Dean, R. Ken Coit College of Pharmacy
Howard J. Schaeffer Endowed Chair in Pharmaceutical Sciences
Professor, Pharmacology & Toxicology
National Advisory Board Member

Rick G. Schnellmann, PhD, is dean endowed chair of the University of Arizona R. Ken Coit College of Pharmacy and holds the Howard J Schaeffer in Pharmaceutical Sciences Endowed Chair. A leading pharmacologist, researcher and drug discovery entrepreneur, he joined the UA in August 2016 from the Medical University of South Carolina.

Assistant Research Professor

Alumni Council Member

Al Scorsatto graduated in 1970 with a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy degree and was a member of the SAPHA, served as sergeant of arms for his senior class, was a 3 year member of the Traditions committee, and was Vice Regent and Regent of Kappa Psi. After graduation he moved back to California and began his career at the independent Upland Pharmacy. In 1973, he took a position at Gemmel Pharmacy Group as a staff pharmacist, and became a store manager three years later, finally being named Pharmacy Operations Manager.

National Advisory Board Member
Chairman, High Throughput Genomics
Co-Founder/CSO, BioSpyder Technologies Inc.

Bruce Seligmann is the co-founder and CSO of BioSpyder Technologies, Inc., and is conducting research in collaboration with the University of Arizona Cancer Center. He's also the co-founder, director, chief science officer and vice president of research at High Throughput Genomics based in Tucson.

Research Professional II

Degree: PhD Student
Program: Pharmaceutical Sciences
Track: Health and Pharmaceutical Outcomes
Year Enrolled: 2022

Chief, Section of GI Medical Oncology
Chair, Data Safety Monitoring Board,
Leader, GI Disease-Oriented Team
Associate Professor, Hematology/Oncology (College of Medicine)

Rachna T. Shroff, MD, MS is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology, Chief of the Section of GI Medical Oncology. Dr. Shroff has been a member of the ASCO Scientific Committee, Noncolorectal Track as well as the ASCO Gastrointestinal Guidelines Advisory Group. She participates in the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) GI Committee, and the NCI Hepatobiliary Taskforce being the national Principal Investigator on SWOG 1815.

Postdoctoral Research Associate

 

 

National Advisory Board Member
Professor Emeritus

Dr. I. Glenn Sipes is Professor Emeritus at the University of Arizona. While at Arizona, his research program focused on the biotransformation of xenobiotics and on chemical-induced liver and ovarian injury. He authored over 250 research publications and was a co-editor-in-chief of Comprehensive Toxicology (13 volumes). For 29 years he served as head of the Departments of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the UA College of Pharmacy and of Pharmacology in the UA College of Medicine.

Professor Emerita of Pharmacy Practice-Science

 

 

Director, Clinical Education

Associate Professor, Pharmacology and Toxicology
Track Director, Pharmacology & Toxicology Graduate Program
Member, BIO5 Institute

Dr. Smith's research is focused on epigenetic mechanisms of gene expression, particularly their regulation through signaling pathways and their modulation by anti-cancer drugs.

Assistant Dean, Finance and Administration

Nick joins the College of Pharmacy with over ten years of higher education financial experience in budgeting, management, and forecasting. He has extensive experience managing all types of funds from state tuition dollars to sponsored activities, as well as building connections across the University to further the mission of the College and the University.

Administration

Postdoctoral Research Associate I

Environmental Toxicology of Human Disease

Degree: PhD Candidate
Program: Pharmaceutical Sciences
Track: Drug Discovery and Development
Faculty Mentor: Georg T. Wondrak,PhD
Year Enrolled: 2021
Training Grant: T32 Pre-doctoral Trainee 

Owner, Desert Life Pharmacy
National Advisory Board Member

Brianne Spaeth, Pharm D, is the owner and Pharmacist-in-charge at Desert Life Pharmacy in SaddleBrooke, where she strives to promote a strong community focused patient care environment.

Instructor, Pharmacy Practice and Science
IPPE Coordinator, Experiential Education

Jenene Spencer is an instructor in the Pharmacy Practice and Science department as well as the IPPE (Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences) coordinator in the Experiential Education department. She prepares first-year students for IPPEs, precepts first-year students during the SOAR (Student and Older Adult Relationship) program at long-term/assisted-living care facilities, trains students for health screening outreach events and coordinates/manages rotation assignments for first-, second- and third-year students.

