University of Houston College of Pharmacy (UHCOP) alumni, faculty and staff members, and supporters reeled in a major haul of accolades — from awards for leadership, service and research to installment in leadership positions — at the 2026 Texas Society of Health-System Pharmacy Annual Meeting April 24-26 in Galveston.
UHCOP Mading Society and former faculty member Dana S. Fitzsimmons, MBA, MPH, was recognized with one of two Distinguished Service Awards. In addition to serving as a clinical assistant professor and coordinator of externship programs at UHCOP, where Fitzsimmons established an endowed scholarship, his career includes leadership positions at major hospitals in Columbus, Ohio, and Houston as well as the pharmaceutical industry. Prior to his retirement, Fitzsimmons served as medical outcomes specialist team leader, with his team providing support to health care organizations in seven states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Fitzsimmons has served as TSHP president and Texas delegate to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacy (ASHP) as well as on state and national health planning bodies by gubernatorial and presidential appointments.
Alumna and Mading Society member Diane B. Ginsburg, Ph.D., M.S. ('90), R.Ph., FASHP, DASPL, received one of newest awards from the TSHP Research & Education Foundation: the Linda Albrecht Lecture Award, which honors a pharmacy practitioner who has made outstanding contributions to health-system pharmacy through mentorship. Ginsburg serves as associate dean for healthcare partnerships, clinical professor, and G.D. Searle & Company Endowed Fellow in Pharmacy, and Provost's Distinguished Leadership & Service Academy professor at UT at Austin College of Pharmacy. The 2024 ASHP Harvey A.K. Whitney Award recipient, Ginsburg is a past president and member of the ASHP board of directors and chair of the ASHP Research & Education Foundation board of directors as well as a past president of TSHP. The award is in recognition of its first recipient and pharmacy leader, Linda Stevens Albrecht, MBA, R.Ph., FASHP, FTSHP, regional director for UT-Austin's clerkship programs in the Dallas/Fort Worth region and a consultant pharmacist for Dembny Pharmacy Consultants.
The Houston Outreach Medicine Education and Social Services (HOMES) Clinic was recognized with the Innovative Collaborative Practice Award. Launched in 2000 under the auspices of nonprofit Healthcare for the Homeless Houston, HOMES is a medicine and pharmacy student-run interprofessional clinic serving Houston's unhoused community. UHCOP students and preceptors have volunteered and served on its student board since the program's infancy. UHCOP's David Wallace, Pharm.D. ('98), clinical associate professor, has served as the pharmacy preceptor since its beginning, working nearly every Sunday to provide oversight and guidance to the hundreds of Pharm.D. student volunteers and managers at the clinic.
Alumna and Mading Society member Sarah Lake-Wallace, Pharm.D. ('00), MBA, FTSHP, R.Ph., Memorial Hermann Health System director of medication safety and director of the PGY2 medication use and safety policy residency, was recognized with the Adela Schneider Pharmacy Leadership Award. A founding member of TSHP, Schneider is considered instrumental to the early development of the organization and Texas health-system pharmacy overall. Lake-Wallace has been heavily involved in TSHP from her pharmacy school days and throughout her career, including serving as president of both TSHP and the TSHP Research & Education Foundation, chair of the organization's 75th anniversary committee, and other leadership posts of numerous councils and competitions.
Jared Sheneman, Pharm.D. ('21), M.S., MBA, R.Ph., pharmacy assistant manager of outpatient infusion for The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, was honored with the New Pharmacist Award. Sheneman previously served as manager of inpatient pharmacy operations and PGY1 pharmacy practice residency at UTMB Health, where he earned the organization's Rising Star Leadership Award. Sheneman's efforts as a UHCOP student brought recognition as a DHR Healthcare Hero Award and the Texas Pharmacy Association's Distinguished Student Pharmacist Award.
UHCOP faculty and staff members also were among the honorees in the TSHP R&E Foundation's Research Poster Competition.
UHCOP's Kimberly Nguyen, Pharm.D. ('02), R.Ph., clinical associate professor and assistant dean for student and professional affairs, won the Practitioner: Administrative/Practice Management category for the project, "Evolution of Instructional Lab Managers/Pharmacy Technicians Roles in an Academic Setting." Nguyen's coauthors were UHCOP's Sherrie Myers, RPhT., and Leslie Joseph, B.S., RPhT., instructional lab managers; Jane Vo, M.A., director, Pharm.D. admissions and enrollment services; and Julianna Fernandez, Pharm.D. ('06), BCPS, BCGP, R.Ph., clinical professor.
Receiving an honorable mention in the Technician category was Myers for "Seeing the Pharmacy Through a Technician's Eyes: Improving Role Clarity and Confidence in Student Pharmacists," which was coauthored by fellow Instructional Lab Managers Cindy DeAlejandro and Joseph; Wallace; Brian Dzwonek, Ed.D, assistant dean for assessment; and Joshua Wollen, Pharm.D., BCPS, R.Ph., clinical associate professor.
Among the 2026 class of TSHP Fellows in recognition of their contributions to health-system pharmacy at the state and local levels were Todd K. Connor, Pharm.D. ('07), M.S., R.Ph., director of pharmacy acute care at UT Southwestern Medical Center, and Claire Latiolais, Pharm.D., M.S. ('17), R.Ph., clinical pharmacy specialist – formulary management and informatics at UT MD Anderson.
Two alumni of The Houston Program were honored with the Cuellar Star Awards, which are named for health-system pharmacy leader Lourdes M. Cuellar, B.S. ('73), M.S. ('79), FTSHP, FASHP, and are bestowed to those who've distinguished themselves in service to TSHP and health-system pharmacy. The alumni honorees were Joshua Blackwell, Pharm.D., M.S. ('17), MBA, FTSHP, FASHP, BCSCP, clinical pharmacy leader, ambulatory services, and residency program coordinator at UT Southwestern Medical Center, and Niaz Deyhim, Pharm.D., M.S. ('20), BCPS, Houston Methodist Hospital pharmacy administrative specialist – operations, education and training and system program director of the Longitudinal Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (LAPPE) Program. Among their many contributions, Blackwell is wrapping up his three-year term as chair of TSHP's public affairs and advocacy council and Deyhim served as this year's annual seminar committee chair.
Taking the oath of office in service of the Gulf Coast Society of Health-System Pharmacy (GCSHP) during the meeting were Deyhim, who was installed for a second term as president, and UHCOP's Joseph, who was installed as a junior director on the board of directors.
