Marie Chisholm-Burns, PharmD, MPH, MBA, FCCP, FASHP, dean and professor in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), has received the Chauncey I. Cooper Award from the National Pharmaceutical Association (NPhA).
The award is the highest recognition given by the nationwide organization of pharmacists founded in 1947 to promote excellence and uniformity among minority health professionals, improve the quality of health care in minority communities, and advance the standards of pharmaceutical care among all practitioners.
Bestowed at the 68th annual meeting of the NPhA held recently in Orlando, the award is named for NPhA founder Chauncey I. Cooper, PhD. Lauded as one of the most influential advocates for minority pharmacists, Dr. Cooper died in 1983. The award recognizes sustained and distinguished service to the profession of pharmacy.
“While I did not know Dr. Cooper personally, I knew of him and his accomplishments,” Dr. Chisholm-Burns said. “I am humbled.”
A pharmacist since 1992, Dr. Chisholm-Burns became dean of the College of Pharmacy in 2012. Previously, she was a professor and head of the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science for the College of Pharmacy at the University of Arizona. She received her BS and PharmD degrees from the University of Georgia, her MPH from Emory University and her MBA from the University of Memphis.
She founded and directs the Medication Access Program, which helps to provide medication to more than 830 solid-organ transplant patients. The network facilitates medication adherence as well as interdisciplinary care and support for transplant patients.
Her work has appeared in more than 275 publications, and she has received approximately $10 million in external funding for research from organizations including the National Institutes of Health and several foundations.