Pediatric News

Kimberley Benner, PharmD, BCPS, FPASHP, FPPAG

Kimberley Benner, PharmD, BCPS, FPASHP, FPPAG has had a significant impact on pediatric pharmacy practice through her education, research, and service. Dr. Benner is a Professor at the Samford University McWhorter School of Pharmacy and a Pediatric Clinical Specialist at Children's of Alabama in Birmingham. Dr. Benner graduated with her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Samford University and completed an ASHP-accredited residency at Children's Hospital in Birmingham. Dr. Benner's research interests and areas of publication include pediatrics, infectious diseases, pharmacy and simulation education. Dr. Benner is currently serving as the Chair of the PPAG research committee after having been a member since 2006. She has attended many PPAG meetings and provided educational programs, including poster presentations. She frequently serves as a poster judge and abstract reviewer and was on the fundraising committee.

Dr. Benner has been in academia since 1997 and has precepted numerous students through pediatric clinical and academic rotations. Dr. Benner rounds daily at the Children's Hospital. She has contributed to the scientific knowledge of caring for pediatric patients through her numerous presentations at local, state, national and international venues. Her work typically is from the critical care unit and provides practical information needed to care for the sickest children, including her most recent publication in which she was the primary author on ASHP's position statement on the use of 0.9 saline for indwelling catheters. Dr. Benner not only presents for the pharmacy practitioners, but extends her work into the medical literature which strengthens the profession of pharmacy as a whole. Notably, Dr. Benner has served as an evaluator for the 2010–11 Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act (BPCA) Priority List of Needs in Pediatric Therapeutics.

Michael Christensen, PharmD, BCNSP, FPPAG

Michael Christensen, PharmD, FPPAG has been directly involved in the evolution of the regulatory process in increasing pediatric labeling for dozens of drugs on the USA market. He was Associate Director for the PPRU at UTHSC and Le Bonheur Children's Medical for 10 years, and was the innovator that created the Pediatric Clinical Trial Unit at Le Bonheur. He has directly overseen hundreds of clinical trials in children, involving dozen of medications. His work has contributed our understanding of drug use in children with obesity, type II DM, pain management, cardiovascular disease, sedation, liver disease, and much more. He is among the most knowledgeable clinicians in the country in metabolism and nutrition support.

Dr. Christensen received his B.S. in Pharmacy from North Dakota State University in 1978 and a Pharm.D. from the University of Tennessee in 1982. He completed a residency in pediatric pharmacotherapy at LeBonheur Children's Medical Center and a fellowship in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Dr. Christensen spent 6 years at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital as a clinical pharmacist and developed the metabolic support service. In 1990 Dr. Christensen joined the full-time faculty at the University of Tennessee, College of Pharmacy. Dr. Christensen is a board certified nutrition support pharmacist and served of the Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties Specialty Council on Nutrition Support Pharmacy for 6 years. From 1994 to 2003 he was the Co-Director for the Pediatric Pharmacology Research Unit funded by the NIH and directed the Children's Foundation Research Center Pediatric Clinical Research Unit until 2011. In 2012 Dr. Christensen was appointed as an Associate Vice Chancellor for Research. Dr. Christensen has more than 130 published articles, book chapters and abstracts. His research interests include pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies of drugs in infants and children as well as the metabolic and nutrient requirements in infants.

Dr. Christensen has given of his considerable talent and treasure to PPAG over the last 10 years. His leadership roles including being President, Board member, speaker and a loyal supporter of the organization.

Carlton K.K. Lee, PharmD, MPH, FASHP, FPPAG

Carlton K.K. Lee, PharmD, FPPAG Dr. is one of the nation's most respected pediatric Pharm.D's. His consistent and superb work as the editor of the Harriet Lane Handbook Formulary Section is one of his most visible accomplishments. The Harriet Lane Handbook is a national reference for all pediatricians beginning with their intern year and continuing throughout their career. Dr. Lee has helped shape the quality pediatric program at John Hopkins over the last 20 years. He has been instrumental in implementing a number of programs that have made the clinical services on par with other outstanding program in the country. This includes the development of of a pediatric pharmacy residency program as well. Simply without Carlton, it hard to imagine the program at Johns Hopkins to be as progressive as it today.

Dr. Lee is the Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Pediatrics for The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Associate Professor in Pediatrics for The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Clinical Professor with the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. Dr. Lee developed and continues to serve as the Residency Program Director for the PGY-2 Pediatric Pharmacy Specialty program.

