Monday, January 27, 2025
Purdue University Provost Patrick J. Wolfe has named John M. Allen the inaugural Marvin and Melanie Richardson Department Head of Pharmacy Practice.
Allen joined the College of Pharmacy as the head of Pharmacy Practice on December 1, 2024, after a decorated tenure with the University of Florida College of Pharmacy.
The position’s naming is the first for a department head in the Purdue College of Pharmacy’s history and is in honor of generous college supporters Marvin and Melanie Richardson.
“The Richardsons’ significant investment into our college and department will play an immediate and integral role in the work we do,” Allen said. “Building upon the solid foundation in our department, their support will help us in several ways, including helping to strategically recruit high-quality faculty that will contribute to our mission of providing world class education for future generations; producing impactful and innovative research; and serving as leaders shaping the pharmacy profession on a local, national, and global scale. I couldn’t be more grateful for their support or honored to represent their family name in this role.”
Prior to Purdue, Allen served as an associate dean, clinical associate professor, and director of the health disparities research post-doctoral fellowship at UF. His professional areas of interest are medication use disparities, pain and palliative care in the critically and terminally ill, and antibiotic dosing in sepsis. He is an elected Fellow of the American College of Critical Care Medicine, and American College of Clinical Pharmacy.
Allen is a dual board-certified pharmacist in critical care and pharmacotherapy who holds a PharmD from Florida A&M University. He completed his PGY-1 and PGY-2 residencies at Tampa General Hospital, specializing in critical care pharmacotherapy. He is an active member of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the American College of Clinical Pharmacy, where he serves as treasurer.
According to Eric Barker, Purdue’s Vice President for Health Affairs and Jeannie and Jim Chaney Dean of Pharmacy, Allen’s impressive resume makes him a fitting first Marvin and Melanie Richardson Department Head of Pharmacy Practice.
“Dr. Allen is an excellent inaugural holder of this title,” said Barker. “He is an accomplished professional poised to lead the department in an ever-changing pharmaceutical landscape. We’re proud to have him in this role and carrying the name of some of the college’s most loyal supporters.”
