Dean R. Pete Vanderveen presided over the School of Pharmacy Commencement ceremony on May 11 held on a tented Health Sciences Campus quad.

Ceremony attendees witnessed the awarding of 189 doctor of pharmacy, 12 doctor of philosophy and 4 doctor of regulatory science degrees. Also presented were 27 master of science degrees, including 17 in regulatory science.

In addition to the Doctor of Pharmacy degree (PharmD), the school awards PhD and MS degrees in molecular pharmacology and toxicology, pharmaceutical economics and policy and pharmaceutical sciences. In regulatory science, the school offers both MS and Doctor of Regulatory Science degrees.

The School also awards various dual and joint degrees. Among these, this year, Karen Chen received a PharmD/MBA; Christine Seng and Alice Wu received the PharmD/MS in regulatory science; and Marcie Terasawa-Lew was awarded the PharmD/certificate in gerontology.

Associate professor William Gong presented certificates to 31 residents who completed residency training in various pharmacy specialty areas and to 6 fellows who completes industry-based fellowships. The School conducts fellowship programs with Allergan and with ISTA Pharmaceuticals.

Class president Aileen Chu, a PharmD recipient, shared remembrances with classmates from the podium as did Han Han, who received her PhD in molecular pharmacology and toxicology. Flag and banner bearers for the processional were PharmD graduates Emmanuel Akinwole and Tony Dao.

Virginia Herold, executive officer of the California State Board of Pharmacy, offered the commencement address. Ms. Herold encouraged the graduates to “get out there and take care of patients.” Associate professor Cynthia Lieu thanked family and friends who have supported graduates in so many ways on their paths to this culminating moment of achievement. Susie Park, an assistant professor, administered the pharmacy oath at the end of the ceremony.

Among the proud members of the audience were two alumni of the School. Grandparent Peter Grande, class of ’46, was on hand to see his grandson Michael Harvey follow him in the profession of pharmacy. Likewise, Joseph Hamai, class of ’80, was there to watch his daughter become Dr. Erin Hamai. Assistant dean Kathleen Besinque, also an alumna of the School, was on hand to see her daughter, Megan Besinque, receive her certificate of residency.

Faculty marshals included vice dean Kathleen Johnson, the William A. and Josephine A. Heeres Chair in Community Pharmacy, assistant dean Kathleen Besinque and associate professor Steven Chen, the Hygeia Centennial Chair in Clinical Pharmacy. Live music at the beginning of the event was provided by the Brass Quintet and capped at the end with a lively performance by the Trojan Band.

Over 1,700 people attended the ceremony which was followed by a champagne reception on the upper quad. For those unable to attend, a live web stream was available of the entire ceremony.

May 9, 2012  This evening, over 300 people gathered at Town and Gown on the University Park Campus to celebrate School of Pharmacy achievements past and present at the annual Alumni/Senior Awards Banquet.

Dean R. Pete Vanderveen welcomed faculty, students, alumni, and friends to the event sponsored by the School’s Alumni Association. Association president Dolly Harris opened the evening with remarks about the annual event which uniquely provides a forum to congratulate those celebrating their 50th year in the profession along with those just starting their professional lives.

Honored as this year’s Outstanding Alumni were Lunny Ronnie Jung and Dianne Kwock Jung, who were on hand to receive this honor along with their sons, Nicholas and Jason. The Jungs, both alumni of the school, made a $1 million gift last year naming the Dianne Kwock Jung and Lunny Ronnie Jung Centennial Park, in front of the School.

In their comments to the audience, both Drs. Jung encouraged alumni and friends to support the School of Pharmacy. Dean Vanderveen remarked on the tremendous support the Jungs have given to the School and its students. Lunny Ronnie Jung is also a member of the School’s Board of Councilors.

The Honorary Alumnus award was bestowed on Leonard D. Schaeffer, who was unable to attend the event. Mr. Schaeffer, founding chairman and CEO of WellPoint, along with his wife, Pamela Schaeffer, provided a gift to establish the Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics, a collaboration between the School of Pharmacy and the Price School of Public Policy. A subsequent event will be held with Mr. Schaeffer to mark this honor.

Scott Takahashi was recognized as “Preceptor of the Year.” Dr. Takahashi, an alumnus of the School, was honored for his commitment and dedication to USC students who do clinical rotations under his supervision at Kaiser Permnente-Sunset.

Thirteen members of the Class of ’62 were on hand to receive medals from the dean, marking their professional lives. Dean Vanderveen kidded the alumni that in the past recipients of these medals were asked to demonstrate dance moves from their School of Pharmacy era, “so you may be asked to do the twist, the mashed potato or the locomotion,” he challenged the laughing alumni.

