Meet our faculty and clinicians who lead and serve as the primary preceptors of the residency program. They are supported by the team of other clinical pharmacists and faculty on the Temple Health Sciences Campus.

 

Marissa Cavaretta, PharmD, BCPS, BCACP

Clinical Associate Professor 

Clinical Specialist in Internal Medicine at Temple University Hospital

Director, PGY-2 Internal Medicine Pharmacy Residency

 

Education & Residency

• PharmD, Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
• PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency, Upstate University Hospital (Syracuse, NY)
• PGY2 Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Residency, Upstate University Hospital (Syracuse, NY)

 

Previous Experience

• Clinical Pharmacist with the Acute Care of the Elderly team, Upstate University Hospital 

 

Courses

• Pharmacy and Therapeutics Neurology/Psychiatry Module
• Pharmaceutical Care Recitation III and IV
• The Pharmacist in Transitions of Care elective

 

Organizations

• American Pharmacists Association Academy of Students Pharmacist, Temple University Chapter (faculty co-advisor) 
• American Pharmacists Association, incl. Transitions of Care Special Interest Group committees
• American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
• American College of Clinical Pharmacy

 

Research Interests

• Geriatrics
• Transitions of Care 

 

Dr. Cavaretta has a practice in Internal Medicine and consults with the inpatient geriatric team at Temple University Hospital. She coordinates Pharmacy Care Recitation III and the Pharmacist in Transitions of Care elective and precepts students on Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences at Temple University Hospital on the internal medicine service. 

 

Justina Frimpong, PharmD, BCOP

Justina Frimpong, PharmD, BCOP

Clinical Assistant Professor

 

Education & Residency

• PharmD, Philadelphia College of Pharmacy
• PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency, Penn State Health, St. Joseph Medical Center
• PGY2 Specialty Pharmacy Residency in Oncology,  Moffitt Cancer Center (Tampa, Florida) 

 

Previous Experience

• Clinical Pharmacist in Outpatient Malignant Hematology, Moffitt Cancer Center

 

Courses/Teaching Areas

• Oncology 
• Pain Management

 

Organizations

• Student Society of Health-System Pharmacy (faculty co-advisor)
• Delaware Valley Society of Health-System Pharmacists (member, Board of Directors)
• Pennsylvania Society of Health-System Pharmacists (member, Public Relations Committee) Hematology-Oncology Pharmacy Association (member, Research and Abstract Subcommittee)
• American Society of Health-System Pharmacists

 

Research Interests

• Oral oncolytic medication adherence
• Management of drug-drug and drug-disease state interactions
• Oncology-related supportive care

 

Dr. Frimpong practices in the outpatient setting with the Medical Oncology Division at Fox Chase Cancer Center located at Temple University Hospital, where her primary focus includes managing patients on oral oncolytics, assistance with supportive care, and provision of chemotherapy-related education. 

 

Margaret Miklich, PharmD, BCACP

Clinical Assistant Professor

 

Education & Residency

• Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, Loyola University Maryland
• PharmD, University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
• PGY-1 Pharmacy Residency, University of Maryland Medical Center 
• PGY-2 Ambulatory Care Residency, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy 

 

Courses

• Pathophysiology and Therapeutics (Asthma and COPD)
• Pharmaceutical Care Recitation
• Physical Assessment
• Advanced Diabetes Management Elective
• Advanced Clinical Management II Elective

 

Organizations

• Mid-Atlantic College of Clinical Pharmacy (President-Elect(
• American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, incl. Emerging Teaching Scholars Awards Committee and Ambulatory Care PRN Communication Committee

 

Research Interests

• Chronic disease state management 
• Educational methods and outcomes

 

Dr. Miklich practices at the Pennsylvania Hospital’s J. Edwin Wood Clinic as an ambulatory care clinical pharmacist. The Wood Clinic is a resident-run internal medicine practice and is recognized as a National Committee for Quality Assurance Level 3 patient-centered medical home. There, she precepts students and manages patients’ chronic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension via an appointment-based model. 

 

Nima M. Patel-Shori, PharmD, BCACP

Clinical Professor of Pharmacy at the School of Pharmacy

Residency Director, PGY-2 Ambulatory Care Residency

Ambulatory Care Clinical Pharmacist, Temple Internal Medicine Associates

 

Education & Residency

• PharmD,  Rutgers University 
• PGY-1 Pharmacy Practice Residency, University of Illinois at Chicago 
• PGY-2 Outcomes Research Specialized Residency, Department of Veterans Affairs Pharmacy Benefits Management Strategic Health Group (Hines, Illinois) 

 

Teaching Areas

• Hypertension
• Hyperlipidemia
• Angina
• Stroke
• Women's Health

 

Organizations

• American College of Clinical Pharmacy
• American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
• National Lipid Association

 

Research Interests

• Ambulatory Care
• Internal Medicine
• Cardiovascular Disease
• Women's Health

 

Dr. Patel-Shori has served as the site Primary Investigator for the NIH funded studies, Collaboration Among Pharmacists and Physicians To Improve Outcomes Now (CAPTION) and MEDication Focused Outpatient Care for Underutilization of Secondary Prevention (MEDFOCUS). 

