Alumni Fred Gattas, PharmD, BCNP, and Susan S. Vos, PharmD, BCPS, were named Fellows of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) in March 2015. Candidates for this designation are selected from members of either the APhA-Academy of Pharmacy Practice and Management (APhA-APPM) or the APhA-Academy of Pharmaceutical Research and Science (APhA-APRS). To be awarded Fellowship status, members must have a minimum of ten years professional experience and have demonstrated exemplary professional achievements and service to the profession through activities with APhA and other professional organizations.
Dr. Gattas (’01) is an Authorized Nuclear Pharmacist and the Director for Quality and Safety with Triad Isotopes, Inc. He also serves as an assistant professor for the UTHSC College of Pharmacy, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, and St. Louis College of Pharmacy. He has been an active leader in APhA-APPM, taking on a variety of roles and leadership positions within the organization. When asked to reflect on this recognition, Dr. Gattas replied, “When I was told I was nominated by fellow APhA nuclear pharmacists, I felt really honored that my peers thought I would be a good candidate to be recognized as Fellow of APhA…When the call came in from APhA that I was actually going to be recognized, I then felt a weight because I know many of the current APhA Fellows, and all they have done for the profession. While I have worked hard to gain the title of APhA Fellow, I feel I have a lot of work still to do in order to continually deserve it.”
Dr. Vos (’03) is currently a clinical associate professor and director of the Professional Experience Program at the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy. She has been heavily involved in APhA throughout her pharmacy career, holding leadership positions and serving as the advisor for the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy chapter of the APhA-Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP). When asked what this award means to her, Dr. Vos stated, “I was honored and thrilled to be recognized as a Fellow of this organization. I distinctly remember as a student pharmacist seeing the original charter of the student branch of APhA. As I scanned the names of the people who signed the charter for the UT student chapter in the 1940s, I spotted my grandmother’s name and then my grandfather’s. Still today, I recall that moment and think about the vision of those students turning into the successful student organization at the UT APhA-ASP chapter is today.”