Pharmacy Residency Preceptors

Mary Mohammed, PharmD 
Title/Position: Clinical Pharmacy Manager; PGY1 Residency Program Director

• Pharmacy Education: Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Boston, MA
• Practice Interests: Pharmacy leadership, professional development
• Preceptor for PGY1: Drug Information and Policy, Practice Management

Christopher Batista, PharmD 
Title/Position: Clinical Pharmacy Coordinator; PGY1 Residency Program Coordinator

• Pharmacy Education: Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Albany, NY
• PGY1 Residency: Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, NC
• Practice Interests: Emergency medicine, internal medicine, precepting
• Preceptor for PGY1: Teaching and Education
• Preceptor for PGY2: Teaching and Education

Lisa DeGennaro, PharmD 
Title/Position: Ambulatory Care Pharmacist, PGY2 Ambulatory Care Residency Program Director

• Pharmacy Education: University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
• PGY1: Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center 
• Practice Interests: Diabetes Care and Advancing Ambulatory Care Practice
• Preceptor for PGY1: Adult Primary Care Medicine
• Preceptor for PGY2 Amb Care: Adult Primary Care Medicine, Practice Management, Teaching and Education

Michelle Byram, BS Pharm, CACP 
Title/Position: Ambulatory Clinical Pharmacist, PGY2 Thrombosis and Hemostasis Management Residency Program Director

• Pharmacy Education: University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
• PGY1 Residency: Saint Mary’s Hospital, Waterbury, CT
• Practice Interests: Anticoagulation, Anticoagulation Stewardship, Transitions of Care
• Preceptor for PGY2 Ambulatory Care: Anticoagulation
• Preceptor for PGY2 Thrombosis and Hemostasis Management: Orientation, Anticoagulation, Transitions of Care

Micaela Powner, PharmD, BCPS  
Title/Position: Medication Safety Pharmacist

• Pharmacy Education:  Northeastern University, Boston, MA
• PGY1 Residency: Broward General Medical Center, Fort Lauderdale, FL
• PGY2 Residency: Internal Medicine, West Virginia University (WVU) Healthcare, Morgantown, WV
• Practice Interests: Anticoagulation, pain management, precepting
• Preceptor for PGY2: Teaching and Education
• Preceptor for PGY2 Thrombosis and Hemostasis Management: Medication Safety

Nicole Costello, PharmD, BCPS 
Title/Position: Clinical Pharmacist

• Pharmacy Education: University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT (BS), University of Florida, Gainesville, FL (PharmD)
• Practice Interests: Cardiology
• Preceptor for: Cardiac Intensive Care (PGY1)
• Preceptor for PGY2 Thrombosis and Hemostasis Management: Cardiovascular ICU

Matthew Dionne, PharmD 
Title/Position: Clinical Pharmacist

• Pharmacy Education: University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
• Preceptor for: Pharmacy Service (PGY1)

Jamey Dodge, RPh, BCPS, BCCCP 
Title/Position: Clinical Pharmacist

• Pharmacy Education: University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
• Practice Interests: Sedation, analgesia, delirium, antimicrobial stewardship
• Preceptor for: Medical Intensive Care, Surgical Intensive Care (PGY1)

Jeannine Fischetti, PharmD 
Title/Position: Clinical Pharmacist

• Pharmacy Education: University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (formerly Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science), Philadelphia, PA
• Preceptor for: Neonatal Intensive Care (PGY1)

Karen Gleason, PharmD, BCACP, CACP 
Title/Position: Clinical Pharmacist

• Pharmacy Education: University of Connecticut (BS), Storrs, CT, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR (PharmD)
• Practice Interests: Ambulatory Care, Anticoagulation
• Preceptor for: Anticoagulation Service (PGY1)
• Preceptor for PGY2 Thrombosis and Hemostasis Management: Anticoagulation 

Jane Mueller, PharmD, BCPS 
Title/Position: Clinical Pharmacist

• Pharmacy Education: University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI
• PGY1 Residency: Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, Hartford, CT
• Practice Interests: Cardiology, critical care, neurology
• Preceptor for: Congestive Heart Failure (PGY1), Cardiac Intensive Care (PGY1)
• Preceptor for PGY2 Thrombosis and Hemostasis Management: Cardiovascular ICU

David Palazzolo, RPh 
Title/Position: Clinical Pharmacist

• Pharmacy Education: University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
• Practice Interests: Behavioral Health
• Preceptor for: Behavioral Health (PGY1)

Megan Pereira, PharmD, BCOP 
Title/Position: Clinical Pharmacist for Smilow Cancer Center at Saint Francis

• Pharmacy Education: University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
• Practice Interests: Oncology
• Preceptor for: Outpatient Oncology (PGY1)

Ashley Sowers, PharmD, BCPS  
Title/Position: Clinical Pharmacist

• Pharmacy Education: Harding University, Searcy, Arkansas
• PGY1 Residency: Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, Hartford, CT
• Practice Interests: Emergency Medicine
• Preceptor for: Emergency Medicine I & II (PGY1)

Alexis Swist, PharmD, BCPS  
Title/Position: Clinical Pharmacist  

• Pharmacy Education: Albany College of Pharmacy, Albany, NY
• PGY1 Residency: Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, Hartford, CT
• Practice Interests: Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine
• Preceptor for: Orientation (PGY1), Internal Medicine (PGY1)

