University of Maryland School of Pharmacy

Want to learn about cannabis and cancer care for melanoma patients? Ask the Expert! Join us June 25 at 7pm ET for an informative discussion featuring Dr. Leah Sera, Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science and Program Director for the Master of Science in Medical Cannabis Science and Therapeutics (MCST) program at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy and caregiver and guest speaker Elaine Stillwell.

This webinar is aimed at breaking through the stigma surrounding cannabis, with a special focus on its application in melanoma care. This event will provide an in-depth exploration of the endocannabinoid system (ECS) the differences between CBD and THC, and the importance of accessing reliable information about cannabis online.

Don't miss this opportunity to gain knowledge, support, and inspiration. Register now to secure your spot - https://buff.ly/3yZHsKu

During this year’s Giving Week in May, our UMSOP community raised more than $126,000 in scholarships and financial support for students across 10 academic programs. This record amount came from 210 alumni, faculty, staff, residents, fellows, and friends.

“The School of Pharmacy is so excited to have reached and exceeded our goal with more than $126,000 in funds that will help to alleviate some of the financial pressures that our students face so that they can pursue their educational dreams,” said Sarah L.J. Michel, PhD, dean and professor of the School. “Giving Week has shown that our community is eager to support our students.”

The theme of this year’s philanthropic giving event was “Racing Towards Greatness,” a nod to the excellence seen across the School’s academic, research, practice, and outreach programs. There are more than 1,000 students enrolled in the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD), PhD, and MS programs at the School that stand to benefit from these philanthropic efforts.

Read more at the link in our bio.

We are ranked #5 for industry fellowship placement for the 2023-24 year by Industry Pharmacists Organization!

We hosted New Student Welcome Day this week, and we’d like you to say hello to our Doctor of Pharmacy ! We’re excited to see all these smiling faces in Pharmacy Hall in mid-August for the start of the fall semester.

We are excited to be selected as one of the institutions in the inaugural cohort of the ACT Community Pharmacy Centers of Excellence!

Meet the 2024 ACT Centers of Excellence See the story

From the Spring Issue of Capsule Magazine:

In 2017, a young man in his 20s left a substance use disorder rehabilitation facility on the Eastern Shore of Maryland with a prescription for a long-acting injectable (LAI) medication. In other states, like Virginia, he could have walked into a local community pharmacy that day to have the injection administered at the pharmacy. But Maryland wasn’t yet authorizing pharmacists to administer LAIs and, while waiting for an appointment at a physician’s office for administration, the young man died.

“No pharmacist could administer it,” says Megan Ehret, PharmD, MS, BCPP, professor in the Department of Practice, Sciences, and Health Outcomes Research (P-SHOR) and co-director of its Mental Health Program.

“I recall his mother saying, ‘It’s just so disheartening to think that my son died because no one could administer the medication when he needed it.’”

This man’s death would ultimately help illustrate the vital need for pharmacists in Maryland — as in most other states nationwide — to administer these long-acting drugs at the pharmacy both for the convenience of patients and to improve access to care.

“Prior to this work, pharmacists were only able to administer medications that patients could administer on their own — such as eyedrops and insulin — as well as vaccines for the flu, pneumonia, shingles, and most recently COVID-19,” says Dr. Ehret, who helped lead the legislative charge in the state for pharmacists to administer LAIs.

Long-acting injectables allow patients to switch from oral tablets taken at home to injections that last weeks or even months. They date back to 1966 with fluphenazine enanthate, an antipsychotic used to treat schizophrenia. Today, there are 13 U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved long-acting antipsychotic and three substance use disorder injectable medications, with the market expanding to include drugs for HIV, diabetes, and cholesterol.

Read more: https://bit.ly/Pharmacist_Long-ActingInjectables

June is , a time to celebrate the voices and contributions of the LGBTQ+ community. We embrace Baltimore Pride's theme of creating a culturally affirming and socially supportive environment for all by combining the power of the past and the force of the future. At UMSOP, we affirm our commitment to our core values of respect and integrity and equity and justice as we honor our LGBTQ+ students, faculty, staff, alumni, and preceptors

It’s ! Want to guess what still has us smiling? The rush and excitement from all our Class of 2024 gradation celebrations! Seeing all these graduates’ smiling faces brings us joy. They join our ranks of 7,000+ alumni, and we are thrilled to see what their futures hold.

