UNM College of Pharmacy Masthead
News for Alumni & Friends
April 30, 2015 - In This Issue:

Stay Connected!
  
Upcoming Events
NM Pharmacy Wholesalers' Invitational Golf Tournament
Club Rio Rancho
Tee off: 1:00 pm

We Need Your Help!
In celebration of the COP's 70th anniversary in 2015, we will be holding several events throughout the year. Our largest event will be our 70th Anniversary Gala Celebration on November 14, 2015 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, but we welcome volunteers throughout the year.

If you would like to be a part of this planning process, please contact Irene Gray at [email protected].


Congratulations
Bob Shmaeff ('61) 
received the Bowl of Hygeia award from the California Pharmacists Association for his service to the pharmacy profession.


In Memorium
E. Mitch Mills ('51)
passed away on March 23. Our condolences go out to his family and friends.


Send Us Your Favorite Memories!

We're collecting your favorite memories from your time here at the College. In our 70-year history, we have had 3,000 graduates, 6 Deans, 2 buildings and immense growth as a whole. What moment during your time here made an impact on you? We want to know!


 

Please send your stories to us at [email protected] so that we can share them with our alumni and friends. Thank you!

 


Keep in Touch With the UNM Alumni Directory
Stay in touch with your fellow alumni by signing up at the UNM Alumni Directory. Here, you can update your current contact and employment information AND search for your former classmates. 
 
 
Send us Your Stories!
Did you just begin a new position? Get married? Become a proud new parent? Know another classmate who has accomplished something incredible and you want to share? Tell us!

Send us an email at [email protected]  and we will announce the news in our next alumni e-newsletter.
  
  
  
  

 
Our mission is to develop innovative leaders in pharmaceutical care and research who enhance the quality of life for the people of New Mexico.
  
Gifts to the UNM College of Pharmacy help us ensure that we continue to provide future generations of pharmacists with the best foundation possible.
  

 

 

 


  


2015 Distinguished Alumnus, L.Ray Nunley, RPh ('62) Honored at Reception

 

2015 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient,
L. Ray Nunley ('62)
On Friday, April 17th, the College's 30th Distinguished Alumnus, L. Ray Nunley ('62), was honored at a reception to celebrate his distinguished career in both pharmacy and public service. 

 

Surrounded by his peers, Ray was recognized by former Executive Director of the New Mexico Board of Pharmacy (NMBOP), Bill Harvey ('82), and fellow alumnus, Ken Corazza ('63). Not only was Ray's service to his profession a highlight of the evening, but his compassion and concern for his community as well. 

 

Ray himself gave a touching speech thanking attendees for their support and honoring the College's 2nd Dean, Elmon Cataline, for encouraging him to come to New Mexico and enroll in pharmacy school. For Ray, the kindness that he encountered from Dean Cataline and a childhood friend (and pharmacist) by the name of Jerry Evans in Odessa, Texas, not only cemented his desire to become a pharmacist, but his desire to help others as well.


 
In Ray's own words, "Being a pharmacist, to me, is the best profession today. Everything that I have been able to do or accomplish is because I was a pharmacist. I owe thanks to my wife, Mary Lee (deceased) and my children for their understanding and support."

 


Left photo, L-R: L. Ray Nunley ('62), Bill Harvey ('82)

Middle photo, L-R: Ken Corazza ('63), Danny Cross, Chair of the NM Board of Pharmacy

Right photo: L-R: Amy Buesing (82), L. Ray Nunley ('62) and Joe Anderson ('91)

Traci White, PharmD, PhC ('06) Receives Emerging Leader Award
2015 Emerging Leader award recipient, Traci White ('06)

The UNM College of Pharmacy is proud to announce Dr. Traci White ('06) as the very first recipient of the Emerging Leader award. This award honors alumni who are ten years out or less from their graduation date on their professional achievements in distinguishing themselves as future leaders in their profession. They are serving as role models for the future generations of pharmacists, and Traci was selected by a group of her peers for proving herself to be a leader in this area.

 

White's professional career as a pharmacist clinician has enabled her to dedicate much of her service to optimizing medication therapy in terminally ill patients.  She has served as the Oncology Clinical Pharmacist at the UNM Cancer Center in Las Cruces, as well as the Clinical Staff Pharmacist at Memorial Medical Center. Currently, Traci is the Assistant Director of the UNM/NMSU Cooperative Pharmacy program in Las Cruces, where she is enabling future pharmacists to realize their dreams and apply their skills to their home communities. She is also a Pharmacist Clinician at Mesilla Valley Hospice, where she supports her patients and all members of their health care team in ensuring that they receive proper pain and symptom management.


