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Alumni    eScripts    Pharmacy

CU Pharmacy 2018 Alumnus Credits Mentors in Shaping His Career Path in Pharmacy

When entering the lobby of the CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2018 alumnus Lee Amaya can be found immortalized in rap video he created while a student in the PharmD program, representing the diverse talent among the CU Pharmacy Alumni. Now just a few years later, Dr. Amaya recalls his student experience and those moments that impacted his learning and contributed to his success as a pharmacist today working in the specialty area of Infectious Diseases.

In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15th, we celebrate Dr. Amaya and other CU Pharmacy alumni of Latina/Latino descent for their significant contributions in the field of Pharmacy and to the community.



Author Jaron Bryant | Publish Date September 01, 2023
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Alumni    eScripts    Pharmacy

CU Pharmacy Alumni Association Names 2023 Board Member

The alumni association for the CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences recently selected it newest board member to begin a three year term this July. As a member of the Class of 2003 and a faculty member, Dr. Monika Nuffer brings a broad perspective to help direct the goals of the association.


Author Jaron Bryant | Publish Date July 30, 2023
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Alumni    eScripts    Pharmacy

CU Pharmacy Announces 2023 Alumni Awardees

The Alumni Association for the CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences is proud to unveil the recipients for the fourth annual alumni awards. This year's honorees are Susan Finstrom, RPh '86, Kristin Holmes, PharmD '13, and Paul Limberis, RPh '79. The awardees will be honored Friday, Nov. 3, 2023 during the 4th Annual CU Pharmacy Alumni Awards as part of Homecoming weekend. 


Author Jaron Bryant | Publish Date July 30, 2023
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Alumni    eScripts    Pharmacy

CU Pharmacy 2014 Alumnus Concentrates Pharmacy Knowledge in Academia to Prepare Future Pharmacists

2014 alumnus Norman Fenn recently joined the Alumni Association Board. As one of its newest leaders, Dr. Fenn explores his career since graduation and the lessons learned in that time.


Author Jaron Bryant | Publish Date July 30, 2023
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Alumni    eScripts    Pharmacy

2013 CU Pharmacy Alumnus Contributes to Healthcare Through Data

Dr. Andrew Webb, a 2013 alumnus of the University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, is an example of excellence and innovation in the field of pharmacy. Since graduating, Dr. Webb has embarked on a remarkable journey marked by his unwavering commitment to patient care and health informatics. This month's alumni spotlight provides a glimpse into his career path, highlighting his growth as a professional. 


Author Jaron Bryant | Publish Date June 30, 2023
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Alumni    eScripts    Diversity    Pharmacy    Equity Diversity and Inclusion

CU Pharmacy Provided 2007 Alumnus the Space to Be His “Authentic Self”

The journey from small-town roots provided 2007 alumnus Robert Willis an opportunity that not only directed and shaped his career as a pharmacist but also provided him the road map to self-discovery, making him the person he is today. In celebration of Pride Month this June, Dr. Willis reflects on his college experience that launched his Pharmacy career and brought him to the realization of his identity as a gay man.



Author Jaron Bryant | Publish Date June 01, 2023
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Alumni    eScripts    Diversity    Pharmacy    Equity Diversity and Inclusion

2003 CU Pharmacy Alumna Overcomes through Resilience and Perseverance

Giving up has never been an option for 2003 graduate Hien Pham. Not even a cancer diagnosis could disrupt her goal of becoming a pharmacist and living life to the fullest.


Author Jaron Bryant | Publish Date April 30, 2023
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Alumni    eScripts    Diversity    Pharmacy    Equity Diversity and Inclusion

CU Pharmacy Alumna Finds Success in Stepping Outside Her Comfort Zone

In celebration of Arab-American Heritage Month this April, we feature 2016 CU Pharmacy alumna Lana Al-Omar as the Alumni Spotlight. Lana reflects on her time as a student on campus, catching us up to date on where she is today, along with sharing pearls of wisdom to guide future pharmacists.


Author Jaron Bryant | Publish Date April 03, 2023
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Alumni    eScripts    Pharmacy

2003 Alumna’s Professional Growth Matches the Evolution of the CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy

2003 alumna Hilda Bi Ndikum has experienced several transitions in the growth of the CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. As a student in the Doctor of Pharmacy program, she first took pharmacy courses when the School was located on the University of Colorado campus at Ninth Avenue and Colorado Boulevard. She joined the faculty when the School relocated to the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, operating out of the Academic Office Building. She continues in her faculty role today with the School now in its own dedicated building at Anschutz.


Author Jaron Bryant | Publish Date March 03, 2023
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Alumni    eScripts    Diversity    Pharmacy    Equity Diversity and Inclusion

2012 CU Pharmacy Alumnus Serves to Advance Healthcare Needs in Underserved Communities

CU Pharmacy alumnus Harold Okocha, PharmD ‘12, recently discussed his pharmacy career. As a board member of the CU Pharmacy Alumni Association and a member of the School’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, Dr. Okocha stands as a leader and role model for future pharmacists.


