Dean Julie Johnson named 2019 ACCP Parker Medalist

Dean Julie Johnson
Dean Julie Johnson

Julie Johnson, Pharm.D., has received one of the pharmacy profession’s most prestigious awards — the Paul F. Parker Medal from the American College of Clinical Pharmacy. Johnson, dean and distinguished professor in the University of Florida College of Pharmacy, was presented the Parker Medal at the American College of Clinical Pharmacy, or ACCP, Annual Meeting in New York City on Oct. 27.

The Parker Medal Selection Committee selected Johnson based on her contributions furthering the professional role of pharmacists and her visionary leadership. The committee noted her efforts to develop guidelines for the implementation of pharmacogenomics and precision medicine; her role mentoring many trainees who have gone on to be leaders in their field; and her sustained service to professional pharmacy organizations.

“Dr. Johnson is widely recognized in pharmacy and medicine as a leader in pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine,” wrote Robert Talbert, Pharm.D., FCCP, BCPS, in his nomination letter. Talbert, the 2015 Parker Medalist and a professor emeritus in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Texas at Austin, noted Johnson’s election to the National Academy of Medicine in 2014 is further evidence of her distinction as one of only a handful of pharmacy-based scientists worthy of the honor.

Johnson’s research focuses on cardiovascular pharmacogenomics and genomic medicine implementation. She has authored more than 300 original research articles and been named a Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Scientist for consecutive years from 2015-18, indicating she is in the top 1 percent of the most highly cited scientists in her field. During her career, she has secured more than $45 million in research funding as a principal investigator and served in several leadership roles within the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration and multiple professional societies, including as a member of the ACCP Board of Regents and president of the American Society of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

In his letter of nomination, Robert Parker, Pharm.D., FCCP, a professor in the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy, stated that Johnson’s “collective work in cardiovascular drug pharmacogenomics has clearly established her as one of pharmacy’s (and medicine’s) leaders in this area.” Talbert added that she “established the scientific foundation for genetic variation and its impact on cardiovascular diseases impacting millions of people including hypertension, heart failure and acute coronary syndromes.”

Johnson joined ACCP in 1987 and was elected a fellow in 1996. She has served in more than a dozen committee and leadership positions within the organization, including an elected officer on the board of regents from 2000-03. She was a member at-large representative on the board of directors for ACCP’s journal, Pharmacotherapy, from 2004-13.

Paul Parker, the medal’s namesake, was one of clinical pharmacy’s most influential proponents. Before his death in 1998, he spent 24 years as director of pharmacy at the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center. His innovations include development of decentralized pharmacy services, which placed pharmacists in the hospital’s clinical areas, as well as development of the nation’s first pharmacist-staffed drug information center. The Parker Medal was established in 2002 and recognizes an individual who has made outstanding and sustained contributions to the profession that improve patient or service outcomes, create innovative practices, affect populations of patients, further the professional role of pharmacists or expand the recognition of pharmacists as health professionals.

ACCP honors two UF pharmacy alumni with national awards

University of Florida College of Pharmacy graduates John E. Murphy, ’76 and ’79, B.S.Pharm., Pharm.D., FCCP, FASHP, and Jason Karnes, ’08, and ’12, Pharm.D., Ph.D., BCPS, FAHA, were honored with national awards at the American College of Clinical Pharmacy Annual Meeting in New York City.

John Murphy
John E. Murphy, ’76 and ’79

The American College of Clinical Pharmacy, or ACCP, presented Murphy with the Robert M. Elenbaas Service Award. Elenbaas served as ACCP’s founding executive director from 1986 through 2003, and the award is given to a noteworthy candidate who has made outstanding contributions to ACCP. Murphy joined ACCP in 1980 and has fulfilled numerous roles and made many significant contributions to strengthen the organization. He served as ACCP president in 2008-09 and provided leadership on multiple committees. In addition, he helped establish a national student pharmacist competition and has served as co-editor of the Pharmacotherapy Self-Assessment Program for more than 10 therapeutic areas.

Jason Karnes, ’08, and ’12
Jason Karnes, ’08, and ’12

Karnes received the ACCP New Investigator Award, which recognizes a member who has made a significant impact on an aspect of clinical pharmaceutical sciences. Karnes’ primary research interest is cardiovascular pharmacogenomics, specifically investigating the utility of genetic polymorphisms to predict cardiovascular drug toxicity. He has published more than 30 papers in peer-reviewed literature, including first-author publications in high-impact journals such as Pharmacotherapy, Science Translational Medicine and Pharmacogenomics. In 2017, he was honored with an Outstanding Young Alumni Award by the UF Alumni Association.

Murphy and Karnes are colleagues in the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy, where Murphy serves as a professor emeritus and Karnes is an assistant professor in the department of pharmacy science and practice.

Jennifer Rodriguez finishes in top 3 of ACCP student poster competition

Jennifer Rodriguez
Lindsey Childs-Kean, Pharm.D., with Jennifer Rodriguez

Jennifer Rodriguez, a third-year University of Florida College of Pharmacy student from the Gainesville campus, placed in the top 3 of the student poster competition at the American College of Clinical Pharmacy Annual Meeting in New York City. As a national student finalist, Rodriguez was invited to give a platform presentation on her research findings. Her poster titled “Impact of Supplementary Material on Student Perception of Knowledge” examined how supplemental materials provided by faculty influenced a student’s perceived performance on a quiz. Lindsey Childs-Kean, Pharm.D., M.P.H., BCPS, a clinical assistant professor of pharmacotherapy and translational research, Stacy Voils, Pharm.D., M.S., BCPS, FCCM and FCCP, a clinical associate professor of pharmacotherapy and translational research, and Aaron Thomas, Ph.D., the assessment and learning analytics specialist, served as Rodriguez’s mentors for the research.