News from Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences December 2010

The Pulse

2 Fall Sports:

By the Numbers3 MTM Programs Take Root on

Albany and Vermont Campuses 5 The Link Between Vitamin D

and Kidney Disease

All the “Small Things” 2

See SenegalContinued on page 4

Latest Study Abroad Opportunity: Senegal

Sign Language Breaks Down Barriers in Pharmacy

The College will extend its reach to another

continent next summer when it offers a

study abroad opportunity in Senegal.

A trio of professors, including Associate

Professor of English and Africana Studies

Kevin Hickey, will travel to Senegal with

24 students (eight

each from

ACPHS, Union

College and the

University at

Albany) in the

summer of 2011,

following a

spring semester

seminar on the

east African

country.

A group of sixth year Pharm.D. students recently

came back from a rotation experience on the

Carribean island of Dominica. The five students (Beth

Pollard, Sara Siriano, Jess Nadeau, Anthony Feeko

and Tyler Wingood) were precepted by Assistant

Pharmacy Practice Professor Jeanine Abrons.

In Dominica, the group worked with the Peace Corps

and Jungle Bay, a local ecotourism resort, to educate

Dominica residents about pharmacy and health care.

Abrons also worked with the country’s chief

pharmacist and other health care leaders.

“We worked together to strategize what would allow

us to have the greatest impact,” Abrons said.

The group met with local residents in rural health

clinics, public schools and urban hospitals, and also

volunteered at a local children’s home for mentally

challenged and orphaned children.

During their outreach, they covered topics like

diabetes, cholesterol, hypertension and herbal

medicine. Abrons and the ACPHS students also wrote

a comprehensive blog about their activities

Jason Kubik ’13 took the American Sign

Language classes offered at the College

because he wanted to communicate with a

deaf customer at the Schenectady Rite Aid

where he works. Rather than relying on

total communication, a combination of

methods such as sign, speech and writing,

Kubik wanted to share a common language.

His plan worked better than expected. Not

only was he able to communicate with the

customer, but she subsequently brought her

mother, father and two friends – all of

whom are deaf – so that they too could

sign in the pharmacy. The customers were

appreciative of Kubik’s knowledge and

efforts, as were Kubik’s supervisors, who

soon began to receive calls from deaf

customers wanting to know when he would

be working.

“If we can customize dosing, we should be

able to customize the whole pharmacy

experience,” Kubik said thoughtfully.

Kubik did what Sign Language and Arts

and Sciences Instructor Lynne Howell

encourages all of her students to do –

attempt to sign with deaf people.

“I put out that challenge to my students,”

Howell said.

See DominicaContinued on page 4

New Pharmacy Rotation MakesBig Splash in the Caribbean

“It’s unique to have three professors taking

students from different majors and

backgrounds to Africa,” Hickey said. “This

synergy with three colleges is not typically

seen in standard overseas trips.”

The reason for choosing Senegal lies with

its history, traditions, and diversity – from

its role in the slave trade to its large Islamic

population. Senegal is also widely viewed

as a model African democracy. The country

celebrated 50 years of independence in

April.

One of the experience’s main objectives is

to help students gain cultural competency.

See Sign LanguageContinued on page 4

Asst. Professor Jeanine Abrons and ACPHS studentseducated Dominica residents about pharmacy and healthcare subjects, including diabetes and hypertension.

Jason Kubik, a fourth-year pharmacy student,interacts with a customer at a local Rite Aid.

2 The Pulse December 2010

The paintings currently on display in the

George and Leona Lewis Library might

look similar to what students see in

science textbooks or under microscopes.

Terry Slade, an artist and professor at

Hartwick College, conceived the pieces

titled “Small Things to Worry About”

while working in Scotland on a project involving ancient

stone circles. While observing the stones and the moonlit

sky, Slade had the idea of creating universal shapes that

mirror galactic shapes and microorganisms. Slade

actually titled the works after drawing them.

He has always been interested in science and

received a book on images seen through an

electron microscope. He said he might have

also had that in mind when creating his

“Small Things” drawings.

The title also refers to the “worldwide

concern of a possible pandemic looming

just around the corner. Such a plague, if

it happened, would certainly be caused

by a virus or bacteria so small that it

could only be seen with a microscope,” said Sarah

Martinez, Director of the Albany Center Gallery, where

the exhibit first appeared in 2008. “In the artist’s opinion,

the fact that any species can be devastated by something

so small is ironic given the vast number of species the

human race has and continues to destroy.”

