A look back at the 2023-24 Career Exploration speaker series

As we enter the 2024-25 academic year, we also want to reflect on the previous year – specifically on our alumni speaker series, Career Exploration. 

This monthly event provides College of Pharmacy students with unique opportunities to hear from and network with featured alumni speakers in an intimate classroom setting. Alumni from varying paths in pharmacy and the pharmaceutical industry are asked to share their individual experiences and answer pressing questions from students. Students have the chance to talk with pharmacy leaders and innovators through this series – but they must act fast. These events are first-come, first-served and the sign-up sheets fill up quickly with students eager to hear from experienced alumni.

Read on to learn about the alumni we welcomed to Parks Hall for the 2023-24 academic year, and stay tuned to learn about who we are welcoming for the 2024-25 year.

Kimberly Cremers, PharmD, BS ’92

Friday, September 15, 2023

Kimberly Cremers, PharmD, has more than 20 years of medical affairs experience in the pharmaceutical/biotech industry. She has successfully led medical affairs teams (Medical Science Liaison, Learning and Development) as well as department strategy & planning, working with products across the lifecycle and in a variety of therapeutic areas. Her experience leading scientific exchanges with healthcare professionals that are balanced, compliant, and effective is now applied as an external consultant for organizations that seek to build or optimize medical affairs capabilities.

Dr. Cremers earned her BS in Pharmacy from The Ohio State University and her Doctor of Pharmacy from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science. She completed a General Practice Residency at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio and a Specialty Oncology Residency at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, FL. In addition to her experience in the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Cremers’ career journey includes positions as a clinical pharmacist, medication safety pharmacist, and Director of the graduate level class at the University of Colorado School of Pharmacy, “Introduction to the Pharmaceutical Industry”.  Additionally, she completed six field assignments (Africa, ME) as a pharmacist with Doctors Without Borders.

Mike Benedict, MS ’90, BS ’88

Friday, January 19, 2024

Mike Benedict is Vice President of Pharmacy Operations at Apexus, the organization responsible for managing the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA’s) 340B Prime Vendor Drug Discount Program.  Mike is responsible for managing relationships with suppliers, distributors and entities, and provides educational support for internal and external stakeholders in the 340B program.

Before joining Apexus, Mike was the Vice President of Health Enterprises Pharmacy Services where he developed services for member hospitals including onsite and remote staffing services, 340B services, medication safety and revenue cycle consulting services. Additionally, he has provided more than 25 years of pharmacy leadership in areas as diverse as disproportionate share hospitals, critical access hospitals, community health centers, school-based clinics, jails, colleges of pharmacy, ambulatory pharmacy and clinical services management. 

Mike received his bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from The Ohio State University. He completed residencies in hospital pharmacy and hospital pharmacy administration at Mount Carmel Medical Center and completed a master’s degree in Hospital Pharmacy Administration at The Ohio State University. 

Emlah Tubuo, PharmD ’10, MS

Friday, February 16, 2024

Dr. Emlah Tubuo is a mom, pharmacist, speaker, and entrepreneur. She is the founder and owner of Powell Pharmacy, an integrative lifestyle pharmacy, where she offers far more than the traditional dispensing pharmacy experience.  While living and working in her birth country of Cameroon, Dr. Tubuo suffered from numerous preventable diseases such as Malaria, Typhoid Fever and Dysentery. This gives her an intense respect and passion for disease prevention and community education. Her philosophy is centered around ways to improve health and well-being by focusing on preventive medicine, intentional living and kindness.

It is inspired by her desire to ensure that our days reflect the life we genuinely desire. Dr. Tubuo works closely with her clients to identify lifestyle and drug-induced nutrient deficiencies and offers customizable wellness programs to help patients meet their individual health goals. She owns Emlah Naturals, a third-party tested line of supplements with a focus on education. Her dedication to education inspired her to create a course that teaches pharmacists to recommend supplements with confidence which will soon be launched. 

Emlah leads a fulfilled intentional lifestyle. She encourages her audience to find fulfillment in their careers. She has provided keynotes to various corporations, including McKesson and Women of Wendys. Her message is to empower everyone to live intentionally and take small consistent steps in the direction of their dreams. Her mantra is “We all struggle, choose kindness always.”

Jill Helmke, PharmD, BS ’99

Friday, March 29, 2024

Jill S. Helmke, Certified Nuclear Pharmacist and Doctor of Pharmacy, comes to NuView Life Sciences, with over 25 years of pharmacy experience ranging from outpatient pharmacy to clinical research. A graduate of The Ohio State University, she also completed a specialty in Nuclear Medicine. In addition, she has degrees in Business Management and Music from Baldwin Wallace University. Dr. Helmke practiced nuclear medicine for 15 years at Cardinal Health and Vanderbilt University Medical Center, specializing in Positron Emission Tomography (PET). While at Vanderbilt, she branched into Biomedical Informatics wherein she focused on pediatric drug formulations, as well as compounding research and development. 

A major contributor to STEPStools (Safety through Electronic Prescribing System Tools), Dr. Helmke presented her research to the American Academy of Pediatrics in Washington D.C. and has received national recognition for her efforts in Biomedical Informatics. After relocating to Park City, UT, Dr. Helmke continued her Biomedical Informatics research with the University of Utah. Subsequently, she conducted Phase I-IV clinical drug trials with PRA Health Sciences.

Speakers from prior years include

• Joe Craft, BS '95, and Robin Craft, BS '99, co-owners and pharmacists, Plain City Druggist and Happy Druggist Pharmacy
• Julie Johnson, PharmD, BS '85, Dr. Samuel T and Lois Felts Mercer Professor of Pharmacology and Medicine, Director, Center for Clinical and Translational Science, Former Dean of UF College of Florida
• Trisha Jordan, MS '01, PharmD Chief Pharmacy Officer at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and Assistant Dean for Medical Center Affairs at The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy
• Laura Lile, MD, RPh, BS ’87, Founder and Medical Director, Lile Wellness Partners and Chief Executive Officer, Prothione
• Harry Loucks, MBA, BS '87, Associate Director of Financial Planning and Analysis, Astellas Gene Therapies
• Susan Mashni, PharmD '04, BS '86, SVP, Chief Pharmacy Officer, Mount Sinai Health System
• Nick Page, PharmD ’96, BS ’94, Chief Clinical and Strategy Officer, WellDyne
• Susan Raber, PharmD, BS '90, MPH Senior Director, Clinical Pharmacology & Bioanalytics, Pfizer