The University of Toledo : UT College of Pharmacy News

In Fall 2010, The College of Pharmacy will expand to the health science campus, taking a portion of its students and faculty to a state of the art new building. The college is in the process of planning and designing the $25 million pharmacy facility which will include laboratories, lecture halls and offices to provide more space for the College of Pharmacy and offer students hands-on experience in an integrated medical community.

The new pharmacy building will be located between the Block Science Building and the Health Education Building, a site chosen for its central location on the campus and its proximity to classrooms, clinics, Mulford Library and the Medical Center. In addition, the building site has foundation elements in place that will reduce construction time and costs, according to Chuck Lehnart, vice president for facilities and construction.

The two-story building will feature a modern professional development amenities and state of the art laboratory space. Lehnart said the modular design with movable laboratory elements will enhance efficiency and flexibility in the new facility, making it the most complete and clinically advanced facility in the region. A 500-seat auditorium will also be constructed in the Collier building to accommodate large lecture classes.

Dr. Johnnie Early, dean of the College of Pharmacy, said pharmacy students will have the opportunity to learn in a rich environment that allows all health science majors to further hone their clinical skills and become more knowledgeable of the roles and contributions of each profession.

“Since the year 2000, we have experienced a 75% growth in our student population, and we are currently recruiting new faculty and staff. The new facilities will improve the human condition by creating the rare opportunity of occupying two modern facilities and offering state of the art infrastructure for teaching and research in pharmacy, the pharmaceutical sciences and patient care,” he said.

Dr. Early said that among its other high-tech amenities, the new pharmacy building will include a sterile products lab in which students will learn to prepare the types of injections and intravenous fluids that would be processed in a hospital or specialty pharmacy. The laboratories and learning spaces will offer UT students the latest technology and practice facilities, including the latest techniques and equipment for extemporaneous compounding.

The building’s core laboratories will foster interaction among health science disciplines. Pharmacy students will have access to more lab and learning space, while they gain real-world experience in the Medical Center and clinical settings. As the college increases its enrollment, the new facility will allow growth in both the new building and in Wolfe Hall.

The faculty and staff on the health science campus will be pleased to have pharmacists in close proximity. Professor of Cardiology Mark Burket, MD, says “The value of pharmacist input can’t be overstated. A huge portion of attending rounds is decision making, and a major portion of decision making involves drug choices. There simply isn’t enough time to stop and look up the answer. If you have an expert in pharmacologic issues, the answers are [clearer], come faster, and undoubtedly improve both patient outcomes and the educational process.”

The expansion to the health science campus will lead to more research collaborations among students and faculty and enhance current collaborations in the fields of cancer and diabetes treatment, immunology and transplantation, and neurodegenerative disorders, says Early.

Based on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants and contracts data, the pharmacy colleges that receive the most research and grant funding tend to be located on health science campuses. Pharmacy faculty will have the opportunity to achieve a higher level of research through access to resources on the health science campus.

The college’s presence on the health science campus will help to expand the world-class health education provided by The University of Toledo College of Pharmacy and The University of Toledo Medical Center and advance the future of pharmacy.

According to Dr. Jeffrey Gold, health science campus provost, "The construction of this new facility will create great synergy in the education, research and clinical care programs of all of the UT health science programs. Sharing classrooms, laboratories, libraries and student centers will promote collaboration and enhanced mutual respect. The opportunities are truly without limit to "improve the human condition."

Pharmacy students dives for success

Pharmacy student Megan McKinley has had a very successful year as a diver for The University of Toledo. She received an All American honor for her NCAA 10th place finish in the 3 meter board competition. Read more about Megan McKinley on the UT Athletics website:

UT College of Pharmacy Confers Honorary Doctoral Degree

Parviz Boodjeh, RPh, an resident of Independence, Ohio, received an honorary doctoral degree from The University of Toledo College of Pharmacy at the college's commencement exercises on May 2, 2008. Boodjeh, founder, chairman and CEO of Medina-based Discount Drug Mart, Inc., has worked in the field of pharmacy for over 50 years. Boodjeh is the recipient of the Honorary Doctor of Science degree, which is one of higher education's most significant accolades. The Honorary Doctor of Science degree is conferred upon those who have made substantial contributions to society and to well being in the region, which Boodjeh has done through the advancement of health care.