Author Jaron Bryant | Publish Date February 03, 2023
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Alumni    eScripts    Pharmacy

CU Pharmacy 2016 Alumna Makes It Her Mission to Empower the Community

CU Pharmacy 2016 alumna Kelsey Schwander returned to her alma mater as a Clinical Assistant Professor, practicing out of the Marcus Institute for Brain Health to provide assessments and medication recommendations for patients who have suffered from brain injury. Her body of work serves to fulfill her personal mission of empowering patients, providers, and businesses to create healthcare solutions.


Author Jaron Bryant | Publish Date January 01, 2023
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Alumni    eScripts    Pharmacy

Us, You and 2022! A Year in Review

It was life full circle in 2022 as a return to normalcy occurred and in-person activity amped up. Along with the numerous alumni featured each month, a full schedule of activities kept CU Pharmacy alumni involved. Here is just a glimpse of the year 2022 as we draw the year to a close:


Author Jaron Bryant | Publish Date December 05, 2022
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Alumni    eScripts    Pharmacy

CU Pharmacy 2010 Alumnus Focuses on Applying Technology in Pharmacy

2010 alumnus Charles Foster finds value in incorporating advanced technology to move forward the work of pharmacy. He’s even gone as far as to create a website specifically designed for pharmacy professionals to network through an online community.


Author Jaron Bryant | Publish Date September 30, 2022
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Alumni    eScripts    Pharmacy

All Roads Lead Back to CU Pharmacy for 2012 Alumna

2012 graduate Michaela Hasan never imagined she'd return to the CU Anschutz Medical Campus. Through networking and reconnecting with faculty from her days as a pharmacy student, she found herself at the doorstep of the CU School of Pharmacy once again--this time returning as a member of the faculty at the newest facility operating out of the recently completed Health Sciences Building.


Author Jaron Bryant | Publish Date September 01, 2022
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Alumni    eScripts    Pharmacy

CU Pharmacy Alumnus Proud to Serve Community Over 40 years

1972 CU Pharmacy alumnus Robert Fowler wears many different hats as a pharmacist, city coroner and minister, establishing a reputation for multitasking in order to meet community needs. For anyone who has ever thought about how far you can go with a pharmacy degree, Robert demonstrates the possibilities when you use your background knowledge to think outside of the box and apply your degree to areas that most would never consider as an option with a pharmacy degree.


Author Jaron Bryant | Publish Date July 29, 2022
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Alumni    eScripts    Pharmacy

CU Pharmacy Announces 2022 Alumni Awardees

The Alumni Association for the CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences is proud to unveil the recipients for the third annual Alumni Awards. This year's honorees are Edward Skaff, RPh '59, Kristin Speer, PharmD '12, and Laura Tydall, PharmD (RPh '82).


Author Jaron Bryant | Publish Date July 01, 2022
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Alumni    eScripts    Pharmacy

CU Pharmacy Alumna Finds Rewards in Academia

2012 CU Pharmacy alumna Julia Slejko has traded places going from student to faculty with her career in academia. She had been working in biotech for about seven years before considering graduate school, taking pharmaceutical sciences courses as a non-degree student at the CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy in Pharmaceutical Sciences in the early 2000s. Then she discovered CU Pharmacy's Center for Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research (CePOR) degree program and found her fit in pharmacoenomics, the scientific discipline which compares the value of one pharmaceutical drug or drug therapy to another.


Author Jaron Bryant | Publish Date July 01, 2022
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Alumni    eScripts    Pharmacy

CU Pharmacy Alumni Association Names 2022 Board Members

The alumni association for the CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences recently selected board members to begin terms this July. Each member brings a unique skill set and perspective to helping guide the work of the association.


Author Jaron Bryant | Publish Date June 03, 2022
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Alumni    eScripts    Pharmacy

CU Pharmacy Alumna Uses Skill and Passion to Benefit the Geriatric Community

2012 CU Pharmacy alumna Renee Castilleja (née Torres) hits new stride in career as a long term care pharmacist, stepping out of her comfort zone and aligning her passion for working in geriatrics.


Author Jaron Bryant | Publish Date June 03, 2022
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Alumni    eScripts    Pharmacy

CU Pharmacy Alumna Explores Business Model for New Opportunity

As this month’s 2022 Milestone feature, Kristin Speer (nee Braschler) looks back 10 years ago since graduating from the CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. She offers insight and advice for the next generation of pharmacists.


Author Jaron Bryant | Publish Date April 29, 2022
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Alumni    eScripts    Pharmacy

How Medications, Murder and Modernization Became one Alumna’s Theme

This year marks the 100th anniversary of Rho Chi, the academic honor society for pharmacy. In special acknowledgment of the occasion, this month’s alumni spotlight focuses on a former president of the CU Pharmacy Alpha Theta chapter of Rho Chi, Laura Tyndall. Laura marks her 40-year anniversary as a 1982 graduate of CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. She looks back on the last 40 years and the opportunities that have come her way in that time. Continuing with the feature on alumni milestones, Laura provides a retrospective on the changes she’s experienced in the pharmacy profession and her role in influencing those changes.


