Discover Fall 2011
A new academic year has begun and the halls of our facilities are bustling with students, both new and returning. The summer months were extremely eventful as we finalized new Faculty appointments, prepared for the growth of our student body, and progressed with a number of other important projects and initiatives. In addition, I was pleased to represent our Faculty at a momentous partnership meeting with the University of Copenhagen where the start of a wonderful collaboration in research and education has begun.
We have also just crossed the one year mark until the official opening of our new building. Architecturally, it is a marvel of contemporary design balanced with state of the art research and teaching facilities. Environmentally sustainable features have been incorporated throughout and the Story of Medicines interpretive exhibit promises to engage our stakeholder audiences in an interactive experience like no other. We are truly excited about all of the learning, discovery, and community outreach possibilities that our new building represents. That excitement will only continue to grow as we edge closer to the official opening next year.
And more recently, we participated in the launch of Start an evolution, the University of British Columbia's historic fundraising and alumni engagement campaign. Start an Evolution is the first campaign of its kind and the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at UBC is truly poised, now, more than ever, to join forces with donors and alumni to make a difference.
Truly, it is an exciting time for us and the profession. We look forward to your continuing involvement and participation in all that we have to offer during this very important year for our Faculty.
Robert D. Sindelar, PhD
Professor and Dean
PARTNERING WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN
Professor Stephen J. Toope, President of UBC and Professor Ralf Hemmingsen, Rektor Copenhagen University witness Deans Sven Froekjaer and Robert Sindelar signing the Statement of Cooperation.
Left to right: Thomas Chang, Adam Frankel, Dean Robert Sindelar, David Grierson, Kishor Wasan, Carlo Marra, and Ujendra Kumar.
On June 27, 2011, the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of British Columbia signed a Statement of Cooperation with the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen. The Statement of Cooperation represents the first step in a long term joint venture between both faculties to collaborate in the following areas:
• The exchange of visiting students, scholars, faculty and post-doctoral fellows.
• Collaborative graduate education and research training.
• Shared endowed Faculty position(s).
• The exchange of scholarly information including research papers, indices to theses, and books on relevant subjects.
• The exchange of invitations to attend scholarly and technical meetings, forums and conferences.
• Joint conferences, seminars, workshops and exhibitions.
• Review of other possible areas of cooperation in a variety of research and academic projects.
A strategic agreement to develop a joint PhD program was also made. Following the statement signing, a two-day research symposium was held at the University of Copenhagen. Featured presenters from each Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences included:
University of British Columbia
• Dean Robert Sindelar
• David Grierson
• Adam Frankel
• Ujendra Kumar
• Thomas Chang
• Carlo Marra
• Kishor Wasan
• Urs Hafeli
University of Copenhagen
• Dean Sven Frøekjaer
• Hans Braüner-Osborne
• Kristian Strømgaard
• Camilla Foged
• Anette Müllertz
This unique partnership was made possible through the Life Science Ambassador Programme. To read the full article and to learn more about the Life Science Ambassador Programme, click here.
MEDICATION REVIEW SERVICES OPEN DOORS TO THE FUTURE OF PHARMACY
The future of pharmacy is bright, with Clinical Pharmacy Services providing pharmacists with more opportunities to engage with their patients and provide an added value to the health care system. Services such as medication reviews have proven to be successful, with more than 100,000 patient encounters conducted by pharmacists since the launch on April 1.
Medication Review Services aims to improve patients’ medications through a one-on-one consultation with their community pharmacist. The pharmacist reviews all of the patient’s medications and helps them better understand what medications they are taking, why they are taking them and how to take them for best results.
The three types of medication review services include a Medication Review – Standard (MR-S), Medication Review – Pharmacist Consultation (MR-PC) and a Medication Review – Followup (MR-F). Pharmacists gather all of the information pertinent to the patient’s medications, including all prescription medications, non-prescription medications and natural health products for the MR-S. Pharmacists prepare a Best Possible Medication History for their patient to keep or share with other health care professionals, as well as a copy for their own records.
If a medication issue is identified, this initial appointment is classified and billed as an MR-PC and the pharmacist works with the patient to resolve the issue. A followup appointment, or MR-F, is scheduled to review the issues identified in initial appointment.
Medication Review Services was launched by the BC Ministry of Health and is supported by the BC Pharmacy Association and the Canadian Association of Chain Drugstores. To find out more about Medication Review Services and patient eligibility, visit www.medsforme.ca.
