Formulary Book Club: A Wrinkle in Time
Associate Professor, Julie Dumond, PharmD, MS, has our March ’23 book recommendation
Story and photo by Ryan McDaniel | Published March 28, 2023
Each month, the Formulary Book Club introduces a staff, student, faculty, or alumni of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and gets their recommendation for a great read.
This month we meet Julie Dumond, PharmD, MS who is an Associate Professor in the Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics (DPET). Julie’s Formulary Book Club recommendation is A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle.
The story follows Meg Murry and her younger brother, Charles Wallace, on an interplanetary journey to rescue their mysteriously missing physicist father. They are accompanied by Meg’s friend, Calvin O’Keefe, and three odd and ethereal Mrs. Ws (Who, Whatsit, and Which). In their quest, the children encounter forces for good and for evil, revealing a greater understanding of the workings of the universe. The book is the first and most famous in a quintet of books following the Murry family. Its sequels are A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters, and Acceptable Time.
“I loved this book, and the other four books that tell the stories of the Murry family,” says Julie. “Their world amazed me, and I strongly identified with Meg, an awkward teen who was unpopular at school and struggled to fit in. I credit the book with expanding my world view and leading me into science. Despite it being a children’s book, I have returned to it many times in my adult life, as a comfort read: it’s okay to be different, help comes when you need it and are open to receive it, and our job is love one another.”
As an associate professor, Julie teaches pharmacokinetics in the graduate program, and is deeply involved in the RASP program, including serving as a RASP mentor. Her research focuses on pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic modeling to optimize the use of antiretrovirals to treat and prevent HIV, especially in people living with HIV who are not well-represented in Phase III clinical studies.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people took up baking, but Julie was already known at the School for her Nutella-stuffed chocolate chip cookies. So, she picked up a different skill: crochet. “You might see me crocheting at meetings,” she explains. “It helps me focus and I promise I am paying attention. I love making hand-made gifts for friends and family.”
In her free time, Julie enjoys spending time with her husband, Mike, and two boys, Alex and Sidney. She also shares her home with a host of pets – a bearded dragon, two crested geckos, two cats, and a dog. “[Alex and Sidney] have helped me overcome my aversion to insects, reptiles, and amphibians through exposure therapy,” she says.
Julie loves college basketball and football and she roots for UNC, provided neither her undergraduate Alma Mater, Michigan State, or her graduate Alma Mater, Michigan, is playing. No matter who else is playing, of course, she roots against Dook.
“I still love to read, though I have less time to do it than I used to have,” she shares. “But I now have the honor of introducing my kids to the books I love, including A Wrinkle in Time.”