Advanced Clinical Pharmacology Course for Prescribers

Fahad Aziz, MD, FASN, currently holds the position of associate professor of medicine in the Department of Medicine’s Division of Nephrology at the University of Wisconsin. In this role as a clinical nephrologist, he provides care for patients suffering from a wide variety of kidney diseases and disorders, including organ donors and recipients of kidney transplants. He is certified as a hypertension specialist by the American Society of Hypertension, in addition to holding certifications in the practice of internal medicine and nephrology. Both the American Society of Nephrology and the American Society of Transplantation are organizations that he is a member of. At national medical conferences, as well as meetings of the ASN and AST professional societies, he has presented the results of his clinical research. He has taught nephrology in the classroom to medical students, physician assistant students, and nephrology fellows, and he has also given continuing medical education presentations to clinicians in his role as a medical educator.

Nicole Pezzino PharmD, BCACP, CDCES, received her Doctor of Pharmacy Degree from University of Pittsburgh and completed post-graduate residency training at University of North Carolina, Eshelman School of Pharmacy in Asheville, NC. She is currently an associate professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice and serves as the Director of Community Outreach & Innovation. She is a board-certified pharmacist in ambulatory care (BCACP) and a Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist (CDCES) who consistently challenges the status quo of pharmacy. Dr. Pezzino’s clinical responsibilities at her community practice site, Weis Markets, involve the implantation of various clinical services and serving as the Director of the PGY-1 Community-based Pharmacy. She is considered a leader in the state and nation regarding the implementation of her diabetes services and mentors other pharmacies in being successful in each. To date, she has mentored 59 pharmacies in implementing DSMES and/or DPP in their pharmacy. In addition, she serves as a Flip the Pharmacy coach, mentoring 23 pharmacies in community pharmacy transformation and the state’s lead trainer for PPCN. Her clinical focus includes employee wellness and disease state management-specifically with diabetes self-management and diabetes prevention, wellness and preventative care services, immunizations and other medication and disease state therapy management.

Kimmy Nguyen, PharmD, BCACP, BC-ADM, TTS, is a board-certified ambulatory care clinical pharmacy specialist and assistant professor of pharmacy practice at the Wilkes University Nesbitt School of Pharmacy in Wilkes-Barre, PA. Dr. Nguyen earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. She then completed a PGY1 pharmacy practice residency at the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center in Philadelphia, PA before pursuing a PGY2 in ambulatory care pharmacy at the VA Hudson Valley Health Care System in Wappingers Falls, NY. Upon completion of residency, Dr. Nguyen accepted a full-time, tenure-track faculty position at the Wilkes University Nesbitt School of Pharmacy. She also serves as the clinical pharmacy specialist at Volunteers in Medicine (VIM), a free, non-profit clinic that provides primary and preventative care to underserved populations and hosts pharmacy students for their experiential rotations. They work as part of a multidisciplinary team to provide comprehensive care and address issues with medication counseling, education, treatment, access and affordability. Dr. Nguyen’s distinguished record of accomplishment includes recognition as the 2020 Outstanding Healthcare Provider at VIM and the 2021 Distinguished Young Pharmacist through the Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association, and she has been named Overall Teacher of the Year in 2023.

Peter Buch, MD, AGAF, FACP, is a double board-certified clinical gastroenterologist, currently leading a team that treats all GI conditions. Dr. Buch sits on editorial boards for numerous professional journals and is a highly sought-after international presenter. Dr. Buch has a passion for teaching. His style is case-based, practical, very interactive and evidence supported. Dr. Buch’s expertise has been shared with experienced clinicians and advanced-level students. He teaches at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine, the Frank H Netter School of Medicine/Quinnipiac University and the University of Connecticut APRN School.

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Alicia Elam, PharmD, is a pharmacist and tenured associate professor of pharmacology at Augusta University’s College of Allied Health Sciences. Not only does she oversee admissions for the physician assistant program and relish mentoring students interested in advanced degrees in medicine, pharmacy, and allied health services, but she also directs pharmacology courses for PA students and consults for various academic programs, including nursing. Dr. Elam is responsible for keen insights and guideline updates for opioid prescribing. With over 28 years of pharmacology experience, her expertise is further underscored by her services as a Lieutenant and Medical Services Corps Pharmacy Officer in the US Navy.

Stephanie L. Shafer, MSN, ANP-BC, PMHNP-BC, works in a large private practice in Lansing, MI, providing clinical services to children, adolescents, and adults with psychiatric disorders, including ADHD, Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Anxiety, Obsessive-compulsive tendencies, Schizophrenia, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injury, PTSD, and Personality Disorders. She has achieved considerable success treating these conditions. This success has largely resulted from the development of a structured model of care that includes a significant focus on clinical and background histories, identifying psychosocial stressors, and evaluating prior medical and psychiatric diagnoses (and treatment regimens associated with these conditions). This approach and model of medical management is essential to the effective delivery of psychiatric medications to this population.

