New faculty spotlight: Carrie McAdam-Marx, Ph.D.

Carrie McAdam-Marx, Ph.D., is a new faculty member at UNMC.

• Name: Carrie McAdam-Marx, Ph.D.
• Hometown: Cimarron, Kansas
• Title and department at UNMC: Professor and program director of the master’s program, UNMC Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science, College of Pharmacy

Research/professional interests:

• Pharmacotherapy health services research
• Outcomes research

How I fell in love with pharmacy: I fell in love with pharmacy when I discovered that a pharmacy degree can be a key to the world, not just a key to the pharmacy. Because I was a pharmacist and understood health care, I held positions in managed care pharmacy and the pharmaceutical industry that I would have never thought possible while in pharmacy school, including jobs that allowed me to live and travel abroad. My training and experience brought a unique and valued perspective to these roles, which made me love being a pharmacist all the more. These non-traditional career opportunities also allowed me to discover where I can best contribute — data analyses and project management. Armed with this insight, I went back for a Ph.D. and embarked on an academic career with a focus on pharmacy health services research and graduate education. While I could have landed here by way of a less circuitous route, it would not have been nearly as enlightening, nor as fun!

Degrees:

• B.S., pharmacy, University of Kansas (Rock Chalk!)
• Residency and M.S. in hospital pharmacy, University of Minnesota
• Ph.D., health policy, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia
• M.S., clinical investigation, University of Utah

Memberships:

• Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy
• American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy
• American Diabetes Association
• International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research

Three things people may not know about me:

• I run ultramarathons — for fun.
• My husband and I are DINKWADs — dual income, no kids, with a dog (two, actually).
• My first job was as a soda jerk in a small-town, independent pharmacy. The pharmacists talked me into going to pharmacy school. The rest, as they say, is history.