In 1949, Boodjeh came to the United States from Tehran, Iran to study medicine. He overcame a language barrier, along with financial hardships and physical illness, to complete his Bachelor of Science degree at The University of Toledo in 1954. Throughout his career, Boodjeh has shown a commitment to the needs of Ohioans, providing care and serving the community through Discount Drug Mart's charitable contributions. Boodjeh cites his sheer determination as the driving force behind the establishment of Discount Drug Mart. Today, Discount Drug Mart, Inc. is comprised of 67 retail drugstores throughout Ohio and ranks eighth in retail sales among retail drug store chains nationwide.

"Parviz Boodjeh is a skilled practitioner and a visionary provider of clinical care in the community," said Johnnie L. Early, II, RPh, PhD, dean of The University of Toledo College of Pharmacy.

The UT College of Pharmacy has a national reputation for consistently training well-prepared and knowledgeable pharmacists who successfully transition into pharmacy practice. Through the efforts of prestigious faculty, the college enjoys more than a 90 percent on-time graduation rate and a 100 percent placement rate for its graduates. The college offers bachelor's degrees in pharmaceutical sciences with majors in medicinal chemistry, pharmacology/toxicology, pharmacy and health care management and pharmaceutics; master's degrees in several areas; the PhD in medicinal chemistry and the PharmD; and residency and fellowship training.

Boodjeh's professional accomplishments and distinguished service to the profession and practice of pharmacy symbolize The University of Toledo's values and serve as inspirations for current students.

College of Pharmacy faculty member assumes national leadership post in October

Dr. Diane Cappelletty, associate professor of pharmacy practice and co-director of the Infectious Disease Research Laboratory, will become the new president of the Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists (SIDP) this October.

Cappelletty, who is currently president-elect and serves on the society's Board of Directors, succeeds Dr. Richard H. Drew, a Duke University Medical Center infectious diseases clinical pharmacist. Previously was secretary/treasurer of the society, she will be installed at the society's annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

The Austin, Tex.-based society, which has some 400 members and was founded in 1990, and works with other health-care organizations such as the American Society for Microbiology, American College of Clinical Pharmacy, Infectious Diseases Society of America and the Society of Healthcare and Epidemiology of America to encourage appropriate use of antimicrobials and limit the spread of antimicrobial resistance.

Cappelletty, who joined UT in 2001, received her bachelor of science in pharmacy and doctor of pharmacy degrees from Ohio State University and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in infectious diseases at Wayne State University in Detroit.

She co-directs the department's infectious disease and critical-care fellowship program and teaches immunology pathophysiology , infectious diseases and pharmacotherapy courses.

Cappelletty maintains a practice with the UT Medical Center infectious diseases service. Her research interests focus on infections in patient populations, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of antimicrobials, and resistance to antimicrobials.

A member of several national clinical pharmacy organizations, Cappelletty is a past chair of the SIDP Research Awards Committee and has earned research awards from the SIDP and the American Association of College of Pharmacy.

College of Pharmacy Spring 2008 Graduation

The first-ever independent commencement for the College of Pharmacy will be held at 7 p.m., Friday, May 2, at Stranahan Theater, 4645 Heatherdowns Blvd.

More than 280 students are candidates for degrees in five programs -- doctor of pharmacy, bachelor of science in pharmaceutical sciences, master of science and Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry, and master of science in pharmaceutical sciences. Student achievement and faculty teaching awards also will be presented.

