CPPS in the News
Stories from around the web featuring WSU College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences students, faculty, staff, and alumni.
WSU researchers find CBD could show promise for reducing cigarette smoking
Recent research out of Lazarus lab suggests that CBD may help curb nicotine cravings and potentially help people reduce the amount of cigarettes they smoke or quit altogether.
Read more from KHQ
Washington State University Initiative Aims to Improve Rural Healthcare
Second-year student pharmacist Michael Sauseda and Pharmacotherapy Associate Professor Julie Akers explain why pharmacists are so important for providing health care in rural communities and what the Rural Health Initiative is doing to make a difference.
See the video from KHQ
WSU program aims to address shortage of rural pharmacists, ‘the most accessible health care providers in America’
A shortage of pharmacies in rural areas has made it harder for people to fill prescriptions and to access other critical services.
No One Can Decide If Grapefruit Is Dangerous
Pharmaceutical Sciences Professor Mary Paine helps to explain how and why grapefruit can impact the way our bodies process certain drugs.
Read more from The Atlantic
Drugs You Don’t Want To Mix With Marijuana
Boeing Distinguished Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences Philip Lazarus was quoted in this story about drug-drug interactions and how cannabis may effect the way the body processes certain medications.
Read more from LA Weekly
Use Caution with OTCs
With cold and flu season upon us, Pharmacotherapy Assistant Professor Lexie Powell recommends caution when choosing over-the-counter medications and remembering to read the label before taking anything.
Read more from the Inlander Health & Home
Rheumatoid arthritis research finds key protein that could be targeted in future treatment
College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences researchers have identified a protein playing a critical role in the inflammation damage caused by rheumatoid arthritis. Now they hope their discovery might help treatments of a condition that afflicts 1.5 million Americans.
Read more from The Spokesman-Review
Establishing roots in rural regions
The WSU doctor of pharmacy rural health track is one of several innovative programs aimed at strengthening the rural pharmacy pipeline. They are recruiting a new generation of pharmacists to serve rural communities to help improve access to health care for those populations.
WSU researchers study risks of mixing drugs
A recent NIH grant will aid in pharmaceutical sciences and molecular medicine student-led research in drug-drug interactions between hydrocodone and cannabis.
Read more from the Daily Evergreen
Rheumatoid arthritis research finds key protein that could be targeted in future treatment
College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences researchers have identified a protein playing a critical role in the inflammation damage caused by rheumatoid arthritis. Now they hope their discovery might help treatments of a condition that afflicts 1.5 million Americans.
Read more from The Spokesman-Review
Fentanyl involved in more than half of overdose deaths in Washington state and Spokane County in 2021
Deaths from fentanyl overdoses in Washington have increased by 845% in the past five years. Pharmacotherapy Assistant Professor Nicole Rodin recently talked to The Spokesman Review about the dangers of fentanyl.
Read more from The Spokesman Review
Studies suggest cannabinoid metabolites result in harmful drug interactions
Major metabolites for cannabinoids may interfere with two families of enzymes that help metabolize a wide range of drugs prescribed for a variety of conditions.
Certain foods and beverages can interact with drugs
Can consuming specific foods or beverages effect how medications work? Pharmaceutical Sciences Professor Mary Paine explains how certain food-drug interactions can lead to a decrease, or increase, of medication concentrations.
Read more from the Washington Post
Transgender Care Is Patient Care
Pharmacotherapy Assistant Professor Cheyenne Frazier explained the opportunities for pharmacists to provide gender-affirming care while serving as lead speaker for the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Midyear session, “Caring for transgender people: insights and points of controversy in medication therapy.”
Read more from ASHP Midyear Daily News
Pandemic pivots: Pharmacy closes and dog food’s out of stock—what now?
Don’t let supply chain disruptions get in the way of taking care of your health. Pharmacotherapy faculty members Julie Akers and Danial Baker recently talked to the Spokesman Review about why it’s a good idea to plan ahead and the various issues that may be impacting pharmacies nationwide.
Read more from The Spokesman-Review
Webcast: Pharmacists and the Effective Management of Diabetes
Pharmacotherapy Vice Chair & Allen I. White Distinguished Professor Josh Neumiller recently joined a panel discussion about the critical role that pharmacists play in helping patients manage diabetes.
