Program Directors, Preceptors, and Residents
Program Directors, Preceptors, and Residents
Medical Center is a teaching hospital where pharmacists are a vital part of the interdisciplinary team and daily patient medical rounds. Pharmacists are de-centralized and integrated completely into the following services: internal medicine, family medicine, critical care, trauma/surgery, NICU/pediatrics, and emergency medicine. Our pharmacists make numerous evidence-based medication recommendations which are frequently accepted. We have a robust preceptor group with extensive precepting experience. Most of our pharmacy preceptors are board certified, residency trained, or both.
We are a quality-driven department that will introduce you to vital skills you will need to be successful as a pharmacy resident and/or clinical pharmacy specialist (patient work-up and management, rounding, medication-use evaluations, journal clubs, topic discussions, drug class reviews, drug monographs, noon conference, etc.)
Residency Program Directors
Erica Wilson, PharmD, BCPS
Pharmacy Director, Health-System Pharmacy Administration and Leadership Residency Program Director
Contact: ewilson@echd.org
Dr. Wilson was born and raised in Andrews, TX, and graduated from high school in 2007. She attended McMurry University in Abilene, TX for college and played basketball for four years before graduating in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and a minor in business administration. After college, Erica attended Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Pharmacy in Abilene, TX and graduated with her Doctorate in Pharmacy in 2015. Erica completed a PGY1 Pharmacy Practice residency at Medical Center Hospital in Odessa, TX in July of 2016. After residency, Erica took a clinical pharmacy specialist position with Medical Center first in internal medicine July 2016-January 2017 and then in critical care from January 2017-June 2019, and currently serves as the pharmacy clinical coordinator and PGY1 residency program director. She lives with her husband Adam Wilson, her daughters Allie and Nora. Erica enjoys traveling, hosting parties, spending time with friends and family, traveling, shopping, crafting, and baking.
Nathan Ehni, PharmD, BCCCP
PGY2 emergency medicine pharmacy residency program director
Contact: nehni@echd.org
Dr. Ehni is a clinical pharmacy specialist in the emergency department and PGY2 emergency medicine pharmacy residency program director at Medical Center Hospital in Odessa, Texas. He received his PharmD from North Dakota state university in 2012. He then completed a PGY1 general residency at Avera McKennan in Sioux Falls, SD and then completed a PGY-2 specializing in critical care at Avera McKennan. His current practice activities at Medical Center Hospital include working with the emergency department multidisciplinary team.
Ashley Bane, PharmD, BCPS
PGY1 Residency Program Director
Dr. Bane is a clinical pharmacy specialist in the internal medicine division at Medical Center Hospital in Odessa, TX. She received her Doctorate of Pharmacy Degree from the University Of Kentucky College Of Pharmacy in 2013. In 2014, she completed a PGY1 ASHP/ACCP-accredited residency at Norton Healthcare Hospital system in Louisville, KY. She completed her teaching certificate through the University of Kentucky and is an eligible preceptor in Texas. Her current practice activities at Medical Center Hospital include rounding with internal medicine, family medicine, and trauma/surgery multidisciplinary teams. In her free time, she enjoys playing soccer, running with her dog, and traveling with her husband.
Preceptors
Laura Branum, PharmD, BCPS
Dr. Branum is a clinical pharmacy specialist in the emergency department at Medical Center Hospital in Odessa, Texas. She received her PharmD from D’Youville College School of Pharmacy in 2014. She then completed a Post-Graduate Year One ASHP-accredited residency at The University of Vermont Medical Center – Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital in Plattsburgh, New York in 2015. Her current practice activities at Medical Center Hospital include performing medication reconciliations, providing nursing and physician medication therapy consults, participating in cardiac arrests and trauma cases as well as emergency medication preparation.
Kristina Chang, PharmD
Dr. Chang was born and raised in West Texas as she grew up in Big Spring approximately 60 miles East of Odessa. She attended the University of Texas of the Permian Basin in Odessa where she graduated with a B.S. in Chemistry in 2014. Afterwards, she ventured down to South Texas where she attended pharmacy school at Texas A&M University Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy in Kingsville, Texas. She completed her PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency at Medical Center Hospital in Odessa June 2019 and is now a clinical pharmacy specialist for the internal medicine and trauma services. In her spare time she enjoys naps with her new baby girl, cheering her son on at his sporting events, binging shows, and eating. food.
