Art Schuna, MS, FASHP graduated from the University of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy and completed his MS in Hospital Pharmacy and Residency at University Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin. On completion of the Residency he developed an ambulatory clinical practice at the William S. Middleton VA Medical Center in Madison. In addition to directing the residency, he is the clinical pharmacy coordinator at the VA and also is a Clinical Professor with the University of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy. He established one of the first Ambulatory Care Specialty residencies in the country accredited by the American Society of Health Systems Pharmacists. To date, 100 Residents have completed this program. He has written over 30 papers published in refereed journals and has been the author of the “Rheumatoid Arthritis” chapter of DiPiro’s Pharmacotherapy: A Pathophysiologic Approach for all 6 editions of the textbook. Additionally, he co-authored the chapter “Gout and Hyperuricemia” for the book Drug-Induced Diseases: Prevention Detection and Management. He has been on the editorial board for 3 publications, served on ASHP’s Commission on Credentialing which accredits pharmacy residencies in addition to other Boards and Advisory groups. His clinical practice is in Rheumatology, Hypertension, Diabetes and Medication Management clinics. In addition to his professional activities, he has been a DJ for WORT-FM community radio for over 10 years and hosts the show, “Two For The Blues” on Saturday nights.
Trisha Seys, Pharm.D., CDE
Trisha Seys, Pharm.D., CDE joined the William S. Middleton VA in July 2006 as a Clinical Pharmacist. She graduated from the University Of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy in 2002 and completed the Primary Care Specialty residency at the William S. Middleton VA in 2003. After completion of the residency, Trisha worked as an ambulatory pharmacotherapist at the Appleton, Wisconsin VA and was a clinical instructor with the School of Pharmacy coordinating the pharmacotherapy lab. Her practice experience has been primarily in ambulatory care practice, with interests in anticoagulation, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension. Her professional memberships include American College of Clinical Pharmacy, and Diabetes Educators. She also volunteers as a Certified Diabetes Educator at Access Community Health Center and teaches Vinyasa yoga.
Connie Kraus, Pharm.D., BCPS, R.Ph
Connie Kraus, Pharm.D., BCPS, R.Ph earned her B.S. in Pharmacy in 1975 and served as an inpatient and ambulatory pediatric clinical pharmacist at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics until 1993 Dr. Kraus completed her Pharm.D. in 1993 and joined the faculty of the University of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy where she is now a Clinical Professor. Dr. Kraus teaches women's health in the required pharmacotherapy sequence and evidence-based practice principles across the curriculum. Dr. Kraus works as a member of an inter-professional health care group at Wingra Family Medical Center. Some of her unique contributions to this practice include: implementation and maintenance of a diabetes registry for previewing diabetes visits, co-management of care for patients using warfarin, and active participation in managing a prescription assistance program as well as providing information related to pharmacotherapy to family practice residents and faculty. She has published papers in Family Medicine, American Family Physician, Post-Graduate Medical Journal and Pharmacotherapy on topics related to Family Medicine practice.
Mary Zimmerman, R.Ph, CACP, BCPS
Mary Zimmerman, R.Ph, CACP, BCPS received her B.S. Pharmacy at UW-Madison. She is a board certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist and a Certified Anticoagulation Care Provider. Her clinic practice is mainly in the Anticoagulation clinic and she also coordinates the Smoking Cessation Clinic and is currently developing pharmacy services for the interdisciplinary Pain Clinic. Mary has presented posters at a number of national meetings and published a paper on the pharmacist’s roll in pain management in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Care in Pain & Symptom Control. She is the primary investigator at the Madison VA for the “80+ Hemorrhagic Cohort Study”, which assesses warfarin bleeding complications in older patients. She volunteers at Ronald McDonald House and her hobbies include knitting, beading, biking, walking, and reading.
Denise L. Walbrandt Pigarelli, Pharm.D., R.Ph, BC-ADM
Denise L. Walbrandt Pigarelli, Pharm.D., R.Ph, BC-ADM is a Clinical Associate Professor of Pharmacy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Pharmacy, and Clinical Pharmacy Specialist at the William S. Middleton Memorial VA Hospital. She earned her B.S. and Pharm.D. degrees from the University of Wisconsin and then completed a specialty practice residency in ambulatory care at the William S. Middleton Memorial VA Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin in 1994. She practiced as a primary care clinical pharmacist at the Carl T. Hayden VAMC in Phoenix, Arizona before joining the School of Pharmacy in 1996. Professor Pigarelli currently practices at the Madison VA in Diabetes Clinic, a practice she created at the facility in 1996; her main pharmacotherapeutic interests include diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. Dr. Pigarelli's research interests include clinical and quality of life outcomes of drug therapy and pharmaceutical care.
