Precision Health and PGx Podcast

Amina Abubakar, PharmD | PGX for Pharmacists

Amina Abubakar, PharmD, AAHIVP CEO of Avant Pharmacy & Wellness Center President of Avant Institute Amina Abubakar graduated from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy University of the Sciences in 2005. She is the owner and manager of Avant Pharmacy & Wellness Center formerly known as Rx Clinic Pharmacy in Charlotte, NC, and the founder of the Avant Institute. She is an internationally recognized award-winning clinical pharmacist, Certified HIV Specialty Pharmacist, a preceptor to UNC Chapel Hill residents and students from several schools of pharmacy. Recently, Amina was bestowed the honor by the National Community Pharmacists Association as 2020’s Independent Pharmacist of the Year and also received the 2020 Bowl of Hygeia from the North Carolina Association of Pharmacists for outstanding service to the community. She has fostered an environment that showcases the impact of community pharmacists on patient care by collaborating with medical providers and expanding pharmacist-led clinical services in her community. Her desire to help others advance the pharmacy profession inspired her to found the Avant Institute to offer training to pharmacies across the country on the practical application of clinical pharmacy services through developing sustainable physician collaborations. [Advocacy] Currently, she shares her passion for pharmacy advancements with pharmacists, patients and policy makers all over the country through Pharmacogenomics. She was invited to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and to the FDA to discuss the role of pharmacists in pharmacogenomics. This episode is sponsored by the Ultiguard Safe Pack. UltiGuard Safe Pack is the only pen needle product that comes with an all-in-one sharps container. Learn more about why UltiGuard Safe Pack is the best choice for your patients and your pharmacy.,  Learn more about the UltiGuard Safe Pack:  https://www.ulticare.com/ultiguard-safe-pack/podcast 

Nancy Gadelsayed | PGX for Pharmacists

Our special guest & newest host of the PGX for Pharmacists Podcast, Nancy Gadelsayed BS, RPh. Nancy Graduated pharmacy school from Cairo university in 2005, top %10 of her class, with 3.9 GPA She has been practicing as a pharmacist in the States since 2007, with passion for personalized medicine. She is currently a pharmacy manager at a big retail company and is also the founder and owner of Texas Pharmacogenomics Consulting LLC. And is a big advocate for pharmacists and their value in the healthcare team. She has extensive experience in retail pharmacy management and inclusive leadership . Developed and trained teams and brought on board, she leads with passion. She mentors new pharmacists/practitioners and enjoys precepting pharmacy students. Nancy found her true calling in PGx, so she founded her PGx consulting company, Texas Pharmacogenomics Consulting LLC. She believes in giving back to her community, so she volunteers at a local non-profit organization for mental health services, she develops educational materials on mental health drugs for their staff to use in their daily work routine while they are serving patients. She also helps them develop tools and procedures to assist in patients' adherence and decrease their costs of services. texaspgx.com

The Patient Advocate for PGx | PGX for Pharmacists

According to the American Association for Cancer Research, 80-90% of the administered dose of the cancer medication 5-fluorouracil of 5FU is degraded by the enzyme dihydropyridine dehydrogenase or DPD for short. (https://clincancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/5/8/2006). According to the Institute of Safe Medication Practices (www.ismp.org/resources/screening-dihydropyrimidine-dehydrogenase-dpd-deficiency-fluorouracil-patients-why-not) the incidence of DPD deficiency is low like 1-7% of the population but the consequences can be unfortunately fatal for those few.  Christina Delsoldato, wife and mom of 3 beautiful children has spent most of her life laughing and loving as much as she can. Christina has built a successful professional career in hospitality, customer service and sales. Christina has faced many obstacles and traumatic events during her life. Christina took her mother’s quickly declining health into her own hands. Despite having no clinical and medical background, she spent countless nights reading, learning and researching to find answers. These efforts and findings are what allowed her beloved mother to come home to spend her last days on earth surrounded with the love and support of her closest family. Since her mother’s diagnosis with Pancreatic Cancer and 5FU toxicity, Christina has become determined to help guide others to self-educate, research and ask questions about potential life-threatening side effects that could indeed be prevented and/or reversed. Tragically, only three months after her mom passed away, her father died suddenly. Christina is on a mission to empathize and advocate not just for her family, but for anyone in need. 

