Pharmacy Residency Leadership
Katelyn Hipwell, Pharm.D., MPH
Dr. Hipwell is the Pharmacy Education and Graduate Programs Manager and the residency program director for the PGY1 Pharmacy residency program at University of Virginia Health. Additionally, she serves as the residency coordinator for the 11 other pharmacy residency programs and director for the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy-UVA Division. Previously, Dr. Hipwell served as the Pharmacy Manager of Clinical Operations at UVA since 2016. Dr. Hipwell earned a Doctor of Pharmacy from West Virginia University before advancing into a combined two year Health-System Pharmacy Administration and Leadership (HSPAL) Residency at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, while also earning a Master of Public Health (MPH) from the University of Pittsburgh. Awards include 2020 Virginia Society of Health-System Pharmacists (VSHP) New Practitioner of the Year. She has been the Virginia Delegate for ASHP House of Delegates and the Region 1 President of VSHP. Dr. Hipwell also serves on the Vizient Professional Development and Workforce Committee contributing to advanced preceptor education webinars such as “Developing Emotional Intelligence in Residents”.
Jennifer Geyston, PharmD, BCPS, BCTXP
Dr. Jennifer Geyston is the Lead Pharmacist for Solid Organ Transplantation at the University of Virginia Health System. She is also Director of the PGY2-Solid Organ Transplantation Pharmacy Residency Program. Her practice site rotates between both the thoracic and abdominal transplant services, including inpatient and outpatient involvement in both pre- and post-transplant patients. She earned her Pharm.D. degree from Drake University and completed ASHP-accredited PGY1-Pharmacy Practice residency training at Tampa General Hospital. She is also an active member of both the American Society of Transplantation and the American College of Clinical Pharmacy. She served as the secretary and treasurer of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy’s Immunology and Transplantation Practice and Research Network in 2019. Dr. Geyston is passionate about providing patient-centered care and expanding transplant pharmacy services.
Heather Cox, PharmD, BCIDP
As Lead Pharmacist for Infectious Diseases and Associate Director of Antimicrobial Stewardship, Dr. Cox has provided ID pharmacotherapy services for both the antimicrobial stewardship and adult infectious diseases consult teams since 2005. In 2018, she cofounded the UVA Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy (OPAT) service in collaboration with ID physician and nurse practitioner colleagues. She received her BS in Chemistry from McGill University and her Doctor of Pharmacy from Nova Southeastern University, while her PGY-1 Pharmacy and PGY-2 Infectious Diseases residencies were completed at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. In addition to directing the PGY2 Infectious Diseases Pharmacy Residency Program, she holds a faculty appointment with the UVA Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health and is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacotherapy and Outcomes Science at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy. Dr. Cox maintains an active clinical practice, has co-authored numerous peer-reviewed abstracts, publications, and book chapters, and provides lectures for the UVA School of Medicine and the VCU School of Pharmacy. Beyond UVA, she serves as an invited member of the Safe Antibiotic Stewardship Innovators workgroup of the Virginia Healthcare-Association Infections Advisory Group. Finally, she was recognized with outstanding preceptor awards from the VCU School of Pharmacy (2010) and the UVA Pharmacy Residency Programs (2009, 2014).
Andrew Whitman, PharmD, BCOP
Dr. Whitman is the current residency program director for PGY2 Oncology Pharmacy program and serves as the Lead Clinical Pharmacist for Oncology/Hematology. His primary practice site is the inpatient solid tumor service. He serves as the main preceptor for the PGY2 oncology supportive/palliative care rotation and also precepts PGY1 residents. He received a combined PharmD and Certificate of Aging Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Pharmacy in 2014. He then completed his PGY1 and PGY2 Oncology Pharmacy Residency at the University of Virginia Health from 2014-2016. His main research interests include deprescribing in older adults with cancer and the use of medical cannabis for symptom management; additionally, he has a growing interest in the medical use of psychedelic compounds. Dr. Whitman was recognized with the VCU Outstanding Preceptor award for 2019-2020 and the 2021-2022 UVA Pharmacy Residency Preceptor of the Year Award.
Jennifer Walters, PharmD, BCPS
Doctor of Pharmacy from Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy in 2018. She completed her post-graduate training as a PGY1 Pharmacy resident in 2019 and a PGY2 Internal Medicine pharmacy resident in 2020 at VCU Health System. Her professional interests include internal medicine, classical hematology, infectious diseases, and hepatology. She joined the UVA Health pharmacy team in 2020 after completing her residencies and has been an integral member of the department since then.
Dr. Walters is the Lead Pharmacist for the Internal Medicine pharmacy team and Director of the PGY2 Internal Medicine Pharmacy Residency program. She received her Bachelor of Science degrees in Biology and Psychology from Virginia Tech in 2007 and her
Justin L. Vesser, PharmD, MS
Dr. Vesser is the manager of ambulatory pharmacy services and residency program director for the PGY1 Community-Based Pharmacy Residency Program. He earned his PharmD at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, and a Master's of Pharmaceutical Science with a focus on Health Outcomes and Pharmacoeconomics at Virginia Commonwealth University. He oversees operations for UVA outpatient pharmacies and clinical ambulatory pharmacy services. During his time with UVA, he has led implementation of a novel unit-based meds to beds program. He also oversaw moving a primary outpatient pharmacy to a new location and conversion to a 24/7 operation to better meet patient needs. His interests include team-building, developing the role of pharmacy technicians and designing new pharmacies.
Steven Dunn, PharmD, FAHA, FCCP, BCCP
Dr. Dunn is the Lead Pharmacist in Cardiology and provides comprehensive pharmacy services with the Cardiology Pharmacy Team to the cardiac ICU and floor teams in addition to the heart failure/transplant service and the cardiac catheterization lab. He received a PharmD degree from VCU/MCV. In addition, he completed his PGY1 and PGY2-Cardiology residencies at the University of North Carolina. Dr. Dunn is active in the American College of Cardiology (ACC), American Heart Association (AHA), and ACCP and has ongoing research efforts regarding both antiplatelet therapy in cardiovascular disease and in pharmacy services to cardiovascular patients.
Christine Bryant, PharmD, BCPPS
Dr. Bryant is the Lead Pharmacist for Pediatrics and the Director of the PGY2-Pediatric Pharmacy Residency program. She received her PharmD from Purdue University in Indiana. She completed her PGY1 at Indiana University Health and specialized in pediatrics during a PGY2 at Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health. Christine practices in the areas of solid organ transplant, hospital medicine, cardiology, and nephrology. She additionally serves as a Clinical Affiliate Assistant Professor for the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy and Shenandoah University School of Pharmacy.