University of Iowa (UI) College of Pharmacy preceptors fill many roles for students, acting as teachers, mentors, and experts across a wide range of pharmacy settings. Under their guidance, students apply their knowledge and skills in a real-world environment. Whether in community pharmacies, hospitals, or corporate pharmacy management, the experience and insights gained are invaluable.
Each year, the college recognizes the outstanding contributions of preceptors with the Preceptor Excellence Awards in three categories:
- Advance Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE)
- Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience (IPPE)
- Faculty
Awardees are selected based on professionalism, commitment to student education, and teaching performance as evaluated through student feedback. Congratulation to 2025-2026 recipients: Brett Heintz, Melinda James, and Deanna McDanel. They will be recognized at a celebratory event this November.
APPE Preceptor Excellence Award
Brett Heintz, PharmD
Iowa City VA Medical Center
Brett Heintz received his Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) from the University of California, San Francisco School of Pharmacy and completed his residencies in pharmacy practice and infectious diseases at the University of California, Davis Medical Center. He is a board-certified pharmacotherapy specialist with an added qualification in infectious diseases. Heintz joined the Iowa City VA Health Care System in 2012 and currently serves as the director of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program and pharmacy specialist in infectious diseases and medicine. He is an adjunct professor at the UI College of Pharmacy. His teaching philosophy is to first excite his students, then teach. As an academic at heart, he feels great pride in seeing his students applying what they learn in the classroom to patient care.
Student comments included:
Dr. Heintz was an exceptional preceptor who demonstrated a clear passion for teaching and an extensive knowledge of infectious disease. He fostered a supportive environment that encouraged critical thinking, active participation in clinical decision-making, and the consistent use of evidence-based resources. His mentorship went beyond clinical knowledge, as he consistently modeled professionalism, critical thinking, and evidence-based patient care.
IPPE Preceptor Excellence Award
Melinda James, '88 BSPh
Clark's Pharmacy – Cedar Rapids
Melinda James has had a wide variety of pharmacy experiences since graduating from the UI College of Pharmacy in 1988. She’s worked in community pharmacy, long-term care, hospice consulting, and employee-based pharmacy. She is interested in functional medicine as a complement to conventional medicine. James focuses on how lifestyle, nutrition, toxin exposure, and genetics contribute to many of the diseases that medication is commonly used to treat.
Student comments included:
Dr. James went out of her way to incorporate me into every aspect of community pharmacy. Her knowledge and expertise in functional medicine is outstanding, and she eloquently passes that information onto her patients and students to educate them and have them take an active role in their personal health. Her connections helped connect me with other community pharmacists that allowed me to further experience all the ways in which community pharmacists can impact patient health outcomes. Dr. James’s passion for teaching goes above and beyond.
Faculty Preceptor Excellence Award
Deanna McDanel, '01 PharmD, Clinical Associate Professor
UI Health Care Ambulatory Care Clinic
Deanna McDanel is the program directory of the PGY2 Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Residency at UI Health Care. Her current clinical practice sites include Anticoagulation and Drug Allergy. She received her PharmD from the UI College of Pharmacy in 2001. McDanel subsequently completed an ASHP-Accredited Specialized Residency in Primary Care at the UI Health Care in 2002. She has been a board certified pharmacotherapy specialist since 2004 and a board certified ambulatory care pharmacist since 2012. McDanel strives to advance her practice through scholarly work and professional presentations.
Student comments included:
Dr. McDanel is very passionate about the care she provides for her patients, as well as the education she offers to her students. Dr. McDanel ALWAYS had the time to help me in any way that I may have needed. She provided me with on-the-spot feedback that helped me significantly improve my patient and clinical skills. Every day before I left, she would tell me that I did a good job. Being a health care provider is more than just a job for her but a promise to continue to better the lives of those around her. I am a better student pharmacist today because of my rotation with her!