The goal of the FIT Program is to help clinical pharmacists obtain federal grants. In less than 12 months, the 18 mentees of the 2008 FIT Class have submitted more than 20 individual grants for funding. The Research Institute is pleased to report that two mentees have received federal funding.
Gary L. Cochran, Pharm.D., S.M., Assistant Professor, Pharmacy Practice, was awarded a K-08 award from AHRQ. Gary’s mentors on the K-08 grant are Keith Mueller, Ph.D. (Interim Dean, UNMC College of Public Health; Director, Rural Policy Research Institute [RUPRI] Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis), and Courtney Fletcher, Pharm.D. (Dean, UNMC College of Pharmacy). The title of the grant is “Comparing the Effectiveness of Medication Use Systems in Small Rural Hospitals.”
When contacted by the Research Institute, Gary stated he would specifically like to thank Mike Reed, Julie Wright, Gary Yee, and Courtney Fletcher for their encouragement, constructive criticism, and abundant patience with his proposal.
I would also like to thank Sandra (Benevides) and Kari (Olson) for their feedback throughout the program. Even though I am fortunate to have access to several senior investigators here on campus, I am quite confident that the application would not have been competitive without the knowledge I gained from participating in the FIT Program. I would also like to thank the ACCP RI for providing the opportunity to learn from some of the most successful faculty investigators in the country. I am deeply indebted to ACCP for my development as an investigator.
The second funded grant was awarded from the Institute for Integration of Medicine & Science/CTSA to Christopher R. Frei, Pharm.D., M.S., BCPS, Assistant Professor, University of Texas at Austin, College of Pharmacy, for his pilot proposal titled, “CA-MRSA: Genetics, Resistance, and Treatment in a South Texas Practice-Based Research Network.” Chris’s proposal ranked at the top of the 74 total submissions. Chris extends his thanks to FIT Mentor Gene Morse, who worked closely with him in the weeks leading up to the grant submission.
The Research Institute recognizes the host site, University of Utah College of Pharmacy, and Amgen for their partial support of the FIT Program. Please consider making a donation to the Frontiers Fund to support the FIT Program. Tax-deductible donations can be made online at www.accpri.org.