WINTER SPRING 2019 Pharmacy P E R S P E C T I V E S Global Health & Pharmacy With globalization, pharmacy will play an increasingly important role in tackling the world’s health chal- lenges. Here’s how CU Pharmacy is helping its students here and abroad prepare for a changing world. See pages 2-7. Personalized Medicine Skaggs faculty and researchers take different approaches to iden- tify tailored therapies toward the individual patient. See pages 10-12. The Inspired Student The power of life-prolonging drugs inspired John Song, third- year student, to pursue pharmacy. See page 9. In This Issue 2-3 13 CU Pharmacy pValue Around the World 14-15 4-6 2018 Consortium SNOW Symposium Opioid Update 7 18-19 CU Peru Dave Elm Scholarship for Veterans 8-9 Pharmacist for 22-23 a Day 2018-19 Scholars Global Connections its expertise in pharmacy education head of the University Twinning and and promote its reputation. Networking (UniTwin) program, “When people (around the launched by FIP and the United world) ask for our help, they say, Nations to advance pharmaceutical ‘How can we teach our students education. For IPSF, based in the to be more like yours?’” said Kari United Kingdom, Dr. Altiere is the Franson, PharmD, PhD, CU immediate past president of the Pharmacy associate dean for pro- academic section and is its liaison fessional education. “Whether it’s to IPSF. in Qatar or Singapore or Egypt, Dr. Altiere’s involvement in these they’re curious about educating organizations has created opportu- their pharmacists as we do in the nities for CU Pharmacy students United States.” and faculty. Behind CU Pharmacy’s interna- “It’s also a great learning experience tional programs stands a dean who for us,” he said. “We can ask: ‘How do strongly supports sending students you do it in your country?’ It really and faculty abroad and bringing opens up more doors and more un- overseas visitors to the Anschutz derstanding and greater realization of Medical Campus. Ralph Altiere, what the global issues are.” PhD, is quick to point out that CU Pharmacy, like many U.S. international programs involving pharmacy programs, offers fourth- CU Pharmacy students and faculty year students opportunities to pre-date his becoming dean in elect an international rotation. Dr. 2006. Still, Dr. Altiere has worked Franson estimates that 10 to 20 per- to expand and formalize the school’s cent of students take advantage of partnerships and programs and has overseas opportunities. Students can enlisted other faculty ambassadors travel to sites where CU Pharmacy such as Dr. Franson and Jodie has existing relationships or create Malhotra, PharmD, international their own rotations. affairs coordinator. The school has connections for “My interest was in looking at student opportunities in Australia, whether there was something we New Zealand, United Kingdom, could do on a programmatic level, Netherlands, Guatemala and Costa and allow us to take the know-how Rica, among other countries. and expertise we have and work Dr. Franson, who as a pharmacy with others around the world,” Dr. student spent two summers working > CU PHARMACY AROUND THE WORLD: Altiere said. in Switzerland, finds that interna- In the past decade, Dr. Altiere tional programs often allow students has become increasingly active in to put classroom lessons to practical OPENING DOORS international pharmacy-related orga- use – perhaps surprising themselves. nizations including the International “As students in pharmacy, we go TO UNDERSTANDING Pharmaceutical Federation, known as through the curriculum as a cohort, FIP for its French name, Fédération always looking to the next scheduled AND SHARING Internationale Pharmaceutique, and class, the next exam. We don’t always BY SANDY GRAHAM the International Pharmaceutical appreciate what we’re learning,” she Students’ Federation (IPSF). said. “A lot of students (going abroad) FIP, based in the Netherlands, recognize there are fewer barriers to strives to improve global health making a difference in the world than by advancing pharmacy practice they thought.” eru. Qatar. Singapore. Nigeria. Egypt. Guatemala. and science. After serving on FIP’s If funding were available, Dr. Netherlands. Ireland. New Zealand. Academic Pharmacy Section for Altiere would send all pharmacy Students and faculty from the Skaggs School several years, he became the section students overseas. of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences are president in 2011, a post he held for “I’d love to send every student making a difference in these countries as well as six years. Dr. Altiere also serves on on an international experience,” said others around the world. CU Pharmacy’s many the FIP Program Committee and the Dr. Altiere. “You come back with international connections not only open stu- Academic Institutional Membership a different perspective on life, an dents’ eyes to the impact they can make in global Deans Forum Advisory Group. awareness of the needs, and maybe P health challenges, but allow the school to share At the end of 2017, he became more resilience, too.” 2 CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences WINTER SPRING 2019 CU PHARMACY’S INTERNATIONAL CONNECTIONS ENCOMPASS • A memorandum of understanding with the National University of Singapore Four years of participation in the • for student and faculty exchanges. For Pharmabridge® initiative, launched by the example, in 2018, six NUS PharmD, International Pharmaceutical Federation, students came to Colorado for clinical which strengthens pharmacy education rotations. Several faculty members have and services by having pharmacists, gone to Singapore to speak. pharmaceutical scientists, and pharmacy educators from all corners of the globe Helping the University of Ibadan in share experiences and skills. One visitor Nigeria develop its clinical pharmacy to CU was India’s Kiran Nagaraju, PhD. training. This agreement came about (See story, page 6) after a Pharmabridge participant from IN THIS ISSUE of Pharmacy Perspectives, we bring you Ibadan visited CU Pharmacy for a month. articles about a wide range of topics such as ground- More recently, rotations for fourth-year breaking faculty research and changes in Colorado CU Pharmacy students have become pharmacy practice that CU Pharmacy has promoted. available there. We also explore global health issues and the role the pharmacy profession can play in solving them. • Hosting the Pharmacy Strategies I attended our school’s second Pharmacy Strategies for New Opportunities Worldwide for New Opportunities Worldwide (SNOW) Symposium (SNOW) Symposium every other in Breckenridge recently, and it surpassed all my year to bring together U.S. and expectations. My thanks to Jodie Malhotra, PharmD, international experts in pharmacy and her planning committee for two days of excellent and global health. (See story, page 4) presentations by experts from around the world. Helping the Children’s Cancer Hospital Two words resonated with me after the symposium: Egypt in Cairo launch a pharmacy globalization and globalism. Many people use these doctoral program several years ago. words interchangeably, but I see distinct differences. Several faculty members have since gone Globalization began when homo sapiens got up on to Egypt to train PharmD students and two legs and began moving across continents; global- work with pharmacists throughout Egypt. ization connects the world. Globalism is less tangible – a philosophy, if you will, to address difficult global • Support for a primary care clinic issues through shared visions, values and goals. in rural Guatemala, launched by the I believe the pharmacy profession embraces Center for Global Health at the CU globalism, striving for a world in which we improve the School of Public Health in a public/ practice of pharmacy and provide better healthcare private partnership with Children’s for our communities. The many partnerships that CU Hospital Colorado and AgroAmerica, a A special relationship with the Pharmacy has around the world, some highlighted in family-owned producer of bananas and state of Qatar, thanks to CU’s this issue, make all of you part of that global vision. vegetable oil. Pharmacy faculty train clinic groundbreaking International-Trained staff and fourth-year pharmacy students PharmD (ITPD) program, which Sincerely, can take six-week rotations there. combines online and on-campus courses. The Arabian Peninsula nation • Reviewing the Chinese University has sent more pharmacists to the ITPD of Hong Kong’s (CUHK) curricula for program than any other country. Those Ralph J. Altiere, PhD BS and MS degrees in pharmacy. Dr. pharmacists’ experiences have led Dean, University of Colorado Skaggs School of Franson visited Hong Kong for 10 days to CU Pharmacy consulting with the Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and spent two years reviewing curricula. country’s hospitals and government. Fourth-year CU Pharmacy students “We’ve made a significant impact,” @CUpharmacy | @cupharmacy also have visited Hong Kong for their said Kari Franson, PharmD, PhD, rotations and soon CUHK students will CU Pharmacy associate dean for /15098479 | @cupharmacy complete rotations in Colorado. professional education. UCDSchoolofPharmacy www.ucdenver.edu/pharmacy 3 Global Connections > Snow SYMPOSIUM novel pharmacy approaches to global health issues. SNOW is the first of four similarly named 2019 conferences to address pharmacy education and practice to address global health: “Sun,” Pharmacists on Monash University’s symposium, will meet in Italy in July; “Wind,” the American Association of Colleges the Front Line of of Pharmacy’s annual meeting, will blow into Chicago later in July; and Global Health “Sea,” FIP’s World Congress, is set for Abu Dhabi in September. Each con- BY SANDY GRAHAM ference will address, at least in part, pharmacy’s increasingly important role in global health. “We are making an impact and harmacists will – and must – play key roles being part of the solution,” said Dr. in tackling the world’s health challenges, Duggan, whose organization is known Catherine Duggan, PhD, chief executive as FIP for its French name Fédération “The number of officer of the International Pharmaceutical Internationale Pharmaceutique.