Legendary former CU Pharmacy faculty member David Elm had a request when a scholarship was created this year in his honor: “I thought it would be important to recognize someone who put their life in danger for all of us,” he said. Read More
Two University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences faculty members and a student were honored with awards that recognize pharmacy innovators from across the U.S.
Associate Professor Sarah Anderson, PharmD, Assistant Professor Rhianna Fink, PharmD, and student Nashel Patel were all honored in the Next-Generation Pharmacy Awards, sponsored by Pharmacy Times and Parata Systems. The awards honor 30 finalists from across the country in 10 categories. Read More
After challenging pharmacy schools from across the nation, three University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences students won the American College of Clinical Pharmacy’s Clinical Pharmacy Challenge in New York. Read More
Video courtesy of Stephanie Carlson, Digital Media Manager, 9Health
For patients with a severe form of epilepsy, it can be dangerous to drive, go to work or even walk to the mailbox alone. A fear of falling and blacking out prevents many patients with medically refractory epilepsy from living lives most people take for granted.
“They can’t have a job, they can’t really live a normal life,” said Tom Anchordoquy, PhD, professor at the University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. “These patients, before, had to always have someone with them because there was a fear of seizures.”
On top of that, the drugs patients with the severe form of epilepsy take to manage their disorder — which are needed in high concentrations in the brain — are typically taken orally and then distributed throughout the entire body, resulting in problematic side effects. Read More
With sights set on helping advance efforts to address the opioid epidemic, cooperative bank CoBank recently announced it will donate $500,000 to the Center for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention, which is housed in the CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Read More
Denver made history this month by effectively decriminalizing psychedelic mushrooms — and experts at the University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences say the vote marks an important development for the drug, but only time will tell of its impact in a clinical setting.
The initiative, which passed by a close margin and was certified by the city of Denver on May 16, means that arresting anyone for personal possession, consumption or growth of “magic mushrooms” is a low priority for law enforcement. It also prohibits Denver from using city funds to prosecute similar cases.
Hallucinogenic mushrooms haven’t been fully legalized — and unlike marijuana, people won’t be able to legally buy and sell them in the city. Read More
We are saddened to report that a great friend to our school, Mr. Eugene “Gene” McMahan, has passed away. He was 92 years old.
Gene was an extraordinary, generous person. For 25 consecutive years, he donated a full, in-state tuition scholarship to a pharmacy student in memory of his daughter and CU Pharmacy alumna Teresa McMahan-Shulkin, beginning at a time when in-state tuition was approximately $4,000 and continuing through last year when in-state tuition was nearly $31,000. Read More
“Volunteering for the AHEC health screening booth at the National Western Stock Show has become one of my favorite volunteer opportunities thus far. I first volunteered last year as a first-year pharmacy student. As a first-year student, I jumped at the chance to have more direct patient care experiences and was excited to do so in such a fun environment like the stock show. This opportunity was more rewarding than I had hoped, and I volunteered again to participate in this year’s stock show. This year I not only was able to complete health screenings, but I also helped coordinate and administer donated flu vaccines.
Bringing resources directly to patients, such as free health screenings and free flu shots, helped reach a patient population that is often left underserved. I could not count the number of patients I spoke with that do not have a relationship with a primary care physician in their community or don’t see a doctor on a regular basis. Providing resources in a relaxed environment in which they are comfortable, helps us build rapport and create that first link with the healthcare system. Read More
Pharmacists will – and must – play key roles in tackling the world’s health challenges, Dr. Catherine Duggan, chief executive officer of the International Pharmaceutical Federation, said in her keynote address to the second Pharmacy Strategies for New Opportunities Worldwide (SNOW) Symposium in Breckenridge, Colo. on Jan. 25, 2019.
Dr. Duggan cited the World Health Organization’s 2019 list of global health issues ranging from the potential for an influenza pandemic to antimicrobial resistance to HIV to primary health care in her speech. “Pharmacy is absolutely front and center in all these challenges,” said Dr. Duggan, who recently became CEO of the federation, know as FIP for its French name Fédération Internationale Pharmaceutique. Read More
The Colorado Legislature is back in session, and once again faculty from the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences are working closely with lawmakers to provide their expertise on the opioid crisis.
The Skaggs School of Pharmacy is the home of the Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention, which coordinates Colorado’s statewide response to the opioid epidemic. School of Pharmacy professor Robert Valuck, PhD, RPh, is the Consortium’s executive director, and he has helped lawmakers understand the crisis and provided them with reliable information for the past several years.