Program Director, Genetic Counseling Graduate Program
Clinical Instructor, Pharmacy Practice-Science Chris Stallman is a board-certified genetic counselor with experience in cardiovascular and prenatal genetics, teratogen exposures, pre-implantation genetic screening, and pharmacogenetic counseling. She joined MotherToBaby Arizona in 2015 as a Teratogen Information Specialist, and teaches teratology to medical students, residents and other health professionals. In 2018, Ms. Stallman was appointed as Program Coordinator for MotherToBaby Arizona. She also serves as clinical instructor and clinical coordinator for the University of Arizona Genetic Counseling Graduate Program.

Alumni Council Member

Daniel Staniec graduated from the University of Arizona in 1981 and worked in retail pharmacy for 6 years as a pharmacy manager and a nursing home consultant for Super X Pharmacy and Longs Pharmacy. After completing his MBA, he worked at Perform Cost Management Services (Express Scripts) for 3 years as the Director of Pharmacy Contracting. He then joined PCS/CVS Health/Caremark for 22 years, working in Executive Director level positions in sales, operations, new product development, contract negotiations, pharmacy networks, compliance, and Medicare Part D implementations.

National Advisory Board Member
President & CEO, NCPDP

Lee Ann Stember is President & CEO of NCPDP, a not-for-profit multi-stakeholder forum for developing healthcare business solutions, including ANSI-accredited standards for electronic exchange of healthcare information. As President & CEO for nearly four decades, she has led NCPDP to continued success in its transformative role in pharmacy services, creating and promoting adoption of consensus-based standards and best practices that improve patient safety and decrease costs.

Accountant, Senior

Research Technician II

Postdoctoral Research Associate I

Associate Professor, Pharmacology and Toxicology

Sun's research activities are directed toward discovering new agents that are more selective for cancer cells than normal cells with novel mechanisms of action, elucidating the mechanisms of action of novel natural products with antineoplastic activity, and understanding drug resistance mechanisms in human cancer cells to anticancer drugs.  His laboratory's research projects focus on three specific areas, as described below.

Researcher/Scientist III

My research has been focused on development of drug delivery systems using biopolymers, target-based drug delivery and chemical modification of active pharmaceutical ingredient. My M.Tech research involved formulation and in vitro evaluation of chitosan reinforced alginate microcapsule by using ionotropic/external gelation technique. Along with that I also developed nanosuspension containing glyburide, prepared by high pressure homogenization (Top-down Technique) to achieve a better solubility and dissolution profile.

Degree: PhD Student

Program: Pharmaceutics and Pharmacokinetics

Track: Pharmaceutics and Pharmacokinetics

Faculty Mentor: Abhijit Date 

Year Enrolled: 2023

President & COO, Critical Path Institute
National Advisory Board member

Program Coordinator, Rural Health Professions Program

 

 

Researcher Scientist III

 

 

Professor, Pharmacology and Toxicology
R. Ken and Donna Coit Endowed Chair in Drug Discovery

Greg Thatcher, PhD, joined the University of Arizona in 2020 from the University of Illinois College of Pharmacy. In his career, he has graduated over 50 students with PhD’s and a dozen with MSc’s and mentored 40 undergraduate researchers, the majority while on faculty in the Chemistry Department at Queen's University in Canada from 1988 until 2002. These trainees have proceeded to positions in biotech, pharma, business, education, and academia in the USA, Canada, Europe, India, and China.

Instructor, Pharmacy Practice & Science
Regional Coordinator, Experiential Education

Dr. Thoi is an instructor in the Pharmacy Practice and Science department as well as the regional coordinator in the Experiential Education department. She co-coordinates the Perspectives in Aging course and serves as the preceptor for students during the S.O.A.R. (Student and Older Adult Relationship) program at long-term/assisted-living care facilities.

Degree: PhD Student
Program: Pharmacology and Toxicology
Track: Pharmacology and Toxicology
Faculty Mentor: Rick Schnellmann, PhD
Year Enrolled: 2020