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University of Wisconsin-Madison

Class Notes: Winter 2018

This quarter's alumni updates come to you from Megan and Dan Fleischman, Brian Isetts, Eric Walters, Richard Gantt, Kajua Lor, and Bruce Wiesman
This quarter's alumni updates come to you from Megan and Dan Fleischman (PharmD '10), Brian Isetts (BS '79), Eric Walters (BS '74), Richard Gantt (PhD '12), Kajua Lor (PharmD '09), Bruce Wiesman (BS '70), and more.

Alumni Updates

From relocating or buying a home to earning recognition or just checking in to share that retirement has been treating them well, our alumni have a lot of news to share. Stay in touch with your fellow UW–Madison School of Pharmacy alumni across the state and the country by checking (and sharing) class notes in each DiscoveRx digital magazine issue. 

Here’s what our alumni have been up to since the Fall 2018 Class Notes. For more updates, see our full Winter 2018 DiscoveRx.


Promotions & New Positions

Ephrem Abebe

Ephrem Abebe (MS ’14, PhD ’16): “I am wrapping up my postdoctoral research fellowship at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. I recently accepted a tenured-track assistant professor position at Purdue University College of Pharmacy (Department of Pharmacy Practice). I will be transitioning into my new role early next year, with a start date of March 1, 2019.”

Luke Beirl

Luke Beirl (PharmD ’11) has been named CEO of the Hayward Area Memorial Hospital and Water’s Edge Memorial Medical Center in Ashland, Wis.

Trent Thiede

Trenton Thiede (PharmD ‘06) accepted a position as vice president for PAAS National. PAAS is a pharmacy audit assistance service that helps community pharmacies in across the U.S. and in Puerto Rico. 

Rick Bertz

Richard Bertz (BS ’83) has been appointed professor and associate dean at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy. Previously, Bertz worked in the pharmaceutical industry for more than 22 years, most recently as vice president and head of clinical pharmacology and pharmacometrics at Bristol-Meyers Squibb. He remains an active member of the UW–Madison School of Pharmacy’s Board of Visitors, the American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education Board of Grants, and several other professional organizations.


Recognition & Awards

Kajua Lor

Kajua Lor (PharmD ’09), associate professor and chair of the Clinical Sciences department at the Medical College of Wisconsin, is the Hmong Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce’s 2018 Professional of the Year, in recognition of her significant professional accomplishments that elevate the Hmong community.

Jason Lau

Jason Lau (PharmD ’01), clinical pharmacist and manager with Walgreens, is the 2018 Man of the Year for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Wisconsin.

Roger Tung

Roger Tung (PhD ’87), president, CEO, director, and scientific founder of Concert Pharmaceuticals, is honored with a 2018 Citation of Merit Award from the UW–Madison School of Pharmacy.

Brian Isetts

Brian Isetts (BS ’79) was recently appointed to serve a two-year term on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Medicare Evidence Development and Coverage Advisory Committee (MEDCAC), which advises on whether specific services and medical items are reasonable and necessary under Medicare law. There are 66 voting members, and Isetts is one of three pharmacist voting members. Isetts is currently a professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Care and Health Systems at the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy.

James Rinehart

James Rinehart (BS ’78, MS ’84) of Indianapolis, Ind., received the 2018 Medication Safety Individual Practitioner Award from the Indiana Pharmacists Alliance state pharmacy association. This award is presented to an individual health care practitioner who demonstrates a dynamic and enthusiastic commitment to medication-use safety through innovative and creative projects, programs, educational efforts, and/or research.

Ibrahim Jalal

Ibrahim Jalal (PhD ’78), senior corporate vice president of technical affairs at Hikma Pharmaceuticals, is honored with a 2018 Citation of Merit Award.

Jim De Muth

Jim De Muth (MS ’72, PhD ’74), professor emeritus at the UW–Madison School of Pharmacy’s Division of Pharmacy Professional Development, is honored with a 2018 Citation of Merit Award.


Retirements

Greg Higby

Greg Higby (MS ’80, PhD ’84), adjunct professor in the UW–Madison School of Pharmacy and executive director of the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy (AIHP), is retiring at the end of 2018. He has been executive director of AIHP since 1986.

Robert Buerki

Robert Buerki (BS ’63, MS ’67): “I retired from the Ohio State University College of Pharmacy in 2011 after 46 years. As professor emeritus, I continue to teach online courses in the history of pharmacy in professional ethics, and I continue to serve as the secretary of the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy. I am co-author (with my colleague Popat N. Patil) of a new book, A History of Drug Sciences at the Ohio State University College of Pharmacy, which should be out in December 2018.”


Personal Updates

Trevor Breisch (PharmD ’15) purchased a condo to stay in Madison and work as a pharmacist in the emergency department of Mercyhealth Hospital.

Michael Ouvrard

Michael Ouvrard (PharmD ’13): “I am still a practicing pharmacist at Walgreens in Milwaukee. However, I started a real estate investment company several years ago. We successfully closed on a 44-unit apartment building last month and have more projects in the works. Graduating from a well-respected pharmacy program has helped leverage my new career and has given me much respect from my new group of commercial real estate peers and investors.”

Richard Gantt

Richard Gantt (PhD ’12) has been a senior research scientist at Twist Bioscience in San Francisco, Calif., for the past two years. His research focuses on leveraging silicon-based DNA synthesis to develop a DNA library and target enrichment products for next-generation sequencing applications. He spends his spare time exploring the various parks and open spaces in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The Fleischman family

Megan Fleischman (PharmD ’10): “Dan Fleischman (PharmD ’10) and I have made our way back to Wisconsin. We’ve lived in several places but spent the last four years in Illinois. Dan works for Milliman, and I am in Froedert’s Pulmonary Clinic. Additionally, in the past year, we had our third child, making it an official boy-girl-boy sandwich.”

Sam Gallo (BS ’91): “My daughter, Madeline Gallo (BS ’17) is a Pharm-Tox graduate and just started pharmacy school at UW–Madison. She is a third-generation pharmacy student there. Her grandfather, Mike Gallo, graduated in 1950 and went on to run a successful independent pharmacy in Kenosha, Wis. Maddy also has two uncles who graduated from UW–Madison School of Pharmacy: John Gallo (BS ’68) and Dino Gallo (BS ’79). I graduated from UW Pharmacy in 1991 and currently am employed with Walgreens in Kenosha.”

Philip Stroupe (BS ’83): “I am enjoying a busy retirement.”

Tom Blumenberg's Quilt of Valor

Thomas Blumenberg (BS ’74): “As a follow-up to my last note, I received a Quilt of Valor at the Hayward High School Veterans Day concert. I was recognized for my contributions by interviewing veterans in this area and submitting them to the Veterans History Project and writing articles, based on my interview, for local papers.”

Eric Walters

Eric Walters (BS ’74): “I continue to educate new pharmacists at Rosalind Franklin University in North Chicago, Ill. My favorite course is Medicinal Chemistry, taught in a team-based learning format with no lectures. I’ve written a book for consumers about the world of natural and artificial sweeteners (The Sweetener Book) and co-authored a book about public speaking for scientists (Scientists Must Speak).”

Bruce Wiesman and his wife in Alaska

Bruce Wiesman (BS ’70): “Enjoying retirement! For me, retirement is family, traveling, and golfing as much as possible!”

William Zellmer (BS ’67): “The Class of 1967, in honor of our 50th anniversary of graduation, began efforts last year to raise contributions for a scholarship in the name of our class. This year, we’ve reached the threshold for an endowed, self-sustaining scholarship.”

Rasma Chereson (BS ’66). “I retired from full-time teaching at the St. Louis College of Pharmacy in 2014, but I continue there as an adjunct. I teach an elective in advanced compounding and assist with the pharmaceutics labs and a pharmacy calculations course. The love for compounding instilled in me by Dr. Dale Wurster at the UW–Madison School of Pharmacy has never left. It’s gratifying to see more students showing an interest in this aspect of pharmacy.”

Gordon Flynn (PhD ’65), professor emeritus at the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy, published Physical and Biophysical Foundations of Pharmacy Practice: Issues in Drug Delivery and is responsible for the book’s many illustrations, including working with artists and hand-drawing illustrations himself.

Harland Lee (BS ’61, MS ’65): “I retired from pharmacy practice after 27 years as pharmacy director at Evanston Hospital in Evanston, Ill., in 1993. I then worked for Cardinal Health as director of health system sales for 22 years, retiring for good in 2005. We have had a vacation home on a lake in Hazelhurst, Wis., since the late ‘80s but tore it down and replaced it with a new retirement home in 2005, where we live now. I keep busy with civic responsibilities as a member of the local town board, Oneida County Board of Adjustment, Tri-County Human Service Center Board, and commissioner on the North Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission. I am enjoying retirement. There is life after pharmacy!”

Otto Puls (BS ’55): “I am now retired and working part-time for the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s athletic department (men’s basketball). I have worked there for more than 20 years. Go Badgers!” Puls was featured in a 2016 New York Times article for his work with the Wisconsin men’s basketball team.


In Memoriam

Arthur McCourt

Arthur McCourt (BS ’53) passed away in October 2018. He was a champion for Wisconsin pharmacists and a passionate practitioner who served as a clinical instructor for many student pharmacists. Among his many professional accomplishments, he earned a Citation of Merit from the UW–Madison School of Pharmacy, the Bowl of Hygeia from the Wisconsin Pharmacists Association, and the Distinguished Pharmacy Award from Astra Merck Pharmaceuticals.


Do you have a personal or professional update you’d like to share, big or small? Submit your class note for the Spring 2019 DiscoveRx.

Email your news to DiscoveRx@pharmacy.wisc.edu.