The School of Pharmacy extends congratulations to its three Alumni Award winners: Katelyn O’Brien, Craig Coleman, and Justine Dickson. Accomplished professionals in the pharmaceutical field, these individuals have exemplified the values of UConn Pharmacy beyond their time here and have become true lifelong Huskies! 

Katelyn O’Brien (Pharm.D.): Winner of the Exceptional Service Award  

While at UConn, Katelyn was involved in many pharmacy student organizations and was inducted into the Pharmacy Leadership Society (PLS). She was part of the 6th cohort of Urban Service Track (UST), which most impacted her decisions for entering into a career in ambulatory care.  

After graduating with her Pharm.D. from UConn’s School of Pharmacy in 2014, she went on to complete a PGY1 Pharmacy Residency at VA Boston Health Care System. Since residency training, Katelyn has stayed in Boston working as a clinical pharmacy specialist in ambulatory care. Across her career, she has worked in anticoagulation, primary care, and endocrinology clinics. She is a board-certified pharmacotherapy specialist, certified diabetes care and education specialist, and board-certified in advanced diabetes management. She works at Boston Medical Center, which is the largest health safety net hospital in New England – this is where her experience in UST has most impacted her career decision to work with patients from underrepresented communities. In her role in the adult endocrinology clinic, she supports patients living with diabetes through medication management, disease state education and self-management skills, and technology onboarding.  

As a diabetes care and education specialist, Katelyn’s interests are in cardio-renal-metabolic care in type 2 diabetes and integrating diabetes technologies into primary care. Not only does she enjoy educating patients and caregivers, but she also enjoys educating other health care professionals. Her passions for diabetes care and technology are exemplified as an invited speaker across the nation at major conferences, including the American Pharmacist Association, the American Diabetes Association (ADA), the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and the Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists. She is also on the annual planning committee for the ADA State of Diabetes. She was a key leader in her hospital’s Health Equity Accelerator in Diabetes – making meaningful changes in diabetes care and reducing inequities in diabetes for black and Latinx persons with diabetes.  

She has been a co-author on a number of publications and posters. She co-authored a book chapter on Diabetes Technology for the recently published book “Pharmacist’s Pocket Guide for Diabetes and Obesity.” She has received a number of recognitions, including the 2023 Distinguished Young Pharmacist of the Year by the Massachusetts Pharmacists Association, Boston Medical Center Be Exceptional Award Winner in 2024, Boston University Outstanding Champion for Continuing Education in 2025, and, most recently, was named the ADCES 2026 Diabetes Care and Education Specialist of the Year.    

Aside from her passion for diabetes care, Katelyn also enjoys mentoring pharmacy students and residents and serves as a preceptor for PGY1 and PGY2 pharmacy residents at Boston Medical Center. She was the residency program coordinator for the PGY2 Ambulatory Care Residency at BMC from 2021 to 2025.  

Committed to serving her community and beyond, Katelyn remains an outstanding example of service-in-action!  

Craig Coleman (Pharm.D.): Winner of the Distinguished Alumni Award 

After Craig graduated from Clark University with his bachelor’s degree and UConn with his Pharm.D. in 2001, he completed a 2-year fellowship at Hartford Hospital, where he specialized in outcomes research.  

Since 2003, Craig has been a professor at UConn’s School of Pharmacy. He was granted tenure in 2009 and promoted to full professor in 2013. He was awarded the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) Teaching Fellow designation, which is only given to two or three faculty members annually across UConn. 

Craig won the Paul G Pierpoli Award given by the Connecticut Society of Health-System Pharmacists for which he served as president from 2006-2009. He also served as the Co-Director and Methods-Chief for UConn’s Agency for Healthcare and Research Quality Evidence-Based Practice Center from 2008-2019, which conducted systematic reviews and meta-analyses for the federal government. He has trained nearly two dozen fellows as the Director of the UConn/Hartford Hospital Outcomes Research Fellowship Program since 2005, who have gone on to find success in academia and the pharmaceutical industry.  

Craig is also an accomplished researcher, evidenced by multiple awards, including the American Society of Health-System Pharmacy (ASHP) Award for Sustained Contributions to the Literature, several ASHP Drug Therapy Research Awards, and the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) Young Investigator of the Year Award. He has co-authored over 370 publications in peer-reviewed journals throughout his career, including in JAMA, Annals of Internal Medicine, and many other high-impact medical journals.

Giving back to the UConn community, Craig continues to serve his students as a professor and mentor!  

Justine Dickson (Pharm.D.): Winner of the Tradition of Excellence Award 

After receiving her Pharm.D. from UConn’s School of Pharmacy in 2011, Dickson completed her post-graduate training as a PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Resident at Yale New Haven Hospital – St Raphael’s Campus. She then pursued a PGY2 Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Residency at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, launching her career in ambulatory care. Today she serves as a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in Ambulatory Care at Boston Medical Center (BMC), focusing on the management of kidney transplant patients and leading a pharmacist-run anemia clinic for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). 

She has had a great impact at BMC over the last decade, dedicating herself to providing high-value care and improving outcomes for a diverse patient population. Dickson’s career growth during her time at the BMC has allowed her to develop the skills necessary to help her patients navigate the complexities of healthcare, while respecting and honoring the ethnic, religious, and cultural differences of her patients. 

Dickson has contributed significantly to the academic and professional pharmacy communities. She has co-authored multiple publications, given poster presentations across the United States, reviewed manuscripts for some of the leading pharmacy journals, been featured on podcasts, and, most recently, presented twice at the National Kidney Foundation’s Spring Clinical Meeting, highlighting the impact that pharmacists can have in the continuity of care of patients from CKD through kidney transplantation.  

Aside from her passion for pharmacy, Dickson has excelled in leadership positions. Most notably, she has held various leadership positions in Lambda Kappa Sigma (LKS), a professional pharmacy fraternity dedicated to elevating women in pharmacy. Over the last six years, she has been serving on the National Grand Council as the Grand Vice President for Collegiates. In this position, she has been focusing on the growth and development of 27 collegiate chapters across the US and Canada, while cultivating leadership skills for chapter officers.  

Her commitment to mentorship extends into her clinical practice at BMC, where she has precepted numerous Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) pharmacy students as well as PGY1 and PGY2 pharmacy residents, shaping the next generation of clinical pharmacists and providing exposure to a unique area of ambulatory care. In 2014, Dickson also founded the Resident Emotional Support Team (REST) at Boston Medical Center in order to foster wellness and resiliency among pharmacy trainees and staff, highlighting her deep commitment to supporting personal and professional well-being. 

Because of her commitment to her career and leadership, Dickson has been honored with several awards, including Preceptor of the Year in the BMC Pharmacy Residency Program (2024), the Be Exceptional Award from Boston Medical Center (2017), and the Lambda Kappa Sigma Distinguished Young Pharmacist Award (2018). 

In November 2025, Dickson will be the White Coat Ceremony Speaker for the UConn School of Pharmacy.