Making a Difference

Through outreach activities and research, School of Pharmacy students, alums, and faculty are working to promote positive change in Wisconsin communities and around the globe.

- Student & Alumni Impact -

PharmD student Kelsie Tingle presents about heart health at a Lincoln Elementary School health fair.

5 WSPS Initiatives Earn APhA-ASP Regional Awards

A PharmD student org has been making an impact through community outreach “Operations” that each tackle a facet of health, from diabetes to immunizations. Read more…

Nathaniel Verhagen, medical student at the Medical College of Wisconsin. | Photo by Heather Gergen

Developing New Tools to Improve Medical Education

PharmTox alum Nathaniel Verhagen  partnered with a friend to create ChatClinic, a novel web-based app that uses AI to help med students improve their clinical skills. Read more…

Associate Teaching Professor Kate Rotzenberg (PharmD ’07) works with a PharmD student during the poverty simulation.

Empathy in Practice

Innovative opportunities in the classroom and at pharmacy sites enable our PharmD students to learn how to provide the best care to every patient they may work with, regardless of environment or practice location.  Read more…

Portrait of Chris Unterberger (PhD '22). | Photo by Abigail Wright, West Coast University

Creating career tracks in biotech for rural Wisconsinites

At the Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub, Chris Unterberger (PhD ’22)  is focused on “making sure the innovation we’re supporting translates into economic opportunity and health equity.” Read more…

Greg Sitter (PharmD ’12), second from left, and members of his International SOS team in Doha, Qatar.

Helping Provide Medical Care for Refugees

As Director of Pharmacy at International SOS, PharmD alum Greg Sitter (PharmD ’12) has been helping provide medical care to Afghan refugees in Qatar. Read more…

Maithili Deshpande, associate director at Takeda Pharmaceuticals. | Photo by Sid Hastings

Driven to find treatments for patients with debilitating diseases

Identifying health disparities and helping health systems better understand them have been a central career focus for alum Maithili Deshpande (PhD ’13)  Read more…

- Research -

Pharmaceutical Sciences professor Weiping Tang stands at his lab bench | Photo by Sharon Vanorny

Tagging Cancer for Destruction

Pharmaceutical Sciences Professor Weiping Tang has created a new type of molecule to tag proteins on the surface of cancer cells for degredation. Read more…

Associate Professor Cody Wenthur, of the School’s Pharmacy Practice and Translational Research Division, and Associate Professor Jay Ford, of the School’s Social and Administrative Sciences Division. | Photo by Sharon Vanorny

Combating the Opioid Crisis in Wisconsin

Two School of Pharmacy professors are working to empower Wisconsin pharmacies with new tools to prevent opioid deaths. Read more…

A pharmacist chats with an elderly patient about her medication regimen

Addressing a Silent Threat to Seniors

Groundbreaking study from School of Pharmacy researchers reveals alarming misuse of OTC medications by older adults and offers a simple solution. Read more…

Professor Lingjun Li, Charles Melbourne Johnson Distinguished Chair in Pharmaceutical Sciences. | Photo by Ingrid Laas

Enhancing Our Understanding of Diabetes

Professor Lingjun Li is collaborating with faculty across campus to better understand how pancreatic islet cells, which regulate blood sugar levels, change during diabetes. Read more…

Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences Tim Bugni in his lab at the UW–Madison School of Pharmacy. | Photo by Sharon Vanorny

New Ways to Fight Infectious Disease

Pharmaceutical Sciences professors are collaborating with faculty across campus to  explore how to treat antibiotic-resistant infections. Read more…

Heather Barkholtz, assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Breaking Bad Chemistry

Through a National Institute of Justice grant, Assistant Professor Heather Barkholtz aims to tease out the toxicological difference between mirror-image meth isomers. Read more…

- Education -

Fatima Abdul Rasheed, student in the School of Pharmacy's Applied Drug Development MS program, at her internship at Promega. | Image courtesy of Promega

Accelerating Student Careers Through Applied Learning

Unique industry internships and special projects augment graduate student experience in the Psychoactive Pharmaceutical Investigation and Applied Drug Development programs. Read more…

Laurel Legenza (PharmD ’13), director of global health; Trisha Seys Ranola (PharmD ’02), assistant director of global health; and Steve Swanson, dean of the School of Pharmacy, attend the 2022 meeting of the International Pharmaceutical Federation.

Cape Town Collaboration to Improve Global Health

Laurel Legenza (PharmD ’13) led a years-long health systems improvement project in South Africa to enhance the diagnosis and treatment of C. difficile infection. Read more…

Amanda Margolis (PharmD ‘09, MS ‘17), associate professor in the School's Pharmacy Practice and Translational Research Division.

AACP Recognizes Excellence in Teaching

The American Academy of Colleges of Pharmacy honors Margolis’ service and outstanding contribution to pharmacy education . Read more…