The evening started with a cocktail reception in the garden and foyer of Town and Gown featuring a classical guitarist. Once guests filed into the main dining area, master of ceremonies Michael Wincor, associate dean of global initiative and technology, presided over the event which included the presentation of wide range of over twenty-five awards to the new graduates.

Among the award winners were Grace Kim and Joseph Pai, each receiving the Merck Award in recognition of their 4.0 grade point averages. Shenche Hshieh and Artak Kerimian also received Merck Awards, each with a 3.99 GPA.

The evening ended with brief remarks by Aileen Chu, Class of 2012 president, followed by a resounding goodnight from the Trojan Band.

“I grew up in the neighborhood,” Sanchez said, “so I had always wanted to go to USC.”

While attending Bravo Medical Magnet High School, Sanchez was a part of the Med-COR program, which promotes health and medical careers for students in the Los Angeles Unified School District and gave him a taste of what USC had to offer.

When the time came for college, Sanchez was accepted at USC, but he chose the University of California, Davis, where he wanted to learn about independence and broaden his horizons away from home. Upon graduation, he became the third member of his extended family to receive an undergraduate degree.

Sanchez later returned to Los Angeles, began work as a lab technician at USC and started taking classes at the School of Pharmacy. Eventually, he was accepted into the doctoral program, where he distinguished himself in HIV/AIDS research, with support from the California HIV/AIDS Research program and the National Institutes of Heath. He already has published nearly 30 papers published in the field.

While the lab work kept him busy, Sanchez found time to be active in the school’s Pharmacy Explorers Program. As part of the program, he visited local high schools, encouraging students to achieve their dreams. In fact, Sanchez mentored 15 high school students during his USC years and proudly reported that 14 of them have gone on to become science majors in either college or graduate school.

“I think it’s our duty to give back, not just when we’ve accomplished our goals, but even along the way.”

On Friday, Sanchez will be awarded a Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences from the School of Pharmacy. He will be the first in his family to receive a postgraduate degree.
“Since my mom is one of 19 kids, there are lots of cousins and aunts and uncles. My big problem now is who gets tickets to attend the School of Pharmacy ceremony.”

For complete information on the School of Pharmacy Satellite Commencement Ceremony, visit http://web-app.usc.edu/ws/eo2/calendar/73/event/897223.

School of Pharmacy associate professor Jason Doctor is a co-author on a 2011 paper that is the 10th most downloaded paper ever, in the Journal of Mathematical Psychology. In the paper, titled, Utility Independence of Multiattribute Utility Theory is Equivalent to Standard Sequence Invariance of Conjoint Measurement, the authors show that utility independence and standard sequences are closely related, and that utility independence is equivalent to a standard sequence invariance condition when applied to risk.

Multiattribute utility theory is widely used in business and healthcare as a means for analyzing risky decisions with multiple objectives such as the prospect of a new business venture or the value of a new medical treatment. At the center of multiattribute theory is an assumption called “utility independence” which holds that the preference for a particular objective in a decision is not affected by levels of another objective when that other objective is held constant. Utility independence is often needed to make the analysis of decision with multiple objectives tractable.

However, utility independence is difficult to test due to psychological biases. In contrast to Multiattribute theory, conjoint measurement is a different approach that measures value in the absence of risk using a technique involving the construction of standard sequences (similar to constructing equally spaced differences in value). This paper shows that utility independence and standard sequences are closely related: utility independence is equivalent to the invariance of standard sequences when applied to risk. This simple relation between two widely used conditions in adjacent fields of research is surprising and useful. It facilitates the testing of utility independence because standard sequences are flexible and can avoid cancellation biases that affect direct tests of utility independence. Thus a long held assumption in Multiattribute utility theory now has a means of testing to justify its use in business and health care applications.

Other paper authors include Han Bleichrodt, Martin Filko, and Peter P. Walker.

With those words, USC president C. L. Max Nikias kicked off the 17th annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on April 21. In its second year at USC, the festival attracted a record-breaking 151,000 guests to the University Park campus, an 8 percent increase over last year’s attendance according to the Times.

Joining Nikias on the USC Stage - one of eight outdoor festival venues providing continuous entertainment during the two-day festival - were Times publisher and CEO Eddy Hartenstein and president Kathy Thomson.

The president noted a “special historical connection” between the university and the newspaper.

“USC and the L.A. Times are the two oldest surviving nonreligious institutions in the city of Los Angeles,” Nikias said. “Our university was established in 1880, while the first issue of the L.A. Times rolled off the presses in 1881. Since that time, we have worked to advance the city and to promote a love of learning.”

