April 17, 2006
Mary Roth, PharmD, MHS, has received the 2006 Gordon H. Defriese Career Development in Aging Research Award. The award, given by the UNC Institute on Aging, is presented each year to one UNC faculty or staff member and one doctoral student who demonstrates outstanding promise in aging research.
Roth is an assistant professor in the Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy in the School of Pharmacy and a research assistant professor in the Division of Geriatric Medicine in the School of Medicine. She has served as co-investigator on numerous aging research projects that focus particular attention to optimizing medication use in older adults with chronic diseases.
Roth recently proposed a five-year National Institute on Aging K-23 Career Development Award to create and test an innovative medication management program to improve the quality of medication use and health outcomes for older adults. The proposal, which received an outstanding priority score, couples data from a one-year cohort study with a series of qualitative studies that Roth will conduct with patients, pharmacists, and physicians. The one-year cohort study is funded by the American College of Clinical Pharmacy and will estimate the prevalence and incidence of drug therapy problems experienced by older adults in the community. Roth has also received a three-year award from The Duke Endowment to support the development and implementation of the medication management program.
Roth has made numerous aging-related presentations at national and state conferences and has been published in several journals. In addition to her classroom teaching on geriatric care, she serves as a copreceptor for the geriatric clinical clerkship for pharmacy students and a faculty adviser for pharmacy students enrolled in the UNC Interdisciplinary Certificate in Aging Program.
Roth received her PharmD and completed a pharmacy residency at the St. Louis College of Pharmacy and her master of health sciences in clinical research at the Duke University School of Medicine. She is a fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy and a member of the Phi Lambda Sigma Pharmacy Leadership Society.