UAlberta Pharmacy Magazine Fall 2016

T R A N S L AT I N G R E S U LT S I N R E S E A R C H A N D P R A C T I C E The official magazine for the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

FIGHTING TYPE 2 DIABETES

DOING GREAT THINGS FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD

FALL 2016

Dean: Dr. Neal M. Davies Assistant Dean, Advancement: Lori Shockey, CFRE Editor: Bernie Poitras Contributors: Dr. John Bachynsky Richard Cairney

In this issue

Designer: Curio Studio Photography: Christy Dean Bernie Poitras Adrian Shellard Dr. Len Wiebe Alberta Pharmacy Students’ Association Qatar University CONNECT WITH US: Website: ualberta.ca/pharmacy

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Family ties alter career path for pharmacy graduate student

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The fight against Type 2 diabetes Research team studies new treatment using existing drug for angina

Email: phcomms@ualberta.ca Twitter: @UAlberta_Pharm Facebook: Pharmacy Alumni Association University of Alberta Instagram: @ualberta_pharmacy Editor’s note: UAlberta Pharmacy is published twice a year. In this third issue, we’re delighted to share with you the stories of our faculty members, students and alumni.

As always, we welcome your comments about the issue and suggestions for future story ideas. We invite you to take our survey found at pharm.ualberta.ca/alumni-andgiving/ualberta-pharmacy.

If you would like to receive this magazine electronically, email: phcomms@ualberta.ca Front cover: (L-R) Assistant Professor John Ussher and post doctoral graduate student Rami Al Batran are researching ways to fight diabetes.

Photo credit: Christy Dean

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2016 Fast Facts

10 Doctor of Pharmacy program approved Faculty targets 2018 implementation date for incoming students

11 Q & A with student Jenna Buxton, scholarship award recipient 12 Staff profile Meet our Graduate Studies Coordinator Joyce Johnson

14 Canadian Pharmacist of the Year award recognizes professor for clinical work Dr. Nesé Yuksel combines academics, research and clinical practice to benefit students, patients

17 New device designed to identify bacteria and find the right drugs to beat them Engineering and pharmacy researchers design micro-scale device to entrap bacteria, find out which drugs they’re resistant to.

18 Preceptors: the heart of our profession Practicing pharmacists see value in longstanding faculty preceptorship program

20 Pharmacy launches dual degree program with top-ranked South American university Meet Lis Monteiro, a University of São Paulo student studying in our faculty

26 Faculty strengthens ties, relationship with Qatar University Alberta expertise in pharmacy education reaches emerging region, builds on international reputation

28 News and Notes Catch up with alumni, faculty and staff as well as learn more about upcoming events

30 In memoriam We honour those alumni who have passed before us

THE DEAN’S DISTILLATE AS THE INCOMING DEAN of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, I want to introduce myself if you haven’t had a chance to meet me yet. I return to our alma mater 25 years after I graduated as a pharmacist from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Most recently, I was dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Manitoba for the past 5 years.

It has been my own homecoming. My connection to Alberta and Edmonton is strong – my grandfather fought for the Loyal Edmonton 49th regiment and my great grandfather ran the Strathcona Canadian Pacific Railway Station just off Whyte Avenue. My own family roots certainly influenced my decision to obtain my education and study here.

I am honoured and humbled by the opportunity ahead of me to lead this exceptional faculty and become the eighth dean in its history.

Although I represent the present and I have a strong vision for the future of our faculty that I will share and implement over the coming years, I am also exceedingly proud as you all are of our collective history, our past professors, and our cumulative professional accomplishments. The knowledge of our history of our Pharmacy profession is very important and will be preserved and promoted within this magazine and in the faculty.

I started my term September 1st and autumn was almost upon us – a new season and a feeling of change in the air. As the leaves turn colour and fall to the ground I am also bringing some changes to our Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. One of my first official duties was to welcome back alumni during Alumni Weekend in September. We had a great turnout for breakfast and tours, shared a few stories and laughs, and several alumni gave me their thoughts on how they would like to be further involved in the program. We will be engaging alumni to a greater extent in events like this over the years, so I hope that you will all consider coming back and attending as well in the future. The ethos of our faculty is built and dependent on the close knit coterie of our Pharmacy alumni and supporters.

In this issue, you will read stories about our faculty’s impressive current research and discovery – the important diabetes

investigations undertaken by Dr. John Ussher and his team.I You will also read about the heart of our profession — our preceptors — and the valuable role they play in educating student pharmacists. We are also profiling individual staff each issue, starting with Joyce Johnson, our Graduate Studies Coordinator.

We are a profession of champions and our faculty and students continue winning awards including Dr. Nesé Yuksel, who received the prestigious 2016 Canadian Pharmacist of the Year award and Dr. Jamali who garnered the Canadian Society of Pharmaceutical Scientists Lifetime Acheivement Award. These are just a couple examples of the superstar attainments from our all-star academic Pharmacy team.

Recently, we officially received approval from the Government of Alberta’s Advanced Education ministry to implement a new Doctor of Pharmacy degree (PharmD) program for all of our students and for the profession of pharmacy and the health care needs of all Albertans. This is a new standard in pharmacy education and a “Prescription for the Future.” This is indeed an exciting time for our faculty and our profession at our alma mater.

You will notice a couple of small changes already in this issue of our magazine. Firstly, the new moniker of my epistle, the “Dean’s Distillate”; the premiere of a series of articles honouring our previous deans; and an In Memoriam section commemorating those of our pharmacy alumni who have passed on.