More than 400 authors gave readings and appeared on panels in 14 different auditoriums and signed their books at seven signing areas. The stages featured various events, including a presentation of the fotonovela, “Rosa out of Control,” the latest in a series of bilingual health materials created by a team under the direction of School of Pharmacy Professer Mel Baron. The story deals with obesity among both children and adults.

Another new feature of this year’s festival was the USC Health Pavilion. Organized by practitioners from the USC School of Pharmacy, Keck Medical Center of USC, and USC divisions of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, and Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, the pavilion proved to be a popular attraction.

“Some of the health fairs we don’t see as many participants, but today it’s been really great,” said first-year USC pharmacy student Tamara Chinarian, who was working one of a handful of diabetes screening stations in the pavilion.

Nearby, her classmates took blood pressure readings and staffed a “brown-bagging event,” reviewing patients’ various medications for possible drug interactions. Marta Correa, who lives in the University Park neighborhood, had just gotten her blood pressure checked.

“I just want to know if I’m healthy,” Correa said, standing beside her two young daughters. “I recently changed my diet. It’s always good to know.”

School of Pharmacy students and faculty conducted hundreds of test at the Festival and also provided educational information on travel health, women’s health and other topics. For children, the School of Pharmacy provided crafts and information about poison prevention.

Bonny Chan and Saleema Kapadia led the student effort for the School of Pharmacy, under the direction of Professors Cynthia Lieu and Jeffery Goad.

The fellowships are given to graduate students in the fields of medicine, public health and pharmacy who are committed to serving their local community.

Wang, who is pursuing a PharmD degree, will use her funding to start a 12-week smoking cessation program, designed to help people quit through physiological and behavioral modification. The program will consist of education about smoking-related health risks, coping strategies, nicotine replacement therapy, as well as individualized counseling.
“The Schweitzer Fellowship encourages fellows to explore avenues to sustain our projects beyond our time as fellows,” says Wang. “I think that it is very exciting to have the opportunity to start something new for our community and see its growth and impact throughout the years."

Wang’s program will be offered at a local safety-net clinic, where it will reach those who are typically without access to this kind of kind of service. Her faculty advisors on the project are Drs. Steven Chen and Edith Mirzaian.
Amanda Wong, who is also a PharmD candidate, will use the funding to promote medication adherence and health education to the blind and visually impaired community at the Braille Institute - Los Angeles Center. Pharmacists and pharmacy students will provide medication counseling and educational sessions, using novel tools and materials in Braille type that will be created for this Los Angeles population.

“I'm excited to establish a brand new partnership with the Braille Institute, while also providing opportunities for our pharmacists and students to serve in unique patient care situations," says Wong.

This is the first project of its kind to work with the Braille Institute, where most people are elderly and often suffer from multiple health conditions, in addition to loss of sight, making medication adherence a very challenging issue. Wong’s faculty advisors are Drs. Bradley Williams and Steven Chen.

The 2012-13 recipients also include Patricia Martinez of the Keck School of Medicine, who will be using the funding towards a project that will pair a motivated first- or second-year medical student with a community clinic patient living with a chronic illness, such as diabetes. The project aims to explore how patients live with their illness and how they navigate the medical system, hoping that this understanding will better prepare the students to help the patient understand their illness and ultimately improve adherence to medical plans and therapies.

“I hope the project can both educate and empower the patients involved in this project, and also prepare future physicians to be more culturally sensitive, and therefore better advocates for their patients,” explains Martinez.

The nationwide Schweitzer Fellowship is given to 15 graduate students in the Los Angeles area every year. This marks the third year in a row that students from the School of Pharmacy have been recognized, with a fellowship last year going to PharmD candidate Ashlee Klevens.

Upon completion of their initial year as fellows, Wang, Wong and Martinez will become Schweitzer Fellows for Life, joining a network of over 2,000 Schweitzer alumni who are skilled in and committed to addressing the health needs of underserved people throughout their careers as professionals.

Caption: Schweitzer Fellows Amanda Wong, Joy Yue Wang and Patricia Martinez.

“Our upward trajectory reflects the dedicated work of our faculty and students, as leaders and innovators of our profession,” says R. Pete Vanderveen, dean of the school.
One-hundred and twenty-five pharmacy schools, all accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, were included in the ranking survey. The survey focused on the quality of each school’s PharmD program, a four-year, professional degree.
The School maintains its #1 rank among all private pharmacy schools with the closest contender ranked #37.

“Our School is the only private pharmacy school on a major health sciences campus with a research-intensive faculty and I believe that benefits us greatly,” said Vanderveen. “It provides a very rich experience for our students, with opportunities to see a wide range of disease states and diverse populations in area clinics and hospitals and to engage in basic, translational and applied research with our faculty.”