The Story of Medicines: An Interactive Experience Like No Other
Initial concept rendering for the Journey of a Drug storyline in The Story of Medicines. Image courtesy NGX Interactive.
This time next year, the new UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences building will be officially open. It's hard to believe that just over a year ago everyone came together for the groundbreaking cermony. Now, a marvelous glass-encased structure stands ready to welcome students, alumni, reasearcers, instructors and the wider UBC community in the near future.
Overall construction aside, work steadily continues on key building features and public programs such as The Story of Medicines. An interactive exhibition with a pharmacy theme, The Story of Medicines will occupy public spaces on the ground and mezzanine floors. "It's an interactive experience like no other," says Robert Sindelar, Dean of UBC Pharmaceutical Sciences. "Custom-built touch screens in various sizes and formats will serve as interfaces whereby digital displays of text and imagery can be manipulated by hand."
With a simple touch visitors can explore exhibit stories, delving deeper into and becoming a part of the experience. The Journey of a Drug story, for instance, presents a "choose your own adventure" scenario that involves selecting a drug and how it is administered. From there, visitors are guided through a series of events as the drug travels through the human body.
"Our vision for the Story of Medicines relates to the architect's vision of the new building as a tree," says Jemma Radick from SmartDesign Group, one of two lead creative firms developing the project. "The ground floor's angled walls and benches are representative of root structure, and we tie into that with a system of experience and navigation that draws a parallel between the roots as the life force of a tree, with veins and arteries pumping blood to the heart, the life force of the body - reinforcing the connection between nature and science." According to Jemma, an important aspect of the overall design will be an entrance with high impact visuals to attract visitor attention.
Currently, The Story of Medicines is in the concept design phase. "We've been hard at work researching and finalizing storylines," says Jessica Doig from second lead project firm NGX Interactive. "In the weeks ahead, our attention focuses on planning the visitor experience as they explore these stories, further defining the creative vision, and unveiling that concept to the team at UBC Pharmaceutical Sciences."
For more information on the new building, click here.
Faculty Welcomes New Graduate Students
The Faculty was pleased to welcome 8 new MSc and 6 new PhD students to the 2011-2012 academic year at the Graduate Orientation Session held on Tuesday, September 6. Several campus groups, such as Let’s Talk Science and the UBC Graduate Student Society, presented information to help orient students to the campus and to inform them about services, volunteering and leadership opportunities. Dr. Kishor Wasan, Associate Dean, Research & Graduate Studies, also introduced the key elements of the Faculty’s Graduate Program and the new students were introduced to the Faculty.
MSc students:
Jenny Kim; Supervisor: Dr. Kishor Wasan
Tasnuva Mariam; Supervisor: Dr. Peter Soja
Ryan Maltais; Supervisor: Dr. Carlo Marra
Mehran Najibnia; Supervisor: Dr. Carlo Marra
Shirin Rizzardo; Supervisor: Dr. Larry Lynd
Kriti Singh; Supervisor: Dr. Judy Wong
Rafael Chen Zhao; Supervisor: Dr. Judy Wong
Shenglong (Zoe) Zou; Supervisor: Dr. Ujendra Kumar
PhD students:
Ying Gong; Supervisor: Dr. David Grierson
Safwat Mohamed; Supervisor: Dr. David Grierson
Adam Raymakers; Supervisor: Dr. Carlo Marra
Veronica Schmitt; Supervisor: Dr. Urs Hafeli
Dahai Zhang; Supervisor: Dr. Brian Rodrigues
Mahdy (Arvin) Mazhary Malayery; Supervisor: Dr. Helen Burt
SSRP Wraps Another Successful Summer of Research
2011 SSRP Participants
Muffadal Shamshuddin with Dr. Adam Frankel
Undergraduate students participating in the 2011 Summer Student Research Program (SSRP) demonstrated their commitment to pharmaceutical sciences research by working full time on their projects for three months. In total, 20 students participated in 11 different research groups between May and August. The students then prepared their findings to present at the Annual SSRP Poster Competition held on Tuesday, September 6 at the Sage Bistro at University Centre. The Faculty is pleased to congratulate the winners:
1st Place: Muffadal Shamshuddin; Supervisor: Dr. Peter Soja
2nd Place: Gina Cragg; Supervisors: Dr. Ron Reid and Dr. Wayne K. Riggs
3rd Place: Ian T.Y. Wong; Supervisor: Dr. Kishor Wasan
Muffadal Shamshuddin will go on to represent the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the Canadian Society for Pharmaceutical Sciences meeting in 2012. The SSRP provides opportunities for undergraduate students to participate in research conducted within the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences over the summer months. For more information about the program and how to apply, click here.
