Pharmacy Research Program

Pharmacy Research Program

Along with providing evidence-based treatment recommendations and critical medication access to our incredible pediatric patients, the Children’s Minnesota Pharmacy strives to expand pediatric treatment knowledge through collaborative research efforts. Led by Dr. Jack Beckman, the Investigational Pharmacy team participates in 75+ investigational studies annually related to medication therapy. Additionally, clinical pharmacists at Children’s Minnesota continue expanding pediatric medication knowledge within the healthcare community through publications of case reports, case series, single- and multi-center studies, and disease state reviews.

Ongoing pharmacy research studies

Assessing the integration of a pharmacogenomics pharmacist in pediatric patients with sickle cell: a pilot study

Courtney Paetznick, PharmD

Association of atomoxetine treatment outcomes with CYP2D6 phenotype in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Courtney Paetznick, PharmD

Comparison of safety and efficacy between cefazolin and oxacillin in the treatment of staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome

Carly Jo McDonald, PharmD

Development of a desensitization protocol in the setting of hypersensitivity to calaspargase or pegaspargase

Kim Maxa, PharmD, MBA

Development of standardized administration and monitoring of calaspargase

Kim Maxa, PharmD, MBA

Difference in time to therapeutic goal of vancomycin between trough-only therapeutic monitoring compared to area under the curve therapeutic drug monitoring

Malena Tonelli, PharmD

Efficacy of metformin in the treatment of insulin resistance in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Kim Maxa, PharmD, MBA

Optimizing pharmacogenomics-driven toxicity monitoring of thiopurine-based regimens in pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia or lymphoma

Nicholas Evanson, PharmD

HLA profiling and associations with aparaginase immune-mediated toxicity at a large pediatric oncology center (IRGP Grant #47649)

Kim Maxa, PharmD, MBA

Quantification of the incidence of vancomycin infusion reaction in pediatric patients.

Kim Maxa, PharmD, MBA

Recent publications

Variability in Calaspargase Pegol Administration and Monitoring Across U.S. Pediatric Oncology Centers

Morgan LE, Raybin JL, Chang BH, Miller LH, Maxa KL, Stork L. (2026).

HIV-Specific vs Universal Immunization Coverage in US Children with HIV: A Multi-Site Study

Sabet S, Hollman N, Hendrix-Dicken A, Raschka M, La N, Oldham MM, Richardson J, Schmidt D, Carr S, Gluck A, Williams MB. (2026).

Pharmacogenomics case-based education: Establishment of an Extension for Community Health Outcomes (ECHO) education model for healthcare professionals

Jacobson PA, Johnson ANK, Bishop JR, Baye J, Petry NJ, Bright DR, Brown JT, Long SE, Sorge L, Gregornik DB, Kisor DF, Stenehjem DD. (2026).

Cefazolin versus alternative antibiotics for perioperative prophylaxis in patients labeled as cephalosporin allergic

Jackson J, Corsini Campioli C, Crockett R, Loomis E, Cole K, Schreier DJ, Arensman Hannan K. (2025).

Toward an integrated resource for pharmacogenomics (PGx): Survey findings from the genomic medicine communities

Klein CJ, Gong L, Caudle KE, Naik H, Empey PE, Hoffman JM, Scherer S, Iwuchukwu OF, Gregornik D, Monte AA, Swen JJ, Scott SA, Whirl-Carrillo M, Klein TE. (2025).

The Pharmacogenomics Global Research Network Implementation Working Group: global collaboration to advance pharmacogenetic implementation

Cavallari LH, Hicks JK, Patel JN, Elchynski AL, Smith DM, Bargal SA, Fleck A, Aquilante CL, Killam SR, Lemke L, Ochi T, Ramsey LB, Haidar CE, Ho T, El Rouby N, Monte AA, Allen JD, Beitelshees AL, Bishop JR, Bousman C, Campbell R, Cicali EJ, Cook KJ, Duong B, Tsermpini EE, Girdwood ST, Gregornik DB, Grimsrud KN, Lamb N, Lee JC, Lopez RO, Mazhindu TA, Morris SA, Nagy M, Nguyen J, Pasternak AL, Petry N, van Schaik RHN, Schultz A, Skaar TC, Al Alshaykh H, Stevenson JM, Stone RM, Tran NK, Tuteja S, Woodahl EL, Yuan LC, Lee CR (2025).

Management of Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome in Pediatric Patients: A Clinical Review

Huynh P, Brown A, Campisi L, Mruk A, Nguyen T, Raschka M, Afolabi T. (2024).

Pharmacy research staff and leadership

Jack Beckman, PharmD

Jack Beckman, PharmD
Jack Beckman is the lead pharmacist for the Investigational Drug Service pharmacy at Children’s Minnesota. He attended Concordia College in Moorhead, MN and pharmacy school at the University of Minnesota. He has been with Children’s Minnesota for 10 years and has a strong passion for clinical research and how it can improve the lives and care of pediatric patients living with complex medical conditions. Outside of work, Jack enjoys spending time with his wife and their four children, coaching and playing hockey, traveling, and gardening.

Mike Raschka, PharmD, BCPPS, DPLA

Mike Raschka, PharmD, BCPPS, DPLA
Mike Raschka, PharmD, is the Clinical Pharmacy Coordinator at Children’s Minnesota, where he also serves as the Residency Program Director. Mike has a strong passion for clinical research, collaborating with various teams at Children’s and through national pharmacy organizations on various research projects and manuscripts. His main area of focus in research is medication safety. Outside of Children’s, Mike enjoys hiking, pickleball, and cheering on his two boys’ sports teams.

Kim Maxa, PharmD, MBA

Kim Maxa, PharmD, MBA
Kim Maxa, PharmD, MBA is a clinical oncology pharmacy specialist with Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s MN in Minneapolis. She studied at Drake University where she obtained her Doctorate of Pharmacy and Masters in Business Administration, then she went on to complete pharmacy residency training in pediatrics at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta followed by specialty training in hematology/oncology at University of Utah’s Huntsman Cancer Institute. Her areas of interest include expanding personalized medicine for children with cancer, addressing treatment-related toxicities and oncology supportive care, oncology therapy and supportive care guideline development, standardization, and medication safety. Her current research interests focus on personalized medicine for children with cancer, where she works on tailoring patient genetics (pharmacogenomics and oncogenomics) and patient toxicities with cancer-related drug therapies. She is an active member of Children’s Oncology Group including clinical trial development. Outside of work she enjoys spending time with her dogs, gardening, hiking, and traveling.