Iowa Pharmacy: Expanding Lung Cancer Screening Through Pharmacy Innovation

I am thrilled to share that our college has received a generous grant from Eli Lilly to advance the CHAMP study (Community Health Assessment and Monitoring in the Pharmacy). 

Lung cancer screening saves lives, yet only about 20% of eligible Iowans are being screened. This innovative pharmacist-led initiative will expand access to life-saving early detection by bringing lung cancer screening into our community pharmacies across Iowa, with the potential to reach thousands of at-risk Iowans. 

The pilot phase at Greenwood Pharmacy, led by alum Rob Nichols, will demonstrate how a community pharmacy can be a gateway to early lung cancer detection for patients close to home.

This study is truly a team effort. I am proud to lead this initiative with study co-investigators Korey Kennelty, Jim Hoehns and Stevie Veach, and our family medicine physician collaborators Jeff Quinlan and Emily Sadecki. Together, we are demonstrating the power of collaboration across pharmacy and primary care to improve health outcomes.

As we celebrate this exciting milestone, CHAMP stands as an example of how innovative community pharmacy partnerships can advance public health in Iowa and beyond. I am grateful to our faculty, staff, and community partners for making this possible.
 

— Jill M. Kolesar, PharmD, MS, FCCP
Dean, Jean M. Schmidt Chair in Drug Discovery, and Professor