NGDI-UBC Distinguished Lectureship Seminar Welcomes AIDS-Free World Co-Director Stephen Lewis
Stephen Lewis, co-founder and co-director of AIDS-Free World, will be speaking at the third Distinguished Lectureship Seminar presented by NGDI-UBC (Neglected Global Diseases UBC) and co-sponsored by UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences on Friday, October 21, 1:00-2:30 p.m. at the Old Auditorium, 6344 Memorial Road, Vancouver Campus. The seminar will address the topic of neglected global diseases. Mr. Lewis is a distinguished academic with an impressive career involving more than 20 years with the United Nations. He holds 34 honourary degrees from universities across Canada and was appointed Companion of the Order of Canada, the country's highest honour for lifetime achievement, in 2003.
To register, please email Jocelyn Conway at jocelyn.conway@ubc.ca or visit www.ngdi.ubc.ca. Download the poster by clicking here. For more information about AIDS-Free World, visit www.aidsfreeworld.org.
Introducing Researcher of the Month
Researcher of the Month is new monthly e-bulletin dedicated to highlighting the people behind the research at UBC Pharmaceutical Sciences. Each month, we will profile one of our Faculty Researchers and their important work in advancing the life sciences. To view the Researcher of the Month for September and October 2011, click here.
First expanded class welcomed at White Coat Ceremony
Marion Pearson, Director, Entry-to-Practice Program & Senior Instructor, leads incoming students in reciting the pledge of professionalism.
Students sign a printed copy of the pledge.
PharmD students being cloaked and welcomed by volunteer cloakers.
On September 9, 2011, 224 incoming students were welcomed into the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences as part of the Faculty's annual White Coat Ceremony. This year's expanded class represents an admission increase of 47% over previous years. "The White Coat Ceremony is one of our Faculty's most important events," says Robert Sindelar, Dean of UBC Pharmaceutical Sciences. "Each year we present students with a white coat and ask them to take a pledge of professionalism, both symbols of the commitment to exceptional patient-centred health care that our insitution exemplifies."
A reception followed the ceremony where students had an opportunity to celebrate the momentous occasion with family and friends. "We're looking forward to hosting the White Coat Ceremony in our new building next year," says Dean Sindelar. "Our students work very hard and events such as these play a significant role in recognizing the importance of what they do."
Enhanced Orientation for First Year Students
Orientation for new students is an important part of each academic year. Marion Pearson, Director of the Entry-to-Practice Program and Senior Instructor with the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, recounts this year's orientation for first year students.
One element of the current curriculum that until now had only been partially implemented as planned was the orientation program for incoming first year students. With the largest first year class in the Faculty’s history entering this year, it was time to remedy this! Thanks to the efforts of a hard-working group of faculty, staff and students, we made use of all the available pharmacy class time during the first week of September to welcome our 224 new students and help them get off to a good start.
On the more serious side, students were introduced to all of the instructors they will meet during the year; the overall design, content and expected outcomes of the curriculum; the experiential learning that will be an important part of their program; the expectations for appropriate academic and professional conduct; and the supports available inside and outside the Faculty to help them succeed. They were also encouraged to make the most of their time at UBC to pursue their personal, intellectual and extra-curricular passions.
Some fun was injected into the orientation, too, with ice-breaker activities, informal “meet and greet” sessions with instructors, and opportunities to meet students in other years of the program and find out more about the social life of the Faculty. Altogether, we felt it was a good introduction to the Faculty family!
Special thanks to the following people for a job well done in planning the orientation: Colleen Brady, Tony Seet, Margaret Nicholson, and Charles Yu (3rd year student). Many others helped make sure things ran smoothly, including Paulo Chen, Jas Jawanda, Shirley Wong, Wes Wong, Jonathan Van Drunen, and a large cadre of students.
You're Invited to Celebrate Learning Week!
Celebrate Learning Week is a week-long initiative held annually each Fall to honour and celebrate teaching and learning across UBC. The event highlights and promotes interdisciplinary learning and development opportunities.