The commencement speaker will be David M. Boyer, the current president of the Ohio Pharmacists Association and a staff pharmacist for Summa Health System in Akron. He is a 1973 UT pharmacy graduate. In 2000, he received the University of Toledo College of Pharmacy Norman F. Billups Distinguished Alumni Service Award. He is a past president of the Ohio Society of Health-System Pharmacists, which awarded him its highest honor, the Walter M. Frazier Award. Boyer also holds membership in the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.

The college also will confer an honorary doctor of science degree to Parviz Boodjeh, a 1954 UT graduate and founder, chairman and CEO of Medina-based Discount Drug Mart Inc. The company is comprised of 67 retail drug stores in Ohio and ranks eighth nationally in drug-store retail sales. The successful businessman established the first Discount Drug Mart in Elyria in 1969, and his idea of providing one-stop shopping and a wide variety of products led to the chain's spectacular growth.

There will be two valedictorians at the ceremony, one for the PharmD. graduates and one for the undergraduate BSPS program.

College of Pharmacy Professor and Dean Johnnie Early II will preside over the ceremonies.

UT pharmacy graduates get good news about residency assignments

Big smiles were the order of the day for nine graduating College of Pharmacy students who learned March 20 where they will pursue the next phase of their pharmacy education after participating in the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists' (ASHP) Resident Match Program.

In addition, nine others lined up residency positions outside the match.

After they pass state pharmacy board exams, about 20 percent of UT Pharm.D. graduates pursue residencies, while the remainder takes jobs in hospitals and community settings, according to Dr. Martin Ohlinger, assistant professor of pharmacy practice. The residencies are one-to two-year positions in which graduates pursue advanced studies in focused areas such as community practice, pharmacy practice, primary care, ambulatory care and pharmacotherapy.

Among the hospitals where the students are headed are UT Medical Center, Detroit's Henry Ford Hospital, Houston's Methodist Hospital, ProMedica Health System's W.W. Knight Family Practice Center, Summa Health System in Akron, Blanchard Valley Hospital in Findlay, Texas Tech University, and Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix.

In addition, two current first-year residents in the College of Pharamcy's ASHP-accredited residency program are continuing in second-year programs that focus on areas such as cardiology and transplant medicine, and Dr. Bryan Dotson, a second-year critical-care pharmacy resident, has accepted a surgical critical-care position at Detroit Medical Center.

Although a pharmacy residency is not required following completion of the college's Pharm.D. degree program, Ohlinger says he encourages students to consider the additional year of training because of pharmacists' new, evolving roles, particularly community pharmacists who are spending more time helping patients manage their use of medication.

"Residency training as a worthwhile investment in their future," he said. "Pharmacy is moving toward providing many more services for patients and for health-care providers as opposed to just providing a product."

Like the medical-student match, graduating pharmacy students across the country rank their preferences for specialties and medical institutions. Hospitals then list the people they want to hire. A computer completes the hookup. The match process is administered by National Matching Services, Inc., which also conducts the match for medical and dental residencies.

In recent years, pharmacy, like other health professions, has ratcheted up the level of basic education to meet the demands of patient care in a rapidly evolving health-care system.

Most pharmacy schools, including UT's, have phased out the bachelor's degree in favor of the pharmacy doctorate, or Pharm.D. degree, which requires at least two years of undergraduate study followed by four academic years -- or three calendar years -- of professional pharmacy curriculum.

The College of Pharmacy's residency program offers specialized training in community practice, pharmacy practice, critical care, and psychiatric pharmacy and has educational affiliation agreements with UTMC, Neighborhood Health Association, Kroger grocery stories and the Louis Stokes VA Center in Cleveland.

Nationally, 2, 341 pharmacy students competed for 2,113 residency slots at hospitals, clinics, community practices and managed-care settings administered by approximately 1,003 residency programs.

UT pharmacy student earns national leadership award

A University of Toledo College of Pharmacy student has been selected as a 2007-08 recipient of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Student Leadership Award.

