Jill M. Kolesar, PharmD, MS, FCCP

Dean, Schmidt Chair, and Professor

Graduate student Rachel Crawford was awarded a National Research Service Award predoctoral fellowship from the National Institutes of Health (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) for her groundbreaking project, “Cardiotoxicity of Catecholamine Metabolism by Monoamine Oxidase with Obesity.”

That’s an impressive accomplishment for Crawford—the principal investigator on the research—let alone for anyone in the toxicology field. Her advisor Professor, Ethan Anderson, explained that the success rate for these predoctoral grants is about one in seven. Crawford is only the second student in the history of the college to receive one.

Clinical Associate Professor Brett Faine and colleagues from the UI Carver College of Medicine received a $3M, four-year National Institutes of Health (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) RO1 grant for their project, "Characterizing a High-Reliability Implementation Program for Sepsis: Sepsis Tools AND Accurate Reporting of Outcome Differences (STANDARD) Study."

“We are excited to launch this new project which aims to identify performance improvement strategies that will help standardize sepsis performance improvement implementation, reducing hospital-to-hospital variation and ultimately improve survival," commented Faine about the impactful study.

College of Pharmacy alumni and faculty are leading the way in vaccine education and recently were featured as vaccine experts in local and national news.

💉 Rick Gates, '95 BSPh and Walgreens chief pharmacy officer, appeared on Good Morning America last week to discuss the importance of getting a flu shot this fall. Gates recommended talking to your pharmacist about other vaccines to best protect yourself this cold and flu season.

💉 Clinical Associate Professor Laura Knockel discussed how pharmacists can help educate patients on changing vaccine guidelines in a recent Drug Topics article.

💉 Kaitlyn Yeates, '21 PharmD, '22 R, shared an update on Covid-19 vaccine access during a local news segment.

Rhea Talley’s journey in pharmacy began at the University of Iowa, where she earned her BSPh in 1959. She and her husband, Doug (’61 BA), worked hard to make ends meet—Doug took on cleaning shifts at the Iowa Memorial Union, while Rhea received scholarships and worked for a local family in exchange for room and board. For four years, she balanced academics and responsibilities, shaping the pharmacist she would become. While her experience with leadership at the time felt distant, Rhea now values the energy and accessibility of Deans Cohen and Letendre. Today, thanks to her thoughtful financial planning, she is proud to give back—hoping to ease the journey for students who, like her, are determined to succeed through hard work and perseverance.

Faith Fiedler, a current recipient, shares, “This scholarship has lifted part of the stress from student loans, especially during my final year. It’s helped me focus more on clinical rotations and less on working extra hours.”

Eryka Dickey echoes that sentiment: “The support has allowed me to fully engage in rotations and leadership roles. I felt honored and grateful to be chosen—it’s a gift that inspires me to give back.”

Rhea’s generosity is more than financial—it’s a legacy of compassion, resilience, and belief in the next generation of pharmacists.

Tony Huynh, '13 PharmD

UI Health Care

APPE Preceptor

Excellence Award

James Lyon

Hy-Vee

IPPE Preceptor

Excellence Award

James Ray

Associate Professor Emeritus

Faculty Preceptor

Excellence Award

Welcome New Faculty Members

On Sept. 1, the college welcomed two new clinical assistant professors: Coby Carstens and Emma Erner. They will serve as shared practice partners at the UI Health Care Downtown Medical Center and teach in the college's Pharmacy Practice Lab. 

Carstens, '06 PharmD, is a clinical pharmacist in the Clinical Cancer Center at UI Health Care. 

Erner, '23 PharmD, is a clinical pharmacy specialist at UI Health Care in Specialty and Gene Therapy. 

Clark Earns Staff of the Year Award

Anthony Clark, director of Information Technology (IT), has received the UI College of Pharmacy 2024-2025 Staff of the Year Award. The honor recognizes a staff member who demonstrates a commitment to excellence through an outstanding set of accomplishments and contributions that significantly benefit the college.

"Tony goes above and beyond his IT director role, tackling responsibilities that fall well outside his formal job description. He consistently demonstrates elements of initiative, innovation, and delivers sustainable results that have a significant positive impact on our college community," stated a nominator.

Pharm Tour Highlighted on Pharmacy Podcast Network

Thanks to host Todd Eury and the Pharmacy Podcast Network for highlighting Dean Kolesar’s two-week tour of 24 pharmacies across Iowa this August. The goal of the Pharm Tour was to build relationships and get feedback to see how the college can support local pharmacies and the services they provide to Iowa’s communities. "Dean Kolesar, you are a rock star to be out there with our independent community pharmacies...and to be able apply that to what is the future of pharmacy education." said Eury.

The Pharmacy Podcast Network is the world’s largest network of podcasts dedicated to the pharmacy professional and industry insider.  

UI Awards Funding to Develop NIH Cancer Treatment Proposal

The UI College of Pharmacy, in a joint effort with the UI Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, has received a grant from the UI Strategic Plan Action and Resource Committee (SPARC) to develop an NIH T32 proposal. Funding will provide support for developing the training plan, curriculum, cohort, and recruitment strategies necessary to position the university to apply for a competitive NIH T32 training grant in cancer drug discovery and development. The two-year award is for $193,950.

The proposed training program's goal will be to educate trainees in the College of Pharmacy and College of Medicine, among others, in developing novel cancer therapeutics from the stages of discovery to development to clinical trials.

The training grant core leadership team will comprise of Dave Roman, associate dean for research and graduate education and professor; Michael Wendt, UI Carver College of Medicine associate professor; Jill Kolesar, dean, Schmidt chair, and professor; and Mark Burkard, UI Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center director.

This initiative aligns with the university’s broader commitment to advancing cancer research and patient care. In addition to this training program, the university is fostering collaborations across the health sciences colleges, supporting clinical trials, and looks to add faculty researchers through CANDID—the Iowa Fund for CANcer Drug DIscovery and Development. 

Rice's Craniosynostosis Research Featured

Professor Kevin Rice co-authored a study that stimulates a gene to prevent craniosynostosis, a condition that causes infants’ skulls to close prematurely. Read more about the impactful research in the recent Iowa Now article.

Thank You for Your Support

We are incredibly grateful for our generous donors! Your unwavering support and generosity help advance our mission to educate and empower the next generation of pharmacy professionals.

💛 Judy Domer and Bill Metts gave a gift to the Floyd R. and Judith E. Domer Scholars Program.

💛 Kerry (Gus), ’84 BSPh, '89 PhD, and Beth Hartauer gave a gift to the College of Pharmacy Opportunity Fund.

To inquire about giving, please contact Director of Development Philip Greazel.

College of Pharmacy Reception at AAPS PharmSci 360

Heading to AAPS PharmSci 360? Join us for a reception hosted by the UI College of Pharmacy and the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Experimental Therapeutics. It’s a great chance to catch up with alumni and colleagues.

Be sure to RSVP!

Penn State Tailgate

🎉 Start your tailgating for the Penn State game with the College of Pharmacy! Food, drinks, tailgate games, and more!

✅ This is complimentary event, but registration is required.

🏈 Get your football tickets!

Get Your Pharmacy Gear

Add some new Iowa Pharmacy gear to your closet and support future pharmacists!

Orders can be placed through Sept. 21. (Please check delivery options when placing an order, as most orders are available to ship directly to your home.)

PROGRESS 2025

Register for Progress 2025: Learning Together in the 21st Century.

Internal medicine is a rapidly evolving field. This conference will discuss practice-changing diagnostic and therapeutic changes in a wide range of clinical medicine.

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