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College of Pharmacy

KPIC

Kennedy Pharmacy Innovation Center

Pharmacy Innovation Career Summit

The Kennedy Pharmacy Innovation Center hosts an annual Pharmacy Innovation Career Summit to introduce students to innovative ways of practicing pharmacy and connect them with professionals in non-traditional career pathways.

About

Given the ever-changing health care landscape and job market, it is important to consider and be aware of new and innovative ways to practice in the field. The annual KPIC Pharmacy Innovation Career Summit is for students and young professionals interested in pursuing a non-traditional career pathway in pharmacy.

During this half-day event, participants have the opportunity to connect with pharmacists who share their unique story and ways they have utilized their pharmacy degree. Through this forum, participants gain exposure to new ideas and make connections for pursuing similar career opportunities in the future.


2023 Pharmacy Innovation Career Summit

 
Register on Eventbrite

Saturday, October 7, 2023
Virtual Event (Zoom)
9:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. EST

Open to students, young professionals and pharmacists interested in non-traditional career pathways. (3 Career Mentor credits for USC students)

Anne Lord Bailey

Anne Lord Bailey, Pharm.D., BCPS

Dr. Anne Lord Bailey is Director for Clinical Tech Innovation and Immersive Technology Lead for the US Department of Veterans Affairs. She graduated from the University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy and completed a pharmacy residency at Western North Carolina VA Healthcare System in Asheville, NC.  In 2020, Dr. Bailey joined the VA’s Office of Healthcare Innovation and Learning Team team to lead implementation of emerging technology. In 2021, she became lead for Immersive Technology, establishing VA Immersive as a collaborative program. She has worked with experts and thought leaders in government, academia, and industry, while co-leading the expansion of the VHA Extended Reality Network from the founding five facilities to over 160, engaging more than 1,900 VA employees. In 2023, she was named a Top 12 Finalist for the Service to America Medal People’s Choice Award. 

Alexis Caronis

Alexis Caronis, Pharm.D., CPHQ

Dr. Alexis Caronis is the Associate Director of Drug Safety at Leaderboard Branding, a Fingerpaint Company, where she focuses on both regulatory affairs pertaining to proprietary names, nonproprietary names, package and label requirements, and project management. Dr. Caronis is a 2021 graduate from the University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy. As a student, she completed internships with Nephron Pharmaceuticals in their 503B compounding facility and Leaderboard Branding. Upon graduation, she completed an Executive Fellowship at the Pharmacy Quality Alliance in Alexandria, Virginia, where she focused on health care quality and health equity initiatives. 

Jonathan Hui

Jonathan Hui, Pharm.D., BSPS

Dr. Jonathan Hui is a Global Clinical Supply Chain Planning Manager with Takeda Pharmaceuticals. In this role, he is responsible for the strategic planning and execution of investigational product plans for clinical trials. He has experience across a multitude of different therapeutic areas from phase I through commercialization.  Prior to joining Takeda, Dr. Hui completed a two-year Postdoctoral Pharmacy Fellowship with Pfizer Inc. in affiliation with the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy (MCPHS) in Clinical Supply Strategy and Management. He received his Pharm.D. from the University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy. 

Regina McQueen

Regina McQueen, Pharm.D.

Dr. Regina McQueen is a Certified Specialist in Poison Information at Palmetto Poison Center, one of only 55 accredited poison centers in the US and the only poison center for South Carolina. The Palmetto Poison Center serves all 46 counties in the state and receives over 31,000 calls per year for treatment information on exposures to poisonous, hazardous, or toxic materials.  She received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy. Dr. McQueen has been working in the field of pharmacy in various roles for almost 20 years. 

Christian VonDrehle

Christian J. VonDrehle

Christian VonDrehle is the National Director of Franchise Sales for VitalCare, working with aspiring entrepreneurs as they look to develop an infusion pharmacy. He has over 15 years of sales leadership and business development experience within the infusion and specialty pharmacy space.  The franchise sales team serves as a resource for candidates to understand the business of infusion pharmacy and explore the opportunity of franchise ownership. During his tenure, he has identified over 125+ franchise owners and helped develop Vital Care Infusion Services into an industry leading brand in the country. 

Tyler Wagner

Tyler D. Wagner, Pharm.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Tyler Wagner is the Associate Director of Research at the National Pharmaceutical Council, where he leads and contributes to research on health policy issues and the value of medicines.  He is an alumnus of the University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy and holds a Ph.D. from Virginia Commonwealth University in Pharmaceutical Sciences with a concentration in Pharmacoeconomics and Health Outcomes.


Past Career Summit Speakers

Cody Clifton

Cody Clifton, Pharm.D.