As donors, alumni and stakeholders, I hope you continue to read about the great accomplishments of our faculty, staff and students.

We do great things here and that tradition will continue as well.

Finally, as I take over the helm I want to thank Dr. James Kehrer for his leadership of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences over the past 7 years.

Thank you for having me as your Dean. Full steam ahead!

Sincerely, NEAL M. DAVIES B.Sc. Pharm, PhD, R.Ph., Dean and Professor

UAlberta Pharmacy: Fall 2016

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Family ties alter career path for pharmacy graduate student by

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Bernie Poitras

UAlberta Pharmacy: Fall 2016

Pharmacy wasn’t graduate student Cassandra Woit’s first career choice.

A B.Sc. degree in biochemistry at the University of Ottawa had her on a different career track. But, five years ago, she decided to alter that path and apply to the B.Sc. in Pharmacy program at the University of Alberta.

“I was doing benchwork honours project research in infectious diseases and realized that it wasn’t where I saw myself working,” says Woit. “I decided to apply to the University of Alberta for Pharmacy, was accepted and I am so glad I did.”

So, even though the city, the university and her surroundings were all new to her, she was no stranger to the profession itself.

“My dad is a pharmacist in Thunder Bay, Ontario,” says Woit, who is entering the master’s degree program this year. “He used to own a pharmacy, so I’ve seen pharmacies my entire life. It’s very familiar to me.”

Woit jokes that her plan B was to move back home with her parents and apply to dance on cruise ships.

Instead, she charted a new course, finished her undergraduate degree and is now embarking on a two-year commitment towards achieving a master’s degree.

One of six master’s degree students this year in the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Woit’s research topic is understanding the difference between how medical and pharmacy students are taught to prescribe medications.

“The topic came about when one of my professors, Theresa Charrois, was discussing her experience in Australia and the different perspective between Australian and Canadian pharmacy students,” says Woit. “That led to me wondering if there’s a difference at a local level, what is the difference between pharmacy and medical students because our scope of practice are starting to overlap more.”

Woit pitched the idea as a specialty research project to Ken Cor, clinical research assistant, and he suggested that the topic was worthy of a master’s or PhD thesis. “Before that, I had never considered a master’s or PhD program, so that conversation with Dr. Cor got the ball rolling as far as continuing my education.”

Woit says while preparing the interview tool and testing it on third-year medical school students and PharmD students, she asked how they are taught to prescribe medications in a school setting. She learned that medical students don’t take any courses on prescribing medications while pharmacy students are taught in labs, they’re taught the legal requirements, taught about the triplicate prescription program, etc. Those findings increased her interest in my research topic and other factors that influence prescribing habits.

“It’s interesting to study how each of the students would prescribe medications and the confidence to do so and we also want to look at the competence aspect – are both professions writing appropriate legal prescriptions the same way, the right way.”

She hopes to discover where that competency to prescribe comes from – does it come from the teaching or is it the person themselves or does it come into play when they do their rotations before their residency.

Looking back on her undergraduate experience, Woit says a lot of factors helped her successfully attain her degree.

“The Pharmacy Practice Division of this faculty is so experienced, a lot of the faculty have had their own practice, they’re so qualified – they’re really taught us how to strive to reach the increased scope of practice that we enjoy in Alberta.”

She says the relatively small class size, the favourable teacher student ratio and the ability to speak to the professors one-on-one was invaluable.

“There’s a level of comfort you don’t get in larger faculties or other programs,” she says. “Just to know that the faculty and staff are there to answer questions is helpful. It’s also been great to learn about the increased scope of practice pharmacists have in Alberta – additional prescribing authorizations, administering injections – we are really on the forefront of the profession and that has made a real difference in where I want to go in the profession.”

Her dad, a former pharmacist, didn’t offer too much advice going into the program but Woit says they’ve had conversations about what it means to be a pharmacist.

“He told me that I would have the opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life, no matter how small, even

if I didn’t realize I was making a difference, and that is what should drive me forward in practice,” she says. “I really took that to heart, and actually used a paraphrase of that discussion to close my emcee speech at our graduation banquet.”

She also credits her classmates willingness to support each other and their comraderie for helping her get through the program.

She also received several awards during her undergraduate years. One of which, the Alberta College of Pharmacists Future Leadership Award, helped her develop an interest in international work in the profession.

“I was able to attend an international conference in Germany and that was eye opening to me,” she says. “This was my first experience looking at it from the perspective of a pharmacist. It really opened my eyes to what’s possible on a world stage, so it will likely influence my career path as far as a PhD down the road. Canada is really a leader in the profession worldwide.”

“It is so rare for our pharmacy students to decide to come back and do grad studies,” says Theresa Charrois, clinical associate professor, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. “The job prospects for pharmacy graduates are still quite good, so making that decision to do grad studies instead means they are really motivated to do the work and get through.

You can see this with Cassandra. She is highly motivated and eager to do this work, to help better understand how to prepare students for practice.”

To further her education, Woit plans to work part time for Pharmacare throughout her time in the master’s program – one day in a clinical setting and one day in a dispensary setting to get valuable experience.

Beyond the master’s degree, Woit says she has considered several options including clinical work, teaching and pursuing a PhD. “I really love clinical work,” she says.

“I see myself working in a community supportive care setting, so that’s a real consideration for me.”

With one degree just completed and another just started, Woit is glad she switched career paths and sees plenty of opportunity and options ahead for her career in pharmacy. 

