January 2024

Welcome to the next edition of the Buffalo Pharmacy Bulletin (BPB) 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 BPB 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.”

Happy New Year, everyone! 2024 promises to be interesting for our country, in so many ways, as is true every fourth year in our political cycle. Here in our school, we anticipate that 2024 will be an extraordinary year for the growth and development of our research enterprise. Since we initiated this monthly newsletter a couple of years ago, my comments have focused mostly on issues related to pharmacy education and the social compact between academic health professions and the communities we serve. This year, I plan to focus on the research conducted in our school, the impact that our current and newly arriving faculty have on their distinct disciplines, and how our infrastructure and environment will support substantial growth in our funded research portfolio.

Proud history supports new future 
As a proud UB pharmaceutical sciences PhD graduate, I am mindful of our institution’s history and of the unique place our school occupies in the development of the pharmaceutical sciences broadly and of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics particularly. When I was at the University of North Carolina (UNC), I taught a graduate course in advanced pharmacokinetics and I would always begin the semester with a discussion of the history of the discipline, including the “major gods” and “minor gods” of PK/PD. Then, as now, virtually all the luminaries of the field were either in Buffalo (Gerhard Levy, for example) or had a direct line to the program at UB (Milo Gibaldi comes to mind). In fact, I felt so strongly about my forbears, I convinced my wife we should name our firstborn son “Milo Gerhard”, although that, as they say, is another story.

Back in my UNC days, and this was more years ago than I care to admit, I listed Bill Jusko as first among the “minor gods” of pharmacokinetics. In the intervening years he has ascended the pantheon and clearly is worthy of inclusion among the “major gods” of our discipline. The Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences agrees; their current issue (referenced below) is a homage to the career and contributions of William J. Jusko as a “giant of the pharmaceutical sciences.” Congratulations, Bill! You are deserving of this honor, although the descriptor “giant” does not do sufficient justice.

As we progress through 2024, this monthly bulletin will introduce new faculty, new research successes, and new initiatives in our research and graduate education sphere. However, what makes our school unique in academic pharmacy is the degree to which our new endeavors are built upon and connected to our deep and profoundly successful history. Because my association with this great school spans the old gods and the new (with apologies to George R. R. Martin), I am acutely aware of my obligation to honor our history each time we celebrate a new success and am proud to do so.

With best wishes for a happy, healthy, and safe 2024.

Department of Pharmacy Practice recognizes faculty and staff at annual awards ceremony
The Department of Pharmacy Practice celebrated outstanding faculty and staff at their annual department awards event in December. Congratulations to the following award winners who were recognized for their teaching, research and service contributions to the department and SPPS!

• Faculty Citizenship Award: Chris Daly, PharmD, MBA

• Staff Member of the Year Award: Sarah Frontera, EdM

• Adjunct Faculty Member of the Year Award: Todd Martino, PharmD

• Faculty Service Award: Nicole Cieri-Hutcherson, PharmD

• Faculty Teaching Award: Collin Clark, PharmD

• Faculty Research and Scholarship Award: Nicholas Smith, PharmD, PhD

• Staff Citizenship Award: Kristin Gniazdowski, EdM 

• Lifetime Achievement Award: Karl Fiebelkorn, MBA

Pattin comments on FDA allowing Florida to import cheaper drugs from Canada
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a proposed plan from the state of Florida to import select drugs from Canada that are cheaper than they are in the United States. This is the first step in Florida being able to import these medications. Anthony Pattin, PharmD, clinical associate professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice, explains the appeals and challenges of importing drugs from Canada. 

Featuring our new UB Compounding Pharmacy Continuing Education Activity, which meets the new three hour NYS pharmacy CE requirement.

Show your #UBTrueBlue spirit by sharing UB Pride photos, videos and stories along with any noteworthy updates since you've graduated!

View our upcoming SPPS events!

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.

View upcoming events on the UB Events Calendar!

Thank you for reading our January 2024 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