The University of Iowa (UI) College of Pharmacy has the pleasure of honoring several alumni and friends on Oct. 5 during the Osterhaus Lifetime Achievement Symposium and Alumni Awards Ceremony. The recipients are exemplary representatives of the College’s alumni and friends who have excelled in their pharmacy practice, research, and community advancement, while simultaneously being steadfast ambassadors for the pharmacy profession and the College. The ceremony is part of the College’s Homecoming celebrations.
Osterhaus Medal for Lifetime Achievement Award
The Osterhaus Medal for Lifetime Achievement is presented annually to one or more individuals who have made extraordinary achievements in the pharmacy profession. This medal is a pinnacle award given by the UI College of Pharmacy to a recipient who has advanced the practice of pharmacy in profound ways or made significant strides in discovery.
Susan Winckler, ’92 BSPh, JD
Susan Winckler has 30 years of experience in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and health-care community, and has worked with members of regulated industry across the FDA’s portfolio. She is currently chief executive officer (CEO) of the Reagan-Udall Foundation, a nonprofit organization created by Congress to advance the FDA’s mission.
Prior to accepting the foundation post in 2020, Winckler served as president of Leavitt Partners Solutions, a health-care strategy firm founded by Gov. Michael O. Leavitt, former secretary of the United States (U.S.) Department of Health and Human Services. She directly advised C-suite executives on public policy/regulation (drug, device, biologic, and food companies), business strategy, investments, and more in the health-care sector. A pharmacist and attorney by training, she was previously CEO of the Food and Drug Law Institute, speaking about, writing, and convening discussions of food and drug law issues.
As chief of staff for the FDA (2007-2009), Winckler managed the Commissioner’s Office, served both Republican and Democratic commissioners as their senior-most staff adviser, analyzed complex policy challenges, and represented the FDA with government entities and external stakeholders. Her earlier career service included more than a decade at the American Pharmacists Association driving the policy, regulatory, and communications agenda.
Winckler received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the UI College of Pharmacy in 2001.
Distinguished Alumni Award
The Distinguished Alumni Award is presented annually to individuals who have made illustrious contributions to the theory and practice of pharmacy or demonstrated major accomplishments in a professional pharmacy practice or pharmaceutical research and development.
John Daniel, ’59 BSPh
Steve Firman, ’76 BSPh, MBA
Jan Hansen, ’83 BSPh, PhD
The word community is synonymous with the name John Daniel II. Daniel grew up in Fort Dodge, Iowa, returned there after college, and served in the Air National Guard until 1966. In 1963, he opened Daniel Pharmacy with his father, became sole owner in 1973, and now co-owns it with his son. Daniel has guided the business through expansions, including the addition of durable medical equipment, vaccinations, and compounding. The establishment has received the Fort Dodge Messenger’s Readers’ Choice Award for Best Pharmacy several years in a row and Best Home Healthcare. Daniel Pharmacy remains the only independent pharmacy in Fort Dodge, operating as an integral and vital part of the city. Daniel is involved with numerous local organizations, including the Self-Supported Municipal Improvement District.
Daniel was a charter member of the Iowa Pharmacy Association (IPA) and has held memberships with the National Community Pharmacists Association and the American Pharmacists Association (APhA). He and his wife Margo are strong advocates of supporting students in furthering their education. The Daniel Pharmacy Scholarship Fund, founded in 2003, assists graduates from Fort Dodge Senior High and St. Edmond High School pursuing a pharmacy career. In 2011, the UI recognized the pair as longtime supporters, establishing the John and Margo Daniel Scholarship. It is awarded annually to a Doctor of Pharmacy student from the Fort Dodge area and has supported nine students with 13 scholarships.
Firman is an active community volunteer at local and state levels and received the IPA Bowl of Hygeia award for his dedication to community service. His roles include Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area board of trustees chair; government affairs director for Grow Cedar Valley – his community’s economic and community development organization; and administrator of the Cedar Valley Coalition that leads federal government outreach activities.
