UH College of Pharmacy's Diana S-L. Chow, Ph.D., professor and director of the Institute for Drug Education and Research, and alumnus Harshal P. Bhagwatwar, Ph.D. ('95), of Dr. Reddy's Laboratories in Hyderbad, India, are co-recipients of the 2009 Inventor of the Year Award from the Houston Intellectual Property Law Association. Along with University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center colleague and co-inventor Borje S. Andersson, M.D., Ph.D., Chow and Bhagwatwar were honored for developing intravenous formulations of the chemotherapy drug Busulfan (IV Busulfex®). For more on this story, click here.

Thanks to the generosity of its supporters, UH College of Pharmacy overcame a lackluster economy to achieve new scholarship records for the 2009-10 academic year. The college awarded a total of 260 scholarship awards (up 34 percent from 2008) to a record 203 student recipients (an increase of 37 percent over last year). Although earnings were generated by only 10 of the college's 73 endowments, the total amount of scholarship funds declined only 4 percent from 2008 thanks to support from alumni and friends through annual giving contributions to the Dean's Excellence Fund and a Scholarship Relief Campaign. To view the Program slideshow, click here. To view photos from the event, click here.

UHCOP's third-year Pharm.D. students immunized more than 500 adults and senior citizens against the seasonal influenza virus at the Humble Health Fair on Oct. 6. In addition to free vaccinations, students offered blood pressure checks, blood glucose and cholesterol screenings, diabetic foot exams, memory testing and "brown bag" medication reviews for adults and senior citizens at the Humble Civic Center. Pharmacy students and faculty members have participated in the Humble Health Fair since 2002. The flu vaccines and other screening supplies were generously provided by Memorial Hermann Northeast Hospital in Humble. To view photos from the event, click here.

UH College of Pharmacy alumni, students and supporters are invited to show their Cougar spirit at the 2009 Homecoming Tailgate before Houston takes on SMU on Saturday, Oct. 24. Co-sponsored by the college and the Pharmacy Alumni Association (PAA), the 2009 Homecoming Tailgate will be 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in Tailgate Village on the west side of Robertson Stadium (near Scott Street). The Alumni grill masters - who won Best Food Award at the 2008 event - will be serving BBQ, sides and a variety of beverages for only $10 for alumni and $3 for students and children. Please RSVP to uhpharmalum@gmail.com. A game ticket is not required to attend the tailgate event, but if you plan to attend the game, get your ticket at www.UHCougars.com or call 713-GO-COOGS. For a complete list of Homecoming Week activities, click here.

Associate Professor Amalia M. Issa, Ph.D., M.P.H., who spearheads a program focused on personalized medicine and targeted therapeutics, earned international recognition for her study of patients' willingness to adopt and pay for personalized medicine. Based on patient surveys that quantitatively measure the trade-offs made by patients, the study indicated a willingness to adopt and pay for novel genomic diagnostics and targeted therapeutics (even if paid "out of pocket") as well as a preference for drug availability over the risk of adverse reactions. Issa's study was awarded the Blue Ribbon "Recognition of Excellence for an Outstanding Scientific Presentation" in the Molecular Epidemiology/Pharmacogenomics category by the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology. Issa's research staff coauthors were Waqas Tufail, Jeffrey S. Farroni and Jose Tenorio.

UH Pharm.D. student Stephanie Weightman has been appointed to the American College of Clinical Pharmacy's National StuNet Advisory Committee, which is composed of up to 12 members appointed each year by the ACCP President. The committee is tasked with completing various initiatives in support of the ACCP Strategic Plan, such as ensuring an appropriately educated and skilled clinical pharmacy workforce, developing a clinical pharmacy resource kit for first-year pharmacy students and formulating a new and unique national student pharmacist competition for ACCP.

The Texas Medical Center has extended official membership beyond the University of Houston College of Pharmacy, which has been a TMC member since 1980, to the entire University of Houston campus. The move expands the university's opportunities for establishing education and research collaborations with the nearly 50 hospitals, healthcare organizations and fellow academic institutions within the world's largest medical center. For more on this story, click here.

Share your good news - including promotions, awards, births, etc. - with fellow and future alumni, former teachers and colleagues by emailing interactions@uh.edu. Photos and article suggestions welcomed. 

In an effort to provide expanded coverage of college, alumni, student and faculty news, the College of Pharmacy is revamping its communications operations. The transition to a bimonthly distribution of the Refill e-newsletter is only the first of several planned improvements. Over the coming weeks, we hope our new direction will offer a more informative, engaging experience for our alumni and friends. Thank you for your continued interest and support.