Domenic Vita, PharmD  
Title/Position: Clinical Pharmacist 

• Pharmacy Education: Albany College of Pharmacy, Albany, NY
• PGY1 Residency: Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, Hartford, CT
• Practice Interests: Internal Medicine, Antimicrobial Stewardship, Infectious Diseases, Critical Care
• Preceptor for: Orientation (PGY1)

Edyta Kusmirek, PharmD  
Title/Position: Clinical Pharmacist 

• Pharmacy Education: University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT (BS Pharm); Midwestern University Chicago College of Pharmacy, Downers Grove, IL (PharmD)
• Practice Interests: General medicine, neonatology
• Preceptor for PGY1: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)

Nicole Thurnherr, PharmD 
Title/Position: Clinical Pharmacist 

• Pharmacy Education: D’Youville University School of Pharmacy, Buffalo, NY
• PGY1 Residency: Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, Hartford, CT
• Practice Interests: Cardiology
• Preceptor for PGY1: Congestive Heart Failure 

Dora Wiskirchen, PharmD, BCPS, BCIDP 
Title/Position: Antimicrobial Stewardship Program Coordinator 

• Pharmacy Education: Ohio Northern University, Ada, OH
• PGY1 Residency: Greenville Hospital System, Greenville, SC
• Fellowship: Infectious Diseases Pharmacotherapy, Hartford Hospital Center for Anti-Infective Research and Development, Hartford, CT
• Practice Interests: Infectious Diseases, Antimicrobial Stewardship, Antibiotic Resistance
• Preceptor for: Antimicrobial Stewardship (PGY1), Research Project (PGY1 & PGY2)

Youssef Bessada, PharmD, BCPS 
Title/Position: Assistant Clinical Professor (UConn School of Pharmacy) / CV Surgery Step Down Unit Clinical Faculty (Saint Francis Hospital)

• Pharmacy Education: Albany College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences, Albany, NY
• PGY1: UConn John Dempsey Hospital at UConn Health, Farmington, CT
• PGY2: PGY2 Cardiology Pharmacy – Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA 
• Practice Interests: Anticoagulation, Preventative Cardiology, Transition of Care Optimization
• Preceptor for PGY1: Clinical Precepting 
• Preceptor for PGY2 Ambulatory Care: Transitions of Care
• Preceptor for PGY2 Thrombosis and Hemostasis Management: Research, Academia, Transitions of Care

Ryan Funai, PharmD 
Title/Position: Clinical Pharmacist

• Pharmacy Education: University of Saint Joseph School of Pharmacy and Physician Assistant Studies, West Hartford, CT
• PGY1 Residency: Yale New Haven Hospital, New Haven, CT
• PGY2 Residency: Emergency Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
• Practice Interests: Emergency Medicine, Teaching
• Preceptor for: Emergency medicine for PGY1 and PGY2
• Preceptor for PGY2 Thrombosis and Hemostasis Management: Emergency Medicine

Craig I. Coleman, PharmD, FASHP, FACC
Professor of Pharmacy Practice
University of Connecticut

• Pharmacy Education: University of Connecticut
• Fellowship: Outcomes Research at Hartford Hospital
• Director, Evidence-Based Practice Center, Hartford Hospital  
• Past Co-Director and Methods-Chief, UCONN/HH/AHRQ Evidence-Based Practice Center
• Past-President, Connecticut Society of Health-System Pharmacy
• UConn Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) Teaching Fellow
• Teaching Expertise: Drug literature evaluation; Health outcomes and economics research; Applied statistics  
• Research Interests: Real-world evidence; comparative effectiveness studies; Health economics; Evidence synthesis
• Preceptor for PGY2 Thrombosis and Hemostasis Management: Research

C. Michael White, Pharm.D., FCP, FCCP, FASHP
Title/Position: Department Head & Distinguished Professor of Pharmacy Practice, University of Connecticut, Department of Pharmacy Practice

• Pharmacy Education: Albany College of Pharmacy, Albany, NY (B.S. Pharmacy), Albany College of Pharmacy, Albany, NY (PharmD)
• Fellowship: UConn School of Pharmacy/Hartford Hospital
• UConn Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) Teaching Fellow
• Practice Interests: Cardiovascular drugs and nutrition, ethics and leadership, and the sustainability of the healthcare system.  
• Research interests: Comparative effectiveness, and preventing adverse events from drugs, devices, herbs, and substances of abuse
• Preceptor for PGY2 Thrombosis and Hemostasis Management: Research, Academia

Evan Nadler, MD
Title/Position: Attending Pulmonology Physician, Coordinator for Pulmonary Embolism Response Team, Anticoagulation Stewardship Committee Member

• Education: American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine
• Residency: The University of Connecticut School of Medicine (Internal Medicine)
• Fellowship: The University of Connecticut School of Medicine (Pulmonary/Critical Care)
• Certifications: American Board of Internal Medicine Subspecialty Pulmonary Disease, American Board of Internal Medicine Subspecialty Critical Care Medicine
• Preceptor for PGY2 Thrombosis and Hemostasis Management: Pulmonary Medicine