Associate Professor Phan Makes History as First PharmD to Co-Lead Federally-Supported Pediatric Pulmonary Center Training Program

Media Contact: Lindsay Groth, Executive Director of Marketing and Communications, [email protected]

[Ann Arbor, Michigan] – This fall, Michigan Medicine will be home to the Midwest’s only Pediatric Pulmonary Center (PPC), thanks to a five-year $1.7 million grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration.

The PPC will train students and postdocs across healthcare disciplines in the best practices for treating infants, children and youth with complex chronic respiratory and sleep-related conditions. 

Carey Lumeng, M.D., Ph.D., division chief for pediatric pulmonology at Michigan Medicine and of University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, will be at the helm of the training program serving as director. Hanna Phan, PharmD, U-M College of Pharmacy clinical associate professor will serve as the center’s associate director – making history as the first pharmacist to hold a leadership role in a PPC.

Bringing a PPC to U-M has been Dr. Phan’s goal since returning to her alma mater as faculty in 2020. As a faculty member at the University of Arizona, Dr. Phan introduced the inclusion of pharmacy students to PPC training programs – a practice that has continued there and has been implemented at other PPCs in the U.S. 

“I’m truly honored and really looking forward to this opportunity,” said Phan. “Interprofessional training opportunities like these are important to facilitate the growth of this in the care of children with complex chronic conditions. Our students will experience patient care in a unique interprofessional setting, and the hope is that they will carry these skills with them throughout their careers.”

“Our pediatric pulmonology division already has established relationships in patient care with Dr. Phan and based on our positive experience, we felt there were opportunities to expand and formalize this relationship to increase trainees who can participate in interprofessional training,” said Lumeng. “ We are very excited to have Dr. Phan and the College of Pharmacy as a partner.”

Students and postdocs in medicine, pharmacy, advanced nursing, social work and dietetics will work interprofessionally in the PPC in both short-term and long-term rotations. 

Michigan Medicine is one of only six healthcare systems in the United States to receive funding for a five-year PPC program. 

Learn more information about PPC training programs.

About the College

The University of Michigan College of Pharmacy has been leading at pharmacy’s edge for 150 years. The first and oldest pharmacy school at a state university, the College — currently ranked #2 in the nation — has and continues to shape education in the field. Its faculty are internationally recognized and are innovators in drug discovery, development and delivery, precision pharmacotherapy, outcomes research and clinical practice. More than 5,000 alumni are enhancing patient care and outcomes at the bench to the bedside, in boardrooms and communities, government agencies, and within healthcare companies.