College speakers bring Hispanic Heritage Month to life

The College of Pharmacy celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month on September 28 with a presentation by faculty member Eduardo Maldonado, associate professor of drug discovery and biomedical sciences. Faculty member Andy Maldonado also gave a presentation on October 13 in a separate series. 

A native of Argentina, Eduardo Maldonado led a visual and temporal tour of the country from its world-renowned theater to its famous Argentinian beef to its fertile wheat fields to one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, Iguazu Falls. Along with some history, he gave some insight and perspective on popular tourist spots Buenos Aires and Patagonia.

He also discussed the fascinating situation of Argentinian health care and the pluses and minuses of a public health care system, before delving into the country's pharmacy structure.

Eduardo Maldonado hails from Bahía Blanca, Argentina and has been at MUSC since 2005. In Argentina, he earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree at the Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Before deciding to pursue research in lipid biochemistry he spent 15 years working in small animal clinic and cardiology and teaching undergraduates. He got his PhD from the Universidad Nacional del Sur in Argentina in 2001. He is an RO1-winning researcher whose general research is about the role of mitochondria in cancer metabolism.

MUSC’s Alliance for Hispanic Health created an Hispanic Heritage Speaker Series with weekly speakers through Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 – Oct. 15). Another college faculty member, Andy Maldonado of the Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Outcome Sciences, gave a presentation in that series on October 13.

Born in Guatemala, she shared about her background and experience. She joined MUSC in 2012 as a clinical pharmacist specialist, hematology/oncology, and in 2016 became program director of the PGY2 Oncology Pharmacy Specialty Residency. In 2020, she was named clinical pharmacist for infusion services in MUSC’s Hollings Cancer Center before joining the college faculty full-time this year.