Ying He, Ph.D student in biopharmaceutical sciences, was selected to participate in the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists Graduate Student Symposium, held at the National Biotechnology Conference in San Francisco, in May. The program recognizes excellence in graduate education in the fields of pharmaceutical biotechnology.
Andrew Newsome, second-year pharmacognosy student, was awarded the 2010 American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education Pre-Doctoral Fellowship. The award was established to encourage outstanding pre-doctoral students to continue their studies.
Kristin Thomas, M.S. candidate in biopharmaceutical sciences, won 2nd place in the UIC Image of Research 2010 competition with her image “Water water everywhere nor any drop to drink” (see cover). The Image of Research is an annual interdisciplinary exhibit competition that showcases the breadth and diversity of research at UIC.
Caitlin Wilke, MS ’07, Ph.D. candidate in pharmacy administration, won the best student oral presentation award at the 16th Annual International Society for Quality of Life Research meeting last October. The honor is in recognition of her poster, “Comparison of Patient and Proxy EQ5D Ratings Using Parametric and Nonparametric Item Response Theory Approaches.”
Daniel Wojenski, third-year professional student, is a recipient of the 2010 American Pharmacists Association Student Leadership Award. It recognizes outstanding academic achievement and leadership ability in APhA-Academy of Student Pharmacists, who are in their penultimate year of pharmacy school, at the local, regional and national levels. Wojenski also was awarded an APhA Foundation Scholarship.
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by Sam Hostettler
ince Spring 2009, Clinical Assistant Professor and Clinical Staff Pharmacist Marlowe Djuric Kachlic, PHARMD ’05, has been inducted into Rho Chi, the academic pharmacy honor society, and Phi Lambda Sigma, the pharmacy leadership society; she also was named UIC Advisor of the Year in April for her work with the College’s American Pharmacists Association student group.
Immunizations have protected millions of people from potentially deadly diseases. College of Pharmacy students are developing new ways to vaccinate even more people. For their efforts, the UIC College of Pharmacy’s “Operation Immunization” claimed the top national award from the American Pharmacists AssociationAcademy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP) at the group’s annual meeting in Washington, DC. More than 100 pharmacy schools were represented at the meeting. The UIC students immunized and educated people at more than 150 flu-shot clinics at community pharmacies, civic centers, churches and employer sites throughout the Chicago area from September to December of last year, says Carolyn Sharpe, a third-year professional student and chairwoman of Operation Immunization. All 160 fourth-year pharmacy students became certified to provide immunizations last year through an American Pharmacists Association training program. More than 300 first- through third-year students were trained to educate patients and dispel myths about vaccinations and to assist pharmacists with immunizations. Students provided information at health fairs, elementary schools and flu clinics. The immunization events were designed to target HIV/AIDS patients, people with respiratory diseases, patients eligible to receive the human papillomavirus vaccine, the elderly and at-risk populations for H1N1 flu, says Daniel Wojenski, a third-year professional student and president of the student organization. In addition to the events students had participated in previously, such as the AIDS Run/Walk Chicago, the program was expanded to include educational booths at the American Lung Association Lung Walk, Wojenski says. To battle the hype surrounding H1N1, students staffed flu-shot kiosks at O’Hare International Airport to educate and screen travelers for both the seasonal and H1N1 vaccines. The students also developed a “Myth Busters” game to educate veterans at the North Chicago VA Hospital about the seasonal flu, H1N1 and pneumonia immunizations. The Operation Immunization campaign resulted in nearly 15,000 people being immunized, Sharpe says. More than 6,600 received health and wellness clinical services, and 106,000 were educated. Some 220 events were conducted through 15 projects by 343 student pharmacists and 17 faculty and staff who assisted. “The program requires a lot of work and time to coordinate, but our students really look forward to volunteering at the clinic sites and participating in the community events,” Sharpe says. “It was exciting to win the award to showcase our program on a national level. But our goal was to provide community outreach to educate as many people as we could about vaccinations. That is our real reward.”
courtesy of COP Advancement
RisingStarsr
Question and Answer
Operation Immunization’ claims top national prize
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When students approach me and tell me that I (in any way) influenced them—be it from a lecture I gave, a class I helped develop or just for being there for them—that’s the best reward I could ask for.”
