Category: General
$27 Million in 2015 Research Funding Ranks School Second in Nation
May 17, 2016For the seventh of the last eight years, the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy ranks second among the nation’s pharmacy schools in total research funding at nearly $27 million, according to data compiled by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. The School had 49 funded investigators who received $26,896,175 in awards from all funding sources in fiscal year 2015. The School’s research funding has more than doubled since 2007, the last time the School was ranked lower than number three. “The growth and strength of our research enterprise reflects our commitment to accelerating needed changes in health care, education … Read more
Promise of Almost a Year More of Life for Targeted Drug Not Reality for All Liver Cancer Patients
May 16, 2016For advanced liver cancer, there’s a single approved drug shown to offer patients a chance at longer life. But a new study by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers found that this drug was notably less effective in a group of Medicare patients who likely had more extensive cancer and serious liver disease than patients included in clinical trials. In the journal the Oncologist, researchers report that the median survival for a group of Medicare patients on the drug sorafenib was three months, which is significantly lower than the median survival of nearly 11 months for patients treated … Read more
Students Select 2016 Best Instructors, Anksorus Tops Overall
May 16, 2016The Doctor of Pharmacy classes at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy selected their favorite instructors for this past year. The winners were presented with an instructor of the year award at the 2016 annual Awards Ceremony held April 24. The overall and the PY3 instructor of the year is Heidi Anksorus, Pharm.D. The PY2 instructor of the year is Robert Shrewsbury, Ph.D. The PY1 instructor of the year is Michael Jarstfer, Ph.D. The experiential faculty member of the year is Josh Guffey, Pharm.D. Heidi Anksorus Anksorus is a clinical assistant professor in the Division of Practice Advancement and Clinical … Read more
Hollis and Sauls Win 2016 Paoloni Preceptor Awards
May 13, 2016Ian Hollis, Pharm.D., and Amy Sauls, Pharm.D., were awarded Claude Paoloni Preceptor of the Year Awards at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy 2016 Award Ceremony on April 24. The awards are given annually to the School’s top health-care-systems and community-pharmacy preceptors and were created by the Paoloni family in memory of their father, Claude Paoloni, in recognition of his years of service to the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. Kim Leadon, M.Ed., director the Office of Experiential Education, presented the awards to Hollis and Sauls, who were selected by the graduating Pharm.D. class for their outstanding contribution to the … Read more
Pharmacists Missing Chance to Counsel Children, UNC Study Finds
May 12, 2016Children receiving a prescription medication should be counseled directly by a health care professional, recommends the Institute of Medicine and United States Pharmacopeia. But that’s not happening, according to a new study led by the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. Pharmacy researchers observed 97 families pick up 116 prescriptions for children at three community pharmacies over a two-week period. Two-thirds of the time, the child was not present when a parent or caregiver picked up the prescription. Pharmacists counseled the child’s caregiver 20 percent of the time but never counseled the children separately. Children and caregivers were counseled together twice. … Read more
LaBianca Wins 2016 Student Burrus Award
May 5, 2016Rachel LaBianca was awarded the 2016 Samuel B. Burrus Family Award for community service at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy 2016 Award Ceremony on April 24. The Burrus award is presented annually to a graduating student of the school who exhibits outstanding and unselfish civic, community or church volunteer service outside the scope of regular pharmacy practice. “I am honored to have been selected as the recipient of the Samuel B. Burrus Award for Community Service, and I look forward to continuing to serve those around me throughout my pharmacy career,” LaBianca said. “It is the unmatched excellence of … Read more
Mollie Scott Named ASHP Fellow
May 2, 2016Mollie Scott, Pharm.D., has been named a fellow of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists in recognition of the excellence she has achieved in pharmacy practice. Scott is the School’s regional associate dean for the Asheville satellite campus and a clinical associate professor in the Division of Practice Advancement and Clinical Education. “Mollie is most deserving of this recognition. She has been a leader in ambulatory care practice and has played an important role in promoting provider status for pharmacists. She has also served in leadership positions both on a state and national level,” said Pam Joyner, Ed.D., M.S.Pharm, executive … Read more
Costs for Orally Administered Cancer Drugs Skyrocket
April 28, 2016New cancer drugs taken in pill form have become dramatically more expensive in their first year on the market compared with drugs launched 15 years ago, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study has found. The findings call into question the sustainability of a system that sets high prices at market entry in addition to rapidly increasing those prices over time. The researchers report April 28 in JAMA Oncology that a month of treatment with orally administered cancer drugs introduced in 2014 was, on average, six times more expensive at launch than cancer drugs introduced in 2000 after … Read more
K.H. Lee Receives Hong Kong Baptist University Award for Advancing Chinese Medicine
April 22, 2016Kuo-Hsiung Lee, Ph.D., was chosen to receive the Third Cheung On Tak International Award for Outstanding Contribution to Chinese Medicine from Hong Kong Baptist University’s School of Chinese Medicine. Lee is the Kenan Distinguished Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and director of the Natural Products Research Laboratories in the School’s Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Cheung On Tak Award is given every two years to scientists and scholars with groundbreaking and internationally recognized achievements in advancing the internationalization of Chinese medicine or … Read more
School Celebrates Number One Ranking by U.S. News
April 5, 2016UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy held a press event on Wednesday, March 30, to celebrate its number one ranking by U.S. News & World Report in the 2017 edition of America’s Best Graduate Schools. Chancellor Carol L. Folt, Ph.D., hosted the event with Dean Bob Blouin, Pharm.D. and Fred Eshelman, Pharm.D., who spoke and gave interviews to the media. Eshelman is a 1972 graduate of the School, founder and former CEO of PPD, Inc. and founding chairman of Furiex Pharmaceuticals. He has contributed nearly $140 million to the School since 2003, including a historic $100 million gift in 2014 — … Read more