In May, the school hosted four candidates for the opportunity to become our 10^th Dean.  The candidates are:

Curtis Haas, PharmD: Director of Pharmacy, University of Rochester Medical Center.

James Halpert, PhD: Professor and Associate Dean for Scientific Affairs, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego.

Judy Bolton, PhD: Professor and Head, Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, University of Illinois at Chicago.

James O’Donnell, PhD: Assistant Dean for Research, School of Medicine and Assistant Vice President for Research, West Virginia University Health Sciences Center.

UB Leadership is reviewing all feedback and hopes to announce a finalist by early summer.  Additional information on these candidates and the search process:

Marilyn Morris, professor of pharmaceutical sciences, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, has been elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science.

AAAS elected Morris for “distinguished contributions to the field of pharmaceutical sciences in the area of membrane transport and its influence on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of drugs.”

Her research focuses on the membrane transport of drugs and the use of membrane transporters as therapeutic targets. She has published extensively on renal transport, hepatobiliary transport and hepatic clearance models, ATP-dependent binding cassette and monocarboxylate transporters.

She is a fellow of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) and serves as AAPS president-elect.

A 2006 recipient of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award in Excellence for Research and Creative Activity, she also served as associate dean for graduate and postgraduate education in UB’s Graduate School from 2006-12 where she established the Office of Postdoctoral Scholars. Click here to view the full article.

The Student Chapter of the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists hosted a ‘senior’ prom at the Bassett Park Manor Assisted Living Facility in Williamsville on April 26^th.  A DJ, champagne and appetizers were provided for the residents.  UB’s Sub Board provided funding for the event.

The Third Annual Spaghetti Sauce and Meatball Competition and Dinner, sponsored by the Rho Chi Honor Society, was held April 17^th in Kapoor Hall.  Faculty, staff, and local restaurants contributed sauce and meatballs to the competition.  The event was attended by over 50 people and all enjoyed a delicious spaghetti dinner!

The winners of the 2013 Spaghetti Sauce and Meatball Competition:

Sauce Winners:

1^st  Place               Patricia Burch, staff

2^nd Place               Jean Costanzo, staff

1^st Place, Corporate Entry:  Chef’s Restaurant

Meatball Winners:

1^st  Place               Patricia Burch, staff

2^nd Place              Julia Kuroski (P3)

1^st Place, Corporate Entry: Tony Rome’s Restaurant

Elizabeth Lakota‘15 will attend the 14th Annual Cardinal Health Student Leadership Conference.  The conference provides a forum for the future leaders of pharmacy to develop leadership skills while interacting with their peers from over 25 colleges of pharmacy.

Phi Delta Chi hosted their second annual "Raffles for Hope," a benefit for Wings Flights of Hope, April 28^th at the Depew Polish Falcons Club. A wide variety of baskets, a 50/50 raffle were auctioned and an IPod Nano door prize was given away. $5,000 was raised from the event, with all funds going to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

On April 1^st the Pharmacy Student Lounge was transformed into Little Polonia as P1s pulled out squirt guns and pussy willows for a Dyngus Day celebration, a Buffalo tradition. The event raised funds for the spring Halfway Gala and featured many Polish delicacies. Event sponsors included: Redlinski Meats, Chrusciki Bakery, and Ace Flag. $150 was raised and 500,000 calories were ingested. Many thanks to the generous event sponsors and student organizers: Czas Zabawy and Andy Mocny, Class President.

Congratulations to Kathryn Dixon for her receipt of the 2013 Gumtow Award.  The award is given to a pharmacy student with the highest weighted average in PHM 531 and 532.

David Huoh was the recipient of the 2013 UB Western New York Prosperity Scholarship Program. The program is for entrepreneurial and civic-minded students at the University at Buffalo who are preparing for careers that further economic development and growth in Western New York.  Read more.

Congratulations to Kristin Hart who was chosen for the Rite Aid Corporate Internship program that gives student the opportunity to learn more about the pharmacy business by working on teams and with executives from departments which correspond directly with the pharmacy business.  Only ten students nationally are chosen for this program.

Congratulations to Lindsey Feuz ’14 for her receipt of the 2013 Donald Arthur, Sr. Entrepreneurial Scholarship in Pharmacy which is given to a student who has shown interest in independent pharmacy ownership.  Lindsey was also chosen for a 2013 Veterans Affairs Learning Opportunities Residency (VALOR) at the Buffalo Veterans Affair Medical Center.