The exhibit will be on view in the library

through January.

Small Things to Worry About

Men’s soccer players who made the Hudson Valley

All-Conference team.

Pace, in minutes per mile, Zach Yates ran the 8K

course at the HVMAC Cross-Country

Championship Meet. He placed fifth overall.

Wins by the women’s soccer team under first-year

coach Christine Kanawada.

Goals scored by Alexa Schooley, which led the

women’s soccer team.

Goals scored by Steve Chikwem, which led the

men’s soccer team.

Time, in minutes, it took Nicole Izzo to run the 5K

course at the HVWAC Cross-Country

Championship Meet. She placed fouth overall.

Fall SportsBy the Numbers

The ACPHS women’s soccer team celebrates after winningtheir home tournament, the Panther Invitational.

5|

6:00|

22:27|

10|

13|

The College’s Career Fair and Interview Day saw anotherstrong turnout of students and employers in mid-November(top). During Mental Health Awareness Week, studentshelped foster unity by anonymously revealing personalsecrets (bottom left). Ed Tick, an expert on post traumaticstress disorder, spoke on the challenges veterans face whenreturning from service (bottom right).

Fall Events at the CollegeOffer Something for Everyone

9|

The College is partnering with

local HMO, Capital District

Physicians’ Health Plan

(CDPHP), on a new initiative to

provide eligible Medicare

beneficiaries with medication

therapy management (MTM)

services.

As defined by

the American

Pharmacists

Association,

MTM is a term used to describe a

broad range of health care

services provided by pharmacists

that optimize therapeutic

outcomes for patients.

An elective APPE rotation in

managed care pharmacy served to

open the lines of communication

between the two partners about

potential roles for community

pharmacists in an MTM initiative.

CDPHP was interested in a pilot

project with community

pharmacists to serve as a gateway

to expanded MTM services.

ACPHS reached out to its

network of alumni and APPE

preceptors to identify pharmacists

that would be interested in

providing MTM services. The

health plan and the College

succeeded in establishing a

network of 20

pharmacists from

independent

pharmacies, private

practice, and a

supermarket chain.

During 2009, this

network conducted a

small pilot program

where pharmacists

provided medication

management for

members with asthma. When the

January 2010 directive from the

Centers for Medicare and

Medicaid Services (CMS)

required plans to offer MTM

services such as comprehensive

medication reviews (CMRs) –

either live or telephonic – to

eligible Medicare Part D

members, the network of

pharmacists and pharmacies

became the foundation of the

CDPHP Medicare MTM

program.

December 2010 The Pulse 3

Renee Mosier, assistant professor at

the ACPHS-Vermont Campus, has

initiated a medication therapy

management (MTM) program at Porter

Hospital in Middlebury, Vermont.

Mosier, who had previously been

involved in an MTM program while

working for Rite Aid in Virginia,

launched the program in July 2010.

Here’s how the program works:

Physicians refer patients

to Mosier or, in some

cases, she may suggest

candidates for referral.

She meets face-to-face

with patients during

which time she does a

complete review of

their prescription and

over-the-counter

medications. As part of

this process, Mosier also

discusses what the patients

can do to optimize their drug

therapy, such as the best times of day

to take medications or whether certain

drugs should be taken on an empty or

full stomach.

“The MTM session is typically the

only time patients will sit down and

spend an hour talking about their

medications, which makes it a very

valuable experience for both the

patient and the pharmacist,” says

Mosier. “It’s also an excellent

opportunity to screen for compliance,

and if there are compliance issues, to

determine whether the problem may be

related to side effects, costs, or some

other concerns.”

Following the meeting, Mosier

develops a personal medication record

(PMR) which, for each medication,

details information such as the

start/end dates, brand name, generic

name, dose/strength, frequency,

indication(s), and prescriber. The

completed PMR is given to the patient

who is encouraged to share it with

his/her health care providers. Follow

up with each patient continues as

needed.

Through both telephonic outreach

and face-to-face consultations,

these pharmacists perform CMRs

to assess medication use and

identify medication-related

problems. Contact with the more

than 2,500 eligible members is

ongoing and 100 CMRs have been

completed to date.

