UPMC Western Psychiatric PGY1 Pharmacy Residency Program

• Orientation and Pharmacy Operations – Five weeks.
• Ambulatory Care – Five weeks.
• Internal Medicine – Four weeks.
• Geriatric Medicine – Five weeks.
• Inpatient Psychiatry – Five weeks.
• Neurotrauma Critical Care – Four weeks.
• Inpatient Family Medicine – Two weeks.
• Academia and Professional Development (longitudinal) – 12 months.
• Medication Safety (longitudinal) – 12 months.
• Personal Development (longitudinal) – 12 months.
• Inpatient Operations (longitudinal) – 12 months.
• Medication Safety (longitudinal) – 12 months.

Electives

• Underserved Care – Five weeks.
• Emergency Medicine – Five weeks.
• Substance Use Disorder – Five weeks.
• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry – Five weeks.
• Outpatient Primary Care Precision Medicine/Pharmacogenomics - Five weeks.

Deliverables

• Drug Monograph
• Research
  • Includes project plan, presentation, and manuscript.
• Medication Use Evaluation
  • Includes presentation.
• Completion of Pharmacy and Therapeutics Advisory and Implementation (PTAI) responsibilities
  • ADR/Labeling changes.
  • P&T Newsletter.
  • Meeting minute.
• Presentations
  • One (1) grand rounds (Known as PULSE).
  • Two (2) case presentations.
  • Two (2) journal club presentations.
  • One (1) preceptor development session.
• Obtain the rating of “Achieved for Residency” for ≥ 80% of ASHP residency objectives.
• Obtain the rating of “Achieved for Residency” for 100% of Patient Care objectives.
• Participation in two (2) service activities.

Residency Program Director

• Matthew Joseph, PharmD, BCPS

Residency Program Coordinator

• Ana Lupu, PharmD

Preceptors

• Lucas Berenbrok, PHARMD, MS, FAPhA
• Christine Clark, PharmD, BCPP
• James Coons, PharmD, BCCP, FCCP, FACC
• Sharon Conner, PharmD
• Marissa Cullen, PharmD, BCPP
• Joseph Durkin, PharmD BCCCP
• Tanya J. Fabian, PharmD, PhD, BCPP
• Karen Fielding, PharmD
• Marc Gutowski, PharmD
• Matthew Joseph, PharmD, BCPS
• Cory McGinnis, PharmD, BCCCP
• Casey O’Brien, PharmD, BCPS
• Megha Patel, PharmD, BCPS
• Alexandria Feist, PharmD, BCPS
• Andreea Temelie, PharmD, BCPP
• Emily Thacker, PharmD
• Melanie Yabs, PharmD, MS, BCPP

Current Residents

• Juliana Freisen, PharmD
• Sophia Stewart, PharmD

Former Residents and First Positions

• 2025 Residents
  • Kavya Achyutuni, PharmD – PGY2 Psychiatric Pharmacy Resident, UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital
  • Angeleki Zecopoulos, PharmD – PGY2 Psychiatric Pharmacy Resident, UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital
• 2024 Residents
  • Michael (Mick) Harrison, PharmD – PGY2 Psychiatric Pharmacy Resident, UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital
  • Hannah Holloway, PharmD– PGY2 Psychiatric Pharmacy Resident, UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital
• 2023 Residents
  • Paige-Dorve Lewis, PharmD – PGY2 Psychiatric Pharmacy Resident, UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital
  • Christine Sun, PharmD, BCPP – PGY2 Psychiatric Pharmacy Resident, UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital
• 2022 Residents
  • Harrison Ferro, PharmD, BCPP – PGY2 Psychiatric Pharmacy Resident, UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital
  • Emily Thacker, PharmD – PGY2 Psychiatric Pharmacy Resident, UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital
• 2021 Residents
  • Dante Delerme, PharmD– PGY2 Psychiatric Pharmacy Resident, UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital
  • Tuyen Nguyen, PharmD, APh, MPH, BCPP – PGY2 Psychiatric Pharmacy Resident, Scripps Mercy Hospital
• 2020 Residents
  • Andreea Temelie, PharmD, BCPP –PGY2 Psychiatric Pharmacy Resident, UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital
  • Rena Sackett, PharmD, BCPS – Executive Fellow in Association Leadership and Management, ASHP
• 2019 Residents
  • Melanie Yabs, PharmD, MS, BCPP – PGY2 Psychiatric Pharmacy Resident, UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital
  • Hannah Goulding, PharmD, BCPP – Psychiatric Clinical Pharmacist, UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital
• 2018 Residents
  • Taylor Dean, PharmD, BCPP – PGY2 Psychiatric Pharmacy Resident, UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital
  • Katie MacCamy, PharmD, BCPS, BCPP – PGY2 Psychiatric Pharmacy Resident, Avera McKennan Hospital and University Health Center/Avera Behavioral Health Center

