Looking Ahead

At the start of every academic year, our attention naturally turns to the students arriving in our classrooms, laboratories, and practice sites. A new year represents new courses, new friendships, and new opportunities to learn and grow.

This fall, it also has me thinking about alumni.

August brought the annual Pharm Tour, where I met alumni from different generations and practice settings, revealing just how varied and impactful a pharmacy career can be. Some are caring for patients in their communities. Others are leading health systems, conducting research, developing new therapies, advancing public policy, or educating the next generation of pharmacists and scientists.

What unites them is not where they ended up, but where they started.

Each alumnus was once a student sitting in a classroom in the College of Pharmacy, wondering what the future might hold. They faced difficult exams, developed lifelong friendships, learned from faculty and mentors, and discovered opportunities they never anticipated. The journey looked different for each of them, but it began here.

As I visit with alumni, I am continually reminded that the students walking our hallways today are the future of our profession and the future of our alumni community. The first-year student taking notes in a lecture hall this semester may become a pharmacy owner, a health-system leader, a researcher, an entrepreneur, or a faculty member. We cannot predict exactly where their path will lead, but we can prepare them for the opportunities ahead.

That perspective is one of the things I value most about the start of a new academic year. It reminds us that education is not simply what happens during four years on campus. It is the beginning of a lifelong relationship with a profession, a network, and a college community.

To our students, welcome back. To our alumni, thank you for the example you set and for continuing to invest in the college and its future. The connection between past, present, and future generations of Hawkeyes is one of our greatest strengths.

I look forward to seeing what this year's students will accomplish, both on campus and in the decades that follow. I also encourage our alumni to return to campus for Homecoming next month to reconnect with former classmates, engage with today’s students, and experience firsthand the energy and momentum of the college. Your continued involvement strengthens our community and helps ensure that the Hawkeye tradition remains vibrant for generations to come.

Board of Regents Approves Cancer Center at UI College of Pharmacy

The Iowa Board of Regents approved at its Sept. 16 monthly meeting the new Institute for Cancer Drug Discovery and Development (CANDID) at the UI College of Pharmacy. It will be housed on the building’s sixth floor, providing much-needed laboratory space for cancer researchers. The institute is a partnership between the college and the UI Health Care Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center. Cancer remains one of the leading causes of death in Iowa, and many patients still need treatments that do not yet exist.

“I am very happy to see this project move forward and grateful to everyone whose dedication, collaboration, and expertise have made it possible,” said cancer researcher Jill Kolesar, dean, Jean M. Schmidt chair, and professor.

NSF Awards $2 Million to Improve Drug Development Through Advanced Computing

UI researchers are leading an effort to develop a new computational method to predict how pharmaceutical compounds crystallize into tablet form, a critical step in bringing new medicines to patients.

The four-year, $2 million award from the National Science Foundation will address a longstanding challenge in drug development: predicting how a newly discovered pharmaceutical ingredient will organize into a solid form.

The team, which includes co-PI and UI College of Pharmacy Associate Professor Lewis Stevens, will develop a new framework that combines mathematical models, artificial intelligence, and experimental validation to predict molecular crystal structures directly from a compound’s chemical structure. 

Recent Scholarly Publications

Building on a Pharmacy Practice Legacy

Long-time faculty member Mary Schroeder, professor in Health Services Research (HSR), has been named Departmental Executive Officer for the UI College of Pharmacy Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science (PPS). HSR is a division of PPS. 

“Dr. Schroeder brings a wealth of expertise and is nationally recognized for her work in the economics of cancer care, health care delivery, and expanding access to high-quality care, especially for rural and underserved communities,” said Jill Kolesar, dean, Jean M. Schmidt chair, and professor. “Alongside her impressive research portfolio, she is also a highly regarded educator. Her collaborative spirit and commitment to excellence promise to guide the department toward new heights.”

APPE Preceptor Excellence Award

Brett Heintz, PharmD

Iowa City VA Medical Center

IPPE Preceptor Excellence Award

Melinda James, '88 BSPh

Clark's Pharmacy – Cedar Rapids

Faculty Preceptor 
Excellence Award

Deanna McDanel, '01 PharmD

Clinical Associate Professor
UI Health Care Ambulatory 
Care Clinic

Mark Your Calendars for These Fall Events!

