Department of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmaceutical Sciences
The Department of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmaceutical Sciences (PPPS) is one of five academic departments within the College of Pharmacy and is geographically located on the University of Minnesota Duluth campus. PPPS is an interdisciplinary department with faculty engaged in scholarship, practice and teaching across disciplines encompassing clinical, basic, and social sciences.
Our faculty and outstanding administrative and research staff are dedicated to continuously improving interdisciplinary pharmaceutical care education, research, practice and service focused on the health and wellbeing of underserved, rural, and Indigenous communities.
Graduate Studies
PPPS faculty are actively involved in a number of graduate programs within the College of Pharmacy and Medical School. They currently hold graduate faculty appointments in these programs:
- Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology
- Social and Administrative Pharmacy
- Biochemistry,Molecular Biology and Biophysics
- Integrated Biosciences
For more information, contact the individual graduate programs.
Strategic Plan
Read the PPPS strategic plan
The Minnesota PharmD
University of Minnesota Doctor of Pharmacy students become pharmacists who are generalist pharmacy practitioners prepared to identify, resolve and prevent drug related problems. Students learn to provide patient care to achieve positive drug therapy outcomes that improve the quality of patients’ lives.
Research
Department of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmaceutical Sciences faculty can best be described as multidisciplinary with expertise in the basic, clinical, social, and behavioral sciences. This diverse focus and departmental infrastructure sets the stage for collaborate research opportunities with colleagues in the Medical School Duluth, local and regional health care systems, and across other departments in the Academic Health Center.
Students play an important role in PPPS research laboratories, and numerous opportunities exist for students who have a desire to gain research experience as an undergraduate, professional, or graduate student.
Research Facilities
Facilities include a Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Laboratory with over 4000 square feet of laboratory space that serves four bench scientists and their research teams. An extensive and impressive list of state-of-the-art equipment is accessible to PPPS researchers in support of their research efforts.
Research for Indigenous Community Health Center (RICH)
RICH is an interdisciplinary health center focused on building alliances between researchers and tribal communities for community-based participatory research.
Brain Barriers Research Center (BBRC)
Brain Barriers Research Center (BBRC), a distinctive research group involving many disciplines in the College of Pharmacy and the Medical School (Duluth and Twin Cities) and dedicated to using cutting edge technologies in the treatment of brain disorders.
Meet Our Faculty and Staff
Department Head
Grant Anderson, PhD
Students on rotation with Dr. Fierke have been hosting Fireside Chats for younger students.
The closing of rural pharmacies affects vulnerable demographics, such as the elderly and those suffering from chronic illnesses—leading to poorer health outcomes for individuals and their communities.
"Community pharmacists have an opportunity to engage with patients who might be at risk of opioid use disorder or of overdose," said Assist. Prof. Laura Palombi.