Andrea Pallotta, a third-year professional division student from Richfield, Ohio, is one of 12 students nationwide to receive the award that consists of a plaque, an ASHSP drug-information reference library and a $2,500 cash award from the ASHP Foundation funded through the Walter Jones Memorial Pharmacy Student Financial Aid Fund.

More than 90 students representing 59 schools participated.

Pallotta, who has maintained an outstanding undergraduate and graduate academic record, is currently president of the UT chapter of the Student Society of Health System Pharmacists and recently served as president of the Alpha Zeta Omega pharmaceutical fraternity.

She has worked and learned as a technician and intern at the Louis Strokes Veterans Administration Center in Brecksville, Ohio, for more than four years and at Heartland Healthcare Services in Toledo for more than two years. She is among a handful of students to receive a teaching assistant position in the College of Pharmacy.

"Andrea's enthusiasm for this college and the University and for her future profession of pharmacy is both unwavering and contagious," said Dr. Martin Ohlinger, assistant professor of pharmacy practice, who nominated her for the award. "Andrea's success in the classroom, in addition to her endeavors in pharmacy practice and leadership, speaks to her ability to perform on many levels at once without sacrificing or compromising excellence. In my 12 years of health-system practice and teaching, I have not met an individual more worthy of this award."

The ASHP award program consists of 12 awards annually, awarded to four student members in each professional year of pharmacy school, beginning with the second professional year.

College of Pharmacy dean assumes new leadership post

It promises be a busy year for Dr. Johnnie L. Early, College of Pharmacy professor and dean.

He will finish in July a two-year stint as chair for the Council of Ohio Colleges of Pharmacy and is the new chair of the North Carolina-based National Pharmaceutical Association (NPhA) Foundation Board of Trustees.

Six universities -- UT, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Pharmacy , Ohio Northern and Ohio State universities, and the universities of Findlay and of Cincinnati -- make up the council that develops experiential training sites for pharmacy students, offers a licensure-examination review course, and works with Ohio pharmacy organizations to advance the profession.

The council has been working to elevate the importance of pharmacy practice in community pharmacies and in hospitals and studying trends in pharmacy education.

The foundation is the NPhA's fund raising arm and supports its educational, research and practice-innovation activities and scholarships and assistance to the Student National Pharmaceutical Association. It also supports the NPhA in its efforts to represent the views of minority pharmacists and advance pharmaceutical-care standards.

As foundation chairman, Early said he plans to "focus on the membership of National Pharmacy Association as part of an enhanced bottom-up philanthropic strategy with emphasis on support for pharmacy students." In July 2007, the NPhA Foundation awarded $20,000 in scholarships to pharmacy students.

Terrence Burroughs, foundation president and treasurer, said Dr. Early's leadership will be positive, noting that Early is "very energetic" and a "valuable asset to the NPhA."

The new appointment is the latest in a long line of leadership posts and honors for the Macon, Ga., native, who joined UT in 2000 after serving as dean of the South Carolina College of Pharmacy " formerly the Medical College of South Carolina College of Pharmacy " and of the pharmacy college at Florida A&M University.

He is past NPhA president, during which time he helped enhance scholarships for students, opened opportunities for residencies and graduate training, and launched an extensive continuing education program and a pharmacy school recruitment fair.

He has been named among the 50 most influential pharmacists in America by American Druggist and received the NPhA's Chauncey I. Cooper Award, its highest honor, in 2002.

A 1973 graduate of Georgia's Mercer University, Early earned his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Purdue University, which named him a distinguished alumnus in 1993 and later named him an "Old Master," a Purdue alumni award given to "an exceptional person who has made significant contributions to his or her own field."

He also has been honored by the Florida Pharmacy Association, the predominately African-American Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, and the Association of Black Health-Systems Pharmacists, which awarded him the Wendell T. Hill award named after the first African-American president of the American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists.