During Celebrate Learning Week, the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences has organized two exciting seminars, on Thursday November 3, 2011, addressing “Educational Innovation & Research”. The event will take place from 9:30AM – 1:30PM at the Michael Smith Labs building on campus.
Our invited speakers are Dr. Stephen Chapman, Head, School of Pharmacy and Department of Medicines Management, Keele University, UK and Dr. Kevin Eva, Senior Scientist, UBC Centre for Health Education Scholarship and Director, Education Research & Scholarship, UBC Department of Medicine.
Dr. Chapman will explore innovative virtual learning environments developed at Keele University and discuss its impact on student learning. Dr. Eva, who is also the Editor-in-Chief for the leading international Medical Education journal, will engage the Faculty in discussion around the issues and challenges of implementing good educational research.
The seminar session will be followed by a Lunch Reception & Poster Session, where attendees will have an opportunity to view educational research posters and engage informally with faculty members involved in educational research projects.
For more information or to RSVP for the event, please contact Sharon Brown at shbrown@mail.ubc.ca. For details about UBC’s Annual Celebrate Learning Week, please visit celebratelearning.ubc.ca.
Faculty Instructional Mentorship Program Launched
Our Faculty Instructional Mentorship Program officially started this academic term, with a Mentors-Mentees Meet over coffees and cookies on September 15, 2011. This Mentorship Program, focused on educational aspects, is intended as a meaningful and reciprocal teaching & learning opportunity for our instructors, be they newbies or seasoned faculty. This mentoring partnership should be a mutually supportive, empowering, constructive, collaborative, and confidential learning relationship. In terms of faculty benefits as a whole, mentorship nurtures a culture that advances professional and personal growth through knowledge transfer, collaboration, and support. Goals of this program are manifold, so please click here for more details.
Our Faculty Mentors (in alphabetical order) are:
• Simon Albon
• Colleen Brady
• Mary Ensom
• David Fielding
• Marion Pearson
• Ingrid Price
• Wayne Riggs
• Brian Rodrigues
• Peter Soja
• Arun Verma
• Adil Virani
We wish mentors and mentees successful interactions and growth partnerships this term. For program information and mentor profiles, please contact the Office of Educational Support & Development, UBC Pharmaceutical Sciences, or click here.
The Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences is adapting to the new copyright environment at UBC as of September 1, 2011. The University of British Columbia is no longer operating under the interim tariff agreement with Access Copyright. Implications of this are profound for the University and its members. As compliance with Canadian Copyright law is a legal responsibility and liability resides with each individual, our Faculty is duly aware of copyright issues and we have been working closely with the Library to inform, familiarize, and train our instructors on appropriate copyright use. Recently we organized two in-house information sessions, presented by Joy Kirchner, Scholarly Communications Coordinator, UBC Library, together with Kathy Hornby, Interim Head, Life Sciences Libraries, to help our faculty with copyright questions. Our faculty also encourages instructors and researchers to attend the sessions organized university-wide by the Library, which also occurred in September 2011 and will continue in the upcoming months. You can consult these Copyright resources for further clarification:
UBC Copyright Info Pages - copyright.ubc.ca
This is a central resource for information about copyright and how to use copyrighted materials in the current context. Specifically, the document called, “Copyright Guidelines for UBC Faculty, Staff, and Students,” is especially relevant for you. Please review this document carefully to ensure you are fully aware of the requirements for operating safely within Canadian Copyright law.
FAQ - copyright.ubc.ca/faq
UBC’s Copyright Advisory Group will respond to questions and provide advice to members of the UBC community regarding appropriate use of copyrighted material. Contact them via email at ubc-copyright@interchange.ubc.ca.
UBC Pharmaceutical Sciences and London Drugs: Growing Up Together
The first London Drugs store on Main Street in Vancouver, 1945.
London Drugs Vice President John Tse surveying progress on the construction of the London Drugs Lecture Theatre with Dean Robert Sindear.
In 1945, the first London Drugs opened on Main Street in Vancouver; a humble community drug store that would soon become part of the fabric of the daily life and collective memories of thousands of Vancouverites, and ultimately, Western Canadians.
Meanwhile, across town at UBC, the student population soared from 2,500 to 7,500. Many of the students were war veterans, rewarded for their service to the country with two years of education for every year spent overseas. In 1946, some of those soldiers came to UBC to enroll in the newly-formed Department of Pharmacy. Since that time, our Faculty has earned a solid reputation for the excellence of its graduates and, as respected corporate citizens, London Drugs has always understood and accepted its responsibility to support Pharmacy Education.
