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Pittpharmnews Fall09 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH SCHOOL OF PHARMACY PITTPharmaFALLc 2009y DEAN’S SCHOOL OF PHARMACY MESSAGE LEADERSHIP Dean Patricia D. Kroboth, PhD Dear Friends, Senior Associate Dean Randall B. Smith, PhD As I write this letter, I am taking a break from the “i-dotting and Associate Dean for Education t-crossing” for the School’s Self-Study Report to the Accreditation Susan M. Meyer, PhD Council for Pharmacy Education—a report that the School prepares in anticipation of the site visit. Associate Dean for Business Innovation Gordon J. Vanscoy, PharmD, MBA Most of us have probably been amazed by our personal or profes- sional accomplishments when we have taken a retrospective view of Assistant Dean of Students the past year. I take pleasure each year in the School’s annual report that Sharon E. Corey, PhD shows the marvelous cumulative effect of simply doing our work one day at a time. A seven-year retrospective is quite another story. Assistant Dean for Business and Finance Gary Haberle The ink is now drying on one of the final documents in the report: the Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs summary of progress and changes since the last accreditation site visit in Denise L. Howrie, PharmD 2002. The changes are remarkable. Chair To put 2002 in perspective, Dr. Randy Juhl had just been named vice Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences chancellor; I was the newly named interim dean. As the School evolved, Barry Gold, PhD we chronicled some of the changes in the Pitt Pharmacy News. Beloved faculty have retired or moved on to new opportunities; new Chair faculty have joined us, bringing with them expertise and excitement for Department of Pharmacy and Therapeutics their disciplines. Robert J. Weber, MS We have initiated closed-file standardized interviews for applicants Director of Experiential Learning and to the PharmD program and established the Curran Center for Pharmacy Continuing Professional Development Students to make it easier for our students to access staff assistance. James J. Pschirer, PharmD Director of Student Services Faculty members have incorporated human patient simulators (lifelike mannequins), standardized patients, and interactions with real patients Marcia L. Borrelli into courses. Students have their own remotes for the personal audience Director of Space Management response system (as in the “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” poll-the- and Departmental Budgets audience technique) so as to facilitate classroom engagement. Janie L. Bradish Continuous quality improvement is embedded into the culture of the Director of Finance and Administration School—and also into the curriculum. Through systematic course reviews Kellie A. Mitchell, MBA and periodic thematic reviews of specific curricular themes, faculty members identify opportunities for meaningful change. Database-driven Director of Development curricular maps facilitate the reviews. As a result, the faculty has the tools Lawton Snyder, MS, MBA to make deliberate, thoughtful analyses to strengthen and enhance the Director of New Media curriculum. Thomas Waters Likewise, the School’s resources have increased. The School’s total Director of Communications budget has increased 1.4-fold since 2002. In that same timeframe, thanks Jan K. Shaw to your generosity, the endowment to support scholarships and the work of the faculty has more than doubled, with a current book value of more than $13 million. Managing Editor Jan K. Shaw When the University began tracking alumni engagement with the Contributing Editors Barbara Belardi School and University, our School ranked #1 in two of the three years of Graham Ciraulo the ranking; we ranked second in the other year. Laraine Kuchma While few of you will have engaged in the work of assembling the Lawton Snyder School’s Self-Study Report, all of you have had a role in shaping the tradi- Thomas Waters tion of excellence, innovation, and leadership that is evident in the report. Writing, editing, Department of and production University Marketing Thank you. services Communications Niki Kapsambelis Graphic Designer Jon Young PITTPharmacy is published twice a year by the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy. P.S. I invite you to take a look at the Self-Study Report: www.pharmacy.pitt.edu/about/pubs PITTPharmacy 2 Graduating students Shannon McLaughlin and Katherine Bacci check their notes as they prepare for the hooding ceremony at the School’s annual Graduation Dinner and Hooding Ceremony. More than 600 family members, friends, faculty, and staff attended the event held at the Hilton Pittsburgh on April 26, 2009, following the University’s commencement ceremony. On the Cover: Wen Xie is the associate director of the School of Pharmacy Center