Author Jaron Bryant | Publish Date March 29, 2022
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Alumni    eScripts    Pharmacy

CU Pharmacy Alumna Makes Medical Matters Her Affair

2022 marks a milestone year for the classes of ‘82, ’92, ‘02, and ’12. All year long, we’ll be spotlighting alumni from each of these classes as they provide a retrospective on life at CU Pharmacy and their career success. ’02 alumna, Elisha DeLong Sieg kicks off the first 2022 alumni spotlight.


Author Jaron Bryant | Publish Date January 28, 2022
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Alumni    eScripts    Pharmacy

Alumnus' Nuclear Oncology Role Broadens Work

CU Pharmacy alumnus Andrew Maurer, PharmD ‘10, recently discussed his newest career as a Nuclear Oncology Radiotherapy Specialist. As chair of the Nomination Committee for the School’s Alumni Association, Dr. Maurer is regularly engaged with his alma mater as a leader and role model for future pharmacists.


Author Jaron Bryant | Publish Date December 30, 2021
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Alumni    eScripts    Pharmacy

Introverted Pharmacist Spreads Wings for Business Intelligence Career

CU Pharmacy Career Services Manager Laurie Sein chatted with Przemek Lott, PharmD ’19, recently about his journey to becoming a business intelligence pharmacy practitioner.


Author Jaron Bryant | Publish Date November 29, 2021
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Alumni    eScripts    Pharmacy

Alumna Shows Drive and Initiative in Identifying a Pharmacy Career

CU Pharmacy alumna, Jennifer Kobylarczyk, ’19, describes how she created a path for herself in building a career as a consultant pharmacist incorporating her experience in compounding pharmacy (the process of combining, mixing, or altering ingredients to create a medication tailored to the needs of an individual patient) and veterinary pharmacy (dispensing veterinary drugs, supplies or products and advising owners of companion animals and livestock). Career Services Manager Laurie Sein conducted the interview.


Author Jaron Bryant | Publish Date October 30, 2021
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Alumni    eScripts    Pharmacy

CU Pharmacy Alumna’s career blends pharmacy and business

In her own words, 2018 CU Pharmacy alumna Chelsea Sax reflects on her experience completing the PharmD program and entering the corporate sector as a managed care pharmacist with the pharmacy benefit management (PBM) company Express Scripts in an interview conducted by Career Services manager Laurie Sein as part of a series on specialty careers in pharmacy.


Author Jaron Bryant | Publish Date September 30, 2021
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Alumni    eScripts    Pharmacy

CU Pharmacy Alumnus Stacks the Cards in Career Choice

Career Services Manager Laurie Sein continues her conversations with CU alumni involved in new and novel fields of pharmacy. This time, Dmitriy Gekker, PharmD '20, takes center stage, discussing his role at STAQ Pharma as an intern production pharmacist.


Author Jaron Bryant | Publish Date August 30, 2021
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Faculty    Alumni    eScripts    Pharmacy

CU Pharmacy Announces 2021 Alumni Awardees

The Alumni Association for the CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences is proud to unveil the recipients for its second annual alumni awards. This year's honorees are Lucas Smith, PharmD '14 and Boris Tabakoff, RPh '66, PhD '70.


Author Jaron Bryant | Publish Date July 28, 2021
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School of Pharmacy In the News

OBR Oncology

Huge Spike in Prior Authorization for Cancer Drugs Leaves Docs “Shouting in the Wind”

news outletOBR Oncology
Publish DateSeptember 17, 2023

An analysis of Medicare Part D formulary files from 2010 to 2020 showed that utilization management has soared for specialty brand and generic oral oncology drugs, with prior authorization used most prevalently. Kelly Anderson, PhD, MPP, said that what the study found “was consistent with my expectations and what we hear anecdotally from clinicians and patients.”

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Drug Topics

The Role of the Pharmacist in Cannabis Legalization

news outletDrug Topics
Publish DateSeptember 07, 2023

Danielle Fixen, PharmD, notes that the role of a pharmacist varies depending on the state, but that pharmacists can perform drug-interaction checks and educate patients on potential side effects they may experience. “Some states have pharmacists within the medical marijuana dispensary while others do not,” she said. “Given the multiple drug interactions with cannabis, it is important to evaluate [its] safety...in patients.”

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Cannabis Now

Study: Cannabis Doesn’t Increase Heart Attack Risk

news outletCannabis Now
Publish DateAugust 24, 2023

A new study shows that maybe cannabis doesn't increase heart attack risks, but this study is inconsistent with previous research. Dr. Robert Page, PharmD, noted that “the way cannabis is consumed may make a difference in how it affects the heart and blood vessels. Many people don’t realize that cannabis smoke contains components similar to tobacco smoke.”

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Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs

Novel Targets for the Treatment of Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

news outletCongressionally Directed Medical Research Programs
Publish DateJuly 27, 2023

Dr. Daniel LaBarbera’s laboratory is engaged in multidisciplinary cancer drug discovery and development - and has been featured in a 2023 peer reviewed cancer research highlight by the DOD's Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP).

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