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December
Alumni Updates
Alumni of the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Pharmacy are always on the move, gaining national recognition, landing new jobs, or investing in their personal lives through family, friends, and hobbies. Stay in touch with your fellow UW–Madison School of Pharmacy alumni across the country by checking (and sharing) Class Notes in each DiscoveRx digital magazine issue.
- See our previous edition of Class Notes from the Fall 2021 issue.
- Submit your class note for the Spring 2022 issue.
New Jobs/Positions
Briana Amundson (PharmD ’18) started a new job as a hematology/oncology clinical pharmacist at Mayo Clinic at the Rochester campus in November 2021.
Tom Dilworth (PharmD ’10) was recently promoted to system director of clinical pharmacy services for Advocate Aurora Health (AAH). Previously, he was a clinical pharmacy specialist in infectious diseases for AAH based at St. Luke’s Medical Center.
Nicole Reardon (PharmD ’07) started a new job as the clinical pharmacy manager in October 2021 at North Florida Regional Medical Center. She has also been appointed to the BPS Pharmacotherapy Specialty Council for the 2022-2024 term.
Lisa Holle (BS ’93, PharmD ’95) has been promoted to clinical professor at the UConn School of Pharmacy and School of Medicine.
Accomplishments & Awards
Tanvee Thakur (PhD ’20) is the lead author on the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association’s most-downloaded paper of 2021: “Pharmacist roles, training, and perceived barriers in naloxone dispensing: A systematic review.“
Yen-Ming Huang (MS ’16, PhD ’19) received a three-year grant from the Taiwan Ministry of Science/Technology to study the workflow and cost of dispensing a prescription in community pharmacies using mixed methods research.
Tiah McGettigan (PharmD ’16) is being honored as the 2021 Distinguished Young Pharmacist of the Year by the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin.
Ed Portillo (PharmD ’14) developed COPD CARE (coordinated access to reduce exacerbations), which is being honored by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists with a 2021 Best Practice Award.
Chelsea Hustad (PharmD ’08) is honored with the 2021 Next Generation Pharmacist award for Specialty Pharmacy.
Michelle Farrell (BS ’99, PharmD ’00) received the 2021 Good Government Award from the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin.
George MacKinnon (BS ’88, MS ’90) has been named one of Milwaukee BizTimes Medias’ Notable Heroes in Health Care.
Lawrence Lernor (BS ’79) is honored by the Illinois Optometric Association with the 2021 Dr. Floyd Mizener Friend of Optometry award.
Personal Updates & Check-Ins
CJ Marienthal (BS ’79): “Writing using the pseudonym Daphne Walter, I have published two historical fiction novels, ‘King Henry’s Last Daughter’ and ‘Spymaster’s Web.'”
Larry Michalski (BS ’72): “Happily retired! Don’t miss the rat race at all.”
Leo Nickasch (BS ’71): “Retired from VA in 1999, and I retired from pharmacy in 2009.”
Palmer Taylor (BS ’60, PhD ’64): “Academics, research, and family of three children and four grandchildren in the San Diego environs all keep me healthy and active.
I wrote a biographic article in Annu. Rev. Pharmacology and Toxicology 61: 25-46 (2021), also online at pharmtox.annualreviews.org, entitled “Cholinergic Capsules and Academic Admonitions”. In it I discusses my origins in family pharmacy in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, education at the School of Pharmacy in Madison, and how Professors Uhl, Wurster, Smissman, Kupchan, Sih, and Higuchi influenced my career in research extending from Bethesda, Maryland; through Cambridge, England; Gottingen, Germany; and finally to UCSD in La Jolla, California. I served as chair of the Department of Pharmacology in the School of Medicine and then as founding dean of the Skaggs School of Pharmacy at the University of California, San Diego.”
Retirements
Phil Holman (BS ’79): “I retired from my clinical manager position at our local hospital in Chico, California and relocated to South Carolina to join her daughter and grandkids. We have purchased a farm and are in the process of building a new home. “
Thomas Clasen (BS ’71): “Having worked in pharmacy for roughly 50 years, I am retiring for good. It has been good. I am thankful for my undergrad education at Madison.”
In Memoriam
Jack Troyer (BS ’55) passed away in November 2021. He operated Troyer Rexall Drug Store in Baraboo, Wis., for nearly 40 years and was active in his church’s choir. He enjoyed golfing, stamp collecting, and camping with his family.