Each patient receives a summary

of the consultation and an

individualized written “take

away.” Pharmacists also conduct

quarterly reviews of each patient

with whom they meet and for

those patients who decline

participation, but do not opt out of

the program. These “desktop”

reviews are also done by a

pharmacist and any outstanding

issues are addressed with the

physician.

Since the program is just a few

months old, a formal outcomes

assessment is not available, but

anecdotal information indicates

that it is having an impact. Jennifer

Cerulli, an Associate Professor at

ACPHS, shares one example: “I

met with a diabetic woman who

was struggling with cost issues as

a result of the coverage gap. We

not only looked at generic cost

saving opportunities, but also at

her injectable diabetes medication.

We found that

switching to multi-

dose vial, in addition

to being less

expensive, required

just one shot (as

opposed to two with

her pen).”

Another patient called

his MTM pharmacist

a week after his

appointment to let her

know that he was adding a new

medication, and he wanted to

double check that it would not

cause any problems. These

examples, in addition to the

positive feedback CDPHP has

received from members and case

management nurses, indicate that

the MTM services are having a

positive effect and points to a

bright future for the program,

which CDPHP plans to expand in

2011.

More than just simply documenting

the patient’s medication record, the

PMR helps Mosier identify health

risks to the patient such as

medications being taken without

indications, dosing issues, and

potential drug interactions. At the end

of each consultation, Mosier formally

recommends any changes to the

patient’s regimen to the physician via

the Medication Action Plan (MAP).

She says that in nearly

every instance, her

recommendations have

been readily accepted and

implemented by the

physicians, who have

been very supportive of

the program and

recognize its value.

But there are challenges

with MTM, and one of the

biggest obstacles centers

around the reimbursement of

the pharmacist’s services. With each

patient, the pharmacist must prepare

for the appointment, arrange the

meeting, and compile the PMR and

MAP. This process can last anywhere

from 3-5 hours per patient, yet the

vast majority of insurance companies

offer no reimbursement for MTM

services. Those that do may pay as

little as $14 for patient appointments

with pharmacists.

“We, as a profession, need to find a

workable resolution to the issue of

MTM reimbursement,” says Mosier.

“There is no question that MTM saves

insurance companies money through

reduced physician visits,

prescriptions, hospital stays, etc. But

we need to get them to realize that. If

we don’t, it will be difficult to sustain

these programs in the future.”

Beginning this spring, there will be

opportunities for P4 pharmacy

students from Albany to rotate with

Mosier and participate in the MTM

program at Porter Hospital. The

rotation will be open to the first class

of P4 students in Vermont beginning

in spring 2012.

College Partners with CDPHP on Initiative Vermont Campus Working with Porter Hospital

MTM Programs Expand Pharmacist’s Role in Patient Care

Assistant ProfessorRenee Mosier

Associate ProfessorJennifer Cerulli

Excerpt of a Medication Action Plan Provided to Patient’s Physician

CDPHP

Kubik said he plans to continue

integrating sign language into

his life. His girlfriend is now in

Howell’s ASL I class, and he is

able to help her and also

maintain his own skills.

“Once you learn a language,

you should keep it with you,”

he said. After taking more than

a decade of Spanish, he now

uses Rosetta Stone software to

maintain his grasp on the

language.

In addition to the American

Sign Language classes, ACPHS

also offers Spanish for Health

Careers I and II, which is

tailored for language relevant to

the health care field.

Students will immerse themselves in

Senegalese culture in a variety of ways,

including participation in lectures at the

West Africa Research Center in Senegal’s

capital, Dakar. They will also be expected

to keep extensive journals of their

experiences.

“The world is a better place when we

cultivate the ties that extend outside our

nation,” Hickey said. “As ACPHS has

grown and faculty are putting more

emphasis on global learning, students are

becoming more interested. I hope this will

continue.”

Another professor involved in the course,

University at Albany Associate Professor

Eloïse Briere, said that she expects the

Senegal experience to broaden students’

outlooks.

“I suspect that the memory of what they

learn will be embedded in who they later

become, whether it be pharmacists,

chemists, doctors, or teachers. It will

remind them to think outside of the

confines of their own languages, their own

countries, and their own cultures,” Briere

said. “My hope is that they will in effect

become value-added persons, able to view

our planet and its global interconnections

through multiple perspectives.”