UAlberta Pharmacy: Fall 2016

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by

Bernie Poitras

H

igh drug development costs

challenge researchers and pharmaceutical companies worldwide to look at new ways of using drugs that are already approved and safe to use.

Researchers look at existing, safe drug therapies to treat one disease and investigate if those same therapies can be repurposed to treat other diseases.

John Ussher, assistant professor in the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and his research team are using this approach to discover novel treatments for Type 2 diabetes by using approved drugs for other conditions (such as heart disease) in new ways.

Ussher and his research team are looking at drug treatments commonly used to treat cardiovascular disease, the number one cause of death in patients with Type 2 diabetes. His team is studying if those same drugs can specifically treat people with Type 2 diabetes.

According to the Canadian Diabetes Association, 3.9 million Canadians live with diabetes.

He says the challenge is to develop a drug that improves both hyperglycemia and helps lower insulin resistance—the number one predictor for the future diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes—but that also doesn’t worsen a patient’s cardiovascular disease. The drug has to be as good as other drugs on the market at improving blood sugar for Type 2 diabetes patients. At the same time, though, it can’t be worse than these drugs with regards to their actions on heart function and heart disease risk.

“Our research is based on the premise that there are drugs that help people with Type 2 diabetes, that treat insulin resistance and those are proven at a clinical level,” says Ussher. “But, the key is that we need to do more research to make sure they are safe for the person’s heart.”

“While safety for both conditions is always a concern, the main issue in drug development for Type 2 diabetes these days is the need to prove safety for heart disease, even if drug is very good at improving blood sugar control in a diabetic but worsens risk for heart disease, chances are drug will not be approved for diabetes. Thus the reason we are using drugs already approved for heart disease, if they have secondary effects that improve blood sugar control, they may be ideal drugs to use for patients with Type 2 diabetes as chances are they will not increase risk for heart disease in this population.”

Post doctoral graduate student Rami Al Batran

UAlberta Pharmacy: Fall 2016

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Ussher says the drug therapy he and his team are studying has been proven to safely treat people with the cardiovascular disease angina, and now, they’re testing if it is beneficial for treating Type 2 diabetes.

He notes that drug development is expensive often requiring billions of dollars in funding, years of research and clinical trials and this makes drug development very time consuming and expensive.

Ussher says both obesity and Type 2 diabetes increase the risk for people developing cardiovascular disease.

“A majority of people who have Type 2 diabetes will eventually die from heart disease,” says Ussher.

According to two studies "Impact of diabetes on coronary artery disease in women and men: a meta-analysis of prospective studies" published in the Diabetes Care Journal - 2000 and "Relation between age and cardiovascular disease in men and women with diabetes compared with non-diabetic people: a population-based retrospective cohort study" published in Lancet - 2006, 65-80 per cent of people with diabetes will die from cardiovascular disease, compared to people without diabetes.

“What we did is narrowed our research to a drug therapy used to treat cardiovascular disease, specifically angina. We didn’t specifically target angina, but angina is a condition associated with coronary artery disease which many patients with Type 2 diabetes also have or at risk for, and based on 1 of the mechanisms by which the drug is predicted to work for treating angina, we thought it would translate favourably for improving blood sugar in Type 2 diabetes patients.”

Ussher and his team, including post doctoral graduate student Rami Al Batran, are testing their novel therapy on mice populations. Through the first two cohorts, the results are very promising. His research team conducted a glucose tolerance test in both obese and non-obese mice to determine if the drug could improve the clearance of sugar from their bodies. “We conducted the treatment as a reversal protocol, so we made the mice obese and insulin resistant

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UAlberta Pharmacy: Fall 2016

first, then we treated them with the drug.

The result was that we were able to greatly improve how effectively the obese mice cleared the blood sugar during the glucose tolerance test.”

Ussher says he set up his study in this way because many patients who need to take these medications are already living with obesity and Type 2 diabetes, so if it works in the lab, it’s more translatable.

“We’ve conducted two studies on male and female mice and we saw that the test drug we uses help clear the sugar from their bodies and it was the same result in both males and females. From a researcher’s perspective, these two trials gave me confidence that there is a real biological change, that this drug, originally intended to treat angina in cardiac patients, also lowers blood sugar levels.”

Ussher says one surprising result that came as a result of this study was that the drug was also decreasing body weight and fat mass. “We did not expect to see this at all,” he says. “This is so important and we are trying to identify why this is happening – what is the trigger or mechanism that is responsible for this unexpected action.”

He says because obesity increases the risk for both Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, understanding why the drug is lowering body weight is important because it can be an independent mechanism contributing to the improvement of blood sugar levels and improvement of cardiac function in patients taking this drug.

Ussher and his team are completing one final cohort, gathering the data and trying to identify whether changes in energetics (the ways cells/organs burn fuels to produce energy for the body) are actually involved or is it some other unidentified mechanism.

Ussher says his approach to this research is unique and may signal the way Type 2 diabetes research is conducted in the future.

“I don’t think anyone else is taking the exact same approach as we are in this scenario, but as drug development for Type 2 diabetes has become more challenging, I think there’s going to be a trend in coming years of looking at drugs that are already approved and safe

for humans and seeing if they have beneficial effects for diabetes too.”