He also has won several photography awards and parlayed his interest of photography into programs to help the South Carolina Pharmacy Association, Ohio Pharmacists Association and Ohio Society of Health Systems Pharmacists Association.

National group honors UT physicians, pharmacists

Four University of Toledo faculty members were honored at the 37th Congress of the Society of Critical Care Medicine held in Honolulu Feb. 2-8.

The 14,000-member society, headquartered in Mount Prospect, Ill., is an international multidisciplinary body for physicians, nurses, clinical pharmacists, respiratory therapists and other health professionals involved in critical-care medicine.

Dr. Martin Ohlinger, assistant professor of pharmacy practice, received a presidential citation for his contributions to the society in 2007, while Dr. Steven Martin, associate professor and chair of the Department of Pharmacy Practice, was recognized for completing his first of an elected, third-year term on the society's Governing Board. He also gave several lectures at the meeting.

Drs. John J. Fath, professor of surgery and director of trauma surgery, and Thomas J. Papadimos, associate professor of anesthesiology, were inducted as fellows into the prestigious American College of Critical Care Medicine, which was established by the society in 1988.

Fath and Papadimos were chosen because they have helped develop programs and made educational contributions to critical care medicine and assumed leadership roles in professional critical-care medicine organizations. As fellows, they will review research proposals, review and establish practice guidelines, serve on committees and present research in critical care. More than 700 people have been named fellows since 1988.

Pharmacy students show literature review, speaking skills during seminars

Nine-six fourth-year pharmacy students presented seminars held this spring and last fall on Main Campus.

The one-hour continuing education presentations on current pharmacy practice topics served as a capstone for a seminar titled "Pharmacotherapy Advances and Controversies," coordinated by Dr. Eric Sahloff, assistant professor of pharmacy practice.

During the seminars, students demonstrated their ability to evaluate the literature about drugs and their speaking skills.

"The experience allows students to document their competencies in literature searching, literature evaluation, application of evidence-based medicine and verbal presentations," said Sahloff. "Some students have so presented data from research projects they assisted or developed themselves."

The students' 40-to 50-minute presentations covered such topics as antibiotic cycling to prevent antimicrobial resistance in the ICU and use of a drug, dexrazoxane, to treat anthracycline extravasation, a feared complication of chemotherapy that, if left untreated, can progress to necrosis.

The presentations were followed by questions and answers from an audience of students, faculty and practitioners.

"The students make a contribution to the pharmacy community of northwest Ohio through their investigations and subsequent presentations and provide a value-added service of free continuing education opportunities for licensed pharmacists in the area," noted Sahloff. "The programs also provide a networking opportunity among students, local practitioners and future employers."

UT students to share in $22.7 million in first round of Choose Ohio First scholarship program funds

University of Toledo students will receive scholarships from two programs funded by the Ohio Board of Regents' Choose Ohio First program, an initiative aimed at increasing economic growth in the state by attracting and graduating Ohio students majoring in STEM -- science, technology, engineering and math -- and medical fields.

UT, some 20 other public and private Ohio universities and colleges, three major teaching hospitals, the Ohio Supercomputer Center , Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and several other scientific organizations in the "Ohio Consortium for Bioinformatics" will receive $4.475 million for student scholarships to attract and graduate an estimated 345 students in the STEM field over a five-year period. Of that amount, UT will receive more than $300,000 for scholarships. Ohio University spearheads the consortium.

Bioinformatics, a key research tool, involves use of computers to analyze biological information.

In addition, the UT College of Pharmacy will work with the lead institution, Ursuline College, a small, private, Catholic liberal-arts college in Pepper Pike, Ohio, near Cleveland; the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and Cleveland Veteran Affairs Medical Center to attract and graduate more than 45 new students to the much-needed STEM area of pharmacy. Some $364,000 in scholarship funds will be available.