Art Munoz, PharmD
Dr. Munoz is the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) pharmacist at Medical Center Hospital in Odessa, Texas. He received his PharmD from University of Houston College of Pharmacy in 2006. He has worked with the NICU team at Medical Center Hospital since 2014. His current daily activities with the department include daily rounds with physicians, nurse practitioner and nurses. He currently is training in the emergency department. In his spare time he enjoys spending time with his family.
James Palmer, PharmD, BCCCP
Dr. Palmer is the Pharmacy Operations Manager and Medication Safety Officer for Medical Center Hospital as of August 2021. He received his PharmD from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Pharmacy in 2012 and his critical care board certification BCCCP in 2017. He has worked as a Neonatal Intensive Care Pharmacist (2012 – 2013) and Adult Critical Care Pharmacist (2013 – 2021). He has served as PGY1 and PGY2 Critical Care Residency Instructor from 2014 – 2021. He is a member of the local Institutional Review Board and a residency instructor for the Medication Safety Longitudinal PGY1 rotation. He enjoys spending time with family and friends, hiking, camping, and rock climbing.
Alex Rothenberger, BCPS
Dr. Rothenberger is a clinical pharmacy specialist in the critical care department at Medical Center Hospital in Odessa, TX. He received his Doctor of Pharmacy Degree at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Pharmacy in 2019. In 2020, he completed a PGY1 ASHP/ACCP-accredited residency at Medical Center Hospital and completed his teaching certificate with Texas Tech University for Health Sciences. HIs professional interests are critical care and infectious disease, and his current practice activities include rounding with interprofessional critical care teams and coordinating the antimicrobial stewardship service. During his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family playing games and traveling to see the outdoors.
Adewale Balogun, PharmD, BCPS
Dr. Balogun is a clinical pharmacy specialist in the internal medicine department at Medical Center Hospital in Odessa, TX. He attained his pharmacy degree from Long Island University in 1995 and then attained his Doctor of Pharmacy from Skaggs College of Pharmacy in Aurora, CO in 2019. Dr. Balogun then obtained his BCPS in 2016. In his free time, he enjoys running and spending time with his family.
Cheryl Go, PharmD
Dr. Go is a clinical pharmacy specialist in the internal medicine department at Medical Center Hospital in Odessa, TX. She attained her BS in Pharmacy from University of San Carlos, Cebu Philippines and then attained her Doctor of Pharmacy from University of Colorado-Denver. In her free time, she enjoys traveling and playing with her dog Oreo
Mina Aziz, RPh, PhD
Dr. Aziz is a clinical pharmacy specialist in the critical care department/internal medicine department at Medical Center Hospital in Odessa, TX. He attained his pharmacy degree with honors from Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, and his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Texas Tech University. After obtaining his Ph.D., he completed a Postdoctoral Research Associate position at the BioDiscovery Institute, University of North Texas, where he was then promoted to a Research Assistant Professor. His Ph.D. and postdoctoral research were mainly focused on natural products chemistry, protein biochemistry and structural biology, and resulted in seventeen published, peer-reviewed research articles and book chapters. He completed his PGY-1 Pharmacy Residency in Odessa at Medical Center Hospital. In his free time, he enjoys running, working out, and spending quality time with family and friends.
Thao Do, PharmD
Thao was born in Saigon, Vietnam, and relocated to the U.S at the age of fifteen. She completed her Doctor of Pharmacy degree in May of 2021 at the University of Houston. Her passion for pharmacy stems from her lifelong goal to ensure quality healthcare is accessible to low-income families. She completed her PGY-1 Pharmacy Residency in Odessa at Medical Center Hospital. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, watching K-drama, exploring new places, and spending time outdoors with her friends, family and her fur baby, Kyo.
Mary Kim, RPh
Mary is a staff pharmacist who works as a transition of care pharmacists at Medical Center Hospital in Odessa, TX. She attained her BS in Pharmacy from University of Southern California. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, reading, playing tennis, playing piano, and spending time with her family.
Tony Li, PharmD, MBA-HOM
Dr. Li is currently is currently an Assistant Director at Medical Center Hospital in Odessa, Texas. He grew up in Houston, Texas and received his Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from the University of Texas at Austin. He completed his Doctor of Pharmacy and MBA in Healthcare Organization Management at Texas Tech University in Abilene, Texas. During his PGY1 at Medical Center Hospital, he discovered his interest in administration and leadership and then completed his PGY2 in Administration at Medical Center Hospital. In his spare time, he enjoys camping with friends, discovering different cuisines, taking photographs, and weightlifting
Current Residents
Michele Bender
Dr. Bender is currently a PGY2 Emergency Medicine Pharmacy Resident at Medical Center Hospital in Odessa, Texas. She completed her Doctor of Pharmacy at Rutgers University in New Jersey. She completed her PGY-1 Pharmacy Residency at Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, NJ. She looks forward to working as an emergency department clinical pharmacist after completing her PGY-2. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, rock climbing, and skiing.
