College Connections
An Electronic newsletter from the College of Pharmacy
September 2, 2021
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Dear College of Pharmacy Family,
The College welcomed the class of 2025 with an all faculty, staff, and student BBQ on August 17th followed by the annual white coat ceremony on the 20th. Our staff adjusted the white coat ceremony at the last minute to a remote program due to changes in the COVID guidance issued by UNMC. We thank all of the alumni who contributed to our Innovations Fund and made these events possible.
The faculty and staff are excited to have students back in the College for the academic
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year. The energy and enthusiasm, despite all the changes in the past 18 months is incredible and inspirational. Resilient is a word to describe the College employees and students as we continue to adapt to the pandemic.
As we enter autumn, the faculty, students and staff wish you the best and thank-you for making the College an elite pharmacy school.
Warm regards.
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The annual White Coat Ceremony took place on August 20 at the Michael F. Sorrell Events Center. Similar to last year, the event was in-person for incoming students only. Family, friends and faculty were invited to watch via livestream.
Forty-six students took the pledge of professionalism and received their professional white laboratory jackets. Jackets were provided by friends of the College of Pharmacy through contributions to the Innovations Fund.
Kyle Skiermont, PharmD, Vice President of Pharmacy and Therapeutics for Nebraska Medicine and Assistant Dean for Clinical Affairs delivered the keynote speech "From White Coat to Sport Coat". P4, Brady Caverzagie, class president, provided advice to the incoming students in his speech "If I Could Do It All Over Again".
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College of Pharmacy Back to Campus BBQ |
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The UNMC Alumni Association sponsored a College of Pharmacy BBQ which kicked off orientation for our P1 students.
Several student organizations set up booths to entice new membership. Faculty and staff were also able to participate in conversation, food, and games with the students.
The event was a great opportunity for both our incoming and current students to get acquainted before classes began.
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Your support impacts our students.
Thank you!
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American Chemical Society honors Dr. Vennerstrom
by Kalani Simpson, strategic communications
Jonathan Vennerstrom, PhD, professor of pharmaceutical sciences, has earned many honors throughout his career for his groundbreaking work in medicinal chemistry to improve treatments for malaria, schistosomiasis, and other diseases.
But this latest award may be the most unusual. The American Chemical Society's journal ACS Infectious Diseases has devoted its July 2021 edition to a special issue "In Celebration of Jonathan Vennerstrom: A Pioneer in Neglected Tropical Diseases."
"This special issue is dedicated to Professor Jonathan Vennerstrom at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), who is one of the most accomplished medicinal chemists in the field of infectious diseases and has served as an inspiration for scientists interested in making a true impact on society," wrote Courtney Aldrich, PhD, the journal's editor-in-chief, in a lead editorial.
It is an unusual, but well-deserved accolade, said UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, MD.
"Dr. Jonathan Vennerstrom and his work at the UNMC Center for Drug Discovery embody our mission to lead the world in transforming lives to create a healthy future for all individuals and communities," Dr. Gold said. "The focus in the area of neglected tropical diseases has always been critically important and even more so now as we continue to move through this phase of the global pandemic in the developing world. We are delighted that he is being recognized in this unique way."
Dr. Vennerstrom was honored on the journal's cover, and by a collection of related scientific articles "from colleagues, collaborators, and former students."
He and his UNMC team collaborated with Australia's Monash University and the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute to discover the new antimalarial drug Synriam, and the antimalarial drug candidate, OZ439, currently in clinical trials. This work was supported by the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), a Swiss nonprofit backed heavily by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
In his current project, he and his team have identified a potential single-dose drug candidate for schistosomiasis, a tropical parasitic disease affecting as many as 200 million individuals worldwide.
The special issue was a point of pride for the College of Pharmacy. "One of the greatest honors in science is to have your contributions recognized by your peers," said Keith Olsen, PharmD, dean of the College of Pharmacy. "This is truly an honor bestowed to Jonathan."
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Recent Faculty Publications |
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Scission energies of surfactant wormlike micelles loaded with nonpolar additives
Zhao T., Hao H., Wang Z., Liang Y., Feng K., He M., Yun X., Bianco P.R., Sun Y., Yao B., Lei M.
Biomed. Opt. Express 2021 12:6 (3474-3484)
The impact of airborne endotoxin exposure on rheumatoid arthritis-related joint damage, autoantigen expression, autoimmunity, and lung disease
Mikuls T.R., Gaurav R., Thiele G.M., England B.R., Wolfe M.G., Shaw B.P., Bailey K.L., Wyatt T.A., Nelson A.J., Duryee M.J., Hunter C.D., Wang D., Romberger D.J., Ascherman D.P., Poole J.A.
Int. Immunopharmacol. 2021 100:
Article treatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria after implementation of an inpatient urine culture algorithm in the electronic medical record
Osiemo D., Schroeder D.K., Klepser D.G., Van Schooneveld T.C., Watkins A.B., Bergman S.J.
Pharm. 2021 9:3
Role of toll-like receptor 7/8 pathways in regulation of interferon response and inflammatory mediators during SARS-CoV2 infection and potential therapeutic options
Dyavar S.R., Singh R., Emani R., Pawar G.P., Chaudhari V.D., Podany A.T., Avedissian S.N., Fletcher C.V., Salunke D.B.
