Leadership
Plein Geriatric Pharmacy Center leadership (L to R): Assistant Director for Research Zach Marcum, Assistant Director for Education Leigh Ann Mike, and Director Shelly Gray
Shelly Gray
Director of Plein Center for Geriatric Pharmacy Research, Education and Outreach
Dr. Gray’s research and teaching has focused on medication-related problems among older adults with a particular interest in drug-induced cognitive, falls and hip fractures and functional impairment. She is an investigator on numerous federally funded research grants and is author of more than ninety peer-reviewed publications. She serves on the editorial board for the Annals of Pharmacotherapy, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society and Research in Gerontological Nursing.
Leigh Ann Mike
Assistant Director for Education Plein Center for Geriatric Pharmacy Research, Education and Outreach
Dr. Mike is a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Washington School Of Pharmacy. She is heavily involved in the design and teaching of the School’s curriculum, both as an instructor and a coursemaster. She is also the Coordinator for the Plein Certificate in Geriatric Pharmacy Program and is currently practicing as a consultant pharmacist with UW Pharmacy Cares, which provides services to over a dozen local retirement communities.
Her previous experience includes seven years as a clinical pharmacist in the medical intensive care unit at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Washington and as a Drug Information Specialist at Grady Health System in Atlanta, Georgia. Her professional interests are geriatrics, critical care therapeutics, medication safety, and education.
Zachary Marcum
Assistant Director for Research, Plein Center for Geriatric Pharmacy Research, Education and Outreach
Dr. Marcum has been a faculty member in the UW Department of Pharmacy since 2015. He is an investigator on federally funded research grants and is author of more than 50 peer-reviewed publications. He has received an American Geriatrics Society New Investigator Award and a Next-Generation Pharmacist Rising Star of the Year Award. Previously, he completed a two-year fellowship in geriatric pharmacotherapy research at the University of Pittsburgh and a PGY1 pharmacy practice residency at the Indianapolis VA Medical Center.
Steering Committee
Anirban Basu
Professor, Stergachis Family Endowed Director, PORPP; Professor, Health Services; Adjunct Professor, Economics
Abhinav Nath
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicinal Chemistry
Peggy Odegard
Lynn and Geraldine Brady Endowed Professor of Pharmacy; Associate Dean for Professional Programs; Director, UW Pharmacy Cares; Clinical Pharmacist and Diabetes Educator, Department of Medicine, UW Medicine
Joy Plein
Professor Emeritus, Department of Pharmacy
Andy Stergachis
Professor of Pharmacy, Global Health & Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology and Health Services; Associate Dean for Research, Graduate Programs and New Initiatives
Joanne Wang
Professor, Department of Pharmaceutics; Affiliate Investigator, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Advisory Board
Basia Belza, PhD, RN, FAAN
Professor and The Aljoya Endowed Professor in Aging
Director, de Tornyay Center for Healthy Aging
School of Nursing, University of Washington
Clara W. Berridge, PhD, MSW
Assistant Professor
School of Social Work, University of Washington
Healthy Generations Hartford Center of Excellence in Geriatrics
Peggy Hannon, PhD, MPH
Professor, Health Services
James W. Mifflin University Professorship
Director, Health Promotion Research Center
School of Public Health, University of Washington
Eric Larson, MD, MPH, MACP
Vice President, Research and Health Care Innovation, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington
Executive Director and Senior Investigator, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute
Elizabeth A. Phelan, MD, MS
Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine
Adjunct Associate Professor, Health Services
Schools of Medicine and Public Health
University of Washington
Stephen Theilke, MD, MS, MA
Associate Director, Education & Evaluation
Puget Sound Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center
Jonathan Watanabe, ‘08, ‘12, PharmD, MS, PhD, BCGP, is a board-certified geriatrics pharmacist, outcomes researcher, and associate professor at the University of California San Diego Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Dr. Watanabe was the first the UW/Allergan Global Health Economics and Outcomes Research Fellow. His research on the cost of non-optimized therapy, comprehensive medication management and drug prices has been cited in successful state legislative efforts for pharmacist provider status. Dr. Watanabe is an inaugural scholar in the National Academy of Medicine Emerging Leaders in Health and Medicine program.
Shirley is a Seattleite, born and raised. From a young age, she dedicated her life to advocating for women, children, human rights and healthcare. Encouragement from her mother, and her knack for science, led Shirley to Pharmacy school where she thrived. Her career helped so many people, but as the HIV/AIDS epidemic grew, it became a central part of her career. Her outreach efforts, where she went door to door to help people understand the disease, was only part of her contribution to battle the epidemic. She was a founding board member of AIDS Housing of Washington (recently renamed Building Changes) and co-chaired the $8.5 million campaign that built the group’s Bailey-Boushay House in 1992. Her legacy of advocating for women pharmacists lives on with the Herb and Shirley Bridge Endowed Professorship, designed to support women in pharmacy.
Dr. Hall joined the faculty of the School of Pharmacy in 1952, after spending a few years at the Eli Lilly and Co. as a Pharmaceutical Chemist. After returning to the UW, he soon set himself apart from his peers by developing innovative approaches to teaching, particularly in dispensing pharmacy. While at UW Hall developed one of the first models for an externship program, allowing senior pharmacy students to gain theoretical and practical experience in a pharmacy setting for academic credit. Being too ahead of his time, this for credit externship program did not became a formal requirement in the School of Pharmacy’s curriculum until the 1990’s, thanks in large part to Dr. Hall’s vision. Dr. Hall was also awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1980 to celebrate the impact of his career on the profession of Pharmacy.
After completing his graduate work in California, Sid Nelson returned to the School of Pharmacy to join the faculty in 1977. Progressing through the ranks, he landed his “dream job” as the Dean of the School of Pharmacy in 1995. Under his leadership, the School converted our degree offerings from a B.S. degree to an entry-level Doctor of Pharmacy degree program and added a nontraditional approach that enabled existing pharmacists to obtain the Pharm.D. degree. He also evolved the graduate programs and worked tirelessly to expand the School’s faculty. In 2008, he returned full-time to his research and teaching activities in the School’s Department of Medicinal Chemistry. Sid truly embodies the idea of a legend with his warmth, care and passion for our students and alumni.
Timothy Fuller, ‘69, is an independent pharmacist consultant and founder of Timothy S. Fuller & Associates, Inc. Consulting. He is recognized as the Father of Pharmacist Collaborative Drug Therapy for his extensive and continued research, advocacy, and publication on the subject. In partnership with the WSPA and PATH, Tim recruited 50 pharmacies in Washington to pilot the U.S. movement for pharmacists to prescribe emergency contraceptive pills. Tim is the fourth member of the UW School of Pharmacy B.S. Class of 1969 to receive a PAA Distinguished Alumni Award.