Discover Summer 2011
As we complete the 2010-2011 academic year and prepare and think towards the next academic year, I wish to express my appreciation to our faculty, staff, and students. Bravo!
In May and June we came together to celebrate our successes of the past year and to socialize with our graduates, our peers, and our friends. The Annual Dean’s Reception on May 31 and Graduate and Faculty Awards Reception on June 1 were the scenes of festivity and commemoration as awards were presented to a number of students, faculty, and staff for outstanding achievement and hard work. On June 20 the 22nd Annual Bernie Riedel Golf Tournament brought out our friends and colleagues from the profession for a day of fun and friendly competition.
In June we also completed our Multiple Mini Interviews (MMIs) as part of the 2011 Pharmacy admissions process. I wish to thank the many volunteers who helped make this important admission endeavor a success. This year marks the admission of our first expanded class, with 224 incoming students – an increase of 47% from previous years. We are looking forward to welcoming them in September at our White Coat Ceremony.
Summer is the traditional time in education for people to re-energize and renew themselves, and to prepare for a new year devoted to helping students achieve their goals and reach their full potential. With this in mind, I wish each of you a productive and personally fulfilling summer. Enjoy and get ready for an exciting 2011-2012 academic year!
Robert D. Sindelar, PhD
Professor and Dean
BERNIE RIEDEL TOURNAMENT A SUCCESS
Terry Dobson, Barry Peachment, Rick Provencal, Pauline Tolan, and Doug Koffski
What a great day we had on June 20 for the 22nd Annual Bernie Riedel Golf Tournament (BRGT)! The Northview Golf and Country Club was once again a spectacular setting for the event, and more so since the weather cooperated. With this year’s streamlining of the registration process, the check-in went quickly and smoothly, giving our guests time to enjoy coffee and muffins, socialize and participate in the putting contest before they took to the golf carts and populated the Canal course. Along with the usual contests – closest to the pin, straightest drive, longest drive – the BRGT personalizes the tournament with the ever-popular Ducky Dunk (chipping a rubber ducky into a kids swimming pool). This year Dr. David Grierson ably manned the “Beat the Prof” hole, although he certainly gave away a lot of golf balls! A new addition this year was the closest to the basket – wine basket that is – for the duffers who don’t have LONG drives.
The day was capped off with a scrumptious buffet, awards and prize draws. Dr. Frank Abbott gave a fitting tribute to the memory of Dr. Bernie Riedel, founder of the tournament and former Dean. We thank Dr. Larry Lynd and the volunteers for putting together another tournament that lived up to its reputation as one of the most enjoyable in the industry. We also thank our sponsors. None of this would have been possible without their support.
For information about next year’s tournament, please contact Marie Langton at mlangton@mail.ubc.ca or 604 822-2343.
Construction Update: The Inside Story
View overlooking the sixth floor mezzanine.
The London Drugs Lecture Theatre under construction.
In early July, Dean Robert Sindelar and several representatives from the Faculty participated in a hardhat tour of the building interior. Construction is well underway with visible progress on each floor. The installation of the windows, in particular, has made the exterior of the building seem more complete.
“It’s compelling to see the vision of the architect being realized; to see the lecture halls and envision our students attending classes,” says Dean Sindelar. There are two lecture theatres on the ground floor of the building. The London Drugs Lecture Theatre will accommodate 160 students; and the other lecture theatre, as yet unnamed, has capacity for 240 students.
“We’re very appreciative of the support and leadership that London Drugs has shown,” says Janis Horne, Director of Development for the Faculty. “Their generous gift of $1.5 million to name a lecture theatre in our new building demonstrates their commitment to quality pharmacy education in BC.” Both lecture theatres will feature contemporary learning technologies such as interactive SMART displays, which enable integrated multi-touch and full annotation capabilities. Interactive educational technology will be incorporated into classrooms and other learning spaces as well, many of which have also been named by other generous donors to the Faculty.
Progress on the construction of research labs and administrative offices is also visibly noticeable. “We’re on track and on budget,” says Dean Sindelar. “The new building will be open in time for classes in Fall 2012.” This September marks one year until the official opening of the new Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences building. To learn more about how you can get involved in supporting our building campaign, click here.
Dean Robert Sindelar (centre right) with Faculty hardhat tour participants.
The Importance of Communication in Interdisciplinary Healthcare: Evaluating Scopes of Practice (ESOP) Research Summary
By Charmaine Yu Ya Ma BSc Pharm, RPh, Lindsay McRae BSc, BSN, RN and Kristin DeGirolamo BSc Pharm, RPh VFMP Class of 2013
Kristin DeGirolamo recently led a research study along with Lindsay McRae and Charmaine Ma in an effort to examine the impact of effective communication on interdisciplinary healthcare. The following article by the team reviews the results of this study and implications that the findings have on the healthcare profession as a whole.
