The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Pharmacy (SOP) is celebrating the many achievements of current students and an aluma following the Illinois Council of Health-System Pharmacists (ICHP)/Missouri Society of Health-System Pharmacists (MSHP) joint meeting held March 29-30 in Collinsville.
Earning recognition for their outstanding research were:
- Blake Cornwell, a fourth-year pharmacy student from Deer Creek, achieved the Best Platform Presentation Award for his capstone research conducted with clinical associate professor Katie Ronald, PharmD. The project assessed Illinois pharmacists’ understanding of palliative care.
- John (Jet) Talili, a fourth-year pharmacy student from Edwards, won first place for the Encore Poster Presentation. His research, conducted with mentor and clinical assistant professor Beth Cady, PharmD, compared the efficacy of serum vancomycin concentrations of pharmacist-driven versus infectious disease physician-driven dosing.
- Troy Kramer, a fourth-year pharmacy student from Roscoe, earned first place for his Student Poster Presentation. Alongside mentor and clinical associate professor Carrie Vogler, PharmD, his research evaluated readmission rates and medications for patients with heart failure.
- Danica Balbach, a 2018 SOP alumna, was also selected to present her residency research project as a platform presentation. Balbach is a pharmacy resident at Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau.
“These students went above and beyond normal student research projects,” said Vogler, ICHP president-elect. “The judges recognized that their projects were expertly designed, provided meaningful results, and could benefit others outside of the health system in which they were studied.”
Vogler emphasizes the value of presenting at professional organizations’ poster sessions, as students have the opportunity to showcase their work that impacts how practitioners use, monitor or evaluate medications.
“The ultimate goal of the poster session is to share ideas and research with others to improve patient care,” Vogler explained. “Many of these projects are used by health systems as evidence that a process change is needed or to explain how changing a process would positively impact the health system. The ICHP/MSHP poster session was engaging for students, as pharmacists stopped by to view and discuss their research. Students gained experience in explaining their research and answering great questions about its application and next steps.”
Photos: SIUE School of Pharmacy fourth-year student Blake Cornwell earned the Best Platform Presentation Award at the ICHP/MCHP joint meeting.
(L-R) SIUE School of Pharmacy’s Beth Cady, PharmD, fourth-year John Talili, and Carrie Vogler, PharmD.