View the webcast from Pharmacy Times
NACDS Foundation awards $130k in scholarships
The Washington State University College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences was chosen among seven colleges of pharmacy by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores Foundation Scholarship Program to receive funds for educational programs. The college will incorporate a mandatory Mental Health First Aid training course for student pharmacists, preparing them to identify and support individuals who are experiencing mental health challenges.
Read more from Drug Store News
The potential role of ‘junk DNA’ sequence in aging, cancer
Genes influence how cells age and how long humans live, but how that works exactly remains unclear. A new study led by Pharmaceutical Sciences Professor Jiyue Zhu has solved a small piece of that puzzle, bringing scientists one step closer to solving the mystery of aging.
Read more from Medical Xpress
Meet your 2021–22 APhA–ASP National Executive Committee: Kennedy M. Erickson, National President-elect
Kennedy Erickson, class of 2023, was chosen by her peers across the nation to serve as the 2021-22 American Pharmacists Association – Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP) national president-elect.
Read more from APhA-ASP
WSU researchers identify protein to help with heart attack recovery
Pharmaceutical Sciences Assistant Professor Zhaokang Chang talked to Alex Crescenti from KXLY 4 News Now about his recent research which identified a protein that could be the key to improving treatment outcomes following heart attacks.
Newly discovered protein helps rheumatoid arthritis symptom
Pharmaceutical sciences researchers discovered a protein that will help treat chronic inflammation resulting from rheumatoid arthritis.
Read more from the Daily Evergreen
Advocating for LGBTQ+ Education
“When students hear from an individual who has had a bad experience or a good experience, they begin to understand the impact they can make by being a trans-competent provider. It helps them see why it’s important to learn this material and it helps them feel more comfortable and confident stepping up to be a good provider.” Pharmacotherapy Assistant Professor Cheyenne Newsome is helping lead the way in transgender-related care at the WSU College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Read more about LGBTQ care curriculum in pharmacy schools across the nation from AACP
360 Coverage: Pharmacists’ vital role in providing health care
“You’re already seeing pharmacy practice evolving into something that I would say is more clinical and less dispensary, but I think we are taking more steps in that direction as we start jumping into more immunizations and point of care testing.” Pharmacotherapy Associate Professor Kim McKeirnan during her recent conversation with KHQ Local News about the role pharmacists play in health care and administering the COVID-19 vaccine.
See the interview
WSU studies herb’s effect on medication
Diabetic patients taking the natural product goldenseal while taking the prescription drug metformin may be unwittingly sabotaging their efforts to maintain healthy blood glucose levels. Recent research out of Dr. Mary Paine’s lab details how taking the natural product affected metformin levels in participants’ bloodstreams.
Read more from Yahoo News
WSU students volunteer giving COVID-19 vaccines at Spokane clinics
KREM2 News recently stopped by Summit Cancer Care Center where they talked to second-year pharmacy student Rochelle Taicz about her experience vaccinating in the Spokane community.
With vaccines in more drugstores, pharmacies go on hiring sprees
As COVID-19 vaccination efforts continue to gain speed around the country, pharmacies are hiring thousands of pharmacists and technicians to vaccinate customers. The New York Times talked to WSU College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences faculty members Linda Garrelts MacLean and Kim McKeirnan about the growing demand for pharmacists and technicians, along with the immunization training offered through a collaboration between the American Pharmacists Association and the college.
Read more from the New York Times
‘It’s an access thing’: Pacific Islanders get COVID-19 shots at community clinic in Spokane
Pharmacy students recently volunteered to help eligible Pacific Islanders living in the Spokane community get their COVID-19 vaccine.
Read more from The Spokesman Review
Pharmacy student administers COVID vaccines
During her first volunteer shift third-year pharmacy student Crystal Lewis helped vaccinate about 200 people at the Summit Cancer Care Center. She is one of many pharmacy students assisting in volunteer vaccination efforts across the state.
Read more from the Daily Evergreen
WSU pharmacy students pitch in with COVID-19 vaccination efforts
Pharmacy student volunteers recently spent the day at Summit Cancer Center vaccinating eligible health care workers and community members against COVID-19!
Getting the COVID-19 vaccine
Pharmacotherapy Chair John White addresses the question: I may have the opportunity to receive a COVID vaccine in a couple of weeks. Should I take it now or wait and see what happens?
Read more from Health & Home Magazine
Pharmacists are hot commodity as U.S. ramps up COVID-19 vaccine rollout
As pharmacists become a hot commodity in the US, pharmacy students across the country are finding themselves in high demand.