Jennifer Wiafe, ’15, a 2013 Daniel Acker Scholar, will be the featured alumna for the month of June on the Yale University’s Summer Medical and Dental Education Program (SMDEP) website. Jennifer attended the program in 2011 and was selected for the SMDEP spotlight based upon her academic and career progress since completing their program. Read More.

Congratulations to Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) student chapter leaders Mahsa Salsabili, President, and Cody Vandervort, Treasurer, for receiving Member of the Year’s award. The UB Student Chapter also received spotlight recognition from the AMCP.  Read More.

In March, Lambda Kappa Sigma partnered with Weinberg Campus Retirement Community for a "Spring into Health" wellness clinic event for residents their families.  Bone density and blood pressure screenings as well as OTC counseling were available.  Pharmacy preceptors were: Drs. Irene Hong, Christopher Sherrow ‘12 and Jason Hou’12.

Congratulations to all the participants of the 2013 SoPPS Student Poster Day.  The quality of all the presentations were deemed as excellent by the faculty reviewers.

Winners of the Pharmaceutical Sciences Undergraduate Poster Presentations:

1st Place:  Sophia Elie (Balu-Iyer lab)
2nd Place:  Brittany Walker (Balthasar lab)

3rd Place:  Sangwon Min (Yu lab)

Winners of the PharmD PHC Research Track Poster Presentations:

1st Place:  Erik Hefti (Blanco lab)

2nd Place: Jeff Hui (Blanco lab)

3rd Place (tie):  Jamie Chin (Ramanathan lab) and Kayla Maxwell (Mager lab)  

On April 16^th over 20 pharmacy students traveled to Albany for ‘Pharmacy Day.’ Students were guided through the capital by Dennis Galluzzo ‘76, Tammie Lee Demler ’92 ’02, Steve Giroux ‘81, Jim Walsh ’04, and Todd Martino to the offices of many New York State senators and assembly members. Students had the opportunity to talk about health care issues such as Collaborative Drug Therapy Management (CDTM) and broadening the scope of pharmacists providing immunizations. Read More

Gene Morse, professor, pharmacy practice and Cara Felton, research assistant professor, pharmacy practice presented virtually at the 10th Annual HCV DrAG meeting. Their Presentation "Translational Pharmacoinformatics: Developing an Integrated Central Resource for Planning HCV Drug Interactions Research" was part of the conference session on Pharmacokinetics and Drug Interaction Studies.  Read More.

Congratulations to Alice Ceacareanu, assistant professor, pharmacy practice, on her receipt of a 2013 Faculty Research Award from the UB Institute for Research and Education on Women and Gender. Read more.

Congratulations to William Jusko, chair, department of pharmaceutical sciences, on his receipt of the 2013 Sheiner-Beal Pharmacometrics Award from the American Society of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Read more.

In March, New York State Senator Mark Grisanti was joined by Bianca Weinstock-Guttman, MD UB professor of neurology and Murali Ramanathan, professor of pharmaceutical sciences to advocate for funding by the State to maintain and expand the New York State MS Registry and the New York State MS Consortium.  Murali was also a featured guest on WGRZ’s 2 Sides program, where issues concerning MS were discussed.  Read More.

On April 18^th students, faculty, and staff were invited to share photos depicting a day in the UB School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Over 40 submissions were received via the school’s Facebook site where voting took place. Congratulations to student contest winners: Peter Bloomingdale, MS Pharmaceutical Sciences, Jamie Chin ’13 PharmD, Kayla Amuki Lien ’13 BS Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sarah Lynch ’15 PharmD, Jovin Panthapattu ‘16 PharmD (3 winning photos), and Gurkishan Singh, PhD Pharmaceutical Sciences! Each winning photo was awarded $25.00 in Campus Cash and was displayed on the digital screens in Kapoor Hall. The SoPPS Alumni Association sponsored the contest.

On April 25th the Department of Pharmacy Practice held its 10^th Annual Resident Project Presentation Day in Kapoor Hall.  Thirty nine residents from UB, University of Rochester Medical Center, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Kaleida Health System, Upstate Medical University Hospital, Veterans Affairs Medical Center of Buffalo, and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center of Syracuse participated.