Hickey and Briere are excellent choices to

lead such a trip as both spent many years

abroad in Africa. Briere began teaching at

Collège St. Jeanne d’Arc in Senegal, and

Hickey trekked through the continent by

bicycle for four years. The third professor

involved in the course, Union College’s

Chair of the Department of Modern

Languages and Literatures, Cheikh Ndiaye,

knows the most about Africa and especially

Senegal—it is the country where he was

born, grew up, and where he received the

first of his three university degrees.

Hickey hopes to offer the Senegal

experience every other year. He is also

working to secure future rotation sites in

Africa for ACPHS students.

4 The Pulse December 2010

Dominica from page 1

Senegal from page 1

Sign Language from page 1

The classes (American Sign

Language I and II) aim to build

receptive and expressive

signing skills so students are

able to communicate with deaf

people they encounter. Howell

focuses on finger spelling, basic

grammatical structures, sign

vocabulary and deaf culture.

Students practice skills in group

and one-on-one settings as well

as exercising their skills outside

the classroom. Howell hopes

someday to offer ASL III and

IV at the College.

Sign language is the third most

spoken language in the U.S.,

behind English and Spanish.

More than one million people

are functionally deaf with more

than eight million considered

hard of hearing. Howell said the

(http://acphs-dominica.blogspot.com). The blog

entries show that the experience affected the

students in profound ways:

“We have adequate housing, clothing, medical

care, and schooling among many other things yet

still some of us Americans aren’t happy enough,”

Nadeau wrote. “The people in Dominica have far

less than we have in many aspects of life, but

oddly enough they are overall much happier

people.”

“This rotation has taught me to enjoy and be

grateful for everything that we have, to not

sweat the small stuff, to enjoy the company of

others, and also to take the time to help

someone in need,” Siriano blogged. “The

people in Dominica have taught me these

valuable life lessons of helping others and to

always be thankful for what we have that I will

be sure to take with me forever and always

cherish.”

“Being on the island in general is an eye

opener, but being able to participate in clinic

days, days at schools, and helping with the

House of Hope gave me an even greater

appreciation for the life we live here in the

United States,” Pollard noted.

deaf community is independent

and appreciative when

members of the hearing world

try to sign.

“When deaf people attempt

speech or total communication,

they’re accommodating us,”

Howell said. “Jason is

accommodating them.”

Both Howell and Kubik had

inspiring interactions with deaf

people at formative ages.

Kubik’s mother took a sign

course in college and

befriended her deaf professor,

who became a family friend.

Howell’s best friend’s father

was deaf, which motivated her

to pursue a deaf education

degree.

Signing the alphabet:

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

If you haven’t joined us on Facebook yet, search

Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

to view photos of College activities, videos, event

reminders and links of interest.

We look forward to interacting with you online.

Study Abroad Destinations Include:

Alaska Japan

China Peru

Hawaii Spain

India Switzerland

The ACPHS Colleges Against Cancer chapter expanded their

Great American Smokeout activities this year, involving

additional campus organizations and moving the event to the

Student Center Atrium. This year’s event, which took place on

November 18, succeeded in attracting more than 100 people.

The Student Society of Health Systems Pharmacists, American

Pharmacist Association, Tobacco Free Coalition and Phi Delta

Chi also participated in the Smokeout activities to further bring

the campus together around the cause, according to Anjoli

Punjabi, a third-year BSPS student and ACPHS’s CAC President.

Information was provided at the event on “how to quit” and

“why to quit,” with packets and brochures detailing the harmful

effects of smoking as well as the restorative effects of quitting.

Attendees were also encouraged to sign petitions for decreased

exposure to secondhand smoke and the prohibition of cigarette

sales in pharmacies.

The Vermont Campus Students created a display and handed out

education flyers, raffled off t-shirts, spa services and gift

certificates to participants. There were approximately 80 students

who participated.

The 2011

Relay for Life

event, CAC’s

largest annual

event, will

take place on

April 16.

However, more recent research has shown

that the majority of vitamin D conversion

takes place outside of the kidneys, when it

was previously believed that most of the

conversion took place within the kidneys.

These findings are challenging conventional

approaches on how patients can best be

treated.

Mason will be studying whether the

supplemental form of vitamin D can be used

in conjunction with activated vitamin D to

improve biomarkers related to cardiovascular

disease and inflammation in dialysis patients.