Interdisciplinary healthcare education has been slowly introduced into medical schools and is believed to be the new direction of healthcare education programs (1,2). As second year medical students with previous healthcare backgrounds in pharmacy and nursing, we have experienced the challenges and successes associated with interdisciplinary teamwork and communication. We wanted to design a study that would allow us to show the possible gaps in communication and then use the data as a starting point in educating both students and current healthcare providers.
A study by Williamson et al. that analyzed 2,000 incident reports found that 80% of the medical errors reported were due to poor inter-professional communication (3). We explored the dynamics of interdisciplinary collaboration in order to identify gaps that currently exist. Communicating this information between disciplines may improve interdisciplinary teamwork and ultimately patient care and outcomes.
We designed and distributed a Googledoc survey to registered healthcare professionals via the UBC Faculties of Pharmacy, Nursing and Physicians as well as an advertisement in the BC Medical Journal. Answers to the survey were sent to all invited participants following closure of the survey period. We collected the data and presented our findings in a lunchtime lecture for pharmacy, medical and nursing students and faculty.
Ninety-seven pharmacists, registered nurses and physicians responded to the survey. The results demonstrated three important points of consideration:
1. Over half of the participants believed inter-professional education was ‘very important’ (50% RPh, 62% MD, 55% RN).
2. Participants believed they were either ‘somewhat unprepared’ (43% RPh, 19% MD, 29% RN) or ‘somewhat prepared’ (42% RPh, 33%MD, 36% RN).
3. Every profession performed worse on questions regarding their own scopes of practice than they predicted. Approximately half of participants (RPh, MD, RN) believed that they were ‘extremely knowledgeable’ about their own scopes of practice while their actual scores on profession-specific questions ranged from 50.5-72.3%.
The majority of participants (RPh, MD, RN) claimed that they were ‘somewhat knowledgeable’ about other scopes of practice while their actual scores on questions regarding other scopes of practice averaged 60.5%.
These results demonstrate that there are major gaps of knowledge between professions and also within one’s profession. There is room for improvement of education programs to better prepare graduates for such knowledge.
We are now working on an article for the BCMJ as a way to distribute our results and have spoken with Ms. Lynda Eccott with the Faculty of Pharmacy who will possibly use our results to help shape interdisciplinary education.
References:
1. Chan AK, Wood V. Preparing Tomorrow’s Healthcare Providers for Interprofessional Collaborative Patient-Centred Practice Today. UBCMJ 2010; 1(2): 22-24.
2. World Health Organization (WHO. Learning outcomes for interprofessional education (IPE): literature review and synthesis. 2008: Unpublished document. Available at: URL: http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2010/WHO_HRH_HPN_10.3_eng.pdf
3. Williamson, J., Webb, R., Sellen, A., Runciman, W.B., & Van derWalt, J.H. (1993). Human failure: Analysis of 2000 incident reports. Anesthesia Intensive Care, 21(5), 678-683.
Dr. Helen M. Burt newly appointed UBC Associate Vice President, Research & International
UBC Pharmaceutical Sciences’ Dr. Helen M. Burt has recently been appointed to the position of UBC Associate Vice President, Research & International, effective September 1, 2011. She will be assuming this role from Dr. Don Brooks, who served in the position for the past ten years. Dr. Brooks will continue on with UBC as the new Director of SPARC (Support Programs to Advance Research Capacity).
Dr. Burt has served with the Faculty as Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Studies since 2004. Her esteemed career includes a number of distinguished research and teaching awards, the publication of more than 100 peer-reviewed papers, and several patents. Her contributions to both the Faculty and the pharmaceutical sciences are considerable.
“Dr. Burt possesses all of the attributes, intellect, leadership qualities and experience necessary for this important position,” says Dean Robert Sindelar. “We congratulate her on her new role and have every confidence that she will contribute immensely to the research mission of the University.”
For more information about Dr. Helen Burt, click here.
UBC Pharmaceutical Sciences research and teaching honoured at annual Graduate and Faculty Awards Reception
Dr. Helen M. Burt with Wes Wong, winner of the 2011 Service to Research Community Award.
The UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences honoured the research and teaching accomplishments of its graduate students, faculty and staff at the annual Graduate and Faculty Awards Reception on June 1, 2011. The event featured a keynote address by Dr. Susan Porter, Dean pro tem of the Faculty of Graduate Studies. Graduate students and faculty were honoured for research, teaching, leadership and service, and staff were recognized for service to the research community.
"We feel very proud to recognize the accomplishments and contributions of our students, faculty and staff to research and graduate education in the pharmaceutical sciences," says Dr. Helen Burt, Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Studies. "Their contributions have created the rich and vibrant research and graduate studies programs we enjoy in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at UBC."
Dr. Carlo Marra profiled by Canadian Institutes of Health Research for pilot project
Dr. Carlo Marra, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of British Columbia, has recently been profiled by Canadian Institutes of Health Research for a pilot project examining the feasibility of using community pharmacists to determine whether or not pregnant women in British Columbia are getting safe anti-hypertension treatment. The project was launched by the Drug Safety and Effectiveness Network (DSEN), which was created by a partnership between the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and Health Canada. To read the full article, click here.
