Lauren Hynicka

Lauren Hynicka is a Doctor of Pharmacy practicing at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy in Baltimore, MD, where she has served since 2009. She earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree in 2007 after completing two years of postgraduate residency training and later obtained an integrative medicine certificate through the School of Medicine in 2017-2018. Her primary area of expertise lies in integrative medicine within the pharmacy field, emphasizing a whole-person approach that incorporates modalities such as supplements, mind-body techniques, yoga, and acupuncture alongside traditional medications. Hynicka has developed selective coursework including an Introduction to Integrative Medicine course and a culinary health and medicine elective focused on popular diets, meal preparation, and culinary conversations. For this work, she received the McGraw-Hill Innovation Award. She maintains active memberships in the American College of Clinical Pharmacists, where she helped create a community in integrative and functional medicine, and the Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine, serving on the planning committee for their 2027 international meeting. Hynicka attributes her success to supportive family interactions, lifelong curiosity, open-mindedness, and influences from readings such as Brene Brown's The Gifts of Imperfection and Michelle Obama's work, which encouraged her to embrace authenticity and reinvent her career path without rigid timelines. She advises young women entering the field to practice self-kindness, recognize that success takes many forms, and remain true to themselves. In her view, the field faces challenges from chronic diseases and a treatment-focused healthcare system but offers opportunities in lifestyle and integrative approaches to prevention, where pharmacists can play a key role if reimbursement models evolve to support it.