Awards and Accolades: University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences Announce Faculty, Staff Achievements

The faculty, staff and students of the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences are often recognized by academic and scientific societies and other prestigious organizations for their significant achievements and exceptional leadership. Among those whose work has recently been acknowledged with awards and accolades are the following:

Susan M. Meyer, Ph.D., professor and associate dean of education, School of Pharmacy, has been elected to a three-year term on the Board of Directors of the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research (APTR). APTR is an inter-professional association that advances population-based and public health education, research and service. APTR members include health professionals, faculty and students within academic departments, public heath graduate programs, health agencies and schools of public health. APTR provides essential linkages to bring together individuals and institutions devoted to health promotion and disease prevention education and research.
Anthony Delitto, Ph.D., P.T., F.A.P.T.A., professor, department of physical therapy at the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, has been selected as a 2007 recipient of the Lucy Blair Service Award by the American Physical Therapy Association. Dr. Delitto also was invited to be a keynote speaker at the World Confederation for Physical Therapy, held in Vancouver, British Columbia in June 2007.
Jennifer Bonner, graduate student at the School of Pharmacy, was selected as this year’s recipient of the Randy and Renee Juhl Pharmacy Graduate Scholar Award. This award was established with a generous gift from Randy P. Juhl, Ph.D., and his wife Renee T. Juhl, Pharm.D., in February 2003. The scholarship supports graduate students who have earned a doctor of pharmacy degree, and who are pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy in areas related to clinical research. Jennifer received her pharmacy degree from the University of Maryland. She is pursuing research focused on the pharmacokinetics of medications used in intestinal transplant patients, under the mentorship of Raman Venkataramanan, Ph.D., and physicians at the Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute of UPMC. The scholarship comes with a certificate and an educational allowance of $5,400.
Jaime B. Talkowski, instructor and doctoral student in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, was recently awarded the Promotion of Doctoral Studies II Award from the Foundation of Physical Therapy, which is a scholarship for outstanding research potential and academic performance.
Joseph T. Hanlon, Pharm.D., M.S., professor of geriatric medicine and pharmacy, Schools of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Institute on Aging and research health scientist at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, was the 2007 recipient of the Edward Henderson Award and the invited presenter of the prestigious Henderson State-of-the-Art Lecture, which focused on medication-related adverse events in geriatric patients. The lecture and awards ceremony were held at the American Geriatrics Society Annual Meeting held in Seattle, May 2-6.
Scot Drab, Pharm.D., C.D.E., assistant professor, pharmacy and therapeutics and director of professional experience programs, School of Pharmacy, was recently interviewed by the editor of Drug Topics regarding the recent accreditation of DM Educateä for 31 hours of continuing education credits (30.1 CEUs), which is available to pharmacists and nurses nationwide online. Feature story appeared in the May 7 issue of Drug Topics.
To view the article please visit the site: http://www.drugtopics.com/drugtopics/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=423922

To access the course site for CE: www.pharmacy.pitt.edu/dmeducatece
Kristine Schonder, Pharm.D., assistant professor, School of Pharmacy, has been named as a member of The Steering Committee and Technical Advisory Panel for the National Quality Forum to develop National Voluntary Consensus Standards for End-Stage Renal Disease Care. The purpose of the project, funded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, is to identify and endorse measures for public accountability and quality improvement related to end-stage renal disease care at both the facility and physician levels. The group will identify and endorse a set of evidence-based performance measures for evaluating the quality of end stage renal disease care and to identify and prioritize unresolved issues regarding end stage renal disease performance measurement and research needs. The steering committee consists of 22 health care professionals, particularly leading physicians and thought leaders involved in the field. Dr. Schonder is the only pharmacist to serve on the committee.
Judith Gavaler, Ph.D., professor emeritus, pharmaceutical sciences, School of Pharmacy, received the Distinguished Alumni Award at Hood University on June 2 in Frederick, Md.
Susan Whitney, Ph.D., P.T., N.C.S., A.T.C., F.A.P.T.A., professor, department of physical therapy, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, was recently named a Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). Between five and nine people are chosen each year for the fellowship and there are less than 100 fellows in the United States. The Catherine Worthingham Fellows of the APTA are recognized as those persons whose work has resulted in lasting and significant advances in the science, education and practice of the profession of physical therapy. Dr. Whitney received the award in Denver in June 2007.
Matt Sapko, third year Pharm.D. student at the School of Pharmacy, was selected by The Association For Prevention Teaching and Research to participate in The Paul Ambrose Scholars Program, June 21-24, a symposium that provides leadership training and education to graduate clinical health professional students interested in public health, health promotion and prevention, health care policy, and medical and health sciences education. Matt will receive a stipend to assist in the development and implementation of a mentored health promotion and disease prevention community project at Falk Pharmacy Community Care in Oakland with his mentor, Maria Yaramus, Pharm.D., assistant professor of pharmacy and therapeutics.
The University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing has announced the following faculty awards: Sigma Theta Tau International Honors Society of Nursing Awards to Ann Mitchell, Ph.D., R.N., C.C.R.C., A.H.N.-B.C., for leadership, to Eileen Chasens, D.S.N., R.N., for education, to Gail Woomer, R.N., M.N., I.B.C.L.C., for fostering professional standards, and to Elizabeth Schlenk, Ph.D., R.N., for research.
Dr. Mitchell also received the Cameos of Caring Award for nurse educator. The Cameo of Caring Award is given to nurses who demonstrate excellence in nursing care, serve as an advocate for patients and families and embody the essence of the nursing profession.
The University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences include the schools of Medicine, Nursing, Dental Medicine, Pharmacy, Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and the Graduate School of Public Health. The schools serve as the academic partner to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Together, their combined mission is to train tomorrow’s health care specialists and biomedical scientists, engage in groundbreaking research that will advance understanding of the causes and treatments of disease and participate in the delivery of outstanding patient care. For fiscal year 2005, Pitt and its institutional affiliates ranked seventh nationally among educational institutions in grant support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

For more information about these awards or the Schools of the Health Sciences, please visit http://www.health.pitt.edu.