Author: [AUTHOR] Published on 2/1/2022 12:00:00 AM

Virginia (Ginny) Schmith, PhD, Senior Vice President, Nuventra Pharma Sciences, Cocoa Beach, FL

What Professional Accomplishment Are You Most Proud of?
I am most proud of always learning new things, sharing the latest information with colleagues through good ASCPT programming, and mentoring a lot of really smart people who have helped me learn more.

What is the Most Important Leadership Lesson You Have Learned the Hard Way?
There is constantly new information that creates new questions; you need to put together a productive team; learning is a two-way street; and there is never a perfect solution, so always keep patient safety as the core decision-making principle.

Who Has Inspired You in Your Career?
Pat Kroboth, Randy Juhl, and Randy Smith were the people who got me into research. If it was not for them, there is no way I would be where I am today.

What has Been the Greatest Challenge in Your Career?
Computing power, which is always improving, but each new unique modeling project seems to push the limits, whatever they currently are. In the 1990s, when FOCE first came out, I remember one iteration taking 24 hours. Now we have cloud computing and parallel NONMEM and have models that still can take over 12 hours to run.

Do You Have a Favorite Tip or Trick for Clinical Practice or Research that You Want to Share With Fellow Members?
You will never have a perfect model nor will you be able to validate every assumption, so always look at what you have and ask “Is it conservative for patient safety?”

What is Your Favorite Society Memory?
Meeting new and old colleagues at the Annual Meeting receptions and mentoring others on how to put together a new proposal for programming are always my favorite Society encounters.

When You Aren’t Working, How Do You Spend Your Free Time?
When I’m not working I am playing with my golden doodle, Pixie, walking with my husband, and swimming.

How Do You Keep Focused and Motivated?
Taking the time to learn new things keeps me motivated.

What Was Your Childhood Dream Job?
To be a geneticist, but then I found out that you had to go to school for 8 years. That sounded way too long to a teenager. Someone told me “you can do research as a pharmacist with a BS,” so I went to pharmacy school, which was 5 years at the time. Then I went on to get my PhD, which ended up being a 9-year journey instead of 8-year total.

What’s One Thing People Would Be Surprised to Know About You?
I felt the need to volunteer for the coronavirus disease (COVID) vaccine effort as a pharmacist during the 2020 holidays to do my part on the “War Against COVID.” Since then I have been volunteering once a week with the vaccine effort.

Ginny has been a member of ASCPT since 1992.