Biography
Born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, Dr. Kaufman grew up in Piscataway, New Jersey. She is the daughter of Dr. Harold Alexander and Elaine Sue Sommers of Princeton, NJ. Her spouse is Jo Ellen Fusco. Dr. Michele B Kaufman graduated from Piscataway, High School and went on to receive her Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the University of Rhode Island (URI), Kingston, Rhode Island and her Doctor of Pharmacy from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences (MCP/AHS), Boston, MA. She subsequently completed a Drug Information Fellowship at the URI Drug Information Center/Roger Williams Medical Center, Providence, Rhode Island. She is the recent past owner and President/CEO of PRN Communications Inc, a Medical Writing/Editing and Managed Care/Clinical Consulting Company in New York City. She is currently a freelance medical writer, editor and consultant, and she also is a Pharmacist at New York Presbyterian-Lower Manhattan Hospital. She is a former guest lecturer at the Touro College of Pharmacy in New York City for the Medical Writing elective. Formerly she was the Senior Medical Writer and Director of Quality and Medical Writer for PRIME, Inc. (Tamarac, FL). For 10+ years she was a Project Leader/Clinical Pharmacist/Geriatric Case Manager at HIP Health Plan of NY (currently known as Emblem Health) at the corporate office of this managed care company in Manhattan (1996-2006). Recently she was also the primary preceptor for Saint John’s University (SJU) Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D) candidates in their advanced clinical rotation in managed care pharmacy, while at HIP/Emblem Health. Prior to her position in managed care pharmacy she was a Clinical Assistant Professor at SJU in Jamaica, NY, her clinical site was at Long Island Jewish Medical Center (LIJMC), New Hyde Park, NY. She was a Clinical Coordinator of Drug Information & Internal Medicine from 1992-1996 at LIJMC/SJU. Other past positions included Product Development Pharmacist at Reed & Carnrick Pharmaceutical Company, Piscataway, NJ (1987-1989); Staff Pharmacist, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick, NJ (1986-1991), and Poison Information Specialist, Massachusetts Poison Control System Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA (1990-1992). She is a past Contributing Editor for P&T Journal, and a peer reviewer for a number of Medical & Pharmacy journals. She was also a peer reviewer for the now defunct Medical App Journal. She has been a freelance medical writer since 1997 and has published numerous articles in newsletters, journals, and on-line throughout her career. She has lectured on many clinical topics for pharmacy students, pharmacists, medical students, physicians, nurses and other health care professionals over the years, as well as talks on healthcare careers for different audiences. She also has a patent pending for pineapple colon electrolyte lavage solution (Pineapple Colyte™) development and manufacturing process change from Reed & Carnrick, now Schwarz Pharmaceuticals.
She is a member of national, state and local Medical and Pharmacy organizations, including the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (including the Northeast region affiliate chapter's past membership chair), the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, the American College of Clinical Pharmacy, the New York State Council of Health System Pharmacists (NYSCHP; serving on the Professional Affairs Committee, the Pharmacy Technician Committee, and the Pharmacy Technician Toolkit Committee) and the NYC Chapter of the NYSCHP (past: membership coordinator, bulletin editor, grants committee, public relations committee, special projects committee; secretary 2012-2016; current: delegate to the annual assembly), the American Medical Writers Association - Empire State Metro New York Chapter (past: membership chair), and Science Writers in New York (SWINY). She is a past member of the Educational Affairs Committee at the National level of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy. She is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare, and Who’s Who in American Education. She is a member of the NYC Lesbian and Gay Big Apple Corps Symphonic Band as a saxophonist (since 1997), and a past member of the TriBatteryPops. She held a past position as an executive committee member of the international Lesbian and Gay Band Association in the position of at-large/affiliate membership (2004-2006).
She recently was the Editor of her own column, Pharmacovigilance Forum, in P & T Journal, and was the co-author of P & T Journal's Pharmaceutical Approval Update column.
She is a board certified geriatric pharmacist.
She began technical/medical writing in graduate school and continues to publish online and in print media. A list of some of her works are provided.
She has just published her first book. She has also just edited her first textbook for McGraw-Hill Higher Education, Pharmacology: An Introduction, 8th edition.