photo by: Submitted

Theresa Shireman

A health care researcher at Brown University has been named as a finalist to become dean of the University of Kansas’ School of Pharmacy.

Theresa Shireman will give a public presentation at 4 p.m. on Feb. 17 in Room 1020 of the School of Pharmacy building in Lawrence.

Shireman is Brown University’s director of the Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research and a professor in the School of Public Health’s Department of Health Services, Policy & Practice.

Shireman is a past member of the KU faculty and the KU Medical Center faculty. She served 15 years as a faculty member at KU before joining Brown University, KU said in a press release.

Her research includes the study of geriatrics — a medical speciality that focuses on older people — and has done much work in understanding how particular drugs impact older patients.

Shireman has her doctorate in pharmaceutical health services research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has a master’s degree from the University of Iowa and an undergraduate degree from Drake University.

KU plans to interview four finalists for the dean position. Other candidates will be announced just prior to their public presentations, which are scheduled for Feb. 20, Feb. 24, and Feb. 27.

The dean position is open after past pharmacy dean Ron Ragan resigned in May. Ragan stepped down from the leadership position to return to his appointment as a tenured professor within KU’s School of Pharmacy.