FACULTY FOCUS
Faculty Welcomes New Faces... MICHAEL LIU, PHARMD Michael Liu, PharmD, joined Touro in 2020 as assistant dean of clinical and professional affairs, a new position, and as associate professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice. Dr. Liu has extensive experience as a frontline clinical pharmacist with all aspects of adult critical care medicine, managerial clinical pharmacy and pharmacy residency programs for health systems. He came to Touro from Yale New Haven Health, where he led the establishment of new pharmacy services through successful execution of business plans with C-suite. Dr. Liu earned a PharmD from Long Island University and completed his PGY-1 and PGY-2 residencies at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center in New York City. A recipient of numerous honors and awards, his research focus is on health economics.
ELIZABETH J. UNNI, PH.D., MBA, B.PHARM Elizabeth J. Unni, Ph.D., MBA, B.Pharm joined TCOP in 2019 as associate professor and chair of the Department of Social, Behavioral, and Administrative Sciences, after a decade at the Roseman University College of Pharmacy in Utah. Dr. Unni is an engaging teacher and ardent researcher. Her research interest is in health services, and includes medication adherence, patients’ beliefs in their medicines and illnesses, health literacy and self-efficacy. Dr. Unni’s interest lies in developing theoretical models and measures that explain medication adherence based on psychosocial variables. She has published widely and has made numerous presentations both nationally and internationally. Dr. Unni is a firm believer in collaborative leadership, and enjoys working with different stakeholders to serve the students, the College, the University and the pharmacy academy.
JENNA BLOEMER, PHARMD, PH.D. Jenna Bloemer, PharmD, Ph.D., is a pharmacist and pharmacologist from Alabama who joined the Department of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences in November 2019. After completing her Doctor of Pharmacy in 2016 at Auburn University, she worked as an ambulatory care pharmacist while pursuing a Ph.D. in neuropharmacology at Auburn, which she completed in 2019. Dr. Bloemer enjoys teaching PharmD students in the classroom, laboratory and in clinical settings. She is passionate about teaching, inspiring curiosity and linking basic science concepts to clinical practice. Dr. Bloemer’s clinical specialty is ambulatory care and her research interests include neuroendocrinology and neuropharmacology, molecular mechanisms of memory impairment and prenatal exposure to psychoactive substances. She is the recipient of the Touro College & University System 2021 Presidential Research Development Grant to investigate alterations in the brain related to Alzheimer's disease.
22
TOURO COLLEGE | DEAN’S UPDATE