Faculty and Staff

Department Chair

Daniel Kerner
Daniel Kerner

Daniel Kerner is a Clinical Associate Professor and Chair of Pharmacy Practice at Chicago State University College of Health Sciences and Pharmacy. Dr. Kerner received his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Purdue University in 2015. After graduation, Dr. Kerner completed a PGY-1 Community Pharmacy Practice Residency at Creighton University School of Pharmacy and Health Professions in Omaha, Nebraska. He then went on to complete a PGY-2 Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Residency with Community Health Network in Indianapolis, IN. His clinical and research interests include cardiovascular risk reduction and chronic disease state management.

 

Faculty

Brandle Blakely
Brandle Blakely

Brandle Blakely is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice at Chicago State University College of Health Sciences and Pharmacy. Dr. Blakely received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Interdepartmental Studies from the University of Iowa and continued at Iowa through their College of Pharmacy, obtaining her Doctor Pharmacy Degree in 2016. She then went on to complete a PGY-1 Pharmacy Practice Residency at Presence St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, IL in 2017. 

Dr. Blakely is a Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist and currently maintains a practice site at John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County (Cook County Health), where she practices as a Clinical Pharmacist in Internal Medicine. Prior to joining CSU, Dr. Blakely practiced at UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial as a Clinical Pharmacist in Internal Medicine and as a staff pharmacist. Her areas of interest include transitions of care, heart failure, and disease state management. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Kappa Psi Pharmaceutical Fraternity, Inc., American Pharmacists Association, and the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.

Paul Fina
Paul Fina

Paul Fina is the Director for Assessment and a Clinical Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice at Chicago State University College of Health Sciences and Pharmacy.  Dr. Fina earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Molecular Cellular Biology and Chemistry from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign and his Doctor of Pharmacy Degree from the Ohio State University College of Pharmacy.  After graduation, he completed a Community Pharmacy Residency with Jewel-Osco and Midwestern University College of Pharmacy in Downers Grove, IL.  He worked for Jewel-Osco Pharmacy for several years before pursuing additional training by completing a second year residency in Medication Use Safety at the Pharmacy Benefits Management Veterans Affairs Center for Medication Safety.  Dr. Fina’s areas of interest and research include adverse drug event reporting, healthcare economics, healthcare equity, patient safety, patient outcomes, and the scholarship of teaching and learning.

Deborah Harper-Brown
Deborah Harper-Brown

Deborah Harper-Brown is a Clinical Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice at Chicago State University College of Health Sciences and Pharmacy. Dr. Harper-Brown earned a Bachelor of Arts from Earlham College and both the Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy (1983) and the Doctor of Pharmacy (1985) degrees from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) College of Pharmacy. She also completed an Advanced Residency in Drug Information Practice from the University of Illinois Medical Center (UIMC) in 1986.

Prior to joining the faculty at Chicago State University, Dr. Harper-Brown served on the faculty of the UIC College of Pharmacy in the Department of Pharmacy Practice, was Assistant Director for the UIMC Drug Information Center, a Clinical Pharmacist at the Mile Square Neighborhood Health Center in Chicago and a member of the Clinical Formulary Department at CVS Caremark. Her research interests include ambulatory care pharmacy practice, the application of adult learning theories in the development of individualized education material for patients with chronic illnesses and the use of reflective writing/journaling as an instructional technique for Doctor of Pharmacy students.

Dr. Harper-Brown has authored and co-authored several articles in peer-reviewed, professional publications and is currently a member of the editorial board of the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education. She has received a number of awards and accolades, the most recent being the Urban Health Program Alumni Trailblazer Award from the University of Illinois.

Sabah Hussein
Sabah Hussein

Sabah Hussein is a Clinical Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice at Chicago State University College of Health Sciences and Pharmacy. Dr. Hussein received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy in 1991.She also completed a Community Pharmacy Practice Residency in 2004 with Dominick’s Pharmacy and Midwestern University Chicago College of Pharmacy.