Read more from CBS Money Watch
Yakima Valley health care students get real life experience with vaccine rollout
Front page news! WSU pharmacy and nursing students pitch in to vaccinate eligible community members across the Yakima Valley.
Read more from the Yakima Herald
The sunshine vitamin
Pharmacotherapy Professor and Chair John White examines studies looking into vitamin D deficiency as it relates to COVID-19 incidence and severity.
Read more from the Inlander Health and Home Magazine
‘Rise to the challenge’: WSU nursing, pharmacy students volunteer to administer COVID-19 vaccine
WSU pharmacy and nursing students are volunteering at vaccination sites in the Spokane community.
Ingredients in flu vaccine won’t hurt you – two pharmacists explain why
Is the flu vaccine harmful? No. Pharmacotherapy faculty members Anne Kim (Yakima) and Terri Levien break down what makes up the flu vaccine and why it won’t hurt you.
Read more from The Conversation
Local pharmacists stress importance of community-based stores amid Amazon announcement of online pharmacy
What do you lose out on when pharmacy moves online? As pharmacists take on more clinical roles, your community pharmacy is more than a place to pick up prescriptions. It is also a place to get point of care testing and even a prescription for ailments such as strep throat, most of your vaccinations, consultations on your medications, and more. Vice Dean of External Relations Linda Garrelts MacLean recently talked to The Spokesman Review about the importance of community-based stores.
Read more from The Spokesman-Review
Heeding the call of COVID: Pharmacists help slow pandemic’s spread in underserved areas
Faculty from pharmacy schools across the country, including WSU College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Fellow Sorosh Kherghehpoush, are taking health care directly to those who need it most with testing and care of homeless populations.
Read more from Pharmacy Practice News
‘An underlying level of hopefulness’: What to be thankful for during the pandemic
Focusing on the things we are thankful for during difficult times can help us build mental resiliency. Pharmacotherapy Professor Terri Levien explains why the development of a COVID vaccine can be one of those things to be grateful for.
Read more from The Spokesman-Review
WSU pharmacy students launch project to provide health information to seniors
When Yakima County senior housing centers closed their doors to the public as a COVID-19 precaution, Yakima pharmacy students wondered how they could still get residents critical health care information. Their solution? Donated electronic tablets that residents could use to watch videos the students would create.
Historic agreement opens new doors in Indian country for health sciences students
Thanks to the new partnership between the WSU Native American Health Sciences and Indian Health Services (IHS), students from pharmacy, medicine, nursing, nutrition and exercise physiology or speech and hearing sciences will be able to complete clinical rotations in six outlying IHS service areas across the Pacific Northwest.
Read more from the WSU Insider
Look for opportunities: women pharmacists discuss work-life balance
The number of women in pharmacy has grown exponentially over the past decade, with women now making up the majority of new pharmacy school graduates; however, men still hold the majority of leadership positions. In recognition of Women Pharmacists Day on October 12, a multigenerational panel of 5 women, including Vice Dean of External Relations Linda Garrelts MacLean, discussed how the pharmacy field has changed and is still changing for women.
Read more from Pharmacy Times
APhA and Washington State University prepare pharmacists for pediatric immunizations
A new program from APhA and the WSU College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences prepares state-licensed immunizing pharmacists to meet the education requirements to administer vaccinations to children aged 3 to 18 years, in compliance with the recent HHS guidelines.
Read more from Drug Store News
WSU pharmacy students get certified to give vaccines in time for flu season, eventual COVID-19 vaccine
With classes being virtual this semester due to the pandemic, instructors had to quickly figure out a way to get students safely certified to administer vaccines in time for flu season, or COVID-19 shots, if and when that comes to market.
Preparing for potential ‘twindemic’: Local pharmacy students pressed into flu, COVID-19 vaccine education
Second-year pharmacy students saw their professors in-person for the first time in 6 months to receive their vaccination certifications and prepare to help with immunizations during this year’s flu season and when a COVID-19 vaccine is available.
Read more from The Spokesman-Review
WSU pharmacy doctoral students in Yakima earn certification to administer vaccines
Thanks to their vaccination certification, WSU second-year pharmacy students are prepared to work with the Yakima Health District to administer flu shots at mobile community clinics across the Yakima Valley this flu season. WSU pharmacy students say they want to be ready to serve the community for when a COVID-19 vaccine comes to market.