The state's higher education institutions last January submitted 28 proposals seeking funding in the highly competitive first round of Choose Ohio First Scholarship funds, and seven shared a total $22.7 million in awards. A seven-member panel of nationally recognized STEM educational experts appointed by Board of Regents Chancellor Eric D. Fingerhut reviewed the proposals.

The regents announced first-round state grant winners March 7.

The Ohio General Assembly established the $50 million scholarship program last June to attract, retain and graduate more than 2,000 new students to the fields of science, technology, engineering, math and medical fields and STEM education.

According to Dr. Robert Blumenthal, professor of medical microbiology and immunology, and director of UT's bioinformatics, genomics and proteomics program, UT will annually recruit eight students into the two-year program for five years and also help develop a statewide bioinformatics curriculum that will be offered at participating institutions. UT will host in June the third Annual Ohio Collaborative Conference on Bioinformatics.

Blumenthal said graduates with degrees combining bioinformatics with fields such as molecular biology, chemistry, microbiology and computer science will continue to be in demand.

Scientists increasingly relay on bioinformatics for computer modeling and analysis of huge piles of data to understand and develop treatments for human diseases.

Dr. Christine N. Hinko, professor of pharmacology and associate dean for student affairs, said the pharmacy proposal is aimed at addressing an expected shortage of pharmacy professionals in the state by attracting potential pharmacy students to the bachelor of science in pharmaceutical sciences (BSPS) and doctor of pharmacy (PharmD.) programs offered in a collaborative effort between Ursuline and the College of Pharmacy.

UT and Ursuline two years ago entered into an accord that allows students interested in a BSPS or PharmD. professional degree to take the first two years of the pre-professional curriculum at Ursuline taught by Ursuline faculty with pharmacy-specific classes taught by UT pharmacy faculty. Students then apply to complete their professional training at UT. In the last year of the PharmD. program, they can return to Cleveland for advanced pharmacy practice experiences at institutional and community settings.

The proposal includes recruitment initiatives to get high school students interested in pharmacy careers, including a summer "pharmacy camp" for students on the Ursuline campus and a mentoring program. The camp introduces pharmacy-related career and educational opportunities and hands-on training in research and pharmacy-practice skills.

The Cleveland Clinic Foundation and the Cleveland VA Medical Center in Brecksville are supporting the program that targets first-generation college students and students from under-represented groups in the sciences, who will receive mentoring.

In some parts of the Ohio, the demand for pharmacists far outstrips supply, Hinko said. And with baby boomers aging, even more pharmacists will be required in the state and nationwide.

UT participates in program to help diabetics save money, improve care

Managing diabetes can be an uphill task for many patients.

The disease, in which the body doesn't make enough insulin or use it efficiently to reduce the level of sugar in the blood, requires constant monitoring, and controlling it through diet and exercise. Sometimes medication is also required.

People who fail to control their blood-sugar levels put themselves at much higher risk of diabetes complications such as heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, amputations and blindness.

Now, thanks to a $25,000 seed grant from the National Business Coalition on Health (NBCH), some Toledo and northwest Ohio residents are getting help.

The FrontPath Health Coalition, through its non-profit, Perrysburg-based Western Lake Erie Health Quality Initiative, received the award to fund a one-year diabetes-management program for City of Toledo employees and their families who have been diagnosed with or are currently taking medication for Type II diabetes. FrontPath was one of 14 business health coalitions nationwide to receive funding.

Participants will work with one of several designated pharmacies in managing their diabetes during the year, and The University of Toledo's Pharmaceutical Care and Outcomes Research Laboratory in the College of Pharmacy will collect data and analyze benefits of the program.

Enrollment is limited to 150 city of Toledo employees and their dependents.

The program is patterned after the "Asheville Project." The city of Asheville, N.C., contracted with pharmacists in 1996 to help manage city employees' chronic conditions and make sure they were taking their medications properly. Not only did employees' quality of care improve but within a year employee health-care costs dropped.

