UPMC Presbyterian PGY2 Transplantation/Solid Organ pharmacy Residency Program

Required learning

• Orientation.
• Clinical Laboratory and Tissue Typing.
• Heart Transplantation I.
• Lung Transplantation – acute service.
• Lung Transplantation – chronic service.
• Liver Transplantation I.
• Kidney Transplantation I.
• Transplant Candidate Evaluation.
• Clinical Precepting.
• Research (Longitudinal).
• Transplant Pharmacy Operations (Longitudinal).
• Multidisciplinary Committee (Longitudinal).

Electives

• Transplant Infectious Diseases and Antimicrobial Stewardship.
• One ICU experience highly encouraged
  • Abdominal Transplant ICU.
  • Cardiothoracic ICU.
• Outcomes Research.
• Intestinal Transplant.
• Pediatric Transplant (at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh).
• Other elective opportunities may be explored at the request of the transplant resident. In addition, any area may be repeated for a more intense focus in that specialty.

Requirements for program completion

• Pass the exams for licensure as a pharmacist in the State of Pennsylvania by September 30 of the program year.
• Completion of orientation requirements, including University Research Modules and UPMC Pharmacy Competencies.
• Completion of all required residency practice-based learning experiences with “Achieved” for required program goals and objectives and no “Needs Improvement” at end of the program.
• Completion of all PharmAcademic™ Evaluations Completion of all required topics documented in the Appendix section of PharmAcademic™.
• Completion of one Pharmacotherapy Updates: Lecture Series & Continuing Education (PULSE) Presentation.
• Completion of Resident Research Project, including manuscript suitable for publication.
• Presentation of research project at PittPharmacy Resident Research Day.

Residency Program Directors

• Cody Moore, PharmD, MPH, BCTXP, BCPS

Preceptors

• Ann Carl, PharmD, BCPPS
• Edward Horn, PharmD, BCCCP
• Carlo Iasella, PharmD, MPH, BCTXP, BCPS
• Heather Johnson, PharmD, BCPS
• Jenn Joyce, PharmD, BCPS
• Catherine Kim, PharmD, BCCCP
• Stacey Knavish, PharmD
• Olya Lovell, PharmD, BCTXP
• Erin McCreary, PharmD, BCPS, BCIDP
• Ryan Rivosecchi, PharmD, BCCCP
• Lauren Sacha, PharmD, BCTXP
• Kristine Schonder, PharmD
• Kristen Shimko, PharmD, BCTXP
• Raman Venkataramanan, PhD

Program Coordinator

• Chloe Spencer

Current Residents

• Eleni Pikounis, PharmD
• Leah Georgiades, PharmD

Graduated Residents

• 2025 Residents
  • Gianna Emmett, PharmD
  • Ghaleb Ismail, PharmD
• 2024 Resident
  • Benjamin Herrmann, PharmD
• 2023 Resident
  • Uzoamaka Uwechia, PharmD
• 2022 Resident
  • Katelyn Rudzik, PharmD
• 2021 Resident
  • Kristina M. Burroughs, PharmD

• All residents must be eligible for pharmacist licensure in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Applications for Pharmacist License and Intern Registration are available.
• Eligible candidates will have completed an ASHP accredited PGY1 pharmacy residency program and must submit the standard application requirements via PhORCAS by January 2. An on-site interview may be required.
• This residency site agrees that no person at this site will solicit, accept, or use any ranking related information from any residency candidate.

• Stipend
• Benefits (PDF)
• Staffing Requirements: Every fourth weekend
• Travel
  • Travel to the AST Fellows Symposium is highly encouraged.
  • Meeting travel is not required as funding for conferences may not be available from year-to-year.
• Days off: 20

• Burroughs KM, Lichvar AB, Groetzinger LM, Horn E, Iasella CJ, Moore CA, Pierce DR, Sacha LM, Rivosecchi RM. Evaluating the Effect of Concomitant Azoles on Anticoagulant Prescribing Practices in Transplant Patients: A National Survey of Clinicians. J Pharm Technol. 2025.
• Herrmann BN, Moore CA, Johnson HJ, Humar A, Shimko KA. Evaluation of Single Versus Two-Dose Basiliximab Induction Therapy in Live-Donor Liver Transplant. Clin Transplant. 2024 Oct;38(10):e70006.
• Fredrick SR, Iasella CJ, Sacha LM, Rivosecchi RM, Morrell MR, Sanchez PG, Pilewski JM, Snyder ME, McDyer JF, Moore CA. Incidence of Acute Cellular Rejection After Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor in Lung Transplant Recipients. J Pharm Pract. 2024 Aug;37(4):830-837.
• Rudzik KN, Schonder KS, Humar A, Johnson HJ. Early Conversion to Everolimus Within 180 Days of Living Donor Liver Transplantation. Clin Transplant. 2024 Jul;38(7):e15402
• Rudzik KN, Moore CA, Sacha LM, Rivosecchi RM, Saul M, Pilewski JM, Kilaru SD, Snyder ME, McDyer JF, Iasella CJ. Rabbit Antithymocyte Globulin for Treatment of Corticosteroid Refractory Acute Cellular Rejection After Lung Transplantation. Transplantation. 2023 Aug 1;107(8):1828-1834.
• Rudzik KN, Rivosecchi RM, Palmer BA, Hickey GW, Huston JH, Keebler ME, Kaczorowski DJ, Horn ET. Basiliximab induction versus no induction in adult heart transplantation. Clin Transplant. 2023 May;37(5):e14937.
• Rivosecchi RM, Samanta P, Demehin M, Nguyen MH. Pharmacokinetics of azole antifungals in cystic fibrosis. Mycopathologia. 2018;183(1):139-50.
• Witkowsky O, Teutenberg J, Althouse AD, Shullo M. Thrombotic events with proliferation signal inhibitor-based immunosuppression in cardiac transplantation. J Heart Lung Transplant 2019;38(6):619-26.