Steven Rubin, MD, specializes in adult and geriatric neurocognitive and behavioral health care. He is certified by The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and has been in private practice for 30 years in Reno, Nevada. Dr. Rubin earned his medical degree from Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, completed his internship at Duke University and finished his psychiatry residency at the University of Virginia. He has been a clinical associate professor with the University of Reno School of Medicine and a member of the Nevada Medicaid Drug Utilization Review Board. He currently serves as a peer reviewer for the Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners and provides forensic capacity assessments and expertise consultations. He is the author of the book Autumn Leaves and other writings on dementia and aging. Dr. Rubin provides presentations on geriatric care to various health and civic groups across the nation. His professional mission is to deliver quality health care and education to geriatric patients, their families, and the community.

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David Dadiomov, PharmD, BCPP, is an assistant professor of clinical pharmacy in the Titus Family Department of Clinical Pharmacy at the USC Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. He holds board certification in psychiatric pharmacy and serves as the director of the PGY2 Psychiatric Pharmacy Residency Program. He has led, co-led and conducted extensive research on opioid use disorders among vulnerable populations, prevalence and distribution of high-risk prescription opioid use, therapeutic drug monitoring, treatment-resistant psychiatric conditions and more. Dr. Dadiomov practices as a clinical pharmacy specialist in addiction and psychiatry at the Complex Care Clinic of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, one of the largest of its kind in the United States. Dr. Dadiomov’s teaching approach is case focused, practical for any clinical setting, interactive and evidence supported. His expertise has been shared with experienced clinicians, graduate students and advanced level students. Dr. Dadiomov is the recipient of multiple awards for clinical excellence, teaching and clinical innovation and has presented, authored and co-authored multiple peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and scientific presentations.

Eric Wombwell, PharmD is a Clinical Professor for the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Administration at the University of Missouri - Kansas City, School of Pharmacy. Wombwell is responsible for developing clinical and educational initiatives designed to optimize student learning. He is active in lecturing, research and hospital pharmacy practice. Dr. Wombwell completed his PharmD degree at the University of Missouri Kansas City, followed by an ASHP accredited pharmacy practice residency at the Kansas City VA Medical Center. Upon residency completion, Wombwell accepted a full-time non-tenured clinical faculty position at the University of Missouri – Kansas City, School of Pharmacy. His responsibilities include teaching Doctor of Pharmacy students in a variety of courses predominately in the area of infectious diseases. As part of this position, Wombwell serves as a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, working as part of the multidisciplinary team, providing care to acutely ill patients at Centerpoint Medical Center in Independence, Missouri. In addition, Wombwell functions in an adjunct faculty capacity with the University of Missouri – Kansas City, School of Dentistry where he is responsible for teaching infectious diseases curricular content to dental students in the Pharmacology and Therapeutics course series. Dr. Wombwell has more than 30 peer-reviewed publications on pharmacy and medication-related topics, and has delivered more than 100 invited presentations locally and nationally for continuing education to various health-professional audiences. He has been named Teacher-of-the-year in various capacities 15-times, “Missouri Pharmacist Association - UMKC Faculty Member of the Year” in 2016, and received the “UMKC Provost’s Award for Excellence in Teaching” in 2014.

Audrey M. Stevenson, PhD, MPH, MSN, FNP-BC, is a family nurse practitioner, working in public health for the past 34 years and is the former Division Director of Family Health and Clinical Services of the Salt Lake County Health Department in Salt Lake City, Utah. Dr. Stevenson is currently working in clinical research and teaching graduate FNP and MPH students at two universities.

Susann Varano, MD, is a Geriatric Nursing Practice Specialist at Kootenai Health, is a Yale University-trained physician certified in internal and geriatric medicine. Her expertise is sought currently as a geriatric consultant for medically complex residents/patients and as an adjunct professor teaching geriatric coursework to physician assistant students.

Fran Hoh, PhD, APN, CS, ACHPN®, is an advanced practice nurse who is passionate about end of life care. As such, her doctorate in health administration allowed her to focus her dissertation work on pain management. She currently practices in a hospital as the manager of the inpatient pain service, where she instituted the pain resource nurse program. In this role, Dr. Hoh has been responsible for educating hundreds of nurses to successfully advocate for improved patient pain management. Additionally, she has her own practice, Always Think Comfort, in which she provides palliative care services to patients in long term care facilities, with the goal of preventing unplanned and unnecessary hospitalizations. As one of the first trained ELNEC (End of Life Nursing Education Consortium) Trainers, Fran has trained nurses around the country in holistic end of life care. She presented the full day ELNEC course as a preconference at the national ASPMN (American Society of Pain Management Nurses) annual meeting for several years. She currently holds three national certifications, including: pain management, advanced practice nurse in hospice and palliative care, and as a clinical nurse specialist in adult nursing. Fran has received recognition for her numerous contributions: she received the Clinical Nurse of the Year award from the American Society of Pain Management Nurses and the Nurse Excellence Award from Overlook Hospital. As a published author and respected national presenter, she has a wealth of knowledge to share from her vast clinical experiences caring for end of life patients.

