Oncology
PGY1 pharmacy actions Heading link
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Residency training programs in Pharmacy are held within the College of Pharmacy at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) and the University of Illinois Medical Center. The Department of Pharmacy Practice, home department of all residency trainees, is the most comprehensive unit of its type in the United States and continues a tradition of exemplary service through its mission of providing quality education, research, and patient care. The department educates and trains students, residents, and fellows as well as practicing pharmacists to become nationally recognized for their leadership, knowledge and competence in practice, research, and teaching.
The University of Illinois Chicago Medical Center and the College of Pharmacy are pleased to offer a one-year specialized residency in Oncology Pharmacy. As a graduate of this program, you will be a skilled practitioner with extensive training in didactic and clinical teaching as well as clinical research. You can choose from an array of oncology training sites to gain individualized experience as an oncology clinician. You will also gain valuable leadership and personal management skills to help you care for patients with cancer.
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None are currently scheduled.
Program Information Heading link
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Program
The Oncology PGY2 Residency is for practitioners desiring advanced training in oncology pharmacotherapy through provision of clinical experiences to create a well-rounded, fully competent specialist.
As an oncology specialty resident you will:
- Develop expertise, knowledge and skills in oncology therapeutics.
- Contribute to an interdisciplinary health-care team offering patient-specific therapeutic interventions to treat, cure, rehabilitate and alleviate medical conditions and diseases unique to cancer patients.
- Enhance your skills in conducting clinical research.
- Strengthen your communication skills by presenting formal and informal lectures, writing professional manuscripts and leading interdisciplinary discussions.
UIC’s Oncology PGY2 Residency provides opportunities for advanced training in all areas related to cancer. During each rotation you will work closely with your primary preceptor, highly qualified pharmacists, as well as oncology physicians and other allied health professionals.
The resident will have an academic appointment at the University of Illinois Chicago College of Pharmacy. The resident is expected to complete one major residency project within the year. The resident will engage in the co-precepting of students, and serve as lecturer and recitation facilitator. Participation in the Clinical Pharmacy On-Call program is also required.
The residents must hold a PharmD degree from an ACPE accredited college of pharmacy and be licensed in the State of Illinois. Completion of a pharmacy practice residency is required.
Appointments will be for 12 months beginning July 1st. A competitive salary and benefits package is offered.
General
Application Deadline: January 3, 2025
Start Date: July 1, 2025
Number of Positions: 1
Candidate Qualification Requirements for Application
- PharmD degree from an ACPE-accredited college/school of pharmacy
- ASHP-accredited PGY-1 residency program
- Licensure in Illinois (or eligibility for licensure)
- We currently do not offer H1B visas for applicants who are not U.S. citizens nor US permanent residents.
Required clinical and elective learning experiences are listed on the ‘Training Site and Facility” section. The resident will complete 12 months of learning experiences, including longitudinal clinical, research, teaching, and scholarly activities. Longitudinal clinical experiences (e.g., 1 day per week for 6 months) will also be available for some clinics. Most of these clinics are on the UIC campus, however off-site experiences in various affiliated oncology care practice models may be arranged.
Teaching Responsibilities
The resident will be a Clinical Instructor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice at the College of Pharmacy and will be given many opportunities to develop didactic and clinical teaching skills including but not limited to the following:
- Didactic lectures in oncology therapeutics course at the UIC College of Pharmacy
- Leader for recitation classes in oncology therapeutics course
- Nursing in-services
- ACPE-accredited seminar
- Oncology Forum Conference
- Co-Preceptor for pharmacy students on clerkship rotations
- Ambulatory Care Morning Conference for fourth year pharmacy students
The resident may choose to participate in the Resident Teaching Certificate Program, if not completed during their PGY1 training, and is required to participate in the Advanced Teaching and Learning Program offered to PGY2 residents and fellows.
Research Responsibilities
- Complete a self-directed project to be presented at the Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association (HOPA) conference
- Manuscript development and submission
Staffing Requirements
The resident will be required to participate in off-hours service coverage throughout the year. This includes weekend coverage for the institution’s inpatient hematology oncology clinical pharmacy services.
Additional Benefits
Support for travel to ASHP’s Midyear Clinical Meeting and HOPA Annual Conference will be provided. Travel expenses for additional meetings may also be covered. The resident will be given sick time and two weeks’ vacation and will be eligible for medical, dental, vision and life insurance.
Training Site & Facility
Required rotations
- Ambulatory Oncology
- Hematology / Stem Cell Transplant
- Inpatient Medical Oncology
- Oncology Drug Investigation
- Oncology Pharmacy Operations
- Specialty Pharmacy
Longitudinal rotations:
- Adult Leukemia Clinic
- Informatics
- Presentations and Education
Elective rotations
- Ambulatory Oncology – Advanced
- Infectious Diseases
- Pediatric Oncology
Preceptors
Faculty & Preceptor Information
Sandra Cuellar, PharmD, BCOP, FHOPA, FASH
Director, Oncology Residency
Clinical Associate Professor
Clinical Pharmacist, Outpatient Oncology and Hematology
Christina Haaf, PharmD, BCOP
Assistant Director, Oncology Residency
Clinical Assistant Professor
Clinical Pharmacist, Hematology and Oncology
Michael Buege, PharmD, BCOP
Clinical Assistant Professor
Clinical Pharmacist, Hematology and Oncology
Noor Naffakh, PharmD, BCOP
Clinical Assistant Professor
Clinical Pharmacist, Hematology and Oncology
Karen Sweiss, PharmD
Clinical Assistant Professor
Clinical Pharmacist, Inpatient Hematology/Stem Cell Transplant
David Chan PharmD, BCOP
Clinical Assistant Professor
Investigational Drug Service
Christopher Schumpp, PharmD
Clinical Pharmacist
Specialty Pharmacy Services, Ambulatory Pharmacy
Alan Gross, PharmD, FCCP, BCIDP
Clinical Associate Professor
Clinical Pharmacist, Infectious Diseases
Anna Xie, PharmD, BCOP
Clinical Instructor
Clinic Pharmacist, Outpatient Oncology and Hematology
Lauren Oliveri PharmD, BCPPS
Clinical Assistant Professor
Clinical Pharmacist, Pediatrics
Off-Site Preceptors
Michelle Lee, PharmD, BCPPS
Clinical Pharmacist
Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
Danielle Murphy, PharmD, BCOP, BCPS
Clinical Pharmacy Specialist
Hematology/Oncology/Cell Therapy
Rush University Medical Center
Members of this team are responsible for direct patient care of cancer patients treated at UI Health in Chicago. Many of these individuals have innovative practice sites with collaborative prescribing agreements with their physician colleagues. Each member is actively involved in medical center, quality improvement, and departmental committees. In addition to patient care responsibilities, team members are also responsible for experiential training of pharmacy students and pharmacy residents, didactic teaching, research, and other scholarly activities related to their specialty areas.
