Used in Native American healing, some compounds in pungent plant stronger than available pharmaceutical treatments. Read More
The CU Pre-Health Scholars Program (CUPS) is designed to motivate high school students to pursue a college education and enroll in a professional health career or graduate school program. Here’s a look at what these students did in the pharmacy class this summer.
“It’s really opened my eyes to the medical field and different opportunities that are available,” says high school junior Sanam Dean, she’s one of the students that participated in the CU Pre-Health Scholars Program (CUPS) this summer. The program is designed to motivate high school students to pursue a college education and enroll in a professional health career or graduate school program. Read More
“Ever since I was 16 I wanted to go to med school,” says second-year pharmacy student Miya Holley. Being diagnosed with Type I diabetes at 16 allowed Holley to see more of the system, “especially from a patient’s perspective and it interested me.”
Like many undergraduate students, Holley fumbled around with a variety of majors and finally settled on microbiology. Read More
It’s hard to believe that recent CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy graduate Adam McHenry was ever a problem child. As an eighth grader, McHenry was a handful. “I didn’t care if I was in class or not. I hung out with the wrong crowd,” says McHenry.
One day, the school called his parents and told them that they had not seen him for a while. “The next month, my parents enrolled me in a Lutheran school. It turned my life around.” Read More
There’s currently a national shortage of sodium bicarbonate, yes baking soda, for use in medical procedures. The shortage of injectable sodium bicarbonate, is prompting health care providers to postpone some non-emergent procedures and operations, so they have some on hand for emergencies, “One form is an emergency syringe, used in some patients who have a cardiac event. When hospitals don’t have enough of that, they get really nervous that a cardiac event might occur in one place, and they wouldn’t have some readily available,” explains Peter Rice, PharmD, PhD with the University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy. Read More
Nearly two dozen students from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, including pharmacy, recently visited Rio Grande County in Southern Colorado for Rural Immersion Week. The experience is for health professions students who are interested in living and working in a rural area “I really enjoyed the Rural Immersion Week! We got to meet with local community leaders and learn what it was like to live in a rural community,” says third year student Amanda Howard, who represented the school along with Jhani Williams, Dario Martinez and Nicola Maude. Read More
“Having my daughter and I obtain doctorates at the same time is a seminal moment,” says Maumi Villarreal. She and her husband, Daniel, are both first generation college graduates and have modeled a college education to their daughters — Sarah and Chelsea. “Our parents are very proud of us,” says Villarreal.
Villarreal passed on her love of pharmacy to her eldest daughter, when Sarah would help her mom at the local ASHP meetings. Read More
Thousands of high school students interested in health care careers descended upon Disney World and became more acquainted with pharmacy during International HOSA’s (Health Occupations Students of America) annual conference in Orlando. CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy featured prominently in various activities, including a popular interactive exhibit and five workshops. Read More
Can you imagine total silence or hearing only muffled conversations? “You adapt,” says recent CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy graduate Lauren Kirchner. “But there is an advantage. Patients think I am really engaging with them because I am concentrating on their lips and hearing what they have to say.”
And in a career that requires patient interaction, being attentive is a plus. Read More
A great preceptor doesn’t just give professional guidance and help mentees grow academically, they also help students grow personally and learn to believe in themselves. That’s exactly what Dr. Erin Johnson-Mundo does, and because of that is the winner of this year’s Health-System Excellence in Precepting Award.
“She is truly an exceptional preceptor,” says University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences fourth year student Ursula Fiala, “Erin was supportive, encouraging and patient during the entire rotation which really helped to build my confidence. She also treated me with respect kindness and compassion.” Read More
Creator and host of the Talk Pharmacy podcast, Ahsun Babalmorad is a natural when it comes to interviewing his subjects. The program, which airs on iTunes, provides listeners with interviews of students and faculty, offering insights into the world of pharmacy and the CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy.
Of Iranian heritage, Babalmorad comes by his ability to talk — and more importantly to listen — naturally. His father worked for an American oil company prior to the Iranian revolution in the 1970s and was sent to study engineering in the US. While here, the revolution broke out back home, so his father and mother decided to stay and raise a family. “At that time, my parents saw more opportunity in the US than in their home country,” says Babalmorad, a first generation American and Colorado native. Read More
After attaining his bachelor of biomedical sciences from Western Michigan, Ross Osgood took some time off to figure out what he really wanted to do.
“I was kind of on a pre-med track,” says Osgood.
“I bounced around between med school, dental and PA programs – not really feeling like any of them were the right fit.” So, he shadowed dentists and worked in a nursing home, but still was unconvinced that any of those allied health care careers were right for him. “But when I started doing research, it just clicked.”
During the year between undergrad and grad school, he missed the deadline to sign up for dental school, so he joined Americorps instead. Read More
Whitney Pittman’s career path seems pre-ordained.
When she was 10 years old, a classmate and friend was diagnosed with a brain tumor. At age 15, her friend died. “It was the first time I had ever heard the word cancer and that really left an imprint on me,” says Pittman.
“Since high school I knew I wanted a career in health care, specifically pediatric oncology,” says Pittman. Read More
Today, the University of Colorado Anschutz celebrated graduating its 10,000th student in the health and health care disciplines since relocating to its present campus in 2009. And, brothers Jonathan and Jefferey Chheuy, who graduated from CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences were two of them.
Born just 13 months apart, the Chheuy brothers are very close, and that’s a good thing since the two have been confused with each other their entire lives. Read More
MaLaura Creager has experienced quite a lot in her life. She and her brother are the first in their family to obtain bachelors’ degrees. And, MaLaura will be the first to attain her Doctor of Pharmacy degree when she graduates from CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy later this week. “My family is so, so proud,” says Creager, who will have her own cheering section at Commencement when 20 family members descend on Colorado to share her excitement. “They are so impressed that I will be a pharmacist.”
For Creager, the mantra “it’s not if you go to college, but when” that many families embrace was not reality. Read More
The state of Colorado and the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus are joining forces to fight prescription drug abuse and the opioid epidemic, with the state allocating $1 million to the university to create a new center that will focus on the crisis.
The Center for Substance Abuse Prevention at the CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences is the result of Senate Bill 17-193, which Gov. John Hickenlooper signed on May 18. Read More
$1 million from marijuana tax cash fund establishes the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention at the CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the Anschutz Medical Campus Read More
At my internship I shadow a lot of people. Many of them pharmacists, but some of them are researchers like James Griffon. I was in Dr. Simberg’s research laboratory shadowing James and I watched him go about his daily duties. The lab is a very different environment compared to some of the other settings I have shadowed. I always find my lab experience to be fun and relaxing. James is always doing something , so consequently, I’m always seeing something. Whether it be old or new, I find the lab work to be interesting. This time James was working with mice skin and freeze it on dry ice so that later they can slice it and get pictures of cells. He also transferred some cancer cells into new media, which kills an enzyme that attacks and kills the cancer cells.
I am Joshua Lucero and I want to be an educated drug dealer. Okay, so what I mean is that I want to be a pharmacist. I recently had the opportunity to participate in an executive internship program through Pickens Technical College and my high school in Aurora — Rangeview. Because of my interests in pharmacy, pharmaceutical sciences and bioengineering I was paired with the University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. In my internship I learned that there is a lot more to being a pharmacist than just counting pills. Read More