Pharmacy preceptors
Marie Podkonjak, PharmD, BCPS
Home town: Gallup, NM
Pharmacy school: University of Colorado
Year started at Presbyterian St. Luke’s and Rocky Mountain Children's: 2011
Rotation precepted: Internal Medicine
Areas of clinical interest: Pharmacy potpourri, pain management, med safety
Favorite book: Several. Outlander series, Lamb, P&P, HP, etc. etc.
Favorite movie: Too many to name!
Advice for future residents: Be flexible, take deep breaths, adapt.
Allison Mann, PharmD, BCPS
Home town: Denver, CO
Pharmacy school: University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Year started at Presbyterian St. Luke’s and Rocky Mountain Children's: 2014
Areas of clinical interest: Anticoagulation, transitions of care, interdisciplinary care models, interprofessional education
Hobbies outside of pharmacy: Camping, gardening, movies
Favorite movie: I love all of the Marvel movies
Advice for future residents: Take all the opportunities you can this year to learn new skills and knowledge. Even though you are a resident, don’t forget about maintaining some degree of work-life balance.
Amelia Woods, PharmD, BCPS
Home town: Sioux City, IA
Pharmacy school: University of Iowa
Year started at Presbyterian St. Luke’s and Rocky Mountain Hospital Children's: 2005
Rotation precepted: Critical Care
Areas of clinical interest: critical care, medical emergencies – cardiac arrest, ischemic strokes, MH), nutritional support, fluids/electrolytes
Hobbies outside of pharmacy: camping, crafting, reading historical fiction and spending time with my family
Favorite movie: The Holiday – my Christmas favorite
Favorite restaurant in Denver: Fire on the Mountain – the G.W. Carver sandwich with an IPA.
Advice for future residents: Be ready to master your time management skills.
Chelsea Boyle, PharmD
Home town: Sacramento, CA…. but Denver is home
Pharmacy school: The University of Colorado, Skaggs School of Pharmacy
Year started at Presbyterian St. Luke’s and Rocky Mountain Children's: 2019
Rotation precepted: Service Commitment (staffing)
Areas of clinical interest: ID, med-safety, sterile compounding
Hobbies outside of pharmacy: Tennis, pilates, yoga, hiking
Favorite book: Blink (Malcom Gladwell) and Project Hail Mary (Andy Weir)
Favorite movies: Harry Potter, The 5th Element, Little Miss Sunshine, Beetlejuice, Palm Springs…. There’s so many more that I can’t think of right now… I love movies!
Favorite restaurant in Denver: City O City, Dos Santos, Shells and Sauce, Fish&Beer, TruFoods, North
Advice for future residents: Live close by (if possible), stay organized, be eager and excited to learn and don’t be afraid to ask for help!
Jason Blauwet, PharmD
Home town: Larchwood, Iowa
Pharmacy school: The University of Iowa
Year started at Presbyterian St. Luke’s and Rocky Mountain Children's: 2004
Rotation precepted: Administration
Areas of clinical interest: Staff development and process improvement in a large tertiary care medical center
Hobbies outside of pharmacy: Cycling, skiing, golfing
Favorite movie: Forrest Gump
Favorite restaurant in Denver: Sushi Den
Advice for future residents: Residency training is an incredible opportunity to further develop the skills of an independent practitioner. Kudos for pursuing your career development!
Joan Orgeldinger, RPh Assistant Director of Pharmacy, Medication Safety Coordinator
Home town/state: Trinidad, Colorado
Pharmacy school: University of Colorado
Year started at Presbyterian St. Luke’s and Rocky Mountain Children's: 2015
Rotation precepted: Medication Safety
Areas of clinical interest: advancements in the immune system therapy for various indications
Hobbies outside of pharmacy: Cycling, skiing, travel
Favorite book: The Life we Bury
Favorite movie: Grew up in a movie theater and this is a hard question
Favorite restaurant in Denver: Locanda Del Borgo
Advice for future residents: See as much as you can see while you can
Joshua Sanchez, PharmD, BCPS
Home town: Mesa, Arizona
Pharmacy school: University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Year started at Presbyterian St. Luke’s and Rocky Mountain Children's: 2018
Rotation precepted: Internal Medicine- Solid Organ Transplant
Areas of clinical interest: Fungal infections & anticoagulation
Hobbies outside of pharmacy: Mountain biking, snowboarding, watching junk TV and collecting comic books
Favorite book: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Favorite movie: Much like medicine, this is a gray area and requires a discussion far beyond the scope of this bio
Favorite restaurant in Denver: Shanahans Steak House
Advice for future residents: Never sacrifice quality for quantity in any phase of your life
Michael Ball, PharmD, BCTXP
Home town: Byron Center, MI
Pharmacy school: University of Colorado
Year started at Presbyterian St. Luke’s and Rocky Mountain Children's: 2018
Rotation precepted: Adult Solid Organ Transplant
Areas of clinical interest: solid organ transplant, end-organ disease states, immunology, virology, pediatrics, teaching
Hobbies outside of pharmacy: hiking, fly fishing, taking my dog to dog parks, taking care of my plants, snow boarding
Favorite book: I have a hard time picking favorites, but Any Human Heart and Reincarnation Blues are in my top five
Favorite restaurant in Denver: Domo, Benzina, or North Italia - all are excellent!
