Alumni Spotlight on Kaitlin Hitt, PharmD

Kaitlin Hitt is an MS-RSM graduate, Class of 2019. She completed the thesis track under the mentorship of Serdar Bulun, MD. where she studied the role of silibinin as a novel treatment for uterine leiomyomas. Kaitlin is recently completed her PharmD degree and has started as a first year pharmacy resident with Advocate Aurora Health – Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, IL.

Thesis mentor: Dr. Serdar Bulun

Thesis title: Silibinin: A Novel Treatment for Uterine Leiomyoma

What is your connection to the CRS community (mentor and position) and what is your

current position?

I was a MS-RSM thesis track student from 2017-2019 in Dr. Bulun’s lab and I am currently and pharmacy resident at Advocate Aurora Health – Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, IL.

Could you describe your current research/studies?

My current project is titled “Analysis of Intravenous to Oral Antimicrobial Step-Down Therapy Following Pharmacist Education.” Frequently when patients are admitted to an inpatient unit in a hospital, they are empirically started on antibiotics for various suspected infections, such as a urinary tract infection or community acquired pneumonia. There are protocols put in place to de-escalate parenteral antibiotic therapy to oral therapies. This is because many oral antibiotics can achieve the same serum concentration as intravenous antibiotics, it can expedite patient discharge, decrease the incidence of catheter associated infections, and decrease hospital cost. My project focuses on the number of patients who were de-escalated to oral antibiotics before and after clinical pharmacists at Good Samaritan Hospital are educated on the importance of step-down therapy and how to use the current protocols in place.

What aspect(s) of CRS did you find most valuable?

What I found most valuable was being able to see various types of research through different conferences or the research updates on Wednesday’s. I became exposed to so many different types of research projects that it inspired me to pursue various research opportunities in pharmacy school and in my residency.

What has been the most valuable aspect to your training as a reproductive scientist in CRS?

What was most valuable to me was learning how to understand the purpose behind experiments of not only my project but my colleagues’, too, and learning how to be patient behind basic science research and now clinical research.

What would you recommend to junior scientists in order for them succeed in their scientific careers?​

I would recommend to always keep an open mind to opportunities and to ensure you have a healthy work-life balance. It is important to know that life may not go in a direction you originally had planned, but you will be successful regardless of what career you end up doing! Also, maintaining a healthy life outside of a career and research is just as important as your dedication to the field, so, remember to spend time with friends and family, travel, and enjoy your other passions, too!

 What do you think will be the next big contribution in the reproductive biology field?

I believe my next contribution to the reproductive field would be incorporating pharmacist education. There are specialty pharmacies around the country that dispense medications that are not typically found in retail pharmacies, such as infertility. There is currently minimal training to pharmacists about reproductive health and infertility. Expanding education opportunities to pharmacists who dispense medications, specifically to reproductive health, I believe, would be a great advancement for both the reproductive medicine and pharmacy field.

Do you have any notable stories from your time in CRS?

Attending and having a poster for my project at my first Reproductive Science and Medicine Summit was truly a great experience! It was not only my first conference, so I was incredibly nervous, but several established scientists helped me by communicating ideas on experiments or ideas to include in my research. I was incredibly grateful for the kind and collaborative environment!