Lisa DeGennaro, PharmD, BCPS, CDE
Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice, University of Saint Joseph
Dr. Lisa DeGennaro earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Connecticut. She completed a PGY1 Residency at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford, Connecticut. After residency, Dr. DeGennaro joined the department of pharmacy at Saint Francis. While at Saint Francis she held various positions such as Ambulatory Care Pharmacist, Residency Program Director and Clinical Manager. Dr. DeGennaro achieved her Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE) credential in 2006 and her Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist (BCPS) credential in 2013. She joined the University of Saint Joseph School of Pharmacy in 2013 as an Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice and maintains research and practice interests in diabetes care and interprofessional education. Dr. DeGennaro has severed as program faculty for APhA's “The Pharmacist and Patient-Centered Diabetes Care” Certificate Training Program for several years. Her clinical practice site is the Adult Primary Care Clinic at the Hospital of Central Connecticut, where she is involved in collaborative disease state management with the medical team.
Casey Dempsey, PharmD, BCIDP
Pharmacy Clinical Coordinator
Dr. Casey Dempsey received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from MCPHS University in Boston, MA. She completed her PGY1 residency at Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital in Houston, TX and her PGY2 in infectious diseases with the University of Houston College of Pharmacy & Cardinal Health. Dr. Dempsey join Hartford Health Care in 2018 at Midstate Medical Center and later transitioned to Hartford Hospital. She is now an infectious diseases clinical pharmacists for the Hartford Healthcare system covering the Hospital of Central Connecticut (HOCC), Midstate Medical Center, and St. Vincent’s Medical Center for the last 3 years. Dr. Dempsey recently transitioned to a new role as the Pharmacy Clinical Coordinator for Hartford HealthCare.
Francis Lerz, PharmD, MBA, BCPS
Pharmacy Operations Supervisor
Dr. Frank Lerz received his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Connecticut in 2016. He subsequently completed a PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency at Waterbury Hospital and obtained BCPS certification in 2017. Dr. Lerz worked as the Emergency Medicine Clinical Pharmacist and Preceptor at Waterbury Hospital for one year before his transition to the Interim Director of Pharmacy role. He then became the Clinical Pharmacy Manager at Hartford Hospital for 2 years. He is now the Pharmacy Operations Supervisor at the Hospital of Central Connecticut. Dr. Lerz is also an Adjunct Assistant Clinical Professor of Pharmacy Practice for both the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy and University of St. Joseph School of Pharmacy. He serves as a residency preceptor for the management rotation.
Alexander Levine, PharmD, BCPS
Pharmacy Residency Program Director
Dr. Alexander Levine received his Doctorate in Pharmacy from the University of Connecticut and completed a PGY1 residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts. Following his residency, he was a critical care pharmacist in the Surgical ICU at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Levine then transitioned to a role in academia as an Assistant Professor at the University of Saint Joseph School of Pharmacy where he taught the pharmacology of infectious diseases, cardiology, and critical care.
Dr. Levine joined the Hospital of Central Connecticut in May 2020 as the Pharmacy Residency Program Director. He is the preceptor for Internal Medicine II and Transitions of Care rotations. His primary research interests are antimicrobial stewardship, treatment of severe alcohol withdrawal syndrome, and management of anticoagulation in special populations.
Lauren McMann, PharmD, BCPS
Clinical Pharmacist
Dr. Lauren McMann received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Connecticut. She completed a PGY-1 pharmacy practice residency program at Yale-New Haven Hospital in New Haven, CT. She continued to work at Yale-New Haven Hospital for several years as a clinical pharmacist specializing in internal medicine. She transitioned to the Hospital of Central Connecticut in September 2020, where she serves as an inpatient clinical pharmacist. She currently precepts the Internal Medicine I and Transitions of Care rotations. In her spare time, Dr. McMann enjoys hiking, biking, and trying new restaurants.
Kelly Richard, PharmD, BCOP
Clinical Pharmacist – Oncology
Dr. Kelly Richard received her PharmD from the University of Connecticut and went on to complete her PGY-1 residency at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, CT. She is a clinical pharmacist covering inpatient and outpatient oncology care units at The Hospital of Central Connecticut. After several years of oncology practice, she obtained board certification in oncology pharmacy (BCOP). Prior to taking on her current role at the Hospital of Central Connecticut she worked at Hartford Hospital as a clinical oncology pharmacist and oncology operations coordinator. She serves as a residency preceptor for the oncology learning experience.
