Dr. Laura Lile, a daughter of Bellefontaine residents attorney Levi W. Lile and Nancy N. Lile, was named among eight awardees in the The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy’s 2023 Alumni Awards during a fall ceremony at the Grand Event Center in Grandview Heights.
The event invited Pharmacy Buckeyes and friends and family to reunite and celebrate the outstanding achievements of the awardees.
Dr. Lile, the founder of Lile Wellness Partners, received a Distinguished Alumni Award. As a dual-credentialed medical doctor and compounding pharmacist, Dr. Lile has the unique ability to prescribe and oversee the creation of individualized compound formulations.
A 1982 Ada High School graduate, she obtained her pharmacy degree from The Ohio State University in 1987. After working as a compounding pharmacist, she pursued her medical doctorate degree at the University of Toledo, previously known as the Medical College of Ohio, graduating in 2001.
“Reflecting on my time here at Ohio State, I am reminded of the wisdom that we gain only from experience,” Dr. Lile said. “I know now that the education that I received here at Ohio State was so much more than knowledge. It was really giving me a foundation that would allow me to go on and exceed all expectations or anything I could have dreamed of in my career.”
The award recipient opened her first pharmacy at the age of 25, introducing one of the first drive-thru pharmacies in the Midwest.
In 2006, Dr. Lile recognized the potential of telemedicine and played a pivotal role in establishing virtual care programs that expanded health care access to remote areas and underserved communities.
During 2019, she was invited to join the Medical Advisory Committee for the Vatican, leading to a private audience with Pope Francis, as previously detailed in the Examiner. Representing the pharmacy profession, she highlighted the significant impact pharmacists can have on global health.
Collaborating with the Order of Malta, Dr. Lile spearheaded the establishment of a mobile clinic in Jordan, providing diabetes education and management to 200 patients daily in rural underserved areas.
Leading clinical trials in Rwanda, she oversaw a team of 135 health care professionals and successfully completed a trial with over 14,000 in-person visits. Dr. Lile’s efforts included introducing innovative specialty lab tests and ensuring patient compliance with treatment through well-designed clinical trials in collaboration with the Minister of Health and the University of Rwanda.
Her most recent endeavor has been advocating for pharmacists to be credentialed to provide genomic consultations. This groundbreaking step allowed four PharmD students from Ohio State to participate alongside Dr. Lile, becoming the first in their profession in the country to be credentialed for counseling patients on IntellxxDNA genomics.
“I’m deeply humbled and grateful for having the ability to be honored for being a distinguished alumni,” Dr. Lile said. “This recognition symbolizes not only the incredible influence that Ohio State has had on my life, but also the pivotal choices that I have shaped that have shaped my life.”