January 18, 2017

By Anna Herd

OXFORD, Miss. – Ajinkya Bhagurkar, a doctoral candidate in the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy’s Department of Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery, won second place in the 2016 Three Minute Thesis competition hosted by the university.

The competition requires students to effectively communicate their thesis or dissertation research and its significance in a three-minute presentation. Over 80 students competed this year, and 18 competed in the final round.

“All the performances in the final round were excellent, and it was a really tough competition,” Bhagurkar said. “It was an achievement not just for me but for our entire school.”

A native of Nasik, India, Bhagurkar competed in the previous year’s competition, where he made it to the final round.

Bhagurkar’s dissertation topic that he presented in this year’s competition is his development of a nanostructured lipid carrier formulation designed to help people with wounds or burns manage their pain more efficiently.

Upon graduation, Bhagurkar said he hopes to further contribute to his field as a scientist in formulation research and development to address and improve patients’ issues.

January 12, 2017

By Sydney Slotkin DuPriest

OXFORD, Miss. – Kristine Willett, professor of pharmacology and environmental toxicology, has been chosen as chair of the Department of BioMolecular Sciences in the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy.

Willett

The Department of BioMolecular Sciences encompasses the divisions of environmental toxicology, medicinal chemistry, pharmacognosy and pharmacology. Several members of the department nominated Willett, a native of Wooster, Ohio, as a candidate for the position and encouraged her to pursue the opportunity.

As chair, recruiting new faculty and graduate students to enhance the school’s research and teaching expertise is one of her highest priorities, Willett said.

“We are in an exciting time in our department,” she said. “We must remain committed to strengthening our graduate program and recruiting and nurturing the best graduate students from local, regional and international pools.”

John Rimoldi, professor of medicinal chemistry, chaired the search committee for Willett’s position. They have worked together since Willett joined the school in 2000.

“Kristie brings commitment, service and optimism to this position,” Rimoldi said. “The faculty will benefit from her collective experiences in toxicology research and education at the university and national levels. I am confident she will provide inspired leadership to the department.”

Willett’s research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms of toxicity and human diseases. Her lab uses zebrafish to screen for potential ways to control seizures and study the effects of environmental contaminants on early development. Her research is supported by the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The School of Pharmacy has recognized Willett as a Distinguished Teaching Scholar, and she has taught courses in the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College since 2009. Nationally, she is chair of the Society of Toxicology’s undergraduate education committee and mentors the graduate student council as part of the board of directors of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.

“Kristie is deeply and diversely involved on campus and in the School of Pharmacy,” said David D. Allen, dean of the School of Pharmacy. “She has a strong vision for the future of the department and an incredibly positive and can-do attitude, which are absolutely essential to lead in this capacity.”

Willett said she hopes to help ensure the success of the department’s faculty, staff and students by “reflecting a positive attitude and commitment to place.”

“I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to develop my career here at the University of Mississippi, and I look forward to facilitating the continued success of our department and school,” she said.

December 2, 2016

By Anna Herd

JACKSON, Miss. – Kandis Backus, a fourth-year student in the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy, found a volunteer experience to be inspiring. She not only discovered a career path but also will have a paper published in Sexually Transmitted Diseases, the journal of the American Sexually Transmitted Diseases Association in February 2017.

Kandis Backus

A Chicago native, Backus’ paper, “Trichomonas vaginalis treated with boric acid in a metronidazole allergic female,” focuses on research she conducted on HIV and sexually transmitted infections while volunteering at the Open Arms Healthcare Center in Jackson, which specializes in care for the LGBTI community. After standard treatment was unsuccessful for a patient diagnosed with the sexually transmitted infection trichomoniasis, Backus consulted literature on treating the illness, eventually finding a cure in boric acid.

While volunteering, Backus shadowed Billy Brown, an HIV pharmacist at the VA Medical Center.

“Managing HIV disease can be very complicated and intimidating at times,” Brown said. “Over the years I have witnessed both pharmacy students and pharmacy residents who are initially reluctant to interview an HIV-infected patient. Kandis never gave it a second thought. Our patients enjoyed her because she did not only showcase her passion for managing HIV disease, but more importantly, she allowed her compassion for patients to reign supreme.”

Backus hopes her volunteer experience will lead to eventually working with HIV patients in a clinical setting.

