Alumni Awards Gala

2023 Alumni Awards Gala

Sunday, February 26, 2023

WestDrift Manhattan Beach Hotel, Manhattan Beach, CA

 

2023 USC Mann Alumni Awards Gala

All proceeds from the 2023 Alumni Awards Gala will support the development of the new, state-of-the-art USC Pharmacy in South Los Angeles.

2023 Alumni Award Recipients

Jimmie L. Overton, PharmD

Honorary Alumni Award

Jimmie L. Overton, PharmD, will receive the Honorary Alumni Award. He is co-founder and managing partner at Govise Inc. and previously served as vice president of global medical information and medical promotional review at Allergan. A recognized medical affairs subject matter expert, he has more than 25 years of experience in healthcare.

Jeffrey S. McCombs, PhD

Innovation in pharmacoeconomics

Jeffrey S. McCombs, PhD, will be presented with the Innovation in Pharmacoeconomics Award. In 1994, he and colleagues established the nation’s first—and now most prestigious—graduate program in pharmaceutical economics. Earlier this year, McCombs retired after more than three decades on the faculty of USC Mann.

Charles W. Stark, PharmD '82

Research achievement award

Charles W. Stark, PharmD ’82, will receive the Research Achievement Award. He is senior vice president of research and development at Emmaus Medical Inc. He previously held roles at immunotherapeutic companies Bavarian Nordic and Dendreon and at pharmaceutical company Pfizer. He is an adjunct lecturer at USC Mann and has been an Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience preceptor since 1991.

David Truong, PharmD'07, MS Regulatory Science'07

Distinguished Alumni Award

David Truong, PharmD ’07, MS Regulatory Science ’07, will receive the Distinguished Alumni Award. He is director of global regulatory affairs at Jazz Pharmaceuticals in San Diego. Previously he was director of regulatory affairs at Greenwich Biosciences and at Teva Pharmaceuticals. He also practices in a community pharmacy setting at Costco Wholesale. Truong has precepted and mentored students and serves as an adjunct faculty member at USC Mann. He is also a trustee of the California Pharmacists Association and a board member of USC’s QSAD Centurion.

Richard Dang,PharmD'13

Dean's Medallion award

The Dean’s Medallion Award will be presented to Richard Dang, PharmD ’13, assistant professor of clinical pharmacy and director of the community-based pharmacy residency program at USC Mann, and president of the California Pharmacists Association. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dang was a leading voice for testing and vaccination, notably heading the Los Angeles COVID-19 program that resulted in well over 1 million vaccines administered across the city.

Duane Mauzey, DRSC'12

Innovation in Regulatory Science Award

The Innovation in Regulatory Science Award will go to Duane Mauzey, DRSC ’12, director of regulatory affairs for CMC at Glaukos Inc., where he oversees quality of clinical and marketing applications for novel pharmaceuticals that treat chronic eye diseases. He also is an adjunct assistant professor at USC Mann.

Lilia Xu, PharmD'12

Young Alumni Award

The Young Alumni Award will go to Lilia Xu, PharmD ’12, vice president of business development for 986 Degrees Corporation, which operates several pharmacies in San Gabriel Valley and has provided more than 40,000 COVID-19 vaccinations to the community. Xu is a member of the boards of the San Gabriel Valley Pharmacists Association and QSAD Centurion at USC Mann.

Vaccination Volunteers

Community service award

The Community Service Award will be presented to all those who volunteered at the vaccination clinics during the COVID-19 pandemic, in honor of their outstanding work in the community. USC faculty, students and alumni played a key role in vaccinating Angelenos against COVID-19. They joined fellow volunteers in inoculating more than 1 million Angelenos during the height of the pandemic, selflessly volunteering many hours at vaccine points dispensing throughout Greater Los Angeles.

Past Honorees

Community Service Award

2022: Reda Alhoussayni
2019: Ken Thai
2018: Lisa Gunther Lum
2017: Roslyn Blake

Dean's Medallion Award

2022: Edward Martin Lieskovan
2019: Leonard D. Schaeffer
2018: Dong Koo (D.K.) Kim
2017: Rita Shane

Distinguished Alumni Award

2022: Linh Lee
2019: Sohail Masood
2018: Irv Sitkoff
2017: Charles Leiter

Honorary Alumni Award

2022:Hattie Rees Hanley
2019: Mr. Tony Kuo
2018: Shushma Patel
2017: Michael Hochman

Innovation in Pharmacoeconomics Award

2022: Robert Popovian, PharmD
2019: Parvez Mulani
2018: Craig Cheetham
2017: Yong Yuan

Innovation in Regulatory Science Award

2022:Weicheng Wu
2019: Martin (Marty) Solberg
2018: Susan McCune
2017: Peter Lassoff

Research Achievement Award

2022: Hovik Gukasyan
2019: Li-Jiuan (Rita) Shen
2018: Jason (Jiansheng) Wan
2017: Eric Q. Wu

Young Alumni Award

2022: Grace Cheng
2019: Debrina Johnson
2018: Gustavus A. Aranda Jr.
2017: Danielle C. Colayco

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

2017: Mel Baron