A team of University of Florida College of Pharmacy student pharmacists took home first place honors in the 2023 LEAP at Lilly™ Business Competition. The national competition was held during the Student National Pharmaceutical Association, or SNPhA, and National Pharmaceutical Association, or NPhA, annual conference in July.
The first-place team, named Pharm.I.S.H., included Breanna Brown, Doreen Derac, Anthony Hightower and Samantha Tournesy, all from the Gainesville campus. They combined artificial intelligence and health care to leverage pharmacists to aid the advancement of effective diabetes management. Their joint effort and mentorship played a pivotal role in securing the well-deserved victory.
“I would like to thank all my mentors who motivated and coached me to do this competition. This experience has truly contributed to the trajectory of my pharmaceutical industry career, and I am excited for what is to come,” Tournesy said.
The Pharm-I.S.H. team’s victory wasn’t the sole success at the competition. Ruth Adeyemi, a second-year student from the Jacksonville campus, was a part of the S.E.E.K team that emerged as one of the top 5 finalists in the competition.
LEAP, which stands for “leverage, engage and advance pharmacists,” is a collaboration between SNPhA and the Eli Lilly and Company allows student pharmacists to integrate their clinical expertise, practical experience, and adept problem-solving abilities to tackle pharmaceutical business dilemmas.
Most notably, this competition helps drive Lilly’s commitment to enhancing diversity and inclusion.
“Competing has grown my communication & marketing skills. In addition, my research skills and ability to write a compelling business proposal grew,” Adeyemi said.
