Alumni

College of Pharmacy to hold inaugural Scholarship Golf Classic May 23, 2013

The College of Pharmacy will hold its inaugural Scholarship Golf Classic May 23, 2013 at Morongo Golf Club at Tukwet Canyon. Registration begins at 9 a.m., and time of play will be 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Shotgun-play format will include contests for low score, longest drive, closest to the pin and hole-in-one. The no-host bar opens at 3:30 p.m. and the silent auction opens at 4 p.m. The dinner banquet begins at 5 p.m. Individual entry fee is $200, which includes golf and cart, barbecue lunch and drinks on the course, tournament gift and dinner. Sponsorship packages are available at the $7,500, $5,000 and $2,000 levels. Tee sponsors, longest drive sponsor, and closest to the pin sponsor are also available for $1,000 each. The College of Pharmacy previously participated in the Good Neighbor Pharmacy-Institute for Community Pharmacy (GNP-ICP) Scholarship Golf Classic, which provided scholarships to WesternU and USC School of Pharmacy students interested in independent community pharmacy. The new WesternU College of Pharmacy Scholarship Golf Classic will raise money for the College's general scholarship fund.

College of Pharmacy Professor/Chair named APhA Fellow

College of Pharmacy Professor and Chair of Pharmacy Practice and Administration Anandi V. Law, BPharm, PhD, was recently selected as a Fellow of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA). Fellows are either members of the APhA Academy of Pharmacy Practice and Management (APhA-APPM) or the APhA Academy of Pharmaceutical Research and Science (APhA-APRS) with a minimum of 10 years' professional experience. Dr. Law was selected by the APhA-APRS. To become a Fellow, members must have demonstrated exemplary professional achievements and service to the profession through activities with APhA and other national, state or local professional organizations, according to the APhA website. The new Fellows were officially recognized at the APhA Annual Meeting and Exposition in Los Angeles, held March 1-4, 2013. The APhA awards and honors program is the most comprehensive recognition program in the profession of pharmacy.

Ray Symposium to address obesity

The nation's worsening obesity epidemic will be the topic of Western University of Health Sciences' annual Ray Symposium, to be held at 5 p.m. Thursday, April 18, 2013 in the Health Education Center, Lecture Hall 1, 701 E. Second St., Pomona, Calif. 91766. Keynote speaker Dr. Patricia Crawford, RD, director of the Dr. Robert C. and Veronica Atkins Center for Weight and Health at UC Berkeley, and a Cooperative Extension Nutrition Specialist, will present "Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention." Crawford has conducted research in the prevention of childhood obesity for more than 20 years, and served as the principal investigator of the 10-year longitudinal National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Growth and Health Study. She also served on the Institute of Medicine (IOM) 2010-12 Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention Committee. She also advised on the HBO series "The Weight of the Nation," and is an advisor to the United States' "Let's Get Healthy" Task Force. She has served on the California Legislative Task Force on Diabetes & Obesity, and the IOM of the National Academies' Standing Committee on Childhood Obesity Prevention. Crawford is an adjunct professor for the School of Public Health at UC Berkeley, where she also received her master and doctorate degrees in public health. The Ray Symposium is organized by the College of Pharmacy and the Interprofessional Education Program in honor of Max Ray, MS, PharmD, Dean Emeritus of the College of Pharmacy. He joined WesternU as Professor of Pharmacy Practice and Director of the Center for Pharmacy Practice and Development in 1996, and served as Dean of the College of Pharmacy from 1999 to 2006.

Academic Pharmacy Now

Check out the Winter 2013 issue of Academic Pharmacy Now, which features the College of Pharmacy on the cover. The associated story showcases the College's involvement in the "Pharmacy is Right for Me" initiative aiming to inspire and foster the next generation of pharmacy leaders in the United States. The cover and inside photos by Public Affairs' Jeff Malet highlights COP faculty teaching Palomares Academy of Health Sciences ninth graders how to compound non-medicated toothpaste.

COP Newsletter

More news and information is available in the Pharmacy at Western University of Health Sciences newsletter.

Alumni News

Krishna Muppidi, MSPS '11, Western Diabetes Institute Executive Director Dr. Andrew Pumerantz, Associate Dean Graduate College of Biomedical Sciences Dr. Guru Betageri and Assistant Professor Pharmaceutical Sciences Dr. Jeffery Wang recently published a fourth article stemming from Ms. Muppidi's MSPS thesis project. Muppidi K, Pumerantz AS, Betageri G, Wang J (2013) Development and Validation of a Rapid High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Method with UV Detection for the Determination of Vancomycin in Mouse Plasma. J Chromat Separation Techniq 4(1):165

Faculty News

College of Pharmacy faculty members from the Pharmacy Practice and Administration Department were involved in many activities at California Pharmacists Association West Coast Exchange Meeting from March 14-18, 2013. Click here for the full report.

