The ZOTRx Podcast

Hello PPSers! For the last episode, we have our very own PPS former President, Jenny Nguyen, to conclude the season!

Jenny, who just graduated from UCI last year (2021), started her pharmacy journey through her active engagement in PPS throughout her undergraduate years. She held multiple board positions during her time at PPS and became an inspiration to all of us. During her years at UCI, she also worked as a technician in an independent pharmacy, a Peer Academic Advisor in the PharmSci Department, and a volunteer in the UCI vaccine clinic event. Jenny currently is a P1 student at UCSD Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, as well as being the Class President of the Class of 2025.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact our External Vice President, Ryan Kwok, through email (kwokth@uci.edu).

Additionally, we would like to thank everyone for listening to our podcast this season. As of current time, this will be the last season Ryan will be hosting it. However, it is not a complete goodbye, but see you soon as more exciting contents will be released in future years to come!

Hello PPSers! For this most recent episode, we feature Dr. Steven Chen, currently a P1 resident at Kaiser Permanente, to share his experience at UCSD Skaggs School of Pharmacy.

Dr. Chen, who graduated from UCI in 2017, first got exposure to pharmacy during his time at the Wagner Pharmacy Mentorship Program. During his time at UCSD, he became the president of APhA-ASP/CPhA and received the APhA Student Leadership Award. Dr. Chen has also been actively involved in teaching pharmacy students through various events, giving back to the education and training he has received. Currently, Dr. Chen is looking to continue his journey in becoming a clinical pharmacist specializing in inflammatory diseases.

If you want to see what Dr. Chen has to say on his journey, you can check out the episode in these 8 major Podcast platforms (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Breaker, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic)!

Hello PPSers! For the last episode of the quarter, we have Dr. Alex Le, currently a PGY2 Ambulatory Care resident at AdventHealth Celebration in Orlando, Florida.

Dr. Le, who graduated from UCI in 2016, established his confidence and teaching skills through being a LARC tutor during his time at UCI. He went on an out-of-state option for pharmacy school as he received his PharmD/MBA dual degree at University of Maryland. He is currently a PGY2 Ambulatory care resident, practicing in a diverse community setting in Florida with multiple clinic rotations. He is also part of the CapsuleRx Podcast as a podcast producer.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact our External Vice President, Ryan Kwok, through email (kwokth@uci.edu)!

Hello PPSers! For the last episode of the quarter, we have Dr. Michelle Ding, currently a psychiatric pharmacist at Kaiser Permanente Mental Health Center in LA, to share her working experience at different settings of psychiatric pharmacy.

Dr. Ding, who graduated from UCI in 2009, found her interest in pharmacy in high school and worked as a clerk then a technician at a local pharmacy in Orange county. With being active in PPS and other opportunities that helped her grow during her time at UCI, she went for an adventurous pathway to pursue her PharmD at University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy. She completed her two years of residency then after and specialized in psychiatry. In this episode, Dr. Ding shared her experience in psychiatry pharmacy in settings of acute care, ambulatory care, and industry.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact our External Vice President, Ryan Kwok, through email (kwokth@uci.edu). See you all after spring break!

Hello PPSers! Hope y’all have a great break and get ready for the Winter quarter! In this episode, we feature Dr. Megan Nguyen, the Founding Associate Dean of Pharmacy Student Affairs at UCI SPPS, to share her story of pharmacy and the journey in establishing UCI’s pharmacy school.

Dr. Nguyen, who graduated from UCI in 1995, found her interest in pharmacy when she volunteered at a local community hospital pharmacy. After receiving her Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences at UCI, she became part of the inaugural class at Western University School of Pharmacy. After her residency years focusing on academia and infectious disease, she remained at WesternU as a faculty until July 2020, when she joined the team at UCI to establish the new School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. After the remarkable experience working with the first inaugural class of PharmD candidates at UCI, Dr. Nguyen is looking forward to continuing to work with future classes and establishing brilliance in the field of pharmacy at UCI.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact our External Vice President, Ryan Kwok, through email (kwokth@uci.edu). See you all after winter break!

Hello PPSers! Hope y’all have a great break and get ready for the Winter quarter! In our first episode of the quarter, we have Dr. Karolina Kapustova to share her experience in pharmacy as a current PGY1 resident at RUHS Medical Center.

Immigrated at a young age with her family from the Czech Republic, Dr. Kapustova got inspired to become a pharmacist in the 7th grade. During her time at UCI before graduating in 2017, she has achieved great accomplishments through various opportunities from being a pharmacy technician at RiteAid and a COPE Health Scholar, as well as playing an important role in PPS’s success. During her time at USC, she did an internship at Keck Hospital that developed her passion for acute care. As a current PGY1 resident, Dr. Kapustova hopes to advance her practice through another year of residency to specialize in the pediatric population.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact our External Vice President, Ryan Kwok, through email (kwokth@uci.edu).

