School of Pharmacy News & Media Center
The University of Mississippi

Four Pharmacy School Faculty Recognized for Innovation, Service

Posted on: August 9th, 2019 by herman

August 9, 2019

By Whitney Tarpy

OXFORD, Miss. – Four University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy faculty members were recognized for their innovative teaching, service and research at the school’s annual Faculty and Research Scientist Summer Advancement in July.

“Ole Miss Pharmacy is fortunate to have stellar faculty and researchers,” said David D. Allen, dean of the pharmacy school. “It’s an honor to celebrate their commitment to their field and our students.”

Two people, award presentation, shaking hands

Katie Barber

Katie Barber was awarded the Faculty Instructional Innovation Award, presented to a faculty member who utilizes cutting-edge teaching techniques.  

The assistant professor of pharmacy practice designed an activity to help third-year student pharmacists use critical thinking and communication to better comprehend the activities of different antimicrobials within infectious diseases cases.

Barber asked students to fill out a sheet called a workmat for each class of antimicrobial and apply it to a patient scenario. After presenting the information to the class, students kept the workmats as a resource for future problem-based learning.

Two people, award presentation, shaking hands, smiling

Kayla Stover

Kayla Stover, associate professor of pharmacy practice, was presented the Faculty Service Award for her dedicated support of the school and profession over the last decade.

Stover has mentored nearly 100 students, as well as junior faculty, while serving as an advisor for infectious diseases residency programs. She also presents research on antifungal safety, antimicrobial stewardship and antibiotic resistance.

Stover’s involvement with American College of Clinical Pharmacy includes work on several committees, and she was chair of its Infectious Diseases Practice Research Network in 2018. She also assists with recruitment, strategic planning and curricular reform for the school.

Two people, award presentation, shaking hands, smiling

Kristie Willett

Kristie Willett, chair of BioMolecular Sciences and professor of pharmacology and environmental toxicology, was recognized for her research with the Cumberland Pharmaceuticals Incorporated Researcher of the Year Award.

Willett’s toxicology research that uses zebrafish to model human diseases has helped to earn her an international reputation for research excellence. Over the past three years, she assisted with 12 grants that collectively garnered over 2.5 million dollars.

Along with writing papers and submitting research abstracts, Willett’s recent chapter in a book about systems biology and outcome pathways for risk assessment is the first of its kind to explore epigenetics as they relate to adverse outcome pathways.

Two people, award presentation, shaking hands, smiling

Nicole Ashpole

Nicole Ashpole received the New Investigator Award that honors a new faculty member for their contributions to research and the school.

An assistant professor of pharmacology, Ashpole was recently awarded a National Institutes of Health grant to study the hormone IGF-I and its role in learning and memory. She plays a principal role in neuropharmacology research at the school and coordinates the Neuroscience Brown Bag forum for both the UMMC and Oxford campuses.

Ashpole also mentors undergraduate and graduate students. She assisted with developing a new course that led to a Certified Education Technology Leader grant to develop multimedia pharmacy education materials.