January 2026

Welcome to the latest Buffalo Pharmacy Bulletin. We examine key issues in health care and how our academicians, practitioners and scientists drive progress, while also sharing updates from UB’s School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences to highlight the outstanding work of our 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.”

Higher education’s mission can be stated quite simply: we develop people, and we have a positive impact on society. That’s it. While formal mission statements — ours included — are often eloquent and detailed, they ultimately distill to these two core ideas. We improve the knowledge, skills and capabilities of individuals, and we apply those capabilities to improve the world around us. There is substantial evidence documenting the value of higher education to individuals (even our federal government agrees) and to the nation as a whole.

Despite this evidence, Americans are increasingly skeptical about the value of higher education. Recent polls suggest that a majority of U.S. citizens believe the benefits of a college degree no longer justify the cost, and that higher education is heading in the wrong direction. Dismissing this sentiment risks overlooking long-term trends in public confidence in higher education, which has been eroding for quite some time.

It is past time for higher education to take greater ownership of the narrative surrounding its value. Within our school, we see every day how our work as educators improves the career prospects of our students, and how our alumni, in turn, make profound and lasting contributions across their professional lives. We see how our clinician-faculty and students improve health care here in Buffalo, and how their innovations are adopted elsewhere to advance patient care nationally. We see how the work of our research-focused faculty is translated into therapeutic advances that benefit patients around the world. We also see how our entrepreneurially minded faculty contribute directly to economic development in Western New York.

As a sector, higher education does an excellent job communicating its value in technical terms to peers and specialists. We also do a strong job explaining to prospective students why a particular institution or program is the right choice for them. What we have not done well — unlike industries such as beef (“Beef: It’s What’s for Dinner”) or dairy (“Got Milk?”) — is advocate collectively for higher education itself. That responsibility has largely fallen to individual institutions, which understandably focus on making the case for themselves.

If we are to change the narrative, we must think beyond our own walls. We need to engage the public where they are, rather than expect them to move closer to us to understand our value. It is in our collective best interest to speak plainly, enthusiastically and often about the impactful and essential role of public research universities. That goal will be my (nearly) singular focus in 2026.

Wishing you all a happy, healthy and rewarding year.

Warm regards,
Gary M. Pollack, PhD '84
Dean and Professor

Postscript: Musical coda (with apologies to Paul Krugman)

Okere and team develop AI model to predict hospitalization of at-risk cardiac patients
Arinze Okere, PharmD, MS, MBA, head of the Division of Outcomes and Practice Advancement and clinical professor of pharmacy practice, and a team of researchers have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) machine-learning model to predict hospitalization among at-risk cardiac patients. By integrating patient-reported survey data into electronic health records, the AI model identifies patients at higher risk of re-hospitalization early on and has predicted patient readmissions to hospitals within 90 days with an accuracy rate of 95%. The findings were published in the December 2025 issue of British Medical Journal Health and Care Informatics.

Department of Pharmacy Practice celebrates annual faculty and staff awards
Last month, the Department of Pharmacy Practice honored the exceptional achievements of faculty and staff at its annual awards ceremony. Congratulations to the awardees recognized for their outstanding contributions to the department's and school's missions in teaching, research and service. 

• Staff Member of the Year Award: Julia Marcotullio
• Adjunct Faculty Member of the Year Award: Kimberly (Mulcahy) Burns, PharmD
• Faculty Teaching Scholar Award: Emily Polischuk, PharmD
• Faculty Service Award: Calvin Meaney, PharmD
• Faculty Research/Scholarship Award: Ashley Woodruff, PharmD
• Faculty Community Engagement Award: Erin Slazak, PharmD
• Faculty/Staff Citizenship Award: Irene Reilly, PharmD, Holly Coe, PharmD, and Linda Catanzaro, PharmD
• Lifetime Achievement Award: Jerome Schentag, PharmD

Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences celebrates student excellence
At the end of the fall semester, the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences honored outstanding students at its annual Celebration of Student Excellence Banquet. Congratulations to all awardees!

• Graduate Scholar Award: Mfonabasi Ette, PhD student
• Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award: Priyanka Jangied, PhD student, and Sheryl Dsouza, PhD student
• Outstanding BS/BS-MS Student Award: Euibeom (Paul) Shin, MS student 
• Dr. Allen Barnett Fellowship Award: Soobin Lee, PhD student, and Xinhao Yu, PhD student
• Marilyn Morris Excellence in Pharmaceutical Sciences Fellowship Award: Vivian Xu, PhD student
• Fung Laboratory Graduate Fellowship Award: Claire Gao, PhD student, and Nicole Tran, PhD student

UB Pharmacy alumni recognized for professional excellence and service
UB SPPS is proud to announce our 2025 alumni award recipients, celebrating outstanding achievement, leadership and service in the pharmacy profession. The honorees are being celebrated for the meaningful impact of their work in clinical practice, industry leadership and service to patients, the profession and the UB community.

• Willis G. Gregory Memorial Award: Ronald Evens, BS ’69, PharmD 
• Orville C. Baxter Memorial Professional Practice Award: Alfonse Muto Jr., PharmD ’08
• University at Buffalo Alumni Association Distinguished Alumni Award: Karen Daly, BS ’80

Yafai recognized among Top 50 Most Influential Pharmacists
Sammy Yafai, PharmD ’16, MBA, Pharmacy Supervisor at NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health, has been named one of the 50 winners of the 2025 Pharmacy 50 Awards by the Pharmacy Podcast Network. This annual, peer‑driven recognition highlights pharmacy professionals across health systems, community practice, innovation and digital health whose work advances patient care, leadership and professional impact. Yafai was recognized for his leadership in patient safety, clinical excellence and pharmacy operations. He previously received the same distinction in 2023.

Join the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences for Rare Disease Day, an event dedicated to raising awareness of rare diseases through education, networking and advocacy. UB SPPS faculty and students are encouraged to participate in the networking poster session to present their research and connect with colleagues across disciplines. Register now to reserve your spot — registration is free and poster submissions are due Friday, Feb. 20. The event will take place on Friday, Feb. 27, from 1-5 p.m. on the second floor of the Jacobs School. 

SPPS alumni are invited to join the Dean's Alumni Ambassadors program and make a lasting impact on the next generation of pharmacists. Mentoring is flexible, rewarding and managed through UB's exclusive Connect-A-Bull platform, allowing you to choose a time commitment that fits your schedule.

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.

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 January 2026 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 or submitting your SPPS news, including recent research, publications and awards.

Regards,
Gary Pollack, PhD '84
Dean and Professor