UBC Pharmacy students profiled in AAPS Newsmagazine
The American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) University of British Columbia (UBC) student chapter was recently profiled in AAPS Newsmagazine. First established in 2006, the chapter is comprised of graduate students, post doctoral fellows, and research assistants and associates. To read the full article, click here (page 38).
UBC Pharmacy researchers co-author paper on new drug delivery device to treat diabetes-related vision loss
Dr. Helen Burt and research sicentist John K. Jackson from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at UBC have co-authored a paper in Lab on a Chip, a journal profiling miniaturisation (on or off chips) at the micro- and nano-scale across different disciplines. Titled "On-demand controlled release of docetaxel from a battery-less MEMS drug delivery device," the paper describes a newly developed device for treating retinal damage caused by diabetes. Lead authors are Fatemeh Nazly Pirmoradi, recent UBC PhD mechanical engineering graduate, and UBC Mechanical Engineering Associate Professor Mu Chiao. To read the full media release, click here. To read the paper, click here.
Faculty member or adjunct faculty member’s name appears in bold.
Spring 2011 Competitions
H.M. Burt, M.B. Bally, D.E. Brooks, M.E. Gleave, A.I. Minchinton, R.T. Liggins, A.I. So. Intravesicular nanoparticulate drug delivery systems for application in bladder cancer. CIHR Operating Grant. $291,892 for 3 years.
Celebrate Learning Week at UBC 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.
This year’s Celebrate Learning will take place Saturday, October 29 to Sunday, November 6. The Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences will be organizing an exciting event with dynamic speakers addressing “Innovations in Teaching & Learning,” on Thursday, November 3, 2011.
Please visit our website for updates as more information becomes available. For details about UBC’s Annual Celebrate Learning Week, please click here.
Best and brightest of UBC Pharmaceutical Sciences recognized at annual Dean's Reception
Herbert Wong, BSc(Pharm)'11, addresses fellow graduates as class valedictorian.
The Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at UBC celebrated the achievements of both students and Faculty members at the annual Dean's Reception on May 31, 2011. Held after Spring Graduation ceremonies, the event featured an awards presentation and program of speakers including Randy Konrad, Chair of the College of Pharmacists of BC, and Parkash Ragsdale, Deputy CEO and Professional Services Director of the BC Pharmacy Association. Student award highlights include the Merck Frosst Pharmacy Doctoral Prize (Head of Graduating Class, Pharm. D.), presented to Dr. Emily Kathleen Black, and the Pfizer Canada Leadership Award in Pharmaceutical Sciences, presented to Herbert Wong. Faculty member award highlights include the Killam Teaching Award, presented to Dr. Patricia Gerber, and the Bristol-Myers Squibb Award for Excellence in Pharmaceutical Teaching, presented to Dr. Mary H. H. Ensom.
"We are extremely proud of our people," says Dean Robert Sindelar. "The remarkable accomplishments of our students and Faculty members are what distinguish us as one of the top professional pharmacy programs in the world."
Faculty Teaching Award recipients (from left to right) with Dean Robert Sindelar (right): Tessa Nicholl, Dr. K. Wayne Riggs, Dr. Patricia Gerber, Dr. Peter Loewen, and Simon Albon.
2011 Pharmacy Admissions Update: MMI's
The 2011 Pharmacy admissions process has just been completed, and we are looking forward to welcoming our new, first year students in September. This year marks the admission of our first expanded class, with 224 incoming students. This is an increase of 47% over previous years.
And 2011 is the second year that Pharmacy applicants have been interviewed using the Multiple Mini-Interview (MMI) format. For the MMIs, each applicant must respond to questions, issues, scenarios etc., at a series of stations. Each station has a different interviewer, who will rate the candidate’s performance at that station. The interview process took place in the Life Sciences Centre, over two weekends in June. A total of 360 applicants were interviewed, with approximately 100 interviewers participating in the process. Our interviewers, who very kindly volunteer one day of their time, come from a wide variety of backgrounds. They are Pharmacy faculty members, staff and graduate students. They are pharmacists. And they are UBC and community colleagues.
In addition to the contributions of the interviewers, the success of the MMIs also relies on the hard work of Pharmacy staff members and over 30 student volunteers.
We will formally be welcoming our new Pharmacy students in September, at the White Coat Ceremony. This event will be taking place on September 9 at the Chan Centre.
