Leadership

Dr. Hein graduated from the University of Cincinnati College of Pharmacy in 1996 with his BS degree and in 1998 with his PharmD degree. He then completed a residency specializing in internal medicine with the St. Louis College of Pharmacy. Dr. Hein currently practices as an internal medicine clinical pharmacy specialist at The Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, OH. Dr. Hein teaches in a variety of courses and is the content expert for gastrointestinal and renal therapeutics. Dr. Hein's research interests include: inpatient glucose control, palliative care and pain management, treatment of electrolyte disorders, geriatric patient care, infectious disease and the scholarship of teaching, learning and assessment. Dr. Hein has published over 40 papers and abstracts. Dr. Hein has recently chaired the Curriculum and Outcomes Assessment committee and serves on various curricular, assessment, student performance and search committees.

Dr. Kelly Epplen received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Cincinnati in 1997.  She began her career at the former Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati where her primary role was the development and implementation of ambulatory clinical pharmacist services. She has been instrumental in developing pharmacist-managed anticoagulation clinics and pharmacotherapy clinics at University Health, Cincinnati, as well as St. Elizabeth Healthcare of Northern Kentucky.  Her responsibilities include teaching and direct patient care. In addition, she is actively involved in residency training and has served as program director for both PGY1 and PGY2 pharmacy residency programs.  She joined the University of Cincinnati faculty in 2009 and currently practices in population health at St. Elizabeth Physicians in Northern Kentucky.  She is an advisory board member for the ASHP/APhA Ambulatory Care BPS examination review course and has several publications in the area of ambulatory pharmacy practice.  She has co-authored the business plan development chapter in ASHP's publication:  Building a Successful Ambulatory Practice and is a contributing author for ASHPs revision of the Minimum Practice Standards for Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Practice.  She is a member of the ASHP Section of Ambulatory Care Practitioners Executive Committee and obtained board certification as an ambulatory care pharmacist in October, 2011.
 

The research program in this laboratory has concentrated on: drug metabolism with a focus on carboxyl­esterases, nuclear receptors with a focus on the preg­nane X receptor (PXR), circadian regulation with a focus on differentially expressed in chon­dro­cytes 1 (DEC1), and drug delivery with nanotechnology.  The research theme, featured by pharmacogenomic approaches, targets interactions among genes, drugs, herbs, nutrients, cytokines and their interplay.  This laboratory has published extensively in drug metabolism, hepatotoxicity, oncological signaling and drug delivery.  This laboratory is one of the first to clone and characterize the gene encoding PXR, and the gene encoding DEC1. PXR is a master regulator for drug-metabolizing enzymes and transporters, whereas DEC1 is a circadian regulator with oncogenic involvement.  Several milestone findings from this laboratory have gained global attentions and were reported by public and professional media outlets such as USA Today and Doctors’ Guide.

Pankaj B. Desai is currently Professor and Director, Drug Development Graduate Program, College of Pharmacy, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH. His research interests include pre-clinical and clinical studies on drug metabolism, transport and pharmacokinetics. The current focus of his laboratory is on the regulation of drug-metabolizing enzymes and its relevance to clinical pharmacology of anti-cancer and antiretroviral drugs. Dr. Desai directs a vigorous, extramurally-funded research program and has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications. His research has been funded by NIH, Komen Foundation, American Cancer society and various pharmaceutical companies. He has mentored over 20 MS/Ph.D. students and was the principal architect for the novel graduate curriculum in drug development program at UC College of Pharmacy. Dr. Desai is an active member of several organizations including American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, where he served as the chair of the Drug Metabolism Focus Group of AAPS from 2001-2003. He is currently a member of the Shulman Associates Institutional Review Board and of the Transitional Research and Drug Development (TRADD) Committee and Phase I /Early Clinical Pharmacology sub-committee of the Adults AIDS Clinical Trials Group. He also serves as a member of the Experimental Therapeutics Study Section for Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program. Dr. Desai has received numerous teaching and research excellence awards at both University of Louisiana and University of Cincinnati. These include the Researcher of the Year Award at ULM in 1994 and the President’s Excellence Award at UC in 2006.

Pamela C. Heaton is Chair and Professor of Pharmacy Practice and Administrative Sciences at the Winkle College of Pharmacy at the University of Cincinnati. She teaches a required pharmacy ethics course in the Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum.  She also trains graduate students in the area of health outcomes.   
 
Her current research focus is on the use of secondary databases to evaluate clinical, humanistic and economic outcomes of drug therapy.  She has published over 70 manuscripts and presented over 100 poster presentations.  Partnering with Kroger Pharmacy, she has developed a two-year MS/residency with an emphasis in community pharmacy.  Also, with Kroger pharmacy, along with the Cincinnati Health Council, Health Bridge and several hospitals, Dr. Heaton received a grant from NACDS Foundation to determine whether community pharmacists can reduce 30-day readmissions for patients with priority conditions. 
 
Dr. Heaton participates on many college committees at the University of Cincinnati and is faculty advisor for the graduate student association.  Dr. Heaton is also involved in other national organizations including the International Society for Pharmacoeconomic and Outcomes Research, American Society of Health-System Pharmacy and the American Pharmacists Association. Dr. Heaton is Editor in Chief of the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association.  Dr. Heaton is an active member of American Academy of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP).  Her AACP service has included Chair of the Ethics Sig (2008-2009), college delegate (2008) and alternate (2007), speaker for AACP Special Session programming (2008), Mentor for WalMart Scholarship (2012), Section Programming Committee (2012-2013), Member of Rising Stars ad hoc committee (2013), Chair of the SAS Awards Committee (2013-2014), facilitator for SAS Section Roundtables (2014) and Chair Designee/Chair Elect, Chair and Immediate Past Chair of the SAS Section(2016-2020). Working with a subgroup of the SAS section, she coauthored a publication titled “Characteristics of Social and Administrative Sciences Graduate Programs and Strategies for Student Recruitment and Future Faculty Development in the United States.”  Additionally, in 2012-2013, she participated in the in the Academic Leadership Fellows Program. 
 
She earned her Bachelors of Pharmacy degree and Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Cincinnati.