Ussher sees this new drug therapy benefitting a segment of a patient population that has Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

“The drug treatment wouldn’t necessarily be for every Type 2 diabetes patient, but it might be the right therapy for a patient that suffers from both conditions. It would help greatly when it comes to patients who are on multiple medications because it’s already dealing with two conditions. It could potentially reduce the need for two medications, instead of this one.”

He credits his research team, specifically researcher Rami Al Batran, for getting the research study started and with its progress to date. Al Batran, whose post doctoral work was in cardiovascular disease, has a special interest in diabetes research.

“In Syria, where I grew up, my father was a cardiologist and my grandmother had diabetes, so from an early age, I was comfortable with the language around those two areas,” says Al Batran, who joined the lab in 2015. “Diabetes research is a very promising field of study and with the new techniques we have learned here in our labs, the results of our work look promising.”

Ussher says the 12-month study will come to a close but the project will continue. His hope is to publish his results in 2017 and pursue other questions surrounding this research into treating Type 2 diabetes.

“The study of obesity in people is important,” he says. “We started with an idea, then we developed it into a research project and then hopefully this leads into a full fledged program someday. My hope is that the research community involved in diabetes and heart disease research would take interest in this and it would invigorate research and interest in simultaneously tackling the issues of both Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.”

Ussher hopes other research teams worldwide would take interest in this study and help try to unlock how this drug creates this dual benefit, or if other drugs already approved for cardiovascular disease may harbor this same type of dual benefit. 

2016 FAST FACTS GRADUATE STUDENTS

FACULTY AND STAFF

25 M.Sc.

32 PhD

$

1.886

MILLION

PRECEPTORS

Research grant dollars

New grants in 2016

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

546 TOTAL

16

31 PharmD

Countries represented

5,405

246 Sites

52

Communities

DID YOU KNOW?

1

ALUMNI

3

2

Total amount of living Alumni The Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences is the only pharmacy school in Alberta and is ranked in the TOP 3 in Canada.

3,557 Total living in Alberta

2903

(Pharm)

Preceptors are the “heart” of the pharmacy profession and make substantial contributions to the advancement of our students and the profession.

484

53

11

515 B.Sc.

PRECEPTORS

of our alumni are clinical pharmacists in Alberta registered through the Alberta College of Pharmacists.

32

ND

According to QS World University Rankings by Subject, the University of Alberta was ranked 32nd in the world for pharmacy and pharmacology.

UAlberta Pharmacy: Fall 2016

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Doctor of Pharmacy program approved Faculty targets 2018 implementation date for incoming students by

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Bernie Poitras

UAlberta Pharmacy: Fall 2016

The faculty recently received approval to implement its Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program, an undergraduate, clinical professional degree. It represents the new standard for pharmacy education in Canada.

The faculty’s proposed Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program was recently approved by the Advanced Education ministry of the Government of Alberta.

This means that new curriculum will be developed for the implementation of three programs: the Bridging Program for B.Sc. in Pharmacy students, Doctor of Pharmacy and Doctor of Pharmacy for Practicing Pharmacists programs.

“This is an exciting time for our faculty and our profession,” says Dr. Neal Davies, dean of the faculty. “Over the past two years, we have held consultations with key stakeholders and we appreciate the support they and others like the UAlberta General Faculty Council, Campus Alberta Quality Council and Government of Alberta’s Advanced Education ministry have given on this important change in our curriculum.”

“This is the future of pharmacy practice in North America. This curriculum change will prepare graduates to provide quality and safe patient centered care in Alberta’s dynamic healthcare environment. The program prepares them to be future leaders and lifelong learners who can work effectively in independent, intraprofessional, collaborative, and interprofessional team-based health care delivery models.”

Currently, 50 per cent of all pharmacy programs in Canada have implemented the degree with all schools committed to implementing it by 2020. The faculty plans to implement the new Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) for incoming students in September 2018 (Class of 2022). The

new program will require two years of pre-professional studies followed by 4 years of pharmacy education, including at least 40 weeks of experiential education (with minimum 8 weeks of early practice experiences and minimum 24 weeks of advance practice experiences).

“We are excited to move forward with this change in pharmacy education and are very fortunate to have the support and engagement of so many stakeholders,” says Christine Hughes, professor and vice-dean, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. “The expansion of experiential education is an important component of the PharmD program. The expanded scope of pharmacist practice in Alberta and innovative models of care delivery provide incredible learning opportunities for our students. With the expansion of experiential education, there will be more opportunity for our students to contribute to patient care in a variety of practice settings.”

Implementation of the PharmD program for current students in the B.Sc. Pharmacy program will start in the spring/summer 2017 term. This will be known as the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) for B.Sc. in Pharmacy Students (PBS) and will be optional. The Class of 2018 will be the first class eligible for this bridging program. Students also have the option to continue with their B.Sc. – both options will graduate at the same time.

Students in the Class of 2017 (and earlier) will have the option to apply for the PharmD for Practicing Pharmacists program (full time or part time), as a second professional degree. The B.Sc. Pharm is the entry to practice degree required for pharmacy practice in Canada.

Alberta’s pharmacists have the broadest scope of practice in North America. 

JENNA BUXTON

Jenna Buxton is a fourth-year pharmacy student. She was the recipient of six scholarship awards from the faculty.

They include: the Charles Cummer Memorial Scholarship, the Mervyn J Huston Scholarship in Pharmacy, an Alberta College of Pharmacists Scholarship, the Save-On-Foods Gold Scholarship in Pharmacy, the Dr. Sek C Yuen Prize, and a GR Van Petten Memorial Prize.