Paul Langlois, APN, PhD, CCRN, CCNS, is a critical care clinical specialist in the surgical, medical, neurologic, burn, CCU, and trauma ICUs of Cook County Hospital, Chicago. Drawing on over 40 years of experience assessing and managing patients with life-threatening diseases, Dr. Langlois provides advanced-level training to nurses, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, respiratory therapists, and physicians. Dr. Langlois is committed to providing the highest quality of care to patients through advanced education. His presentations are evidence-based, timely, and provide participants with numerous case studies to facilitate critical thinking. As a bedside clinical nurse specialist, he has developed several institution-wide protocols for the multidisciplinary assessment and management of infectious disease and multi-system organ failure patients. His presentations are enthusiastically delivered and offer highly practical tips that help make the most challenging concepts easy to understand. Linking knowledge to clinical practice is the goal of every educational program.

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Pamela Moye, PharmD, BCPS, is a seasoned and dedicated professional with experience in pharmacy education and patient care. As a board-certified pharmacotherapy specialist, she has been at the forefront of imparting knowledge and skills to diverse learners, including pharmacy and medical students, residents, and licensed healthcare professionals. Dr. Moye’s expertise lies in guiding her students and fellow professionals in evidence-based pharmacotherapy tailored to individual patients’ needs, clinical presentations, laboratory data, and co-existing medical conditions. Dr. Moye has excelled in her role as an educator and as a liaison between healthcare providers and patients. She has played a pivotal role in ensuring healthcare providers communicate effectively with their patients, helping them understand and adhere to the prescribed medications. Among her many areas of expertise, Dr. Moye has a particular interest in using medications to treat obesity. Her research and teaching in this field aim to shed light on evidence-based pharmacotherapy options for obese individuals, offering hope and solutions to improve their health and well-being. Dr. Moye’s passion for education runs deep, and it is intricately intertwined with her dedication to making a positive impact on society. Her commitment to lifelong learning and continuous improvement drives her teaching, practice, and research. She believes the key to improving patients outcomes and advancing pharmacy practice lies in empowering others through education and fostering a culture of lifelong learning.

Dr. Ndung’u is originally from Kenya and a love for helping others and science led her to pursue a career in pharmacy. She is especially passionate about public health and closing health disparity gaps in under-served communities. She earned her Doctor of Pharmacy with an emphasis in global health from the University of Pittsburgh. While getting her doctorate, she also completed a public health fellowship focusing on providing health education at the Allegheny County Jail. She then completed a PGY-1 primary care residency at Touro University in partnership with the FQHC Lifelong Medical Care. Her research ranges from global health, looking at the Namibian health care system and the self-care approach of patients with diabetes in Honduras, to local, assessing public healthcare perceptions among sub-Saharan African immigrants and medication access in minority populations in the United States. During the pandemic, she also did scholarly work in the scholarship of teaching and learning earning her the California Society of Health-System Pharmacists’ New Practitioner Achievement Award. Dr. Ndung’u is currently an assistant professor of global health and health equity for the Grace Lamsam Program for the Underserved in the Department of Pharmacy & Therapeutics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy. She co-directs the Global Health Area of Concentration and co-directs pharmacy operations at the Birmingham Free Clinic where she also helps coordinate their PGY-2 residency in global health.

Victoria Trott, PA-C, MMS, AQH, is a board-certified physician assistant with an added qualification in headache medicine. Victoria has focused her career on helping patients that are suffering from various headache disorders. Victoria has encouraged the application of new and emerging migraine and headache treatments for her patients. Her overall goal is to improve the quality of life of her patients suffering from these disabling conditions.

Karen LeRoy is a family nurse practitioner specializing in primary care. She has 20+ years of nursing experience in a wide variety of settings, including telemetry, medical-surgical, primary care, physical rehabilitation and behavioral health research. As a current primary care provider, she strives to motivate and empower her patients to make healthy lifestyle choices to improve their health and reduce their risk of illness, injury and disease. NP LeRoy is also an independent motivational interviewing trainer and has been a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT) since 2020. In her 15+ years of experience with behavioral health research, she utilized motivational interviewing to help clients with behavior change in areas such as weight management, smoking cessation, and substance misuse. NP LeRoy grew up in a military family and is also an Air Force Veteran. She spent most of her growing up years in San Antonio, TX where she resides today. When not working in the clinic or training MI, she can be found hanging out with her husband and two teenagers serving in ministries together, watching movies, and enjoying an occasional sweet treat from Sonic.

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Dr. Zubin Damania (AKA ZDoggMD) is a UCSF & Stanford trained hospitalist who now produces viral videos that educate and entertain – with over a BILLION views worldwide! Through an emotionally inspiring, powerful presentation combining medical news and entertainment, Dr. Damania will examine the challenges of delivering compassionate, collaborative care in our overwhelmed healthcare system.