Welcome to the School of Pharmacy’s News & Media Center

Dean’s Message

Updates from Dean David D. Allen during COVID-19

March 2020

Keep Teaching: 7 Tips for Converting to Online Instruction

March 26, 2020

OXFORD, Miss. – As everyone adjusts to a new normal while trying to stay safe in the midst of COVID-19, University of Mississippi faculty are going above and beyond to provide uninterrupted coursework, but in an online format to keep students engaged and, above all, safe.

Two of the university’s most experienced online professors say their best advice is for educators to take a breath, think about their students and then take it one piece of technology at a time.

UM Pharmaceutics Alumni Find Success at FDA

March 5, 2020

OXFORD, Miss. – The Department of Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery at the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy has successfully prepared numerous alumni for high-level careers with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The department’s stimulating learning environment and emphasis on real-world experiences have allowed graduates to take advantage of opportunities with the FDA. The relationship with the national agency has strengthened the program by way of research sponsorships for the school’s labs and attendance at the school’s Hands-on Course in Tablet Technology.

February 2020

Graduate Students Find Impacts of Freshwater in Mississippi’s Oysters

February 24, 2020

OXFORD, Miss. – As Ann Fairly Barnett pulled an oyster dredge up through the shoreline waters of the Mississippi Sound, she was dreading what she was about to find.

“Not a single living oyster,” said the University of Mississippi master’s student in environmental toxicology.

The Jackson native, along with UM environmental toxicology graduate student James Gledhill and chemistry graduate student Austin Scircle, had chartered a small fishing boat to visit several native oyster reefs in the sound to check the water quality and the health of the reefs.

Former Assistant Surgeon General to Deliver Hartman Lecture

February 24, 2020

OXFORD, Miss. – Retired Rear Adm. Pamela Schweitzer, former assistant surgeon general and chief pharmacy officer of the U.S. Public Health Service, will deliver the annual Charles W. Hartman Memorial Lecture on Feb. 28 at the University of Mississippi.

The School of Pharmacy is hosting this free event at noon at the Gertrude C. Ford Center for Performing Arts. Schweitzer, who had a 29-year career in federal service, will give a presentation titled “It is Time: Transforming the Pharmacy Profession.”

School of Pharmacy, AACP to Host Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Institute

February 13, 2020

OXFORD, Miss. –The University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy and the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy will host the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Institute in January 2021, focusing on critical areas of diversity and their impact on patient care, including race, gender, disability, economic status and others.

Teams comprised of multiple individuals from a school of pharmacy will hear from thought leaders and session speakers on topics such as bias awareness management, poverty simulation and more. Dedicated team time will allow attendees to address issues of importance to their home institution, while learning about the challenges and successes their colleagues are experiencing at other colleges/schools.

Task Force Targets Opioid Crisis with Information Barrage

February 20, 2020

JACKSON, Miss. – Scores of students at the University of Mississippi Medical Center have learned a life-saving measure meant to curb the deadly impact of a nationwide scourge.

Learners from several UMMC schools received hands-on instruction Friday in the administering of naloxone, brand name NARCAN®, a nasal spray that can force the dangers of an opioid overdose into retreat.

Competition Drives Pharmacy Passion for Female Students, Alumna

February 5, 2020

OXFORD, Miss. – Sports bring together communities. More than that, it empowers individuals.

For three talented female University of Mississippi pharmacy students and a basketball all-conference alumna, National Girls and Women in Sports Day (Feb. 5) highlights those qualities that competition fuels in their desire to help others through the profession.

Ole Miss Pharmacy Holds NIPTE Board of Directors Meeting

February 4, 2020

OXFORD, Miss. – Representatives from schools across the nation gathered Jan. 30-31 at the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy for the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Technology and Education board of directors meeting.

NIPTE is a nonprofit organization that works to improve the design, development and manufacturing processes of pharmaceutical products by connecting members of the pharmaceutical industry with top-ranked pharmaceutical educational programs.

January 2020

Pharmacy Faculty Selected to AACP House of Delegates

January 27, 2020

OXFORD, Miss. – University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy faculty members David Colby and Noa Valcarcel were selected to represent the school in the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy House of Delegates.