Osterhaus Medal for Lifetime Achievement Award:

Terry Dahl, '83 PhD

Distinguished Alumni Award:

Laura Borgelt, '95 BSPh, PharmD, MBA

Lisa Gersema, '84 BSPh, '86 PharmD, MHA

Youlin Lin, '72 PhD

Randy McDonough, '87 BSPh, '97 MS, '00 PharmD

Honorary Alumni Award:

Jean Eisenbart, BS, MS

Genesis Alumni Award:

Christian Fernandez, '10 PhD

Wes Pilkington, '11 PharmD

Professorship Reappointment:

Korey Kennelty, PharmD, MS, PhD

Patrick E. Keefe Professorship 

Chair Reappointment:

Aliasger Salem, PhD

Lyle and Sharon Bighley Chair in Pharmaceutical Sciences

Fisher Named PEP Director

Clinical Assistant Professor Lorin Fisher has been named the college's director of the Professional Experience Program.

She is board-certified in ambulatory care and practices as a clinical pharmacy specialist in the Adult Outpatient Supportive & Palliative Care Clinic at UI Health Care.

Wearing many professional "hats", Fisher strives to optimize purposeful connections between didactic and experiential education and implement evidence-based teaching and learning strategies.

Healthy Hawks

The UI College of Pharmacy is expanding access to influenza vaccinations this fall through its Healthy Hawks: One Team, One Goal collaboration with UI Athletics. The initiative is supported by a grant from the National Association of Chain Drug Stores Foundation and offers another way to meet patients where they are for immunization services.

Launched as a successful pilot last November at an Iowa women’s basketball game, this year’s continuation offers influenza vaccines to ticket holders at several Hawkeye sporting events, in partnership with Towncrest Pharmacy. Doctor of Pharmacy students will administer the vaccines. New this year are three vaccination opportunities for UI student-athletes at Kinnick Stadium and Carver-Hawkeye Arena, in partnership with UI Health Care.

PSET Hosts Annual Research Retreat

The Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Experimental Therapeutics (PSET) held its 6th Annual PSET Research Retreat this month. The retreat included plenary sessions from alumni, faculty, and graduate students, as well as poster sessions.

Congrats to the following graduate students who received awards at the event:

🏆 Best Oral Presentation:

Siddhanth Hejmady

🏆 Poster Presentation: Ramkrishna Sen, Sarah Torrence and Emma Simpson-Wade

The Power of Getting Involved

Sarah Sorum, ’06 R, credits her community-based residency at Osterhaus Pharmacy in Maquoketa, Iowa, with shaping her career in leadership, advocacy, and pharmacy innovation. The residency exposed her to advanced patient care and program development, inspiring a vision for the future of pharmacy.

Today, Sorum champions expanded pharmacy practice, particularly in rural health care, and serves as president of the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations. She encourages students and residents to build relationships, engage in professional organizations, and seize opportunities, emphasizing that collaboration and advocacy are essential to advancing pharmacy and improving patient care.

Thank You for Your Support

We are grateful to our generous donors. Your support helps advance our mission to educate the next generation of pharmacists and scientists. To learn more about giving, please contact Katie Geiken.

💛 Marilyn, ’73 BSPh, and Stephen Graham gave a gift to the College of Pharmacy Opportunity Fund.


💛 John and Nancy Toth gave a gift to the Norgaard-Berry Scholarship Fund.


💛 Walgreen Co. gave a gift to the College of Pharmacy Opportunity Fund. 

Job Opening: Neurology Medication Therapy Management (MTM) Pharmacist, UnityPoint Health


UnityPoint Health, in West Des Moines, Iowa, is hiring a MTM pharmacist to work as a member of the clinic-based care team.

See full job posting.

Summer HawkScripts Magazine


Take a moment to browse the Summer 2026 Hawkscripts Magazine for more news and features!

Expertise in Action

Our faculty and alumni are experts in their respective fields and often lend their knowledge on local and national news platforms. Below are some recent examples.

• Chin Professor and Associate Dean of Faculty Nicole Brogden was recently interviewed by the New York Times about her research on transdermal delivery for an article on adhesive wellness patches. 
  
• Marie Gaine, assistant professor, spoke with Illumina for a customer spotlight article "Epigenetic Research Offers Potential for Biomarkers and Mechanistic Understanding of Suicide," highlighting how Illumina arrays are used in her research.
  
• Clinical Associate Professor Laura Knockel was interviewed by the Daily Iowan about the recent executive orders surrounding vaccine requirements and the impact on the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine.

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