Dr. Edith Nutescu honored for contributions to clinical pharmacy

Dr. Edith Nutescu

University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy professor Edith Nutescu was presented with the Russell R. Miller Award Oct. 27 at the annual conference for the American College of Clinical Pharmacy, also known as ACCP.

The Russell R. Miller Award is given to outstanding individuals who provide significant contributions to the literature of clinical pharmacy, thereby advancing both clinical pharmacy practice and rational pharmacotherapy. To be eligible for the award, a recipient must receive nominations and support letters from at least three peers from institutions outside of the nominee’s institution. The ACCP nominations committee determines the awardee. As a result, it is one of the most competitive and highly regarded awards given in the clinical pharmacy field.

“Dr. Nutescu has been a leader in the subspecialty of antithrombotic pharmacotherapy for over two decades,” said Ann Wittkowsky, professor at the University of Washington School of Pharmacy, who nominated Nutescu. “She demonstrated a unique ability to synthesize complex material in an accessible manner for a generalist audience, while considering intricate details within this specialized field. Her influence on the understanding of this field is unparalleled.”

Dr. Nutescu currently holds a professorship in the department of pharmacy systems outcomes and policy and is director of the Center for Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomic Research. Her research focuses on health services and outcomes, health disparities, personalized medicine and patient-centered models of care delivery, with an emphasis in cardiovascular diseases.

Over the past 20 years, Nutescu has received continuous research funding, including grants from the National Institutes of Health; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Her contributions to clinical pharmacy led to over 180 scientific publications. She also was a recipient for the Ruth L. Kirchstein National Research Service Award and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Clinical Research Career Development award.

Dr. Nutescu also served as editor for the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists’ handbook, “Anticoagulation Therapy: A Clinical Practice Guide.” The publication has been adopted by many clinical practices around the U.S. as a day-to-day clinical guide.

Dr. Nutescu joins two other UIC faculty members as a recipient of this award: Keith Rodvold, professor at the College of Pharmacy and Jerry Bauman, dean emeritus at the College of Pharmacy.