Category: News
Women Who Make an Impact – UNC Pharmacy Perspectives
March 1, 2023Throughout the month of March, the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy will be highlighting stories from students, faculty, staff and alumni about women at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy who have made an impact in their lives. This week, we spoke to Suzanne Harris, Emma Ives and Devika Manickam. Suzanne Harris, Associate Professor, Director of Well-being and Resiliency Where are you from? Austin, Texas What UNC Pharmacy woman has made an impact on you? From early in my career as a clinical pharmacist to later in my career as I transitioned to full-time faculty at the UNC Eshelman School … Read more
Ninth annual Asheville Summit dives deeper into DEI topics in pharmacy and health care
February 28, 2023With a focus on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), this year’s Asheville Summit challenged attendees to provide equitable care for all. “We all left the Summit challenged to go out in the world and be active participants in our relationships, workplaces and classrooms. We were reminded, it is not enough to be “anti-discrimination” – we must stand against injustice and inequity when we see it. Our speakers armed us with facts, experiences and connections to help us in our charge,” said Karen Hughes, associate director of student affairs. The UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy hosted the ninth annual Asheville Summit … Read more
Duke Endowment Grant to Support Pharmacist-Provided Contraception
February 27, 2023UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy Regional Associate Dean Mollie Scott has been awarded a $705,000 grant from The Duke Endowment to support the implementation of pharmacist-provided hormonal contraception across the state of North Carolina. Unintended pregnancies are a significant public health concern that increase health care costs, medical complications, mental health concerns and negatively impact women and families. This project seeks to decrease unintended pregnancies by increasing access to effective contraceptives. “I am very excited to begin this work and am thrilled that we received funding from The Duke Endowment,” said Scott, an associate professor in the Division of Practice … Read more
UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s Student Senate Hosts First-Ever Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Week
February 23, 2023The inspiration for the inaugural Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Week, hosted by the Student Senate DEI Committee in partnership with other campus and pharmacy organizations, came from a desire to provide a holistic view of how pharmacists can effectively care for patients by considering all dimensions of a person’s identity. “We envisioned that DEI Week would open discussions about how words, actions and gestures impact relationships with patients and colleagues,” said Yuki Yang, Pharm.D. candidate and member of the Student Senate DEI Committee. A notable speaker line-up explored various DEI topics such as Race, CDK and eGFR, Access … Read more
Researchers find pharmacists are willing to provide potentially lifesaving fentanyl test strips
February 20, 2023As fentanyl-related overdose deaths are on the rise in North Carolina and across the country, a new survey by UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy-affiliated and community-based researchers found North Carolina pharmacists are willing to sell fentanyl test strips (FTS) to help reduce the risk of overdoses. FTS have been shown to reduce overdose deaths and are a recommended harm reduction tool. The survey, conducted by Grace Marley, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy Pharm.D. candidate, Bayla Ostrach, Ph.D., M.A., C.I.P., a community-based applied researcher and UNC Research Affiliate in the UNC School of Medicine, and Delesha Carpenter, Ph.D., M.S.P.H., associate professor … Read more
First in Venture Studio Takes Aim at the Opioid Crisis
February 20, 2023An eight-month collaboration to bring digital health solutions to market reaches a milestone with Pitch Day Rob Kimball, a Director with High Alpha Innovation, sums up what the company does in one sentence: “We co-create advantaged startups that solve compelling problems.” He goes on, “This is the hardest, most compelling problem that we’ve ever had to point our toolset at.” Rob is referring to the opioid crisis. Each year in the United States, opioid use disorder (OUD) costs the country over $140 billion in hospitalizations, medical costs, criminal justice costs, and loss of productivity. This is on top of the … Read more
Mr. and Mrs. Doctor Rodgers
February 15, 2023A love story that began in pharmacy school and continues here today It was late August, 1993 and classes were just beginning for the year at the UNC School of Pharmacy. Jo Ellen Baldwin was in the last year of her BS in Pharmacy program and trying to get a jump start on her PharmD degree by taking a couple PharmD courses, including stats. Also in the stats class was Phil Rodgers, who had just returned to the School for his PharmD after having attained his BS degree here a year prior. This is how the couple, affectionately known today … Read more
What Does Black History Month Mean to You? Part 2 – UNC Pharmacy Perspectives
February 8, 2023Throughout the month of February, the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy will be highlighting perspectives from students, faculty and staff on what Black History Month means to them. This week, we spoke to Tatiana Hines, Ronny Bell and Brian Lawrence. Tatiana Hines, Student, PY4 Where are you from? Sicklerville, New Jersey What does Black History Month mean to you? Black History Month means celebration and acknowledgment of the accomplishment of oftentimes unsung Black figures. Without the talent, discoveries, and intellect of many, we would not be where we are today as a society. It is also a reminder to Black … Read more
Kristy Ainslie receives $3.2 million from NIH to develop new vaccine
February 6, 2023The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy Professor Kristy Ainslie, Ph.D., chair of the Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics with a five-year grant to develop a new vaccine to treat orthopoxviruses. The NIH is providing over $3.2 million dollars of funding toward Ainslie’s project “Mechanistic evaluation of mast cell agonists combined with TLR, NOD and STING agonists.” Orthopoxvirus is a genus of virus that include smallpox and other animal pox like monkey pox and rabbit pox. The current vaccine is a live virus, which cannot be given to people with a weakened immune … Read more
What Does Black History Month Mean to You? – UNC Pharmacy Perspectives
February 1, 2023Throughout the month of February, the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy will be highlighting perspectives from students, faculty and staff on what Black History Month means to them. This week, we spoke to Dean Angela Kashuba, Ashley Addison and Tazche Turner. Angela Kashuba, Dean of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy Where are you from? Toronto, Canada What does Black History Month mean to you? Black history is exquisitely linked to our campus, and our school. For me, Black History Month is an opportunity to recognize, appreciate, and be grateful for the incredible contributions that Black Americans have made. It’s a … Read more