“I encourage other students to volunteer, to help them find their passion,” Backus said. “Without this experience, I doubt I would have developed a passion for HIV.”

During her time at Open Arms, she worked alongside Laura Beauchamps, then the clinic’s medical director, researching literature, treating patients and contacting their primary care physicians.

“Kandis was very motivated to learn about [sexually transmitted infections] and HIV care and prevention at our clinic,” Beauchamps said. “I think she will have a brilliant future as a pharmacist.” 

Backus will receive her Pharm.D. in May 2017, and hopes to pursue a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences.

“For years I have wondered what pharmacist would be willing to step into the role of managing HIV in Mississippi,” Brown said. “I believe I found that person in Kandis.”

By Anna Herd

November 29, 2016

Two students from the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy will participate in the annual American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Clinical Skills Competition, where student pharmacists demonstrate their ability to analyze and respond to clinical pharmacy scenarios.

Colleen Riley

PY4s Colleen Riley from Kansas City, Missouri, and Cody Taylor from Booneville, Mississippi, were chosen based on their performance in a local, similar competition hosted by the university’s student chapter of ASHP.

Both the local and national competitions require students to analyze a patient’s case and provide a comprehensive treatment plan using their knowledge of pharmacy. To prepare for the national competition, Riley and Taylor have studied the previous year’s competition topics and spoken with former competitors about what to expect.

Cody Taylor

“First, you have to be able to prioritize the correct problem,” Taylor said. “You have to pick out what the patient’s most serious issue is. We have to quickly recall treatment options and guideline recommendations. Knowing drug classes and how to monitor these drugs, both therapeutically and toxicity, is also very important.

Competitors are called on to demonstrate not only technical and scientific principles they learn in the classroom but also interpersonal and leadership skills that are required of pharmacists.

“The competition requires teamwork, efficiency, communication skills, problem solving, time management and decisiveness,” Riley said. “We must work together to make decisions about ranking problems and treating them.”

The students “have done an excellent job at preparing for the competition,” said Joshua Fleming, clinical assistant professor of pharmacy practice and a co-adviser for the ASHP student chapter.

Riley and Taylor both hope to complete a Postgraduate Year One (PGY1) residency upon graduating. Taylor would like to continue into a PGY2 residency in critical care or infectious diseases, and Riley hopes to become a clinical pharmacist in a hospital.

“This competition will not only help me become a more competitive residency candidate but also improve upon the skills I will need to be a good resident and pharmacist,” Riley said.

Riley and Taylor will compete at the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting in Las Vegas on Dec. 3.

November 17, 2016

By Anna Herd

Jasmine Turner

OXFORD, Miss. – Jasmine Turner, a fourth-year pharmacy student in the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy, received a $1,000 grant from the 2016 EPIC Pharmacies student grant program in November.

EPIC Pharmacies is a national group of independent pharmacies that annually provides grants to pharmacy students who plan to practice in independent pharmacy after graduation. This is the second year in a row Turner, a native of Tippo, Mississippi, has received this grant.

“I feel proud to be in the midst of such an amazing, supportive and selfless group of individuals who have aimed to build stronger patient relationships and deeper communities within independent pharmacies,” Turner said. “This scholarship recognizes the hard work that I have put into pharmacy as well as myself. It also provides me with lifelong networking opportunities with other independent pharmacists.”

Turner was chosen for the grant based on her application that detailed her pharmacy-related employment, professional service activities and honors, as well as faculty recommendations and an essay about her career goals, which include practicing in an independent, rural community pharmacy.

“Jasmine exhibits many qualities that would allow her to excel in a community pharmacy setting, including excellent leadership and teamwork skills and extensive experience working with independent pharmacies in rural areas of Mississippi,” said David Gregory, associate dean for academic affairs, who recommended Turner for the grant. “She is truly keen about her career choice, and she looks forward to serving the profession of pharmacy in a positive manner.”

Turner said her desire to work in rural community pharmacy stems from her connection to and care for the people of her small town of Tippo.

“Growing up in such a small place, I want to serve those who have played a role in making me who I am today,” Turner said. “My ultimate goal is to help my patients get healthy and stay healthy not only by being their pharmacist but also by being a friend, a mentor and a leader.”

November 10, 2016

By Sydney Slotkin

OXFORD, Miss. – Every year, School of Pharmacy scientists present their research findings at the school’s poster session to explore one another’s work and create partnerships. Now in its 20th year, the poster session is a well-attended forum for scientific conversation, thanks to the efforts of Julie Mikell, School of Pharmacy principal research and development chemist.