Hello PPSers! In our last episode of the quarter, we have Ms. Rachel Roehl to share her experience in pharmacy as a current P2 student at UCSF.

Rachel, who graduated from UCI in 2019, found her passion for pharmacy when she experienced the effect of medication hesitancy and aversion first-hand from her family. This experience allowed her to understand the importance of correct medication use and how pharmacists play an important role to help patients regulate their medication therapies. Fitting her personal experience, her current goal is to go towards an acute care direction where she can directly manage chronically ill patients’ therapy and help them in accord to their needs holistically. She was also a former Ambassador of PPS, where she had the chance to educate other pre-pharmacy students on planning their route to pharmacy through organizing events such as Pre-Pharmacy Day (PPD) and Southern California Pre-Pharmacy Symposium (SCPPS).

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact our External Vice President, Ryan Kwok, through email (kwokth@uci.edu). See you all after winter break!

Hello PPSers! In this episode, we have Dr. Lauren Law, a medical science liaison at AbbVie, to share her experience in the industry.

Dr. Law, who graduated from UCI in 2013, first got interested in pharmacy during her UCI years from discussions with professors at the PharmSci Department. During her time at UCSF, she found a passion in industry and the important role of pharmacists in Pharmaceutical companies to connect the science behind medications with how pharmacy is practiced. After her post-doctoral fellowship at UCSF in health outcomes and Actelion Pharmaceuticals, her current work surrounds helping pharmacists and other health care providers to be updated with medication developments and new therapeutic options. She currently also serves as the Vice President of Anteaters in Pharmacy Alumni Chapter.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact our External Vice President, Ryan Kwok, through email (kwokth@uci.edu). And, as always, stay tuned for our announcements!

Hello PPSers! Welcome back from Summer Break! Are you guys ready for this new academic year back in-person? Did you miss our update during the break? Well, we are starting off Season II of the ZOTRx Podcast with an honored guest -- Dr. Tony Dao!

Dr. Dao, who graduated from UCI in 2008, discovered his passion for informatics pharmacy when he combined two of his favorite subjects - technology and pharmacy - during his time as a pharmacy student at USC. First started as a informatics pharmacist at Ventura County as well as a clinical pharmacist at Kindred, Dr. Dao acquired important sets of skills in conducting technology advancing projects to assist the growth of pharmacy. Currently as a pharmacy informatics specialist at Children’s Health Orange County (CHOC), Dr. Dao also has multiple positions and projects outside of his work to help those who want to pursue pharmacy informatics, including being the creator and host of the podcast Pharmacy, IT, & Me, co-founding the Pharmacy Informatics Academy, and teaching at multiple institutions on Pharmacy Informatics.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact our External Vice President, Ryan Kwok, through email (kwokth@uci.edu). And, as always, stay tuned for our announcements!

Hello PPSers. In our season finale, we have Ms. Siyu Liu, currently a P3 at UMich, to share her pharmacy story with us!

Arriving in the States as an international student, Siyu developed her interest in pharmacy from her high school counselor’s guidance. During her UCI years, she was able to develop the interest in the profession as a board member of PPS and other opportunities, especially her chance to shadow a pharmacist in China to broaden her view of pharmacy practice in an international setting. As a passionate pharmacy student, she does a lot of work in educating patient’s healthy lifestyles and even has her own vlogs to share her experience as an international student studying pharmacy in the US. Currently, she aims to use the knowledge she gained in helping to guide a change on a more patient-focused field of pharmacy in China.

Thank you for your support throughout the whole season of the ZOTRx podcast! We are dedicated to bringing you more amazing content next season and inviting more influential alumni guests to talk about their contributions to the field of pharmacy. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact our Fundraising Chair/Program Coordinator, Ryan Kwok, through email (kwokth@uci.edu).

Hello PPSers. In this episode, we have Thien Vu, PharmD, the pharmacy manager/director at our very own Student Health Center, to share his story with us!

Born and raised in Vietnam, Dr. Vu immigrated to the country at the age of 14 with his family, settling in tough conditions where he and his siblings need to work and study at the same time to support the family. Through his hard work and dedication, he received multiple scholarships and aids that allowed him to transfer to UCI and find his career pathway. Unsure about what healthcare field he wanted to pursue, he explored many different opportunities during his time at UCI and eventually settled in pharmacy. He then went on to pursue his PharmD at UCSD and ultimately received one of his first pharmacy jobs as a regional manager at RiteAid after graduation. Having the opportunity to go back and serve in his alma mater, Dr. Vu aims to provide the best service to the anteater community here at SHC.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact our Fundraising Chair/Program Coordinator, Ryan Kwok, through email (kwokth@uci.edu). And, as always, stay tuned for our announcements!

