Marie Chisholm-Burns, PharmD, MPH, MBA, FCCP, FASHP, dean of the College of Pharmacy at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), is on a mission to “make a difference” in the lives and health of others through research, writing, clinical care and teaching.
Her efforts have been recognized by the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), which has awarded her its 2014 Research Achievement Award.
The award, which will be given in March at the APhA annual meeting, was established to recognize outstanding achievement in any of the pharmaceutical sciences. This year, for the first time in several years, it recognizes the clinical sciences. Applicants were evaluated based on their established stream of research, international recognition, leadership, new concepts and innovative research in pharmaceutical science, and implementation of research by the profession. The APhA awards and honors program is the most comprehensive recognition program in the profession.
Dr. Chisholm-Burns was appointed dean of the UTHSC College of Pharmacy in 2011, and assumed her duties at UTHSC in the spring semester of the 2011-2012 academic year. She was nominated for the award by colleagues at UTHSC, the University of Houston, the University of Arizona and the University of South Carolina. Prior to coming to UTHSC, she was professor and head of the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy.
Dr. Chisholm-Burns is an accomplished scholar, researcher, educator and administrator. She received her BS in Pharmacy and Doctor of Pharmacy degrees from The University of Georgia, her MPH from Emory University and her MBA from the University of Memphis.
Dr. Chisholm-Burns has a strong background in patient care, particularly with solid organ transplant patients. She is founder and director of the Medication Access Program operating in Georgia, which helps to provide medication to roughly 700 solid organ transplant patients.
Her writing has appeared in 270 publications, and she has received about $9.5 million in external research funding as principal investigator from organizations including the National Institutes of Health.
Dr. Chisholm-Burns received the Medical Book Award from the American Medical Writers Association in 2008 and 2011 for textbooks she coedited, “Pharmacotherapy Principles and Practice” and “Pharmacy Management, Leadership, Marketing and Finance.” The books have been adopted in many schools of pharmacy, medicine and nursing.
In 2013, Dr. Chisholm-Burns received the Literature Award for Sustained Contributions given by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Research and Education Foundation.
Among her numerous honors are the Daniel B. Smith Practice Excellence Award from the American Pharmacists Association, the Robert K. Chalmers Distinguished Pharmacy Educator Award from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, the Rufus A. Lyman Award for most outstanding publication in the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, the Nicholas Andrew Cummings Award from the National Academies of Practice, the Award of Excellence from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, and the Pharmacy Practice Research Award from the ASHP Foundation.
“I am really passionate about what I do,” Dr. Chisholm-Burns said. “I like helping people accomplish their goals, and I like influencing and making a difference.”
Her numerous awards are “icing on the cake,” she said. “I certainly appreciate the recognition, but what makes me feel good is making a difference in individual lives. It also makes me feel good when people recognize that we’re making a difference.”
About the UTHSC College of Pharmacy
The UTHSC College of Pharmacy, established in 1898, was ranked at Number 17 in the nation among pharmacy schools by U.S. News & World Report in the 2012 Best Grad Schools ranking. UTHSC had a 100 percent first-time pass rate for the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination last year, according to the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. UTHSC’s annual pharmacy in-state tuition of $21,820 is considerably less than the five other pharmacy schools in Tennessee. Essentially 100 percent of UTHSC pharmacy students reported being employed within three months of graduation in 2013.