Purdue Pharmacy Professor Receives AACP's 2019 Paul R. Dawson Award

The 2019 Paul R. Dawson Award for Excellence in Patient Care Research has been awarded to Dr. Karen Hudmon, Dr.PH, MS, BSPharm, professor of pharmacy practice at the Purdue University College of Pharmacy. It was presented to her at the 2019 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Annual Meeting in Chicago.¹

The Paul R. Dawson Award for Excellence in Patient Care Research annually recognizes an active scientist working in pharmacy education for their leadership in research related to health services delivery directly affecting patient outcomes, including basic, clinical, translational, and health services research. Founded in the 1980s, it is endowed by Amgen in honor of its former VP of Marketing and Sales Paul R. Dawson.²

The award is considered one of prestige in the industry.¹

“I find it surprising that you can receive an award at this level for doing exactly what you love to do every day,” Hudmon said in her acceptance speech.¹

Hudmon’s work focuses on the improvement of patient outcomes through the expansion of evidence-based training programs for health care providers, and she is perhaps most known for her work in tobacco cessation. She has worked on advancing legislation in Indiana for pharmacists’ prescriptive authority regarding smoking cessation medications, and her research influenced similar legislation in California and Massachusetts.³

Her recent publications include “An update on the pharmacotherapeutic interventions for smoking cessation,” “Educational background and academic rank within US schools of pharmacy,” and “Attitudes of directors of experiential education regarding tobacco sales in pharmacies in the USA,” all published in 2016.³

“There’s no denying that research is a labor of love,” Hudmon said, upon receiving the award.¹ “But it’s days like this that make it all worthwhile.”

Hudmon received her Doctorate of Public Health from the University of Texas in 1995, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship in cancer prevention at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. She has received numerous other awards throughout her career, including the Gold Medal for Best Original Research from the American Society of Healthcare Publication Editors and the Hulman Health Achievement Award for Excellence in Health Science Research.³

Honorees receiving the Paul R. Dawson Award for Excellence in Patient Care Research are given a glass sculpture and a $5,000 prize.²

References

• "Science Plenary: Precision Medicine — The Future is NOW: Evidence, Practice and Educating the Future Workforce to Lead." Presented at: 2019 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Annual Meeting; July 13-17, 2019: Chicago, IL.
• AACP. Awards: Paul R. Dawson Award for Excellence in Patient Care Research. AACP website. https://www.aacp.org/resource/paul-r-dawson-award-excellence-patient-care-research. Accessed August 5, 2019.
• Purdue University College of Pharmacy Department of Pharmacy Practice. Karen Suchanek Hudmon. Purdue University website. https://www.phpr.purdue.edu/directory/khudmon. Accessed August 5, 2019.