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M.D./Ph.D. student hopes to apply cancer research to clinical practice

September 23, 2019

(Photo by Jehoun Allebaugh/UNC-Chapel Hill). Alison Mercer-Smith initially became interested in medicine after being diagnosed with cancer in high school and meeting other survivors. She started her research career in high school and continued during undergrad, ultimately deciding to pursue an M.D./Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “One foot in two worlds is both very challenging and very valuable,” she said. Mercer-Smith is completing her doctoral research in the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics, working with researcher Shawn Hingtgen, Ph.D. She has completed the first two years of the M.D. … Read more


UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy announces new director for its Eshelman Institute for Innovation

September 23, 2019

John Bamforth, former Eli Lilly and Company executive, will assume director role on Oct. 1  The UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy is pleased to announce that John Bamforth, Ph.D., has joined the School as director of the Eshelman Institute for Innovation (EII). The Eshelman Institute for Innovation was established in 2014 with a $100 million gift from Dr. Fred Eshelman. The Institute aims to accelerate the creation and development of ideas leading to discoveries of new medicines and technologies, and transformative changes in pharmacy/pharmaceutical sciences education and health care. Bamforth will begin in the director role on October 1, and … Read more


Monash University’s Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences visits UNC

September 19, 2019

Arthur Christopoulos, B.Pharm., Ph.D., Monash University’s Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, gave his first presentation as dean at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy on Sept. 19. Christopoulos spoke to a crowd of more than 50 faculty, staff and students on the topic of “Reciprocal relationships: The role of ‘location’ in new drug discovery.” “I am delighted to be here as a newly appointed dean. And I’m thrilled that my first presentation as dean is here at UNC,” Christopoulos said. “Every time I come here it feels like home.” Coincidentally, the day UNC Provost Robert Blouin announced … Read more


School’s Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics welcomes associate professor Juliane Nguyen, recipient of CMBE Young Innovator Award

September 19, 2019

The UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy welcomes Juliane Nguyen, Ph.D., as a new hire in the Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics. Nguyen is arriving to UNC as an experienced researcher and lecturer. After completing her Pharmacy degree in 2005 and receiving her license as a board-certified pharmacist in Germany, she earned her Ph.D. at the Phillips-University of Marburg in Germany in 2009, where she focused on drug delivery and polymer chemistry. She then worked for four years as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California-San Francisco, where she trained with Dr. Francis Szoka. She started her independent career … Read more


UNC alum reminisces on time in pharmacy school, gives back to future generations

September 13, 2019

Evelyn Lloyd ‘65, was a part of the first pharmacy class in Beard Hall at the University of North Carolina. Sitting in her family’s pharmacy store – Lloyd’s Pharmacy – on W. King Street in Hillsborough, North Carolina, she reminisced of the days she spent running from Franklin Street in Chapel Hill, to pharmacy class on the top floor of Beard Hall. The 10-minute timeframe was an all-out sprint, she said. “I only applied to Carolina,” she added with a smile. Evelyn followed in the footsteps of her father, Allen Lloyd ‘40, who earned his BS in Pharmacy from Carolina. … Read more


UNC chapters of Kappa Epsilon recognized at national convention

September 9, 2019

Both UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy chapters of the Kappa Epsilon fraternity received awards at the 52nd National Convention of Kappa Epsilon in Charleston, S.C. in late July. Kappa Epsilon is a professional fraternity for pharmacy students and alumni, with UNC locations in Asheville (Beta Mu Chapter) and Chapel Hill (Lambda Chapter), N.C. While it was originally founded as an organization for women pharmacy students, it has since expanded to be gender-inclusive, according to the organization’s website. During the convention, the Lambda Chapter won the Continued Excellence award for its long-standing commitment to leadership and service. The chapter was acknowledged … Read more


Wolcott awarded for presentation at Monash Pharmacy Education Symposium

September 6, 2019

Clinical assistant professor Michael Wolcott, Pharm.D., Ph.D., from the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and UNC School of Dentistry, won Best Oral Presentation for Educational Frameworks at the Monash Pharmacy Education Symposium in Prato, Italy. Wolcott works in both the School of Pharmacy’s Division of Practical Advancement and Clinical Education and the School of Dentistry’s Oral and Craniofacial Health Sciences. The Monash symposium is held in Italy every two years in July and features presentations on various topics within pharmacy education. His research presentation focused on his work with preceptors (pharmacists who serve as mentors or instructors in a clinical … Read more


UNC summit emphasizes leadership, resilience in pharmacy

September 6, 2019

In order to prepare pharmacy leaders for a constantly changing workforce environment, the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy hosted the inaugural Pharmacy Enterprise Agile Leadership Summit (PEALS). PEALS took place August 19-22 at the Franklin Hotel in Chapel Hill and was geared toward pharmacy enterprise leaders such as chief pharmacy officers and clinical directors. During the four-day summit, participants attended interactive workshops that tackled complex topics including team building and how to effectively lead an organization in a time of change. The convention brought together about 35 people from within the UNC system as well as others from across the … Read more


Pharm.D. students launch medication safety comic series, ‘Enox the Bear Pharmacist’

September 5, 2019

Last October, a group of Pharm.D. students received a $10,000 PharmAlliance grant — the first of its kind to be awarded to Pharm.D. students — to support a project promoting medication safety through the creation of an educational comic series. The project is a collaboration with students from the University of College London (United Kingdom) and Monash University (Australia). UNC Pharm.D. students Lauren Mozingo (PY3), Vraj Patel (PY3) and Clara Kim (PY4) led the international effort to launch the project.  The comic series, titled “Enox the Bear Pharmacist,” features a bear pharmacist counseling animal patients on various patient education topics … Read more


Propelling Into Success

August 26, 2019

In 2005, when Dr. Leaf Huang joined UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy as chair of what is now Pharmaco Engineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics, the school wasn’t ranked in the top 10. So, Dr. Huang rolled up his sleeves and got to work. By 2016, the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy had topped the U.S. News & World Report’s rankings at No. 1. “My job was to look for the right professors,” says Huang, a Fred Eshelman Distinguished Professor. “I recruited five senior faculty members within my first five years. That kind of gave us the critical mass we needed, and then we began … Read more