Current
2024 – 2025 Kimberly Kue-Tsemo
History
Since 1969, over 300 pharmacists successfully trained in our ASHP-accredited first-year post-graduate residency program. In addition, we have graduated over 100 individuals in our various specialized pharmacy residencies that encompass a wide range of fields that is second to none. Our diverse faculty, in combination with the numerous progressive practice sites, provides our residents with an experience like no other. Our residency alumnae hold prominent positions within the pharmacy academia, industry, and professional organizations nationwide and are leaders in the world of pharmacy practice. We are proud of our tradition, our outcomes and our graduates. With the increasing expectations of the public and other health professionals to improve the lives of cancer patients, we are confident that our residency program will grow and develop to meet this challenge.
We are offering a yearlong postgraduate year 2 (PGY2) ASHP-accredited, specialized residency in Oncology Pharmacy to continue a tradition that has been offered since 2006. Each faculty member is responsible for direct patient care in each of their areas of expertise, practicing in innovative practice sites. Additionally, each faculty member is active in the medical center, quality improvement initiatives, and departmental committees. Lastly, in addition to direct patient care responsibilities, each faculty member is responsible for experiential training of pharmacy students and pharmacy residents, didactic teaching, research, and other scholarly activities related to their specialty areas. The goal of this residency is to afford the opportunity to develop expert knowledge and skills in the area of oncology pharmacotherapy through clinical service, education, and scholarly activities.
Past Residents
2006 – 2007 Karen Sweiss, PharmD
Clinical Assistant Professor, Hematology/Stem Cell Transplant Clinical Pharmacist
UI Health – Chicago
2007 – 2008 MyChau (Nguyen) Brikshavana, PharmD, BCOP
Clinical Oncology Pharmacist
Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center – Chicago
2008 – 2009 Janny (Yu) Yao, PharmD, BCOP
Hematology/BMT Lead Clinical Pharmacy Specialist
City of Hope National Medical Center – Duarte, California
2009 – 2010 Susan Woelich, PharmD, BCOP
Clinical Oncology Pharmacist – BMT/ Hematology
Siteman Cancer Center, Washington University School of Medicine – St. Louis, Missouri
2010 – 2011 Kelly Valla, PharmD, BCOP
Associate Director, Scientific Affairs – Oncology and Women’s Health
PRIME Education – Ellicott City, Maryland
2012 – 2013 Katie Culos, PharmD, BCOP
Senior Medical Scientest
Kite Pharma – Nashville, Tennessee
2013 – 2014 Seema Patel, PharmD, BCOP
BMT/Cellular Therapy Pharmacist
Cleveland Clinic – Cleveland, Ohio
2014 – 2015 Jaime (Kimmel) Kaushik, PharmD, BCOP
Clinical Pharmacist
MD Anderson Cancer Center – Houston, Texas
2015 – 2016 Jennifer (Anderson) Jeretina, PharmD, BCOP
Director Pipeline Medical Affairs
Eli Lilly and Company – Massachusetts
2016 – 2017 Nicole (Gerardo) Soriano, PharmD, BCOP
Clinical Pharmacist – Leukemia and Lymphoma Clinic
Northwestern Memorial Hospital – Chicago
2017 – 2018 Tetyana Melynk, PharmD, BCOP
Clinical Pharmacist, Investigational Drug Services
Northwestern Memorial Hospital – Chicago
2017 – 2018 Nora Alkhudair, PharmD
Assistant Professor, Head of Experiential Education Unit
King Saud University, College of Pharmacy – Saudi Arabia
2018 – 2019 Pohung Lin, PharmD, BCOP, BCPS
Clinical Oncology Pharmacist
Taipei Medical University-Shuangho Hospital – Taiwan
2019 – 2020 Jamie Kalangara Thomas, PharmD, BCOP
Clinical Pharmacy Specialist – Hematology/Oncology
Rush Cancer Center – Chicago
2020 – 2021 Kaily (Kurzweil) Goode, PharmD, BCOP
Clinical Pharmacist – Leukemia & Lymphoma
Northwestern Memorial Hospital – Chicago
2022 – 2023 Lina Shao, PharmD, BCOP
Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Medical Oncology
Johns Hopkins Hospital – Baltimore, Maryland
2023 – 2024 Shannon Goniwiecha
Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in GI Oncology
Dana Farber Cancer Institute – Boston, Massachusetts
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Sandra Cuellar, PharmD, BCOP Heading link
Director, Oncology Residency
Clinical Assistant Professor, Clinical Pharmacist, Outpatient Medical Oncology and Hematology
