Distinguished New Practitioner Award
2024 Distinguished New Practitioner Award recipient
Sophia M.C. Herbert, PharmD
Dr. Sophia Herbert is passionate about supporting current and future pharmacists with the evidence and tools they need to transform community pharmacy practice into a sustainable, patient-centered health care model. Dr. Herbert completed her Doctor of Pharmacy degree and a Community Pharmacy Practice Development Fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, where she is now an Assistant Professor. Her practice focuses on community pharmacy-based patient care services, including University-wide vaccination and wellness efforts.
She supports the work of the Pennsylvania Pharmacists Care Network (PPCN)/CPESN through project management and coaching for Flip the Pharmacy, creation of a Quality Engagement Team of students for the Network, and research on the appointment-based model, vaccination equity and more. Dr. Herbert has been instrumental in the growth and impact of the ACT (Academia-Community Transformation) Pharmacy Collaborative, co-leading the development of the ACT Patient
Casebook and the national 50 Stories from 50 States campaign.
During the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, Dr. Herbert worked with a team at the University of Pittsburgh to develop and execute mass vaccination events on campus and in the surrounding community. She leads the interprofessional education and technology development at the Pitt Vaccination & Health Connection Hub. She teaches several courses in the PharmD curriculum and coordinates the Community Leadership and Innovation in Practice Area of Concentration. She directs Pitt Pharmacy’s SilverScripts Program, now in its 20th year, bringing together pharmacy, nutrition, and social work students to provide care at local senior centers. Dr. Herbert has been an active member of APhA since 2015, where she has served as a New Practitioner Mentor, and now as APhA-ASP Co-Advisor for over 200 Pitt Pharmacy students. She was selected to participate in APhA’s COVID-19 Vaccine Confident Learning Collaborative in 2022, and as a speaker for an APhA Open Forum regarding strategies for pediatric vaccinations.
About
The Distinguished New Practitioner Award was established in 2010 to recognize an individual new practitioner who has demonstrated distinctive achievements in mentorship, service, and commitment to the profession of pharmacy.
Nominate a colleague by Dec. 1
Evaluation Criteria
The nominee must be an APhA member pharmacist within his/her first five years after graduation. Nominees must be a New Practitioner in good standing at the time of nomination and are eligible to receive the award as an Active Pharmacist Member during the subsequent APhA Annual Meeting & Exposition. Self-nominations are allowed for this award. Applications will be evaluated based upon the following criteria (listed alphabetically, not in rank order):
- APhA-related activities (e.g. leadership, committees, editorial advisory board member, speaker, publication contributor/reviewer, etc.)
- Community service
- Contributions to the development of student pharmacists (e.g. serving as a New Practitioner mentor and/or assisting in APhA-ASP related activities as a preceptor, etc.)
- Impact on the profession through singular or multiple achievements (e.g., innovation, pharmacy practice, research, scholarly activities, etc.)
- Participation in other professional activities
Nomination process
The nominator is responsible for submitting a complete award nomination.
The nomination is to include the following items:
A letter from the nominator describing the most important achievements of the nominee and explaining why the nominee meets the criteria for the award
One letter of recommendation is required (letters from student pharmacists are accepted); a maximum of two letters accepted
A current curriculum or detailed résumé
Individuals may self nominate as well.
Selection process
The selection is made by the APhA New Practitioner Advisory Committee and approved by the APhA Board of Trustees.
Nature of award
The Distinguished New Practitioner Award will be presented at the APhA Annual Meeting & Exposition and consists of a laminated plaque, a $500 honorarium, and a complimentary New Practitioner APhA Annual Meeting & Exposition registration.
Past recipients
2015 Gretchen K. Garofoli
2013 Ashley Stubblefield Crumby
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