The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) Foundation honored the advisory board of the PATIENTS Professors Academy (PPA) with a Catalyst of Excellence Award on May 2 in recognition of its role in fundraising and supporting the PPA.

An annual summer event since 2022, the PPA is a free, five-week online program on community-engaged research to advance health equity held by The PATIENTS Program. PPA has weekly interactive components led by patient advisors, known as PATIENTS Professors, who co-teach with researchers. PATIENTS Professors share their expertise as individuals who have lived with medical conditions, while researchers share expertise designing research and engaging patents and communities.

The work of the PPA advisory board is a testimony to the PATIENTS Program’s dedication to continuous engagement and health equity. Catalyst award honorees exemplify powerful advocacy for success, achievement, and philanthropy for their respective schools. Each school within UMB recognizes those who devote their talent and resources to improving the lives of the citizens of Baltimore City and the state of Maryland.

“The commitment from West Baltimore patients and community members to initiatives such as the PATIENTS Professors Academy reflects authentic community-academic partnership,” said Sarah L.J. Michel, PhD, who nominated the advisory board for the award. “I am proud of the tireless efforts from the PPA advisory board to make the program accessible and keep the conversation going on health equity.”

Read more:

News Center » PATIENTS Professors Academy Advisory Board Recognized for Fundraising Efforts Feature image (left to right): President Bruce Jarrell, DeJuan Patterson, Gail Graham, Hillary Edwards, and Dean Sarah L.J. Michel at the awards ceremony.

From the Spring 2024 issue of Capsule magazine:

Last October, Sarah L.J. Michel, PhD, was appointed dean of the School, following a four-month interim appointment after Natalie D. Eddington, PhD ’89, FAAPS, FCP, stepped down in June.

Becoming dean is the capstone of an academic career spent entirely at the School, where Dr. Michel has been involved in everything from research and academic program development to student initiatives and University wide governance. She will now oversee a dynamic moment in pharmacy and health sciences education where the School will continue to grow and evolve to train pharmacy leaders, researchers, practitioners, policymakers, influencers, and pharmapreneurs of tomorrow.

“Dean Michel brings a lot of energy and knowledge to the table, is full of ideas and has executed them in the past,” says Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Jarrell continues that Michel has the vision and capacity to structure the School so it will continue to be a national leader in pharmacy education. “I believe she will define the pharmacist of the future and the pharmacy educational program needed to educate them.”

Dean Michel has spent nearly 19 years at the School, leading her to develop a unique and in-depth perspective on pharmacy education. Throughout her tenure she has been chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, associate dean for graduate programs, and director of the PhD in PSC program. She also created the School’s popular and innovative MS in PSC. In addition, she maintains her own research lab where she has built a reputation as an internationally recognized leader for investigating the roles that metals play in the regulation of chronic inflammation, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases.

Read more: https://bit.ly/DynamicLeadershipDeanMichel.

On this , we remember and honor those who have served.

Congratulations to Mark Brueckl, Assistant Director of Experiential Learning, on his retirement! 🎉 🎉 Mark has been with the School for nearly 10 years, visiting hundreds of sites and preceptors. He has touched countless individuals through his leadership, mentorship, friendship, and advocacy for the profession.

Students in the Pharmapreneurship® pathway in our Doctor of Pharmacy program presented business pitches on April 23 to industry experts as their year-end capstone project.
Known as Dolphin Tank, a gentler spinoff of the business pitching TV show Shark Tank, the pitching event serves as a culmination of the year’s Pharmapreneurship coursework. Beginning in the fall, pathway students learn about the process of developing a business idea and bringing it to market. This includes learning about entrepreneurial topics like market research, customer discovery, business planning, finances, patent laws, and application development.

“The goal of Dolphin Tank is to prepare students to think in a pharmapreneurial way that combines their unique skillset as pharmacists in training and the tools needed to be a pharmapreneur,” said Magaly Rodriguez de Bittner, PharmD, BCPS, CDE, FAPhA, the Felix Gyi Endowed Memorial Professor in Pharmapreneurship, associate dean for clinical services and practice transformation, and pharmapreneurship pathway coordinator. “It is so refreshing to see our students thinking outside the box about the intersection of pharmacy and social or technology issues. We are also very fortunate to have tremendous judges to provide invaluable feedback to our students.”