Six scholarships/awards is an exceptional accomplishment. What did winning the six scholarships mean to you?

To be perfectly honest, I was shocked when I first found out! In fact, I double checked the notification on Bear Tracks to ensure there wasn’t a mistake. I feel absolutely humbled to have received the six scholarships, and blessed to be supported by those who endow them. The awards have relieved a significant amount of the financial stress on my family and I. The amount of support provided to students in this faculty through the provision of these awards is truly astounding. These scholarships reminded me that there are many, many incredible people – be it alumni, professional organizations, or individual pharmacies – encouraging the development of young professionals and the continual growth of our profession.

How will these scholarships/awards help you achieve your education goals?

The costs of post-secondary education are certainly substantial. So first, by alleviating some of the financial pressures of attending this program, these scholarships have allowed me to invest my energy and time appropriately into my academics. The more I can put into the program, the more I will get out of it. Secondly, the awards have shown me that my peers and I are deeply supported by the many members of our extended ‘pharmily’. The support from the wonderful people who make these awards possible fuels my drive to push myself, and to continually learn and grow. It’s an amazing thing, seeing how many individuals in our pharmacy community are advocating for our educational growth as up-and-coming pharmacists!

What would you say to the donors of these scholarships/awards to acknowledge their generous contribution?

Thank you doesn’t cut it. Although I’ve contacted each of my donors individually, I would say to all scholarship donors that their awards are more appreciated than they know. The scholarships do more than pay a student’s tuition. You know, academic pressures can be overwhelming and students can feel pretty run down at times, and these awards are one of the things that keep me going. They foster passion and motivation in us students; they let us know that there are people who care about our role in the future of the profession of pharmacy. So thank you.

Thank you for supporting us, advocating for us, and most of all for believing in us!

What message would you have to future scholarship/award applicants?

Apply for the scholarships provided through the faculty; you’ve got nothing to lose! Fully invest yourself into this program while you are here. Know that there are people rooting for you and encouraging you to strive further and become better. If you work hard, invest and take pride in your work, then you can’t lose regardless of whether or not you receive any scholarships. You can’t place a monetary value on the foundation of education on which you will build your career.  UAlberta Pharmacy: Fall 2016

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UAlberta Pharmacy: Fall 2016

Each issue, we will profile one staff person in the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. This issue, we profile Joyce Johnson, Graduate Studies Coordinator. by

Bernie Poitras

Summer usually means a less hectic pace

across most campus offices including the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Most students are working in their summer placements; faculty members take time for holidays.

However, for Graduate Studies Coordinator Joyce Johnson, summer is her busiest time of the year.

“I don’t usually go anywhere until mid-September or October,” laughs Joyce, who has been with faculty since 1993. “Between getting graduate school applications sorted out, organizing teaching assistant position applications and ensuring key deadlines are met, July and August are busy months for me.”

Joyce is the primary person in the faculty that prospective grad students have contact with and she is responsible for the overall administration of current graduate students in the M.Sc. and PhD programs.

“It’s so enjoyable to work with the academic staff and the students from so many different countries,” says Joyce. “I have developed many friendships with students and they know they can come in and talk to me about any concern. I’m almost like a sounding board for them to make sure they’re on track and help them resolve any issue related to their program studies.”

For the 2016-2017 calendar year, the faculty have 57 graduate students with 25 in the M.Sc. program and 32 in the PhD program.

The programs are so well respected internationally that students over the world including countries such as Egypt, Turkey, India, UK, US apply and are successful in entering the two programs.

“It is a real pleasure to work with Joyce in the graduate studies program,” says Scot Simpson, professor and associate dean, Research and Graduate Studies. “I have learned to rely on her excellent resources, connections, and solid understanding of the relevant procedures that help support our students and their supervisors.”

UAlberta Pharmacy: Fall 2016

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Countries in the graduate studies program: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Libya, China, Syria, Bangladesh, India, Nigeria, Iran, United Kingdom, U.S.A, Jordan, Poland, Turkey, Sudan and Canada

To make sure students are extra welcome in her office, Joyce keeps a few containers of chocolate on her desk. Some students have even taken to calling her “mom” for her great advice and willingness to listen to their questions.

After 23 years on the job, Joyce finds interest and enjoyment in her position.

“I’m a people person. It’s all about the people, academics and students, there are so many different countries represented – it’s so interesting.”

“Visiting Joyce is always a wonderful experience! No matter the question or issue, whether about degree requirements, classes, awards, or graduation, she goes out of her way to help you,” says Valentina Back a second-year graduate student in the M.Sc. program. “Even when she can’t help you, she is always willing to look further into your issue for you, or is able to point you in the right direction.”

Joyce started out working part time in the faculty in 1993 because a family relative told here about a position that came open.

“I started out part time and that lead to another position and I’ve been here ever since,” says Joyce.

Joyce has seen a lot of changes to the program including the makeup of the graduate student population. Always an international program, the trend in attracting grad students has gone from predominantly Asian countries to countries in the Middle 14

UAlberta Pharmacy: Fall 2016

East. “I think that’s a reflection of a few things including our faculty connections to universities in the Middle East and the relationships we’ve built with universities there.”

Joyce has seen a lot of technology changes that impacted her role over the years and as with most things, e-communication has become the primary way students are admitted and how they navigate their way through the programs.

“Most of our students are coming from other countries, so all international applications typically come through our website,” says Joyce.

