College of Pharmacy Adds New Faculty for 2021-2022 Academic Year
| The UAMS College of Pharmacy welcomed five new faculty members for the 2021-2022 academic year.
Amy Robertson, Pharm.D., BCACP
Amy Robertson has joined the College of Pharmacy faculty as an assistant professor at the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus.
She received her Pharm.D. from the University of Missouri Kansas City School of Pharmacy. After completing a pharmacy practice residency at UAMS, she served as a clinical assistant professor for the School of Pharmacy and School of Medicine at the University of Kansas where she taught didactic courses. She has also served as a preceptor for pharmacy practice experiential rotations since 2018.
As an experienced clinician, Robertson is a board certified ambulatory care pharmacist. She has worked as clinical pharmacist at the Wesley Family Medicine Clinic in Wichita, Kansas.
Ashok Philip, Ph.D.
Ashok Philip has joined the College of Pharmacy as a professor and director of assessment.
He received his doctorate in medicinal chemistry from the University of Mississippi. He continued his postdoctoral research at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis as well as the Center of Drug Design, housed at the University of Minnesota.
Prior to UAMS, he served as a professor of pharmaceutical sciences and the director of assessment at the Union University College of Pharmacy in Jackson, Tennessee. In his 13 years as an educator, he was awarded faculty member of the year 10 times.
Laura Gressler, Ph.D., M.S.
Laura Gressler has joined the Department of Pharmacy Practice as an assistant professor.
She received her Ph.D. in pharmaceutical health services research from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and earned a Master of Science in pharmacy evaluation and policy from UAMS.
She also completed an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) Fellowship with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. As an ORISE fellow, she was a recipient of the Center for Devices and Radiological Health Honor Award for collaboration.
In higher education, Gressler previously served as a lecturer for several graduate courses and as a research assistant with the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System and the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
Marty Perry, Ph.D.
Marty Perry has joined the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences full-time as its vice chair for professional education and as an associate professor. Before his new appointment, he served as an adjunct professor with the College of Pharmacy since 2000.
Perry received his doctorate in physical chemistry from Oklahoma State University and his bachelor’s degree in chemistry and mathematics from Arkansas Tech University. Just before receiving his doctorate, he was awarded the National Science Foundation Fellowship.
Previously, he worked at Ouachita Baptist University for 20 years in multiple roles, including professor of chemistry and the Nell I. Mondy Chair of Chemistry. While at Ouachita, he was named Professor of the Year by the Central Arkansas Section of the American Chemical Society, in addition to being recognized for outstanding service.
More recently, Perry spent nearly three years at the St. Louis College of Pharmacy as an associate professor and has also served as a visiting assistant professor at the United States Naval Academy as well as an assistant professor at Arkansas Tech.
Pilar Murphy, PharmD, MPH
Pilar Murphy has joined the Department of Pharmacy Practice as an associate professor.
She received her Pharm.D. from UAMS and later earned a master’s degree in public health from Samford University. After graduating from UAMS, Murphy completed two residencies in psychiatric pharmacotherapy and pharmacy practice at the Tuscaloosa Veteran’s Administration Medical Center and the McWhorter School of Pharmacy, respectively. She continued her training as a faculty fellow for the Samford University Mann Center for Ethics and Leadership.
Prior to her new role at UAMS, Murphy served as a faculty member in pharmacy practice at the Samford University McWhorter School of Pharmacy from 2012 to 2021, where she taught didactic and experiential courses and also worked as a pharmacist at a community pharmacy until 2015.
In addition to nearly a decade in higher education, she was also a co-advisor for the Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA).