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CRoME Team

CRoME Team

Presentations and Team Updates

Spring 2024

  • Official launch of the Wonders of Pharmacists Podcast! Listen to our episodes, released weekly on Wednesday: https://wondersofpharmacists.podbean.com A flyer with information on the Wonders of Pharmacist Podcast, which is a podcast with a vision to illuminate the different aspects of the field of pharmacy.
  • NEW Publications from CRoME Lab Authors
    • portrait of Grace Klubertanzportrait of Ellie MadayCongratulations to Ellie Maday, Grace Klubertanz and Dr. Abraham on their publication in the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association named: Parents’ perspectives on using a Family Medication Safety Plan designed to promote appropriate opioid prescription practices with adolescents. This article discusses parents’ perspectives of the Family Medication Safety Plan worksheet and its potential use within their families. Read more here:  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S154431912400027X?dgcid=author
    • Another great publication comes from Dr. Abraham and a team of cancer and Africana studies scholars, accepted by the Journal for Medical Internet Research: Cancer which is titled: The Need for Culturally Competent and Responsive Cancer Education for African Immigrant Families and Youth Living in the United States. This paper highlights the growing understanding of more tailored, culturally appropriate care and education for the growing African immigrant population in the United States. 
  • Welcoming Emma Wawa!
    • The CRoME Lab would like to announce the arrival of our newest member and Outreach Program Coordinator, Emma Wawa!
    • From Emma: Hello, my name is Emma! I have had the honor of being a 4-star Home Daycare provider for the last 20 years. During this time, I have worked with children from the newborn stage through their early teens. The most rewarding part of my job is my role in their growth and development and building lifelong friendships with families. I have also had the opportunity to continue providing care for their younger siblings per their parents request. Since I am bilingual and my first language is French, I am able to incorporate this into my daily lesson plans and activities which the parents truly enjoy. In addition to that, I have had the role of lead pastor of the French church at Life Center, Madison and I have been in that position for over 10 years now. Not only that, I have worked as a nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison for about six years up until 2006. Although I have enjoyed my jobs, I am interested in spending more time in the community and I am excited to begin this new chapter with the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Pharmacy.
      Headshot of Emma Wawa

    Fall 2023

    Summer 2023

    • PSW Posters Presented! A HUGE congratulations to all of our esteemed PharmD students who presented this past week at the PSW Annual Meeting. Great work to Evan Slonac and Zachary Paulsen for their poster entitled, “Parent Perspectives on a Pharmacy-Based Infographic Intervention on Adolescent Vaping and E-Cigarette Use” as well as McKennah Matulle on her poster entitled, “Adolescent Perspectives on a Pharmacy-based E-Cigarette Educational Tool and Its Potential Impact on Youth Vaping,” and Ellie Maday and Grace Klubertanz on their poster entitled, “Parents’ Perspectives on Using a Family Medication Safety Plan to Promote Adolescent Opioid Safety through Collaborative Medication Management.”

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    • New publication alerts! Congrats to all the CRoME Lab members who spent the past few months preparing manuscripts! See below for latest publications:
      • The American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education accepted a publication by Dr. Abraham and other School of Pharmacy faculty entitled: Course Snapshot: A Simple Tool for Managing Annual Curricular Reviews.
      • The Journal of the American Pharmacists Associate accepted a paper by Dr. Abraham, Kourtney Peterson (PharmD student), Sydney Thao (Undergrad Student) and Tyler McCarthy (PhD student) entitled: Adolescents’ Assessments of a Family Medication Safety Plan for Opioid Prescriptions: A Qualitative Usability Study.
      • We are excited to announce a new CRoME Lab publication entitled: Parents’ perceptions of the MedSMA℞T: Adventures in PharmaCity serious game designed to educate families on prescription opioid safety: a qualitative study. Congratulations to our authors Dr. Abraham, Grace Nixon and Laura Seitz! In this study we asked parents to play our educational game, MedSMA℞T and asked them to tell us their thoughts. Parents supported the use of the game for adolescent opioid safety education with positive reviews of the game’s content and style. Click the paper title above to read more and learn about what parents think of MedSMA℞T!
      • Congratulations to our CRoME Student Pharmacists whose abstracts were accepted for posters at the Annual PSW Conference! We would like to celebrate Evan Slonac and Zachary Paulsen for their submission entitled, “Parent Perspectives on a Pharmacy-Based Infographic Intervention on Adolescent Vaping and E-Cigarette Use” as well as McKennah Matulle on her poster entitled, “Adolescent Perspectives on a Pharmacy-based E-Cigarette Educational Tool and Its Potential Impact on Youth Vaping,” and Ellie Maday and Grace Klubertanz on their poster entitled, “Parents’ Perspectives on Using a Family Medication Safety Plan to Promote Adolescent Opioid Safety through Collaborative Medication Management.” We know you all will present amazingly!

      Evan Slonac

      Zachary PaulsenMcKennah Matulle

      Ellie Maday

      Grace Klubertanz

      Spring 2023

      • Farewell to CRoME Team students Grace Nixon, Kourtney Peterson, and Laura Seitz! We appreciate all of their work as a part of CRoME Team over the years and wish them the best in their future endeavors!

      Grace Nixon_2     Kourtney Peterson     Laura Seitz

      • Congratulations to Kourtney Peterson who presented her poster entitled, “Pharmacist Perceptions on Utilizing a Personalized Family Medication Safety Plan for Opioid Education” at the PSW Educational Conference on April 19th, 2023!

      Kourtney Peterson presents research

      • CRoME Team Research Specialist Tyler McCarthy presents poster entitled, “Successes and Challenges in Engaging Patients and Pharmacists in Using Vaccine Confidence Resources to Improve COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake” at the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin Educational Conference on April 18th, 2023. Nice job Tyler!

      Tyler McCarthy presents poster

      • Courtney Koeberl presents on CRoME Team’s Vaccine Confident project and her journey in pharmacy school to Bay Area Middle School in Green Bay, WI, and to Bucky’s Pre-Health Club at UW-Madison. Way to go Courtney!

             

      • CRoME Lab members (Tyler McCarthy, Annika Brekke, McKennah Matulle, Ellie Maday, Courtney Koeberl, and Evan Slonac) participated in the Spring 2023 Science Expeditions where they spoke to 301 individuals. They presented on vaccine confidence to people of all ages, answering any and all vaccine-related questions that they could. According to the CDC, vaccine confidence is the belief that vaccines are safe, effective and part of a trustworthy health care system. The Vaccine Confident project is a dissemination-focused, joint effort between APhA, AACP and 5 land-grant universities to improve COVID-19 immunization uptake. The purpose of this project is to share the resources found on the APhA created site where pharmacists, allied healthcare professionals and community members can access recourses designed to help them empower their communities with vaccine confidence.

      2023 Science Expeditions 2023 Science Expeditions

      • Congratulations to current CRoME Team member Grace Nixon who has matched for a PGY-1 ambulatory care pharmacy residency at William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital in Madison, WI!
      • Dr. Abraham will be featured as the March guest speaker for UW Institute for Clinical & Translational Research’s Dissemination & Implementation Launchpad seminar. She will present on “Implementing a Youth Advisory Board to Inform Adolescent Health and Medication Safety Research.” Read more here.
      • Dr. Abraham’s manuscript entitled “Evaluation of a Game Design in a Pharmacotherapy Laboratory Setting” was accepted for publication in Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning on February 18, 2023.
      • Dr. Abraham’s manuscript entitled “Characterizing Pharmacist Perspectives on Utilizing a Personalized Family Medication Safety Plan for Opioid Education with Adolescents and Parents” was accepted for publication in Pharmacy Women’s Special Issue Series on January 18, 2023.
      • Dr. Jenny Li’s abstract entitled, “Adolescent and Parent Perspectives on Youth Vaping, Parental Influence, and the Pharmacists’ Role in Education and Intervention” has been selected as a podium presentation to be given during APhA 2023 Annual Meeting Day of Science APRS-ESAS Podium Sessions to be held on Friday, March 24, 2023.

      Jenny Li presents her podium presentation at APhA.

