UK HealthCare

UK Pharmacy Resident, Faculty Receive ASHP Research Grant

LEXINGTON, KY. (May 11, 2012) Three members of the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy family have been awarded a 2012 ASHP Foundation Pharmacy Resident Practice-Based Research Grant to study how to better utilize antibiotics in treating patients with hospital-acquired infections. The grant was one of only six handed out across the nation.
 

Benjamin Ereshefsky, an infectious disease pharmacy resident at UK HealthCare, received the award. Ereshefsky will use his grant to conduct a study entitled, “Pharmacokinetic Analysis and Monte Carlo Simulation of Piperacillin in Patients on Intermittent Hemodialysis,” with guidance from senior investigator David Feola and Craig Martin, both faculty members in the College’s Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science.
 

The Pharmacy Resident Practice-Based Research Grant Program supports practice-based research conducted by residents in ASHP-accredited pharmacy residency programs or by residents in pharmacy residency programs that have submitted an application for ASHP accreditation. The overarching goal of the PPMI is to ensure that pharmacists participate on interdisciplinary patient care teams as the health professionals who are responsible and accountable for patients’ medication outcomes. A secondary goal is to develop pharmacy residents’ research skills while fostering development of mentoring relationships with more experienced senior investigators.
 

The purpose of Ereshefsky’s study is to understand the relationship between an antibiotic, a patient and a pathogen and to use that to determine the best way to administer a drug so that there is a higher likelihood of achieving a successful outcome. Due to the increasing prevalence of resistant pathogens, there are limited antimicrobial options to draw upon when treating patients. It is important to use them in the most appropriate way possible, especially when treating bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa that are typically associated with hospital-acquired infections.
 

“By studying this relationship in a select population of patients — those with kidney failure who require long-term dialysis — we hope to better understand the appropriateness of current dosing regimens,” said Ereshefsky. “As a result, we hope to provide health-system pharmacists on the front lines of patient care with an additional tool to evaluate the use of this medication in this specific patient population.
 

“I am truly grateful to receive this award from the ASHP Foundation.  It is a wonderful opportunity for me to further explore a topic about which I am passionate, and the experience will help me as I pursue research projects throughout my career. I am fortunate to work with some great pharmacists who have encouraged me and mentored me through this process.”

Media Contact: Ann Blackford at (859) 323-6442 or ann.blackford@uky.edu