A special thank you to our interviewers who volunteered their time to be a part of this year’s precedent setting MMIs:
Alym Abdullah, Simon Albon, Crystal Amos BSc(Pharm)'98, Chantel Au BSc(Pharm)'07, Ahmed Barrieshee, Sheny Bhanji, Shakeel Bhatti, Colleen Brady, Lisa Bui BSc(Pharm)'07, Pamela Burns, Cindy Chen BSc(Pharm)'08, Jennifer Chen, Robin Cho BSc(Pharm)'07, Ken DeGraaf, Pavan Dhillon BSc(Pharm)'08, Michelle Fischer BSc(Pharm)'86, Jimi Galvão, Gary Go BSc(Pharm)'95, Chester Ha BSc(Pharm)'08, Dr. Urs Hafeli, Jim He, Janis Horne, Joanna Hunter, Dr. Fong Huynh BSc(Pharm)'01 PharmD'09, Moh Jaswal BSc(Pharm)'92, Gary Jung BSc(Pharm)'88, Tamiz Kanji BSc(Pharm)'00, Gettanjali Kharmate, Natalie Kim-Sing BSc(Pharm)'10, Mandeep Kooner BSc(Pharm)'01, Mark Kunzli BSc(Pharm)'07, Dr. I Fan Kuo BSc(Pharm)'04 PharmD'09, Dr. David Kwok BSc(Pharm)'84 MSc(Pharm)'87 PhD(Pharm)'91, Ralph Lai BSc(Pharm)'81, Christine Lee BSc(Pharm)'75, Derek Lee BSc(Pharm)'91, Rose Lee BSc(Pharm)'83, Teresa Lee, Norman Leung BSc(Pharm)'03, Sharon Leung BSc(Pharm)'09, Bernice Li BSc(Pharm)'08, Kent Ling BSc(Pharm)'03, Fanny Liu BSc(Pharm)'01, Maike Lorenzen, Bonnie Low BSc(Pharm)'76, Sam Lu BSc(Pharm)'87, Alison MacDonald, David Main, Dr. Fawziah Mara BSc(Pharm)'90 PharmD'94, Nanci Martin, Ian Maxwell BSc(Pharm)'83, Natalie McCormick, Mits Miyata BSc(Pharm)'81, Janice Moshenko BSc(Pharm)'91 MSc(Pharm)'96, Karen Ng BSc(Pharm)'06, Magnolia Pak, Stephanie Peacock, Marion Pearson BSc(Pharm)'82, Sheryl Peterson BSc(Pharm)'89, Peggy Pruwitan, Lily Purcell, Steve Purcell BSc(Pharm)'78, Padmesh Rajput, Dr. Wayne Riggs BSc(Pharm)'71 MSc(Pharm)'83 PhD(Pharm)'89, Sheila Riggs BSc(Pharm)'80, Tony Seet BSc(Pharm)'99, Joyce Seto BSc(Pharm)'91, Olena Sivak, Rishi Somvanshi, Dr. Judith Soon BSc(Pharm)'74 MSc(Pharm)'95 PhD(Pharm)'00, Albert Su, Paulo Tchen BSc(Pharm)'05, Dylan Thomas, Naresh Thumati, Jill Tolliday, Craig Tostenson BSc(Pharm)'87, Mynol Islam Vhuiyan, Annie Wang BSc(Pharm)'97, Sajad War, Dr. Hilary Watson BSc(Pharm)'94, Grace Wong BSc(Pharm)'94, Colleen Wong BSc(Pharm)'83, Wendy Wong, Helen Wong, Rachel Wu, John Yagi BSc(Pharm)'75, Shirley Yeung BSc(Pharm)'09, Alison Yong, Violet Yuen, Katy Zhang BSc(Pharm)'04 and Rafael Zhao.
Continue your pharmacy education with UBC Continuing Pharmacy Professional Development
The Division of Continuing Pharmacy Professional Development at the UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences offers a comprehensive range of programs and resources designed to help pharmacy professionals develop their skills and careers.
A variety of live programs are offered throughout the year such as the Canadian Pharmacy Practice Program (CP3) and Pharmacy Technician Bridging Program. CP3 is a bridging program for internationally trained pharmacists to achieve the competencies for practise in Canada; and Canadian-trained pharmacists, to re-enter pharmacy practise in BC after a prolonged absence or provide updates on core competencies for practising pharmacists. The Pharmacy Technician Bridging Program is designed to assist pharmacy technicians currently working in the profession to meet new regulatory requirements and expanded practice capabilities. Other live program offerings include lectures, evening seminars, workshops, and conferences.
Distance Education Programs include Home Study Correspondence Programs/Booklets and Pharmacy Foundations Review Guide (for internationally trained pharmacists). The Pharmacy Foundations Review Guide is a series of 16 modules based on material taught in pharmacy undergraduate programs in Canada. On-line distance education is also available in the form of the Virtual Learning Centre (VLC). The VLC features a variety of online learning materials and streaming media presentations. The online format provides flexibility for meeting pharmacy professionals’ learning needs to expand their current knowledge for better patient care, keep up to date with the latest developments in the field of pharmacy, and help attain professional development goals.
For more information about the Division of Continuing Pharmacy Professional Development click here. You can also contact Dr. Glenda MacDonald, Division Director, at gpmacdo@mail.ubc.ca or 604-822-3085.
