Associate professor awarded for research on heart failure
Zac Cox was awarded the Outstanding Paper of the Year Award from national network of scientists.
Janel Shoun-Smith | 615.966.7078 |
An article published in the Journal of American College of Cardiology: Heart Failure has earned Zac Cox, associate professor of pharmacy, the 2020 Cardiology PRN Outstanding Paper of the Year Award.
The article “Diuretic Strategies for Loop Diuretic Resistance in Acute Heart Failure: The 3T trial” was chosen as this year’s recipient by Cardiology Practice and Research Network (PRN), a digital network operated by the American College of Clinical Pharmacists (ACCP), a national association for pharmacy scientists.
The article is one of several published works by Cox, an inpatient clinical pharmacist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, who has garnered national and international attention for his research exploring various drug therapies for patients hospitalized with acute heart failure.
ACCP’s PRNs were established to connect focused groups of clinical pharmacists to enhance professional support and collaboration. They provide a means for clinical pharmacists with common practice and research interests to gather for professional interaction, networking, and continuing education.
The 3T trial article awarded by the PRN was also included in the New England Journal of Medicine "Journal Watch" website, where they highlight impactful research across all medical journals with an editorial commentary, Cox said.
According to Altmetrics, Cox’s 3T trial article is in the top 5% of all research articles tracked on the site, calculated by collecting tweets, retweets and quoted tweets that contain a direct link to the article. In addition, the article secured one of Almetric’s highest attention scores from articles in the Journal of American College of Cardiology: Heart Failure.
Cox’s past work with the drug Milrinone and other ways to reduce diuretic resistance in heart failure patients, has earned him private grants, international invitations to present findings and published articles in the top journals for heart failure research in the world. He has also co-authored a book chapter on best practices for overcoming diuretic resistance, and his research findings have been praised by Duke University cardiologists
His latest work is a phase 1 clinical trial at a Kansas University Medical Center for a novel inhaled milrinone formulation for which he is co-inventor and co-principal investigator with Dr. Nick Haglund.
Since 2014, Cox has worked in his dual appointment at Lipscomb and Vanderbilt to provide top quality patient care, conduct research among Vanderbilt’s heart failure patients and supervise Lipscomb students in their Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences.
Such national recognition provides Cox new opportunities to share the best practices around the world and builds the respect of the scientific community in Lipscomb’s research, thus boosting the chance of future grants and publications, Cox said.