SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 150 Years of Pharmacy Excellence

Current Position: Pharmacist, Chewy; Consultant; Chairman of the Board, Kentucky Pharmacist Association

"Over the years, the health care field has encountered its fair share of significant challenges. Perhaps most notable have been the major outbreaks of infectious diseases, much like we are facing now. While these terrible events are deadly and disruptive to our society, they also force us to rethink how we deliver care and often lead to significant medical breakthroughs. Through it all, pharmacists have been proud to stand alongside their fellow providers with their lights on and doors open. Even as we work on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic today, our commitment has not wavered. Pharmacists will also be instrumental in helping our Commonwealth move past this pandemic—thanks, in part, to some outstanding forethought from Kentucky’s elected leaders."

Previous Position: Dean, Philadelphia College of Pharmacy (currently retired)

Award: Paul F. Parker Award Recipient (2011)

"Just having a degree from Kentucky was an immediate credential that opened so many doors. You didn’t have to prove yourself just walking into the room. The degree and connections you got from people associated from UK was amazing. We were taught to be ahead. People knew you were a leader in pharmacy practice the moment you walked in the door. Also, the advanced training in clinical care that other people didn’t have helped put students ahead as well. We were trained to be leaders and teachers and to go across the country to improve patient care and the practice of pharmacy."

Current Position: Dean, Professor, University of Iowa College of Pharmacy

Award: Hall of Distinguished Alumni - Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient (2020); Paul F. Parker Award Recipient (1998)

"As a clinical practitioner, educator, association staff member and now academic administrator, I have been privileged to serve countless students and postgraduate residents throughout my career. I have also actively participated in the development and implementation of standards that have helped shape pharmacy practice and residency and technician training programs worldwide."

Current Position: Transitions of Care Clinical Pharmacist Specialist, Norton Healthcare; Preceptor, University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy

"One of the best ways we can give back to the pharmacy profession is by investing in our pharmacy students. After I was established in my new role as a Transitions of Care pharmacist, I felt confident that I would offer an ambulatory care rotation that would provide students with opportunities to provide direct patient care, make evidence-based recommendations and interact directly with the healthcare team. While there are so many things I enjoy about being a preceptor at UKCOP, the most rewarding aspect is the opportunity to witness students’ growth in their critical thinking skills and self-confidence in their clinical recommendations."

Current Position: Dean, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Pharmacy,

"The most beneficial part of receiving residency experience from the UK College of Pharmacy was the confidence it instilled in me to not be afraid to try something. If you fail, learn and do something different. When we got into well-being and resilience, we didn’t really know, we just know what we have is an idea. So let’s try something, and if that doesn’t work, let’s try something different. You have the opportunity. One of the things I have learned along the way is that you have your sphere of influence and your sphere of worry. And when your sphere of worry is so much bigger than your sphere of influence, you are going to worry yourself to death. But if you stay in your sphere of influence and impact what you can, at the end of the day, you are going to feel pretty good about what you have done."

Current Position: Clinical Professor, Assistant Dean, Associate Department Chair, University of Georgia College of Pharmacy

Award: Paul F. Parker Award Recipient (2008)

Ray Maddox completed both his PharmD and residency training at the University of Kentucky. He currently works as a clinical professor at the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy. He is also currently the Associate Department Head for the Department of Clinical and Administrative Sciences and leads the College of Pharmacy as the Assistant Dean of UGA's College of Pharmacy Southeast Campus. Dr. Maddox has been greatly involved with clinical research and service development throughout his career and heavily advocates for the increase and use of hospital medication safety technology.

Current Position: Professor, Pharmacy Practice and Science Department, University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy; Nutrition Support Program Coordinator, UK Chandler and Good Samaritan Hospitals, UK HealthCare

"Keep your eyes open and look at all options available to you in your pharmacy career. Just because you were introduced into pharmacy in a retail setting or hospital setting, you still need to keep your eyes open. That’s what I think the joy of residency is. You are still in a student and learning mode, but you get to see all these other options available to you. Try to do a residency. What you are going to learn from that and seeing the different options that are available are huge for your development. Sometimes that’s your gateway into finding out something different. Look at your options, that’s what I tell my son. Sometimes I look at the people I have trained and say 'I would have loved to have done their job.'"

