The College’s annual Alumni Achievement Awards were presented at Health Professions Day (formerly Pharmacy and Health Sciences Day) on February 25, 2021. This year’s outstanding alumni included Young Alumni Achievement Award Recipients James Grunert, and Sarah (Dean) Shetler, and Alumni Award Recipients, Tommy Bramley, and Siva Kasinithan.
“Our 2021 Alumni Achievement Awardees are a distinguished group of individuals with many achievements,” said Renae Chesnut, dean of the college. “Their professional accomplishments, and dedication to their communities is inspiring and noteworthy.”
James Grunert
James Grunert earned his Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences degree with minors in Business, Psychology, and Biology from Drake in 2016. While a student, he was a student-athlete on the Drake men’s soccer team. After graduating, he began his career with Stryker, a medical device company, as an associate sales representative in the Kansas City territory within the Sports Medicine division. After 16 months with Stryker, he advanced to take over his own territory as a Sales Representative with Stryker Sports Medicine in the Springfield, MO / NW Arkansas area. In January, he moved back to Kansas City, continuing as a Stryker Sports Medicine Sales Representative in the KC territory, co-managing the KC area. James has continued to be active with Drake University, serving on the Health Sciences Advisory Board and as a mentor for students interested in medical sales.
Sarah (Dean) Shetler
Doctor of Pharmacy, 2018
Sarah Shetler earned her Doctor of Pharmacy from Drake University and Master of Public Health from Des Moines University in 2018. After graduation, Sarah completed a managed care residency at OutcomesMTM as a member of the clinical services team. Following her residency, she accepted a position with Humana where she serves as the Clinical Pharmacist Lead for Humana’s Quality Network program. In her current position, she works with pharmacy chains and organizations across the country to advance clinical outcomes through innovative, value-based models of care. Sarah has been recognized as a creative leader in improving clinical outcomes related to medication adherence and condition management and leads publicly recognized clinical pilot programs with key industry partners.
Sarah is also the residency preceptor for Humana’s managed care residents rotating in the Pharmacy Stars and Patient Safety organization. In addition, she is actively involved in the Pharmacy Quality Alliance and represents Humana in the development and assessment of quality measurement programs. Sarah is passionate about advancing pharmacist involvement in holistic condition management and providing innovative partnership opportunities for community pharmacies to expand their scope of practice in partnership with health plans.
Siva Kasinithan
Sciences & Biochemistry,
Cellular & Molecular Biology, 2010
Siva Kasinathan graduated from Drake in 2010 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology. Upon graduation, he completed a MD and PhD in Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of Washington, where he also pursued additional training in technology entrepreneurship at the UW Foster School of Business. He completed his PhD in 2017 and his medical degree in 2019. Dr. Kasinathan is currently a resident pediatrician and postdoctoral fellow at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital.
His research is broadly focused on developing and applying genome-scale technologies to understand the genetic basis of immunologic diseases. His research in analyzing genomes was funded by a competitive fellowship from the National Cancer Institute and has led to multiple publications.
Dr. Kasinathan was involved in the Seattle community as Clinic Manager at the UW School of Medicine and Rotary Club-run diagnose-and-treat free clinic and was a Science Communication Fellow at the Pacific Science Center. And, in his spare time, he also served as a Technology Licensing Fellow for CoMotion and advised biomedical and pharmaceutical start-up companies. He was recognized three times by the University of Washington’s School of Medicine’s Service Award, with induction into the Arnold P. Gold Humanism in Medicine Honor Society in 2018.
Tommy Bramley
Thomas J. Bramley, PhD, earned his Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy degree from Drake University in 1997. Afterward he completed a PhD in Pharmaceutical and Health Outcome Sciences from the University of South Carolina in 2001. Dr. Bramley is currently President of Lash Group, an AmerisourceBergen business unit that provides comprehensive services focused on improving patient access, care coordination, and outcomes.
Prior to his current role, Dr. Bramley served as President of Xcenda, another AmerisourceBergen business unit, a strategic consulting company focused in health economics, outcomes research, reimbursement, market access and staffing solutions through the healthcare industry. His 16 + year career at Xcenda was dedicated to enhancing the delivery and efficiency of healthcare to improve patient outcomes.
Dr. Bramley has been an invited speaker at many international conferences and has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles. He was the editor-in-chief of Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Quarterly and part of the editorial board of Health Policy Weekly. In 2018, he was selected by PharmaVOICE as one of the Top 100 most inspiring people.
In his spare time, he enjoys outdoor activities and applies his passion for the outdoors to fundraise, having completed the Boston Marathon in support of Family Reach and summitting Kilimanjaro in support of Kupenda for Children. In addition, he currently serves on the Board of Directors for The AmerisourceBergen Foundation and Claire’s Army.