 

For Traci, professional service is an important component of her career. She is a member of the Interdisciplinary Committee at Memorial Medical Center, the Pharmacotherapy Steering Committee at the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, the advisory board for the Rehabilitation Hospital for Southern New Mexico, and the Continuing Education and Medication Safety Committees at Mesilla Valley Hospice, to name a few. Previously, she has served on the NM Board of Pharmacy Pharmacist Practice Committee, completed the Pain and Palliative Care Traineeship with the ASHP Foundation, and served as a volunteer pharmacist consultant for the Child Crisis Center of Southern NM.

 

In addition to her professional career, Traci has dedicated herself to educating the next generation of pharmacists through her role as a preceptor for pharmacy students, medical residents from the Southern New Mexico Family Medicine Residency Program and NMSU pre-pharmacy students. She also provides lectures to third-year UNM College of Pharmacy students in the oncology section of Pharmacy 752: Pharmacotherapy III. As a wife and mother, Traci is an inspiration to other female pharmacy students in realizing that they can have both a career and a family.

 

 

Congratulations to Traci on this significant achievement! 

 

Dean's Council Convenes for First Time
L-R: Vangie Pavlakos ('79), Dennis Pena ('57), Neal Johnson ('78) and L. Ray Nunley ('62) 

On Friday, April 17th, members of the newly formed Dean's Council (formerly the Papiani Giving Circle) met to discuss the state of the College. Members provided their input on various College initiatives and received updates from Dean Lynda Welage; Assistant Dean Don Godwin; Development Director, Rich Grainger; and Alumni Relations Specialist, Irene Gray.

 

The special guest of the day's activities was the College's newest Distinguished Alumnus, L. Ray Nunley ('62). 

 

The Dean's Council is comprised of members from the top three tiers of our giving society: Papiani Giving Circle, White Coat Society and Rx Patrons. If you are interested in becoming a member, please call our Development office at 272-3657.

APhA Alumni & Friends Reception
Joy H. Donelson, RPh ('51) and 1991 Distinguished Alumna cuts
our 70th Anniversary cake

during the reception

This year's Alumni & Friends reception was a particularly special occasion for the College. Not only are we celebrating our 70th year as New Mexico's first and only College of Pharmacy, but we also had much to be proud of in terms of the many awards our student pharmacists received at this year's meeting. More than sixty-five alumni and friends of the College gathered on the evening of Saturday, March 28th to reconnect and celebrate the accomplishments of our APhA-ASP. Additionally, everyone cheered on Kelsea Gallegos (P2) in her campaign for National APhA-ASP President-Elect, the office to which she was elected the very next day.  

Alumni came to San Diego from as far away as Tennessee and represented a range of graduating classes from as far back as 1951 and as recent as 2014.  We also enjoyed the presence of many representatives from our partners such as CVS, Cardinal Health, Albertsons/Safeway, Walgreens and Smith's.  We are always grateful to have our alumni reconnect with us and are always increasingly proud of the many ways our community reaches out and improves the lives and well being of their respective communities.

 

SOT Alumni & Friends Reception

The 54th Annual Society of Toxicology meeting was held at the San Diego Convention Center from March 22nd to the 26th. Students, staff, and faculty from Drs. Burchiel, Campen, Hudson, Lewis, Liu, Thompson, and Walker's labs presented their latest, cutting edge research at the meeting.   Special congratulations go out to BSGP MS students, Molly Harmon and Mario Aragon. Molly won the Best Abstract Award from the Occupational and Public Health Specialty Section and Mario won the Nanotoxicology Specialty Section Outstanding Graduate Student Award.

 

The College of Pharmacy hosted a UNM Reception on Monday evening, which was attended by Dean Lynda Welage, as well as many past and present members of the UNM College of Pharmacy. The reception was co-hosted with Oregon State University and the University of Wisconsin as both programs have important scientific ties with toxicology research performed at UNM. 

 

Overall, the Society of Toxicology meeting was a huge success with over 6,800 attendees and was highly inspirational for toxicology research at the University of New Mexico. Next year's meeting will be held in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Dr. Barry Bleske Accepts Position as Chair of Department of Pharmacy Practice and Administrative Services
We are happy to announce that Barry E. Bleske, PharmD, FCCP from the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy has accepted the position as Chair of the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Administrative Sciences and tenured faculty member.  


 

Dr. Bleske received his B.S. degree from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan and his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Minnesota, College of Pharmacy in Minneapolis.  Following the completion of his PharmD degree, he began a 2-year cardiovascular fellowship at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, CT.   


 

Much of Dr. Bleske's research has been in the cardiovascular field, with a focus on heart failure, and has included both basic and clinical research. His current interests also include: genomics, epi-genomics, and medication optimization in cardiovascular disease; the use of technology to reduce heart failure morbidity; application of a novel clinical tool (TOM-C HF) for heart failure assessment in the community setting; and education research, particularly educational outcomes with team-based learning.   


