JERRY K. KOUNGA, Investigational Drug Lead Clinical Research Pharmacist, Ascension Wisconsin Research Institute

Jerry K. Kounga is currently the Investigational Drug Lead Clinical Research Pharmacist at Ascension Wisconsin Research Institute where he brought over 30 years of experience as a clinical researcher and a bench scientist. He earned his master's degree in Biochemistry at the Faculty of Sciences and Pasteur Institute in Yaoundé-Cameroon. His work led to the first colorimetric assay to determine the lethal concentration of drugs during the treatment of Chloroquine-resistant Malaria. He received a scholarship from the Kansas Cancer Foundation and completed his PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Kansas in Lawrence, working with Prof. Richard Himes. His thesis work elucidated the complex mechanism by which Leucovorin rescues normal cells during chemotherapy with high regiments of Methotrexate and highlighted the importance of folates pathways in cancer patients' recovery.

After completing his PhD, he accepted a postdoctoral position as a member of the Cutaneous Biology Research Center in the Department of Dermatology at Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA, where he worked for eight years. He isolated a new potent vasodilator peptide and purified a new itch/pruritus causing molecule, both used to probe novel treatment of human thromboembolic stroke and elucidate the pruritus mechanism in humans, respectively. He furthered the work on the molecular mechanism of natural and actinic aging processes by using transgenic animal models to probe the basis of hairs-graying in humans.

During his years at Harvard, he became very passionate about clinical pharmacology and ethnic skin biology. He completed a PharmD from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Worcester, MA. After exploring the various facets of pharmacy practice, including retail, long-term care, infusion pharmacy, and inpatient/ER hospital pharmacies, he realized the value of pharmacists as critical players within the healthcare ecosystem.

While at Harvard, Jerry collaborated with Dr. Eliot Battle Jr to formulate effective ethnic skin personal care products using unique ethnic skin features as a guide. To further that initiative, he accepted the Director of research and Development position at Cultura Dermatology and Laser Center in Washington DC, where the two reunited and strived for their shared goal of better ethnic skin care. They teamed with the Australian SNIPs-based SkinDNA to bring this novel skincare approach to the US and were the founding members of Targeted DNA, the USA version of SkinDNA. Jerry also harnessed his comprehensive knowledge in ethnic skin biology to identify effective botanical ingredients for various ethnic skin conditions and created a combinatorial algorithm for personal skin care formulation based on individual skin DNA SNPs analysis. He recently deepened his clinical research knowledge through completing the well-tailored Drug Safety and Pharmacovigilance Certification at Sollers College, NJ, Pharmacogenomic Certification by ASHP, and publishing the first Universal Urgent Care and Forensic Passport that is being translated into different languages for worldwide vulgarization.

Jerry recently joined the ascension Health Wisconsin ministry in Milwaukee, Wi, where his impact on clinical research filters throughout the organization. His current advocacy work focuses on using preemptive pharmacogenomics as the base for precision personalized/medicine and implementing mandated adverse drug reaction reporting as the new approach for robust global pharmacovigilance. His core involvements are a testament to his loyalty and quest to improve patient and drug safety in clinical practice throughout the continuum of care and help healthcare providers stay abreast of new and innovative medical procedures worldwide.