Julie Mikell at the 2016 poster session.

“It’s a great way to see what everyone else is doing,” Mikell said. “Seeing other people’s work could spark a collaboration. You might need someone to help you with a particular part of your research, and by attending this session, you can find and talk to other researchers who may have that particular expertise.”

The idea for the poster session started by way of an interviewee who worked at a university that regularly held a poster session. Inspired by the potential for collaboration, the school invited scientists to share posters of their findings for the first time in 1996. After the success of the first year, Alice Clark, vice chancellor for research and sponsored programs, approached Mikell about taking charge of the event.

Since then, the poster session has grown to over 100 posters annually. Several years ago, a poster session website was created, giving Mikell more time to focus on the synergy the session was designed to foster. A session for posters from each department in the school was added in 2012.

“This was all new to me,” Mikell said. “It’s not my background. I am a scientist. But I do like to organize things. When given an idea, I am able to sit down and work out the minor details to make it work. That’s just part of me.”

In addition to putting on the biggest display of the School of Pharmacy’s research each year, Mikell has had a long and productive career. Her work as a chemist includes identifying and isolating organic compounds found in or created by plants. She developed the process by which the school extracts plant matter for research purposes. Before the school purchased an instrument that would do it all for her, she personally ground plant samples, extracted them, inventoried them and then submitted them for testing and experimentation.

Her success in managing the poster session can be attributed to her organization and dedication, as well as a small team she works with.

“I do not require a lot,” Mikell said, of the guidelines to submit a research poster. “To streamline the process I don’t insist on an abstract be submitted, I only require basic information such as title, author, who’s presenting and what department they’re from. The title will allow attendees to see if it is something they are interested in.”

October 24, 2016

By Sydney DuPriest

OXFORD, Miss. – John E. Murphy, professor and associate dean for academic affairs at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy, delivered the 2016 Coy W. Waller Distinguished Lecture at the University of Mississippi.

Dr. John E. Murphy of the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy.

The Nov. 4 lecture, “Pharmacy World Domination,” was presented at the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts. The School of Pharmacy and its Department of Pharmacy Practice sponsored this free event.

Murphy is a former interim dean of the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy. He is also a professor of family and community medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson and an honorary professor at the University of Otago School of Pharmacy in New Zealand.

He earned his B.S. and Pharm.D. degrees from the University of Florida in Gainesville, and has published more than 200 papers, 100 abstracts, five editions of Clinical Pharmacokinetics and is co-editor of the Pharmacotherapy Self-Assessment Program.

Murphy has also served as president of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and Georgia Society of Hospital Pharmacists. Among his numerous professional and teaching recognitions are the Award for Sustained Contributions to the Literature of Pharmacy Practice from the ASHP Research and Education Foundation, the ASHP Whitney award, the ACCP Education Award and the Robert K. Chalmers Distinguished Teaching Award from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.

The Coy W. Waller Distinguished Lecture series was established in 2004 to recognize the former director of the Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences’ contributions to the field of pharmaceutics and the pharmacy school. Each year, a department within the school hosts the lecture, and lecturers are selected for their contributions to the host department’s discipline.

“The Department of Pharmacy Practice was very honored to have Dr. John Murphy as this year’s Coy W. Waller lecturer,” said Seena Haines, pharmacy practice chair. “He has made significant contributions to our profession through numerous accomplishments related to his academic career, clinical practice advancement and service to the profession.”

October 21, 2016

By Sydney DuPriest

JACKSON, Miss. – Dr. Katie McClendon, assistant dean for student services in the School of Pharmacy on the Jackson campus, was elected as a 2016 Fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP). The ACCP is devoted to the advancement of clinical pharmacy, which focuses on the science and practice of medication use. Fellowship in the ACCP indicates demonstrated excellence by a clinical pharmacist.

Dr. Katie McClendon, associate dean for student affairs on the Jackson campus.

“It’s an honor to be elected as a Fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy,” said McClendon. “I’ve always enjoyed being a member of the College as there are many excellent clinicians who are dedicated to improving clinical pharmacy.”