Read more: https://bit.ly/StudentPharmapreneurs

News Center » Student Pharmapreneurs Hone Business Ideas in Dolphin Tank Students in the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy’s (UMSOP) Pharmapreneurship® pathway presented business pitches as a year-end capstone project to industry experts on April 23.

On May 17 at our Doctor of Pharmacy graduation, R.F. “Rick” Shangraw, Jr., PhD, MPA, president of Cintana Education and a champion of our Pharmapreneurship® initiative, received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) in recognition of his involvement with and advocacy to advance pharmacy education, research, and practice.

Dr. Shangraw, who was born and raised in Baltimore, is the son of the late Ralph F. Shangraw, a former department chair and professor emeritus of pharmaceutics at the School. The Ralph F. Shangraw/Noxell Endowed Chair in Industrial Pharmacy and Pharmaceutics was established at the School in 1995 in honor of his retirement. The younger Shangraw has maintained strong ties with the School ever since.

“Rick Shangraw has had a remarkable career in the academic and private sectors in areas including entrepreneurship, innovation, and global education,” said Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, president of UMB. “He has also been a vocal supporter and great resource for the School of Pharmacy for many years. I am proud to bestow this honorary doctorate upon Dr. Shangraw.”

Read more: https://bit.ly/RickShangrawHonoraryDoctorate

Congratulations to our MS in Pharmacometrics students who celebrated their graduations today! You’re amazing!

Congratulations Magaly Rodriguez de Bittner!!

APhA is thrilled to announce the results of the 2024 Board elections! 🎉

Congratulations to Magaly Rodriguez de Bittner, PharmD, Scott Tomerlin, PharmD, LCDR Neelam Gazarian, PharmD, MS, & Anne L. Burns, BSPharm, RPh! 👏 Learn more: https://ow.ly/E9sK50RIZB7

Congratulations to the PhD and MS in Pharmaceutical Health Services Research and PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences who celebrated their graduations today! You’re amazing!

Congratulations to the MS in Pharmaceutical Sciences and MS in Regulatory Science who celebrated their graduations today! We are so proud!

Join the 2024-2025 Alumni Council! The Alumni Association serves to connect alumni to the School and its students. Alumni of all degree programs are eligible to serve, so share your time and talents to help shape your Alumni Association. Learn more about the roles and responsibilities here: https://bit.ly/AumniAssociationResponsibilities

Submit your application today (May 15): https://bit.ly/AlumniAssociationApplication

Congratulations to the Medical Cannabis Science and Therapeutics graduates. You did it!

Last night, we kicked off Graduation Week with a Happy Hour with faculty, staff, and students. In true Maryland fashion, we had crabs 🦀, shared stories, and created memories. We are looking forward to all the graduation ceremonies this week for our PharmD, PhD, and MS students. Congrats everyone!

Magaly Rodriguez de Bittner, PharmD, FAPhA, FNAP, associate dean for clinical services and practice transformation and professor in the Department of Practice, Sciences, and Health Outcomes Research (P-SHOR), has been named one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women by The Daily Record.

In its 29th year, Maryland’s Top 100 Women recognizes high-achieving women who are making an impact through their leadership, community service, and mentoring.

“Dr. Rodriguez de Bittner is a visionary leader, innovative practitioner, inspirational mentor, and tireless advocate for the pharmacist’s role on the health care team,” said Jill A. Morgan, PharmD, BCPS, BCPPS, FNAP, professor and chair of P-SHOR. “Her contributions and accomplishments demonstrate her dedication and commitment to patients, students, the pharmacy profession, and the community.”

Dr. Rodriguez de Bittner serves in many roles at UMSOP, such as the Felix Gyi Endowed Memorial Professor in Pharmapreneurship and executive director of the Center for Innovative Pharmacy Solutions. Congratulations Dr. Rodriguez de Bittner!

Read more: @

News Center » Rodriguez de Bittner Named One of Maryland’s Top 100 Women Magaly Rodriguez de Bittner, PharmD, FAPhA, FNAP, associate dean for clinical services and practice transformation and professor in the Department of Practice, Sciences, and Health Outcomes Research (P-SHOR) at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy (UMSOP), has been named one of Maryland’s...