Dr. Lee received his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of the Pacific and Masters in Public Health from The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Hygiene and Public Health. He completed a General Hospital Pharmacy residency at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Pharmacokinetics/Pharmacodynamics Fellowship at The Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Lee began his career at Johns Hopkins as a Neonatal clinical pharmacist. He became the Senior Clinical Pediatric and Pediatric Clinical Coordinator in 1988 and 1990, respectively, at Hopkins. Dr. Lee has over 25 years of Pediatric Clinical Pharmacology experience with teaching responsibilities to pharmacy and medical residents and students. His clinical research experience have been in Phase I/IV pharmacokinetic/drug development studies in Cystic Fibrosis and HIV/AIDS; and developing safe tools for Pediatric Outpatient Prescribing.

Dr. Lee has published several articles and medical text chapters; most notably, he is the editor to the Formulary section to the Harriet Lane Handbook for the past 22 years. He has lectured in numerous forums on Cystic Fibrosis and Pediatric Clinical Pharmacology on the local, national and international levels. Dr. Lee has been honored to have mentored 20 PGY-2 Pediatric Pharmacy residents. Recognition of his efforts includes:- Fellowship in the American Society of Health System Pharmacists - Who's Who in America, the East, Medicine & Healthcare, Science & Engineering, and the World. Dr. Lee has served on the Board of Directors to the Pediatric Pharmacy Advocacy Group. He had also established a non-profit Pediatric Pharmacy continuing education corporation entitled the Mid-Atlantic Pediatric Pharmacotherapy Specialists.

Stephanie Phelps, BSPharm, PharmD, BCPS, FCCP, FAPhA, FPPAG

Stephanie Phelps, BSPharm, PharmD, BCPD, FPPAG is one of the most influential pediatric pharmacists in the country. In addition to paving the way for pediatric pharmacists in clinical practice, she is editor of “The Teddy Bear Book: Pediatric Injectable Drugs”, now in its ninth edition, which has become the definitive guide for the administration of injectable drugs in pediatric patients. She also serves as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Pediatric Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

Dr. Phelps is among most knowledgeable pediatric clinicians in the country in epilepsy and the use of seizure medications. She has help define the use of new anti-seizure medications, and has contributed to clinicians understanding of use and treatment of seizure disorders through publication, education, and direct patient care.

Dr. Phelps was born in August Georgia, but spent her formative years in Niceville, Florida -a small town in the pan-handle of the state. She attended high school and junior college in the area, before moving to Birmingham, Alabama to pursue a baccalaureate pharmacy degree from Samford University (‘79). She relocated to Memphis, Tennessee where she obtained a doctorate of pharmacy from The University of Tennessee ('82) and subsequently completed post-doctoral training in pediatrics at LeBonheur Children's Medical Center and The University of Tennessee. Dr. Phelps is currently a Professor of Clinical Pharmacy and Pediatrics at The University of Tennessee Health Science Center and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs for the College of Pharmacy. For over a decade, she served as Director, of Experiential Education of the College. She is an elected Fellow of ACCP and APhA and is a Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist. Dr. Phelps has held elected offices in AACP and ASHP and has served on the Board of Directors of ASPEN and PPAG. She is the immediate past chair of the Pharmacy Academy of the National Academies of Practice, where she is a distinguished Practitioner and Fellow. She is a recipient of the 1999 APhA-Academy of Student Pharmacists Outstanding Chapter Advisor award, the 2009 Tennessee Society of Hospital Pharmacy's Distinguished Service Award and the 2011 Helms Award recipient for Excellence in Pediatric Pharmacy Practice by PPAG.

Dr. Phelps has received numerous teaching awards and was the first pharmacy faculty member elected to the UTHSC campus Academy of Distinguished Teachers. During her career she has participated in the education of 5 postdoctoral fellows and over 60 pediatric pharmacy residents. She has published numerous manuscripts, book chapters, and reviews that focus on pediatric pharmacotherapy.

Cathy Poon, PharmD, FPPAG

Cathy Poon, PharmD, FPPAG helped shape some of the early changes in pediatric pharmacy in the Philadelphia area and has trained some of the most highly visable and successful pediatric pharmacists in practice today.

Dr. Poon is Professor of Clinical Pharmacy with tenure of the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmacy Administration and Vice Dean of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, University of the Sciences. She graduated from St. John's University with a Bachelor of Science in Toxicology and a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy; and received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Medical University of South Carolina. Dr. Poon completed her Hospital Pharmacy Residency at the Medical University of South Carolina and a Specialty Residency in Pediatric Pharmacotherapy at University of Oklahoma Health Science Center.

