Alumni Awards Recipients 2022

Congratulations to the recipients of the 2022 Alumni Awards! And thank you to the applicants, nominees, and the committee!

Distinguished Alumni Award

Dr. Bernard Graham ‘71

Following a PhD from Purdue, Bernie was a tenured faculty at the University of South Carolina and Idaho State University. He has served as Chair of both Pharmacy Departments as well as Associate Dean.  In 1983, he joined the nuclear power industry in Pennsylvania and for four years was the Environmental Group Supervisor and Senior Health Physicist.  In the last 22 years he served as the founding Dean of the Nesbitt School of Pharmacy at Wilkes University, and for a time, as Dean of Nursing and Provost.  

Throughout his career he conducted pharmaceutical and environmental research, authored many scholarly works, and mentored and taught pharmacy students, graduate students, medical students and residents.  

He has been a registered pharmacist and a Board Certified Health Physicist.  He currently serves on several local civic boards including the Board of Trustees of a Community College.

Distinguished Alumni Award

Dr. Peter B. Corr ‘71

Dr. Peter B. Corr is Co-Founder and Managing General Partner of Auven Therapeutics Management LLLP. Dr. Corr retired from Pfizer Inc. in December 2006 where he was Senior Vice President for Science and Technology. He also headed worldwide pharmaceutical research and development for Pfizer.

Previously, Dr. Corr served as Executive Vice President, Pfizer Global Research & Development, and President, Worldwide Development. He also served as Senior Vice President, Discovery Research, at Monsanto/Searle and then, President of Pharmaceutical Research and Development at Warner Lambert/Parke Davis.

Dr. Corr, who received his doctorate from Georgetown University School of Medicine, spent 18 years as a researcher in molecular biology and pharmacology at Washington University in St. Louis. When he left Washington University, Dr. Corr was Professor, Department of Medicine (Cardiology) and Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Biology. His research has been published in more than 160 scientific manuscripts.

Dr. Corr is the recipient of numerous awards, including membership in the Alpha Omega Alpha National Medical Honorary Society, an Established Investigator Award from the American Heart Association, and a Research Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health. He received the Washington University$ School of Medicine Teacher of the Year Award on several occasions and, in 1990, the Washington University Distinguished Faculty Award.

In addition to his work at Pfizer, Parke Davis and Monsanto/Searle, Dr. Corr was Chairman of the Science & Regulatory Executive Committee of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA); Chairman of the PhRMA Foundation Board of Directors; and Chairman of the Hever Group for 6 years, representing Chief Scientific Officers (CSO's) across the European and U.S. based pharmaceutical industry. He is a past Governor of the New York Academy of Sciences (and past Chairman of the Board of Governors) and past member of the Board of Regents of Georgetown University. Additionally, he was Chairman of the Board of the International Partnership for Microbicides, Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Critical Path Institute (retired in June 2016 after 10 years), and Chairman of the Board of Directors for ADC Therapeutics, S.A. through the completion of its IPO in May, 2A2A. He served as a founding Board member on the Board of Directors of Furiex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. until the sale of the company in July 2014. He is a Founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Patient Assist VI which provides medicines to indigent patients in the US Virgin Islands. He is Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors for Imvax Inc., a research and development company focused on cancer vaccines with an initial emphasis on glioblastomas. He is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Lakewood- Amedex Inc., a research and development company focused on a new therapeutic strategy for antibacterial and antifungal treatments. He is a member of the National Council for Washington University School of Medicine and the Barnes Hospital Medical Center, the National Academies' Institute of Medicine (IOM) Committee on Conflict of Interest in Medical Research, Education and Practice, the IOM Forum on Drug Discovery, Development and Translation and the IOM Committee on Accelerating Rare Diseases Research and Orphan Product Development.

Dr. Corr is a resident of the US Virgin Islands.

Outstanding Young Alumni

Dr. Aniwaa Owusu Obeng '11

Dr. Aniwaa Owusu Obeng is a faculty member of the Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine and an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS) in New York, USA. She also has an appointment in The Mount Sinai Hospital as the Clinical Pharmacogenomics Coordinator. Dr. Obeng joined Mount Sinai in July 2013 and has been spearheading clinical pharmacogenomics implementation efforts in Mount Sinai’s outpatient clinics ever since. She also leads development of provider and patient educational materials on pharmacogenomics. Moreover, Dr. Owusu Obeng directs clinical pharmacogenomics rotations for pharmacy residents in the Mount Sinai Health System and Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience rotation for student pharmacists.

Dr. Owusu Obeng obtained her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Albany, NY in 2011. She then pursued residency in general pharmacy practice at the Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center in NY, and subsequently, a PGY2 residency at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy. As the inaugural resident in the UF Health Personalized Medicine Program, Dr. Owusu Obeng specialized in Pharmacogenomics and Drug Information. Her research interests mainly lie in developing best practice processes to effectively bridge the gap between discovery of genetic determinants of therapeutic response and their adoption into routine clinical practice.

