By: Sairah Sheikh, PharmD Candidate c/o 2024 ​              As Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases started to decrease in the United States (US), many Americans breathed a sigh of relief. However, on May 17, 2022, fear of a new infectious disease struck the nation. The first case of the monkeypox outbreak in the US was reported…

By: Jennifer Galvet, PharmD Candidate c/o 2024               Fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFRs) are a family of receptor tyrosine kinases expressed on the cell surface of both developmental and adult cells. Aberrant expression of FGFRs has been implicated in a wide variety of cancers and is considered an oncogenic signaling pathway.1 FGFRs are activated by…

By: Yu Jeng Lee, PharmD Candidate c/o 2023               Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects both the upper motor neurons (UMN) and lower motor neurons (LMN). This disease causes muscle weakness, which progresses to disability, and subsequently death, primarily due to respiratory failure.1,2 …

By: Jennifer Galvet, PharmD Candidate c/o 2024               Farxiga (dapagliflozin) is a first-in-class, oral, once daily sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor indicated for improving glycemic control in type 2 diabetes (T2D), reducing the risk of cardiovascular (CV) death and hospitalization in heart failure (HF), and reducing the risk of sustained eGFR decline in chronic kidney…

By: Helen Li, PharmD Candidate c/o 2023               On June 18, 2022, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director, Rochelle P. Walensky, M.D., M.P.H., endorsed the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ recommendation to expand eligibility of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccinations to children 6 months through 5 years of age.1 On August 31, 2022,…

By: Justin Budz, PharmD Candidate c/o 2023               Diabetes mellitus encompasses both chronic and reversible conditions that affect the body’s ability to utilize glucose. In 2019, about 28.7 million (8.7%) people in the United States (US) had diagnosed diabetes. Of this population, about 1.6 million (5.7%) people ages 20 or older and 244,000 (0.9%) people…

By: Geraldine Ciaccio, PharmD Candidate c/o 2025 ​              Pregnant women treated with antidepressants may no longer have to endure the worry that their medications will harm their newborn. Previous studies have shown a correlation between the use of antidepressants in pregnant patients and the prevalence of various birth defects, including cardiac defects, anencephaly, and gastroschisis,…

By: Zarin Chowdhury, PharmD Candidate c/o 2023 and Lauren Merkovich, PharmD Candidate c/o 2023               Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a long-term medical condition in which the body is unable to use insulin properly, resulting in abnormal blood glucose levels.1 More than 37 million Americans have diabetes (about 1 in 10); approximately 90 to 95%…

By: Kelly Lavery, PharmD Candidate c/o 2024               Increasing rates of childhood obesity remain a major risk factor behind a recently increased prevalence of diabetes in the pediatric population. This subject is of particular relevance in light of the ongoing coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which has limited children to isolation and online learning…

By: Geraldine Ciaccio, PharmD Candidate c/o 2025               Young children with type 1 diabetes (T1D) are completely dependent on others for their care and management. It can be hard for parents, guardians, teachers, and healthcare providers to assess a child’s condition as they are too young to properly communicate their thoughts and emotions. Most children…

By: Imaan Sekhery, PharmD Candidate c/o 2025 ​              On July 6, 2022, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) revised the precedent Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for Pfizer’s Paxlovid, granting licensed pharmacists the right to prescribe Paxlovid to suitable patients. This revision will significantly increase access to Paxlovid, assisting in patient recovery from Coronavirus Disease 2019…

By: Sairah Sheikh, PharmD Candidate c/o 2024                  Promising new research conducted by doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center showed 100% remission of rectal cancer in 12 patients after immunotherapy. Traditionally, patients with rectal cancer are treated with chemotherapy and radiation, followed by a surgical resection of the rectum.1 However, this method carries the…

By: Kirby An, PharmD Candidate c/o 2023               Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19) is a virus that took the world by storm with its initial discovery in Wuhan, China in December of 2019. On January 20, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) confirmed the first case of Covid-19 in the United States (US) after a 35…

By: Helen Li, PharmD Candidate c/o 2023               On August 15, 2022, the New York State Commissioner of Health, Dr. Mary T. Bassett, implemented a statewide pharmacy standing order for naloxone.1 With this authorization, all pharmacists can assist in reducing mortality from opioid abuse, while optimizing the pharmacists’ continuous role in public health.               In…

By: Pauline Choi, PharmD               There has been an increase in the prevalence of obesity, and it has become an international health problem amongst all age-groups, including children, adults, and adolescents. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the definition of obesity for adults and children is a BMI > 30 kg/m2, and a weight-for-height…

By: Natalia Jucha, PharmD Candidate c/o 2022 and Zarin Chowdhury PharmD Candidate c/o 2023              Effective September 29th of 2021, YouTube will be banning prominent anti-vaccine activists and blocking channels promoting anti-vaccine misinformation. The company recently announced its expansion of medical misinformation policies. This includes prohibiting the sharing of  misinformation regarding currently administered vaccines that…

By: Fatima Amjad, PharmD candidate c/o 2022              Pharmacists have truly taken on the role of superhero during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. As of April 6, 2022 more than 239.1 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered by community pharmacies across the United States.1 Community pharmacists have gone above and beyond immunizing eligible…