In addition to the potential health benefits, the

use of the supplemental form of Vitamin D

would offer a cost savings if it is able to also

lower the use of other expensive medications

required in dialysis patients. Activated

vitamin D averages $2,000 per patient per

year, while the supplemental form is just $75

per patient per year.

“A 20 year old on dialysis has the same

mortality as a ‘healthy’ 80 year old, which is

in large part due to the increased risks of

December 2010 The Pulse 5

Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice

Darius Mason has received a three-year,

$150,000 grant to study the effects of different

vitamin D treatments on patients with chronic

kidney disease (CKD). Mason expects to

begin the project in January.

Many patients suffering

from chronic kidney

disease (i.e., those on

dialysis) have a vitamin

D deficiency, which

often leads to increased

risks of cardiovascular

disease. The problem is

particularly severe for

these patients as cardiovascular related

complications are the number one cause of

death in individuals with CKD.

The medication used to boost vitamin D levels

in dialysis patients is called “activated”

vitamin D. The “supplemental” form of

vitamin D is not often administered to these

patients because the prevailing belief is that

they will be unable to naturally convert it to

the active form.

Grant Examines Impact of Vitamin D in Treatment of Chronic Kidney Disease

Campus Groups Join Forces for Smokeout

cardiovascular disease,” said Mason. “If we are

able to demonstrate that some concentration of

the supplemental form of vitamin D can

improve outcomes, that would be a very

promising development in the fight against

kidney disease. The fact that it would also lead

to reduced health care costs would be icing on

the cake.”

The grant is being funded by Satellite

Healthcare, a 37-year old kidney dialysis

service provider and major sponsor of

nephrology research. Mason’s grant was one of

just six awarded by the organization to

“promising early-career researchers dedicated

to undertaking critical research in the area of

kidney disease and its treatment.”

Brigitte Schiller, Chief Medical Officer of

Satellite Healthcare, was especially pleased

with this year`s pool of applicants. “The

quality of this year’s grant applications was

outstanding. Selecting the winners was no easy

task, and I could not be more impressed by the

diverse group of researchers the Scientific

Advisory Board ultimately chose,” she said.

Provost AwardScott BeemanMichael D’AlessandroLaura GauthierBenjamin KimmelDaniel MackeyNora MorganJin Wan NoAllison ReyngoudtAlexis ThayerMolly TrayahOlga Yankulina

Dr. Lawrence H. MacDonaldMemorial Award Michelle Fioravanti

James J. Roome, Jr. ’79 AwardKristin PestoSheena KottackalEvan Zasowski

Lucy M. Manvel Membership AwardFarzeen KhosraviEmily Napper

Students Honored for Academic AchievementsThe below awards were handed out to students in years one through five:

Provost andDean MehdiBoroujerdiposes withwinners of theCollege’sProvost Awards.Students wererecognized at aceremony onNovember 12.

Marsden H. Hayes AwardChristina Hage

Rho Pi Phi Beta Alumni AwardTasmina Hydery

Jerome R. Lozoff ’67 Alumni AwardHeather Van Kuren

Claudia L. DelGiacco Memorial AwardNicholas DiPirro

Dr. Rudolph R. DelGiacco ’46Memorial AwardSarah Wurz

Robert J. Sherer Memorial AwardJacyln Hosmer

Walmart ScholarshipAniwaa Owusu ObengElizabeth PollardJonathan Kubinski

Assistant ProfessorDarius Mason

December

Friday, December 10 – Classes EndMonday - Friday, December 13-17 – Final ExaminationsMonday - Tuesday, December 20-21 – New York State

Part III Board Review

January

Wednesday, January 12 – Annual Respiratory Disease and Pharmacotherapy Program

Monday, January 17 – Martin Luther King Day - College closed

Tuesday, January 18 – Spring Semester classes beginSaturday, January 22 – ACPHS Research Forum Day

Febrary

Friday, February 11 – Last day to drop a course withoutacademic penalty

Sunday, February 13 – Annual Infectious DiseaseSymposium

Monday, February 21 – President’s Day - No classesTuesday, February 22 – Classes resume

March

Monday - Friday, March 14-18 – Spring Recess - No classes

Friday - Saturday, March 18-19 – Annual PharmacyPractice Institute

Monday, March 21 – Classes resume

The Pulse Editorial StaffEditor

Patrick Rathbun

Contributor

Gil Chorbajian

Designer

Debbie Reutter Lussier

Send questions, comments or submissions to patrick.rathbun@acphs.edu or

call 518-694-7131.