NGDI Distinguished Lectureship Seminar Series: Dr. Julio Montaner on Reducing HIV/AIDS
By Yilin Wang
Dr. Julio Montaner fielding questions from the audience.
Dr. Julio Montaner, the Past President of the International AIDS Society and the Director of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, visited UBC on May 13, 2011 to give a presentation titled “Treatment as Prevention: HAART expansion–a powerful strategy to reduce AIDS morbidity and mortality and HIV incidence”. The seminar was co-sponsored by the Neglected Global Diseases Initiative (NGDI), the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD). Over 100 students and faculty members attended the event.
Dr. Montaner began by briefly discussing strategies that have been employed to contain the global HIV pandemic. Then, he shared his pioneering theory that optimal use of HAART renders HIV undetectable in blood and genital secretions, which results in a decreased risk of transmission. A program known as “Seek and Treat for Optimal Prevention of HIV & AIDS” has been initiated to expand HAART coverage and it has successfully decreased AIDS-related mortality among those infected with HIV and reduced HIV infections among those at risk. Since viral loads provide scientists a way to predict heterosexual HIV transmissions, HAART also reduced HIV transmission risk for heterosexual couples by 92% and lessened HIV incidences for injecting drug users. In British Columbia, HAART lowered the death rate per 1000 people from 130 in 1993 to 30 in 2003 and doubled the life expectancy of peopled infected at the age of 20. Beyond the local region, Dr. Montaner’s theory has been supported by a multi-country study published in the June issue of the Lancet. HAART has achieved global impact, especially in areas such as India, Brazil, Thailand, Malawi, and Zimbabwe. This year, China also announced “HIV testing as prevention and ARV treatment as prevention” as the national AIDS policy for the next five years.
In the future, Dr. Montaner plans to continue HIV prevention by combining methods such as structural, community, behavoural, and biomedical intervention, as well as working to increase HIV testing and HAART coverage.
Making a Positive Impact with Planned Giving: Frank and Phyllis Abbott
Frank and Phyllis Abbott
Frank and Phyllis Abbott became associated with the University of British Columbia in the Fall of 1965 when Frank joined the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences upon completing a PhD in Medicinal Chemistry at Purdue University. Frank remained with the Faculty for the balance of his academic career and served an active 37 years followed by 8 years as Professor and Dean Emeritus. He continues at UBC in this capacity and maintains a research lab focusing on reactive metabolites and the production of reactive oxygen species as mechanisms of idiosyncratic drug toxicity. This information is used in drug discovery to produce safer drugs.
At the time of his retirement in 2002, financial planning was a priority including the renewal of wills for both Frank and Phyllis. It was then that they made a joint decision to include a gift in their will for the Faculty. Given Frank’s rewarding career at UBC, their relationship shared as a couple with the university, and their two children achieving UBC degrees, it seemed only too fitting to give back to an institution that figured so prominently in their lives.
“We considered many ‘planned giving’ options,” says Frank. “But in the end, it was important to us that our charitable bequest has a positive impact in the lives of future students and faculty.” Planned giving, according to Frank and Phyllis, was the best way to meet this philanthropic goal. By working closely with their lawyers and with the assistance of UBC’s Gift and Estate Planning Office, they were able to easily include a charitable gift in their wills, which could,they also learned, provide their estates with generous tax savings. “Gifts by will are eligible for tax credits,” says Don Hickling, Associate Director of Estate and Gift Planning for UBC. “At the time of your passing, your estate receives a donation receipt for the value of your bequest.” According to Don, this credit is highly advantageous as it can significantly reduce, if not eliminate, the amount of tax owing on your final tax return and can even be carried back to the previous year to realize additional savings.
In addition to tax benefits, individuals leaving planned gifts are offered membership in UBC’s Heritage Circle. Heritage Circle donors receive invitations to special University events and selected publications as recognizing them for their generosity and keeping them connected with the University.
“Planned gifts support the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences in several ways,” says Dean Robert Sindelar. “Bequests can be directed toward student scholarships and bursaries or fund research projects, Chairs, Professorships, and equipment.” Planned gifts that are unrestricted provide the greatest flexibility as they can be allocated to areas where support is most urgently needed at any particular time.
“Our planned gift means a lot to us,” says Phyllis. “With it, the people who make up the heart of UBC – students, faculty and staff – will be recognized for their talent, innovation, and outstanding service.” To learn more about how you can make a planned gift to the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, please contact Don Hickling of the Gift and Estate Planning Office at 604-827-4794 or donald.hickling@ubc.ca.
Update on Fundraising for the New Building
Construction of the new Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences building at UBC is fast approaching its midway point this Fall, and on time and on budget for its official opening in September 2012. In the Fall, we will report back in detail on some of the leadership gifts received to support its $10-million fundraising goal, but a quick list of the spaces named to date include:
London Drugs Lecture Theatre
London Drugs Ltd.
