Dr. Dustin Christensen-Grant Named Utah Distinguished Young Pharmacist of the Year

On the surface, it appears that Dr. Dustin Christensen-Grant does it all, juggling his two positions in the College of Pharmacy’s admissions office and as an associate professor, while actively participating in community-based projects, advising student clubs and organizations, helping students with the pharmacy school admissions process, and actively sitting on the advisory committee for PharmCAS (Pharmacy College Application Service). 

“You give the impression that you do it all. But you know, I have an amazing team,” said Dr. Christensen-Grant. “Having individuals surrounding you that are like minded, that want to help the school achieve helps you do it too.” 

Recently, Dr. Christensen-Grant was awarded the Utah Distinguished Young Pharmacist of the Year award by the UPA (Utah Pharmacist Association). Dr. Christensen-Grant was selected for this award because of the work he did during the pandemic restrictions in 2021, specifically for Pharmacy Day at Capitol Hill. He made sure that Pharmacists’ voices were heard, despite the restrictions.  

In the past, Pharmacy Day on Capitol Hill has been for Utah pharmacy students to present their research posters to the Utah legislature and highlight the important roles that pharmacists have or can potentially have in their communities. 

“I’ve had a vision that Pharmacy Day on Capitol Hill should be something bigger,” said Dr. Christensen-Grant.  

In February of 2021, Dr. Christensen-Grant organized an online event, not just for students, but also for pharmacists across the state of Utah to share their stories about how they have been able to positively impact their communities during the coronavirus pandemic. Many pharmacists were able to voice the struggles they had with running their business, treating patients, their limited scope of practice, and the limitations that keep them from fully helping their communities. 

“We had them share their experiences so legislators can see the real-world impact pharmacists are having,” said Dr. Christensen-Grant. 

Additionally, Dr. Christensen-Grant invited Dr. Deeb Eid, nationally recognized leader in the pharmacy profession, as a keynote speaker to talk about his national advocacy effort for pharmacists to play a bigger role in community health. 

Dr. Christensen-Grant’s spearheading of Pharmacy Day on Capitol Hill in 2021 and made it a memorable event for the entire state of Utah. Without him, critical issues during the coronavirus pandemic that pharmacists were seeing across the state would not have been able to be addressed with Utah state legislators and they would not have been able to advocate for their communities. 

More recently, Dr. Christensen-Grant has accepted a new role as the Assistant Dean of Admissions for the College of Pharmacy. His work will extend to both Roseman University’s South Jordan and Henderson campus locations, thanks to new remote-work technology. And with the new split of student affairs and admission, Dr. Christensen-Grant can now solely focus on admissions. 

He will be focused on recruitment for the College of Pharmacy, working with the University’s Marketing team to develop and implement new recruitment strategies, while also assisting prospective students with the pharmacy application process. He will continue to tour schools and campuses across the western U.S., hosting virtual and in-person recruitment events, as well as partnering with other colleges to promote Roseman. 

Roseman University is proud to have Dr. Christensen-Grant as an employee. His selfless, demanding work does not go unrecognized, he is a valuable member of the Roadrunner community.