ALUMNI

Combining his passion for personal health and helping others improve their Chris Federico physical performance, URI Pharmacy alumnus Chris Federico has joined former New England Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady’s Boston Marathon team, which hopes to improve on the $125,000 it raised for the TB12 Foundation during the marathon last April.

Federico graduated from the College with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree, and developed a passion for raising awareness and delivering education related to physical fitness and nutrition. After growing up with a sibling with Type 1 Diabetes, Chris learned firsthand how access to healthcare resources can have a positive impact on an individual’s physical health and overall wellness.

The Boston Marathon is traditionally run in April each year. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the live race was cancelled in favor of a virtual race scheduled for Sept. 7-14.

Dean Paul Larrat presents pharmacy entrepreneur Susan Petrovas with the College’s Distinguished Achievement Award.

The URI College of Pharmacy honored the career of an alumna who has made a tremendous impact on health care with one of the College’s highest honors during the Distinguished Achievement Awards ceremony on Oct. 5.

Susan Petrovas ’92 is a pharmacist and entrepreneur who has created several corporate entities in her years since graduating from the College. Along with her husband, George, Petrovas founded CDMI, a successful pharmacy and medical management company, which was acquired by Magellan Health Services in 2014. The Newport-based firm provides clinical consulting programs and negotiates and administers drug rebates for managed care organizations.

“Sue is a kind, caring, generous and accomplished alum, committed to the patients we all ultimately serve,” said Dean Paul Larrat. “She has managed to blend her business and clinical acumen to improve the quality of life of countless individuals.”

Pires, an adjunct clinical associate professor at URI, is also a consultant for the 340B drug program for Soleo Health in McKinney, Texas, as well as for the American and Rhode Island Pharmacists Associations. She received the award March 12 at Seminar By the Dean Paul Larrat presents the Dr. Norman A. Campbell Award to Sea, a conference Care New England Director of hosted by the URI Specialty Pharmacy Leslie Pires. Office of Continuing Education for the Health Professions.

Pires received her Bachelor’s in Pharmacy and Pharm D. from URI, and her Master’s in Pharmacology from Northeastern University. She has worked at Women and Infants’ Hospital for most of her career, and was the longtime director of pharmacy before being promoted to pharmacy director for all of the Care New England hospitals.

The Campbell Award was created to honor those like Pires working in health care who have displayed high ethics and integrity over the course of their career.