Changing Your Life as a Pharmacist | Dr. Jamie Wilkey | PGX for Pharmacists

Jamie grew up in a small town in Wyoming where she got her start in pharmacy working at the local City Drug. She attended the University of Wyoming School of Pharmacy for her Doctor of Pharmacy. For 10 years post-graduation Jamie worked in community pharmacy while having and raising her 4 little boys. However, a young family and community pharmacy work schedules are not highly compatible, so in 2020 Jamie created her own job for herself that better suits her talents, her passions, and her family’s busy schedule. She abruptly jumped out of retail and into the world of entrepreneurship and has found her true calling in life. She is the founder & CEO of Arches Health, LLC, and serves there as a precision medicine consultant pharmacist focusing on pharmacogenomics. After getting her practice up and running she turned around and began promoting and empowering pharmacists to champion PGx and create their own consulting practices through her PGx Consulting Confidence Academy. Dr. Wilkey is a member of CPIC as well as the nonprofit organization GTMR. 

Expanding PGx Education Programs | PGX for Pharmacists

Implementing Pharmacogenomics into the Education of the PharmD  How do interested faculty start a program for PGx education at their own school? Today’s episode builds on the experiences of David Hurley in developing a PGx program at the Gatton College of Pharmacy. His training provides ALL first year students with free PGx testing coordinated with Biochemistry coursework. As we will discuss, making a workable program starts with discovering what PGx resources are available at your institution. Careful understanding of faculty and student abilities and needs are the foundation for making PGx education successful. Our guest today, Dr. David Hurley, has democratized Pharmacogenomics education for his first year PharmD students. As a Biochemistry professor at the Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy at East Tennessee State University, Dave immerses pharmacy students with PGx training and free testing in their first semester of the curriculum. In two previous episodes, we’ve discussed how he accomplished this task and his surveys of student attitudes and interest. Today’s episode will provide some of the lessons Dave learned about how to implement PGx education that might be useful for those of you who are starting your own program. David L Hurley, PhD Professor, Dept of Pharmaceutical Sciences Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy  20 Best Genomics Podcasts of 2021  https://welpmagazine.com/20-best-genomics-podcasts-of-2021/  Thank you RxSafe for sponsoring this episode 

Better Utilization of the Pharmacist’s Expertise | PGX for Pharmacists

How can we leverage pharmacists to help patients transition better and also allow the providers use the expertise of pharmacists? According to the peer review journal JAMA (Journal of American Medical Association), to improve care when patients transition from a facility such as a hospital to their home, Medicare started reimbursing for what is called the Transition of Care in 2013. It still has a low adoption because the reimbursement is not as high and also takes resources such as staffing.  Link to article mentioned: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2719292  Dr. Chinki Bhatia completed her Master of Pharmacy from University of Sydney with a specialization in in-vitro fertilization. She was then awarded a scholarship from the University of Florida to complete her Ph.D. in Neuroscience. She acquired her Ph.D. while working on multiple projects and writing her dissertation on the role of cannabinoids in short-term memory. After seeing a need for personalized medicine, Dr. Bhatia added a pharmacogenomics certification to her educational resume in 2020. She Co-Founded her company Core Care Rx where she provides pharmacogenomics consultations, value based care services such as chronic care management along with Ayurvedic wellness consultations. She also serves as a preceptor to pharmacy students in Pharmacogenomics.  Dipal Soni, PharmD, BCACP attended Ernest Mario School Of Pharmacy, Rutgers University and graduated with highest distinction. She pursued one year of pharmacy practice residency at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in NJ. During this time she worked alongside physicians in ambulatory clinics where she managed complex medications. Dr.Soni is a board certified ambulatory care pharmacist with major focus on transitions of care and counseling patents. Dr. Soni provided evidence driven recommendations and optimized pharmacotherapy. She was also a speaker in various support groups at the community hospital. Thanks to Rx Safe for sponsoring this episode!

PGX in Mental Health | PGx for Pharmacists

Dr. Jessica Whelan has extensive experience in the mental health field and has served as a speaker and advisory board member in many areas including psychopharmacology and pharmacogenomics.
Dr. Whelan is the CEO of a national network of clinicians with Holon Inclusive Health System and adjunct faculty at Maryville University. She supports multiple universities to provide clinical mentorship for medical and nurse practitioner students. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes Jewish College in St. Louis. She received her Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Missouri Columbia and her Doctorate in Nursing Practice at the University of Missouri St. Louis. 
She is brilliant in how her mind works around PGx and routinely uses personalized medicine to evaluate complex patients who have exhausted all other options of treatment. She is definitely one of the most PGx experts of all time. She had me at COMT gene! 
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Improving Market Access and Reimbursement for PGX Diagnostics | PGX for Pharmacists

ALVA10: the Power of Diagnostics 
Have you ever questioned why a payer pays for a medication, yet does not pay for the diagnostic test to determine if the medication will be efficacious and non-toxic for the patient?
Or perhaps, you may have wondered why payers agree to pay for a medication for which no diagnostic test exists to diagnose the condition the medication treats? 
If these types of questions keep you awake at night like they do me, please join me for this podcast episode in which I and my esteemed colleagues, Hannah Mamuszka and Lena Chaihorsky of Alva10 discuss answers to these questions and the general state of the pharmacogenomics market access and reimbursement landscape. 
Lena Chaihorsky & Hannah Mamuszka join Dr. Becky Winslow to discuss diagnostic testing and the preventative savings for PGX testing for patients on multiple medications. 
Episode Based on LI article written by Hannah:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/bigger-problem-aduhelm-we-dont-know-who-has-disease-hannah-mamuszka/?trackingId=GIb%2BLnNCys35sG19%2Fo0NFw%3D%3D
ALVA10: 
https://alva10dx.com/ 
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Pharmacogenomics Leader Series: Howard McLeod | PGX for Pharmacists

Today's episode of the PGX for Pharmacists podcast is hosted by Dr. Becky Winslow, PharmD. Dr. Winslow is a pharmacogenomics authority with more than twenty years of clinical pharmacotherapy and pharmacy business operations experience, which includes seven years of direct patient facing care, seven years of pharmacy management experience and six years of experience as a medical science liaison in the pharmacogenomics field. 
Dr Howard McLeod is an internationally recognized expert in precision medicine, having made novel contributions at the discovery, translation, implementation, and policy levels.  He is the Medical Director for Precision Medicine at the Geriatric Oncology Consortium and a Professor at the University of South Florida Taneja College of Pharmacy.  Howard received a BSPharm from University of Washington and a PharmD from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy & Science. 
Dr. McLeod completed clinical pharmacology fellowship training at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital and then the Beatson Institute, University of Glasgow.  Dr McLeod has been a tenured full Professor since 2002 and involved in over $80,000,000 in peer reviewed funding. 
Dr McLeod chaired the NHGRI eMERGE network external scientific panel for the past decade and was a recent member of both the FDA committee on Clinical Pharmacology and the NIH Human Genome Advisory Council.  Dr McLeod has been recognized as a Fellow of both the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American College of Clinical Pharmacy and was recently ranked #1 USA/#2 World for Pharmacogenomics.  He has also been an active Board Member and/or Founder for over a dozen privately held and publicly traded companies. 
Howard has published over 580 peer reviewed papers on pharmacogenomics, applied therapeutics, or clinical pharmacology and continues to work to advance innovative healthcare.
This episode of the PGX for Pharmacist podcast is sponsored by Pharmazam: 
https://pharmazam.com/PPN 
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Geriatric Pharmacist - DeLon Canterbury, PharmD | PGx for Pharmacists

DeLon Canterbury is a Board Certified Geriatric Pharmacist.  He founded GeriatRx, a telehealth-based senior care consulting company.  GeriatRx combines Pharmacogenomic testing and Comprehensive Medication Management. He addresses the social determinants of health. He helps reduce medication errors and advocates for de-prescribing. Dr. DeLon helps improve patient safety and saves patients, their families, and the healthcare system money.  He manages patients across the state of North Carolina and demonstrates the value pharmacists add to healthcare delivery.   Dr. DeLon is an active Executive Board Member for the African-American Minority COVID Task Force in Durham, North Carolina, a Formulary Committee member of Senior PharmAssist at the Durham Senior Center for Life. He served as Community Health Coalition’s Telehealth Director, helping older African-American patients with wellness and reassurance check-ups during COVID.