Current Position: Dean, Professor, Ohio State University College of Pharmacy

Award: Paul F. Parker Award Recipient (2009)

"The most meaningful interaction I had in my career as a pharmacist was during my first clinical clerkship. I worked at one of UK's hospitals during my last semester and I got to see how the PharmDs and residents interacted with doctors and the health care system in general. This experience at UK really gave me a passion for pharmacy as a profession."

Current Position: Vice President, Head of Global Medical Affairs, Amylyx Pharmaceuticals

"For my role in medical affairs, communication, building relationships and really being able to authentically represent the pharmaceutical industry are important. The pharmaceutical industry sometimes viewed at negatively and some people think we're pushing an agenda. However, working in the industry, you have to maintain credibility and not come across as being biased. In order balance these requirements out while working with individuals in the commercial side of an organization, having communication skills, integrity and the ability to be able to build relationships are all very important for success."

Current Position: Assistant Professor, Biological and Biomedical Sciences Department, North Carolina Central University

"The most beneficial part of receiving my degree from the UKCOP was the research experience, technical advancements and training, as well as writing. They were all more critical than I thought at the time. I spent all day writing. That was key. Preparing future faculty was probably a little bit outside UKCOP, but it was still part of my UK experience. It forced me early on to learn how to balance things out. I taught courses and did research in the lab, as well as being a general student myself. I think that is one of the more impactful things that helped me in my progression."

Current Position: Professor, Associate Dean for Operations (Chief Operations Officer), University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy

Dr. Martin is a Native Kentuckian and a 1999 graduate of the UK College of Pharmacy. He currently oversees a team responsible for the College’s operating budget, business operations, human resources, facilities management, information technology, faculty hiring and promotion processes, communications, and alumni relations. Dr. Martin joined UKCOP faculty in 2012 as a Board-Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist with over 10 years of experience leading the national award-winning Antimicrobial Stewardship program at UK HealthCare. He is also a past recipient of the Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists’ Outstanding Clinical Practice award and the American Society of Health System Pharmacists’ Best Practice Award. Locally, he was awarded the Kentucky Society of Health System Pharmacists’ Pharmacist of the Year award. He loves teaching and is the course coordinator for the comprehensive infectious diseases course in the Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum. He is also currently serving a term on the Kentucky Board of Pharmacy and is the 2019 President.

Current Position: Co-Editor, Chief of Magnetic Resonance, Chemistry Journal

Award: Hall of Distinguished Alumni - Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient (2016)

"When you're a pharmacist, you never lose the excitement of new discovery. It’s the thing that drives you. It’s like when you are driving along a highway, you wonder what’s around the next curve. It’s so stimulating to keep pursuing new ways of doing things. You get to witness the development of new experiments and probe technology. For me, these are things that have excited me and that I have gotten to experience."

Current Position: Pharmacist, Account Executive, Med Care Pharmacy (Previous Co-Owner of Med Care Pharmacy, which was acquired by Omnicare/CVS Health Long Term Care Pharmacy)

"Being a pharmacist is a very professionally rewarding career. Pharmacists are highly respected in society and are one of the most accessible health care providers. They reach out to the community. The COVID-19 vaccination campaign really demonstrated that pharmacists are in the public and interacting often. Everyone is passionate about taking care of the patients and working to help improve patient outcomes and that is very meaningful."

Current Position: Assistant Professor, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy

Award: Hall of Distinguished Alumni - Young Alumni Award Recipient (2020)

"UKCOP made me more resourceful than many other pharmacists. The FDA project for research came to me and it was different than anything I had ever done before. However, I felt like I could do it because I learned where to look for answers at UKCOP. I also have a strong network to reach out to for advice whenever I need it."

Current Position: Associate Professor, Vice-Chair of Academic Affairs, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy

"The faculty at UKCOP was the biggest benefit for me. UKCOP feels like family to me. The alumni, faculty and students are all connected, and I really benefitted from staying connected to all of them. I have received great advice from faculty and other alumni along the way throughout my career. I want to continue benefiting students by paying it forward and helping my UKCOP family!"