Biomed. Pharmacother. 2021 141:
Short-Term cost-effectiveness of oral semaglutide for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus in the United States
Cui J., Klepser D.G., McAdam-Marx C.
J. Manag. Care Spec. Pharm. 2021 27:7 (840-845)
Humanized Mice for Infectious and Neurodegenerative disorders
Dash P.K., Gorantla S., Poluektova L., Hasan M., Waight E., Zhang C., Markovic M., Edagwa B., Machhi J., Olson K.E., Wang X., Mosley R.L., Kevadiya B., Gendelman H.E.
Retrovirology 2021 18:1
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SHARING the Green Golf Tournament Returns
The annual SHARING the Green golf tournament is back.
Interrupted by the pandemic last year, the golf tournament, which supports the student-run SHARING Clinics, will be held Sept. 24 at Shoreline Golf Course, 210 Locus St., in Carter Lake, Iowa. Registration begins at 2:30 p.m. with a shotgun start at 3 p.m. followed by dinner and silent auction at 6 p.m. It costs $300 to register a team, which includes nine holes of golf, including golf cart and range balls, and dinner; or $20 to attend just the dinner and silent auction.
Interested in providing financial support? A variety of sponsorship levels are available, ranging from $300 to sponsor a student team to $7,500 for a corporate sponsorship.
For more information, contact Julie Bouchard at 402-559-1322 or via email. |
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College of Pharmacy Spotlight |
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Highlighting a college alumni, student, and/or faculty member! |
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Today we are celebrating two college greats! P4 Shailendra V. Selvaraj and alumnus Dr. Aaron Kassebaum R.P., who serves as a College of Pharmacy preceptor. |
Shailendra V. Selvaraj
PharmD candidate 2022
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Where were you born and where did you go to high school?
I was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I went to Shawnee Mission South High School in Overland Park, Kansas.
Where did you complete your undergraduate requirements for pharmacy school?
I went to Ottawa University in Ottawa, Kansas where I graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science of Biology degree.
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What is your favorite part of pharmacy school?
I would have to say that my favorite part of pharmacy school was the beginning of the pharmacotherapy section during the Fall of my second year. Those sections contained some of the most difficult exams, but it also allowed me to build close kinships with my classmates since we were all in the same situation. Additionally, I believe the pharmacotherapy section helped me find my individual style as future pharmacist. I believe that it served its purpose as not only being the most challenging section, but also the most rewarding.
Have you decided where you might like to practice when you graduate?
I am looking to apply for PGY1 residency programs in Colorado, Nebraska, and Kansas to eventually pursue a PGY2 program. I aim to specialize in Infectious Diseases, Emergency Medicine, or Critical Care. I am open to different areas of pharmacy practice and I am eager to gain more exposure to the field during my fourth year rotations.
If you could send a brief message to all of the people who donate to the UNMC College of Pharmacy, what would you say?
Thank you, thank you, and thank you! I personally would have never been able to set foot into a pharmacy class if it wasn’t for the kindness and generosity of the donors. I am truly grateful for the many scholarship and leadership opportunities that have been made available to me in the UNMC College of Pharmacy. Thank you again!
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How many years have you served as a preceptor for UNMC?
I became a preceptor soon after graduating UNMC College of Pharmacy in 1997, and have been precepting ever since. About 23 years.
Please describe your practice site, including the location. What special things do the students get to learn from you?
We are located at the University Health Center on campus at UNL. Our practice site has a number of very unique, exciting things for the students to experience.
At this practice site, students will get to see patients with some of the Nebraska Medicine providers 2 or 3 times a week, spending time with them and going over patient cases. Also, we provide a lecture series where roughly 30 to 40 minutes a day I spend one on one time with the student and review medication classes, disease state therapy, and much more. We also go over MTM and adherence platforms, as well as comprehensive patient counseling.
Our pharmacy also has access to patient charts through Epic which is often very helpful in understanding the reasoning behind a lot of the prescriptions that are sent from our providers at the health center. And finally, each student will have an opportunity to give a presentation to the clinic staff on a topic that is of interest to the student or one that our providers have suggested.
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What is the most rewarding part of being a preceptor for the College of Pharmacy?
Honestly, for me, there are two very special, rewarding parts of being a preceptor. The first one is simply the day to day interactions I get to have with the students. I really enjoy the lecture series as we share ideas on disease state therapies, working on presentation development, as well as diving into difficult patient cases. I love the teaching aspect of being a preceptor and getting to watch the student’s knowledge and confidence grow while being here. The second rewarding aspect of being a preceptor is seeing the energy and passion that the students bring with them each day. The desire and drive to get involved and make a difference in real patient lives radiates from them and, quite honestly, invigorates me. Spending time with the students truly makes me want to continue to strive to be the best pharmacist I can be.
If you could give one message to our current students, what would you say?
My message to the students would be to be extremely excited about your future in pharmacy and the opportunities that await you. As early as today, strive to go out and find ways to make a difference in patient lives. To me, the most rewarding part of any day is knowing that something we did for a patient helped to make their life easier or healthier in some way. Opportunities will come often and in many forms. It doesn’t matter what setting or area of practice you decide on, being a pharmacist will provide many situations that you can have a positive impact on a patient’s health or well-being. Don’t let those opportunities pass you by. Embrace them!
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Interested in becoming a Preceptor? Contact Dr. Amy Pick for more information!
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