PBN Leaders & Achievers 2024 Awards
Kerry LaPlante | University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy | Dean
AT 16 YEARS OLD, Kerry LaPlante already knew what she wanted to do – become a pharmacist. That prophecy has led her to working more than 25 years in the field.
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She was influenced by what she saw in her native Buffalo, N.Y.
“Where I grew up, our independent pharmacist was a vital medical resource for the community,” she said.
That pharmacy owner inspired her to pursue a career in the field, she says. Being a pharmacist/scientist, LaPlante says, gives her a platform that allows her to advocate for patients and health care.
That journey led her to the Ocean State. LaPlante is a professor and recently became dean at the University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy, where she has been a faculty member for 20 years. She is also an adjunct professor of medicine at Brown University.
LaPlante, who specializes in infectious diseases, is a researcher and policy adviser. She is on the frontline of the antimicrobial resistance public health crisis, leading statewide initiatives and providing analysis of key issues as an adviser to the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, PEW Research Center and The Joint Commission.
LaPlante says her scrappy, blue-collar upbringing is why she is comfortable putting herself in the middle of conflict to help people.
“I fight hard to increase access to better health care,” LaPlante said.
She has led the implementation of more than $21.5 million in grant funding from the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and investigator-initiated research. During her three years as president-elect, president and immediate past president of the Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists, LaPlante restructured and remapped committees according to the organization’s strategic plan.
The foundation changes sparked growth that resulted in milestones like becoming the first pharmacy member in ID Week and securing a seat on the Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria.
Once LaPlante became a pharmacist, she says she became the go-to person in the family for everything related to health care. She’s fine with that.
“This is my passion,” she said.