Also of note, the rankings put USC at #4 for public policy programs specializing in health policy and management. This ranking includes work done by faculty at the Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics, a collaboration between the School of Pharmacy and the Price School of Public Policy, under which the ranking is listed.

The US News & World Report ranking comes on the heels of the most recent NIH rankings for pharmacy schools, placing USC at #2 in the nation for research dollars. Research at the school spans a broad range of topics, from drug development and delivery to health economics and policy to nanoscience. The largest NIH grant housed at the school supports an $11.4 million project, headed by associate professor Jason Doctor, that aims to dissuade physicians from unnecessarily prescribing antibiotics for common acute respiratory infections.

“While it is rewarding for the School to be recognized among the elite schools of pharmacy in the US, we have always and will continue to focus on attracting the very best and brightest students, faculty and staff, and conducting cutting-edge research, and continuing the School’s long-standing tradition of leading innovation in the profession” according to Dean Vanderveen.

USC School of Pharmacy faculty, students and alumni were well represented at the meeting which provides an opportunity to share insights with colleagues from around the nation and to hear from leaders of the profession. This year’s keynote address was given by Rear Admiral Scott Giberson, US assistant surgeon general and chief pharmacy officer for the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and Rear Admiral Boris Lushniak, US deputy surgeon general.

The two military officers co-presented a talk entitled, “Disruptive Developments in Health Care: Is Provider Status Within Our Reach.” Their comments provided perspectives on the recent report, “Improving Patient and Health-System Outcomes through Advanced Pharmacy Practice: A Report to the US Surgeon General 2011.” That report was publicly supported by US Surgeon General Regina Benjamin.

USC alumnus Rita Shane, PharmD, was honored at the APhA meeting with the 2012 Alumni Award. Shane is director of pharmacy services at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and a national leader in expanding the pharmacist’s role in patient care and medication safety.

USC students were recognized for two distinguished Region 8 Awards, including Operation Heart, led by Grace Cheng and Henry Ho, and Operation Diabetes, directed by Mindy Cheng and Arthur Librea. These student groups make a huge impact in the community through health fairs, clinics and health education projects over the last year.

The Rho Chi National Honor Society simultaneously held its annual meeting in New Orleans. The USC chapter was recognized with the 2010-2011 Chapter Achievement Award for Region VIII.

Caption: Student Victoria Schells does a diabetes test during a health fair where students provide multiple health screenings and educational information.

With these startling statistics in mind, Associate Professor Mel Baron has released the seventh book in his Spanish-English fotonovela series, “Rosa Out of Control.”

The comic-book style educational tool tells the story of Rosa, the single mother of two children. All three of them are overweight, and Rosa is forced to confront the health implications of this when her son’s gym teacher approaches her about his weight gain and physical inactivity.

Rosa, who has held firm in her belief that “chubby” means “healthy,” soon realizes that changes need to be made to reduce both her and her children’s weights. She decides to visit her local pharmacist to find out ways to do this.

“The best way to lose weight, and keep it off, is to change your diet by including more vegetables, fruits and lean proteins in your meals, and to exercise at least 60 minutes a day, five days a week,” advises her pharmacist.

The pharmacist also advises Rosa that the best way to help her children to lose weight is to set an example for them by eating healthy foods and exercising. She suggests making simple food swaps, such as trading soda for water and swapping red meat for poultry and fish.

The fotonovela also informs the reader that overweight children have a greater chance of becoming overweight and obese adults, which puts them at a higher risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and other health problems.

In the end, Rosa, her daughter, and eventually her son, begin to embrace a healthier lifestyle.

Baron utilizes the fotonovela format to provide information to populations that are at-risk in a culturally sensitive way. These health education tools fill knowledge gaps, and convey information in a way that encourages behavioral changes.

This title will join the six others produced by Baron and his team at the School of Pharmacy. The other fotonovelas include “Forgotten Memories,” which focuses on dementia; “Fiesta Fiasco,” which deals with medication compliance; “Oscar and the Giant,” which addresses pediatric asthma; “Sweet Temptations,” which addresses diabetes; “What My Girlfriend Didn’t Know,” about birth defects; and “Secret Feelings,” regarding depression.

“Rosa Out of Control” was written by Josefina Lopez, Gregory Molina, Gabriela Lopez de Dennis, Estefany Zendejas and Niraj Sharma, photographed by Mike Powers, produced by Gregory Molina and directed by Mel Baron.

Support for the project was provided by the USC School of Pharmacy, L.A. Care, National Association of Chain Drug Stores Foundation, USC Good Neighbor Campaign, Good Neighbor Pharmacy and CVS Caremark.