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
Infectious Diseases Clinical Pharmacist
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. She serves as one of the preceptors for HOCC’s infectious diseases residency rotation.
Angela Giarratano, PharmD
Ambulatory Oncology Pharmacist
Dr. Angela Giarratano graduated from the University of Connecticut and completed her ASHP-accredited PGY1 residency at Hartford Hospital. Dr. Giarratano works to optimize pharmaceutical care of hematology and oncology patients in the Cancer Institute of the Hospital of Central Connecticut. She focuses on the management of oral oncolytics, by providing initial counseling and follow-up monitoring among other responsibilities. She also runs a smoking cessation program. She was a staff pharmacist and then an oncology pharmacist at Hartford Hospital prior to transitioning to her current role. She serves as a residency preceptor for the ambulatory oncology elective experience.
Aneta Grauer, PharmD
Pharmacy Operations Manager
Dr. Aneta Grauer oversees pharmacy operations at New Britain General and Bradley Memorial Campus at the Hospital of Central Connecticut. Dr. Grauer received her PharmD degree from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy. After graduating she accepted a position as a staff pharmacist at The Hospital of Central Connecticut. Throughout her career at HOCC she has served as a pharmacy lead on multiple initiatives throughout the facility including BCMA, CPOE, Pyxis, and Alaris Pump implementations. She serves as a residency preceptor for the management rotation as well as the start a service elective.
Michelle Gunther, PharmD
Critical Care Pharmacist
Dr. Michelle Gunther received her PharmD from Northeastern University. She completed her PGY1 pharmacy residency at UMass Memorial Medical Center and went on to complete a PGY2 critical care residency at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. In her free time, Dr. Gunther enjoys hiking, spending time with her family, and cooking. She currently serves at the preceptor for the critical care rotation.
Kathy Keegan, PharmD, BCPS
Clinical Pharmacist
Dr. Kathy Keegan graduated from University of Connecticut and started off in community pharmacy, where she worked as a pharmacy manager for the first five years of her career. She then transitioned to hospital pharmacy and worked as a clinical pharmacist at Yale New Haven Hospital from 2015 to 2019, where she was a part of a number of initiatives across the health system and was among the leadership that helped to open a Children’s Hospital Pharmacy. She has transitioned to the Hospital of Central Connecticut in 2019 and continues to have a passion for integrating operations and clinical knowledge to provide the highest standard of pharmacy services and patient safety. She enjoys precepting students and residents, and helping them apply didactic knowledge to real life scenarios. She serves as the preceptor for the NICU and staffing longitudinal learning experience. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her family and her two young daughters.
Francis Lerz, PharmD, 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.
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 and the teaching and learning longitudinal rotation. 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 infectious diseases.
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.
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.
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.