Paul and Lita Kwari Classroom
The Kwari Family
Victoria, BC
Lalani Family Seminar Room
Moiz Lalani and Family
Vancouver BC
Toy Family Seminar Room
James W.C. Toy and Family
Hope BC
Purcell Family Seminar Room
Stephen and Liliana Purcell and Family
Victoria BC
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
Did you know that it’s possible to make a donation in support of the UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences with your net cost being less than half of the gift amount? The secret lies within your investment portfolio. By choosing to donate appreciated securities (e.g. stocks, bonds, mutual funds) instead of cash, you benefit from additional savings on capital gains tax that would otherwise apply. For those in a high income tax bracket, the value of your investments need only have increased by roughly 43% for the after-tax cost of the gift to drop below 50 cents on the dollar. To illustrate, consider this example:
• A donor chooses to make a gift of shares to the Faculty;
• The donor paid $7,000 to acquire these shares, but they have since increased in value and are now worth $10,000; and,
• We will assume the donor has made other gifts to charity totaling $200 for the year and for the purposes of calculating tax on the taxable portion of the capital gain ($1,500) is in the highest marginal tax rate (43.7%).
As you can see from the above example, choosing to donate shares with a relatively modest gain leads to a donation with an after tax cost of less than one-half. And the larger the capital gain, the greater your tax savings!
We recognize tax savings are not the major incentive for supporting the UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, but they should not be overlooked when contemplating what size of gift might be possible. We are committed to helping you realize all of the tax saving that might be available to you and would be happy to speak with you about your situation and answer any questions you may have.
The strategies, advice and technical content in this article are provided for the general guidance and benefit of the reader, based on information that we believe to be accurate and complete. Further, it is for general information purposes only and is not intended to be, nor should it be construed to be, legal or tax advice to any particular reader. Therefore, readers should consult their own tax and legal advisers with respect to their particular circumstances and before taking any action based upon any information contained in this article.
An online tax calculator and more tax tips can be found by clicking here. If you like to make a gift now, click here.
For more information, please contact:
June Chow, Associate Director of Development
june.chow@ubc.ca
604-822-1772
A tour group views the upper two floors of the new UBC Pharmaceutical Sciences building from the top of Thunderbird Parkade. The completed structure will be six floors high.
We had over 100 guests—including many proud alumni who brought their families and pre-university children—at our Alumni Open Day, hosted at the Life Sciences Building on Saturday, May 28th, as part of UBC’s Alumni Weekend. With a spotlight on construction of our new building, the afternoon event featured site tours, technology demonstrations, photo booths as well as time for our attendees to catch up with fellow alumni, current and emeriti professors and Dean Bob Sindelar. Colin Holyk BSc(Pharm)'90, with his band, Line 49, entertained guests from the main stage located near the Student Union Building. Thank you to all our guests and volunteers – this day was a success because of you! See you at Alumni Weekend in 2012 where our event will be in the form of a farewell party to the Cunningham building!
UBC Pharm Sci alumnus Colin Holyk (left) performming live with his band Line49.
Celebrating 33 years: Class of 1978 Mini - Reunion
The Class of 1978 with Dr. John McNeill, pictured second from the left.
The Class of 1978 hosted a mini-reunion in conjunction with Faculty Alumni Open Day at the Life Sciences Building (LSB) on May 28th. The program included meeting up at the LSB for a quick catch up before heading out for a guided perimeter tour of the new building lead by Dr John McNeill. The class was then taken on a nostalgic walk through the hallways of the Cunningham building. The reunion wrapped up at Mahoney and Son’s pub on campus. Lots of laughter and good times were involved. A BIG thank you to Jane Johnstone and May Yu for all their efforts in the planning of this mini-reunion!
Pharmacy Grad Class of 1992 Reunion
Dr. Adil Virani and Dr. Suzanne Taylor are organizing a 20th anniversary class reunion for the Pharmacy Class of 1992 and request their classmates to contact them at Adil.Virani@fraserhealth.ca or Suzanne.Taylor@gov.bc.ca and provide their contact information. The reunion is being planned for the summer of 2012. Stay tuned!
Pharmacy Grad Class of 2001 Reunion
Fong Huynh, Sanjeev Bains and Bradley Ho invite you to the Class of 2001 Reunion for Saturday, September 24. The gathering will include a perimeter tour of the new building site and nostalgic walk through the halls of Cunningham, lead by Dean Emeritus, Dr. Frank Abbott. Following the tours there will be time to relax and catch up at Mahoney and Son’s Public House on campus. Please contact Fong, Sanjeev or Bradley for more information or to RSVP. For more details, click here.
It is with sadness that we bid farewell to the following Alumni who recently passed. They will be missed and remembered fondly.
Mr. Colin Lea, BSc(Pharm)'55
Dr. Glen Milne, BSc(Pharm)'53
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.
Who's New: Recent Appointments
Welcome to our newest research staff, Ms. Fatemeh (Tima) Mohammadi Gahroui. Tima has recently joined the Collaboration for Outcomes Research and Evaluation (CORE) group as a Research Analyst. Tima may be reached at timamoh@mail.ubc.ca.