By: Natalia Jucha, PharmD Candidate c/o 2022 and Helen Li, PharmD Candidate c/o 2023              Celiac disease is classified as an autoimmune disorder and occurs in individuals who cannot tolerate gluten. Dietary gluten induces an immune response and causes damage to the small intestine, particularly the duodenum and proximal jejunum. A small peptide called gliadin,…

By: Daniel Levin, PharmD candidate c/o 2022               Depression is a terrible beast of an illness to battle with, and there are nearly 14 million individuals at any given moment fighting it. Only around 50% of patients struggling with depression will get some form of treatment. Sixty to seventy percent of patients who do get…

By: Jun Suh Hong, PharmD candidate c/o 2022               Aspirin belongs to a class of medications called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS). Known by many for its analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties, as well as its association with gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding, aspirin plays an essential role in stroke prevention. As such, it has a crucial role in…

By: Sharon Joseph PharmD Candidate c/o 2022 and Salma Hewady, PharmD               Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a single-stranded retrovirus that attacks the immune system, predisposing the host to opportunistic infections and malignancies. If not properly treated, HIV can progress to Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Goals of therapy include restoration of immune function, suppression of…

By: Anjali Rana, PharmD Candidate c/o 2025 and Katharine Russo, PharmD               The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to pose challenges, both nationally and worldwide. Many countries that were facing public health crises prior to COVID-19 have subsequently seen a worsening of these crises, as much of the funding and attention previously available has…

By: Mandy Zheng, PharmD Candidate c/o 2024               “Where can I find Zantac?”. From April 2020 to May 2021, the answer was, you cannot. On April 1, 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ordered for all ranitidine (Zantac®)- containing products to be removed from the U.S. market.¹ Ranitidine was a popular over-the-counter (OTC) and…

By: Tiffany Dominic, PharmD Candidate c/o 2022               As student pharmacists, there is no doubt that we have been hearing the words “pharmacy informatics” more frequently. However, a big concern remains. Many pharmacy students are not exactly sure what informatics is or only have a general understanding of the topic. Well, look no further and…

By: Aisa Mrkulic, Maria Michael and Svetlana Bachayev, PharmD Candidates c/o 2022               With the surge of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines sweeping the nation, there have been many concerns surrounding their safety and impact on everyday life as we adjust to the new normal. During our Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience (IPPE) at Long Island…

By: Lyana Sayilar, PharmD Candidate c/o 2022               Multiple myeloma is characterized by an accumulation of abnormal plasma cells in the bone marrow and the formation of tumors in bones. An insufficient quantity of healthy blood cells are produced in the bone marrow leading to a weakened immune system.1 The exact cause of multiple myeloma…

By: Mathew Fontanez, PharmD Candidate c/o 2022               What place does the familiar gout medication colchicine have in the fight against heart disease? Colchicine and its natural source, the autumn crocus plant, have been used to treat the “disease of kings”, or gout, for well over 2000 years. As a result of hyperuricemia, gout often…

By: Richa Tamakuwala, PharmD Candidate c/o 2022               There has been a dramatic rise in the number of patients with cardiovascular implantable electronic devices (CIEDs), such as permanent pacemakers and implantable cardioverter‐defibrillators (ICDs), due to an increasing aging population and clinical trials showing benefits in mortality and morbidity.  Multiple studies investigating the use of ICDs…

By: Rubab Hassan, PharmD Candidate c/o 2022              Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a genetic disorder that causes muscle degeneration and weakness along with various other symptoms. It is predominantly caused by deletions of one or more exons, which lead to mutations of the dystrophin gene. Dystrophin stops muscle fibers from being degraded by proteases.…

By: Oluwafemi Popoola, PharmD Candidate c/o 2021, SUNY Binghamton School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences              A patient with past medical history of von Willebrand’s disease (VWD) and myasthenia gravis on chronic prednisone therapy, presented for follow-up for VWD at the hematology/oncology clinic. The provider considered having the patient undergo a “desmopressin challenge” with desmopressin…

By: Jordan Plair, PharmD Candidate c/o 2022 and Marina Beshara, PharmD Candidate c/o 2022              While the focus over the last year has been fixated on the deadly coronavirus, the importance of a long-standing health pandemic exacerbated by salt intake cannot be overlooked. Hypertension, more commonly referred to as high blood pressure, is a medical…

By: Arya Firoozan, PharmD Candidate c/o 2023              Overactive bladder (OAB) is a condition that causes a sudden and frequent urge to urinate. It is also associated with incontinence and nocturia. Nocturia refers to waking up at night due to the urge to urinate. OAB is diagnosed if there is no other current infection or…

By: Jennifer Galvet, PharmD Candidate c/o 2024              Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a systemic inflammatory condition that primarily affects a person’s back.¹ It is a form of arthritis that affects the spine and causes inflammation of the spinal joints, leading to severe, chronic pain and discomfort.² Ankylosing spondylitis can also impact other areas of the…

