Sandy (Jeong Yeon) Rhie

Sandy Jeong Rhie, PharmD, PhD, is a professor at Ewha Womans University College of Pharmacy (EWU) and a national leader advancing pharmacist immunization training in South Korea. She earned her PharmD from the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy and her PhD from Ewha Womans University. Her clinical experience included service as an inpatient anticoagulation specialist at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, and she integrates evidence-based practice, research, and policy advocacy to strengthen pharmacists’ impact on patient care and public health.

In 2023, Dr. Rhie launched South Korea’s first pharmacy-based immunization certification training program, developed with U.S. faculty See-Won Seo, Hoai-An Truong, and Barry Bleidt, and delivered with key Korean partners. The program established a workforce development framework to support future pharmacist-provided vaccination services. She has also organized coalitions of national pharmacy organizations, contributed to national recognition of pharmacist immunization training and helped advance the 2025 collaborative partnership between APhA and the Korean Pharmaceutical Association (President Young-Hee Kwon), strengthening global collaboration and accelerating policy-aligned implementation.

Her research interests are clinically translational, machine learning–based, multicenter outcomes research using real-world evidence infectious diseases and neuropsychiatric disorders. Additionally, she has served at three Olympic and Paralympic Games, contributes through leadership role in the Asian Conference on Clinical Pharmacy, and she is President-Elect of the Korea College of Clinical Pharmacy. Her career reflects sustained, system-level achievement in vaccination education and practice advancement.

She gratefully acknowledges the collaboration of Joon Seok Bang and Sang Hoon Joo of the Korea Academy of Community Pharmacy, Tae Eun Park who is a program co-coordinator, and the support of Dean Hwa Jeong Lee of EWU and graduate students, along with Sook Hyang Lee at the Korea College of Clinical Pharmacy, Kyung Joo Chung of the Korean Society of Health-System Pharmacists, and Young Sook Lee at the Korean Academy of Pharmacy Health Communication and Community Care.

Robert Yagar

Dr. Robert Yagar is a dedicated community pharmacist whose more than 20 years of service have significantly improved vaccine access and public health in underserved communities. Serving a neighborhood with a large Cambodian population, he has built trust through culturally sensitive care, language accessibility, and compassionate patient engagement. He organizes immunization clinics, mentors pharmacy students, and collaborates with healthcare partners to expand preventive care. Dr. Yagar also leads medical mission trips to Cambodia, providing vaccines and health education globally. His quiet leadership, commitment to equity, and mentorship have strengthened community health and inspired the next generation of pharmacists.