Under the leadership of Dean Julie Johnson, Pharm.D., the University of Florida College of Pharmacy continues an extraordinary transformation to shape the pharmacy profession for years to come. The college has successfully added more than 50 new full-time clinical and tenure-track faculty positions in six years and has aggressively recruited some of the nation’s top clinicians and researchers to fill these roles.

Annual research funding in the College of Pharmacy reached a record $23.7 million in 2018. That moves the college into the Top 5 of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy’s research rankings for total, federal and National Institutes of Health funding.

At campuses in Gainesville, Jacksonville and Orlando, UF pharmacy students are participating in a modernized curriculum that prepares them to be 21st century pharmacists. By embracing new teaching ideas, participating in team-based learning and committing to be lifelong learners, UF pharmacy students are poised to impact the world of health care in remarkable ways.

PHARMACY EDUCATION IN JACKSONVILLE

In August, the College of Pharmacy welcomed 248 news students into the professional Pharm.D. program, including 47 students who enrolled at the Jacksonville campus. Students in Jacksonville enjoy small class sizes that allow them to build quality relationships with professors and classmates, as well as take advantage of leadership opportunities.

The state-of-the-art DuBow Family Foundation interactive classroom in Jacksonville connects pharmacy students with their professors and peers via videoconferencing. This allows faculty based in Gainesville, Jacksonville and Orlando to simultaneously deliver instruction across all the campuses.

NEW JACKSONVILLE FACULTY MEMBERS

The Jacksonville campus welcomed two new faculty members this fall. Kelsey Melloy, Pharm.D., BCPS, and Nathan Seligson, Pharm.D., joined the college as clinical assistant professors and are members of the precision medicine team at Nemours Children’s Health System. A new partnership between the College of Pharmacy and Nemours allows Melloy and Seligson to develop pharmacogenomic services for outpatients at Nemours Children’s Specialty Care. The pair also have staff appointments at Wolfson Children’s Hospital.

NATIONAL RECOGNTION             

The College of Pharmacy prides itself on preparing graduates to be leaders in health care. In 2019, the college ranked No. 1 in the nation for the fourth consecutive year in the number of graduates who matched into highly competitive American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, or ASHP, residency programs.

Meanwhile, several Jacksonville students received national recognitions this year, including 2019 graduate Ashlan Kunz Coyne, who was appointed to the ASHP Policy and Legislative Advocacy Student Advisory Group; and Vivian Nguyen, a fourth-year student who won the American Pharmacists Association Academy of Student Pharmacists’ Student Leadership Award and the Samuel Kalman Scholarship.

SOARING BACK TO THE ’80s

This year’s College of Pharmacy Student Organizational Annual Retreat, or SOAR, program featured a subtle mix of practical leadership development and ’80s pop workout culture, with sessions such as “Discover What Makes You Totally Stoked” and “Exercising Leadership Using the Equipment in your Home Gym.”

Pharm.D. students from the Jacksonville campus hosted 95 students from all three College of Pharmacy campuses for SOAR. The program gives pharmacy students the opportunity to grow individually as leaders and grow their on-campus organizations.

“With this fun and inviting atmosphere, students were able to laugh and enjoy the day but, at the same time, hone skills that will make a lasting impact on their future career in the profession of pharmacy,” said Morgan Leavins, a third-year Pharm.D. student from Jacksonville who co-chaired the event.