Hello PPSers! Want to know more about the road to industry or anything research related in general? For this episode, we have Eric Samuels, PhD to share his research in the industry with us!

Dr. Samuels, who received his PhD at UCI in 2018, started his interest in research during his time in UC Santa Cruz as an undergraduate. Following his time in UCSC, he joined Dr. Thomas Poulos lab to pursue his PhD studies. Dr. Samuels road to transition from an academia setting to the industry started when he joined the USC-Allergan postdoctoral fellowship, where he obtained the “industrial scientist mindset” and became part of an important team for small molecule product development. Currently, Dr. Samuels is a scientist in the pharmaceutical sciences department at AbbVie in Irvine.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact our Fundraising Chair/Program Coordinator, Ryan Kwok, through email (kwokth@uci.edu). And, as always, stay tuned for our announcements!

Hello PPSers! In this last episode of the quarter, we have UCSF P4 student Kristine Jermakian to share her story with us!

Kristine, who graduated from UCI in 2016, found her interest in health care during her childhood when she would follow her mother, who works in the hospital setting, during work and interact with the providers. Coming into UCI, she was unsure about her decision of which healthcare field to go to until she enrolled in a pharmaceutical sciences class taught by Dr. Sam Schriner, which led to her change of major from Chemistry to PharmSci and focusing her career path into pharmacy. During her gap year, she was able to serve in a local pharmacy, where she experienced the importance of health care at a local level and how health care policies shape the lives of many communities. With such in mind, she placed her focus on acute care practice while implementing her knowledge of policies to advance her work during her time in UCSF and for her future practice as well.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact our Fundraising Chair/Program Coordinator, Ryan Kwok, through email (kwokth@uci.edu). If you have any questions you would like to ask our guest, Kristine, she will be more than willing to answer them! You can contact her at kristinejermakian@gmail.com. And, similar to last quarter, it would be highly appreciated if you can fill in a quarter feedback survey to let us know what you would like to see in future episodes. Thank you for your support for the quarter, and we look forward to hearing from your feedback and improve the quality of our episodes in the future.

Welcome back from Winter Break! For the fourth episode of the season, we have alum Amanda Tran, PharmD, to share her story with us!

Dr. Tran, who graduated from UCI in 2012, established her interest in science and her passion in serving the community since high school. During her years as a UCI undergraduate, she strived to find many opportunities provided around to continue to help the people in need, and such experiences also sparked her interest in teaching when she became a LARC tutor. With a vision of what kind of pharmacist she wants to become in following her passion, she decided to focus her practice on ambulatory care and academia during her time as a pharmacy student in UCSF and her residencies. Currently, Dr. Tran continues her practice in a primary care setting while being an assistant clinical professor at KGI School of Pharmacy.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact our Fundraising Chair/Program Coordinator, Ryan Kwok, through email (kwokth@uci.edu). And, as always, stay tuned for our announcements!

For the third episode, we have alum Jeremie Aviado, PharmD, to share his story with us!

Jeremie, who graduated from UCI in 2016, found his dedication for pharmacy when a medical incident happened to him during his time working as a pharmacy technician at a  community pharmacy. He was touched by the care that the pharmacists in the hospital, where he was volunteering at the time, provided for his recovery. He continued his pharmacy journey by actively engaging in hospital and drug rehab center work during his time at UCSF. He is currently planning to pursue his pharmacy career in emergency medicine after his PGY1.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact our Fundraising Chair/Program Coordinator, Ryan Kwok, through email (kwokth@uci.edu). And, as always, stay tuned for our announcements!

For the second episode, we have alum Tu Tran, PharmD, to share his story with us!

Tu, who graduated from UCI in 2009 and got his PharmD at Midwestern University, was inspired by his relatives to pursue a career in pharmacy. With multiple challenges came along his way during his years at UCI and Midwestern University, he was able to find himself interested in acute care pharmacy and developed his career path greatly during his residencies. Currently, he is employed as a pharmacy manager at MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact our Fundraising Chair/Program Coordinator, Ryan Kwok, through email (kwokth@uci.edu). And, as always, stay tuned for our announcements!

For the first episode, we have recent alum Alex Shahverdian to share his story with us!

Alex, who is currently a P2 pharmacy student at USC and the president of Anteaters in Pharmacy, found his interest in pharmacy when he was doing volunteer work at the USC Verdugo Hills Hospital. As a transfer to UCI, he explored different opportunities that UCI has provided and ultimately established himself as a peer academic advisor for the Pharmaceutical Sciences Department and an important contributor to the development of the introductory class of PharmSci 1 for transfers. Currently, he is involved in medicinal chemistry research, and would like to develop his pharmacy career interest in that direction.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact our Fundraising Chair/Program Coordinator, Ryan Kwok, through email (kwokth@uci.edu). And, as always, stay tuned for our announcements!