      • CRoME team members Zach Paulsen & Evan Slonac’s abstract entitled “Partnering with Pharmacists in Refining MedSMA℞T: A Serious Game to Educate Adolescents about Opioid Safety,” has been accepted for a poster presentation at APhA 2023 Annual Meeting and Exposition, which will be held March 24-27, 2023.

      Zachary Paulsen and Evan Slonac presenting research poster at APhA.

      Zachary Paulsen and Evan Slonac posing at APhA.

      Fall 2022

      • Congratulations to CRoME Team PhD Student Jenny Li, who successfully defended her Master’s Thesis Project entitled “Characterizing Parent and Adolescent Perspectives on E-Cigarette Use and the Role of Pharmacists in Addressing Youth Vaping” on December 16th. We are so proud of you and the work you have done with CRoME Team!
      • “Adolescent and parent priorities for vaping and e-cigarette education: a dyadic study” has been accepted as a poster for presentation at the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT) 2023 Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas.

      Summer 2022

      Jenny Li presents at conference Jenny Li presents at conference

      • Farewell to CRoME Team Research Specialist, Claire Rosenberger! Claire joined the lab in Fall 2020 and has played a vital role in many of our projects, particularly MEDSMA℞T Families. Thank you for all your hard work, Claire! 
      • Welcome to our new student team members, Tatiana Zech (undergraduate student) and McKennah Matulle (Pharm.D. student, Class of 2025)! Tatiana and McKennah both joined the lab in June 2022.
      • Dr. Abraham has been promoted to Associate Professor with tenure. Congratulations Dr. Abraham!
      • Dr. Abraham’s proposal titled “Disseminating and Implementing MedSMA℞T Families in the Emergency Department:  an Evidence-based Approach for Improving Opioid Safety Among Adolescents and Parents” has been selected for funding via the 2022 ICTR Dissemination/Implementation (D&I) Research pilot award program, co-sponsored by the University of Wisconsin Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (UW ICTR) and the Wisconsin Partnership Program (WPP).
      • Dr. Abraham was awarded funding for her project “Engaging Community Pharmacists in the Design and Implementation of a Vaping Prevention Intervention for Adolescents and Parents” by the Community Pharmacy Foundation.  This research project is designed to understand how community pharmacists can play a role in decreasing adolescent e-cigarette use through improved communication with adolescents and their families.
      • Dr. Abraham presents on OutSMA℞T Cancer: A Youth Informed Cancer Prevention Game. Serious Play Conference, Orlando, FL, June 15, 2022. The Serious Play Conference is a leadership conference for professionals who are exploring the use of game-based learning, sharing their experience and working together to shape the future of training and education.

      Spring 2022

      Dr. Abraham presents at 2022 Translational Science Meeting Dr. Abraham presents at 2022 Translational Science Meeting

      • CRoME Team member Jenny Li participates in the PATCH Symposium on April 20, 2021 in Madison, WI. Jenny talked to adolescents at the event about teen vaping and the role of a pharmacist as a resource for education on this topic, all relating to her graduate school research investigating the role of parents and pharmacists in reducing adolescent e-cigarette use. Providers and Teens Communicating for Health (PATCH) is a CRoME Team community collaborator focused on engaging youth and healthcare professionals to improve care provided to adolescent patients.

