UMSOP Faculty and Programs Honored at AACP Annual Meeting
Celebrating big wins at AACP 2025, from top research awards to national leadership roles.
By Pam Carder
July 31, 2025
Pictured: Andrew Coop, PhD; Daniel Deredge, PhD; Steven Fletcher, PhD; Cherokee Layson-Wolf, PharmD ’00, BCACP, FAPhA; Lisa Lebovitz, JD, MS; Sarah Michel, PhD; Jill Morgan, PharmD, BCPS, BCPPS, FNAP; C. Daniel Mullins, PhD; Kristine Parbuoni, PharmD ’05, BCPPS; James Polli, PhD; Charmaine Rochester-Eyeguokan, PharmD, CDCES, BCACP; Shannon Tucker, PhD, MS
The University of Maryland School of Pharmacy (UMSOP) earned multiple prestigious honors and appointments at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), held July 19–22 in Chicago.
Among the top accolades, C. Daniel Mullins, PhD, professor of practice, sciences, and health outcomes research (P-SHOR) and executive director of the PATIENTS Program at UMSOP, received the Paul R. Dawson Award for Excellence in Patient Care Research, one of AACP’s most esteemed individual honors.
Mullins has long been a national leader in patient-centered research, with a career dedicated to advancing patient and public health through community-engaged science. As executive director of the PATIENTS Program at UMSOP, he has guided groundbreaking work that prioritizes the voices of patients—especially from underserved communities—in clinical research. His efforts have been supported by major federal agencies—including AHRQ, FDA, NCI, NHLBI, NIA, and PCORI—as well as private foundations and industry partners. Mullins also directs the Community and Collaboration Core for the UMB Institute for Clinical and Translational Research.
“This award affirms our mission to conduct research that makes a real-world impact on patient care by bringing patients’ voices into the research design process,” said Mullins. “I’m proud to be part of a team that is shaping the future of pharmacy and health services.”
Other faculty members were honored for their contributions and service:
- Andrew Coop, PhD, associate dean for students and professor of pharmaceutical sciences (PSC); Cherokee Layson-Wolf, PharmD ’00, BCACP, FAPhA, professor of P-SHOR; and Shannon Tucker, PhD, MS, assistant dean for instructional design and technology, received the Best Poster Award from AACP’s Administrative Services Section.
- Andrew Coop, PhD, was named vice chair of AACP’s Research and Graduate Affairs Committee.
- Daniel Deredge, PhD, assistant professor of PSC, and Jill Morgan, PharmD, BCPS, BCPPS, FNAP, professor and chair of P-SHOR, were voted UMSOP’s AACP Teachers of the Year.
- Steven Fletcher, PhD, professor of PSC and program director of the MS in PSC program, was selected as the School’s alternate delegate to AACP’s House of Delegates.
- Sarah L.J. Michel, PhD, was named vice chair of the AACP Council of Deans Programming Committee.
- Kristine Parbuoni, PharmD ’05, BCPPS, assistant dean for PharmD student life and student success and associate professor of P-SHOR, will serve as the School’s delegate to the House of Delegates.
- Charmaine Rochester-Eyeguokan, PharmD, CDCES, BCACP, professor of P-SHOR, was accepted to the prestigious Academic Leadership Fellows Program.
Lisa Lebovitz, JD, MS, assistant dean for academic affairs and assessment, received three major awards recognizing her contributions to pharmacy education and assessment. She was named co-recipient of the AACP Rufus A. Lyman Award, which honors the best paper published in the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education in the past year; the Collaborative Research Publication Award from AACP’s Assessment Special Interest Group; and the Innovations in Administrative Practice Award from the Administrative Services Section.
The Lyman Award–winning paper focused on pharmacy faculty members’ perceptions of workload across the pharmacy academy. The study surveyed faculty on how assignments are made by leadership for teaching, research, service, and administrative responsibilities, whether these distributions are thought to be fair and equitable among their colleagues, and if there is alignment between their assigned and actual workloads. The findings shed light on causes of potential imbalances in academic roles and offer a foundation for leadership and faculty to strive for workload equity through transparency, clarity, context, norms, credit, and accountability.
Lebovitz’s second recognized project, honored with the Assessment SIG’s Collaborative Research Publication Award, analyzed first-position placements among Doctor of Pharmacy graduates from Big Ten schools of pharmacy between 2018 and 2022. The study reported patterns in job search experiences, fellowship placements, residency match rates, salary trends, and satisfaction levels—providing key insights into how pharmacy graduates are navigating a shifting employment landscape.
Her third award, the Innovations in Administrative Practice Award, recognized a collaborative project piloting a staff survey on workload and well-being at the University of Maryland and Rutgers schools of pharmacy. Developed in alignment with ACPE Standards 2025, the survey examined how staff workload is allocated across institutional missions and assessed perceptions of stress, leadership, and belonging. The results may inform institutional strategies to enhance workplace culture across academic pharmacy.
“It’s an incredible honor to be recognized by my peers across so many dimensions,” said Lebovitz. “These awards reflect the strong collaborative relationships I’ve built with assessment leaders at colleges and schools of pharmacy nationwide through AACP and in the Big Ten Pharmacy Assessment Collaborative.”
The School’s Master of Science in Regulatory Science program was also recognized, receiving the 2025 Program Achievement Award from AACP’s Graduate Education Special Interest Group. The program—one of the few fully online regulatory science master’s degrees in the nation—equips scientists and professionals with the knowledge and skills to navigate the complex regulatory environment governing medical products. Since its launch, the program has become a national model for graduate education in regulatory science, with more than 300 graduates advancing careers in government, industry, and academia.
“This award is a reflection of our commitment to training the next generation of regulatory science leaders,” said James Polli, PhD, Ralph F. Shangraw/Noxell Endowed Chair in Industrial Pharmacy and Pharmaceutics and professor of PSC, who directs the program. “We’ve designed the MS in Regulatory Science to be rigorous, flexible, and deeply connected to real-world challenges in drug development and public health.”
Reflecting on the School’s strong presence at this year’s meeting, Michel added: “What we have seen at AACP 2025 is a testament to the incredible talent and dedication of our faculty and staff. Their passion for innovation, education, and service continues to elevate UMSOP on the national stage—and it inspires our entire community to keep pushing boundaries.”
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