Catherine Johnson, Pharm.D.
Catherine Johnson, Pharm.D. received her Pharm.D. from Creighton University in 1998. She completed her general practice residency at the Portland, Oregon VA Hospital and primary care specialty residency at the Madison, Wisconsin VA Hospital. She later joined the Madison VA as a clinical pharmacist after hiking the Appalachian Trail in 2001. She specializes in psychopharmacology with a research interest in the neurobiology of PTSD. She has presented her research at the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) yearly since 2003 and is published in the International Clinical Journal of Psychopharmacology. She is currently in the graduate program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Population Health Sciences and is a Clinical Instructor with the University of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy.
Barry E. Gidal, Pharm.D.
Barry E. Gidal, Pharm.D. is a Professor of Pharmacy and Neurology at University of Wisconsin Schools of Pharmacy and Medicine. He is pharmacotherapist in the Epilepsy Clinic at the VA Hospital. He earned his BS degree at University of Utah and his Pharm.D. at University of Washington in Seattle where he also did a Residency in Pharmacokinetics. Barry practiced as a critical care pharmacist in Southern California before earning his Pharm.D. in 1990. After his residency, he completed a one-year research fellowship in clinical pharmacokinetics at the University of Washington-Seattle. Dr. Gidal joined the U.W.-Madison faculty in 1991. His practice interests are in the provision of pharmaceutical care to patients with epilepsy. Dr. Gidal's research interests focus on pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and the metabolic effects of anticonvulsant medications. Dr. Gidal is on the editorial boards for Epilepsy Research, Epilepsia, Epilepsy & Behavior, Annals of Pharmacotherapy and Pharmacists Letter. He wrote the “Epilepsy” chapter in the DiPiro’s textbook, Pharmacotherapy: A Pathophysiologic Approach.
Mary Beth Elliot, Pharm.D., Phd, R.Ph
Mary Beth Elliot, Pharm.D., Phd, R.Ph BA Radcliffe, PhD in Pharmacology and Pharm.D. University of Wisconsin. She is an Associate Professor with the School of Pharmacy and is Vice Chair of the Pharmacy Practice Division. Mary Beth returned to school and obtained her Pharm.D. in 1997 after many years in basic research. She completed a Primary Care Pharmacy Residency at the Madison Veterans Affairs Medical Center in 1998. Dr. Elliott has previously taught pharmacology at the School of Pharmacy as a lecturer, and for most of her research career in the Hypertension Laboratory at the Madison VAMC has investigated the roles of angiotensin and natriuretic peptides, in particular their control of blood pressure and aldosterone secretion. During her Pharm.D. training and residency, she turned her interests toward geriatrics and has selected this as her primary area of interest. She developed the osteoporosis clinic at the Madison VAMC. She is a member of the Endocrine Society and the Society for Bone and Mineral Research. Dr Elliott is an author of the “Osteoarthritis” chapter of DiPiro’s textbook, Pharmacotherapy: A Pathophysiologic Approach. Her primary area of research is related to osteoporosis and bone metabolism.
Christine A. Sorkness, Pharm.D., R.Ph, CAE
Christine A. Sorkness, Pharm.D., R.Ph, CAE is a preceptor in the Anticoagulation Clinic which she developed in 1979. She is also a preceptor with the ASHP Research and Education Foundation Antithrombotic Pharmacotherapy Traineeship. Dr. Sorkness is Professor of Pharmacy and Medicine (CHS). She received her BS and Pharm.D. degrees from the State University of New York- Buffalo. Christine came to the UW School of Pharmacy in 1979 after serving as a faculty member at the State University of New York-Buffalo. She is a clinical investigator and Director of Clinical Research with the UW Division of Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and has been co-author on numerous papers related to asthma. She co-authored the “Asthma” chapter in DiPiro’s textbook Pharmacotherapy: A Pathophysiologic Approach. Dr. Sorkness is an investigator with 3 NIH-funded asthma clinical research networks and is a Certified Asthma Educator.