• Phorcas Deadline
  • January 2.
• Requirements
  • Letter of intent.
  • Curriculum Vitae.
  • Three (3) letters of recommendation submitted through PhORCAS.
• Interview requirement (virtual)
  • Select applicants will be invited to interview virtually. Dates to be determined but will be offered in January and February.
• All UPMC PGY1 residents are eligible for the early commitment process following the early commitment process of the intended PGY2 program.

Publications

Sun, C., Temelie, A., Goulding, H., Clark, C., Yabs, M., & Fabian, T. (2025). Comparison of Psychiatric Readmission Rates for Child and Adolescent Patients on Long-Acting Injectable Antipsychotics vs. Oral Antipsychotics: A Mirror Study. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology. DOI: 10.1089/cap.2024.0072

Sun C, Temelie A, Goulding H, Clark C, Yabs M, & Fabian T. (2025). Long-acting injectable antipsychotic initiation in child and adolescent patients with psychiatric disorders. J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol.

Stutzman, D. L., Leiby, L. E., Temelie, A., Maroney, M., Williams, A. M., Parmentier, B. L., & Payne, G. H. (2023). Role of Board‐Certified Psychiatric Pharmacists in child and adolescent psychiatry. JAACP : Journal of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy. https://doi.org/10.1002/jac5.1880

Winstanley, E. L., Thacker, E. P., Choo, L. Y., Lander, L. R., Berry, J. H., & Tofighi, B. (2022). Patient-reported problems filling buprenorphine prescriptions and motivations for illicit use. Drug and alcohol dependence reports, 5, 100091.

Thacker E. P. (2021). Building bridges to recovery in Appalachia. Journal of the American Pharmacists Association: JAPhA, 61(3), 226–227.

Awards

• Angeleki Zecopoulos, PharmD (PGY1 Class of 2025)
  • UPMC Western Behavioral Health Research and Evidence Based Practice Award for “The Impact of Pharmacist Led AIMS Monitoring Service.”
• Hannah Holloway, PharmD (PGY1 Class of 2024)
  • President’s Award for Implementation of Addiction Medicine Pharmacy Consult Service at an Inpatient Psychiatric Hospital.
• Paige Dorve-Lewis, PharmD (PGY1 Class of 2023)
  • American Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists (AAPP) Defining the Future Research Grant Recipient 2023 for Overdose Prevention Strategies in High-Risk Youth Populations; Impact of Pharmacist Intervention an…
• Harrison Ferro, PharmD (PGY1 Class of 2022)
  • AAPP Innovative Practices Award 2025 for Impact of a Pharmacy Mental Health Practitioner on an Inpatient Psychiatry Consultation Liaison Service
• Andreea Temelie, PharmD, BCPP (PGY1 Class of 2020)
  • American Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists (AAPP) Defining the Future Research Grant Recipient 2020 for Deprescribing in Older Adults during Inpatient Psychiatric Hospitalization: Impact of Pharmacist In…
  • Hospital/Health System Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) Excellence in Care Award for “Process and Outcomes for Deprescribing Benzodiazepines in the Outpatient Setting for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities and Autism.”
  • UPMC Western Behavioral Health Medical Director’s Award for Pharmacists: Key Team Members in Identifying and Resolving Medication Errors and Discrepancies During Transitions of Care.
  • UPMC Western Behavioral Health Medical Director’s Award for Deprescribing in Older Adults during Inpatient Psychiatric Hospitalization.
• Hannah Goulding, PharmD, BCPP (PGY1 Class of 2019)
  • UPMC Western Behavioral Health Patient Quality Award for “Increasing Utilization of Intranasal Midazolam for Seizures.”