College of Pharmacy

Jul 1, 2022 - Established in 1958, the Bowl of Hygeia Award recognizes pharmacists who have outstanding records of civic leadership in their communities and encourages pharmacists to take active roles in the affairs of their respective communities. The award is presented annually by participating state pharmacist associations, including those in the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. In addition to service through their local, state, and national pharmacy associations, award recipients have devoted their time, talent, and resources to a wide variety of causes and community service. The Bowl of Hygeia is sponsored by the American Pharmacists Association Foundation, the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations, and the American Pharmacists Association. TPA congratulates Dr. Sheila Mitchell for her outstanding work and contribution to pharmacy practice.

Read more from Tennessee Pharmacists Association: 2022 TPA Award Recipients

May 26, 2022 - Union University College of Pharmacy Class of 2021 has earned the state’s highest pass rate for first-time testers of the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX) according to the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. Union University College of Pharmacy has earned top honors in the state for three consecutive years. Additionally, Union has scored higher than the national average for the last nine years. “Excellence in educational outcomes continues to prevail at the Union University College of Pharmacy, despite interruptions by a global pandemic,” said Sheila Mitchell, Dean of the Union University College of Pharmacy. “We are proud of the performance by our Class of 2021 graduates on their licensing board exam. We congratulate them on this outstanding achievement.” The NAPLEX is designed to evaluate general practice knowledge and is taken by pharmacy students shortly after graduating. It is one component of the licensure process, and boards of pharmacy use the exam to assess a candidate’s competence to practice as a pharmacist.

Mar 14, 2022 - Congratulations to TPA member Marlin "Marty" Blane, PharmD, JD of Dover Family Pharmacy in Dover, TN, who has been selected by Governor Bill Lee to serve a six-year term as a pharmacist member of the Tennessee Board of Pharmacy.

Oct 28, 2021 - Chris Buckley, PharmD, MS, BCCCP’s research abstract, Protein Requirements in Critically Ill Patients with COVID-19, has been selected for presentation at the 51st Critical Care Congress of the Society of Critical Care Medicine in February 2022. Co-authors on the research project include Nivedita Prasanna, MD, Abby Mays, RD, Jeanette Tinsley, RD, and Roland Dickerson, PharmD.

Oct 13, 2021 - Professor Richard Addo recently had a paper published with Yemi Bamiro, a former postdoc at UUCOP, entitled "Native and Modified Oryza glaberrima Steaud Starch Nanocrystals: Solid-state characterization and Anti-tumour drug release studies" in the British Journal of Pharmacy. Congratulations, Dr. Addo!

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Oct 12, 2021 - Union University College of Pharmacy has ranked #1 this year for the 2021 Ranking of ACPE Accredited Pharmacy Schools in Tennessee by the Pharmacy Technician Guide. This ranking is based on the NAPLEX first time pass rate, and our performance earned us the #1 spot with a 98%! Congratulations to the UUCOP faculty, staff and students for your hard work and dedication!

Jun 21, 2021 - Prior to being installed as the President of the Tennessee Pharmacists Association (TPA) during the virtual Summer Meeting, Dr. Kim Jones answered questions during a morning “Diet Coke” Talk, moderated by outgoing TPA President, Dr. Jason Kizer.

Jun 21, 2021 - Dr. Kim Jones presented "Take a 'Byte' out of conflict: How implementing a small change in a conflict management session had a significant impact during the COVID-19 pandemic," with colleagues at the 2021 Leadership Development SIG Virtual Symposium.

Jun 18, 2021 -
It is the tradition at Union University that the graduating class recognize one preceptor who is not a member of the faculty. Preceptors in this category volunteer their time to train students while being employed by an area hospital or community pharmacy.

The Class of 2021 selected Dr. Luke Archer Knox as the APPE Clinical Preceptor of the Year. Dr. Knox serves as a Medical ICU Clinical Pharmacy Specialist and Nutritional Support Specialist at Methodist North Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

When asked what he enjoys most about precepting Union University students, he stated, “I love precepting Union students because it gives me an opportunity to work with some of the brightest and most eager minded future pharmacists. I love mentoring them and teaching them how to apply clinical knowledge to patient care. They quickly apply the lessons we teach them, and we have the reward of watching them evolve and mature as clinicians in a very short time frame. It feels good teaching students that are so motivated to learn and improve on a day-to-day basis. I still think about all the great role models I had in school and want to be the same type of resource for future students.”

Dr. Knox became a preceptor for the College of Pharmacy in 2019. Since that time, he has precepted numerous students, including several from the graduating class. Students have been impressed by his passion for pharmacy and ability to teach topics in different ways to enhance student understanding. Some attributes written about this preceptor include. Students who nominated Dr. Knox expressed that “he is very passionate about pharmacy and students,” “he is a great preceptor who made the rotation very beneficial,” and “he explained things in a way I had never heard before and had misunderstood for so long.”