In 1992, the London Drugs’ Louie Family demonstrated their support of the Faculty’s activities by establishing the Tong Louie Chair in Pharmacy Administration, as well as much needed endowed scholarships to support pharmacy students.
Recently, London Drugs made another significant contribution to the experience of UBC Pharmacy students with a gift of $1.5 million to support the London Drugs Lecture Theatre. Thanks to the interactive educational technology in the new facility, students will be able to engage in their own learning via a reciprocal and active dialogue with their instructors. This ability to express their ideas effectively is great preparation for pharmacists who will be educated to take their rightful place as leaders in health care delivery and patient-centred care.
Pharmacy has always been at the heart of the business for London Drugs and our Faculty. For over 65 years, the resources of one has complemented the strengths of the other. Partnerships such as these are fundamental to lasting and transformational change.
Start an evolution with UBC Pharmaceutical Sciences
The University of British Columbia has embarked on a historic fundraising and alumni engagement campaign (the most ambitious of its kind in Canadian university history) and UBC Pharmaceutical Sciences is ready to partner with donors and alumni to start an evolution. Encompassing everything from groundbreaking research to student scholarships, UBC’s Start an evolution campaign has two objectives: raise $1.5 billion and double alumni involvement in the University. As a part of the campaign, the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences has the following priorities with a total financial target of $21 million:
Community Engagement
A new quarter-million square foot facility opens Fall 2012 to benefit students, alumni and the Pharmacy profession throughout BC. It houses for the first time under one roof all the teaching, learning, research and community outreach activities of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Teaching and Research
Professorships for Practice Change
Professorships allow us to recruit and retain the best faculty members from around the world. These new positions provide the vision and mentorship required to shape
students into the next generation of leaders in the Pharmacy profession.
Ongoing Innovative Research
Partnerships between our researchers and industry have the potential to create translational research, new targets for drug discovery, and the foundational science to support drug development.
Equipment Innovation Fund
We must ensure that our students, faculty and researchers have access to the most
advanced technology so they may continue to innovate within their fields of teaching, learning, research and practice.
Student Learning
Entry-to-Practice Student Support
Scholarships, bursaries, awards and travel funding for students of the entry-to-practice program support them in their professional pursuits.
Graduate Student Support
Students of our graduate programs are committed to advanced education and practice. Financial support is needed for our Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD), Masters (MSc) and Doctoral (PhD) candidates, as well as for post-doctoral fellows.
International Engagement
The Neglected Global Diseases Initiative UBC (NGDI-UBC)
NGDI brings together the technical expertise and perspectives of a variety of disciplines to develop interventions for neglected global diseases and ensure their
delivery to those in need.
"I ask our donors, alumni and stakeholders to reflect on how they can help us achieve a vision for Pharmacy by supporting our learning, research and community outreach initiatives," says Dean Robert Sindelar. "In this time of unprecedented change across all sectors of the pharmaceutical community, what remains constant is our commitment to educate and partner with professionals who can lead us through that change. Our evolution is only just beginning."
Click here to get involved and start an evolution with UBC Pharmaceutical Sciences today. For more information, contact:
Janis Horne, Director of Development
janis.horne@ubc.ca
604-822-1328
June Chow, Associate Director of Development
june.chow@ubc.ca
604-822-1772
How Pharmacy shaped my life: A recent donor to the new building shares his story
Stan Crowell
Alumnus Stan Crowell (BScPharm'67) recently made a donation of $1,000 to the new Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences building in response to an alumni direct mail appeal. While the act of giving in and of itself was important to Stan, the opportunity it gave him to reflect on the impact of Pharmacy in shaping his life - and how he could make a difference in someone else's - was far more meaningful. Accompanying his donation was the following touching and heart-felt letter:
To whom it may concern,
I must admit that I was a little shocked when I saw a request for a $1,000 donation in my mailbox for the new UBC Pharmaceutical Sciences building. My wife and I have supported over 50 charities for many years with much smaller annual, and often monthly, donations. My first response was "maybe a hundred dollars." Then I got to thinking about how much Pharmacy has shaped my life.
