Fisher Faculty Member Receives Fulbright Scholar Award
Dr. Elizabeth (Lisa) Phillips, associate professor and chair of the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Administration at the St. John Fisher University Wegmans School of Pharmacy, has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Given by the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, the program offers over 400 awards in more than 135 countries for U.S. citizens to teach, conduct research, and carry out professional projects around the world. Phillips is the eighth faculty member at Fisher, and second from the School of Pharmacy, to be selected for the Fulbright Scholar program.
Beginning in August 2024, Phillips will spend the fall semester in Kenya at Maseno University, collaborating with colleagues Dr. Walter Otieno, chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University’s School of Medicine and practicing physician at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching & Referral Hospital (JOOTRH), and Dr. Andrea Shaw, assistant professor of pediatrics, emergency medicine, medicine and public health and preventative medicine and director of the Center of International Health at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York. Phillips developed a professional relationship with Shaw through her clinical and professional work at Upstate Medical University, where she also has an adjunct professor role. It was the relationship with Shaw and SUNY’s collaboration with Maseno University and JOOTRH that the Fulbright opportunity presented itself. Phillips, a doctoral-trained clinical pharmacist with specialization in clinical pharmacy, program implementation, and therapeutics, will work with Otieno and colleagues as a clinical research assistant to bolster the hospital’s Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (ASP).
According to the World Health Organization, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is among the top ten global health crises and Kenya’s Ministry of Health has published national guidelines for health care systems to strengthen ASPs. Among its recommendations is the incorporation of a pharmacist into formal ASPs, development of curriculum for pre-service and in-service health care professionals, and the expansion of laboratory testing capabilities. Phillips will spend her time in Kenya engaging in quality assessment in the current ASP at JOOTRH’s Obama Children’s Hospital, collaborating with colleagues to create educational teaching curriculum for pediatric medical residents, and conducting research that can inform best practices and improve the care and management of children in the region.
“The opportunity the Fulbright Scholarship provides – to be in a country for an extended period, be immersive in the hospital, and be part of an initiative that can address structural issues in the health care system resulting in positive impacts to the quality of care – will be a rewarding one,” Phillips said. “This team of collaborators is committed to the project and to building infrastructure that can mitigate antimicrobial resistance in an area that has one of the highest rates.”
Phillips joined the faculty at Fisher in 2008, and since 2011, has served as the residency program director for a Post-Graduate Year 2 ambulatory care residency, affiliated with Upstate Medical University. She has spent the last 24 years developing and fostering a collaborative ambulatory care practice, which has served as a training site for pharmacy students and residents. She has been an advocate for expanding the pharmacist’s scope of practice and her work in ambulatory care served as part of the New York State Collaborative Drug Therapy Management (CDTM) demonstration project and the outcomes data from pharmacist-led initiatives at the site were included in report to the Department of Education that helped get CDTM as part of the pharmacist scope of practice. In her role as chair, she oversaw more than 20 faculty in the practice and pharmacy administration disciplines and guided the development of the School of Pharmacy’s online pathway curriculum for the department.
During the 2019-2020 academic year, Phillips participated in the Academic Leadership Fellows Program through the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. She has also been the recipient of several awards, including Teacher of the Year at the School of Pharmacy, the Pharmacists Society of the State of New York Excellence in Innovation Award, and the Presidents Clinical Team of the Year Award through Upstate Medical University.