students to really understand what chemicaldependency is, how to recognize the symptoms andthat there is help available.

“We learned about the physiological processes ofaddiction as a disease,” said Urban. “Some peoplehave a predisposition to becoming an addict.Nobody chooses to get a disease. The skills I learnedthere gave me the support to help my patients withdrug and alcohol addiction.”

Learning about addiction as a disease

Dennis Helling is presented with a token ofappreciation for his lecture.

LaToya Jones Braun, PhD,assistant professor,Department ofPharmaceutical Sciences,and her husband Chadannounced the birth oftheir twins on May 22,2007. Finn AlexanderBraun (L) was a minuteahead and a pound heavierthan his sister MuireallBonnie Braun (R).

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