The College of Pharmacy and the Office of Experiential Education are honored to recognize Dr. Luke Archer Knox as the Class of 2021 Clinical Preceptor of the Year. Congratulations Dr. Knox!

Jun 18, 2021 -
It is the tradition at Union University that the graduating class recognize one preceptor who is a full-time faculty member of the College of Pharmacy.

The Class of 2021 selected Dr. Zac Halford as the APPE Faculty Preceptor of the Year. Dr. Halford joined the College of Pharmacy in 2017 and currently serves as a Professor of Pharmacy Practice. He practices as a Clinical Pharmacy Oncology Specialist at Jackson Madison County General Hospital.

Dr. Halford made an impression on several students of the 2021 graduating class. Based on their nomination letters, he “demonstrates servant leadership by sharing his time and talents with students.” Others stated, “He is one of the most intelligent preceptors from whom I had the opportunity to learn, however, he is humble.” “He takes a complex practice area and breaks it down to easily understand. He offers a helpful rotation on a topic that is unfamiliar to many students.” “During his rotation, I was challenged daily to push myself, but he also took the time to verify I was learning and not overwhelmed.”

Since joining the faculty, Dr. Halford has received several teaching awards, including the Class of 2020 Faculty Preceptor of the Year Award.

The College of Pharmacy and the Office of Experiential Education is honored to recognize Dr. Zac Halford as the Class of 2021 Faculty Preceptor of the Year. Congratulations Dr. Halford!

Jun 14, 2021 - Dr. Taylor Mathis has been elected to serve as the Coordinator-Elect for the American Pharmacists Association – Academy of Pharmacy Practice and Management (APhA-APPM) Medication Management Special Interest Group (SIG). She will serve as the SIG Coordinator-Elect until March 2022 and will serve as the SIG Coordinator March 2022-March 2023.

May 6, 2021 - Dr. Kim Jones presented with colleagues from the University of Minnesota (UM) College of Pharmacy at UM’s virtual 2021 Best Practices in Health Sciences Education conference #BPHSE21. Their presentation was entitled Engage the Enemy: Find Common Ground by Managing Conflict. Gardner Lepp, PhD | University of Minnesota Kerry K. Fierke, Ed.D | University of Minnesota Kim Jones, PharmD, BCPS, FASHP | Union University

May 4, 2021 - Congratulations to our very own Dr. Blake Watkins for being the inaugural recipient of the Faculty Researcher of the Year Award. This award recognizes a full-time faculty member who has made significant and sustained scholarly contributions to his or her discipline and the academy. This award represents the highest honor bestowed by the university for research and scholarly activity.

May 1, 2021 - Dr. George DeMaagd presented "Migraine Headaches: Update on the Pathophysiology, Clinical Presentation, Management and the Role of the Pharmacist" at the 32nd Annual New Drugs and Modern Concepts in Pharmacotherapy Continuing Education Program held virtually at the University of the Pacific, Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy, in San Francisco, CA.

Apr 6, 2021 - Dr. Zachery Halford and Dr. Matthew Clark ('18) recently published "Pharmacogenomics in Pain Management: A Review of Relevant Gene-Drug Associations and Clinical Considerations" in Annals of Pharmacotherapy.

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Mar 1, 2021 - Dr. Jennifer Byrd and colleague, Dr. Michael Peeters’s article, Initial Validation Evidence for Clinical Case Presentations by Student Pharmacists, has been published in Innovations in Pharmacy.

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Feb 12, 2021 - Dr. Taylor Mathis has been appointed to serve on the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) New Practitioner Advisory Committee (NPAC) as a member at large March 2021-March 2022. The NPAC drives the direction of the awards, programming, resources, and opportunities provided by the APhA New Practitioner Network. In this role, she will have the opportunity to serve as the liaison for the Member Engagement Standing Committee, which helps the Association identify and adapt to the needs and desires of New Practitioner members.

Jan 19, 2021 - Dr. George DeMaagd's article titled "An Introduction to Hypnic Headache" has been published in U.S. Pharmacist.

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Jan 12, 2021 - Dr. Luna Bennett taught two virtual classes in January regarding "The Role of Pharmacists in Facing the Global Health Problem" to 58 undergraduate pharmacy students from Indonesia, Philippines, Ghana, Croatia, Malaysia, Romania, Yemen, Afghanistan and Japan registered at the Institut Teknologi Bandung, School of Pharmacy (ITB). The first lecture was titled "Role of Pharmacists During COVID-19," and the second was "Vaccination and Treatment Options for COVID-19." Dr. Bennett is Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Dec 18, 2020 - Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice and Clinical Pharmacist Brad Spencer video tapes his co-worker, Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice and Clinical Pharmacist, Chris Buckley receiving the first of many Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccines at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital in Jackson, TN on Friday, December 18, 2020.

