One of the top 10 recipients nationwide, out of 85 total recipients, to receive the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) Excellence in Public Health Pharmacy Award, Aleena Thomas will receive her Pharm.D. and a Master of Public Health from UConn in May. With her passion for helping underserved populations continuing in a post-graduate community-based residency track at Tufts next year, Aleena reflects on the last seven years she’s spent as a Husky.

Serving Eastern Connecticut as part of the Connecticut Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Network, the Health Education Center has strengthened the health profession pipeline and provided healthcare access to community members in the Windham, New London, and Tolland counties for more than 30 years. Partnering with UConn Pharmacy, HEC Interprofessional Education (IPE) Health Clinics engage students in their professional years, offering hands-on experience in community health through volunteer opportunities.

When Marie Smith (Pharm.D.) isn’t at UConn fulfilling her professor and assistant dean roles, she can be found on a Connecticut legislative workgroup or committee. Advocating for initiatives to improve patient care across the state, Smith is changing health policy to better reflect the needs of her colleagues, neighbors, and students. As a relentless changemaker, Smith’s success is a testament to her ability to transform innovative ideas into meaningful impact.

Two graduate students from UConn Pharmacy, Leila Sharifi and Saeed Najafian, attended the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Annual Meeting in November, where they each received an award. Najafian earned the First Place Academic Award, while Sharifi was honored with the Pharmaceutical Discovery, Development, and Manufacturing (PD2M) Award.

Joining UConn in 2007 as a faculty member, Professor of Pharmaceutics, Bodhisattwa Chaudhuri (Ph.D.), was inducted as a Fellow of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Sciences (AAPS) at its 2025 PharmSci 360 meeting on November 9th. A testament to his sustained impact in the pharmaceutical sciences, Chaudhuri was one of only eight fellows selected worldwide.

In his final year at the School, Lahar Miriyapalli put his pharmaceutical knowledge and application skills to the test at the National Pharmaceutical Association/Student National Pharmaceutical Association (NPhA/SNPhA) National Convention. Putting himself in the shoes of a medical science liaison and presenting to employees of AstraZeneca, Lahar presented one of their clinical trials professionally and passionately, earning him the first-place award in this skill competition.

An experienced and championed leader in oncology pharmacy, Osama (Sam) Abdelghany (Pharm.D.) was once a student working at a pizza place to afford his UConn education. Nicknamed the “pizza man,” Sam’s dedication to the pharmacy field for the past twenty years is a testament to his tenacity in pursuing his passion for pharmacy.

Kayla Barca, a fifth-year Pharm.D. student, has received the Gateway Award from the American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education (AFPE) for her research in opioid use disorder. With the support of her mentor, Gregory Sartor (Ph.D.), Kayla has excelled both in the classroom and laboratory, evidenced by this prestigious award.

Last weekend, the UConn School of Pharmacy gathered to celebrate its centennial year by making memories together, honoring the milestone in style, and looking to the future  

Christina Polomoff, Pharm.D. (‘14), associate clinical professor, is running for president-elect of the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists (ASCP). Supported by her UConn and pharmacy communities, she hopes to continue building ASCP as an innovative, inclusive home where every member thrives.