Dr. Hussein has held academic appointments at Midwestern University Chicago College of Pharmacy and South Suburban College. She has been actively involved in the education of student pharmacists and pharmacy technicians for several years. Dr. Hussein has served the Chicagoland community through her clinical and staff positions at Dominick’s Pharmacy and Rush University Medical Center and through her dedicated participation in numerous outreach, disease prevention, and health education activities and events.

Dr. Hussein’s research interests include evaluating the impact of patient-centered pharmacy care services on patient health outcomes and determining the causes of low enrollment rates of Hispanic students in Illinois pharmacy schools. Dr. Hussein was awarded an Incentive Grant for Practitioner Innovation in Pharmaceutical Care in 2003 by the American Pharmacists Association Foundation for the development of a weight management program at Dominick’s Pharmacy. Dr. Hussein is a member of several pharmacy professional organizations including the American Pharmacists Association, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, and the Illinois Pharmacists Association. She currently serves on the Professional Affairs Committee of the Illinois Pharmacists Association.

Charisse Johnson
Charisse Johnson

Charisse Johnson is the Associate Dean of Student Affairs/Dean of Students and Professor of Pharmacy Practice at Chicago State University College of Health Sciences and Pharmacy.  Dr. Johnson received both her Doctor of Pharmacy degree and Master of Science degree in Pharmacy Administration from the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy (UIC-COP). Possessing formal teaching experiences in both didactic and experiential arenas with student pharmacists, pharmacy residents, and pharmacy technicians, Dr. Johnson has served in various capacities as a guest speaker, course instructor, and graduate teaching assistant lecturing on topics such as regulatory policy, patient safety, and the pharmacist’s role in community health. In February 2018, Dr. Johnson received her teacher certification from the Center for KORU Mindfulness; subsequently in August 2020 she became a certified facilitator with the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute. Prior to joining Chicago State University, Dr. Johnson was the Professional Affairs Manager at the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy. She also has practice experience in community and health-systems pharmacy.  Dr. Johnson has served as a board member for both the National Pharmaceutical Association and Chicago Pharmacists Association. She is also a member of Rho Chi Honor Society, Phi Lambda Sigma Leadership Fraternity, and Kappa Psi Pharmaceutical Fraternity. She has received a number of awards and accolades, including the UIC-COP Sister Margaret Wright Graduate Award, the UIC-COP Urban Health Program Distinguished Alumni Award, the CSU-COP Dean’s Award for Outstanding Faculty Service, and the CSU Academic & Student Affairs Excellence Award.

Darilyn McClain
Darilyn N. McClain

Darilyn N. McClain is the Director of Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences at Chicago State University College of Health Sciences and Pharmacy. Dr. McClain received her Doctor of Pharmacy Degree in 2005 from Florida A&M University College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (FAMU-COPPS) located in Tallahassee, FL. In 2006, she completed a pharmacy practice residency at Veterans Affairs Medical Center located in Washington, D.C.

Prior to joining CSU, Dr. McClain practiced as a clinical/staff pediatric pharmacist at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C., consultant pharmacist for a pharmacist-led non-profit The Center for Minority Studies, Inc. in Washington, D.C., and clinical/staff pediatric pharmacist at Comer Children’s Hospital at The University of Chicago Medical Center. Her areas of interest include pediatrics, anticoagulation, and HIV/AIDS. Dr. McClain is a member of the American Pharmacists Association, Illinois Pharmacists Association, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Tatjana Petrova
Tatjana Petrova

Tatjana Petrova is a Professor of Pharmacy Practice at Chicago State University College of Health Sciences and Pharmacy.  She holds both a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy and a Specialist in Clinical Pharmacy degree from the University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Skopje, Macedonia (1996 and 2005).  She completed her Doctorate in Pharmacy Care Systems from Auburn University, in Auburn, Alabama (2011).

Prior to joining Chicago State University, Dr. Petrova worked as a community pharmacist, marketing and sales representative for Abbott and Becton Dickenson and as a state inspector in the Ministry of Health-Health Insurance Fond of Macedonia.  During her graduate program, she was a teaching and research assistant at the Department of Pharmacy Care Systems at Auburn University.

