CPHS Alumni Achievement Awards Announced
Wednesday, March 13th, 2024
The College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences’ annual Alumni Achievement Awards were presented at Health Professions Day on February 22, 2024. This year’s outstanding alumni included Young Alumni Achievement Award recipients Adati Tarfa and Emily Larson and Alumni Achievement Award recipients Gloria Bernstein and Lynn Stover.
Gloria Bernstein
Gloria Bernstein earned a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from Drake in 1978 and has remained an active member of the Drake community. Over the years, Bernstein has been recognized for both her outstanding service to the College of Pharmacy and to the Lambda Kappa Sigma pharmacy fraternity. Included in this service, Bernstein has established the Gloria Bernstein Scholarship, which is awarded annually to a Lamba Kappa Sigma member interested in community pharmacy.
Now retired, Bernstein’s career as a pharmacist and later a pharmacy manager spanned thirty-six years. During her career, she expertly managed pharmacists, interns, and pharmacy technicians while maintaining excellent patient care services, all while overseeing the behind-the-scenes details of managing a pharmacy operation.
Bernstein has served on the Prescription Monitoring Program Advisory Council, the Board of the American Diabetes Association, the Drake University College of Pharmacy Alumni Advisory Board, the Lambda Kappa Sigma Nu Collegiate Chapter Fraternity, the Iowa Pharmacists Association Task Force on Women in Pharmacy, and the Iowa Pharmacists Association Continuing Education Committee.
Bernstein has remained an active member of her community both in pharmacy and in other pursuits. She facilitates collaboration among Des Moines pharmacy managers and coordinates their meetings. She also organizes diabetes seminars with physicians and pharmaceutical companies, various events and conferences with Hy-Vee pharmacy, and volunteers with Tifereth Israel Synagogue. Bernstein is a valued member of the Drake community, and we are pleased to recognize her accomplishments with a presentation of the Alumni Achievement Award.
Emily Larson
Dr. Emily Larson is a 2016 Drake University College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences alumna. After Drake, she attended medical school at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, graduating in 2020. After completing her studies, she returned to Des Moines to complete her transitional year at Broadlawns Medical Center before returning home to Rochester, Minnesota, for her Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation residency at the Mayo Clinic, where she is currently chief resident. She has recently matched with Mayo Clinic Square in Minneapolis for PM&R Sports Medicine Fellowship, which will begin July 1.
Her professional interests include pediatric sports medicine, care of the female athlete, diagnostic musculoskeletal ultrasound, and medical education. Dr. Larson specializes in physical medicine and rehabilitation. Additionally, she has been an active member in her community, volunteering as a Team Physician for several local hockey and football teams in Minnesota. Dr. Larson goes above and beyond in her passion for sports medicine and rehabilitation.
Dr. Larson’s achievements have been recognized with several honors and awards, including numerous prestigious scholarships over the course of her education as well as being selected to present on her passion for sports medicine research at conferences. Dr. Larson was named a Mayo Quality Fellow in 2021 and sits on several Mayo Clinic committees. Dr. Larson is an exceptional example of the impact Drake alumni have in their communities and the medical field and her accomplishments are recognized with this Young Alumni Achievement Award.
Adati Tarfa
Adati Tarfa is a pharmacist and researcher dedicated to promoting equity in healthcare access. Dr. Tarfa received a PharmD from Drake University and a Ph.D. in Health Services Research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Pharmacy, where she focused on barriers to medication adherence among people with HIV and substance use disorders.
Dr. Tarfa is currently a postdoctoral associate at Yale School of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases. Her long-term goal is to become an independent researcher at a leading institute, where she can mentor students and continuously integrate pharmacist perspectives into addressing emergent healthcare disparities in highly stigmatized conditions, such as HIV and opioid use disorder.
Dr. Tarfa’s scientific contributions have earned her recognition with prestigious awards and scholarships, including those from the American Public Health Association (APHA), the American Pharmacist Association (APhA), the Academy of Communication Health, the US Office of Minority Health, and the Wisconsin Public Health Association.
Dr. Tarfa holds certificates in teaching from the Johns Hopkins University Teaching Academy. Her dedication to shaping future healthcare professionals is evident through guest lectures at Drake University and the authorship of a paper on Social Determinants of Health and Professional Identity Formation with CPHS faculty members (Andrea L Kjos, Richelle M Williams, Leslie Jackson).
Outside of academia, Dr. Tarfa actively engages in community service. Previously, she volunteered as a pharmacist at the Salvation Army MEDic Clinic, providing essential care to underserved populations. Additionally, Dr. Tarfa facilitates support groups for young adults living with mental illnesses through the National Alliance of Mental Illnesses, where she received a service award.
Throughout her career, Dr. Tarfa has earned numerous honors and awards, including induction into the prestigious Bouchet Graduate Honor Society and recognition as a Rising Star Predoctoral Scholar. Driven by a passion for equity, she continues to make significant contributions to research, education, and community health initiatives, embodying excellence in healthcare leadership and advocacy. These accomplishments are recognized with this Young Alumni Achievement Award.
Lynn Stover
Lynn Stover earned a Bachelor of Pharmacy in 1996 and a Master’s of Business Administration from Drake in 1997. Stover has held many roles in her nearly 25 years with Walgreens Corporation. She started her career as a pharmacy intern in Des Moines and practiced as a pharmacist for eight years before moving into leadership roles. Stover has worked in several different roles and states throughout her tenure with the company.
As a Regional Healthcare Director, Stover had the opportunity to work with many schools of pharmacy, Boards of Pharmacy, and pharmacy associations in several states to help advance the profession of pharmacy. Some of her notable operational activities include pharmacist immunization expansion and the acquisition of USA Drug . She was the recipient of the Walgreens Business Contribution Award in 2017 for her work with a team to prepare stores for a large market access increase.
Stover has been actively involved in legislature activities in Oklahoma and Colorado to make changes to policy and board of pharmacy rules. She has also been responsible for opening many specialty pharmacies and health system pharmacies. In 2017 she transitioned to full-store operations as the Director of Pharmacy and Retail Operations and was promoted to Regional Vice President of Store Operations for the Midwest Region in 2018.
In addition to her pharmacy career, she has been actively involved with the Girl Scouts of America and the Leukemia and Lymphoma society for the past 20 years. She is also active in the community of Edwardsville, IL where she and her family currently live. Stover’s contributions to the communities she has served and her dedication for the profession of pharmacy are recognized with this Alumni Achievement Award.