2013 Winning Presentations:

Dr. Mason Bucklin- PGY2 Emergency Medicine Resident- URMC (Program Director- Dr. Amber Crowley)

Dr. Laura Jones- PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Resident- URMC (Program Director- Dr. Linda Thomas)

Dr. Eric Kanouse- PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Resident- URMC (Program Director- Dr. Linda Thomas)

These residents also presented their projects at the Eastern States Conference 2013

The school was proud to recognize alumni, faculty, staff, and students with honors and awards at our Annual Awards Ceremony, April 18th at UB’s Center for Tomorrow. With over 100 guests looking on, our award winners were honored for their contributions to the school, the profession of pharmacy, and the pursuit of scholarly achievements.

Willis G. Gregory Memorial Alumni Award
Carol Gloff, BS '75

Orville C. Baxter Memorial Professional Practice Alumni Award
Curtis Haas, PharmD ’89

Daniel H. Murray Memorial Professional Development Award
Christine Trezza ‘13

SoPPS Teacher of the Year Award Finalists
Nicole Albanese, Jack Brown & Kathleen Tornatore ‘81

SoPPS Staff Member of the Year
Michele Bewley

United State Public Health Service Corps Excellence in Pharmacy Practice Award
Jamie Chin ‘13

APhA-ASP National Patient Counseling Competition Award

Zubair Afzal ‘14

ASHP Clinical Skills Competition Award

Jamie Chin ’13, Michelle Mancuso ‘13

NCPA Pruitt-Schutte Student Business Plan Competition Award

Georgia Di Fiore ’14, Kristin Martinez ’14, Samantha Mattinson ’14, Stefanie Wiegand ‘14

MEDISCA Student Pharmacist Compounding Competition

Ian Bader ’15, Georgia Di Fiore ’14, Lindsey Feuz ’14, Kristen Mazurkiewicz ‘14

The school's student leaders, Gregory Society members, preceptors, and Dean's Ambassadors also were recognized. The school congratulates all our award recipients and special recognition attendees!

On May 11th, the school recognized the achievements of 137 PhD, PharmD, MS and BS students at our annual Commencement Ceremony.  Dean Wayne Anderson was the key note speaker and offered comments and advice based on his many years of service to the school as dean as well as a faculty member. Dr. Jack Brown, clinical assistant professor was announced as the 2013 Teacher of the Year.

The Class of 2013 was the first class to graduate as residents of Kapoor Hall and also the first school class to graduate from UB’s Center for the Arts.  We wish all graduates good luck and our best wishes as they begin new careers paths and future opportunities!  Commencement Video:

Congratulations to Jinhee Park for being selected as an intern in the highly competitive pharmacy internship program at The Johns Hopkins Health System.  Only 15 students are chosen nationally for this eight-week program.  Interns shadow pharmacists in a variety of clinical and non-clinical settings throughout the health care system and participate in quality control and safety checks of the surrounding pharmacy systems.  

Congratulations to Zubair Afzal for his Top 10 placement in the 2013 American Pharmacists Association Academy of Student Pharmacists 2013 National Patient Counseling Competition.  The competition is designed to reflect changes that are occurring in practice, to promote and encourage further professional development of the student pharmacist and to reinforce the role of the pharmacist as a health care provider and educator.  Read More

Congratulations to Jamie Chin and Michelle Mancuso for their Top Ten Placement for the American Society of Health System Pharmacists 17th National Clinical Skills Competition.  Students demonstrate their skills by assessing patient information and current therapy, identifying and prioritizing drug therapy problems, identifying treatment goals, and recommending a pharmacist’s care plan.  Read More

Congratulations to Alexa Keller who's master’s thesis was selected by John T. Ho, UB vice provost for graduate education and dean of the Graduate School, for nomination as the best master’ thesis of the Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools.  Alexa’s thesis was chosen from all of the master’s theses submitted last year at UB. Read More

Congratulations to Lindsey Feuz for her receipt of the UB Alumni Association's Alumnae Scholarship. This scholarship is given to female students for their academic and extracurricular accomplishments.  Lindsey was nominated for this scholarship by the school's alumna, Carol Gloff, ’75. Read More

Dr. William Jusko, SUNY Distinguished Professor and Chair, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences was invited to South Korea for a series of scientific lectures, including the Plenary Lecture for the 2012 International Conference of the Korean Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology.  During his visit, he lectured at various health-care and research institutes.