      CRoME Team member Jenny Li presents at PATCH Symposium

      • Farewell to long-time CRoME Team Research Specialist, Lisa Szela! Lisa joined the CRoME Team in May 2019 and has made instrumental contributions to our research and developing students research skills within our lab. She will be dearly missed and her impact on the team will live on many years. Thank you for all your hard work, Lisa!
      • Pharm.D. student Maryann Egbujor presents poster titled, “Exploring Youth Perceptions About Cancer Prevention and Preferences for Education: a Qualitative Study” at the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin Educational Conference from April 5-6, 2022. Congratulations, Maryann!
      • Welcome to our new student team members, Victoria Chowaniak (undergraduate student) and Kourtney Peterson (Pharm.D. student, Class of 2024)! Victoria joined the lab in March 2022 and Kourtney joined in April 2022.
      • Drs. Li and Abraham have been awarded the Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment Seed Award for their grant proposal entitled “Partnering with Youth, Parents, and Community Pharmacists to Curb Adolescent E-cigarette Use.” The Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment is a competitive grant program that fosters development of new and innovative projects focused on community engagement and the advancement of the Wisconsin Idea, the notion that the knowledge and solutions generated at UW-Madison will benefit the people of Wisconsin, the nation, and the world. Learn more: Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment Seed Grant
      • Dr. Abraham presents on Engaging Youth, Parents, and Healthcare Providers in the Design of Serious Games for Health. Translational Science 2022 Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, April 20, 2022.
      • Dr. Abraham presents on Improving Parent-Teen Medication and Health Communication Using Game-based Interventions at the 2022 Wisconsin Health Literacy Summit on April 4-6, 2022, Embracing Health Literacy in the New Normal: Digital Communications, Telehealth, Health Insurance, and Health Equity. This presentation session will be a part of the conference’s Digital Health Literacy track. 
      • Dr. Jenny Li, a MS/PhD student in the CRoME Lab, was selected to give a podium presentation on Evaluating Adolescents’ Opioid Education, Knowledge, and the Gaps that Remain: A National Sample at the American Pharmacist’s Association (APhA) 2022 Annual Meeting & Exposition, March 18-21, 2022, San Antonio, TX.
      • Claire Rosenberger, a research specialist in the CRoME Lab, presents on Youth Opioid Safety Knowledge and Perceived Impact of an Educational Game: A Nationally Representative Sample. American Pharmacist’s Association (APhA) 2022 Annual Meeting & Exposition from March 18-21, 2022, San Antonio, TX.
      • Dr. Abraham facilitates a roundtable at the upcoming Conference on Conferences, hosted by the Wisconsin Society of Pharmacy Students (WSPS), on Friday, February 4, 2022 on the UW-Madison campus. This event is focused on preparing student pharmacists to make the most of their experiences while attending and networking at state and national pharmacy meetings.

      Fall 2021

          Summer 2021

          • Dr. Abraham presents on the career panel for the Summer Research Scholars Program hosted annually by the the Social Media & Adolescent Health Research Team (SMAHRT), Department of Pediatrics, UW-Madison School of Medicine & Public Heath, June 28, 2021.
          • Dr. Abraham presents on “Engaging community voices in digital health design” panel on June 22, 2021 hosted by the Brown-Lifespan Center for Digital Health (CDH) 2021 Center for Digital Health Virtual Conference: Leveraging Digital Health for the Post-Pandemic World. During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare systems, businesses, and governments across the world launched novel digital health tools to help keep people safe from COVID-19. But we also saw many metrics of our country’s behavioral health–ranging from mental illness to violence to opioid overdoses–worsen. Panels and breakout sessions at this conference will explore some of the most promising innovations in these areas; discuss innovative digital measurements; and dive deeply into questions of how clinicians, patients, communities, and technologists can collaboratively co-design products that enhance and expand prevention and treatment options.
          • Best wishes to our PharmD students who are off to their fourth-year APPE pharmacy rotations: Sommer Gay, Mahnoor Khan, Sarah LeMay, Sarah Bittner, and Kelsey Brasel. We thank you for your contributions to CRoME Team over the years and will miss you all!

          Spring 2021

          • Farewell to Pharm.D. student Megan Buechel who left the CRoME Team in March 2021. Megan has been a wonderful team member over the past few years. We wish her the best in her studies and future career!
          • CRoME team member Maggie Hoernke presents poster, “Adolescents’ Awareness about Prescription Opioid Misuse and Preferences for Educational Interventions,” at the virtual American Pharmacist’s Association (APhA) 2021 Annual Meeting & Exposition from March 12-15, 2021. This abstract was selected for the Research’s Top 12: Poster Session Forum, where Maggie will present on March 14. Congratulations, Maggie!