Joyce manages the vetting process and once students apply, faculty members review the applicants to see if they’re interested in a potential student. If any of the faculty want to supervise a potential applicant, Joyce then asks the student for their resume and transcripts and if the supervisor likes what they see, the applicant fills out the official application form through the Faculty of Grad Students website.

“Once the students are accepted into our program, I help them register and get them to go through an orientation and the University’s International Office will help them with logistics (where to live, dental benefits, etc.). Once they’re settled in, I help them keep on track with deadlines like completing an ethics course, becoming a candidate within three years, etc.”

Joyce also helps out with planning and coordinating the faculty’s Research Day in November with administrative assistance and being a part of the organizing committee. “It’s an important day for the faculty – we bring in guest speakers, feature poster presentations and focus on the research and innovation in our faculty.”

She also organizes the teaching assistant positions that faculty members require to help teach undergraduate courses in fall and winter. “Graduate students apply for a position, then compete for the position, up to 12 hours a week commitment, and I look after getting all the contracts set up for the year.”

Between her regular duties and helping out on other major projects such as undergraduate summer studentships, scholarship competition for graduates students, organizing oral and written exams for graduate students, Joyce is an integral part of the faculty’s success and reputation.

‘It’s a busy job and you need to be very organized and learn how to prioritize – you just can’t miss deadlines. I have a timeline where I send reminders to students and I try to stay very calm amidst all that’s going on – it’s very hectic.”

Joyce says she can’t do it alone and relies on co-workers to help get her work done. “I appreciate the help I get from my co-workers at times when it’s extremely busy.” 

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TICE ARCH AND PRAC E S U LT S I N R E S E SPRING 2016 T R A N S L AT I N G R aceutical Sciences The official magazine

acy and Pharm

for the Faculty of Pharm

T R A N S L AT I N G R E S U LT S I N R E S E ARCH AND PRAC TICE for the Faculty of

The official magazine

Pharmacy and Pharm

aceutical Sciences

FALL 2016

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FIGHTING TYPE 2 DIABETES

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D O IN G G R EAT TH IN FO R TH E PU B LI C GOG S OD

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UAlberta Pharmacy: Fall 2016

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Canadian Pharmacist of the Year award recognizes professor for clinical work Dr. Nesé Yuksel combines academics, research and clinical practice to benefit students, patients by

Bernie Poitras

Dr.

Nesé Yuksel has the best of both worlds. As a clinical researcher and professor, she is passionate about educating pharmacy students. She also excels as a clinical pharmacist on a health-care team at the Lois Hole Hospital for Women.

She was recently recognized for her clinical work by being named the 2016 Canadian Pharmacist of the Year by the Canadian Pharmacists Association. The award was given out June 25 at the Association’s national conference in Calgary.

“I’m humbled to receive this award,” says Yuksel. “I feel the award is a result of being able to collaborate with both my academic and clinical colleagues, really. There have been so many people that have contributed to my career in both settings.

Currently, Yuksel is the division chair of Pharmacy Practice and a professor at the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. One day a week, she also practices on an interdisciplinary team at the Menopause Clinic at Lois Hole Hospital for Women. She is also a proud University of Alberta alumna (B.Sc. Pharm ’88).

Yuksel says keeping her feet in both the clinical research and academic practice settings makes her a better professor and clinician.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” she says. “I bring my clinical practice learnings into the classroom so students can benefit from real life, practical experiences. If I didn’t practice on the clinical side, I would lose that usable knowledge I bring to the classroom.

I can also bring questions I have as a clinician back to the university for research, so it’s a true benefit to be doing both. When I teach, I use stories from my clinic because students expect that real world believability and practicality.”

Yuksel points to a Chinese proverb which summarizes her approach to teaching but also her reason to continue practicing in a clinic.

“Not having heard something is not as good as having heard it; having heard it is not as good as having seen it; having seen it is not as good as knowing it; knowing it is not as good as putting it into practice.”

– xunzi,chinese proverb “I keep it in my teaching dossier and it really sums up my teaching philosophy,” she says. “it brings everything back full circle, my teaching to my clinic and my clinic learnings back to my students.”

Practicing in the area of women’s health and osteoporosis for more than 17 years, Yuksel is a recognized expert in her field, combining

her clinical interests and practice-based research to develop innovative techniques to enhance the way pharmacists practice.

She feels fortunate that her clinical practice stimulates research ideas and has provided opportunities to collaborate with other women’s health clinicians and researchers. She has led and collaborated on a wide-range of research projects, and is excited about her research team’s current study on decision-making in women who have had early surgical menopause. The work was made possible through funding from the Women‘s and Children’s Health Research Institute as a clinical seed grant.

“There’s a lot of misinformation about menopause and hormone therapy out there and I feel that we need to provide women with balanced, evidence based information that is tailored for them.

Understanding what women need is the first step,” she says.

In her clinical practice at the menopause clinic at the LHHW, Dr. Yuksel works alongside a physician, a nurse, a gynecologist and a dietician to develop care plans that best suit the needs of women as they transition through menopause. This includes patient assessment, education, treatment and follow-up.

“I love working with patients in the clinic,” says Yuksel. “We have women who have suffered so much with symptoms that have really impacted their lives. It feels so rewarding to see these women empowered to make the best decisions for themselves. I really feel as a team we make a difference in their care.”

One of the first 15 pharmacists in Alberta to receive Additional Prescribing Authority (APA) in 2007, Yuksel has been a vocal advocate for advanced pharmacy practice, making significant contributions over the past decade through committees, publications and interviews in support of APA. She has turned her passion for the evolving role of pharmacists into evidence by collaborating on research on pharmacist prescribing, as well as developing tools to support pharmacists in practice.

