EDUCATING LEADERS IN PHARMACY AND PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES SINCE 1886
January 2025
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.”
Welcome Back!
A warm “welcome back” to our returning students, staff and faculty—and a special welcome to those new to our school—as we brave the polar vortex gripping much of the U.S. Despite the cold, we can bask in the warmth of consecutive playoff victories by our beloved Buffalo Bills!
January doesn’t just mark the start of the spring semester; it is also a critical time for recruiting new students. Compared to many of our peer pharmacy schools, we are fortunate to continue to attract a robust pool of accomplished candidates across all our degree programs. Hearing their stories—why they chose their path, what drew them to Buffalo, and their aspirations for the future—has been inspiring and a source of optimism.
While the world around us continues to change in unpredictable ways, it is reassuring to know that our school’s legacy of producing outstanding graduates will remain strong, driven in no small measure by the caliber of the students we welcome into our programs.
Wishing you all a successful spring semester, warmer days ahead and, of course, two more wins for the Bills!
Department of Pharmacy Practice recognizes outstanding faculty and staff
Last month, our Department of Pharmacy Practice celebrated outstanding faculty and staff at their annual department awards event.
Congratulations to the following award winners who were recognized for their exceptional teaching, research and service contributions to the department and SPPS!
• Faculty Citizenship Award: Richard O’Brocta, PharmD
• Staff Citizenship Award: Kelli Cott, MA
• Faculty Teaching Award: Mary Riedy, PharmD
• Staff Member of the Year Award: Shivali Kapoor, PhD
• Faculty Community Engagement Award: Gina Prescott, PharmD
• Research and Scholarship Award: Bob Wahler, PharmD
• Faculty Service Award: Maya Chilbert, PharmD
• Adjunct Faculty Member of the Year Award: Kevin Chilbert, PharmD
Williams appointed inaugural director of legislative advocacy
Karl Williams, JD, MBA, BS ’80, has been appointed as the inaugural Director of Legislative Advocacy at SPPS, effective Jan. 1. He will also hold academic rank as a clinical professor of pharmacy practice. An alum of SPPS, Williams is a national leader in the teaching of pharmacy law and ethics.
At SPPS, he will serve as a clinical professor specializing in the ethics, law and regulation of the pharmacy profession. He will teach our school's courses in these areas, aiming to prepare our PharmD graduates for practice readiness and success on the Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Exam, while also advocating for an expanded scope of practice for pharmacists.
He will additionally serve as our school’s Director of Legislative Advocacy where he will track policy proposals and advocate for meaningful changes aimed at aligning professional pharmacy roles with the advanced level of expertise developed at SPPS. A key element of his role is to renew our Pharmacy Law Newsletter, an online website covering pharmacy practice laws in New York State.
Maloney elected Chair-elect, AACP Drug Information and Library Science Section
Molly Maloney, MLS, pharmacy liaison librarian, has been elected Chair-elect of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Drug Information and Library Science section. The section supports pharmacists, librarians and professionals involved in pharmacy education and practice by focusing on drug information, evidence-based medicine, and information and data literacy. Maloney will serve a three-year term during which she will chair the Programming and Nominating Committees and develop charges for the section.
PharmD students present research at ASHP Midyear 2024 Clinical Meeting
Our PharmD students proudly represented SPPS at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Midyear 2024 Clinical Meeting & Exhibition in New Orleans, LA, held Dec. 8-12.
More than 30 students attended to present research posters and discover opportunities for advancing their careers through postgraduate education. Our students also took part in educational sessions and networked with over 20,000 pharmacy professionals and students from around the world.
Kocher and Vu win first-place and runner-up in SPPS APhA-ASP Patient Counseling Competition
Congratulations to Amanda Kocher, PharmD ’26 and Kaitlyn Vu, PharmD ’27, for placing first and runner-up, respectively, in the SPPS American Pharmaceutical Association Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP) Annual Patient Counseling Competition!
During the competition, both students showcased strong and effective patient counseling skills.
Kocher will go on to compete against students from across the country and potentially represent SPPS in the national patient counseling competition at the APhA 2025 Annual Meeting in Nashville, TN in March 2025.
PharmD students educate local refugees on medication management
Last month our SPPS students and faculty provided healthcare and medication literacy training to newly arrived refugees in the Western New York region.
On Dec. 5, SPPS volunteers at the International Institute of Buffalo assisted approximately 25 refugees by offering education on medication management through culturally sensitive materials. Languages represented included Spanish, Burmese, Karen, Swahili and Rohingya.
SPPS covered key pharmacy topics, including the process of receiving prescriptions and medications, the importance of medications and how to use them safely. Our Refugee Medication Health Literacy Program is one of the few nationwide initiatives dedicated to educating newly arrived refugees on navigating medical health literacy in the U.S.
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SPPS Continuing Pharmacy Education Calendar
Featuring our new program, Pharmacist Dispensing of Self-Administered Hormonal Contraceptives Pursuant to the New York State Standing Order, which satisfies the NYS education requirement for pharmacists, along with home study options.
SPPS Event Calendar
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UB Event Calendar
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UB Alumni Webinars
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Thank you for reading our January 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