Cody Clifton is the director of Practice Transformation and Clinical Programs at CPESN Networks. He is passionate about leveraging the value of community-based pharmacies. In his role with CPESN® USA, he leads pharmacy practice transformation initiatives and national payer program implementation within Flip the Pharmacy and CPESN USA.

Donald Ellis

Donald Ellis, Pharm.D., MBA

Donald Ellis retired as a managing director in investment banking.  He practiced clinical pharmacy for 10 years at Kaiser Permanente and VAMC before completing an MBA and transitioning to a >25-year career on Wall Street.  Donald worked at various New York and San Francisco based investment banks as a partner and managing director conducting investment research targeting biotechnology and pharma public and private companies.

Ranarda Jones

Ranarda Jones, Pharm.D.

Ranarda Jones is a true entrepreneur with having over eight established businesses under her belt. She is the founder and CEO of the pharmacy benefits management consulting company Pharmacy Synergistics (PSyn, Inc.) She has over two decades of pharmacy practice experience and is an expert in pharmacy benefit management services. 

Brenden O'Hara

Brenden O’Hara, R.Ph., BCACP

Brenden O'Hara works in Provider Engagement Pharmacy Initiatives for BlueCross/Blue Shield North Carolina. He works with Blue Cross NC in value-based relationships with major health systems and provider groups. He helps them achieve quality and cost of care improvements in their mutual patients. He has worked with PQA on AMM Technical Expert Panel, Measure Update Panel, and presented at their annual meeting in 2021 and 2022. 

Chloe LeBegue

Chloe LeBegue-Polley, Pharm.D.

Chloe LeBegue-Polley is an investigational drug service pharmacist with an oncology focus at  University of Virginia Health Systems. In this role, Chloe assists physician investigators in conducting Phase 1, Phase 2, and Phase 3 clinical trials of novel oncology agents. In pharmacy school, she was involved in live biotherapeutic research which yielded a US patent and was presented at an international pharmabiotic industry conference.

Liz Van Dyke

Elizabeth A. Van Dyke, Pharm.D., R.Ph.

Liz Van Dyke is a senior drug information specialist in the Brandsymbol Regulatory Division. She joined SafeMark Regulatory Consulting (SafeMark) in 2016, where she evaluated proposed proprietary names for pharmaceutical products being considered for regulatory approval by global agencies. In September 2022, SafeMark merged with Brandsymbol to become their new regulatory division.

Amanda Isac

Amanda Isac, Pharm.D., MPH

Amanda Isac serves as a pharmacist for the Injury and Violence Prevention Branch at the North Carolina Division of Public Health. She received her Doctor of Pharmacy and Master of Public Health degrees from the University of South Carolina and completed a postgraduate community pharmacy residency with the University of Georgia and Barney's Pharmacy. 

Nimit Jindal

Nimit Jindal, Pharm.D.

Nimit Jindal is the current American College of Clinical Pharmacy – American Society of Health System Pharmacy – Virginia Commonwealth University Congressional Health Care Policy Fellow. His current placement is with the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee.

Sam McCallum

Samuel C. McCallum, Pharm.D., MHIT

Sam McCallum is an Associate Director of Clinical Safety at Genentech, Inc., where he leads and contributes to global pharmacovigilance, regulatory, and clinical development activities in the company's oncology portfolio. Sam is an alumnus of the South Carolina College of Pharmacy and also holds a Master of Health Information Technology degree from the University of South Carolina.  

Mark Pilkington

Mark Pilkington, M.S., R.Ph.

Mark Pilkington is Vice President of Managed Care for AmerisourceBergen, where he oversees AmerisourceBergen’s Pharmacy Benefit Administrator programs. Mark received a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Pharmacy and a Master of Science in Pharmacy Administration for the University of Illinois at Chicago, Graduate College.

Sally Rafie

Sally Rafie, Pharm.D.

Sally Rafie is a pharmacy specialist at UC San Diego Health, assistant clinical professor at UC San Diego Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, and founder at Birth Control Pharmacist. She provides contraception care in her private practice, The Pharmacists Clinic, presently and has provided clinical services in a variety of other practice settings. The scope of her work ranges from advocacy to implementation to research and focuses on increasing access to reproductive health services and products, particularly in pharmacies and via pharmacists. 

Helen Sarainy

Helen Sairany,  Pharm.D., MBA

Helen Sairany is the CEO of the South Carolina Pharmacy Association and former Director of Content Development and Partnership at the American Pharmacist Association. She has 11 years of serving the profession as a Director of Content Development and Partnership at the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), Director of Quality Assurance at the University of Duhok College of Pharmacy, and as a trauma-informed provider serving the needs of underserved communities at the frontline in Northern Iraq.

If you are a non-traditional pharmacy professional interested in speaking at our next Career Summit, please contact Pamela Hite.


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