Carla E. Staresinic, Pharm.D., CACP
Carla E. Staresinic, Pharm.D., CACP graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy (1997) and completed her Pharmacy Practice Residency at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, MO (1998) and her Primary Care Specialty Residency at the William S. Middleton VAMC in Madison, WI (1999). She joined the St. Louis College of Pharmacy (1999-2000) and practiced as a clinical pharmacist in Family Medicine at the Belleville Family Medicine Residency Program. After returning to the Madison area, Carla directed the Rockford VA Anticoagulation and Medication Management Clinics (2000-2002) and is presently a clinical specialist in anticoagulation and Manager of the Madison VAMC Anticoagulation Clinic. She is a preceptor for the ASHP Research and Education Foundation Antithrombotic Pharmacotherapy Traineeship and a site investigator for the VA cooperative trial, The Home INR Study. Her research interests include new models of delivering anticoagulation care and assessing clinical outcomes for local initiatives related to antithrombosis. Her hobbies include card-making, scrapbooking, and cooking.
Sara Milhans, Pharm.D.
Sara Milhans, Pharm.D. graduated from the University of Wisconsin Madison (2003) and completed her Primacy Care Residency at the William S. Middleton VAMC in Madison, WI (2004). She joined the Madison VA as a clinical pharmacist after her residency in 2004. In the summer of 2005 she completed a 'thru-hike' of the Appalachian Trail. She presently works as a clinician in the anticoagulation and medication management clinics at Madison VA. Her interests include hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes care.
Shannon K. Hobson, Pharm.D.
Shannon K. Hobson, Pharm.D. earned her B.S. in Pharmacy and Doctor of Pharmacy Degree from St. Louis College of Pharmacy in 2001 and 2002. Following her PharmD, she completed a post-graduate Specialty Residency in Primary Care at the William S. Middleton VA in 2003. Upon completion of the residency, she practices at the Madison VA as a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist and is a Clinical Instructor for the University of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy. Her clinical practice includes the Anticoagulation, Diabetes, and Medication Management clinics. Her areas of interest include hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and pharmacoeconomics. She was a co-author of the research project that evaluated ezetimibe efficacy on LDL-C lowering in a Veteran population, which was presented as a poster at ASHP 2005 Mid-year meeting. In 2005, she received a Special Contribution Award from the Department of Veterans Affairs VISN 12 Network Director for assistance in implementing pharmaceutical cost-savings initiatives. Her professional memberships include American College of Clinical Pharmacy and American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.
Sheryl Dezellem, Pharm.D., BCPS
Sheryl Dezellem, Pharm.D., BCPS received both her Bachelor of Pharmacy and Doctor of Pharmacy degrees from Washington State University. She completed a general residency with an emphasis in ambulatory care at the Albuquerque, NM VA. She worked as an ambulatory care clinical pharmacist at the Portland, OR VA before taking a break to hike the Appalachian Trail. She returned to the primary care residency at the VA in Madison, Wisconsin. Since completing the residency she has worked at the Madison VA with areas of practice including medication management, anticoagulation, diabetes, and home infusion. She has obtained BCPS certification and holds an appointment through the University of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy as a clinical instructor. She has given a presentation on smoking cessation at a Univ. of Wisconsin Extension Service conference on lung disease. She has also served as a small group facilitator at other extension service conferences. She is scheduled to be a speaker at the 2006 ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting.
Trish Hessling, Pharm.D.
Trish Hessling, Pharm.D. graduated from the University of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy in 2005. She completed the Ambulatory Care Specialty Residency at the William S. Middleton VA and then joined the pharmacy team as a Clinical Pharmacist in July 2006. Her practice experience has been primarily in infectious disease since completion of the residency but she also works as a staff pharmacist in both the inpatient and outpatient pharmacies. In her spare time, Trish enjoys spending time outdoors with her dog, reading, and watching movies.
Elizabeth Templeton, R.Ph.
Elizabeth Templeton, R.Ph. received her B.S. Pharmacy degree from St. Louis College of Pharmacy. She has experience in retail, hospital, long term care, and joined the Madison VA in 2000. Her clinic practice is mainly in Hepatitis-C and Erythropoietin clinic. She also works on a multidisciplinary team addressing obesity in Veterans.
Kristin Higgins, Pharm.D., BCPS
Kristin Higgins, Pharm.D., BCPS graduated from the University of Wisconsin - School of Pharmacy in 1997. She completed her general practice residency at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas and her primary care specialty residency at the William S. Middleton VA Hospital. After her residencies were completed, she was a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist at the Oklahoma City VA for 3 ½ years. In 2003, she joined the William S. Middleton VA Hospital as Drug Utilization Manager. Her professional memberships include the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.