Dr. Jonathan Watanabe was an invited speaker at the University of Arizona Western Pharmacoeconomics Conference March 14-16. He was part of a symposium on teaching Comparative Effectiveness Research methods at pharmacy schools with representatives from the universities of Arizona, Washington, Utah, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado-Denver, and Southern California.

Congratulations to Dr. Jeffrey Wang, Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Director, Graduate Education, Dr. Zhijun "Kevin" Wang, Research Assistant Professor, Center for Advancement of Drug Research and Evaluation (CADRE) and Dr. Pat Chan, Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice and Administration on their chapter: Zhijun Wang, Patrick Chan and Jeffrey Wang, "The Preventive Effect of Traditional Chinese Medicinal Herbs on Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus" (DOI:10.1039/9781849737852-00268 ) in the Book "Traditional Chinese Medicine: Scientific Basis for Its Use" edited by Dr. James Adams and Eric Lien and published by the Royal Society of Chemistry, UK (http://www.rsc.org/Shop/books/2013/9781849736619.asp). Dr. Jeffrey Wang was also invited to serve as a grant reviewer for the Medical Research Council of the United Kingdom, which was conducted in February 2013; and he was part of a group that recently published results of a pharmacokinetic study of metastin, an endogenous peptide inhibiting cancer metastasis. Liu Z, Ren C, Jones W, Chen P, Seminara SB, Chan YM, Smith NF, Covey JM, Wang J, Chan KK. LC-MS/MS quantification of a neuropeptide fragment kisspeptin-10 (NSC 741805) and characterization of its decomposition product and pharmacokinetics in rats. J Chromatogr B, 2013 Mar 4; 926C:1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jchromb.2013.02.027. [Epub ahead of print]. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/15700232. Click here to view the published article.

Dr. Sheryl Chow served as a panelist for a session at the recently held American College of Cardiology (ACC) meeting in San Francisco. This session "Pharmacologic Pearls in Heart Failure" was one of the most well attended sessions at the meeting with more than 350 cardiologists in attendance.

Also at the ACC meeting, Dr. Cynthia Jackevicius presented the following research abstracts:

• Jackevicius CA, Tu JV, Ross JS, Ko DT, de Leon N, Krumholz HM. Use of niacin in the United States and Canada. JACC 2013;
• Dr. Jackevicius' former resident, Noelle (a co-author) was interviewed by ACC Cardiosource media on camera about the study based on interest generated from a landmark niacin RCT with negative results that was presented earlier at the meeting.
• Tsadok MA, Jackevicius CA, Rahme E, Essebag V, Eisenberg MJ, Humphries KH, Tu JV, Behlouli H, Pilote L Rural-urban disparities in warfarin treatment and outcomes in patients with atrial fibrillation. JACC 2013;
• Tsadok MA, Jackevicius CA, Rahme E, Essebag V, Eisenberg MJ, Humphries KH, Tu JV, Behlouli H, Pilote L. Warfarin and the risk of stroke and bleeding in atrial fibrillation patients undergoing dialysis. JACC 2013;
• Tsadok MA, Jackevicius CA, Rahme E, Essebag V, Eisenberg MJ, Humphries KH, Tu JV, Behlouli H, Pilote L. Stroke and bleeding in older patients with atrial fibrillation treated with warfarin. JACC 2013.

WesternU was very well represented at the recent American Pharmacists Association (APhA) Annual Meeting and Expo held at the Los Angeles Convention Center March 1-4, 2013. Here are some of the faculty activities at APhA:

• Dr. Eric Gupta served as a Delegate for California. He is advisor to APhA-ASP (Academy of Student Pharmacists) at WesternU, which won the Most Innovative Programming Award for 2011-2012.
• Dr. Hyma Gogineni represented WesternU at the APhA Career Pathway training for faculty, and completed faculty training for the MTM program.
• Dr. Karl Hess served as delegate for APhA-APPM, served as member of Policy Review Committee and attended Community Pharmacy Residency showcase to recruit for the program.
• Dr. Janice Hoffman represented WesternU at the Pharmacy Leadership Society meeting at APhA.
• Dr. Emmanuelle Schwartzman served as Chair of Credentials Committee of the Rho Chi Pharmacy Honor Society meeting at APhA.
• Dr. Stephanie Liang (Community Pharmacy Practice Resident precepted by Dr. Hess) presented a poster, "Preparedness of Student Pharmacists in Providing Travel Health Services at an Independent Community Pharmacy." With Karl Hess, Brian Garner and Anandi Law. Dr. Garner is a volunteer faculty and a long standing preceptor. Dr. Liang also moderated a session "Pharmacists Helping Patients Manage Pain," which was recorded for later CE use.
• Dr. Bik-Wai Bilvick Tai (Outcomes Research Fellow precepted by Dr. Law) presented a poster, "Examining Effectiveness of Educational Interventions to Improve Prescription Label Comprehension and its Correlation with STOFHLA: A Pilot Study" with previous Fellow Dr. Prashant Sakharkar, Drupad Parikh, PharmD '13, and Anandi V. Law. He also presented a podium presentation on " Type and Extent of Unused Medications: A Survey at Community Pharmacy Drugs Take Back Events" co-authored with Drs. Prashant Sakharkar, Micah Hata, Karl Hess, Rudolf Mireles, Carolyn Ha and Anandi V. Law.
• Dr. Anandi V. Law was Chair of a Health Policy Forum which she convened and moderated on "Dialogue and Debate on the Many Facets of Medication Safety." Speakers were Dr. Matthew Grissinger from ISMP (Institute for Safe Medication Practices) and Dr. Carolyn Ha from NCPA (National Community Pharmacists Association).

