A New Era

It was a tremendous honor to celebrate the naming of our school in memory of the late Alfred E. Mann in February. Throughout his life, he took on big, intractable challenges and met them with inspired solutions. He was driven by a natural curiosity, a pioneering spirit and the desire to challenge the status quo. His ultimate aim was to improve human health.

Our own parallel mission is to advance health through innovation—and transform the face of pharmacy by leading the convergence of science, healthcare and policy.

Another vitally important component of our name change is the addition of “Pharmaceutical Sciences.” The school is now known as the Alfred E. Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences—and that reflects a significant difference.

For many years, our programs have spanned the pharmaceutical continuum—from groundbreaking discoveries and novel regulatory approaches to meaningful health policy reforms and collaborations in medication management and chronic disease prevention. Broadening the school’s name more accurately reflects the breadth of our activities and the role our graduates will play in this dynamic field.

We recently hired a full-time, on-site wellness counselor to help students manage stress, build resilience and access supportive services to help them thrive. In these pages, you will also read about our inaugural Southern California Outreach for Pharmacy Education (SCOPE) Saturday Academy. Developed by USC Mann students, SCOPE mentors underrepresented high schoolers and introduces them to career opportunities in pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences.

Our faculty members continue to innovate and lead as well. Clay C. C. Wang and collaborators have created a novel method for transforming plastic trash into various useful products—including pharmaceuticals. Serghei Mangul has received a grant of more than $3.9 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand diversity in the study of human immunology. Erin Trish recently testified before a U.S. Senate committee on her research into the opaque pricing practices of pharmacy benefit managers. And Dima Qato’s interdisciplinary team has developed an interactive mapping tool that identifies pharmacy shortage areas throughout the U.S. Qato has also received a new $1.6 million NIH grant to advance equitable access to medicines.

We continue our progress on building a new South Los Angeles Pharmacy, which will eliminate a pharmacy desert near USC’s University Park Campus when it opens next year. As you’ll see on the inside back cover of this issue, we are creating a Founders Wall in recognition of our commitment to community health. Numerous generous alumni have already stepped up to be part of this initiative, and we hope you will join us.

Like Alfred Mann, our faculty, students and alumni are innovative and nimble leaders with the skills and dedication to adeptly shift focus to tackle new societal challenges as they arise. We know they will continue to be inspired by his legacy as they further his, and his namesake school’s, aim of improving human health.

Thank you for your continued partnership as we enter this new era for the USC Mann School.

Vassilios Papadopoulos, DPharm, PhD, DSc (hon) Dean, USC Mann School John Stauffer Decanal Chair

Sciences

Broad Spectrum

4 / NEW UNIVERSITY PARK PHARMACY IN THE WORKS

5 / MAPPING PHARMACY DESERTS

6 / CLAY WANG: TRANSFORMING PLASTIC WASTE

8 / HEIGHTENING AWARENESS OF OPIOID ABUSE

9 / PREVENTING HOSPITAL COMPLICATIONS

10 / CDC’S WRIGHT TO SPEAK AT COMMENCEMENT

10 / ANN YOUNG LEE JOINS BOARD OF COUNCILORS

11 / SHEDDING LIGHT ON PHARMACY BENEFIT MANAGER PRACTICES

Cover Story

12 / PASSING THE BATON: SCHOOL NAMED FOR ALFRED E. MANN

Giving

18 / USC MANN SCHOOL MARKS A NEW ERA

Alumni

20 / DANIELLE COLAYCO: COLORING IN THE LINES

21 / JACK SIMITYAN: COMBINING CONVENIENCE WITH SAFETY

22 / CLASS NOTES

Faculty

24 / MANGUL AWARDED $3.9M NIH GRANT

25 / REFORMING THE DIALYSIS MARKET

25 / DEAN APPOINTED HONORARY INVESTIGATOR

25 / NEW FACES

26 / SAVING MONEY BUT INCREASING RISK: NOACS

26 / FACULTY BOOKS

26 / CAMARERO RECEIVES LUNG CANCER RESEARCH GRANT

27 / ELUCIDATING COVID’S IMPACT

27 / QATO GARNERS $1.6M NIH GRANT

Students

28 / PERFECT BALANCE: STUDENT PERFORMS AT WHITE HOUSE

29 / REVOLUTIONIZING ADDICTION TREATMENT AND TRAINING

30 / OPENING PATHWAYS FOR UNDERSERVED STUDENTS

31 / IMPROVING WELLNESS ON CAMPUS

32 / PHOTO SHOP

IBC / SOUTH LOS ANGELES PHARMACY FOUNDERS WALL