 

Dr. Bleske has authored and co-authored over 100 published abstracts, articles, and book chapters. He has been published in journals such as American Heart Journal, American Journal of Cardiology, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Pharmacotherapy, and American Journal of Pharmacy Education.  Dr. Bleske has received research funding from industry, foundations and the NIH.  Dr. Bleske's first day will be June 22, 2015.

Dr. Graham Timmins Receives 2015 UNM COP Hadley Award
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Graham Timmins has been named the 2015 recipient of the William M. Hadley College of Pharmacy Distinguished Faculty Scholar Award This award represents the highest honor of recognition of innovative research and scholarly excellence bestowed upon a member of our faculty.  

Dr. Timmins joined the COP as an Assistant Professor in 2001, and was tenured in 2007. Throughout this time, his highly innovative research has led him to the discovery and invention of novel technologies to benefit patients. Dr. Timmins has established a solid track record of productivity, successful collaborations and outstanding original research, evidenced by his 33 publications (of 48 total) since joining the COP, with more than 2,300 citations of his work. His work has appeared in such highly regarded journals as The Journal of Clinical Investigation, Nature Chemical Biology, Nature Communications, Cell Host & Microbe, PNAS, PLoS Pathogens, EMBO Reports, mBio and The Journal of Infectious Diseases, among others. Additionally, Dr. Timmins has had funding from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Johnson & Johnson, as well as NIH funding from both the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Another outstanding achievement of Dr. Timmins' is his effort in translating basic research to clinical and commercialization. In this regard, he has applied for and received a total of 8 patents, with three more pending. He has been tirelessly working to market and commercialize the patented technologies he has developed over the years. In 2010, he co-founded the Avisa Pharma Incorporated in Albuquerque, and became its Chief Scientific Officer. Avisa is a clinical stage pharmaceutical company that has raised over $8 million in private and venture capital investment. A successful proof-of-concept clinical trial at UNM was conducted, and a large trial in TB in Durban, South Africa will start soon. For all of his outstanding commercialization endeavors, Dr. Timmins was chosen as the 2013 STC UNM Innovation Fellow in recognition of his achievements as one of the UNM's leading innovators.

Student Pharmacists Make Us Proud at APhA Annual Meeting

 

Kelsea Gallegos Elected

Far right: Kelsea Gallegos is sworn in as APhA-ASP National President-Elect
APhA-ASP National President-Elect!

  

Kelsea Gallegos (P2) was elected President-Elect at the APHA-ASP House of Delegates meeting in San Diego on March 30th.  Prior to this, Kelsea served as the APHA-ASP regional MRM coordinator  For more details regarding her leadership experience, and her goals for APHA-ASP student pharmacists click here.

  

Kelsea joins a prestigious group of women pharmacists as the fifth COP student pharmacist to be elected to the national APHA-ASP leadership team and our second student pharmacist to one day hold the office of National ASP President. 

  • Adrian Irwin, PharmD ('10) served as President Elect in 2008/President in 2009.  
  • Brooke Clark (Busche), PharmD ('11) served as National ASP Member-at-Large in 2010.  
  • Melissa Skelton-Duke, PharmD ('08) served as National ASP Speaker of the House in 2007.
  • Jennifer Rogers (Short), PharmD ('06), first to hold a National ASP Office, served as National ASP Speaker of the House in 2005.
We are very proud of Kelsea and all of our APhA-ASP chapter members who work tirelessly to advance their profession and engage their communities.  Please join us in thanking Kelsea and all of our amazing student pharmacists for once again filling us with Lobo PRIDE!



 

UNM COP APHA-ASP Receives

National Chapter Achievement Award

 

For the second year in a row, the APHA-ASP students received the National Chapter Achievement Award for schools of our size!  UNM Chapter President Luke Neff (P4) accepted the award on behalf of all of the UNM members and officers.





UNM COP Students Receive the National Immunization Award

 

The UNM College of Pharmacy APHA-ASP Chapter was awarded first place for administering vaccinations during the 2013-2014 review period.  Vicente Jaramillo (P4), who helped to coordinate numerous immunization events, accepted the award on behalf of the Immunization Committee and the APHA-ASP chapter.   

  

How many vaccines did our students administer?

  • 7,500 vaccinations
  • In partnership with School Kids Immunization Project, (SKIP) another 42,000 vaccinations were given
  • Judges stated that UNM COP students gave approximately 20% of all vaccinations given by US pharmacy students.
Proudly, the 2013-2014 flu vaccination rate in New Mexico rose to above the national average for children < 17 years old.(NM vaccination rate was 67% vs the national average of 57%)




UNM COP Students Receive 2nd Runner Up in GenRx Award 


 

 The UNM College of Pharmacy APHA-ASP Chapter was awarded 2nd runner up for Generation Rx.  This is the fourth year the College has received national recognition for its Generation Rx program.