Having the opportunity to work in the clinical and academic settings has allowed Yuksel to achieve a lot in her career. “The pharmacy field has been very good to me because I saw so much opportunity when I started out – you just need to look for that opportunity and be open to whatever comes your way. There is such a diversity of opportunities in our field.”

The Canadian Pharmacist of the Year Award is given annually to recognize a pharmacist who demonstrates leadership and exemplifies the evolution of the pharmacy profession toward an expanded role in health care.  UAlberta Pharmacy: Fall 2016

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(L-R) Faheem Khan, researcher, Faculty of Engineering, Hashem Etayash, PhD student, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Thomas Thundat, Canada Excellence Research Chair.

New device designed to identify bacteria and find the right drugs to beat them Engineering and pharmacy researchers design micro-scale device to entrap bacteria and find out which drugs they are resistant to by

Richard Cairney

An interdisciplinary team of engineering and pharmaceutical researchers at the University of Alberta has invented a device that can rapidly identify harmful bacteria and can determine whether it is resistant to antibiotics.

The device could save precious hours in patient care and public health, and prevent the spread of drug-resistant strains of bacteria. The team’s findings are published in a paper entitled Microfluidic cantilever detects bacteria and measures their susceptibility to antibiotics in small confined volumes in the current issue of Nature Communications.

The device was designed to look for and trap different types of bacteria, then find out which antibiotics are most effective against them.

Rather than growing bacterial cultures then testing them—a commonly used and time-consuming approach—the microscopic device relies on nano-scale technology for fast results.

The main feature of the device is a cantilever—a plank that resembles a diving board—that has a microfluidic channel 25 times smaller than the width of a hair etched

on its surface. The channel is coated with biomaterials, like antibodies, that harmful bacteria like E. coli or Listeria in fluid samples stick to.

When bacteria are caught, the device sends out three different signals to researchers.

When bacteria is detected the cantilever’s mass changes, and it bends, explained Thomas Thundat, a professor in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering and the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Oil Sands Molecular Engineering. “So this gives us two signals: the mass change and the bending action.”

By shining infrared light on the bacteria, a third signal is sent, he added. If the bacterial absorbs the light it begins to vibrate, generating a minute amount of heat that sends a confirmation signal. Having three detection methods “means there is no ambiguity,” Thundat said.

“By monitoring the interaction of light and bacteria, we can get highly selective detection of bacteria,” said Faheem Khan, a researcher in Thundat’s lab. “It’s our moment of truth.”

With the bacteria trapped in the cantilever, different antibiotic drugs can be added to

the device. And changes in the intensity of tiny oscillations of the cantilever signal to researchers whether the bacteria are alive or dead. The researchers then know which antibiotics the bacteria are susceptible to.

“We’re trying to find a way to fight bacterial resistance to drugs and prevent or at least decrease the spread of drug-resistant strains,” said Hashem Etayash, a PhD student in the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. “We’re able to do several tests in a very short period of time and we can quickly identify bugs that can resist antibiotics.”

The device can be used to test extremely small fluid samples, millions of times smaller than a rain droplet. Thundat says the size of the device is advantageous when you only want a very small sample, in settings such as a neonatal intensive care unit, or in situations where only very small samples are available.

The research was funded through the Government of Canada’s Canada Excellence Research Chairs program. The team has patented the technology and Etayash and Khan are hoping to design a hand-held prototype of the device and bring it to market.  UAlberta Pharmacy: Fall 2016

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PRECEPTORS: THE HEART OF OUR PROFESSION Practising pharmacists see value in long-standing faculty preceptorship program by

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Bernie Poitras

UAlberta Pharmacy: Fall 2016

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volunteer opportunity with the Faulty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences more than three decades ago turned into a career commitment for pharmacist Nandini Desai.

“It was 1984 and I had just received my license in the UK,” says Desai, a pharmacist in the Leduc-BeaumontDevon Primary Care Network. “I moved to Canada but couldn’t work yet and I was bored not working, so I called the faculty and asked if they needed help with anything.”

That opportunity to work with students eventually led to Desai becoming one the faculty’s preceptors. “I started precepting in the early 90s when I had my own business,” says Desai, who specializes in diabetes, smoking cessation and weight management.

Preceptors are a valuable part of the education experience in the faculty and provide a mentor opportunity for students during their placements.

Coordinated through the Experiential Education Program, student placements with preceptors covers first to fourth year students as well as across the PharmD for Practising Pharmacists Program.

Student placements are scheduled in a variety of practice settings across the province to prepare graduates to meet the variety health care needs of all Albertans. Placements range from four to eight weeks depending on the course.

“Preceptors are such an integral and essential part of the program as they really bring the practice of pharmacy to life,” says Ann Thompson, clinical associate professor and director, Experiential Education Program. “Through many dedicated hours of teaching and coaching, they allow our students to transition from knowledgeable and unskilled to knowledgeable and skilled. Without them, we could not graduate students who are confident and prepared to fulfill their (many) roles as care providers, team members, patient advocates, educators, and professionals, to name a few. The faculty relies on the volunteer participation of preceptors to share their wisdom, guidance, and commitment to develop the pharmacists of tomorrow. Both the faculty and students are grateful for the many preceptors who engage students in authentic experiences to teach both the science and art of practicing pharmacy.”