I met my wife of 43 years in a pharmacy in Revelstoke shortly after graduating. She had started working in the pharmacy just a month before I arrived and we were married the following year. When the hospital approached me to set up a pharmacy department I developed a formulary and proper drug distribution system. Also, when the pharmacists were mandated to be involved in nursing homes it fell on me to once again be of help. All the while I continued to work full-time at the same retail store. Then in the 1980s my wife and I turned, with a lot of hard work, a former art gallery in Madeira Park into a thriving community pharmacy. When we sold the store a dozen years ago I began working part-time at our local hospital. The change resulted in me having to learn a whole new spectrum of clinical pharmacy and oncology-related skills. I am still at the same job.
As I write this letter my wife is courageously battling a terminal illness. This has brought me to thinking about my own mortality as I rapidly approach my 70th year. Therefore it would be an honour for me to donate $1,000 towards the new Pharmacy building and hopefully help a Pharmacy student achieve as fulfilling and gratifying a life as a Pharmacist as I have had.
We thank Stan for giving us permission to share his story and supporting our students. If you have a story to share about how the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences has made a difference in your life, or, to make a difference of your own, please contact Janis Horne, Director of Development & Alumni Engagement at janis.horne@ubc.ca or 604-822-1328.
Update on Fundraising for the New Building
We're pleased to announce that another space in the new building has been named:
PBL Seminar Room (name TBA)
Jointly supported by Alex Tam, Paul Fu and Kent Chiu (Class of 1978), with Benjamin Fu (Class of 1979)
For more information on how you can support the new Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences building, please contact:
Janis Horne, Director of Development
janis.horne@ubc.ca
604-822-1328
June Chow, Associate Director of Development
june.chow@ubc.ca
604-822-1772
UBC Pharmacy Alumnus recognized nationally
Derek Desrosiers
Derek Desrosiers, BSc(Pharm)'82 was recently presented with the 2011 Canadian Foundation for Pharmacy (CFP) Pillar of Pharmacy Award in recognition for his life-long contributions to pharmacy in Canada. A Vancouver resident and active member of the British Columbia Pharmacy Association (BCPhA), Derek has become one of the leading authorities in the economic and professional practice issues of pharmacy. To read the full media release, click here. To learn more about the BCPhA, click here.
AAPS Alumni & Friends Luncheon: You're Invited!
In conjunction with the AAPS Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, DC, The University of British Columbia Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences invites you to attend the AAPS Alumni & Friends' Luncheon.
Walter E. Washington Convention Center (WCC) and the AAPS Headquarters Hotel, the Renaissance Washington Hotel
Room 204 C
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
12pm -1:30pm
For more information, please contact Sandra Stallberg at sanstall@mail.ubc.ca or 604-827-3346.
Class of 2001 10-Year Reunion
Class of 2001
The weather held up for the day-long Class of 2001 10-year reunion on Saturday, September 24. Dr. Frank Abbott, Professor & Dean Emeritus was the tour guide for the day’s activities. He took the group for a nostalgic visit through the halls of the Cunningham Building, before a perimeter tour of the Faculty’s new building site. The day wound down at Mahoney & Son’s Public House on campus, where classmates continued reminiscing about the old times, and updating each other on their more recent adventures. There were some attendees who drove up from Seattle to attend the reunion! Kudos to them on making the journey to attend this most memorable class event! If you would like any further information on this reunion, or organizing a reunion for your class, please contact Arti Maharaj at arti.maharaj@ubc.ca 604-822-8029.
It is with sadness that we bid farewell to the following Alumni who recently passed. They will be missed and remembered fondly.
Mr. Ernest John Collinson BSc(Pharm)'62
Names included in our In Memoriam notice are provided to us by our Alumni and friends. Please contact Arti Maharaj, Development Coordinator, at arti.maharaj@ubc.ca or 604-822-8029 with any information that you would like us to share in future notices.
Our Alumni are important to us and we want to connect and stay connected with them. If you are one of our Alumni, please send in and update your contact information so that we can keep you informed on everything that's happening at the Faculty and UBC. Click here to send in or update your contact information now.
Faculty Promotions and Appointments
Effective August 1, 2011, three of our esteemed colleagues have been promoted from their part-time faculty appointments to full-time, tenure track Instructor 1 positions as listed below. We are excited indeed to have been able to confirm their appointments in this full-time capacity:
• Tamiz Kanji has been promoted to Instructor 1, Pharmacy Practice Skills, Year 3
• Tessa Nicholl has been promoted to Instructor 1, Cases in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Year 4
• Dr. Arun Verma has been promoted to Instructor 1, Cases in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Year 3
Effective August 1st, 2011, Dr. Kevin Letchford was appointed Assistant Professor, part-time. He will be responsible for all coordination and teaching in PHAR 323 this coming January, and will continue to conduct drug delivery research in Dr. Burt's lab.
