Women’s History Month 2021

March 30, 2021
Education

As Women’s History Month draws to a close, HSC College of Pharmacy would like to recognize the immense contributions and significant gains women are making in the pharmacy profession.

According to a 2019 National Pharmacist Workforce Study, the pharmacy profession is female dominated, with women making up two-thirds of the workforce in 2019, compared to around 46% a decade prior.

“Our college population is in line with this study, with women comprising 68% of our faculty and staff and 62% of our student population,” Dean S. Suresh Madhavan said. “Our women colleagues are blazing a trail in this profession and in many other ways for our students, patients and community, and we are very proud of their many outstanding accomplishments and dedication.”

Women in the College of Pharmacy are leading the way in the pharmacy profession and industry to advance research, practice and innovation.

Here are some examples:

Donna Coyle, Director of Research, was awarded the college’s inaugural 2020 Outstanding Service Award, recognizing her contributions to the college’s success in extramural funding. Mrs. Coyle offers tremendous support to faculty and staff in advancing research projects and has elevated the awareness of the college’s research accomplishments through the Research Seminar Series.

When Xiaowei Dong, PhD, discovered a novel nanotechnology, which may be the answer to a long-awaited solution to drug delivery issues related to water-insoluble compounds being investigated as oral drugs. Dr. Dong, Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, was awarded the Maximizing Investigators’ Resource Award (MIRA-R35) from the National Institutes of General Medical Sciences at the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Caitlin Gibson, Associate Professor and Vice Chair of Pharmacotherapy, is blazing a trail as a cardiology pharmacist and was recently appointed to a prestigious specialty post on the Board of Pharmacy Specialties (BPS) Cardiology Pharmacy Specialty Council.

Shante Hackworth, EdD, Senior Academic and Business Director, was selected as a 2020 Valubility of the Year recipient, recognized as a compassionate mentor and collaborator who inspires others to be good stewards of resources and to respect and serve others first.

Infectious diseases pharmacist, Dr. Crystal Howell, Assistant Professor of Pharmacotherapy, is working on the hospital frontlines, analyzing the best medications to save lives and educating us about COVID-19 vaccines. Dr. Howell was awarded the college’s inaugural 2020 Outstanding Teaching Award.

Dr. Jin Liu, Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, is researching ways to make the gene-editing device, CRISPR-CAS9, safer and more precise. This cutting-edge technology has the potential to one day cure many diseases, such as lymphoma, HIV and sickle cell disease.

The future of pharmacy relies on the ability of pharmacists to lead and to innovate. Dr. Annesha White, Associate Dean and Associate Professor of Pharmacotherapy, is inspiring pharmacy students to think critically about pressing healthcare problems and find innovative solutions.

A large number of veterans and military members experience eye trauma and potential vision loss due to service-related injuries. With the support of a research grant from the Department of Defense, researcher and Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dr. Hongli Wu, is on the cusp of developing a delivery agent to protect those ailments.

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