NACDS Foundation announces inaugural class of Faculty Scholars Program

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores Foundation on Thursday announced the 2012-2013 inaugural class for the foundation’s Faculty Scholars Program. 



Launched earlier this year, the Faculty Scholars Program is designed to educate assistant professors from U.S. schools and colleges of pharmacy about designing, implementing and publishing community-pharmacy-based patient care research. Educational programming was designed in collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh, under the leadership of Melissa Somma McGivney.



Five professors of pharmacy have been awarded this year’s inaugural distinction: Kristen DiDonato, PharmD, clinical assistant professor, University of Missouri Kansas City; Ashley Ellis, PharmD, clinical assistant professor, University of Mississippi; Sharon Gatewood, PharmD, assistant professor, Virginia Commonwealth University; Clark Kebodeaux, PharmD, assistant professor, St. Louis College of Pharmacy; and Lawrence Staubach, MD, MBA, assistant professor, University of Wyoming.



This year’s five recipients were selected from 27 applicants. As participants in the NACDS Foundation Faculty Scholars Program, each scholar will participate in advanced educational opportunities through in-person meetings, regular conference calls, individualized mentoring, Web-based lecture material and online discussion forums. The scholars will engage in peer-to-peer review, receiving support from a network of researchers nationwide. They will also be eligible to receive a research grant to launch a community pharmacy-based patient-centered care project.



“This highly accomplished and energetic team of faculty scholars really captures the excitement surrounding this program,” stated NACDS Foundation president Kathleen Jaeger. “The NACDS Foundation created the Faculty Scholars Program with the confidence that this type of research can make a meaningful difference for patients’ lives and public health, and this is an ideal group to live up to those high expectations.”



The first in-person meeting of the accepted scholars will take place at the NACDS Pharmacy & Technology Conference, to be held August 25 to 28 in Denver.