Read more from the Yakima Herald
WSU pharmacy school receives grant to help UGM free clinic
Yakima Pharmacotherapy Assistant Professor Nick Giruzzi spoke with KIMA Action News about the college’s recent $47,500 Lauzier grant to work with the Yakima Union Gospel Mission’s free clinic to provide services for homeless and uninsured people in the Yakima Valley.
Read more from KIMA Action News
ACIP updates vaccine recommendations for 2020: What pharmacists need to know
Every year the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) updates their vaccination reccomendations. Pharmacotherapy Associate Professor Kimberly McKeirnan takes a look at this year’s ACIP recommendations for influenza, meningococcal disease, and COVID-19 vaccines.
Read more from Pharmacy Times
Yakima Pharmacotherapy faculty Damianne Brand-Eubanks and Angela Stewart joined alum Glen Chase in compounding, bottling, and labeling 40 liters of hand sanitizer for use at Comprehensive Healthcare in Yakima.
An update on the WHO and ACIP 2020-2021 influenza vaccine recommendations
Pharmacotherapy Associate Professor Kimberly McKeirnan provides an update on influenza vaccine recommendations and the role pharmacists can play in building public awareness of the importance of receiving the annual vaccine.
Read more from Pharmacy Times
PTCB collaborates with American Pharmacists Association to develop immunization credential program for pharmacy technicians
The Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), the nation’s leading certifying organization for pharmacy technicians, is collaborating with the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) to provide pharmacy technician credentialing in immunization delivery to those completing the APhA/Washington State University Pharmacy-Based Immunization Administration by Pharmacy Technicians program. Developed by APhA in partnership with the Washington State University College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, the training program provides pharmacy technicians with the knowledge and skills they need to safely administer vaccinations to patients.
Read more from PTCB
WSU center fields coronavirus queries
When a health care provider has a question about drugs, they turn to the WSU Drug Information Center. Acting as a resource for providers across the state, the center provides expertise on drug interactions, side effects, usage and other drug-related topics. Lately, most of their calls have been about potential drugs for COVID-19 patients.
Read more from The Spokesman Review
The future of community pharmacy: direct patient care
“More involved direct patient care is the future of pharmacy practice, and schools need to ensure they are graduating practice-ready pharmacists who are prepared to move in to that role.” AACP recently talked to Associate Professor Julie Akers about the future of community pharmacy.
Read more from Academic Pharmacy Now
Science explained: How do vaccines work?
Have you ever wondered how vaccines work? Pharmacotherapy Associate Professor Kim McKeirnan recently helped to answer that question for the Washington State University student newspaper, The Daily Evergreen.
Read more from the Daily Evergreen
Diabetes and COVID-19: what you should know
What should people with diabetes know about COVID-19? Pharmacotherapy professor Joshua Neumiller shared his insights with The Spokesman-Review.
Read more from The Spokesman Review
Intermittent fasting: A time to eat, a time to fast
WSU Pharmacotherapy Chair John White shares his insights on how intermittent fasting could impact those living with diabetes.
Pharmaceutical Sciences Student, Graduate Named ASPET Fellows
WSU College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences graduate student Christopher Szlenk and former graduate student Shannon Kozlovich were named 2020 American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) Fellows! Fellows study how public policy decisions made in Washington, D.C. help shape and impact science policy.
Read more from ASPET
WSU researchers say nanotechnology may fight inflammatory diseases
A study led by researchers at Washington State University has uncovered a potential new treatment approach for diseases associated with inflammation, including sepsis, stroke, rheumatoid arthritis, acute lung injury, and atherosclerosis.
Read more from the Journal of Business
Native American Health Sciences Student Highlight
Recently, the Native American Health Sciences highlighted a few of the Native students studying at the WSU Health Sciences, Spokane campus, including Pharmaceutical Sciences student, Michael Pham.
Learn more
Celebrating the Life and Vision of Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Student leaders, faculty and staff joined the community for Martin Luther King Jr. Day events. Students also gave back as part of Cougs in the Community by volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House.
Check out the WSU Health Sciences’ Exposure story for more!
Healthy Biological Clock Helps Protect Heart, WSU Study Finds
The Spokesman-Review has additional coverage on the role of the biological clock in protecting the heart.
Read more from the Spokesman-Review
Puzzles, games, and new activities can keep your brain healthy. Plus, they’re fun!
Games aren’t just fun, they may help students learn new concepts and retain information. Learn more about the wonders of games and how one of our academic fellows, Boris Zhang, engages students in their education by incorporating games into the PharmD curriculum.