          Maggie Hoernke

          • CRoME team members Sommer Gay and Megan Buechel present poster, “Utilizing a Work System Framework to Characterize Pharmacists’ Role in Cystic Fibrosis Management: Perspectives of a Multidisciplinary Care Team,” at the virtual American Pharmacist’s Association (APhA) 2021 Annual Meeting & Exposition from March 12-15, 2021. The APhA Annual Meeting & Exposition brings together pharmacists, student pharmacists, and other pharmacy professionals from across the United States to discuss important professional topics and advocate for the pharmacy profession. Congratulations, Sommer and Megan!

          Sommer Gay     Megan Buechel

          Fall 2020

          • Farewell to research specialist Laura Stephenson who left the CRoME Team on January 8 to pursue a new position as instructor with UW-Madison Cross-College Advising Services. Thank you for your contributions to the team and best wishes!
          • Welcome to our new research specialist, Victoria Obatusin, who joined the CRoME Team on January 5.
          • Welcome to our new research specialist, Claire Rosenberger, who joined the CRoME Team on December 1.
          • Dr. Abraham presents at Wisconsin Institute for Healthcare Systems Engineering (WIHSE) webinar, Design serious games to promote opioid medication safety among adolescents, on November 5, 2020. In the presentation, Dr. Abraham discusses the conceptualization, design, development, and practical applications of MedSMART: Adventures in PharmaCity to educate adolescents about opioid medication safety.
          • Congratulations to Dr. Abraham on receipt of the UW-Madison Prevention Research Center Small Grant Award. This grant is intended to support small-scale and innovative research projects that promote maternal and child health and health equity, especially those that will provide preliminary data leading to larger research efforts. The funded grant proposal falls under the core research areas of the UWPRC, which include population health and wellbeing, health equity, or disease prevention for women, children, and families. Dr. Abraham’s research team will assess the feasibility of utilizing a game-based participatory approach to preventing prescription opioid misuse and promoting medication safety among diverse families. The long term goal of this project is to develop a MEDSMA℞T Family Toolkit that provides a clear framework and engaging approach for facilitating parent-teen communication about medication safety in homes. This pilot study will generate preliminary data for future development of a Medication Safety and Adolescent Communication Toolkit (MEDSMA℞T Families). This toolkit would help practitioners, parents, and school health professionals understand and implement effective communication strategies with adolescents to curb opioid misuse and prevent more serious behaviors such as opioid addiction. Learn more about the UW Prevention Research Center.
          • Dr. Abraham presents as part of the Faculty and PharmD Student Panel for the Fall Open House for Prospective Undergraduate Students, UW-Madison School of Pharmacy, Madison, WI, November 14, 2020. Learn more about the UW-Madison School of Pharmacy Open House.
          • Welcome to our new team member, Evan Slonac, who joined the CRoME Team on September 2020. Evan is an undergraduate student at UW-Madison with plans to pursue a career as a pharmacist.
          • Dr. Abraham presents as part the research partnership panel for the Technology and Adolescent Mental Wellness (TAM) Colloquium, hosted by the Social Media & Adolescent Health Research Team (SMAHRT), UW-Madison, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, September 17, 2020. The research panel will discuss novel approaches for funding technology-related research. Learn more about the TAM Colloquium.
          • Welcome to our new team member, Kathleen Tierney, who joined the CRoME Team on September 3, 2020. Kathleen is currently a second-year student pharmacist at UW-Madison School of Pharmacy.
          • Welcome to our new member, Julia Mogilevskiy, who joined the CRoME Team on August 26, 2020. This fall, Julia begins her second year as a student pharmacist at UW-Madison School of Pharmacy. 

          Summer 2020

          • CRoME Team members Sarah LeMay and Grace Nixon present poster on “Characterizing medication management and the role of pharmacists in caring for patients with cystic fibrosis: A work system approach” at the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin (PSW) 2020 Annual Meeting on August 28. The PSW Annual Meeting hosts pharmacy professionals, students, and technicians from throughout Wisconsin to inform and educate on the advancement of pharmacy practice in the state. Congratulations, Sarah and Grace!

