April 10

Angela Dominelli, M.B.A, Ph.D., was named Dean of the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences in an announcement last week. Dr. Dominelli, who had been Interim Dean since July 1, has served in both faculty and administrative roles at ACPHS since 2000. A member of the ACPHS Class of 1978, Dr. Dominelli has also worked in administrative capacities at a variety of health care organizations, including MVP Health Care and Electronic Data Systems (EDS). She continues to teach sections of Pharmacy Administration and the Profiles in Leadership elective.

The ACPHS Peer Tutoring Program has been approved by the College Reading and Learning Association to begin training tutors for Level 2 certification. Currently, all tutors receive six hours of training before they begin working with students. Most tutors choose to complete four more hours of instruction to receive Level 1 certification. To achieve Level 2 certification, tutors must do an additional 10 hours of training. Three tutors have already qualified for Level 2 certification - Wen Zhen Chen, Joseph Gottwald, and Eric Micelli - with more expected by the end of the semester.

In fall 2011, Hurricane Irene devastated a number of communities across Vermont. The storm also caused irreparable damage to the Vermont State Hospital, a psychiatric facility in Waterbury. The state is now in the process of rebuilding the hospital in Berlin (about 50 minutes from the Vermont Campus) and has reached out to ACPHS for assistance. Deans Dominelli and Hamilton, along with Director of Continuing Education David Kile, are meeting with members of the Vermont Department of Mental Health this week to offer their insights into the design and discuss needs for the new hospital's pharmacy.

ACPHS students and faculty members created a board game in 2008 called PharmaDA$H to help explain the various steps for taking a drug candidate from the "bench to the bedside." In 2012, Associate Professors Andy Zheng and Gail Snitkoff received a grant through the College's Innovative Technology Initiatives program to refine the PharmaDA$H design and professionally produce new game boards. A design contest was held among ACPHS students, and P3 student Dawon Lee (right) was awarded the top prize. Students JinWan No (Best Artwork) and Allie Cichewicz (Best Game Scheme) were also recognized for their efforts. Watch out Monopoly!

The APhA-ASP Operation Diabetes team recently attended the Thomas O'Brien Academy of Science and Technology (TOAST) Health Fair to teach elementary school students about diabetes. The ACPHS students explained the basics of diabetes including ways to prevent Type 2 diabetes. They also started a campaign encouraging the students to participate in healthy activities and had the students promise to promote healthy living through the "Hands in to Fight Diabetes" poster contract.