Dr. Petrova's research interest include health behavior change and improving treatment adherence, as well as developing a new role of the pharmacist, putting an accent on the relationship between the pharmacist (health care provider) and the patient, and using motivational interviewing as a consulting technique.  She is interested in identifying the factors affecting adherence to prescribed medication from the patient perspective and health care systems perspective. Dr. Petrova's research focus is oriented toward the role of the pharmacist in behavioral changes and adherence to medication when counseling patients. Specifically, she is interested in increasing medication adherence in patients with chronic conditions or illnesses.  Her clinical research interest is in the area of COPD and asthma.

Samah Qasmieh
Samah Qasmieh

Samah Qasmieh is a Professor of Pharmacy Practice at Chicago State University College of Health Sciences and Pharmacy. Dr. Qasmieh received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Roosevelt University College of Pharmacy in 2017. She then completed a Pharmacy Practice Residency in 2018 with Palos Health Northwestern Medicine followed by an Infectious Diseases Fellowship in 2020 with The University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Qasmieh obtained her Teaching and Learning Certificate in 2018 from Loyola University Medical Center. 

Prior to joining Chicago State University, Dr. Qasmieh was the Co-Director of Infectious Diseases at OSF Little Company of Mary Medical Center. She also has practiced in various clinical and community pharmacy practice settings. 

Dr. Qasmieh’s research interests include understanding the mechanisms of multidrug resistant pathogens and how to overcome their resistance mechanisms by utilizing unique dosing schemes, nonconventional antimicrobial combination therapies, as well as newly approved antimicrobials in effort to combat dire unmet clinical needs. Dr. Qasmieh is interested in eravacycline and delafloxacin’s ability to penetrate S. aureus biofilms in bone and joint infections. Dr. Qasmieh is also interested in the pharmacoeconomic outcomes of using oritavancin in outpatient infusion centers for various infection types compared to traditional antimicrobials such as vancomycin.

Dr. Qasmieh is a member of several pharmacy professional organizations including the American Society for Microbiology, American College of Clinical Pharmacy, Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists, Illinois Council of Health-System Pharmacists, American Society of Healthcare Pharmacists, and American Pharmacists Association. She currently serves as a mentor for ICHP.

Trishia Shaw
Trishia E. Shaw

Trishia E. Shaw is a Clinical Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice at Chicago State University College of Health Sciences and Pharmacy. Dr. Shaw earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology degree from Loyola University Chicago (2004) and her Doctor of Pharmacy Degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy (2009). She completed the Non-Traditional PGY-1 residency program at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, IL. She is also a board certified pharmacotherapy specialist. Prior to completing her residency program, Dr. Shaw practiced as a clinical pharmacist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in several capacities, including neonatal, women’s health, psychiatry specialties as well as staffing as an overnight pharmacist.

Dr. Shaw’s clinical interests include diabetes, anticoagulation and HIV/AIDS management in the ambulatory setting and her research interests include pharmacist’s impact on diabetic patient outcomes, barriers to healthcare outcomes in underserved patients and impact of healthcare disparities in minority and underserved populations. She is a member of the National Pharmaceutical Association, the Chicago Pharmacists Association, the American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists, the American Pharmacists Association, Phi Lambda Sigma Leadership Fraternity, and the Illinois Council of Health-Systems Pharmacists.

Prudence Ughamadu
Prudence Ughamadu

Prudence Ughamadu is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice at Chicago State University College of Health Sciences and Pharmacy. Dr. Ughamadu earned her Master of Science in Marketing/Public Relations from the University of Nigeria (2001) and her Doctor of Pharmacy from Chicago State University (2021). She completed a PGY-1 pharmacy residency at Community Hospital, Munster, Indiana in 2022 and obtained a teaching certificate from Chicago State University (2022).

Dr. Ughamadu’s clinical interests are cardiology, internal medicine, and critical care. Her research focus includes heart failure with reduced ejection fraction management and the management/risk reduction of other cardiovascular diseases. Dr. Ughamadu has received several awards including the ViatrisTM Excellence in Pharmacy Award.