The AACP House of Delegates is the association’s democratic policy-setting body. Representatives debate and approve statements of educational policy, approve changes to the bylaws and the strategic plan, act to accept new institutional members and establish dues for all categories of membership.

Pharmacy Student Receives ACCP Student Travel Award

January 21, 2020

OXFORD, Miss. – University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy student Victoria Miller received the American College of Clinical Pharmacy Student Travel Award, which assisted her in attending two of the organization’s annual meetings.

Miller, originally from Hartselle, Alabama, was an honoree at the 2018 meeting in Seattle and the 2019 conference in New York. The fourth-year student pharmacist joined other students, residents and practitioners from across the country to learn more about clinical pharmacy and the profession.

BMS Chair Named Toxicological Sciences Deputy Editor

January 16, 2020

OXFORD, Miss. – The Society of Toxicology’s official journal, Toxicological Sciences, has named Kristine Willett, chair of the Department of BioMolecular Sciences, as one of two new deputy editors to its staff.

Willett, also a professor of pharmacology and environmental toxicology at the University of Mississippi, “will be coordinating solicitation and peer review of Forum articles and developing and administering new training for the editorial board and reviewers,” according to Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey M. Peters

UM Partners with Emerald Bioscience to License Cannabis-derived Drugs

January 6, 2020

OXFORD, Miss. – The cannabis research program at the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy has partnered with pharmaceutical company Emerald Bioscience Inc. to license two new drug technologies that may provide nonaddictive pain management, prevent blindness and alleviate the threat of irreversible vision loss from glaucoma and other eye diseases.

The two drug candidate formulations include a synthetic prodrug of tetrahydrocannabinol, commonly known as THC, the main psychoactive compound associated with marijuana, and a synthetic analog of cannabidiol another compound that is attracting widespread attention as a potential treatment for a variety of medical conditions. Both drug candidates are derivatives of the natural THC and CBD found in the cannabis plant.

December 2019

Seed Grants Fund UM Research into Disaster Resilience

December 19, 2019

OXFORD, Miss. – Exploring thunderstorm asthma and examining how Gulf Coast universities can respond to natural disasters are the focus of two new University of Mississippi seed grants funded through the Flagship Constellations initiative.

Thunderstorm asthma is the phenomenon where pollen can break into smaller pieces during severe thunderstorms and cause asthma events. Researchers are collecting and characterizing air pollution, specifically fine particulate matter and pollen, in north Mississippi to investigate the link between air pollution and thunderstorms to better understand the occurrence.

From Desert to Ocean, Toxicology Student Absorbs Marine Sponge Knowledge

December 16, 2019

OXFORD, Miss. – It wouldn’t seem Amelia Clayshulte was destined to study marine sponges living in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

However, the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy doctoral student grew up going to the coast of North Carolina with her mom’s family, where she would spend a week each summer exploring the salt marshes that opened her mind from its land-locked state.

Interprofessional Activity Offers New Perspective to UM Pharmacy Students

OXFORD, Miss. – First-year student pharmacists at the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy gained a new perspective after participating in a recent Community Action Poverty Simulation, a program that is part of the Missouri Community Action Network.

The simulation, which was held at the Student Union, taught students from pharmacy, nursing, social work and nutrition about the day-to-day realities of low-income households enrolled in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, as well as disabled individuals receiving government assistance and senior citizens on Social Security.

Ole Miss Pharmacy Holds Inaugural African American Visit Day

December 3, 2019

JACKSON, Miss. – When the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy held its inaugural African American Visit Day at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, fourth-year student pharmacist Alisha Nicks saw her vision become reality.

Nicks developed “Melanin and Medications,” the theme of the visit day, after seeing the UMMC Schools of Medicine and Dentistry host similar events. Nicks met with UMMC medical student Jamarius Waller to learn about the past events and to brainstorm ways the School of Pharmacy could help Jackson-area high school and college students envision pharmacy as a potential profession.

School of Pharmacy News & Media Center