Gerald G. Briggs, Elias B. Chahine, E. Wesley Ely, Cyrine E. Haidar, and Gary C. Yee have been selected by the College’s Awards Committee to receive ACCP’s prestigious 2018 Russell R. Miller Award, Education Award, Therapeutic Frontiers Lecture Award, Clinical Practice Award, and Robert M. Elenbaas Service Award, respectively. The awards will be presented in Seattle, Washington, on Sunday morning, October 21, during the Awards and Recognition Ceremony of the College’s 2018 Global Conference on Clinical Pharmacy.

Russell R. Miller was the founding editor of the College’s journal Pharmacotherapy. The Russell R. Miller Award is presented in recognition of substantial contributions to the literature of clinical pharmacy, thereby advancing both clinical pharmacy practice and rational pharmacotherapy. Gerald G. Briggs, BPharm, FCCP, is president, Pharmacy Consultants, Inc. Before his retirement in 2015, Briggs served as pharmacist clinical specialist (obstetrics), perinatal support services in the outpatient clinics at the Memorial Care Center for Women, Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital, Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, in Long Beach, California. At the time of his nomination, Briggs had published 11 editions of Drugs in Pregnancy and Lactation: A Reference Guide to Fetal and Neonatal Risk, for all of which he served as lead editor. In addition, he had written 12 chapters in other textbooks, published 47 papers in peer-reviewed journals, and served as an investigator or co-investigator in numerous studies on the use of drugs in pregnancy and lactation. Dr. Rebecca Stone, clinical assistant professor at the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy, commented on Briggs’ important contributions to the literature in her letter of nomination:

Although Mr. Briggs has made significant contributions through peer-reviewed articles, innovations in clinical practice, and expansion of pharmacist training opportunities over the course of his career, it is his landmark textbook, Drugs in Pregnancy and Lactation: A Reference Guide to Fetal and Neonatal Risk, which elevates Mr. Briggs to a level that is deserving of the Russell R. Miller Award. His textbook was introduced in 1983, and is currently available in its 11th edition. This resource has been the final word regarding medication use in pregnancy and lactation for all health care professionals for over 30 years. Across the field of obstetrics and gynecology, doctors, nurses, midwives, and pharmacists all regularly reference and depend on “Briggs” as this book is almost universally referred to in clinical practice. I feel that it is difficult to stress this enough to individuals who do not practice in obstetrics and gynecology, “Briggs” is a pillar in maternal and fetal medicine clinical practice, and is the primary source for any drug related question regarding pregnancy and lactation.

Briggs serves on the editorial advisory board of the Annals of Pharmacotherapy and is a reviewer for several journals, including the American Journal of Medical Genetics, American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Birth Defects Research, Expert Opinion on Drug Safety, New England Journal of Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Pediatrics. He has previously received several other prestigious honors, including the ACCP Clinical Practice Award, the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Washington State University College of Pharmacy, and the Andre Boivin Visiting Professorship in Maternal/Fetal Toxicology from the Motherisk Program at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He received ACCP Fellow recognition in 2006.

The ACCP Education Award recognizes an ACCP member who has made substantial and outstanding contributions to clinical pharmacy education at either the professional or the postgraduate level. Elias B. Chahine, Pharm.D., FCCP, BCPS-AQ ID, is an associate professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice at Palm Beach Atlantic University, Gregory School of Pharmacy in West Palm Beach, Florida; and a clinical pharmacy specialist at Wellington Regional Medical Center in Wellington, Florida. Dr. Daniel Brown, professor and chair of the Department of Pharmacy Practice at Loma Linda University School of Pharmacy, wrote in his letter of support:

There are three distinctives that stand out to me. He is a true teaching scholar, he actively involves students in the scholarship of teaching and learning, and lastly, whether he is engaged in the work of clinical practice, organizational service, or scholarship, education remains his prime focus…. Elias is a teaching scholar. He has an unquenchable thirst to learn about the dynamics of learning and to grow in his teaching methodologies. He understands that education is a discipline unto itself, and he has shown a strong commitment to develop his expertise within the field of education…. Elias has an impressive record of scholarship in the area of teaching and learning. His educational scholarship encompasses both didactic teaching and experiential precepting. It is abundant and ongoing, with varied engagement in written publications, posters, and platform presentations. But the most striking characteristic of his scholarship is a consistent pattern of collaboration with students. Dr. Chahine cultivates a scholarly spirit in students and offers them opportunities to appreciate how one person can function as a change agent simply by adding to the body of knowledge and then sharing that meaningful information with colleagues…. All things considered, his performance as an educator reflects a distinct pattern. His approach to pharmacy is that of an educator – one who is passionate about guiding students to grow as pharmacy professionals. His approach to education is that of a scholar – one who is, himself, constantly learning and growing at his craft. And his approach to scholarship is that of mentor – one who nurtures a passion for pharmacy and advancing the profession of pharmacy, in his students.

