KU News Release

KU pharmacy school student, alumna, professor receive grants

LAWRENCE — A doctoral student, a spring 2007 graduate and a faculty member in the School of Pharmacy at the University of Kansas each have received a grant from the American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education in Rockville, Md.

Susan Elizabeth Birket, who received a doctor of pharmacy degree from KU in spring 2007 and now is studying a the University of Kentucky, received one of three First Year Graduate School Scholarships for the 2007-08 school year. She is the daughter of Sam and Mary Birket of McPherson and a McPherson High School graduate.

Wendy Jeanne Hartsock, a doctoral student in medicinal chemistry from Lawrence, received one of 56 Pre-doctoral Fellowships in Pharmaceutical Sciences for her research. She earned a master’s degree at the University of Arizona in Tucson and a bachelor’s degree at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff.

Laird Forrest, assistant professor of pharmaceutical chemistry, received one of 14 Pharmacy Faculty New Investigator Grants to support his research of “Design of Polymeric Nanocarriers for Drug and Gene Delivery.” His doctorate in chemical and biomolecular engineering and his master’s in chemical engineering are from the University of Illinois-Urbana. He was a 2006 postdoctoral fellow in pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Wisconsin.

The grants were among awards totaling $750,000 given this month to students and faculty in pharmacy schools nationwide to support pharmaceutical science and research during the 2007-08 academic year and to stem projected shortages of teachers and scientists in pharmacy schools.

“That our faculty and two students were selected for these AFPE grants is yet another indication of the quality of the individuals and research programs in KU’s School of Pharmacy,” said Kenneth L. Audus, dean of the school.

The American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education’s priority is to help educate more pharmaceutical scientists to solve a shortage of pharmacy college faculty and an emerging shortage of pharmaceutical industry scientists trained in drug development and manufacturing technology.

The shortage of teaching faculty in pharmacy schools was documented in a 2006 survey by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. The association reported that 11 percent of all full-time pharmacy college faculty positions in 2006 were vacant — an average of 5.6 faculty vacancies per school.

“KU’s School of Pharmacy is at about the national average regarding shortages of faculty. We have four positions to be filled in pharmacy practice and one in the basic sciences,” said Audus.

KU has 62 pharmacy faculty members in full- and part-time appointments and 414 doctor of pharmacy students, 120 doctoral-degree students and 80 post-doctoral research associates.

KU’s doctor of pharmacy degree, or PharmD, is a six-year professional-level degree similar to a law or medical degree. U.S. News and World Report’s “Best Graduate Schools 2007” ranked KU’s PharmD program 16th in the nation. For the past five years, KU’s School of Pharmacy has ranked third among the nation’s pharmacy schools for securing funding from the National Institutes of Health.

-30-

The University of Kansas is a major comprehensive research and teaching university. University Relations is the central public relations office for KU's Lawrence campus.