Following a triumphant 2022, Chapman University returned to the California Society of Health-System Pharmacists Seminar from October 12-15 in Long Beach, CA. The remarkable performance of our students and contributions to the field by our faculty remained consistent from years past, as the 2023 Seminar witnessed more outstanding achievements of the Chapman University School of Pharmacy.

Quiz Bowl

Among 13 other schools and colleges in pharmacy in the state, CUSP PharmD

candidates emerged victorious in Quiz Bowl competition for the second year in a row. The most competitive element of the conference, Quiz Bowl topics included “Infections in the Immunocompromised”, psychiatry, informatics, and conclusion in the case of a calculation. Led by team captain Tali Faggiano (Co’24), the other team members included Class of 2024’s Nikki Derleth, Tristian Domingo, Mulan Homo, Mirna Mikhail, Megan Shieh, Helen Vu, and Class of 2025’s Tinarena Awaradia, Noble Chea, and Maraiah Colarines.

Right: Quiz Bowl team, with their faculty advisor Dr. Jerika Lam

Student Chapter Community Service Project Award

Chapman University’s CSHP/ASHP-SSHP received the 2023 Student Chapter Community Service Project Award for their campus-wide awareness project in honor of Mental Health Awareness month. The week-long campaign that was made possible by the Executive Boards of 2022 and 2023, Dr. Mary Gutierrez, Ms. Julie Barbour, as well as Crean representatives, has become a staple of May campus programming at the Rinker campus. In addition to the games, the project focused on educating students about the mental health resources available at Chapman University. Informative sessions were conducted to provide valuable insights into the various mental health services and support systems offered.

This is the second time in Chapman’s short history that we have been recognized for this award. In 2020, Chapman was awarded this for our Naloxone Education and Awareness project, which was dedicated to holistic healthcare and addressing critical societal issues.

Above: CSHP/ASHP executive board members and PharmD candidates Kierra Koehn and Elyn Lam accept the award on behalf of their chapter.

Student Leadership Award

Elyn Lam, Class of 2024 PharmD candidate, was recognized state-wide for her exemplary leadership roles in student organizations and at the Rinker campus. Elyn served on the executive board of Chapman’s CSHP-ASHP chapter in her second year as a pharmacy student before beginning her Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences this fall.

These successes would not have been possible without those mentioned above, as well as Drs. Amy Kang, Mary Gutierrez, Sun “Coco” Yang, Moom Roosan, and Viet Nguyen.

Chapman University was also involved in presenting research and also had several student and faculty poster presentations.

  • Dr. Viet Nguyen presented “Updates in Migraine Therapies” on Thursday, October 12, 2023, and “Preparing for Disease-Modifying Therapies in Alzheimer’s Disease” on Saturday, October 14, 2023.
  • Dr. Kathleen Besinque and Dr. Emmanuelle Schwartzman co-presented “Coaching Learners for Success”  on Saturday, October 14, 2023.
  • Dr. Sun “Coco” Yang co-presented “Hashing Out the Pros and Cons of Marijuana Use: Navigating Updates and Evolving Practices” on Sunday, October 15, 2023.
  • PharmD candidate Mirna Mikhail presented a poster on her capstone research project, “Risk Factors for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Community-Acquired Pneumonia,” under the guidance of Dr. Jason Yamaki. Right: Mirna with her poster.

Below: The moment Chapman University was announced as the 2023 Quiz Bowl Champions