The Legislature convened in early January, and its agenda included bills that would expand medication-assisted treatment and create new law enforcement programs. “The bills the legislature passed last year and the ones it will consider this session will make an impact to Coloradans dealing with substance use disorder and help the public understand the risks of opioids,” Valuck said. Read More
The University of Colorado Center for Pharmaceutical Value (PValue) has been established with a Value Assessment Center of Excellence Award from the PhRMA Foundation.
The foundation grant of $500,000 was awarded to Jonathan Campbell, PhD, R. Brett McQueen, PhD, and Melanie Whittington, PhD, who have primary faculty appointments in the field of Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research with the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences on the Anschutz Medical Campus.
PValue will be a center of excellence within the D2V initiative, a Transformational Research Funding project supported by the Dean’s Office of the University of Colorado School of Medicine. D2V will support PValue through a matching award of $500,000. Additional D2V support will include peer review, shared professional research assistance, project management expertise, and institutional accountability. The total award will be allocated over three years to establish PValue initiatives. Read More
Sheldon “Shelly” E. Steinhauser knows the value of pharmacy – it was instilled in him during his childhood. His father, an immigrant, was a Navy doctor and, later, a neighborhood physician who worked closely with a trusted community pharmacist.
“My father wouldn’t make a key decision about prescribing drugs for his patients without consulting the pharmacist,” said Shelly. “Today, people are just as likely to turn to pharmacists whenever they have questions about prescription drugs and other health aids. They’re critical to our health care system.” Read More
Coloradans are concerned about prescription drug abuse and support increased state funding for initiatives to address the epidemic, according to a survey commissioned by the Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention to measure the public’s awareness of the opioid crisis.
More than half of the survey’s 1,400 respondents (57 percent) thought there was a problem with people in their community misusing prescription medication such as opioids, and 57 percent said they had heard or seen a message about prescription drug abuse being a problem in Colorado. Many of those surveyed had a personal connection to the crisis, as 37 percent said they knew someone who was or had been addicted to prescription medication. Read More
The ALSAM Foundation, a generous long-time donor to the CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (SSPPS), has provided $2M of funding for collaborative grants between the SSPPS and the BioFrontiers Institute. This donation supports the Therapeutic Innovation Grants Program that allows the SSPPS on the Anschutz Medical Campus to join forces with the BioFrontiers Institute on the Boulder Campus to encourage faculty collaboration in the development of innovative projects that will advance the health and wellness of people in our communities and around the globe. Read More
According to the American Society of Clinical Oncology, more than 14 million people will be diagnosed with cancer this year, worldwide, and more than 9 million people will succumb to the effects of cancer. This is equal to approximately 22,000 cancer deaths per day, and this cancer mortality rate is expected to continue to rise.
Despite all the advances in technology to both diagnose and treat cancer, many of these therapies are ineffective against the later stages of cancer. Read More
CU pharmacy students, Nashel Patel and Tracie Vanhorn took to the “streets” of the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus to see what students and faculty know about Human papillomavirus (HPV) and the vaccine. Read More
Sheridan Health Services, a University of Colorado College of Nursing nurse-led community health center in the Denver metro area, recently passed the Health Resources & Service Administration (HRSA) Compliance Review with a 100 percent rating. Faculty and students from CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences also play an integral role at the clinic. Read More
James Roede, PhD, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, was recently awarded two different Administrative Supplement Awards attached to his prestigious Outstanding New Environmental Scientist Award from NIEHS (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences) – a division of NIH (National Institutes of Health). Read More
It’s now easier to quit smoking in Colorado. People can go to a pharmacy, instead of waiting several days to get in with a provider, to get prescription anti-smoking medications, “People can come into a pharmacy and visit their pharmacist, and through a simple screening process and consultation, they can be subscribed smoking cessation medications,” explains Emily Zadvorny, PharmD, a University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy faculty member and Executive Director of the Colorado Pharmacists Society. Read More
Kilts, bagpipes, haggis…and pharmacy! Over a dozen CU Pharmacy faculty and staff recently descended upon Glasgow, Scotland for the 78th International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) World Congress of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, “Our presence at FIP speaks volumes about our school’s commitment to and impact on global pharmacy education, clinical practice and research,” said Dean Ralph Altiere. Read More