 

              • 2014 Second Runner Up National GenRx Award to APHA-ASP students
              • 2013 .National GenRx Award to APHA-ASP students
              • 2012 National GenRx Award to APHA-ASP students
              • 2011 National Recognition of Megan Thompson for her leadership in developing the UNM COP Generation Rx Program
Generation Rx is a unique program aimed at educating individuals regarding the dangers of prescription drug misuse/abuse.  The students have held educational programs for middle school, high school and college students as well as various community groups.




From left to right - Second-year student pharmacists Himancy Gandhi and Julie Acosta listen in as third-year student pharmacist Luis Gonzalez presents a poster on his research with Luke Neff (not pictured)

Student Pharmacists Present During APhA Meeting in the Researchers Session

Student pharmacists Luis Gonzalez (P3) and Luke Neff (P4) presented a poster on their research titled "An Assessment of Patient Knowledge and Perception of Pharmacist Services in New Mexico," during the 2015 APhA Annual Meeting and Exposition - Meet the Researchers Session.  Their research centered around patient surveys that were collected at statewide health fairs offered by student pharmacist members of the University of New Mexico (UNM) APhA-Academy of Student Pharmacists (ASP) chapter during the 2004 and 2013-14 school years.  Surveys assessed patients' awareness of various pharmacist clinical activities and services, their willingness to pay for these services, and their trust in pharmacists' knowledge.  The objective of the researchers' was to compare data collected from surveys in 2004 with data collected from surveys administered and collected in 2013-14.  The group hypothesized that they would find an increased awareness of pharmacist-provided clinical services over an approximately 10-year span.  This research was conducted under the mentorship of UNM College of Pharmacy faculty members, Dr. Joe Anderson and Dr. Gretchen Ray, who served as faculty advisors for APhA-ASP during the 2004 and 2013 years, respectively. Altogether, a total of over 1,000 health fair participants within the state of New Mexico were surveyed.
 
Student Brittni Gross Receives National ASHP Student Leadership Award
Congratulations to COP student pharmacist, Brittni Gross (Class of 2016), who was one of four P3 students from across the country to be recognized nationally by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) for her leadership!  The ASHP Student Leadership Award Program recognizes students with an interest in pharmacy practice in health-systems who have demonstrated leadership ability. This program recognizes and celebrates the contributions of students who represent the very best attributes and accomplishments of ASHP student members. ASHP offers up to twelve awards annually. Pharmacy students in the second through fourth professional years are eligible to apply. The award consists of:
  • An award plaque,
  • An ASHP drug information reference library, and
  • A $2000 cash award provided by the ASHP Research and Education Foundation
Congratulations and thank you to Brittni for all she is doing to represent the COP with pride!
UNM Student Pharmacists Make an IMPACT in Washington, DC
Gabriela Cabanilla and Lisa Kim Attend NACDS RXImpact Day on Capitol Hill, 
March 25-26, 2015

Hundreds of pharmacy professionals from all areas of the nation converged on Capitol Hill to advocate for, and educate members of the United States Congress on, pro-patient, pro-pharmacy policy as well as key issues related to healthcare reform.  The COP sent two of our student pharmacists, Gabriela Cabanilla (P3and Lisa Kim (P3) as representatives of our College and future leaders of our profession.


 

In a meeting with all three of New Mexico's Congressmen of the US House Representatives, as well as our two Senators, Gabriela and Lisa spoke to them about the profession and the urgency of pharmacists pursuing provider status. They ultimately felt empowered to voice their opinions and "not be afraid of asking our policy makers to take action." 

 

It was a point of pride for our students to describe the rigorous education they undergo at the College and the support they receive from our faculty and staff. Gabriela, in a letter to Dr. Donald Godwin thanking him and the College of Pharmacy community for the financial support that she and Lisa received for this experience, wrote, "I was honored to serve as a UNM COP representative, proud to speak about our pharmacy family and state. If a similar opportunity arises in the future please consider me to be a willing participant. I have discovered that there is no greater joy than representing all the wonderful things for which our College stands."


COP Student Pharmacist and Pharmacy Resident Selected as National Walmart Scholars for Summer ACCP Meeting
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Cheyenne Newsome(PGY1 Resident) and Avni Patel (P3) who were selected from a national pool of applicants to be named 2015 AACP Walmart Scholars. Newsome and Patel were part of a group of just 85 pharmacy faculty and students from across the US to be selected to hold this distinction.  
  
The AACP Walmart Scholars Program awards each of its scholars $1,000 in travel funds to attend the AACP Annual Meeting and the AACP Teachers Seminar in National Harbor, Maryland from July 11-15, 2015.  The College also congratulates Dr. Melanie Dodd, faculty mentor of Dr. Newsome and Dr. Gretchen Ray, faculty mentor of Avni Patel for mentoring these both of these individuals.

UNM College of Pharmacy
MSC09 5360
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001
505.272.3241