The PharmD Program plans to admit its first class in August 2011

Tampa, FL (Nov. 9, 2009) – Kevin B. Sneed, PharmD, has been appointed the founding dean of the USF School of Pharmacy. Dr. Sneed, associate professor of family medicine and assistant dean and clinical director of the College of Medicine’s Division of Clinical Pharmacy, was selected for the high-profile position following a nationwide search.

Dr. Sneed championed and was the major architect of the proposal for USF’s four-year Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program, which was approved by the Florida Board of Governors this January. Housed within the USF College of Medicine, the School of Pharmacy plans to admit the first class of students in August 2011.

Kevin Sneed, PharmD

“USF is going change the face of pharmacy practice with our graduates and faculty,” Dr. Sneed said. “Tomorrow’s pharmacists will be expected to take a lead role in managing and delivering technologically-advanced pharmaceutical care based on a patient’s genetic makeup and individualized responses to medications. We are building a program strategically designed to prepare pharmacy clinicians for this challenging new model of patient-centered practice.”

“With his impassioned commitment to academic pharmacy education, his vision of entrepreneurial academic excellence, and strong scholarly, research and clinical skills, Dr. Sneed is well prepared to lead the pharmacy school of the future,” said Stephen Klasko, MD, MBA, CEO of USF Health and dean of the College of Medicine. “The innovative clinical pharmacy program he continues to advance will embody the interprofessional education model we’ve begun in public health, medicine, nursing and physical therapy.”

The interdisciplinary program will draw upon faculty and other resources from USF’s colleges of Medicine, Nursing and Public Health and create opportunities for collaborative teaching and research university-wide. The curriculum will emphasize medication management for the elderly, research-based drug discovery and development, and personalized care for chronic illnesses. Dr. Sneed has already established key partnerships with USF-affiliated teaching hospitals and outpatient sites where USF pharmacy students will receive their clinical training. The pharmacy school intends to establish academic and clinical partnerships across the greater Tampa Bay area.

Dr. Sneed received his PharmD degree from Xavier University of Louisiana College of Pharmacy in 1998 and completed a primary care pharmacy residency at Bay Pines VA Medical Center in St. Petersburg.

He joined the USF Department of Family Medicine in 1999 as a visiting professor from Florida A&M College of Pharmacy, where he was an associate professor and ambulatory care clinical coordinator. At Florida A&M, he was a key member of curriculum committees and participated in several accreditation reviews – experience that has helped in building USF’s PharmD program to comply with new accreditation standards.

In addition to teaching pharmacy, medical and other health-professions students and conducting funded clinical research, Dr. Sneed created the USF College of Medicine’s first primary care clinical pharmacy program. More recently, he developed consultant pharmacy services for the Morsani Center for Advanced Healthcare, a USF Hemophilia Center Pharmacy, and a USF Clinical Research Pharmacy.

Dr. Sneed’s primary clinical and research interest is cardio-metabolic disorders. He has published numerous peer-reviewed papers and a book chapter. He established USF Health as a member of the National Pharmacy-Based Research Network, which will serve as the foundation for future USF pharmacy faculty to conduct national-level studies with other pharmacy programs across the country.

Dr. Sneed has a long history of community service to underserved communities. He created and directed the Inter-collaborative Student and Community Health Assessment Project and Evaluation (IN-SCHAPE), a nationally-recognized cardiovascular health disparities project that addresses cardiovascular risk factors in Hillsborough County communities. He has received statewide recognition from the Florida Prostate Cancer Network for his efforts to educate African-American men about cardiovascular risks.

– USF Health –
USF Health is dedicated to creating a model of health care based on understanding the full spectrum of health. It includes the University of South Florida’s colleges of medicine, nursing, and public health; the schools of biomedical sciences as well as physical therapy & rehabilitation sciences; and the USF Physicians Group. With more than $380.3 million in research grants and contracts last year, USF is one of the nation’s top 63 public research universities and one of 39 community-engaged, four-year public universities designated by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. For more information, visit www.health.usf.edu

– Release by Anne DeLotto Baier, USF Health Communications