February 2019
Dear Friends of USC Mann,
As our school continues extending the range of the pharmacists’ role in enhancing health, one of our most vital initiatives has been aimed at widening access to care. A decade ago, we took a bold leap in this quest when business leader, policy expert and philanthropist Leonard Schaeffer established the Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics at USC as a joint venture between USC Mann and the USC Price School of Public Policy.
Our school is the only school of pharmacy in the country engaged in such a partnership, placing pharmacy at the center of research to engage the public, private and academic sectors in finding solutions that expand access to care while improving its value and quality. But, however crucial, that is just one part of the center’s mission. The Schaeffer Center also explores ways to rein in healthcare costs without dampening the innovation on which medical breakthroughs depend.
With interdisciplinary experts including three Nobel Laureates, global partnerships and cross-campus collaborations with faculty from medicine, engineering, gerontology, social work and other fields, the Schaeffer Center conducts evidence-based research upon which policymakers and providers depend in better serving the public. It is truly research with relevance at an urgent time, when spiraling healthcare costs are putting people around the world at risk.
As the Schaeffer Center celebrates its 10-year anniversary this year, we are pleased that Leonard Schaeffer will be the distinguished keynote speaker for the 112th USC School of Pharmacy Commencement in May.
Our Winter 2019 newsletter helps illustrate how the school opens new paths forward in clinical care, pharmaceutical science and education. We celebrate an unprecedented number of scholarships distributed to our students during the current academic year. We also welcome incoming faculty and staff, even as we bid farewell to a beloved faculty leader in mourning the death of Michael Z. Wincor, associate dean for global initiatives and a 15-time professor of the year at our school.
From policy initiatives to laboratory investigations, our research not only has relevance but also impact. Thank you for your support, which helps make it all possible.
Best regards,
Vassilios Papadopoulos, DPharm, PhD, DSc (hon)
Dean, USC School of Pharmacy
John Stauffer Decanal Chair in Pharmaceutical Sciences