McClendon has served as a clinical pharmacist for more than 10 years, and currently practices in two University of Mississippi Medical Center clinics. She’s been an active member of ACCP for eleven years, serving on its women’s health and ambulatory care committees, as well as in the mentor program. As part of ACCP, she advocated for including student pharmacists in clinical pharmacy research and scholarship, as well as contributed to several publications.

“We are very proud of Katie, and she is extremely deserving of this award,” said dean of the School of Pharmacy, David D. Allen. “She has contributed mightily to our school and to the overall profession with her dedication and her service.”

McClendon will be inducted during the fall meeting of ACCP on Oct. 23 in Hollywood, Florida.

November 10, 2016

By Sydney DuPriest

Vedanjali Gogineni, a native of Andhra Pradesh, India, and a University of Mississippi Ph.D. candidate in medicinal chemistry in the School of Pharmacy, received a 2016 Graduate Student Research Award in Drug Discovery and Development Interface from the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists.

BioMolecular sciences graduate student Vedanjali Gogineni was awarded for her natural products research.

AAPS gives four of these awards per year to recognize graduate students who significantly influence the research in their field. The award includes a $250 prize and travel expenses to the AAPS annual meeting.

“This national recognition means a lot to my career,” Gogineni said. “Any recognition is valuable, especially as a graduate student. I hope this will create opportunities for the future, especially since it is so competitive.”

Gogineni’s award-winning research is an abstract titled “Phytochemical Investigation of Secondary Metabolites in Psychoactive Medicinal Plants for the Treatment of Neurological Disorders,” which explores compounds from medicinal plants that could treat neurological disorders.

This research discovered a compound that could be used to treat Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and depression. Gogineni’s overall research works to identify and purify new natural products, some of which have an affinity with opioid or cannabinoid receptors to treat pain without addiction.

Christopher McCurdy, interim chair of the Department of BioMolecular Sciences, and former BioMolecular Sciences chair Steve Cutler both advised Gogineni’s research.

“It is a significant accomplishment to be recognized by the AAPS with a graduate student research award,” McCurdy said. “These awards are highly competitive, and such recognition speaks to the quality of Veda’s research. She is a deserving awardee and serves as a great ambassador of our graduate program.”

Gogineni is also a member of the university’s chapter of honors and service organization Gamma Beta Phi, and hopes to find a postdoctoral position after her May 2017 graduation. She will be recognized at the AAPS annual meeting on Nov. 13-17 in Denver.

October 12, 2016

By Sydney DuPriest

JACKSON, Miss. – Daniel M. Riche and Phil Ayers were each honored with Mississippi Business Journal’s 2016 Health Care Heroes awards, which recognize contributions to health and well-being, on Sept. 29. Riche is an associate professor and Ayers is clinical associate professor in the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy’s Department of Pharmacy Practice. They were chosen as two of 33 winners from around the state.

Daniel Riche

A patient of the University of Mississippi Medical Center Cardiometabolic Clinic, where Riche is coordinator, nominated him for the award. Riche does not know the patient’s identity.

“It’s nice to be noticed for what you do in health care, and especially since this is from the Mississippi Business Journal, which isn’t a pharmacy-only area,” Riche said. “It’s a very intriguing recognition. Awardees range from M.D.s to the insurance commissioner of Mississippi. This enables us get pharmacy’s name out there, outside of our discipline.”

Honey East, an endocrinology physician and a colleague of Riche’s, submitted a letter of recommendation in support of his nomination.

Phil Ayers

“Dr. Riche has always provided leadership in his representation of the profession of pharmacy,” East said. “He is highly respected by several health care disciplines from both patient management and education fields who rely upon his contributions in their daily clinical activities. To this day, when I need someone to discuss cases in my private endocrinology practice, I still call Dr. Riche for advice.”

In addition to this recognition, Riche became certified as a lipid specialist earlier this fall. He is one of only 53 pharmacists nationwide who are certified lipid specialists. The qualifications needed to take the certification test are stringent and extensive, yet Riche had qualified for some time before becoming certified.

“I practice in ambulatory care and cardiometabolics, and we refer to ourselves as experts in a field,” Riche said. “Yet in order to be an expert, you have to point to something that differentiates you, and one of those things is certification. Before I could actually say that I’m an expert, I wanted to be lipid specialist.”

Riche is also an associate professor of medicine at UMMC and research associate professor in both the National Center for Natural Products Research and the Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Ayers is chief of clinical pharmacy services in the Mississippi Baptist Health System.