Category: Featured
PharmAlliance brings global partners to Chapel Hill
June 20, 2024The UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy hosted 35 international attendees from Monash University Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and University College London (UCL) School of Pharmacy for PharmAlliance Week 2024. PharmAlliance is a strategic, international partnership between three top-10 schools of pharmacy in the world. The partnership holds an annual conference to bring new ideas, space for discussion, and opportunity for collaboration to faculty, staff and students. This year’s theme spoke to the partnership’s synergetic nature — “Collaboration Crossroads: Sharing talent, tools and techniques.” The conference kicked-off on June 16 with a reception where Dean Angela Kashuba welcomed attendees … Read more
Carolina collaboration yields next-generation medical bandage
June 19, 2024Written by Carleigh Gabryel From chronic wounds to battlefield triage to heart surgery, this self-sticking bandage is designed to adapt to any body surface, internal or external, creating a bond stronger than current FDA-approved adhesives. The applications of this innovation are detailed in Nature Communications. “Our patch mimics the skin’s expandability and flexibility, stretching as a person moves,” says principal investigator Juliane Nguyen, professor in the Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. “Normal bandages contract in one direction as they expand in another. Ours are designed to expand in both directions, preventing tissue damage and promoting … Read more
From Poland to Carolina
June 17, 2024As a global leader in pharmacy, the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy offers a unique opportunity for students to become leaders in pharmacy education and practice on a global scale. While at the School, they can choose to be part of the Global Engagement Organization (GEO), which contributes to the personal and professional development of student pharmacists as globally minded health care professionals. GEO is an umbrella organization composed of three student organizations including PharmAlliance, the Global Ambassador Program and the International Pharmaceutical Students Federation (IPSF). IPSF offers an annual Student Exchange Program and welcomes one to two students from … Read more
New digital health concepts aim to prevent overdoses
June 12, 2024Written by Logan Ward Nick Wichert, engagement manager for High Alpha Innovation, launched his team’s innovation pitch with a heart-wrenching story. His best friend’s father suffered from a heroin addiction. He got into and stayed in recovery for decades, Wichert told a rapt audience. But the social safety net his friend’s father counted on to maintain his abstinence-focused recovery frayed, and he started using opioids again. His marriage fell apart. His daughter and son — Wichert’s childhood friend — stopped talking to him. One day, his landlord found him on the floor, dead of an overdose. “I don’t tell this story lightly,” … Read more
Monash Ph.D. student enhances Alzheimer’s research while at Carolina
June 10, 2024When he’s not cycling around Chapel Hill and exploring all that North Carolina has to offer, Ethan Kreutzer can be found studying at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy as part of his Globalization of Pharmaceutics Education Network (GPEN) travel fellowship. The purpose of the fellowship, also known as The Ronald T. and Pamela K. Borchardt Travel Fellowship, is to provide an international experience for graduate students where they can learn something new to enhance their research between GPEN institutions. “In addition to learning something new, I think the opportunity to travel to another country and another institution to see … Read more
Global Pharmacy Scholars program celebrates 10 years and adds new partnership with University of Toronto
June 5, 2024Since 2014, the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy has offered international Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience sites for Pharm.D. students through the Global Pharmacy Scholars (GPS) program. A total of 248 students have added this program to their resume, with another 42 scheduled to travel in the 2024-2025 academic year. This summer marks 10 years of the program and enabling students to learn about health care issues in various countries around the world, exposing students to different cultures and health care systems, extending scholarship opportunities available to students and faculty and developing the next generation of global leaders in pharmacy. “It … Read more
PharmAlliance provides global experience for Ph.D. student
June 3, 2024Third-year Ph.D. student Ryan Woodring had never traveled internationally until attending the PharmAlliance conference in Italy in July 2023. He grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania, and his high school graduating class was 63 people. Upon graduation he was ready to explore new opportunities. This desire led him to study chemical engineering and biomedical engineering at Pennsylvania State University. Through various internships and research projects, he knew that applying his passion for engineering to health sciences was his next step. “I’ve always been interested in the health sciences space, and I had several mentors encourage me to pursue … Read more
Triangle CERSI projects include advancements in clinical trial design along with addressing gaps toward mitigating consequences of opioid use
May 29, 2024Triangle CERSI has made great progress on the first set of funded research projects, including the impact of xylazine when added to fentanyl, efforts to reduce opioid misuse and how to account for data complexities in clinical trials. Triangle CERSI, awarded to the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, is a joint endeavor that includes the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University, North Carolina State University and North Carolina Central University. It was launched in 2023 with an award from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for up to $50 million over five years and receives support … Read more
Mental Health Efforts
May 22, 2024May is Mental Health Awareness month, and the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy underscores its commitment to improve well-being and resiliency in the first priority of the BEYOND strategic plan. Here are a few recent highlights of what School faculty, staff and students have done in the mental health space: Suzanne Harris, Pharm.D., director of well-being and resilience and associate professor, and Kathryn Fuller, Pharm.D., director of experiential education and assistant professor, served as co-faculty advisors for recent Pharm.D. graduate Paula Paseiro, Class of 2024, as part of her longitudinal research project in her Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) … Read more
Recruiting students to grow the rural health care workforce
May 20, 2024Inspire, recruit, train and retain. That’s one of the goals behind the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy Rural Pharmacy Health Initiative.The initiative, launched by the School with support from Carolina Across 100, works with the School’s Pharm.D. recruitment team to attract students from rural counties in an effort to grow the rural health care workforce across North Carolina. Jana Thompson, director of Pharm.D. recruitment, and Hannah Amundson, assistant director of Pharm.D. recruitment, are typically the first faces prospective students see. “I’ve always been passionate about providing access to education to underrepresented populations,” Thompson said. “I come from a rural town … Read more