James Scott, PharmD, MEd, FCCP, was inducted on Feb. 27, 2013 as the President of the San Fernando Valley Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists. Dr. Scott serves as Associate Dean for Experiential and Professional Affairs for the College of Pharmacy.

Dr. Karl Hess has been appointed as an APhA Academy of Pharmacy Practice and Management (APhA-APPM) Delegate during the upcoming 2013 APhA House of Delegates in Los Angeles, March 1-4, 2013. In addition, he has been appointed coordinator for the APhA-APPM Immunizing Pharmacist Special Interest Group (SIG).

Congratulations to Dr. Sunil Prabhu's laboratory on their most recent publication. Other authors include post-doctoral fellow Dr. Arvind Thakkar, MSPS student Karthik Grandhi, MSPS alumnus Dhruvit Sutaria, who is currently pursuing a PhD at the Ohio State University and Dr. Jeffrey Wang. The work is funded by the National Institutes of Health (1R03CA153812-01A1; SP). Thakkar A, Sutaria D, Grandhi BK, Wang J, Prabhu S. The molecular mechanism of action of aspirin, curcumin and sulforaphane combinations in the chemoprevention of pancreatic cancer. Oncol Rep. 2013 Feb 5. doi: 10.3892/or.2013.2276. [Epub ahead of print]

Student News

Eva Levbarg, PharmD '14, is one of 11 students nationally to recently be recognized with the 2012-2013 ASHP Student Leadership Award from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), for achievement in health-system pharmacy practice and campus leadership. Levbarg was identified as someone who represents the very best attributes and accomplishments of ASHP student members. College of Pharmacy Associate Dean Sam Shimomura, PharmD, FASHP, CGP, and assistant professor of Pharmacy Practice and Administration Patrick Chan, PharmD, recommended her for the award. Levbarg has extensive health-system work experience at UCI Medical Center in Orange, Calif., at its Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, and more recently as a pharmacy intern at Garfield Medical Center in Monterey Park, Calif. She also completed a summer research fellowship at the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System under the direction of WesternU Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice and Administration Cynthia Jackevicius, PharmD, who has published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) and other major medical and pharmacy journals.

WesternU's American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Students (APhA-ASP) club recently took a photo to help raise awareness for World Tuberculosis Day, which was March 24, 2013. Tuberculosis today remains an epidemic in much of the world, causing the deaths of nearly 1.5 million people each year, mostly in developing countries.

The WesternU chapter of the California Society of Health-System Pharmacists (CSHP), under the very able leadership of faculty advisors Drs. Mark Nguyen and Patrick Chan, and student leaders Eva Levbarg (President) and Ranjit Sidhu (President-Elect), received the Student Chapter of Distinction Award for 2012. This marks the second straight year that our students earned this prestigious award. The award is based on several criteria, including financial, business processes, membership, member satisfaction and application of the chapter towards promoting the mission of the organization.

Read the latest updates from the students themselves in the latest Student Government Association Newsletter.

Upcoming Events & Conferences

April 18: WesternU's College of Pharmacy presents the Ray Symposium on campus. Dr. Patricia Crawford, RD, director of the Dr. Robert C. and Veronica Atkins Center for Weight and Health at UC Berkeley, and a Cooperative Extension Nutrition Specialist, will present "Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention," at 5:30 p.m. in Lecture Hall 1 of the Health Education Center on WesternU's Pomona campus.

May 15: WesternU Alumni Networking Mixer, 7:00-9:00 p.m. at McCormick & Schmick's in Pasadena (111 N Los Robles). Meet up with other WesternU alumni and join us for an evening of complimentary appetizers, drinks and lively conversation. RSVP by May 10 to Austin Braunwalder.

May 15-17: WesternU's 32nd Commencement at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium

May 23: WesternU College of Pharmacy Scholarship Golf Classic at Morongo Golf Club at Tukwet Canyon in Beaumont, CA

June 10: WesternU's 2013 Towne & Gown Golf Tournament, benefiting student scholarships, will be held Monday, June 10, 2013, at the Red Hill Country Club in Rancho Cucamonga.

July 13: Save the date to join your fellow alumni for complimentary drinks and snacks at WesternU's "Day at the Beach" in Malibu on Saturday, July 13, 2:00-4:00 p.m.

See a full list of upcoming events on the Online Alumni Events page.

For information or to RSVP, please contact Ligaya Chan at lchan@westernu.edu or (909) 469-5501.

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