Dr. Obeng has published over 35 peer-reviewed manuscripts and book chapters on pharmacogenomics and precision medicine. She is an active member of Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium (CPIC) and the Pharmacogenomics Working Group in the NIH/NHGRI-funded IGNITE Network. She is the current Co-Chair of the Early Career committee in the Pharmacogenetics Research Network (PGRN) where she also serves as a member of the Developing Countries committee. She is a 2017 ISMMS Leadership Emerging in Academic Departments Scholar; a member and 2017 MERIT Scholar of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy and the 2021 recipient of the Solomon Silver Award in Clinical Medicine at ISMMS.

Student-Centered Award

Dr. Katie Cardone '06

Katie Cardone, PharmD, BCACP is an associate professor and pharmacy program director at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. She is a 2006 graduate of the College and subsequently completed a nephrology pharmacy fellowship at Albany Medical Center and Albany College of Pharmacy. As pharmacy program director, Dr. Cardone serves as one “point” of the advising Triangle of Success for all students in the pharmacy program, providing guidance on coursework, career options, campus involvement and support. 

As a nationally recognized expert in nephrology, Dr. Cardone maintains a clinical practice and a research program focused on improving care in patients with kidney disease. She is part of the leadership of the Advancing Kidney Health Through Optimal Medication Management initiative and is the lead author of recently published practice standards for pharmacists working in kidney settings. Dr. Cardone shares her expertise in the classroom in the nephrology therapeutics course and electives, and in the clinic setting, where students on advanced pharmacy practice experience rotations work with the healthcare team to optimize medication use. Dr. Cardone currently serves as residency program director for the College’s ASHP-accredited PGY2 ambulatory care residency. She is a member of the Board of Pharmacy Specialties Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Council and is a fellow of the National Kidney Foundation, the American Society of Nephrology, and the American College of Clinical Pharmacy.

Respect Award

Dr. Nimish Patel '06

Nimish Patel is an alumnus of the Albany College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences (ACPHS) and received his PharmD in 2006. He went on to complete a specialty residency in HIV Pharmacotherapy in a joint affiliated position between the University of Toronto/Toronto General Hospital and McGill University/Montreal Chest Institute. Upon completion of his residency training, Dr. Patel returned to ACPHS to pursue a 3-year fellowship in infectious diseases outcomes research under the direction of Thomas Lodise. Concurrent to his fellowship training, Dr. Patel received Master's of Science and PhD degrees in Epidemiology at the State University of New York (SUNY) Albany, School of Public Health. In 2010, Dr. Patel joined the faculty at ACPHS with a clinical practice site at the Stratton Veterans Affairs Medical Center. In 2018, Dr. Patel accepted a faculty position at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of California San Diego, where he maintains a clinical infectious diseases research program focused on reducing health disparities among marginalized communities. His work in this area has been recognized by the California HIV Research Program as the recipient of the Jan G. Giorgi award for improving our understanding of the interconnected relationship between high doses of gender affirming hormone therapy, drug concentrations and kidney function among transgender persons using pre-exposure prophylaxis. During the pandemic, Dr. Patel pivoted his clinical practice to serve as an unblinded investigational drug pharmacist on several clinical trials related to prevention and treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Dr. Patel maintains national involvement in the American Academy of HIV Medicine, the Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists and American College of Clinical Pharmacy.

Collaboration and Community Award

Dr. Lucio Volino '04

Lucio Volino is a Clinical Associate Professor and Director of Assessment at Rutgers University’s Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy (EMSOP). After receiving his Doctor of Pharmacy degree at Albany College of Pharmacy, Dr. Volino completed a two-year, post-doctoral industry fellowship at Novartis Pharmaceuticals/Rutgers University. Dr. Volino’s current role as a Clinical Pharmacist at Barnabas Health Retail Pharmacy – Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center involves managing clinical services and transitions of care initiatives. He develops, implements, and oversees patient-centered self-care, preventive care, and medication management programs across seven affiliated pharmacies. Dr. Volino has organized and helped deliver over 500 community outreach programs and trained thousands of pharmacists, student pharmacists, and technicians to administer immunizations.

In addition, Dr. Volino is highly engaged in committee and task force work across numerous organizations. He currently serves as National President – Rho Chi Honor Society, Immediate Past Chair – AACP Laboratory Instructors Special Interest Group, and Senator – Rutgers University Senate. Finally, Dr. Volino coordinates and/or teaches in multiple EMSOP skills-based, therapeutic, elective, and experiential courses. He has been recognized for his excellence in teaching, clinical practice, and service as a recipient of the Bowl of Hygeia Award, William and Helen Levine Teacher of the Year Award (nine times), Rho Chi’s Faculty Advisor Award, NJPhA’s Innovative Pharmacy Practice and Donald J. Wernik Academic Achievement Awards, and the Rutgers University RBHS Chancellor Community Service Award.