Monthly Archives: December 2016

Pharmacy Faculty and Students Present at ASHP Meeting

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Thirty members of the student pharmacists body and five faculty of the College of Pharmacy attended the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Midyear Clinical Meeting and Exposition.

Presenting a poster at the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting is a noteworthy accomplishment and we commend our students who have prepared a poster and presented it at this international meeting.  Posters presented included (photos below):

  • Comparison of ocular gel forming solutions of gellian and calcium gluconate with and without polyvinyl pyrollidone. (Nate Berger, Caitlin Medley)
  • Metronidazole-induced cerebellar toxicity following prolonged course of therapy. (Kelsie Yates and Angel Johnson)
  • Cholesterol medications and breast cancer: Unraveling the potential value of statins in breast cancer treatment.  (Brittany Hayes)
  • Antiproliferative and chemosensitizing effects of metformin in neuroblastoma cell lines. (Allison Karst and Cassandra Boils)
  • Impact of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) blood culture identification technology on antimicrobial stewardship. (Alexander Kreimer and Charlie Upton)
  • Findings and implementation of the multiplex polymerase chain reaction meningitis/encephalitis panel in a community hospital. (Kathryn Litten)

Student Pharmacists Alex Kreimer and Charlotte Wesley represented Belmont University College of Pharmacy in the international clinical skills competition final rounds, and Dr. Montgomery Williams presented an invited platform presentation titled Antimicrobial Stewardship:  Innovative Practices in Community Hospitals.

Belmont student pharmacists and faculty welcomed alumni at a reception in conjunction with the meeting.  Many of these alumni are completing post graduate year one and post graduate year two residencies throughout the country.

ASHP’s Midyear Clinical Meeting and Exhibition is the largest gathering of pharmacists in the world. With its focus on improving patient care and medication safety, the meeting is attended by more than 20,000 pharmacy professionals from around the globe. For more than 50 years, the Midyear Clinical Meeting has provided pharmacy practitioners with a value-packed event for advancing knowledge, networking with colleagues, enhancing practice skills, and learning about the latest products and innovations.

Johnston Appointed to NashvilleHealth Steering Committee

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Johnston's headshotDr. Phil Johnston, dean of Belmont University’s College of Pharmacy, was recently appointed to the NashvilleHealth Steering Committee, set up to guide and advise the organization in its efforts moving forward. The committee consists of 24 business, government and community leaders who carry diverse expertise in health and the factors that impact it. The group will work alongside NashvilleHealth’s Governing Board to align community attention and resources in an effort to address poor health outcomes and health equity issues.

Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader and NashvilleHealth Founder Bill Frist said, “These 24 local leaders are critical champions for NashvilleHealth and Nashville as a whole. We will rely on each of them to provide guidance on our overall community-developed strategic plan, help execute tactical implementation, advise on the development of pilot programs and monitor outcomes of our initiatives.”

NashvilleHealth is an organization dedicated to creating a culture of health and wellbeing in the Nashville area. It aims to open dialogue and build strategic partnerships to help close the gap in health disparities.

College of Pharmacy Partners with Nashville Zoo for Research Project

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Over the past two years, Belmont University’s College of Pharmacy has been working closely with the Nashville Zoo’s Veterinary Services to provide an answer to a research question that could help zoos across the globe provide better care for their lorikeets. Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences Dr. Steven Stodghill and several  students have been working with the zoo’s flock of over 80 lorikeets to conduct their research and come up with a reliable conclusion.

The goal of the study is to discover how large a dosage of the drug ponazuril lorikeets need to protect them from Sarcocystosis, a seasonal parasitic disease, without overdosing them. The drug is given to the lorikeets regularly and up until this point, few studies have been conducted to determine the actual amount needed. Once the results are in, findings will be shared in the Exotic Animal Drug Formulary for use by other zoos that keep their lorikeets in an outdoor aviary environment.

“Accuracy of dosing is critical for accurate treatment,” Director of the Nashville Zoo’s Veterinary Services Dr. Heather Robertson said in a post on the Zoo’s blog. “If you overdose, you could cause other unintended health concerns. If you under dose, you are not treating appropriately which isn’t helping the animal improve. The results derived from this research will positively impact institutions housing parrots and lorikeets around the world.”

For more information on this research project, visit the Nashville Zoo’s blog.

Odom Elected to AACP Governance Position

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Dr. Odom's headshotDr. Marilyn Thompson Odom, chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical, Social and Administrative Sciences in the Belmont University College of Pharmacy, was recently elected as the secretary of the biological sciences section of the American Association of the Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP). Odom has been a member of the AACP since 2009, previously serving positions that placed her in charge of reviewing the New Investigator Awards, the Student-Led Community Engagement Awards and abstracts for the AACP’s annual meetings. In her new position within the biological sciences section, Dr. Odom will serve as the college’s faculty delegate at the annual AACP meeting.

Dean of Belmont’s College of Pharmacy Dr. Phil Johnston said, “We are so proud of Dr. Odom and all of our pharmacy faculty. This is verification that we are acknowledged as leaders in the profession and in the academy. We celebrate the election of Dr. Odom into this important post.”

Founded in 1900, the AACP is the national organization representing pharmacy education in the United States. The mission of the AACP is to lead and partner with its members in advancing pharmacy education, research, scholarship, practice and service to improve societal health. The AACP is comprised of all accredited colleges and schools with pharmacy degree programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, including more than 6,400 faculty members, 62,500 students enrolled in professional programs and 5,100 individuals pursuing graduate study.

Johnston Attends Global Conference on Pharmaceutical Sciences Education

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The group of conference attendees in ChinaDean of Belmont University’s College of Pharmacy Dr. Phil Johnston recently attended a global conference on pharmaceutical sciences education hosted by the International Pharmaceutical Federation in Nanjing, China. The focus of the conference was to explain current and future educational needs in pharmacy on a global scale and to seek agreement and endorsement by delegates from 35 countries of 60 prepared statements that will guide educators in developing a proper curriculum.

Many of the prepared statements were based on data collected by the World Health Organization. Among these statements, there was a strong emphasis on drug shortages around the world, the migration of the world population and the health care needs that emerge from it, the need for inter-professional collaboration, the importance of alliances between industry and education, the need for antibiotic stewardship, the need to document the roles taken to develop with proof of concept, a focus on the health needs of the world in curricular planning and the expansion of the roles of health professionals. 55 of the 60 prepared statements were approved at the meeting.

Johnston discussed the importance that the conference had for the future of health care educators. “In a world where 10-15 percent of all workers are in health care, and where 50 percent of those workers require specialized education, it is imperative that we work collaboratively and build our curriculum to meet the needs of our population.”