University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy

University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy
Type Public
Established September 23, 1878
Dean Patricia Dowley Kroboth
Academic staff
 216
Undergraduates 421
Postgraduates 28
Location Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Campus Oakland (Main)

The University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy is the graduate pharmacy school of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1878, it offers Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees, as well as a residency training program. The school is one of the university's six schools of the health sciences and is ranked in the top 10 of pharmacy schools according to U.S. News & World Report.[1]

History

1906 School of Pharmacy directory cover for the Western University of Pennsylvania, which was renamed the University of Pittsburgh in 1908

The University of Pittsburgh's School of Pharmacy was chartered on September 23, 1878, and is the oldest of the University of Pittsburgh's schools of the health sciences.[2] Originally an independent college named the The Pittsburgh College of Pharmacy, on April 16, 1896, the college became affiliated with, and a department of, the Western University of Pennsylvania, the name of the University of Pittsburgh until 1908. In 1908, The Pittsburgh College of Pharmacy purchased and merged the Scio College of Pharmacy, formerly located in Scio, Ohio, and adopted its alumni.[3] Over the years The Pittsburgh College of Pharmacy grew increasingly closer to the university, and on January 26, 1948, the two formally merged, transforming the pharmacy college into the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy.[4]

Today the School of Pharmacy is located on the Oakland campus of the University of Pittsburgh and is primarily situated in Salk Hall, which is same building where Jonas Salk developed the first vaccine against polio.[5]

Academics and research

A street level view of Salk Hall, the primary location of the School of Pharmacy. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania historical plaque honoring Jonas Salk's research conducted in the building that resulted in the first polio vaccine can be seen at the bottom right

The primary educational tracks at the School of Pharmacy are its four year PharmD program and its graduate programs.[6] Central aspects of Pitt's School of Pharmacy include its emphasis on the integration of science and practice throughout the course of study, emphasis on team building through collaborative learning, a service learning program, and its innovative methods of instruction delivery.[7] The School of Pharmacy also provides a relatively unique Clinical Pharmaceutical Scientist Program that educates scientists to conduct translational and patient-oriented research[8] and the GEAR-UP program to educate students about pharmaceutical research.[9]

The School of Pharmacy also offers a residency program for pharmacy and specialized in conjunction with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), the UPMC Health Plan, CVS Caremark, and Rite Aid.[10]

The School of Pharmacy research endeavors range from molecular genetics to human clinical research and patient-care outcomes. The school is a major center for pharmaceutical research as evidenced by its consist ranking among the top schools of pharmacy in research funding received from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).[11]

Research centers within the School of Pharmacy include the Center for Pharmacogenetics, the Center for Education and Drug Abuse Research (CEDAR), and the Center for Pharmacoinformatics and Outcomes Research.[12] The School also houses the Cell Imaging Core of the Center for Reproductive Science, a Neuroendocrinology Research Consortium, as well as considerable chemistry expertise in the Drug Discovery Institute of the University. Through its collaboration with UPMC, School of Pharmacy faculty members also lead the combined Pittsburgh Poison and Drug Information Center.

Organization and facilities

The School of Pharmacy is composed of three units: the Office of the Dean, the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and the Department of Pharmacy and Therapeutics. Instruction for the professional and graduate courses in the School of Pharmacy occurs mainly in Salk Hall, in shared classrooms and in a dedicated teaching laboratory. Research laboratories are located on the fifth through eighth floors and the tenth floor of Salk Hall. The ninth and eleventh floors house faculty and administrative offices exclusively. Faculty members also have laboratory facilities in the Biomedical Science Tower 3 as part of the Drug Discovery Institute. Some faculty members have offices in Scaife Hall, Lothrop Hall, and Falk Clinic as well as in UPMC hospitals, the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, and VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System hospitals, in proximity to their patient care practices. Off-site faculty and staff offices are also located in the Birmingham Towers on the South Side.

Along with the five other schools of the health sciences, the School of Pharmacy is adjacent to and affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, which provides care through the Pennsylvania's largest network of tertiary, specialty, and community hospitals. Collectively, these facilities provide a comprehensive center for teaching, patient care, and research in the health sciences.

Museum

The School also operates the Elmer H. Grimm Sr. Pharmacy Museum, which opened in the fall of 1996. Located on the fourth floor of Salk Hall, the museum holds pharmacy memorabilia such as drug products, equipment, and sundry products dating back to the early 20th century. Among the museums possessions are two hand-carved finials, which were often found over the door or partitions that separated the main art of the pharmacy from the back room where pharmacists did most of their work, an old-fashioned powder mill, and a konseal machine.[13][14]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Rankings: Pharmacy". U.S. News & World Report. 2016. Retrieved 2016-11-23.
  2. ↑ School of Pharmacy - About the School, accessdate=2009-02-11
  3. ↑ Reif, Edward C.; Reif, Thelma C. (1959). "Affiliation with Western University of Pennsylvania". A Contribution to Western Pennsylvania Pharmacy: a History of the Pittsburgh College of Pharmacy, 1878-1958. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 59-12565. Retrieved 2010-10-11.
  4. ↑ Reif, Edward C.; Reif, Thelma C. (1959). "Integration with the Health Professions". A Contribution to Western Pennsylvania Pharmacy: a History of the Pittsburgh College of Pharmacy, 1878-1958. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 59-12565. Retrieved 2010-10-11.
  5. ↑ Alberts, Robert C. (1986). Pitt: The Story of the University of Pittsburgh 1787–1987. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press. p. 211. ISBN 0-8229-1150-7.
  6. ↑ School of Pharmacy- Admissions, accessdate=2009-02-11
  7. ↑ Drab, Scott; Lamsam, Grace; Connor, Sharon; DeYoung, Michael; Steinmetz, Karen; Herbert, Mary (2004-05-27). "Incorporation of Service-Learning Across Four Years of the PharmD Curriculum" (PDF). American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education. Alexandria, VA: American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. 68 (2). 44. ISSN 0002-9459. Retrieved 2010-10-12.
  8. ↑ University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy: PhD Program: Clinical Pharmaceutical Scientist Program, accessdate=2009-02-11
  9. ↑ Poloyac, Samuel M.; Rohan, Lisa C.; Janjic, Jelena M.; Gibbs, Robert B.; Kroboth, Patricia D.; Smith, Randall B. (2005-12-09). "Graduate Education and Research at the University of Pittsburgh (GEAR-UP): A Program to Educate Students about Pharmaceutical Research" (PDF). American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education. Alexandria, VA: American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. 69 (5). 91. ISSN 0002-9459. Retrieved 2010-10-12.
  10. ↑ "School of Pharmacy Residency Program". University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved 2010-10-12.
  11. ↑ "NIH Rankings". American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. Retrieved 2010-10-11.
  12. ↑ School of Pharmacy- Programs and Centers, accessdate=09-02-2009
  13. ↑ Places to Go and Things to See at the University of Pittsburgh (PDF), Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh, retrieved 2010-10-11
  14. ↑ "From Finials to Pestles: Pharmacy Museum Depicts More Than 100 Years of Change". Pitt Campaign Chronicle. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh. 2002-01-28. Retrieved 2010-10-11.

Coordinates: 40°26′33″N 79°57′48″W / 40.44261°N 79.96324°W / 40.44261; -79.96324

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