Kachlic received her BS in chemistry from Valparaiso University in 2001 and her Pharm.D. from UIC in 2005. She completed a pharmacy practice residency with an emphasis in community care in 2006 with Dominick’s Pharmacy and UIC. She then began her position as clinical staff pharmacist at University Village Pharmacy, clinical pharmacist in family medicine at the University of Illinois Medical Center and clinical assistant professor in the College of Pharmacy. Her areas of interest include women’s health, asthma, gastroenterology, immunizations and patient education. How did you decide to become a pharmacist? I was a chemistry major in undergrad, and knew I wanted to work in health care, either as a nurse, a pharmacist or a physician. My uncle, Peter Djuric BS ’78, is a pharmacist, so I had always leaned that way because of him. I worked in the cardiovascular surgery department office at Rush Hospital during summers all through high school and early college. One summer, Andy Donnelly BS ’80, MBA ’84, PHARMD ’87 (who was at Rush back then) set up some shadowing of clinical pharmacists for me in transplant, critical care and internal medicine. After that, I knew I wanted to be a pharmacist. I couldn’t quite believe all of the things a pharmacist did! Describe your fondest memory from your days as a COP student. The best time I had in pharmacy school was when my friends and I all went to ASHP [American Society of Health-System Pharmacists] midyear in Orlando our P4 year. We somehow got nine people in a suite, went to Disney World twice and had a blast. It was at that meeting that I also pre-interviewed for the residency I ended up doing, and it felt like I had really figured out what kind of pharmacist I wanted to be. Everything fell into place at that meeting…and I got to see Mickey Mouse. What do you enjoy the most about being an advisor for a student organization? I really love getting to know the students in APhA, because I can see what type of pharmacist they’ll be beyond the classroom. I enjoy the enthusiasm they have for the profession—it re-energizes me. Describe what it was like for you to be inducted into Phi Lambda Sigma and then named UIC Advisor of the Year the following week. Honestly, my head is still spinning. This time last year, I was inducted into Rho Chi, which was an incredible honor. When I found out I was being inducted into Phi Lambda Sigma this year, I was so thrilled! When I received the e-mail about the Advisor of the Year nomination, I got choked up! I never thought of what I do as being so influential. When they announced my name at the awards ceremony (I was up against Nick Popovich, BS ’68, MS ’71, PHD ’73, too!), I felt numb with excitement! There were pharmacy students there, receiving leadership awards as well, and as the Chancellor pointed out to me—I got a standing ovation from them! I worked two jobs while I was in pharmacy school, so I didn’t get the chance to be as involved as the students I work with. Now, I have the chance to be involved, and the students are showing me that they appreciate what I do. What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced in your career? I didn’t realize how much I like to be busy at all times. This usually means taking on a million projects and tasks that need to be completed at the same time. My biggest challenge is figuring out how to clone myself. What do you find most rewarding about your work? When students approach me and tell me that I (in any way) influenced them—be it from a lecture I gave, a class I helped develop or just for being there for them—that’s the best reward I could ask for.
Third-year professional student Carolyn Sharpe (center left), Operation Immunization chair for COP’s APhA-ASP, and faculty advisor Marlowe Djuric Kachlic (center right), clinical assistant professor, receive the national 2009 Operation Immunization Award at the 2010 APhA Annual Meeting in March.
Any advice for current COP students? Get as much experience as you can while you’re a student. That may mean working in a pharmacy (or two) to see what it is you’re really meant to do. It also may mean getting involved in organizations that do outreach in the community, like APhA and several others. Make the most of your IPPE [Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience] as well as your P4 rotations. Keep an open mind about your future!
UIC Pharmacist | Summer 2010 | www.uic.edu/pharmacy | 7