At the time of his nomination, Chahine had published 34 papers in peer-reviewed journals, written or cowritten four book chapters, and presented extensively at professional and scientific meetings (including ACCP meetings). He has also served as chair of ACCP’s Infectious Diseases PRN and as a member or chair of numerous ACCP committees. He received the 2017 Residency Preceptor of the Year Award from the Florida Society of Health-System Pharmacists, was honored with the Clinical Practice Award from the ACCP Infectious Diseases PRN in 2015, and was elected as an ACCP Fellow in 2016.

The ACCP Therapeutic Frontiers Lecture Award recognizes an individual, including ACCP member and nonmember nominees, who has made outstanding contributions to pharmacotherapeutics in his or her field. Among the criteria for this award is the broad acknowledgment that the recipient is currently considered at the leading edge of research in the field. E. Wesley Ely, M.D., MPH, is the Grant W. Liddle Chair in Medicine and a subspecialist in pulmonary and critical care medicine who conducts patient-oriented, health services research as a professor of medicine in the Division of Allergy, Pulmonary, and Critical Care Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. He is also a practicing intensivist with a focus on geriatric ICU care as the associate director for research for the VA Tennessee Valley Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center. Ely’s research has focused on improving the care and outcomes of critically ill patients with ICU-acquired brain disease (manifested acutely as delirium and chronically as long-term cognitive impairment). Dr. Joanna Stollings, MICU clinical pharmacy specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, wrote in her letter of support:

Dr. Ely is an internationally known scientist whose research has and is actively advancing the field of pharmacotherapy. His research has focused on improving the care and outcomes of critically ill patients with sepsis and respiratory failure, with special emphasis on the problems facing older patients in the ICU, including facilitating weaning from mechanical ventilation, delirium and cognitive impairment in the ICU, and neuropsychological deficits following critical illness…. As a principal investigator, Dr. Ely designs and leads a team of interprofessional investigators in conducting both large cohort studies and randomized controlled clinical trials to enhance management of critically ill patients in the ICU and following critical illness…. He invented and validated the Confusion Assessment Method in the ICU (CAM-ICU). This is one of the two recommended assessment tools for delirium recommended by the Pain, Agitation, and Delirium Guidelines…. In addition to the research Dr. Ely has conducted in the ICU, he is also facilitating research on Post Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS). He was one of the masterminds behind the establishment of the ICU Recovery Center at Vanderbilt. This is one of the first clinics in the United States to focus on the treatment of complications following critical illness including physical impairment, cognitive impairment, and psychological dysfunction.

Ely’s work has continuously been federally funded (NIA and/or VA) for 15 years. He has published more than 350 peer-reviewed papers and over 50 book chapters and editorials. He serves as an associate editor for both Seminars in Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine and the American Journal of Geriatric Pharmacotherapy and is a contributing editor for the Linacre Quarterly. He is a reviewer for numerous prestigious journals, including the Annals of Internal Medicine, Archives of Internal Medicine, Critical Care Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association, Lancet, and New England Journal of Medicine. Ely has been elected as a fellow of the American College of Physicians–American Society of Internal Medicine, the American College of Chest Physicians, and the Society of Critical Care Medicine. He has received numerous national and international awards for his work, including the presidential citation for outstanding contributions to the Society of Critical Care Medicine, the Franz-Koehler European Inflammation Award for outstanding efforts in the field of delirium-research from the German Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, the Myer Rosenthal Honorary Lecturer Award in Critical Care from Stanford University, and the Henning Pontoppidan Visiting Professorship award from the Critical Care Center and Department of Anaesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)/Harvard Medical School. Ely will deliver his Therapeutic Frontiers Lecture, titled “A New Frontier in Critical Care: Saving the Injured Brain,” at 10:15 a.m. on Sunday, October 21, in Seattle.

The ACCP Clinical Practice Award is given to a College member who has made substantial and outstanding contributions to clinical pharmacy practice. The criteria considered in identifying potential candidates include exceptional leadership in developing innovative clinical pharmacy services and sustained excellence in providing them. Cyrine E. Haidar, Pharm.D., BCPS, BCOP, is clinical pharmacogenetics coordinator at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, and an assistant professor in the college of pharmacy at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. Haidar is internationally recognized for her innovative, pioneering work in pharmacogenetics practice. Dr. Mary Relling, chair of the St. Jude Pharmaceutical Department, highlighted Haidar’s many contributions to clinical pharmacogenetics practice in her letter of support:

In 2011, we implemented a program (PG4KDS) at St. Jude to implement high-throughput pharmacogenomic test results into routine patient care, to be available pre-emptively, regardless of patient primary diagnosis. This service was the first of its kind in the country. Dr. Haidar’s leadership in the service has been critical to its success and includes all aspects, including service design and implementation such as selecting and validating the genotyping platform, prioritizing drug/gene pairs for implementation, developing consults to interpret and document results, and developing clinical decision support and other informatics tools to manage and use the results at the point of care…. Her many publications regarding pharmacogenetics implementation have been highly sought after and cited by others. She runs our weekly multidisciplinary PG4KDS meeting, our quarterly Pharmacogenetics Oversight Committee meetings. Dr. Haidar’s role in this program has been crucial and she has shared her knowledge to many through collaborations with several teams within diverse health care systems through the Translational Pharmacogenetics Program of the Pharmacogenomics Research Network to set up pre-emptive clinical pharmacogenetics services. The sites included Mayo Clinic, Ohio State University, University of Florida, University of Maryland, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, University of Chicago and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Furthermore, she has been invited to speak about her work at St. Jude on many occasions at international/national meetings; several times I have received unprompted compliments by meeting organizers and clinical representatives of St. Jude affiliates, praising her work and her ability to explain complex concepts in a clinically relevant way.