 

Talitha Pulvino, PharmD, BCPS, CACP

Clinical Associate Professor of Pharmacy 

 

Education & Residency

• PharmD, Temple
• Pharmacy Practice Residency, St. Margaret Mercy Healthcare Centers (Hammond, IN) 

 

Courses/Teaching Areas

• Women’s Health
• Pharmaceutical Care Recitation
• Transitions of Care Elective
• Physical Assessment Laboratory

 

Research Areas

• Anticoagulation
• Transitions of Care
• Medication Adherence
• Healthcare Disparities

 

Dr. Pulvino runs a referral-based anticoagulation service in collaboration with the physicians of Temple Internal Medicine Associates. 

 

Susan Romann, PharmD, BCGP

Clinical Associate Professor of Pharmacy

 

Education & Residency

• PharmD, Medical University of South Carolina 
• BS Pharm, Medical College of Virginia
• PGY2, Pharmacotherapy Residency at Barnes-Jewish Hospital (St. Louis, MO) 

 

Previous Experience

• Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, University of North Carolina Medical Center  

 

Courses/Teaching Areas

• Geriatrics, incl. ophthalmic disorders and men’s health 
• Pharmacokinetic changes and drug interactions in special populations
• Ambulatory Care Elective 
• Pharmaceutical Care Recitation 

 

Organizations

• American Society of Consultant Pharmacists Student Chapter (faculty co-advisor)
• American College of Clinical Pharmacy
• American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
• Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association

 

Dr. Romann practices as an ambulatory care pharmacist at J. Edwin Wood Clinic on the campus of Pennsylvania Hospital. Patients are referred to the pharmacy clinic by residents and attending physicians under a collaborative practice model for hypertension and diabetes management, smoking cessation, adherence counseling, medication reconciliation and general patient education and counseling. 

 

Charles Ruchalski, PharmD

Clinical Professor of Pharmacy 

 

Education & Residency

• BS Pharm, Temple and completed
• PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency, Temple University Hospital

 

Courses/Teaching Areas

• Therapeutics of Diabetes
• Contemporary Pharmacy Topics
• Seminar in Pharmaceutical Ethics
• Hands-on practical pharmacy laboratories 
• Small group recitation sessions

 

Organizations

• American Pharmacists Association Student Chapter (faculty co-advisor)

 

Dr. Ruchalski practices in an ambulatory care clinic, the Stroke Prevention Clinic/FASST Clinic, with the Temple Neurology Associates. He practices under collaborative practice agreements where he individualizes post-stroke care by modifying patient’s risk factors to prevent recurrent strokes. He serves as a preceptor for the PGY2 Ambulatory Care residency program, the PGY2 Internal Medicine residency program, ambulatory APPEs, and PY3 IPPE experiences. Dr. Ruchalski leads a pharmacy/medical mission to Vietnam annually, assisting with the treatment of orthopedic illnesses and fitting of prosthetic limbs. He has been an invited lecturer at Future University and The British University of Egypt. 

 

Nicole Sifontis, PharmD

Clinical Professor   

Clinical Pharmacist, in collaboration with the Abdominal Organ Transplant Team at Temple University Hospital

 

Education

• PharmD, Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science
• ASHP-accredited 2-year Solid Organ Transplant Fellowship, University of Illinois at Chicago

 

Courses/Teaching Areas

• Therapeutics of Renal Diseases and Transplant Immunosuppression
• Clinical Pharmacokinetics
• Public Health Elective
• Clinical Research Elective 
• Small Group Pharmaceutical Care Recitation 

 

Organizations

• Phi Lambda Sigma Pharmacy Leadership Society Student Chapter (faculty advisor)
• American College of Clinical Pharmacy
• American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy
• International Pharmaceutical Federation
• American Society of Transplantation-Transplant Pharmacist Community of Practice
• American Public Health Association

 

Research Areas

• Pharmacogenomics
• Pregnancy outcomes in transplant recipients
• Medication adherence
• Healthcare disparities
• Global health

 

Dr. Sifontis serves as a preceptor for a clinical rotation in solid organ transplantation and a clinical elective rotation in global health. The global health elective involves participation in a pharmacy led medical mission to Central and South America. She also serves as a preceptor for the PGY2 Ambulatory Care residency program.