UB Pharmacy celebrates achievements and leadership at APhA Annual Meeting

Sean Kawa, PharmD’ 27, was elected National President-elect of the American Pharmacists Association Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP) for 2025-26. In this national role, Kawa will represent, inform, empower and advocate for student members of APhA-ASP. He will collaborate with newly elected officers to assess and amend the organization’s structures, ensuring resources are effectively allocated for student pharmacist development. His responsibilities also include outreach visits to gather perspectives from student pharmacists across the country. Additionally, Kawa will spend the summer in Washington for an internship, gaining insight into the logistical operations of APhA and other professional organizations.

“My hope is to utilize the reach of this role and its accompanying resources to constructively influence student pharmacists across the country,” says Kawa. “There is no doubt that we find ourselves in a particularly tumultuous time in this profession. To provide meaningful direction that creates commitment to this field and to create opportunities for students to expand their community impact would be an experience fulfilled.” 

Kawa previously served as regional delegate for APhA-ASP Region 1, is currently the policy vice president of the SPPS chapter of APhA-ASP and serves as president of the UB PharmD Class of 2027.

Erin Slazak, PharmD, director of Postgraduate Education and clinical associate professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice, presented a research poster titled, “Impact of a pharmacist-driven continuous glucose monitoring in ambulatory care pharmacy practice.”

SPPS resident Elaine Zhang, PharmD, PGY1 Community-Based Resident, UB SPPS/Middleport Family Health, and SPPS fellow En-ling (Ann) Chen, PharmD, MPH, Clinical Pharmacy Fellow in Public Health, presented their research poster titled, “Addressing Vaccine Confidence and Uptake in Urban New York Community Pharmacies Among Socially Vulnerable Patients: A Mixed-Methods Approach.” Yuehan Zhao, PharmD, SPPS Pharmacoinformatics fellow, also presented a research poster on his work.

David Jacobs, PharmD, PhD, associate professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice, accepted the 2025 APhA Best Clinical Paper of the Year award on behalf of the UB research team. The paper, titled “Clinical and economic effectiveness of a pharmacy and primary care collaborative transition of care program,” was authored by a multidisciplinary team of UB medicine, public health and pharmacy researchers. The team within the Department of Pharmacy Practice included Jacobs, Slazak, Christopher Daly, PharmD, MBA, clinical associate professor, Collin Clark, PharmD, clinical assistant professor, and William Prescott, PharmD, department chair and clinical professor. For more information on the paper, read about UB researchers’ paper on transitions of care wins national award.