By: Daniela Farzadfar, PharmD,PGY-1 Resident at Long Island Jewish Medical Center              In March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared coronavirus disease- 2019 (COVID-19) a global pandemic. 1 To date, over 30 million cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the United States and drug companies have been scrambling to develop therapies for the…

By: Lyana Sayilar, PharmD Candidate c/o 2022              On August 31, 2020, the FDA approved the first automated diabetes management device for patients aged 2 to 6-years old. The MiniMed 770G System automatically adjusts basal insulin doses based on glucose levels, facilitating the lives of the patient and caregiver. Prior to its approval, patients and/or…

By: Pooja Dasgupta and Sonya Wadhawan, PharmD Candidates c/o 2025              The coronavirus, also known as SARS CoV-2 or COVID-19, has widely affected various people globally. The study of SARS CoV-2 has shifted from studying individuals and their unique symptoms during their disease duration to studying different populations and their backgrounds that increase the risk…

By: Bisma Sekhery, PharmD Candidate c/o 2021              Fostemsavir (Rukobia) is a new Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved antiretroviral agent for the treatment of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). It was approved in July 2020 for multidrug-resistant HIV-1. It is a pro-drug, metabolized to its active moiety, temsavir, which binds to the gp120 subunit within…

By: Jennifer Galvet, PharmD Candidate c/o 2024 Introduction The British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has agreed to sell its rights to two cardiovascular drugs to Germany’s Cheplapharm Arzneimittel GmbH for $400 million. This decision allows AstraZeneca to reinvest in the company’s main areas of focus: cardiovascular, renal and metabolism, cancer, respiratory, inflammation and…

By: Alisha Kuriakose, PharmD Candidate c/o 2022 “The Pharmacist” is a Netflix documentary that showcases pharmacist Dr. Daniel Schneider’s crusade against OxyContin® abuse. It highlights his discovery of a corrupt doctor who exploited her medical license and destroyed communities in Louisiana. It also illustrates his fight to expose Purdue Pharma of falsely reporting the addictive…

By: Aiśa Mrkulic PharmD Candidate c/o 2022              Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common reasons children require referrals for mental health services.¹ In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends the screening of every child with ADHD for neuropsychiatric comorbidities. With, “one in every 20 children affected,” it exists…

By: Edwin Gruda, PharmD Candidate c/o 2022; Aiśa Mrkulic, PharmD. Candidate c/o 2022              Over-the-Counter (OTC) medications are typically used for mild pain relief. Many patients rely on their OTC medications to treat headaches, fevers, muscle pain, tooth aches and mild arthritis. In March of 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new…

By: Lyana Sayilar PharmD. Candidate c/o 2022              Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is a rare disorder affecting 4,000 to 8,000 Americans. Adults with this disorder are often found to have anti-aquaporin-4 (AQP4)antibodies that primarily attack healthy cells and proteins in the optic nerves and spinal cord. The majority of patients have relapses within three…

By: Rebecca Samuel, PharmD Candidate c/o 2022 and Pallak Sharma, PharmD Candidate c/o 2022              It is flu shot season! That’s a phrase that causes almost every pharmacy staff member to take a deep breath. Amid the pandemic, flu shot season is busier than ever and it is directly affecting pharmacies across the country. In…

By: Erica Tonti, PharmD Candidate c/o 2022 Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children, or MIS-C, is a recent syndrome recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The emergent outbreak of COVID-19 brought concern as to who would be affected by MIS-C and how severe the impact of the syndrome would be. Children, thought to…

By: Preethi Samuel, Pharm.D. Candidate c/o of 2021              In the United States, at least one person has a heart attack every 40 seconds and 1 of every 5 is silent.1 Heart attacks are commonly a result of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Preceding plaque buildup in arterial walls can potentially lead to a heart attack…

By: Adrian Wong, PharmD Candidate c/o 2021 On May 5, 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced its approval for Farxiga® (dapagliflozin) oral tablets to have a new indication: to lower the risk of cardiovascular death and hospitalization for adults with New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class II-IV heart failure (HF) with reduced…

By: Katharine Russo, PharmD Candidate c/o 2021              As of July 1, 2000, the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) mandated for the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree to be the sole degree required to enter pharmacy practice in the United States. ¹ With this advanced degree came the complex education, training, and clinical practice…

By: Shea Dorsey, PharmD Candidate c/o 2021            COVID-19 has taken a major toll on the mental wellbeing of people around the world and continues to do so today, almost 7 months after the United States first announced quarantine. Many individuals previously diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, depressive disorder, trauma-and stressor-related disorder (TSRD) or expressed…

By: Mah Noor, PharmD Candidate c/o 2021              Over the past decade, pharmacists across the nation have joined in a number of grassroots efforts to gain legislative recognition as health care providers. As of 2019, thirty-four states have recognized pharmacists as providers in at least one section of their state statute or in their state…

By: Jeremy Mesias, PharmD Candidate c/o 2022            As we begin another October, we mark the start of American Pharmacist Month and celebrate pharmacists and their work around the country. We are also reminded of the great leaps and bounds our profession has made over the years to advance patient care. Behind all great progress,…