Awards and Recognitions

  • Dr. Emmanuelle Schwartzman received the A. Wayne Pittman Outstanding Service Award from the National Rho Chi Society at the Annual Meeting on March 21, 2026. This is one of the highest awards given by the Society with Dr. Schwartzman being the 2nd recipient of the award. The award recognizes individuals who have provided significant and sustained contributions to the Society and those who have profoundly advanced the vision and mission of the Society.
  • A poster from Dr. Sherry Wang’s research team, led by PharmD students Elena Wu and Harvey Duong, titled “Mapping GLP-1 Receptor Agonist Prescribing Across the United States, 2010–2022,” has been selected as one of the Top 10 Featured Research & Science Posters at the APhA Annual Meeting & Exposition 2026.
  • Abstract titled “Machine Learning Models for Predicting Serious Adverse Event Reports in GLP-1 Receptor Agonists Using FAERS, 2015–2025,” from Dr. Sherry Wang’s research team has been selected as a Top 5% Finalist for the Research Presentation Awards at the ISPOR 2026 conference, organized by the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research.
  • Dr. Laressa Bethishou was awarded the Pharmacist of the Year award by the Orange County Pharmacist Association. This award recognizes an OCPhA member pharmacist for outstanding activities in the profession of pharmacy. The recipient must be an individual who has demonstrated leadership at multiple levels of pharmacy. They should be an energetic leader who has stimulated others to actively participate in the profession, advocacy, and community affairs related to the practice of pharmacy. The person should be well recognized by colleagues for their professional advancements.
  • Dr. Jerika Lam was honored with the Fellow of ASHP (FASHP) recognition. The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Practitioner Recognition Program recognizes pharmacists who have excelled in pharmacy practice and distinguished themselves through sustained commitment and contributions to ASHP in service, education, and leadership.
  • Dr. Ajay Sharma Lab’s Postdoctoral Fellow, Karthik Ramasamy, received the Qais Farjo Memorial Travel Award from the Association for Research and Vision to present his work “CSF1/CSF1 receptor axis plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of oGVHD-associated conjunctiva and lacrimal gland fibrosis” as a podium presentation at the 2026 Annual ARVO conference in Denver, Colorado.
  • Dr. Kamaljit Kaur co-organized/co-chaired a symposium titled “Blood-Brain Transcytosis of Therapeutics for Targeted Delivery to the CNS” at the ACS Spring 2026 Meeting and Exposition, Atlanta, CA, Georgia, USA, Mar 22-26, 2026. (Organizers: Kamaljit Kaur, Chapman University; Jeremy Richter, Bristol Myers Squibb; Yingchuan Zhu, Bristol Myers Squibb)

Patents

Dr. Rachita Sumbria, Dr. Khaled Elsaid, Nataraj Jagadeesan and others filed their patent “PRG4 in the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and neurodegenerative disease,” U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/979,815.

Publications

Grants

Dr. Jerika Lam, in collaboration with Dr. Enrique Seoane-Vazquez, was awarded a grant ($195,430) from Gilead Sciences INCLUSION (Implementation of twice-yearly Lenacapavir to address Unmet needs in HIV prevention) program as the Principal Investigator.

Presentations

Oral (e.g., Platform Presentations, Symposiums, Plenaries, Keynotes)

  • Dr. Rennolds Ostrom presented “Modeling cAMP Signaling Networks in Airway Smooth Muscle” as an invited speaker at AKAP2026: 8th International Meeting on Anchored cAMP Signaling Pathways in Houston, TX on Feb. 27-March 1, 2026.
  • Dr. Ajay Sharma A delivered an invited talk “Fibroblast immune cell cross-talk in ocular GVHD” at a Symposium at the Center for Integrated Oncology, University of Cologne Hospital, Cologne, Germany on March 19-21st, 2026.
  • Dr. Kathleen Hill-Besinque, Dr. Emmanuelle Schwartzman, and others presented “Coaching for Growth, Building Resilience through Feedback” at the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Experiential Education Webinar on March 24, 2026.
  • Dr. Kamaljit Kaur presented “A Novel EGFR-Binding Peptide–Drug Conjugate Exhibits Selective Toxicity Toward Cancer Cells” at ACS Spring 2026, in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, on March 22-26, 2026.
  • Dr. Jeff Goad and others presented “Expanding Pharmacist Roles in Travel Medicine: Engagement, Education and Impact” at the Directions in Pharmacy (Midwest) Webinar, on March 21, 2026
  • Dr. Jeff Goad and others presented “Shoot for the Stars: Annual Immunization Update.” at the APhA/WPE Annual Meeting in Los Angeles on March 29, 2026
  • Dr. Jeff Goad presented “Mosquitoes, Students, and Study Abroad: Understanding Japanese Encephalitis Risk.” at the American College Health Association Webinar on March 31, 2026

Posters

  • Dr. Sherry Yun Wang, Henry Duong, Elena Wu, and Zhouzhou Chu presented “Comparative real-world safety of tirzepatide vs GLP-1 RAs: A machine learning analysis of FAERS reports.” at the 5th Annual Pacific Coast Patient Safety Conference (PCPSC), on February 27th 2026.
  • Dr. Sherry Yun Wang, Elena Wu, Henry Duong, Ryan Stofer, and others presented “Mapping GLP-1 receptor agonist prescribing across the United States, 2010–2022.” at the APhA Annual Meeting & Exposition, on March 27-28 2026.
  • Dr. Rennolds Ostrom, Jordyn Margolis, Dr. Isabella Cattani-Cavalieri, Alex Osterloh, and Camelia Anicolaesei presented “Adaptive NSPARC Acquisition of Targeted cAMP Biosensors with Automated Workflow Integration.” at the AKAP2026: 8th International Meeting on Anchored cAMP Signaling Pathways in Houston, TX on Feb. 27-Mar 1, 2026.
  • Dr. Rennolds Ostrom, Camelia Anicolaesei, Jordyn Margolis, Dr. Isabella Cattani-Cavalieri, and others presented “Isoform-Resolved Proximity Proteomics with Censoring-Aware Hierarchical Modeling Defines AC6 and AC9 Microdomains in Primary Human Airway Smooth Muscle.” at AKAP2026: 8th International Meeting on Anchored cAMP Signaling Pathways in Houston, TX on Feb. 27-Mar 1, 2026.
  • Dr. Sherif Elshahawi, Dr. Innokentiy Maslennikov, Dr. Rachita Sumbria, DN Nguyen, Alice Oum, and Devaraj Chandrashekar presented “Mechanistic and In Vivo Evaluation of a Daptomycin-
    Derivative Reveals Enhanced Activity Against Daptomycin-Resistant Pathogens.” at the Gordon Research Conference – New Antibacterial Discovery and Development, in Lucca, Italy, during March 2026.
  • Dr. Marc Fleming, Jerika Lam, and others presented “Exploring Barriers and Facilitators to Pharmacy-Based HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis.” at the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) Annual Meeting, in Los Angeles, CA on March 28th, 2026.
  • Dr. Sam Harirforoosh and Goldie La presented “Evaluating the Use of an Artificial Intelligence Tool in Predicting Steady-State Trough Plasma Concentrations of Dolutegravir.” at the Society of Toxicology 65th Annual Meeting and ToxExpo in San Diego, CA on March 25th 2026.