April 24, 2018
By Sydney Slotkin DuPriest
OXFORD, Miss. – Third-year student pharmacist Mallory Pullman, a native of Pearlington, Mississippi, was named a 2018 Walmart Scholar by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Walmart Scholars Program.
The honor and accompanying $1,000 scholarship are given to student pharmacists who are committed to a career in academic pharmacy.
Mallory Pullman
Pullman said she was “honored” to be selected as a Walmart Scholar.
“This distinction is motivating and validates my passion to pursue a career in academia,” she said.
This is the tenth consecutive year that a student pharmacist from the University of Mississippi has been named a Walmart Scholar. Ole Miss students have received this scholarship 12 out of the 14 years it has been given.
Walmart Scholars are named in conjunction with a faculty mentor who has encouraged the student throughout their pharmacy school career. Pullman’s mentor is David Colby, associate professor of medicinal chemistry at the School of Pharmacy.
“Mallory has a substantial passion for research that has only grown since she has been at the University of Mississippi,” Colby said. “Mallory works hard to advance her projects and to maintain a high level of academic performance. I am confident that she will perform marvelously in graduate school.”
Pullman, who plans to pursue a Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry, completed research in a natural products chemistry lab in the School of Pharmacy from 2014 to 2017. She currently conducts research in the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s Department of Physiology and Biophysics and has presented seven posters on her research projects.
“Throughout my pharmacy education, Dr. Colby has encouraged and inspired me to seek more opportunities, such as a teaching assistantship position, granting me some of my most meaningful experiences with pharmacy education,” Pullman said. “His mentorship has been instrumental in my pursuing opportunities such as this scholarship.”
The scholarship covers travel costs to AACP’s annual meeting. Pullman added that attending the meeting this July will help deepen her knowledge of pharmacy education and provide her with opportunities for preparing to one day join the faculty of an academic institution.