April 2025

Welcome to the next edition of the Buffalo Pharmacy Bulletin where we will continue to explore and discuss issues in health care and how we as academicians, practitioners and scientists can lead and support these issues. The Bulletin will also keep you updated on the latest school news, highlighting the outstanding work of our UB SPPS community.

“The best way to ensure we can support and mentor our future pharmacists and research scientists is to make sure we are reviewing and discussing what is currently happening in the dynamic and ever-changing world we live in.”

The central mission of higher education, particularly at research-intensive institutions such as the University at Buffalo, is the creation and dissemination of knowledge. This mission not only supports workforce development and accelerates technological innovation, but also drives economic growth for local communities and our nation. The research and scholarly activity led by faculty often involves students and other trainees as part of workforce development and provides the evidentiary basis for understanding and responding to the world around us.

We are now witnessing, in real time, the serious consequences that can arise when evidence-based approaches to health care are rejected or supplanted by misinformation. The measles virus was essentially eradicated in the U.S. 25 years ago thanks to the widespread use of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, a safe and effective measure to protect the public from a potentially deadly disease. However, years of growing skepticism and misinformation have undermined the public’s confidence in vaccines—especially the MMR vaccine—despite overwhelming scientific evidence to the contrary, which has led to declining vaccination rates in some communities.

As a result, earlier this year the Southwest experienced the largest measles outbreak in the U.S. so far this century, with more than 800 cases now reported across multiple states. The situation has been exacerbated by the promotion of certain supplements, including vitamin A, as unproven treatments for measles. Several hospitalizations of children infected during the outbreak have reportedly resulted from vitamin A overdoses.

For decades, pharmaceutical scientists (many of them faculty at UB) have been at the forefront of developing innovative strategies to prevent and treat disease while also developing the rigorous approaches necessary to evaluate the safety and efficacy of therapeutic agents. This work is a cornerstone—perhaps the cornerstone—of modern public health. Likewise, pharmacy practitioners, also long guided by our faculty’s leadership, are on the front lines of ensuring that patients, families and communities understand the best approaches to becoming and remaining healthy. This work is essential, and dismissing or minimizing it carries the risk of significant, potentially life-threatening, consequences. 

Cieri-Hutcherson examines benefits of pharmacist-administered injectable contraception

Nicole Cieri-Hutcherson, PharmD, clinical associate professor of pharmacy practice, and her research team recently conducted a systematic review examining attitudes toward pharmacist-administered injectable contraception. They found that most pharmacists, health care providers and patients considered the injectable birth control option, which has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, beneficial. The findings suggest that pharmacist-administered injectable contraception could expand access to reproductive health services and improve patient care, particularly in rural areas.

Albanese discusses weight-loss drugs on UB Driven to Discover podcast

Nicole Albanese, PharmD, grew up in a holistic household that emphasized diet over medication. Now, as a clinical associate professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice, she views medication as one piece of the health care puzzle and specializes in diabetes, obesity and nutrition. On a recent episode of UB's Driven to Discover podcast, she shares insights on everything from unexpected side effects and surprising health benefits to how these drugs work, why they’re so popular, what prevents most users from achieving long-term success, and what’s next on the horizon.

Nominate outstanding SPPS alumni for the 2025 Willis G. Gregory Memorial Award and the Orville C. Baxter Memorial Professional Practice Award. Nominations due Friday, May 2.

Join us for the Harrington Lecture on Saturday, May 3. Supported by the DeVillo W. Harrington, MD lectureship endowment at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, this series brings leading voices in medicine to Buffalo. This year's lecture, "Transforming Health Care in WNY and Beyond," is open to all UB and SPPS faculty, staff, students, residents and alumni. 

We invite our SPPS community to celebrate our 2025 PharmD and Pharmaceutical Sciences graduates and to honor our outstanding faculty, staff and preceptor award winners at our Spring Celebration: Graduation and Awards Luncheon on Friday, May 16.

Featuring our annual Comprehensive Pharmacy Law Review, a two-day program providing a review of legal issues governing the profession of pharmacy at both the federal and New York State levels. Join us live via webinar on Wednesday, May 28 and Thursday, May 29. 

Join UB alumni experts from across the globe as they share professional insights and advice during Webinar Wednesdays. Engage in upcoming webinars along with past sessions.

Show your #UBTrueBlue spirit by sharing UB Pride photos, videos and stories!

Thank you for reading our April 2025 edition of the Buffalo Pharmacy Bulletin. Please stay in touch! Send us updates on your own personal and professional accomplishments by filling out our alumni update form. 

Regards,
Gary Pollack, PhD '84
Dean and Professor