By: Jack Reynolds
The time and place was 1995, at the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting in Las Vegas, at the bustling Personnel Placement Forum. The PPS mailbox correspondences were being swiftly exchanged, and faculty recruitment was well underway. Dr. Michelle Byrne, a pharmacy resident at UCSF, spent 30 minutes in the forum with my MCPHS colleagues and me and seemed eager to come clear across the country to start her career in Boston.
To our delight, she pursued an open faculty position at MCPHS and arrived on campus in 1996. What followed was a truly remarkable career.
Through her early time in practice and teaching, it was clear that she put her students and patients first, and she quickly revealed her many talents. In 2003, she joined the faculty at Northeastern University School of Pharmacy and furthered her success as a practitioner-educator, first at Whittier Street Community Health Center and later at the DotHouse in Dorchester. At both sites, she quickly established herself as a highly valued member of the healthcare team. Her advanced practice rotation in ambulatory care was consistently in demand among students.
Through the years, she provided exceptional teaching and service to the school and her clinical sites. She was highly effective at bringing contemporary practice concepts into the classroom setting, and was recognized for teaching excellence. Among her many forms of service, she was especially instrumental in her role as chair of the PharmD Admission Committee, helping the committee bring the best and brightest students to join our school. Always with a clear sense of purpose, a cheerful disposition, and an intellectually driven approach to her work, she flourished within our school community.
I had the pleasure or working with Michelle for 25 years and always valued her commitment, support and friendship. On behalf of our school colleagues and the many students who worked with and learned from you over the years, Michelle, I offer you our sincere gratitude. I wish you, Ed and Skye (and let’s not forget Jack, the dog) much happiness as you turn the page to your next chapter.