Advice for future residents: Use this time to cement the basics of being a great pharmacist: get the clinical knowledge down, learn to build rapport with your team, develop your time management, and adapt to working in the “grey-zone” where your expertise is needed.
Elizabeth Meszaros, PharmD
Pharmacy school: University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy
Year started at Presbyterian St. Luke's: 2022
Rotation(s) precepted: BMT/Onc
Areas of clinical interest: BMT/Onc, patient education/teaching
Hobbies outside of pharmacy: yoga, running, taco connoisseur
Favorite restaurant in Denver: TBD
Advice for future residents: Take advantage of every learning opportunity and don’t forget self-care!
Michelle Cuprik, PharmD, BCPPS
Home town: Denver Colorado
Pharmacy school: Regis University School of Pharmacy
Year started at Presbyterian St. Luke’s and Rocky Mountain Children's: 2022
Rotation precepted: Pediatrics
Areas of clinical interest: neonatology, medication safety
Hobbies outside of pharmacy: reading, cooking, traveling
Favorite book: A Thousand Splendid Suns
Advice for future residents: Stay open minded and trust the process. You never know where your pharmacy journey will take you.
Kristen Finical, PharmD, BCPPS
Home town: Cedar Hill, TX
Pharmacy School: Texas Tech, University Health Sciences School of Pharmacy
Year Started At Presbyterian St. Luke’s: 2024
Rotation(s) precepted: Neonatology
Areas of clinical interest: Antimicrobial stewardship
Hobbies outside of pharmacy: anything outside! hiking, yoga, swimming
Favorite book: The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
Advice for future residents: just keep swimming!
Jonathan Wang, PharmD, BCPS
Home town: Lexington, KY
Pharmacy School: University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy
Year Started At Presbyterian St. Luke’s: 2023
Rotation(s) precepted: I’m currently a clinical float, so I occasionally precept internal medicine or ICU rotations
Areas of clinical interest: Internal medicine, general surgery
Hobbies outside of pharmacy: Working out, cooking, traveling, exploring new restaurants
Favorite book: I don’t read as much as I should.. but I would recommend Atomic Habits
Advice for future residents: Spend time doing what you enjoy outside of work and prioritize your mental health as much as you can
Corwin Coppinger, PharmD
Home town: Pinetop Arizona
Pharmacy School: University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy
Year Started At Presbyterian St. Luke’s: 2025
Rotation(s) precepted: Antimicrobial Stewardship/Infectious Disease
Areas of clinical interest: Infectious Diseases
Hobbies outside of pharmacy: Watching my kids play sports, hiking, snowboarding
Favorite book: The Green Mile
Advice for future residents: Ask questions, it's ok to not know the answers to everything. We are all learners and will learn things from you as well!
Reid Grobe, PharmD, BCPPS
Home town: Sugar Land, TX
Pharmacy School: Texas A&M College of Pharmacy
Year Started At Presbyterian St. Luke’s: 2020
Rotation(s) precepted: Pediatrics
Areas of clinical interest: PICU, NICU
Hobbies outside of pharmacy: Skiing
Favorite book: The Hyperion Cantos, Dan Simmons
Advice for future residents: Don't Panic
Kelly Kreuter, PharmD, BCPPS
Home town: Brookfield, WI
Pharmacy School: Regis University
Year Started At Presbyterian St. Luke’s: 2016
Rotation(s) precepted: PICU/Peds, NICU, Pediatric Oncology
Areas of clinical interest: Anything pediatric
Hobbies outside of pharmacy: Skiing, biking, hiking – basically all the “Colorado” things.
Favorite book: Anything I can get for free on my Kindle
Advice for future residents: You can do anything for a year! Also, this is the ONLY time in your pharmacy career where you will get continuous feedback on your performance. Make sure you take advantage of that and request feedback about your performance and use that as a tool to grow.
Chris Thomas, PharmD
Hometown: Abbasiya, Kuwait; Modesto, CA
Pharmacy School: University of Colorado
Year Started at Presbyterian St. Luke’s: 2022
Rotation(s) precepted: Adult Solid Organ Transplant
Areas of clinical interest: abdominal/thoracic transplant, infectious diseases, immunology, anticoagulation, pain management
Hobbies outside of pharmacy: snowboarding, music festivals, video games, traveling to new cities to eat food, weightlifting
Favorite restaurant: Temaki Den
Advice for future residents: Be yourself. Use what you know and what you’ve been through to handle whatever comes your way.