The University of British Columbia Honours Marie Langton for 25 Years of Service
Marie Langton
On Wednesday, May 11, 2011, Marie Langton was celebrated as a member of the UBC 25 year club. One of 67 inductees, Marie was personally congratulated by President Stephen Toope at a formal dinner honouring staff who have provided the University with 25 years of continuous service.
Joining the UBC Department of Financial Services in 1986, Marie began her career working in requisition processing and providing secretarial support for the Contracts & Grants Division. In 1987 she accepted a new position as Secretary to the MRC Regulatory Peptide Group, Department of Physiology, under the leadership of Professor John Brown and worked under his leadership until his retirement in 1998. Afterwards, she moved into the role of departmental secretary.
Marie joined the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences on December 11, 2000 while Frank S. Abbott was serving as Dean. Since this time, Marie has worked exceedingly hard, showing her strong commitment to the Dean’s Office and the Faculty at large. In recent years, she has taken on many of the organizational aspects associated with large Faculty events, namely the Dean’s Annual Reception and the Bernie Riedel Golf Tournament. Marie also serves on our Faculty Safety Committee and is certified as our First Aid attendant. She is a tremendous asset to both the Dean’s Office and the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and it was Dean Abbott’s great pleasure to represent the Faculty in bringing warm and heartfelt congratulations for 25 years of a job well done.
We thank Marie for her many contributions to UBC over the years and, most especially, our Faculty!
Congratulations to the following for their outstanding work and achievements:
Dr. Kishor Wasan - winner of the Faculty Advisor Award from AAPS for outstanding performance as an AAPS Student Chapter Faculty Advisor at UBC.
Tony K.L. Kiang, PhD (postdoctoral fellow in the Ensom lab) – winner of a Best Poster Award at the Child & Family Research Institute's Student Research Forum on June 16, 2011 for the poster entitled "Kiang TKL, Häfeli UO, Stoeber B, Chua B, Pudek M, Ensom MHH. Drug Monitoring System in Interstitial Fluid: Feasibility Studies of Valproic Acid, Methotrexate, Gentamicin, and Theophylline."
Wes Wong – winner of the Service to Research Community Award.
Laura Bandy, Sam Gilchrist, Leon Wan, Maryam Zamiri, Dr. Kevin Letchford, Dr. Naresh Thumati, and Dr. Helen Fleisig – winners of Outstanding Service Awards.
Laura Bandy, Elke Huber, Natalie McCormick, Lilla Roy, Sajad War, and Kangbin Zhou – winners of Teaching Assistant Appreciation Awards.
Dr. David Grierson – winner of the Pharmaceutical Sciences Award for Excellence in Translational Graduate Teaching.
Sajad War – winner of a Four Year Doctoral Fellowship.
Fang Wang – winner of the Verma Prize.
Leon Wan – winner of the Douglas and Jean Baily Scholarship.
Jayakumar Surandradoss – winner of the William Wilson Simpson Memorial Award and Four Year Doctoral Fellowship.
Devinder Sharma – winner of the Kam Li Ma Scholarship.
Prasanth Puthanveetil – winner of the Ruth and Paul Bass Graduate Scholarship in Pharmacology.
Vivian Leung – winner of the Canadian Association for Population Therapeutics Studentship Award.
Stephen Lee – winner of the Graduate Student Poster Award, 2010 Canadian Lipoprotein Conference and Four Year Doctoral Fellowship.
I fan Kuo – winner of the Focus on Stroke Post-doctoral Fellowship Award (joint award by HSFC and CIHR).
Geetanjali Kharmate – winner of CSHRF Partial Travel Award, AAPS Travel Award, and the Ruth and Paul Bass Graduate Scholarship in Pharmacology.
Geetanjali Kharmate, Hesham Soliman, Alexis Twiddy, and Kangbin Zhou – winners of the Graduate Student Travel Award in Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Kyle Hukezalie – winner of the Young Investigator Award, CROI 2011.
Akhlaq Hakim – winner of the John H. McNeill Scholarship.
Timothy Chow – winner of the WATERS Limited Graduate Student Travel Award and Novopharm Limited Scholarship.
Laura Bandy – winner of the Gail Bellward Scholarship and NSERC CGSD2.
Laura Bandy, Girish Bankar, Mehrdad Bokharaei, Michelle Chakraborti, Timothy Chow, Ravindranath Reddy Gilibili, Elke Huber, I fan Kuo, Eric Liow, Natalie McCormick, Jo-Ann Osei-Twum, Rakhi Pandey, Milly Rao, Lilla Roy, Ana Schteinman, Devinder Sharma, Alexis Twiddy, Mynol Islam Vhuiyan, Leon Wan, Ying Wang, Sajad War, Maryam Zamiri, and Kangbin Zhou – winners of the GSI Award.
Penny Miller - winner of the 2011 Postgraduate Teaching Award from the Department of Family Practice, Faculty of Medicine.
