Garnering REX’s Hope

Rebecca ‘Becky’ Jones, PharmD ’10, works diligently to educate and impact the lives of cancer patients and their families. 

Story by Sarah Clark | Photos provided by Becky Jones | Published April 29, 2025

As one of the first Clinical Pharmacy Practitioners in the hematology/oncology space at the UNC REX Cancer Center in Garner, Rebecca ‘Becky’ Jones, PharmD ’10, works diligently to educate and impact the lives of cancer patients and their families. 

Becky’s journey into pharmacy began as an undergrad at NC State University. Unsure of what she wanted to do with her biology degree, but inspired by the women in pharmacy, she decided to pursue her PharmD and enrolled in the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. Her time at the School showed her that the role of a pharmacist was much broader than she originally thought. “I think when I started pharmacy school, I had such a narrow idea of what pharmacy was,” she shares. “When I realized that you can go into the hospital . . . and then there were all the different parts of hospital pharmacy, it really changed my focus.” 

After several years of working in a hospital setting, where she continuously stepped up to fill various roles that needed attention, Becky transitioned into ambulatory care at the UNC REX Cancer Center in Garner. There, she serves as one of the REX system’s first Clinical Pharmacy Practitioners (CPP) with a specialization in hematology and oncology. In collaboration with a team of physicians and nurse practitioners, Becky serves as a patient resource as they receive cancer treatment. This includes adjusting medication dosage, side effect management, and chemotherapy education. 

Becky also prioritizes making herself available to her team at the clinic. “During my day-to-day, I have situated myself to be available to the physicians, nurse practitioners, and nurses as their pharmacy resource. We refer to this area of the clinic as the ‘shark tank.’ It has been shocking how just making yourself available really makes you a key part of the health-care team,” explains Becky. This streamlines the workflow at the clinic quite a bit and allows the team to collaborate both before and after patient visits. 

A fellow classmate and current Assistant Professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, Benyam Muluneh, PharmD ’10, also recognizes Becky’s grit and dedication to service. Last year, Benyam nominated Becky to be a Visionary of the Year Candidate for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). 

“I nominated Becky for the LLS Visionary of the Year because of her unwavering dedication to cancer care and her deep commitment to improving the quality of life for patients across North Carolina,” says Benyam. “Becky and I were classmates in the UNC PharmD Class of 2010, and even back then, it was clear that she possessed a rare combination of intellect, empathy, and a relentless drive to serve the most vulnerable. 

Over the years, I’ve watched her channel those qualities into meaningful, lasting change—always advocating for better care, more equitable access, and the kind of compassion that transforms lives. Becky doesn’t just work in oncology; she lives it, breathes it, and leads with vision and purpose. She is exactly the kind of leader our field—and our patients—need.” 

The LLS’ mission is to fund leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma and other blood cancer research, as well as to provide education and patient services. Every year, leaders from across the country are nominated to be ‘Visionaries of the Year’ candidates, in which they participate in a friendly fundraising competition where the winner then becomes the Visionary of the Year. Becky is joined by other leaders from a wide variety of professional backgrounds, not just health-care providers, demonstrating how diverse the community that she serves is. 

Becky also sees the impact of LLS directly, as they provide many grants to her patients. “It definitely makes it something that is near and dear, and I want to raise as much money [as possible] so that we can continue to have [grants], because I can’t image not having that for our patients,” Becky shares. To put the impact of the LLS into perspective, in 2025 alone, over $130,000 in grants have been provided to the UNC REX system’s patients. The money that Becky raises will go to support patient advocacy, patient grants, and ongoing research. Right now, Becky is working towards a $50,000 goal with her team named “Garnering REX’s Hope.” 

Looking forward, Becky hopes to further streamline workflows and establish key processes and procedures at her clinic as the first CPP in the Hematology and Oncology space. Through this, she aims to better serve her patients, increase collaboration amongst her team, and further establish the role of the pharmacist at REX. 

Click here to support Becky’s fundraiser, “Garnering REX’s Hope.” Feel free to share the link with any who may be interested in supporting cancer patients, their families, and cancer research. Fundraising deadline is May 15th!