          Sarah LeMay presenting virtually at PSW Annual Conference     Grace Nixon presenting virtually at PSW Annual Conference

          • Dr. Abraham presents at the UW-Madison School of Pharmacy Seminar on Racial Inequities in Health, Healthcare and Research, “the demon called racism” on August 18 organized by the Pharmacy Global Health Interest Group (PGHIG).
          • Dr. Abraham presents on the career panel for the Summer Research Scholars Program hosted annually by the the Social Media & Adolescent Health Research Team (SMAHRT), Department of Pediatrics, UW-Madison School of Medicine & Public Heath, July 20.
          • Welcome to our new member, Ugboaku Maryann Egbujor, who joined the CRoME Team on June 29. She recently completed her first year as a student pharmacist at UW-Madison. She earned two Associate Degrees in Science and Arts from Prairie State College Illinois in May 2019, where she spent two years taking pre-pharmacy coursework.
          • Congratulations to Dr. Tanvee Thakur who successfully defended her doctoral dissertation and started a new job as a Health Outcomes Scientist at RTI-Health Solutions We are so proud of your accomplishments! Your UW HSRP/SoP Family will greatly miss you!
          • Congratulations to CRoME Team Members (Kelsey Brasel, Mahnoor Khan, and Grace Nixon) for receiving Summer Research Funding from the Robert F. and Jean E. Holtz Center for Science and Technology Studies!

          Kelsey Brasel Mahnoor Khan Grace Nixon

          • Welcome to our new member, Amrita Geddam, who joined the CRoME Team May 19. Amrita is a first-year student pharmacist and a UW alum. Amrita received a B.S. degree in Microbiology and a Certificate in Religious Studies from UW-Madison.
          • Check out our latest publication entitled “Developing a Theory-Driven Serious Game to Promote Prescription Opioid Safety Among Adolescents: Mixed Methods Study”.
          • Dr. Abraham presents on Harnessing the Power of Serious Games to Improve Medication Use at the at the Serious Play Conference, June 25. The Serious Play Conference is a leadership conference for professionals who are exploring the use of game-based learning, sharing their experience and working together to shape the future of training and education. The theme for the 2020 Serious Play Conference is Evaluation, Assessment, and ROI. Learn more about the Serious Play Conference.

          Spring 2020

          • Check out our latest publication entitled “Investigating Serious Games That Incorporate Medication Use for Patients: Systematic Literature Review”.
          • Dr. Abraham presents at the UW Health Addiction Grand Rounds sharing insights on MEDSMA℞T: Adventures in PharmaCity, a serious game designed to promote prescription opioid safety among youth, May 6.
          • Dr. Abraham presents on Youth Perceptions of Opioid Safety, Knowledge Gaps, and Preferences for Education in High Schools during the April Session for the Project ECHO – ACCEPT (Addiction & Co-morbid Conditions: Enhancing Prevention & Therapeutics) Series. Project ECHO® (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) is a statewide educational, teleECHO initiative that connects clinical experts with primary care providers and medication assisted treatment prescribers across Wisconsin in an effort to reduce substance-related complications. Via a regularly scheduled videoconference, a multidisciplinary panel of specialists provide education and lead a collaborative discussion on submitted patient cases. Learn more about the UW Project ECHO – ACCEPT Series.
          • Welcome to our new member, Emilie Feng, who joined the CRoME Team March 30. Emilie is a first-year student pharmacist. Emilie has a Master in Public Heath from the University of Pittsburgh.
          • Dr. Abraham presented at the M+DEV, Midwest Game Developers Conference on February 14, 2020 at the Alliant Energy Center. M+DEV is a video game development conference for professional game developers and those seeking to become professional game developers. This conference provides a gathering place for game developers in the state, the region and beyond to discuss and share the latest information on the science, art, mechanics and business of making games.

          Woman presenting at conference Woman presenting at conferenceWoman presenting at conference

          • Welcome to the new individuals who joined the CRoME Team! Dr. Laura Stephenson, Erin Bailey, and Mahnoor Khan.
          • Check out our latest publication entitled “Investigating serious games that incorporate medication use for patients: a systematic literature review”. JMIR Serious Games (forthcoming). doi:10.2196/16096.

          Fall 2019

          • Dr. Abraham presented as part of a panel at 2019 Annual Symposium for the National Science Policy Network November 2, Madison, WI. The theme of our event will be Leveraging Science and Technology to Benefit Marginalized Populations.
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