Three New Residents Join Wegmans School of Pharmacy

This summer, three new residents began a year-long residency program through the Wegmans School of Pharmacy. The program offers residents the opportunity to gain real-world experience in clinical settings as consulting members of health care teams.

The program prepares graduates to become competent clinical pharmacists who practice at the top of their profession. Residents are eligible to participate in a range of elective rotations based on their areas of professional interest.

This year’s residents include:

• Catherine DeFazio ’22 (Pharm.D.), PGY-2 in Ambulatory Care at SUNY Upstate Medical University Hospital and Wegmans School of Pharmacy under the guidance of Dr. Elizabeth Phillips
• William DePasquale ’18, ’22 (Pharm.D.), PGY-2 infectious disease resident at St. Joseph’s Health Hospital in Syracuse and Wegmans School of Pharmacy under the guidance of Dr. Lisa Avery
• Hannah Fifield ’18, ’22 (Pharm.D.), PGY-2 in Ambulatory Care at Rochester Regional Health and Wegmans School of Pharmacy under the guidance of Dr. Alex DeLucenay

For the residents, each day is unique as they have the opportunity to rotate through different clinics and settings throughout their hospitals.

A native of Syracuse, New York, DeFazio completed her pharmacy degree from Fisher in 2022. Following completion of her degree, she engaged in a post-graduate year one (PGY-1) pharmacy residency at Mercy Hospital of Buffalo. During her PGY-1, she completed multiple ambulatory care experiences focusing on direct patient care to manage chronic disease states.

This summer, she returned to Syracuse to complete her PGY-2 in ambulatory care at Upstate University in partnership with Fisher. She is excited to begin practicing in ambulatory care while gaining experience in academia teaching current pharmacy students.

After completing her residency, DeFazio hopes to become board certified in ambulatory care and begin her career as an ambulatory care pharmacist.

DePasquale completed his pre-pharmacy studies at Fisher in 2018 and subsequently pursued his Pharm.D. at the Wegmans School of Pharmacy, graduating in 2022. He went on to pursue a PGY-1 residency at Highland Hospital.

He is now engaging in a PGY-2 residency in infectious diseases at St. Joseph’s Health Hospital and the School of Pharmacy. His interest in this field was sparked during his second year of pharmacy school, driven by research conducted as an intern at Rochester General Hospital.

After the completion of his residency training, DePasquale plans to obtain board certification in infectious diseases. He aims to secure a role as a clinical specialist, where he can continue to further his practice as well as develop and participate in clinical and academic research, with hopes to contribute to the field’s advancement.

Originally from Carthage, New York, Fifield completed her pre-pharmacy requirements at Fisher in 2018 and continued her education at the Wegmans School of Pharmacy, graduating in 2022. She completed her PGY-1 residency at Rochester General Hospital.

During her PGY-1 at Rochester General Hospital, she was able to expand upon her ambulatory care knowledge through multiple learning experiences and provided patient-centered care efficiently and effectively. Fifield is excited to continue her residency training as the PGY-2 in ambulatory care within Rochester Regional Health and her alma mater. While pursuing this next step in her training within her specialty area, she will also precept students and teach at the Wegmans School of Pharmacy.

After completing her residency, Fifield hopes to pursue a career as an ambulatory care pharmacist and become board certified in ambulatory with a focus on diabetes education.