“It is an honor for me to lead this terrific group of colleagues and friends,” she said. “I am really excited about this opportunity!”

Salgado took on a larger leadership role within the center alongside Dave Dixon, Pharm.D., as they served as co-directors of the center for the last several months after Dixon took on the role of interim chair of the Department of Pharmacotherapy and Outcomes Science at the School of Pharmacy.

“I have big shoes to fill,” she said. “I’m thankful to Dr. Dixon for his leadership of CPPI and for the opportunity to have served as his assistant director for almost five years.”

Salgado has been the assistant director of CPPI since joining the VCU School of Pharmacy in late 2016. As director she plans to continue leading the center in its mission of helping pharmacists optimize patient outcomes through research, practice, professional development and policy initiatives.

“With the new legislation on statewide protocols and the opportunities this creates for pharmacists, I look forward to working with state organizations to prepare the Virginia pharmacist workforce for these expanded roles and to evaluate the impact of these initiatives,” she said.

Dixon will continue to serve as a core faculty member of CPPI as he takes on his new role as chair for the Department of Pharmacotherapy and Outcomes Science and Nancy and Dave McFarlane professor. He is confident that Salgado will take the center to new heights.

“CPPI would not have achieved all that it has over the past five years without her, and it is incredibly reassuring to me that Teresa will be taking over as director,” he said. “Her passion and enthusiasm for advancing the role of pharmacists in community and ambulatory settings is contagious.”

Established in 2015, the center works to develop and evaluate innovative care models that further integrate pharmacists into interprofessional, patient-centered care models. With 11 core faculty members, seven affiliate faculty members and four graduate students, the center is poised for growth with Salgado at the helm.

“We hope to show value in having a pharmacist on the medical team, in terms of clinical and economic outcomes,” Salgado said. “We already have pharmacists doing outstanding work in several medical groups and clinics. And we hope to push some legislation in that direction.”

Prior to coming to VCU, Salgado completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy. She holds Ph.D. and M.Pharm. degrees from the University of Lisbon.