"We're thrilled to have received this funding," said Susan E. Szymanski, FrontPath CEO. "This program was developed by The Pharmacy Counter, and is modeled after the very successful �Asheville Project,' a pharmacy-coordinated patient self-management program. As a result of this medication-therapy management program, the patient becomes more educated, more interested and more empowered to better manage their own health."

"The University of Toledo is dedicated to improving the human condition," said UT President Lloyd Jacobs. "By lending our academic expertise to this project, we will be able to maximize the return on investment and help more of our citizenry understand and manage their diabetes."

Program participants will contact a member of the Coalition of Toledo Area Independent Pharmacies, including The Pharmacy Counter, Erie Drug, Glenbyrne Pharmacy, Ryan Pharmacy and Kahler Pharmacy. During visits, the pharmacists will act as educators and motivators, ensuring patients follow their physicians' orders and understand how to manage and monitor their diabetes and medications. The clinical pharmacists also will work with patients' physicians and specialists.

To measure the program's impact, Dr. Sharrel Pinto, UT assistant professor of pharmacy, will direct a team of pharmacy undergraduate and graduate students that will evaluate economic, clinical and quality of life-related outcomes and suggest ways to improve the delivery and quality of care for patients with such chronic conditions.

"More than one-third of the U.S. adult population has diabetes or is well on their way to getting it," said Andrew Webber, president and CEO of NBCH. "Diabetes care is expensive, and if we can improve the quality of that care, we can reduce the cost to businesses and enrich the quality of life for employees."

College of Pharmacy faculty member named to cancer leadership post

Dr. Curtis D. Black, Merck Professor of Clinical Pharmacy in the Department of Pharmacy Practice in the University of Toledo College of Pharmacy, has been elected vice chair of the Toledo Community Hospital Oncology Program's (TCHOP) Institutional Review Board.

TCHOP is a clinical research program sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) that allows community hospitals and physicians to be involved in cancer clinical trials of new procedures and drugs and to bring the benefits of clinical research to patients in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan.

Black, who joined the faculty in May 1990, will help to review and to monitor the ethics, benefits and safety of cancer-research protocols involving human subjects at 13 TCHOP-member institutions and six private oncology offices. Currently, 49 physicians from medical and radiation oncology, general surgery, pathology, thoracic surgery and urology and 90 oncology nurses and clinical research assistants participate.

"I'm delighted to see the strong involvement of faculty members like Dr. Black on important decision-making community boards and working to improve the quality of health care for Toledo and northwest Ohio," said Dr. Johnnie Early II, College of Pharmacy professor and dean. "Community engagement and outreach has always been an important hallmark of the College of Pharmacy."

The Toledo Community Hospital Oncology Program, one of 27 clinical research programs across the country that has been continuously funded since 1983, is a member of several large collaborative cancer research groups, including the North Central Cancer Treatment Group (NCCTG) with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG), National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP), Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) and Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG).

Black, who earned his B.S. in pharmacy degree from UT in 1974 and spent 12 years on the faculty at Purdue University before joining the UT faculty in 1990, has focused on collaborative research, teaching and practice during his career at UT. Black and Dr. Richard Hudson, a professor of medicinal chemistry, has developed a three-part monograph on biotechnology and its implications for pharmacy practice, a model that is used as a course resource in pharmacy colleges throughout the United States.

Dr. Black also has spent 17 years as a member of American Council on Pharmaceutical Education-sponsored accreditation teams for professional programs in pharmacy.

Recipient of two College of Pharmacy Outstanding Teacher awards and an Outstanding University Teacher Award in 1997, Black has also served as local chapter president of Sigma Xi, the scientific research society; and as Indiana Nutrition Council president.

He was selected as a Distinguished Alumnus of the University of Toledo in 1997 and of Purdue University in 2002 and received the 2007 Keys Award of the Ohio Pharmacists Association for outstanding contributions to the association.

Page updated: September 30, 2008

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College of Pharmacy : UT College of Pharmacy News

New pharmacy building to enhance education and research