We are pleased to announce the student-nominated Teacher of the Year Award recipients for the 2019-2020 academic year:
Brett Heintz (Class of 2021)
Brett Heintz received his bachelor of science in cell and molecular biology at San Diego State University in 2001 and his doctorate in pharmacy from the University of California, San Francisco in 2005. He completed his residencies in pharmacy practice and infectious diseases at the University of California, Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, California. He also is a board-certified pharmacotherapy specialist with added qualifications in infectious diseases and American Academy of HIV expert certified.
Heintz, a pharmacy specialist in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, joined the Iowa City VA Health Care System in September 2012. He also holds an academic position as an adjunct professor at the UI College of Pharmacy and precepts pharmacy students. Prior to joining the Iowa City VA and the UI he served as an assistant professor of Clinical Pharmacy at UC San Francisco School of Pharmacy with a clinical practice in Infectious Diseases and Internal Medicine at UC Davis Medical Center.
“Dr. Brett Heintz makes class interesting and keeps everyone engaged. He helps teach students about more than just what he is required,” wrote one student. “He created a learning atmosphere that really helped me retain information and could explain challenging concepts in a way that was easy to understand.”
Michelle Fravel (Class of 2022)
Michelle Fravel is a clinical associate professor at the UI College of Pharmacy with primary teaching roles in the Pharmacy Practice Lab series and the Renal Integrated Pharmacotherapy course. She received her PharmD from the UI College of Pharmacy and completed a two-year Specialized Ambulatory Care Residency at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC). Fravel is also a clinical pharmacy specialist in the Anticoagulation Clinic, Family Medicine Geriatric Clinic, and the Nephrology Department at the UIHC. She serves as a preceptor to students and residents in these clinical settings.
Students commented, “Dr. Fravel does a great job when it comes to speaking to us in practice lab and interacting with us. She always makes sure that we understand what we're discussing and we have enough time to think through difficult concepts. Her speech is very welcoming and easy to understand. She works hard and will do lots of work outside of our class time and at home to make sure practice lab is giving us what we need to know before we go into real practice. She's also very approachable and welcoming to other faculty and pharmacists.”
Aliasger Salem (Class of 2023)
Aliasger Salem is the Lyle and Sharon Bighley Chair in Pharmaceutical Sciences. He received his PhD in pharmaceutical sciences from the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom, and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine from 2002-2004. Salem joined the UI College of Pharmacy in 2004. His research interests are primarily focused on self-assembling systems, the rational design of novel drug and gene delivery systems, and on the development of sophisticated scaffolds for tissue-specific regeneration. Salem teaches a course to first-year Doctor of Pharmacy students called Materials for Drug and Gene Delivery.
“Dr. Salem encouraged students to visit him outside of class if they were struggling from day one. He showed that he genuinely cared about each student’s success. Dr. Salem gave the class a motivational speech about how to best be successful in school. He always communicated course material effectively and checked for understanding by utilizing Poll Everywhere and addressing any confusion he saw during class,” said a student.