Charlie Cid
Dr. Cid is currently a PGY1 Pharmacy Resident at Medical Center Hospital in Odessa, Texas. He completed his Doctor of Pharmacy at University of North Texas Health Science Center System College of Pharmacy in Fort Worth, Texas. His professional interests include emergency medicine and critical care. In his spare time, he likes to run extremely long distances and run ultra-marathons and travel around the country visiting national parks.
Miguel Rivera
Dr. Rivera is currently a PGY1 Pharmacy Resident at Medical Center Hospital in Odessa, Texas. He completed his Doctor of Pharmacy at University of Texas El Paso School of Pharmacy. His professional interests include trauma and critical care. In his spare time, he likes to work on his drug discovery projects, and read high impact articles that challenge his current practices in the hospital.
Alicia Chavez
Dr. Chavez is currently a PGY1 Pharmacy Resident at Medical Center Hospital in Odessa, Texas. She completed her Doctor of Pharmacy at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Jerry H Hodge School of Pharmacy in Lubbock TX. Her professional interests are toxicology, trauma, burn management, and emergency medicine. In her spare time, she likes to play with her two dogs (a corgi named Killua and a border collie named Maggie), hang out with her husband Alex, workout, attempt to read something other than medical texts, and explore quirky art spaces like Meow Wolf.
Thao-Mi Vu
Dr. Vu is currently a PGY1 Pharmacy Resident at Medical Center Hospital in Odessa, Texas. She completed her Doctor of Pharmacy at University of North Texas Health Science Center System College of Pharmacy in Fort Worth, Texas. Her professional interests are emergency medicine and critical care and she has interests to precept and do research in the future. In her spare time, she likes to do yoga, watch TV, enjoy trying new foods, shop, and rock climb.
Brandon Buss
Dr. Buss is currently a PGY1 Pharmacy Resident at Medical Center Hospital in Odessa, Texas. He grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin and received his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas. He completed his Doctor of Pharmacy at University of North Texas Health Science Center System College of Pharmacy in Fort Worth, Texas. His professional interests include emergency medicine and critical care. In his spare time, he enjoys traveling, experiencing new cuisines, weightlifting, and spending time with friends and family.
Kimberly Nebo
Dr. Nebo is currently a PGY1 Pharmacy Resident at Medical Center Hospital in Odessa, Texas. She grew up in Houston, Tx and received her Biological Science degree from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale while also playing division 1 basketball. She then went to pharmacy school at University of Houston College of Pharmacy. She is interested in attaining BCPS post residency, precepting future residents, taking part in future research opportunities and becoming a Clinical Coordinator in the future. In her free time, she enjoys playing basketball, working out, traveling and watching the Bachelor/Bachelorette.
Previous Residents
2021-2022
Tony Li, PharmD – PGY-2 Administration
Stephanie Anderson, PharmD – PGY-2 Emergency Medicine
Madi Holguin, PharmD – PGY1
Thoa Do, PharmD – PGY1
Mina Aziz, RPh, PhD – PGY1
2020-2021
Stephanie Anderson, PharmD
Carrolyn Kate Cowey, PharmD (ED PGY2)
Katie Epley, PharmD
Yaze Li, PharmD, MBA-HOM
Albert Ngo, PharmD
2018-2020
Carrolyn Kate Cowey, PharmD (Non-Traditional PGY1)
2019-2020
Victoria Hamill, PharmD, BCPS
Amanda Harper, PharmD
Hannah Lineberry, PharmD, BCPS (ED PGY2)
Alexander Rothenberger, PharmD, BCPS
2018-2019
Kristina Chang, PharmD
Steven Tang, PharmD, BCPS
Ha Neul Yang, PharmD, BCPS
John Witucki, PharmD, BCCCP (ED PGY2)
2017-2018
Michelle Aguirre, PharmD
Janel Cala
John Witucki, PharmD, BCCCP
2016-2017
David Besanti, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Priyanka Patel, PharmD
2015-2016
Jan Ramos, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Erica Wilson, PharmD, BCPS
2014-2015
Elvis Achuo, PharmD
Tram Vo, PharmD, BCPS