6 The Pulse December 2010

Checking The PulseA roundup of ACPHS news and notes� Medication Takeback Program a Success

During ACPHS’s Mario M. Zeolla Health

Fair, more than 100 individuals came to the

College to properly dispose of old or

unused prescriptions and accounted for

more than 220 pounds of medication. “We

were thrilled by the community support for

the takeback event, and what made it even

better was the fact that many individuals

stayed to visit the health information

booths after disposing of their medications. It made us feel like we had

double the impact,” said Joel Messina, APhA-ASP president.

� ACPHS Student Athletes Receive Academic Recognition

Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences has recently been

named a recipient of the 2010 National Soccer Coaches Association of

America Team Academic Award for the 2009-10 academic year. ACPHS

is one of 123 schools nationwide to have both their men’s and women’s

soccer teams recognized with the award. To receive the academic award,

the team grade point average must be 3.0 or higher. For the 2009-10

academic year, the ACPHS women’s soccer team posted a GPA of 3.5,

while the men’s soccer team earned a GPA of 3.1.

� Students Take Strides For Cancer Fundraiser

The Vermont and Albany chapters of Colleges

Against Cancer (CAC) each participated in the

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walks in

October. More than thirty members of the

Vermont Campus attended the walk in Burlington

and raised over $2,000 for the American Cancer

Society. The Albany team of more than 100 students, faculty and staff

raised $6,125, surpassing its fundraising goal.

� Faculty Member to Review Italian Research Grant Applications

The Italian Ministry of Health (MOH) has issued a call for grant

applications for biomedical research, and Associate Professor of

Pharmaceutical Sciences, Carlos Feleder, has been asked to be part of the

international group of reviewers. Feleder will review grant applications in

the fields of Neuroscience, Neurology, Immunology and Endocrinology.

Grant values may be as high as five million Euros (USD 6.64 million).

� Scaling Up

Beginning in January, the New York State Pharmacy

Board will allow electronic balances to be used on

the compounding portion of Part III of the New York

Sate Pharmacy Board licensing exam. Students in

the Pharmacy Practice Skills Labs I course began

utilizing these balances for compounding this semester.

� Vermont Faculty Present at Research Symposium

Several members of the Dept. of Pharmaceutical Sciences on the Vermont

Campus attended the “Clinical and Translational Research Symposium:

Inflammation & Cancer” on November 5. Both positive and negative

ways in which inflammation impacts tumor growth were presented in

lecture and panel discussion sessions. Asssistant Professor Karen Glass

received the award for Best Faculty Poster entitled, “The Role of ING4

and ING5 Tumor Suppressors in Chromatin Remodeling and Disease.”

Professor Stefan Balaz and his student, Senthil Natesan, presented their

poster entitled, “Binding Affinity Prediction of Metalloprotein Ligands:

QM/MM Linear Response Approach.” Professor Dorothy Pumo and

Assistant Professor Rajesh Subramaniam also attended.

� Library Gets Another Upgrade

The Library will purchase a Scan Pro 2000 with a $7,500 Technology

Improvement grant awarded by the National Network of Libraries of

Medicine. The device is an all-in-one microform viewer, scanner and

printer. It has a touch screen that eliminates the use of manual knobs, and

all controls—image movement, focus, screen adjustment, enhancement,

image cropping, and scanning—are on the viewing screen. It will make a

high resolution scan in one second, and users can print, save to USB, CD

or a hard drive.

� Dept. of Pharmacy Practice Hosts Health Outcomes Symposium

The November 11 symposium featured

presentations from ACPHS Associate Professors

Leon Cosler and Tom Lodise, who were joined

by Katia Noyes, Associate Professor and Chief of

the Division of Health Policy and Outcomes

Research at the University of Rochester Medical

Center, and Jill Lavigne, Associate Professor, Wegmans School of

Pharmacy, St. John Fisher College. The importance of Health Outcomes

Research was underscored last year when the U.S. government earmarked

$1.1 billion for this area of study, which is sometimes referred to as

comparative effectiveness research.

Winter Calendar