Dr. Kristin Wiisanen Brings Academic, Clinical Expertise to College of Pharmacy
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Kristin Wiisanen, PharmD, FAPhA, FCCP, joined RFU as the new dean of the College of Pharmacy in October. Named to the post after a national search, Dr. Wiisanen is a national leader in clinical pharmacogenomics, a field that works to improve the safety and efficacy of drugs by incorporating genetic information.
Dr. Wiisanen joined RFU from the University of Florida College of Pharmacy, where she served as associate dean for entrepreneurial programs, associate director of UF Health’s precision medicine program and director of the graduate program in precision medicine. She also served as a clinical professor in the Department of Pharmacotherapy and Translational Research.
“Dr. Wiisanen brings a deep level of experience in a multitude of crucial areas for our College of Pharmacy: teaching, research, clinical practice, administration, enrollment, partnerships, and curricular design, assessment and accreditation,” said RFU President and CEO Dr. Wendy Rheault. “She is uniquely positioned to support and enhance student learning and prepare practice-ready graduates.”
At RFU, Dr. Wiisanen said she plans to “nurture a culture where learning explores all possibilities for pharmacy’s future.”
“RFU’s mission to deliver interprofessional education separates the College of Pharmacy from other programs,” she said. “We build on that mission by emphasizing foundations for tomorrow’s pharmacist, including pharmacogenomics, artificial intelligence, industry and big data.
“More pharmacists in the field are working on teams using genomics and other data, and we prepare our graduates to flow seamlessly into the profession’s expanding scope of practice, including community pharmacy, health systems, industry, academia and public health.”
Dr. Wiisanen earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from UF and completed a community pharmacy practice residency at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy. Early in her career, she worked as a clinical pharmacist in both private and community health center settings.
She has been an investigator on several research grants throughout her career, including projects exploring genomic medicine funded by the National Institutes of Health and other agencies.