Benjamin Miskle joined the College of Pharmacy in July as a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science. In addition to his time in the classroom, his position enables him to work at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in the medication-assisted treatment clinic, the adult outpatient psychiatry clinic, and the child and adolescent psychiatry clinics.
A clinician by training and an academician at heart, Miskle’s role affords him the opportunity to promote psychiatry, de-stigmatize mental health, and help patients. One of his primary career goals is to educate future pharmacists about mental health. His other ambitions include promoting research in cases of substance use disorders, increasing treatment options for patients, and advocating for mental health among local government bodies to help remove barriers for patients seeking care.
Clinical Assistant Professor
What excites me the most about this field is the rapid improvement patients can achieve in a very short period of time,” Miskle states. “In academia, I enjoy seeing students grow and evolve to become great clinicians who champion pharmacy.
The biggest challenge Miskle sees and is motivated to address is to de-stigmatize mental health in order to promote appropriate patient care. He hopes to positively contribute to this aim through research, by presenting at conferences, and by educating future pharmacy leaders.
Miskle plans to focus his research on substances of abuse, particularly expanding research on kratom use. This September, Benjamin gave a (virtual) presentation on medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorders during the Iowa Pharmacists Association Annual Meeting. He discussed which patients are good candidates for medication-assisted treatment, which medications can be used in treatment, barriers patients and programs face when providing care, and ways to decrease stigma.
Miskle came to the University of Iowa because of his passion for academia and clinical care. A graduate of the University of Missouri - Kansas City, he spent two years at the Chillicothe Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center in Chillicothe, Ohio, where he initiated an esketamine clinic. Originally from Montgomery City, Missouri, a small, rural, farming community, Miskle relocated to Iowa City from Ohio with his wife Alycia.