Dean’s Message 2 for Pharmacogenetics. His lab studies the role of nuclear hormone Features: receptors in drug metabolism and human diseases He recently edited On Call 4 and published the book, Nuclear Receptors in Drug Metabolism. Calorie Counters 7 Pharmacy student-athletes who earned grade-point averages of 3.0 or higher during the spring 2008 and fall 2009 semesters were recognized Great Teachers Honored 10 at the Alumni Association’s annual Scholarship-Athlete Awards Breakfast. Great Preceptors Honored 11 Edward P. Krenzelok (right) was honored as the first recipient of the Dr. Distinguished Alumni 12 Gordon J. Vanscoy Endowed Chair of Pharmacy. The endowment was Photographic Memories 14 established by Gordon Vanscoy (BS ’84) (left) associate dean of business News: innovation and associate professor of pharmacy and therapeutics. Our School 16 Our Faculty 20 The University of Pittsburgh, as an educational institution and as an employer, values equality of opportunity, human dignity, and racial/ethnic Our Students 22 and cultural diversity. Accordingly, the University prohibits and will not engage in discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, Our Alumni 25 national origin, ancestry, sex, age, marital status, familial status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, or status as a disabled Investing in the Future 27 veteran or a veteran of the Vietnam era. Further, the University will continue Snapshot from Pharmacy’s Past 29 to take affirmative steps to support and advance these values consistent with the University’s mission. This policy applies to admissions, employ- President’s Message 30 ment, and access to and treatment in University programs and activities. This is a commitment made by the University and is in accordance with Contact Us 31 federal, state, and/or local laws and regulations. For information on University equal opportunity and affirmative action pro- grams and complaint/grievance procedures, please contact the University of Pittsburgh; Office of Affirmative Action, Diversity, and Inclusion; Carol W. Mohamed, Director (and Title IX, 504 and ADA Coordinator); 412 Bellefield Hall; 315 South Bellefield Avenue; Pittsburgh, PA 15260; 412-648-7860. Published in cooperation with the Department of University Marketing FALL ’09 Communications. UMC69551-0909 3 FEATURE On Call Poison center director stays one page ahead on their medication container. The system then identifies the medication and states the primary use of the medication (e.g., pain reliever); but it also saves the infor- mation in a computer database. Though no caller identifying data are saved, the center is able to use the data to track trends of prescrip- tion drug abuse. “We have a very good perspec- tive on the type of prescription drug abuse that’s going on in our community,” says Krenzelok. “The IVR has helped us to provide infor- mation to the authorities on these types of public health problems.” “The interactive voice response system is revolu- tionary from the standpoint of staff efficiency” Dr. Krenzelok in his office at the Pittsburgh Poison and Drug Information Center. —Ed Krenzelok hen callers reach out to more time to answer poison infor- Not only are the data used in the Pittsburgh Poison mation calls, rather than spending Pennsylvania, but the Pittsburgh WCenter, they’re giving an inordinate amount of time on Poison Center also participates out almost as much information as medication identification calls,” in a national prescription drug they’re getting — even if they don’t says Dr. Edward P. Krenzelok, surveillance program that collects realize it. director of the Pittsburgh Poison information on substance abuse, Pittsburgh is one of just two and Drug Information Center and allowing authorities to track trends U.S. poison centers that use an professor of pharmacy and pediat- related to a particular drug. automated response system to rics at the University of Pittsburgh. The system, which was imple- assist callers in the identification of Prior to the implementation of mented with funding from a federal their medications. The automation the IVR, the Center responded to grant obtained by Krenzelok, can reduces workload and increases approximately 56,000 medication also be used to help enhance the efficiency. The other, in Denver, identification requests each year. surge capacity of the center during operates via telephone keypad, but “Automation has reduced the num- a terrorism incident. Krenzelok Pittsburgh’s system is an advanced ber of requests that require profes- published his work about IVR voice-activated system. sional assistance from his staff to innovation at the Pittsburgh Poison “The interactive voice response 6,000 per year,” says Krenzelok. Center in a recent issue of the system, also known as an IVR, is Through voice recognition,
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