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Kathleen Gura | Education

Undergraduate School

Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Science

Boston, MA

Graduate School

Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Science

Boston, MA

Kathleen Gura | Professional History

Dr. Kathleen Gura is a native New Englander and attended the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences for both her BS and PharmD degrees. She graduated both programs with high honors.

Upon graduation, Dr. Gura went to Washington, DC for 2 years to work as a clinical pharmacist at Children's National Medical Center. It was there she learned her nutrition basics. She returned to Boston in 1984 and joined the pharmacy staff at BCH. During this time, she also completed a fellowship in clinical nutrition at the University of Florida and became one of the first board certified nutrition support pharmacists in Boston. She has been a member of the Clinical Nutrition program since 1986 and CAIR since its inception.

Today, Dr. Gura is an active member of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN), the American Society for Health System Pharmacists (ASHP) and the Pediatric Pharmacy Advocacy Group (PPAG). She was awarded the ASHP Drug Therapy Research Award as well as the Outstanding Pharmacist and Serlick Award for Safe Practices by ASPEN. Her research focuses on PN associated liver disease, intestinal failure, and lipid emulsions. Her work has been funded by the March of Dimes and the FDA's Orphan Drug Development Program.

It was during a trip to the college fair that a career in pharmacy was first introduced to me. Over time I got more involved in science and medicine and even planned on going to medical school; however, I became drawn to pediatric pharmacy practice, nutrition support in particular. I like the challenges of trying to optimize a child's medication regimen which may mean stopping meds or creating something from scratch. I now have a 36+ year career in pediatric pharmacy and it's been one of the best decisions I've ever made.