Kasia Sasiela, PharmD, BCPS
Clinical Pharmacist
Dr. Kasia Sasiela received her Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Connecticut in Storrs, CT. She completed her post-graduate pharmacy practice residency at the Hospital of Central Connecticut where she stayed on as a staff pharmacist. She is an active member of CSHP and the hospital’s antimicrobial stewardship committee. As part of CSHP, she volunteers annually at the Catch the Wave conference. In her free time, Dr. Sasiela enjoys traveling, spending time at the beach, and trying new restaurants. Dr. Sasiela currently serves as a preceptor for the anticoagulation elective.
Kelly Shepard, PharmD
Clinical Pharmacist
Dr. Kelly Shepard received her PharmD degree from the University of Connecticut. She completed her ASHP-accredited PGY1 residency at Waterbury Hospital in Waterbury, CT. Dr. Shepard currently works as a clinical pharmacist at the Hospital of Central Connecticut as well as a per-diem pharmacist at Waterbury Hospital and Gaylord Hospital. She currently serves as the residency preceptor for the longitudinal research project.
Linda Sill, MS, RPh
Project Manager
Mrs. Linda Woollett Sill graduated with a BS from The Ohio State University (OSU) then went on to earn a Masters of Science with a combined 2-year residency in Hospital Pharmacy Administration.
After completing the residency she worked as the Investigation Drug Pharmacist at OSU, which was in charge of handling medication for over 350 research studies. The program became self-sustaining as a model for charging for the pharmacist services was adopted. As the OSU residency grew, she became the first Residency Coordinator for the program. Cardinal Health Distribution serving as a Business Manager at their corporate headquarters was the next career move, working directly with the customers to serve as a liaison between the vendor team and the customers utilizing the company’s generic drug programs.
In Linda’s current role, she is responsible for different areas of program management at the Hospital of Central Connecticut. She assists in pharmacy policy management for the Hartford Healthcare System. She has roles in the hospital’s code committee and regulatory committee as well. Her interests in Medication Safety are served well as the co-chair of the region’s Medication Safety Committee. Linda serves as a preceptor for the management rotation.
Katherine Tokarz, PharmD
Clinical Pharmacist
Dr. Katherine Tokarz received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from MCPHS University in Worcester, MA and her BS degree in Pharmacology and Toxicology from MCPHS University in Boston, MA. She completed her PGY1 residency at Middlesex Health/ University of Saint Joseph in CT. Dr. Tokarz joined the Hospital of Central Connecticut after the completion of her residency and also works as a Per Diem Pharmacist at Middlesex Health. Her clinical interests include toxicology and emergency medicine. In her spare time, Dr. Tokarz enjoys going to concerts, going to the beach, and running. She currently serves as the preceptor for the Teaching & Learning longitudinal experience.
Brian Walsh, RPh
Clinical Pharmacist
Mr. Brian Walsh graduated from University of Connecticut and is a clinical pharmacist for inpatient services at the Hospital of Central Connecticut (HOCC). He is a member of the Hartford Healthcare Anticoagulation Committee and has been involved with many anticoagulation quality improvement initiatives. Mr. Walsh has previously worked as a pharmacist for an inpatient warfarin service, long term acute care hospital, and home infusion company. Brian also taught the IV portion of a pharmacy technician certification program and serves as a firefighter/EMS on volunteer basis in his hometown. He serves as both the orientation and longitudinal staffing pharmacy experience preceptor for the HOCC residency program.
Ashley West, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Critical Care Pharmacist
Dr. Ashley West received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Connecticut. She completed both her PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency and PGY2 Critical Care Residency at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts. She then went on to work in the medical intensive care unit at Yale New Haven Hospital before transitioning to be the critical care specialist at the Hospital of Central Connecticut, where she precepts the critical care rotations. In her free time, Dr. West enjoys spending time with her family and dog, eating (after someone else cooks), and exercising.
Abigail Zeiner, PharmD, BCPS
Clinical Pharmacist – Emergency Medicine
Dr. Abigail Zeiner oversees the clinical pharmacy services for the emergency department. Dr. Zeiner received her PharmD from the University of Connecticut. She completed her PGY1 pharmacy residency at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, CT and specialized in emergency medicine for her PGY2 residency at the Brooklyn Hospital Center/Long Island University in Brooklyn, NY. Dr. Zeiner is involved with several hospital initiatives including implementation of a pharmacist-led culture-call back program, pharmacist code response, and trauma team preparedness. She is actively involved with CSHP as the Junior Board Member for 2020 and starting her term as Senior Board Member in 2021. Dr. Zeiner joined the Hospital of Central Connecticut in 2019, and currently precepts the emergency medicine rotation.