UMKC School of Pharmacy

Pharmacy students will have some new art to appreciate thanks to classmate Nina Desova. She’s spent the summer working on a mural in the new student lounge on the second floor of the Health Sciences Building. The mural spans an entire wall in the lounge and features a number of pharmacy elements intertwined with nods to notable things around Kansas City. We can’t wait to show off Nina’s masterpiece!

We hosted 140 high school students for our annual UMKC Pharmacy Camps. From compounding anti-itch gel to designing an inhaler of the future, campers across our three campuses in Kansas City, Columbia and Springfield, received hands-on experience and a preview of the pharmacy field.

A big thank you to our 88 volunteers, including faculty, staff, students and alumni, who made these camps a huge success. We can’t wait for next year!

The National Science Foundation has selected UMKC’s Critical Materials Crossroads Engine for up to $160 million over 10 years — a transformational investment in rebuilding America’s critical materials supply chain. For the School of Pharmacy, this work is especially vital. Critical materials play a foundational role in pharmaceutical development and manufacturing. Securing these materials domestically is essential to ensuring a stable, reliable supply of medications. Learn more about Critical Materials Crossroads: https://www.umkc.edu/news/posts/2026/july/umkc-led-critical-materials-crossroads-engine-selected-for-160-million-nsf-award.html

We were proud to help host the 56th Pharmaceutical Graduate Student Research Meeting in Kansas City this year, bringing together outstanding graduate researchers, faculty and industry leaders.

It was an honor to welcome Janelle Sabo (Pharm.D. ’00), senior vice president for clinical capabilities at Eli Lilly and Company, back as a keynote speaker. Her leadership and insight were a highlight of the meeting and an inspiration to our students and attendees.

Thank you to everyone who joined us and helped make this year’s event a success!

The UMKC School of Pharmacy had a great time at School Day at Kauffman Stadium, connecting with students from across the region and sharing the many paths a career in pharmacy can take. From games like plinko to “medication vs. candy,” our booth was full of energy, curiosity and plenty of learning! We’re proud to partner with the Kansas City Royals to spark interest in healthcare and inspire the next generation.

UMKC and Children’s Mercy have taken a significant step forward in their longstanding relationship, formalizing a new agreement that creates a clearer, faster pathway for Ph.D. students in the natural sciences and the School of Science and Engineering to collaborate directly with hospital researchers. Under the new agreement, the need for individual, project-by-project administrative approvals has been removed, eliminating a key barrier that often slowed the start of collaborative work.

Gerald Wyckoff, Ph.D., chair of pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences, worked closely with two individuals from the Children’s Mercy Research Institute, Mark Hoffman, Ph.D., chief research information officer and Laura Ramsey, Ph.D., section chief of individualized therapeutics, clinical pharmacology, toxicology and therapeutic innovation to build a new framework designed to build on existing collaboration in a more intentional, structured way, ensuring that opportunities are easier to access and scale.

“Science is a team sport,” Wyckoff said. “This is a really effective team because we’ve got people who are motivated on both ends of the spectrum.”

Learn more about the streamlined research agreement: https://www.umkc.edu/news/posts/2026/may/umkc-and-childrens-mercy-launch-streamlined-research-agreement.html

Ahead of commencement, UMKC School of Pharmacy graduates took part in their hooding ceremony in recognition of their achievements and next steps. Hooded by faculty and surrounded by family and friends, students marked an important milestone in their journey.

Congratulations, pharmacists — excited to see what’s ahead!

Congratulations to all of our School of Pharmacy graduates! Here are just a few of them who will be walking across the stage today! 🎓

Congratulations to Sophia Kovalenko on receiving the Dean of Students Honor! Every semester, exceptional graduating students across all academic units are honored with this award recognizing excellent academic achievement, leadership and service to our community. We’re so proud of all you’ve accomplished while at UMKC.

Read more about the 2026 Dean of Students Honor Recipients: https://www.umkc.edu/news/posts/2026/may/graduating-students-named-dean-of-students-honor-recipients.html