Jan Hansen is vice president of the Evidence for Access team within Genentech’s Public Affairs organization, where she oversees an area uniquely positioned and skilled to address the value, quality, and policy drivers associated with access to health care in the U.S. Her ultimate passion is building organizations and fostering young, innovative-thinking – yet applied, researchers.
A seasoned executive with more than 30 years of experience in the health care, life sciences, and pharmaceutical industries, Hansen is a sought-after speaker and guest lecturer on topics related to her expertise in pharmacoeconomics and health outcomes. Her professional accomplishments have resulted in numerous appointments to boards and committees, including the National Pharmaceutical Council and the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research. Hansen’s knowledge of pharmacoeconomics and health outcomes has been acquired and applied throughout her career across areas such as patient-based research, health-care consulting, sales strategy and execution, strategic planning, organizational design and development, and outcomes research (global and US roles). Her resume features positions of increasing leadership responsibility at well-regarded companies, including PCS-Pharmaceutical Data Services (now CVS-Caremark), Glaxo Wellcome (now GlaxoSmithkline), and Allergan (now part of AbbVie).
Honorary Alumni Award
The Honorary Alumni Award annually recognizes friends of the College for their personal contribution toward pharmacy achievement, leadership, and service to the profession, or for exhibiting exceptional service to the College. These individuals inspire our students and serve as role models.
Gary Milavetz, BS, PharmD
Gary Milavetz earned a Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Minnesota. He is a professor in the Division of Applied Clinical Sciences, an area he previously headed, with the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science at the UI College of Pharmacy. Milavetz also serves as executive associate dean of the College, where he’s worked for more than 35 years. Among his accomplishments is leading a team of faculty members who developed an innovative, progressive Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum that launched in 2015.
Milavetz’s research interests focus on applying principles and tools of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics to better understand the untoward effects of medications on people. He has authored numerous original research publications on the pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and clinical efficacy of medications used to treat respiratory disease. Most recently, Milavetz has been working to understand how medications impair drivers, playing an integral role at the UI Driving Safety Research Institute. He is a Fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy and the American Pharmacists Association. Additionally, he serves on the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine’s Scientific Program Committee.
Genesis Alumni Award
The College of Pharmacy honors graduates of the past 20 years who have achieved early distinction in their field. Nominees include those who have made considerable contributions to the theory and practice of pharmacy or have demonstrated major accomplishments in a professional pharmacy practice or pharmaceutical research and development. Recipients have also contributed exceptional service to their community, the College, the profession, or the public.
Kristen Peterson, ’17 PharmD
Heidi Schwanz, ’12 PhD, MBA
It was at the UI College of Pharmacy that Kristen Peterson first discovered her passion for oncology pharmacy, clinical research, and mentoring both prepharmacy and pharmacy students. After graduation, which included a Certificate of Public Health, Peterson completed a postgraduate year (PGY1) residency at Mayo Clinic Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota, and subsequently a PGY2 oncology pharmacy residency at New York’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She is now the Multiple Myeloma Clinic pharmacist at the Duke Blood Cancer Center in Durham, North Carolina.
In addition to her clinical work and research in this realm, Peterson remains active with the pharmacy residency programs as a PGY1 and PGY2 oncology residency coordinator. She has been a member of the UI Genesis Board since 2019 and looks forward to continuing her involvement with the College.
After graduating from Iowa, Heidi Schwanz completed a National Institutes of Health post-doctoral Fellowship at Boston University's Whittaker Cardiovascular Institute. Today she directs a chemistry-focused research and development (R&D) team in Boston Scientific's Interventional Oncology and Embolization Division. In this role, she is the technical lead for the OBSIDIO™ Conformable Embolic product that launched in the U.S. during second-quarter 2023 as the first shear-thinning embolic technology to be FDA cleared for peripheral use. Schwanz also works with design integration and identifying/defining the future R&D embolization pipeline. Her earlier positions with the company supported drug-eluting vascular devices.
Schwanz, as co-primary investigator, recently received a four-year, $4 million Department of Defense grant for exploratory work in the embolic space. She is enthusiastic about interventional oncology and enjoys leading her team and using her technical expertise to develop better solutions to unmet needs in patient care.