Haidar received the ASHP Foundation Pharmacy Literature Award for Innovation ion Pharmacy Practice in both 2012 and 2015. At the time of her nomination, she had published 20 original articles and two book chapters and had presented practice-based research at major medical and pharmacy meetings worldwide. She serves as a peer reviewer for the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics, International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy, Journal of Oncology Pharmacy Practice, and Pediatrics.

Robert M. Elenbaas served as ACCP’s founding executive director from 1986 through 2003. During his 17-year tenure, he exemplified the characteristics of a servant-leader committed to the advancement of clinical pharmacy and ACCP. The Elenbaas Service Award is given only when a particularly noteworthy candidate is identified in recognition of outstanding contributions to the vitality of ACCP or to the advancement of its goals that are well above the usual devotion of time, energy, or material goods. Gary C. Yee, Pharm.D., FCCP, BCOP, is associate dean for academic affairs in the college of pharmacy at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. A past president of ACCP, Yee has actively been engaged in service to the College and the pharmacy profession throughout his career. Dr. Barbara Wells, also a past ACCP president and now dean emeritus at the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy, wrote in her letter of support:

I have worked closely with Dr. Yee over the last 25 years to edit the therapeutics text, Pharmacotherapy: A Pathophysiologic Approach. I have developed great respect and admiration for his commitment to improving the care of patients, enhancing learning of Doctor of Pharmacy students, and conducting cutting edge research to inform practitioners and enhance the quality of care. Throughout his career, selfless service to patients, fellow practitioners, students, residents, and fellows has been the quintessential feature of his professional activity. Although Dr. Yee has served many professional and scientific associations, the bulk of his service has been to ACCP. Beginning in 1986, he served on the Research Affairs Committee and subsequently served additional committees including Research Advisory, Fellowship Review, and Member Relations Committees and the Task Force on Managed Care. He has chaired the Research Affairs Committee, the Research Advisory Committee, the Task Force on Collaborative Research Opportunities, and Member Relations Committees. He has also served as a trustee of the Research Institute (RI) (three times). For several years he has served as a mentor of the FIT Program within the RI. In addition, he has served as a member of the Frontiers Fund Campaign Committee, as the first (launching) Director of the Research and Scholarship Academy Program, and as a member of the Board of Regents. He has chaired the Comprehensive Medication Management (CMM) Award Selection Panel, the Futures Grant Review Committee within the RI, and the Paul Parker Medal Selection Committee. Perhaps most importantly, he has served as President Elect, President, and Past President of ACCP…. Over the last 32 years, his service to ACCP has been selfless and stellar. He has been at the table leading key discussions and contributing to vital decisions that have moved the College forward. Both the FIT Program and the Practice-Based Research Program were launched during his time on the Board of Trustees of the RI. ACCP and the RI funded the $2.4 million CMM grant while he served on the Board of Regents and the Board of Trustees of the RI. We are now beginning to see the broad and lasting impacts of these key decisions.

Dr. LeAnn Norris, clinical associate professor at the University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy, added the following in her letter of nomination, on behalf of the Hematology/Oncology PRN:

Although he never held a chair position within the Heme/Onc PRN, he has provided mentorship and advice to those within our network, attends regular PRN meetings, and has supported the PRN’s effort to enable and advance our members. His body of work has allowed for the progression of pharmacy in the areas of practice, research, and education. Due to his roles within the College and external roles on multiple committees, task forces, and national guidelines, he has advanced clinical pharmacy. His role in the area of research within the College has allowed our members to enhance their research skills and thereby improve the care of our patients.

At the time of his nomination, Yee had published more than 90 peer-reviewed manuscripts and 23 book chapters and served as an editor for 10 textbooks. He serves on the editorial boards of several journals and newsletters and is a regular reviewer of manuscripts for several pharmacy and medical journals, including Pharmacotherapy, for which he has also served as a scientific editor. Yee was elected as a Fellow of ACCP in 1992 and became a fellow of the American Pharmacists Association in 2002.

Members of the 2018 ACCP Awards Committee were Krystal Edwards (chair), Brad Phillips (vice chair), Mary Amato, Melody Berg, Jessica Cottreau, Brandon Dionne, Candice Garwood, Leslie Hamilton, Ila Harris, Jeanine McCune, Brent Reed, Kimberly Thrasher, and Nancy Yunker.