To accommodate the September 2011 expansion, the Faculty created two new tenure track Instructor 1 positions, and appointed Janice Moshenko as an Instructor, Cases in Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Dr. Katherine Seto as an Instructor, Clinical Skills.
Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Studies & Associate Dean, Practice Innovation Appointments
Effective September 1, 2011, our former Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Studies, Dr. Helen M. Burt began her appointment as the new Associate Vice-President, Research and International for UBC. With the resulting vacancy, the Faculty recruited and selected Dr. Kishor M. Wasan for the position of Associate Dean, Research & Graduate Studies, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Dr. Wasan is an outstanding academic who is passionately devoted to achieving scholarship and to making a real difference not only through his own research initiatives and goals, but by advocating strongly for the continuing, future success of his colleagues.
We are also very pleased to announce that, following a rigorous recruitment process, Dr. Peter J. Zed has been selected for and has accepted the position of Associate Professor and Associate Dean, Practice Innovation, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of British Columbia. Dr. Zed is expected to begin December 1, 2011. We look forward to welcoming him as he brings his interesting ideas to transform our practice related vision and programs during this period of unprecedented growth and expansion for our Faculty!
The Office of Experiential Education
We are very pleased to announce that Dr. Angela Kim-Sing, who has served as Acting Director for the Office of Experiential Education (OEE) since December 2010, has accepted to serve as the Director on a continuing basis effective September 2011. Dr. Kim-Sing has been tremendous during the transitioning of SPEP into the Office of Experiential Education. We are most grateful for her contributions to date and we have every confidence for the future, as Dr. Kim-Sing continues to lead the solid team at OEE.
We are very pleased to welcome Ying Gu who will be working with UBC Continuing Pharmacy Professional Development (CPPD) as a Program Assistant 1 (Gr 3), effective September 15, 2011. Ms. Gu has a background in Early Childhood Education, with ECE Diplomas from Shanghai Teacher’s College and Vancouver Community College, as well as an Information Systems Diploma from Douglas College. She has several years experience working in various administrative roles and will be well prepared to assist the team at CPPD. In her role as Program Assistant, Ms. Gu will be providing support to the Pharmacy Technician Bridging Program and the Canadian Pharmacy Practice Program. She may be reached at ptbpreg@interchange.ubc.ca or 604-827-3108.
Congratulations to Sheila Kwan who has recently been promoted to the position of Administrative Manager, Continuing Pharmacy Professional Development (CPPD). Working for CPPD as a Senior Program Assistant since September 2009, Ms. Kwan has proven herself to be a highly capable individual. Thus, it pleases us greatly that with the Faculty’s current expansion and the resulting new vacancies with the CPPD division, we are able to offer Ms. Kwan this new opportunity.
Congratulations are also in order for Jonathan Van Drunen, who has recently been promoted to Assistant Storekeeper. In the short time since he began with the Faculty, Jonathan has proven himself to be a diligent and conscientious employee, with a pleasant demeanour and a terrific work ethic. In his new role, Jonathan will continue to work under the direction of Jamal Kurtu in Operations, but will also be providing additional support to our teams in Finance, and in Educational Support and Development. We look forward to working with Jonathan in this new capacity.
Congratulations to the following for their outstanding work and achievements:
Dr. Mary Ensom - winner of the 2011 American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) Education Award "for major contributions to advancing clinical pharmacy education" at the Annual Meeting in October (Pittsburgh, PA). She was also the recipient of the 2006 ACCP Russell R Miller Publication Award in recognition of “substantial contributions to the literature of clinical pharmacy.” She is the only Canadian-based recipient of the Publication and/or Education Award from ACCP, a 12,000+ member US-based organization.
Dr. Emma Guns – recently appointed President of the Natural Health Product Research Society of Canada (NHPRS) of Canada.
Dr. Peter J. Zed – winner of the 2011 Memorial University School of Pharmacy Alumni Achievement Award. This award is given in recognition of significant accomplishments in the fields of pharmacy practice and education and for exceptional human values that are an inspiration to those with whom they come in contact. This is the highest honour the MUN School of Pharmacy can bestow upon one of its graduates.
Dr. Brian Rodrigues – recently profiled as Researcher of the Month September 2011.
