Karina is a first-generation immigrant from Ukraine who now calls Buffalo her home. She is pursuing her Pharm.D. and M.S. in Clinical and Translational Sciences at the University at Buffalo. After her first year of pharmacy school, Karina was awarded an NIH-funded T35 summer fellowship to research infectious disease therapies in underserved global communities.
This fall, she presented her research at the annual meeting of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy, where she became the first to receive a student award from the Global Health Practice and Research Network. Recognizing Buffalo’s potential to make a global impact, Karina joined the Buffalo Global Shapers Hub as a founding member. Her career goal is to integrate innovative leadership and research, ultimately becoming a clinician-scientist.
Karina has served as the co-chair for Operation Substance Use Disorders at the pharmacy school for the past three years. She is currently collaborating with the Erie County Department of Health to make naloxone more accessible on campus. This year, she organized the pharmacy school’s first Narcan Train-the-Trainer program certifying pharmacy, nursing, and undergraduate students to advance their own community training initiatives. Additionally, she has successfully launched a pilot study to install Narcan emergency boxes at the pharmacy school. She looks forward to expanding this initiative across all three UB campuses. Her involvement in researching substance use dependency stems from her B.S. in Biomedical Sciences from the University of New Hampshire. For her undergraduate honors thesis, she investigated the results of inactivating the corticostriatal pathway after establishing associative learning connections with a nicotine stimulus.
This spring, Karina’s focus on innovation in pharmacy was further acknowledged after she was awarded the winner of this year’s New York State Council of Health-system Pharmacists essay contest. This year’s contest focused on the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in transforming hospital pharmacy practices and healthcare delivery. Drawing from her internship experience at a local hospital, Karina discussed evidence-based applications of AI in clinical decision-making, medication reconciliation, and personalized medicine.
Karina’s leadership style emphasizes inclusivity and mentorship. She especially supports underclassmen in their academic and extracurricular pursuits. These qualities, along with her leadership experience, earned her induction into the Phi Lambda Sigma Pharmacy Leadership Society. For the upcoming academic year, she will serve as vice president of the UB chapter.
Outside of academia, Karina is a passionate musician, proficient in piano and organ. She has successfully competed on the national level in piano solos, duets, and choral performances. In her leisure time, Karina enjoys concerts by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.