Dr. Emily Kathleen Black - winner of the 2011 Merck Frosst Pharmacy Doctoral Prize (Head of Graduating Class, Pharm. D.) and 2011 Peter Jewesson Graduate Scholarship in Pharmacy, Pharm.D.
Dr. Sarah Stabler - winner of the 2011 Research Publication Award.
Stephanie Whittaker - winner of the 2011 Bristol-Myers Squibb Prize in Pharmacy.
Charles Au - winner of the 2011 Head of Graduating Class, B.Sc.Pharm. Award, 2011 Dean E.L. Woods Memorial Prize, 2011 Dr. M. Pernarowski Memorial Prize and 2011 Governor General's Silver Academic Medal.
Daniel Hauser - winner of the 2011 Gibb G. Henderson Memorial Prize in Pharmaceutical Sciences and 2011 Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database Recognition Award.
Polly Kwok - winner of the 2011 Novopharm Limited Prize in Pharmacy.
Herbert Wong - winner of the 2011 Pfizer Canada Leadership Award in Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Alana Isakovic - winner of the 2011 Pfizer Canada Prize for Excellence in Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Dr. Patricia Gerber - winner of the 2011 Killam Teaching Award and 2011 Faculty Teaching Award - Year Three.
Dr. Mary H. H. Ensom - winner of the 2011 Bristol-Myers Squibb Award for Excellence in Pharmaceutical Teaching.
Dr. Peter Loewen - winner of the 2011 Graduating Class - Master Teacher Award.
Simon Albon - winner of the 2011 Faculty Teaching Award - Year One.
Dr. K. Wayne Riggs - winner of the 2011 Faculty Teaching Award - Year Two.
Tessa Nicholl - winner of the 2011 Faculty Teaching Award - Year Four.
Frank Ka-Shing Leung - awarded first place in the team category for Health Council of Canada's Health Innovation Award contest.
Dr. Ellen Wasan - winner of the 2011 BCIT Employee Excellence Award in the category of Applied Research.
Black E, Lau TTY, Ensom MHH. Vancomycin-Induced Neutropenia: Is it Dose- or Duration- Related? Ann Pharmacother. 2011;45:629-38. DOI 10.1345/aph.1P583.
Davis JC, Marra CA, Robertson MC, Najafzadeh M, Liu-Ambrose T. Sustained Economic Benefits of Resistance Training in Community –Dwelling Senior Women. J Am Geriatr Soc 2011 Jun 30. doi: 10.1111/j1532-5415.2011.03473.x [Epub ahead of print]
Ellert G, Low A, and Wade JP. The Osteoporosis Book: Bone Health. 3rd ed. Vancouver, Canada: Trelle Enterprises; 2011.
Ensom MHH, Decarie D, Rudolph S. Stability of Levetiracetam in Extemporaneously Compounded Suspensions. Can J Hosp Pharm. 2011;64:207-11.
Kagan L, Gershkovich P, Wasan KM, Mager DE. Physiologically based pharmacokinetic model of amphotericin B disposition in rats following administration of deoxycholate formulation (fungizone®): pooled analysis of published data. AAPS J. 2011 Jun;13(2):255-64. Epub 2011 Mar 23. PMID: 21431453.
Loewen P, Dahri K. Risk of bleeding with oral anticoagulants: an updated systematic review and performance analysis of clinical prediction rules. Annals of Hematology. 2011:1-10-10.
Low, A. Shared decision-making: Helping your patients decide. Canadian Pharmacists Journal: May 2011, Vol. 144, No. sp1, pp. S23-S23.
Schwenger E, Dumontet J, Ensom MHH. Does Olanzapine Warrant Therapeutic Drug Monitoring in Schizophrenia? Clin Pharmacokinet. 2011;50:415-28.
Stabler SN and Ensom MHH. Extended-Interval Aminoglycoside Therapy for Adult Patients with Febrile Neutropenia: A Systematic Review. Can J Hosp Pharm. 2011;64:182-91.
't Hart P, Lakowski TM, Thomas D, Frankel A, Martin NI. (2011) Peptidic Partial-Bisubstrates as Inhibitors of the Protein Arginine N-Methyltransferases. ChemBioChem 12, 1427-1432.
Thornton SJ, Wong IT, Neumann R, Kozlowski P, Wasan KM. Dietary supplementation with phytosterol and ascorbic acid reduces body mass accumulation and alters food transit time in a diet-induced obesity mouse model. Lipids Health Dis. 2011 Jun 28;10(1):107. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 21711516.
Pless SA, Galpin JG, Frankel A, Ahern CA. (2011) Molecular Basis for Class Ib Anti-Arrhythmic Inhibition of Cardiac Sodium Channels. Nature Communications 2, 351.
Woolcott J, Khan K, Mitrovic S, Anis A, Marra CA. The cost of fall related presentations to the ED: A prospective, in-person, patient-tracking analysis of health resource utilization. Osteoporosis International (accepted June 2011).