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Dec 8, 2020 - Professor Luna Bennett has been awarded the Union University PEW Research Grant for 2021-2022 for her proposal on the “Effects of Vitamin C in Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) Cells." Her work on the project will begin immediately. Her findings will be reported in a symposium to faculty in the spring of 2023.

Dec 8, 2020 - Professor Blake Watkins’ paper in the journal, Chemical Science, entitled “A General Method for the Metal-free, Regioselective, Remote C-H Halogenation of 8-Substituted Quinolines” has been recognized by the Royal Society of Chemistry as one of the top 5% most highly cited papers across all of the RSC published journals for 2019. Currently, the paper has been cited by 78 papers across all scientific journals.

Dec 7, 2020 - Drs. Zac Halford and Jodi Taylor recently completed the ASHP Certificate in Pharmacogenomics. The program covers the rationale and process for using pharmacogenomics to improve medication use, the key aspects associated with successful implementation of pharmacogenomics in a health system, interpreting pharmacogenomics results and the associated recommendations regarding pharmacotherapy in patient-specific care settings.

Oct 13, 2020 - Dr. Zachery Halford, Dr. Mary Kate Anderson ('20) and Dr. Matt Clark ('18) published Enfortumab Vedotin-ejfv: A First-in-Class Anti–Nectin-4 Antibody-Drug Conjugate for the Management of Urothelial Carcinoma in Annals of Pharmacotherapy.

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Dr. Zachery Halford

Dr. Mary Kate Anderson

Dr. Matt Clark

Oct 1, 2020 - Dr. Luna Bennett is Editor of the recently published book Caspase-3: Structure, Functions and Interactions. She also wrote Chapter 1: Introduction to Caspases, Chapter 7: Caspase 3 and Central Nervous System, and Chapter 8: Caspase 3: Interaction and Beyond. Victoria Downs (P4) contributed to chapters 1 and 7.

Dr. Luna Bennett

Victoria Downs

Sep 25, 2020 - Dr. Ashok Philip’s article titled “An initial environmental scan of APPE readiness assessment” has been published in Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning. 2020;12(7):771-775

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Sep 25, 2020 - Dr. Ashok Philip and Dr. Kim Lindsey-Goodrich Co-Authored Chapter 1: “Drugs Affecting the Cholinergic System” in the textbook Medicinal Chemistry for Pharmacy Students Volume 2: Medicinal Chemistry of Drugs Affecting the Nervous System. 2020, Vol. 2, 1-58. © 2020, Bentham eBooks.

Dr. Ashok Philip and Dr. George DeMaagd co-authored Chapter 8: “Parkinson Disease and Antiparkinsonian Drugs” in the textbook Medicinal Chemistry for Pharmacy Students Volume 2: Medicinal Chemistry of Drugs Affecting the Nervous System. 2020, Vol. 2, 319-374. © 2020, Bentham eBooks.

Dr. Ashok Philip

Dr. Kim Lindsey-Goodrich

Dr. George DeMaagd

Sep 17, 2020 - Dr. Jodi Taylor was featured in two sessions of the “COVID-19: What’s Next?” conference sponsored by the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM), the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), and other professional societies. The conference featured the newest research findings, prominent multiprofessional faculty, guidelines updates, and resources. Dr. Taylor presented on medical education in a pandemic as well as answered questions about medications used in COVID-19 patients. Dr. Taylor currently serves as Professor and Chair of Pharmacy Practice at Union University College of Pharmacy.

SCCM is the largest non-profit medical organization dedicated to promoting excellence and consistency in the practice of critical care. With members in more than 100 countries, SCCM is the only organization that represents all professional components of the critical care team. The Society offers a variety of activities that ensure excellence in patient care, education, research and advocacy.

ASHP represents pharmacists who serve as patient care providers in acute and ambulatory settings. The organization’s nearly 55,000 members include pharmacists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians. For more than 75 years, ASHP has been at the forefront of efforts to improve medication use and enhance patient safety.

Aug 24, 2020 - Dr. Luna Bennett's book, Gaucher's Disease: From Diagnosis to Treatment, is at press. Dr. Zachery Halford also contributed by writing Chapter 5 of the book. Dr. Eric Miller ('20) also assisted Dr. Bennett in writing Chapter 7.

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Dr. Luna Bennett

Dr. Zachery Halford

Dr. Eric Miller

Aug 24, 2020 - Dr. George DeMaagd's article titled "Migraine Management, How Pharmacists can help Patients with Migraine Monitor and Manage the Condition" has been published in Drug Store News, page 90.

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