Dr. Larry Lynd – recently profiled as Researcher of the Month October 2011 and appointed to the Health Canada Scientific Advisory Committee on Nonprescription Drugs (SAC-NPD).
Dr. Carlo Marra – recently appointed to the CIHR Drug Safety and Effectiveness Network (DSEN) Committee and CIHR Operating Grant Evaluation Committee – Health Services Research.
Dr. James McCormack and Dr. Mike Allan – winners of the Eric Elder Memorial Medal for embodying the pioneering approach to education and lateral thinking in general practice that Dr. Eric Elder would have approved of — applying Aristotlean 'practical wisdom' in inspiring as well as entertaining general practitioners on the way to providing the best possible care. Dr. Eric Elder was an inspired rural GP who lived and worked in Tuatapere for nearly 60 years.
Dr. Kishor Wasan – profiled as part of UBC's Start an evolution campaign for his work with the Neglected Global Diseases Initiative.
Ensom MHH, Stephenson MD. A Two-Center Study on the Pharmacokinetics of Intravenous Immunoglobulin Before and During Pregnancy in Healthy Women with Poor Obstetrical Histories. Hum Reprod. 2011;26:2283-8.
Hafeli UO, Ensom MHH, Kiang TKL, Stoeber B, Chua B, Pudek M, Schmitt V. Comparison of Vancomycin Concentrations in Blood and Interstitial Fluid: a Possible Model for Less Invasive Therapeutic Drug Monitoring. Clin Chem Lab Med. 2011 Sep 26. [Epub ahead of print]
Harrison MJ, Bansback NJ, Marra CA, Drummond M, Tugwell PS, Boonen A. Valuing health for clinical and economic decisions: directions relevant for rheumatologists. J Rheumatol. 2011 Aug;38(8):1770-5.
Hubball, H., & Pearson, M. L. (2011). Scholarly approaches to curriculum evaluation: Critical contributions for undergraduate degree program reform in a Canadian context. In M. Saunders, P. Trowler, & V. Bamber (Eds.), Reconceptualising evaluative practices in higher education: The practice turn. Berkshire, UK: Open University Press Publishers/McGraw-Hill.
Johnson JA, Bowker SL, Richardson K, Marra CA. Time-varying incidence of cancer after the onset of type 2 diabetes: evidence of potential detection bias. Diabetologia 2011 Jul 12 [Epub ahead of print]
Kevin Letchford, Anders Sodergard, David Plackett, Samuel E. Gilchrist, Helen M. Burt. Chapter 9: Lactide and Glycolide Polymers. In Biodegradable Polymers in Clinical Use and Clinical Development. Abraham J. Domb, Neeraj Kumar and Aviva Ezra, (Ed). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Inc.; 2011. p. 319-366.
Leon CG, Lee J, Bartlett K, Gershkovich P, Wasan EK, Zhao J, Clement JG, Wasan KM. In vitro cytotoxicity of two novel oral formulations of Amphotericin B (iCo-009 and iCo-010) against Candida albicans, human monocytic and kidney cell lines:Lipids Health Dis. 2011 Aug 20;10(1):144. [Epub ahead of print]
Pak, M.L., Lakowski, T.M., Thomas, D., Vhuiyan, M.I., Hüsecken, K., Frankel, A. A Protein Arginine N-Methyltransferase 1 and 2 Heteromeric Interaction Increases PRMT1 Enzymatic Activity. Biochemistry DOI: 10.1021/bi200644c.
Sharma V, Sharma A, Saran V, Bernatchez PN, Allard MF, McNeill JH. ß-receptor antagonist treatment prevents activation of cell death signaling in the diabetic heart independent of its metabolic actions. Eur J Pharmacol 657:117-125 (doi:10.1016/j.ejphar.2011.01.044), 2011.
Soon JA, Levine M. Rural pharmacy in Canada: pharmacist training, workforce capacity and research partnerships. Int J Circumpolar Health 2011;70(4):407-418.
Woolcott JC, Khan KM, Mitrovic S, Anis AH, Marra CA. The cost of fall related presentations to the ED: A prospective, in-person, patient-tracking analysis of health resource utilization. Osteoporos Int. 2011 Sep 3 [Epub ahead of print]
Young F, Ensom MHH. Pharmacokinetics of Aminoglycosides in the Chronic Spinal Cord Injury Population. Am J Health-Syst Pharm. 2011:68:1607-14.