As an academician and clinician, Dr. Poon's primary area of interest and practice is pediatric pharmacotherapy. She practiced in the areas of neonatology, general pediatrics and pediatric critical care. Dr. Poon served as a program director and mentor for 11 pediatric pharmacy practice residents and one fellow over the past fifteen years. Her scholarship includes manuscripts published in pharmacy, medical and nursing journals, as well as serving as a review for several journals. Dr. Poon has conducted and collaborated in a number of clinical research projects related to pediatric pharmacotherapy. In addition to pediatrics, she is also passionate about developing collaborative health care education and practice programs with other healthcare professions. In addition to serving on pharmacy professional organizations, Dr. Poon was appointed by the Governor of Pennsylvania in 2006 to serve on the Advisory Health Board of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

President-Elect Kay Kyllonen, PharmD, FPPAG

Dr. Kyllonen is a Clinical Specialist in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, OH.

Dr. Kyllonen has been a member of PPAG for 15 years. She served as Secretary of PPAG this past year. She has served on the Board of Directors for the past two years, and the Education Committee for serveral years, and was the chairperson of the 2009 PPAG Annual Conference in Cleveland, OH. She received FPPAG recognition in 2009. She has presented during PPAG Annual Conferences.

Treasurer Jeffrey Low, PharmD

Jeff Low is the Clinical Pharmacist Specialist-Pediatrics at the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth.

Dr. Low has served on the Board of Directors since 2006, and served as Chair from 2008–2009. Dr. Low has participated on the research & member services committees. From 2003–2005, he served as the Vice-President for Member Services, where he has worked on projects such as the PPAG website upgrades, membership survey, PPAG newsletter, and launching online CE.

This will be Dr. Low's third term as Treasurer of PPAG. In this role, he oversees the internal audit, budget development, and fiscal evaluation of programs.

Secretary Lisa Lubsch, PharmD

Lisa Lubsch, PharmD is Clinical Assistant Professor in the Pharmacy Practice Department at the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Pharmacy and Clinical Pharmacy Specialist at Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center. Dr. Lubsch received the B.S. and Doctorate of Pharmacy from the St. Louis College of Pharmacy and completed a pediatric specialty residency at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Pharmacy. She currently provides pharmacist-delivered patient care to children on the pulmonary, cardiology, and a general medicine service. Her current areas of interests are pediatric asthma, cystic fibrosis, and addiction medicine.

Dr. Lubsch served on the 2012–13 Board of Directors. Prior to her service on the Board, she served as Chair of the PPAG Education Committee. She also served as Chair of the 19th Annual PPAG Annual Meeting and Pediatric Pharmacy Conference in St. Charles, Missouri.

Director-At-Large (2013–2016) Brady Moffett

Brady Moffett, PharmD is the Clinical Pharmacy Specialist for the Heart Center at Texas Children's Hospital and an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine. He graduated from Purdue University and did residency at University of Maryland Medical Center and The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Moffett also completed a Master's in Public Health (Epidemiology) from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Dr. Moffett's interests include the use of cardiovascular medications in children, prevention of adverse drug events, and the impact of obesity on drug dosing in children.

Dr. Moffett served as the Chair of the 21st Annual Meeting Planning Committee is Houston, Texas and has presented numerous times at PPAG.

Director-At-Large (2013–2016) Mary Worthington

Mary Worthington, PharmD is a graduate of The Ohio State University with degrees of Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy and Doctor of Pharmacy. She completed a Residency in Hospital Pharmacy at Columbus Children's Hospital and a Residency in Pediatric Pharmacotherapy and Home Health Care at The University of Tennessee in Memphis. Dr. Worthington is currently an Asssociate Professor of Pharmacy Practice at the McWhorter School of Pharmacy at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. She holds a joint appointment with Children's of Alabama as a Pediatric Clinical Pharmacy Specialist. Dr. Worthington has been actively involved as a pediatric pharmacy practitioner for 25 years. Her current patient care activities are primarily in the area of general pediatrics.

Dr. Worthington has been a member of the Pediatric Pharmacy Advocacy Group since 1997 serving on the Communication/Membership Committee. She served as Co-Chair of the Membership Committee this year, and on the 2009 International Symposium Planning Committee.