While students need to complete their placement in order to graduate, preceptors get a lot of value from the mentorship as well.

“What I get out of the preceptor program is phenomenal,” says Desai. “Students keep me on the top of my game. They have so much energy and come into the workplace with so much enthusiasm.”

Desai says she get a lot of energy from a student placement. “When you see that energy, you want to teach them even more. I saw that energy even back when I volunteered for the faculty – students love that interaction with professionals.”

“I think that if you haven’t been a preceptor and have the enthusiasm to teach others, you should definitely try it,” Desai says. ‘There’s really nothing to be afraid of and the students are always keen to learn from you.”

Other preceptors shared their experience (from AHS project in Calgary Health Region):

Randy Howden (B.Sc. Pharm ‘05), a pharmacist and owner of the Medicine Shoppe Crowfoot in Calgary always knew he wanted to give back to the faculty in a teaching role.

“I wanted to teach but being in Calgary, it wasn’t possible to take on a full teaching role,” says Howden.

“I know they were looking for preceptors in major urban centres at the time I joined and I thought I had some things I could teach students.”

Even though he is busy managing 13 staff between two pharmacies, Howden says he benefits from the mentorship role he provides. “Students keep me on my toes and I can learn something from them too.

They ask me questions that I have not thought about for years. They keep me current and relevant.”

Howden says having a student has forced him to think outside his comfort zone when considering what answers he gives patients. He believes in continual learning, a motivating reason why he became a preceptor.

“Students are great at asking in depth questions and this helps me when I’m answering patient questions too,” he says. If he doesn’t know the answer, Howden says he will look up the answer with the student so they can learn together.

He also believes it’s about making the profession

better and he sees helping students as a way of doing that. “After being a pharmacist for more than 11 years now, I feel that I have some tips and tools that I can pass on to students who are about to start their career,” he says.

Both Desai and Howden ensure students receive an orientation during their first few days, participate in staff meetings, prepare and deliver presentations and ensure they are fully integrated into the health care team. Students get to shadow other members of their teams and in some cases, they will ask the student lead a consultation with a patient.

The faculty supports the preceptor with training, resources (course reviews and manuals) and workshops. “I never feel that I’m alone in this – the faculty provides great support and the feedback I give them at the end of the student placement gets incorporated into the program for the next year,” says Desai, who recently received a Preceptor Recognition Award for her preceptor work this year.

Howden notes that for him, the mentorship opportunity doesn’t necessarily end when the placement ends. “Over the years, I have kept in touch with a couple of students and offer any support even after the graduate, so they can always contact me," says Howden. 

If you would like to be a preceptor, contact the faculty’s Experiential Education program at 780-492-9969 or email: phexed@ualberta.ca

Students not only directly make positive impacts on patient care, but they can also do so indirectly. Many students employed with AHS have created and updated resources that are quick and easy for pharmacists to use. Specifically from Drug Information, there have been lists, charts, and tables created and referenced to make the busy lives of pharmacists a little bit easier, and ensure that they are providing the best possible care to their patients.

CALGARY PRECEPTOR ABOUT HAVING STUDENTS IN THE PHARMACY An email from a preceptor to a student read: “I have just seen one of your previous patients in clinic today.

He asked me to thank you. He said you saw him every single day in hospital, that you were wonderful to him, and it meant a great deal to him that you checked on him every day. I think he really appreciated seeing a familiar face each morning. Hearing this type of feedback from patients reinforces why we do what we do, and reinforces to us how beneficial it is to have students on placement, so thank you!”

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UAlberta Pharmacy: Fall 2016

Pharmacy launches dual degree program with top-ranked South American university by

São Paulo

Bernie Poitras

A YEAR AGO, Brazilian graduate student Lis Monteiro

didn’t know anything about Edmonton or the University of Alberta.

That changed when she found out she was to become the first student to take part in an exchange program offered through the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. The program allows pharmacy graduate students from the University of Alberta and the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil to earn a dual degree while studying in another country.

“I was very excited to learn that I was the first student chosen from my university,” says Monteiro, who is in the final year of her PhD studies. “I was told the program was in Canada but I didn’t know where Edmonton was or how far north it was.”

Under the supervision of professor Raimar Löbenberg, Monteiro began her exchange August 31 and will spend the next six months researching her thesis topic – developing new formulations for drugs to combat leishmaniasis, a tropical and subtropical parasite disease transmitted by flies and mosquitoes.

Löbenberg, who spearheaded the dual degree program, says the agreement between the two universities is a result of cultivating good relationships between students and faculty.

“The idea for the dual degree came about from several years of our faculty visiting Brazil and having their professors visit us,” says Löbenberg. “I have given more than 13 presentations at USP and a couple of other professors have visited the university, so this double degree program is a natural progression of this relationship we developed over the years.”

He also says the two pharmacy schools have collaborated on more than 18 publications over the past eight years. He says the program gives students an edge and follows the true spirit of what university education is all about.

“It is a true example of academia, really,” he says. “The exchange of ideas and giving students better learning opportunities – a dual degree from two leading pharmacy universities.”

Monteiro agrees the exchange program will help her become a better student. “I think it will help me get better grades but also being in a new environment will help me in my career.”

Löbenberg says Brazil has several pharmaceutical industry contacts which will only benefit the faculty and its students. A University of Alberta pharmacy graduate student will go to São Paulo to start their research exchange later this fall.

“The new dual degree program between USP and the Faculty of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences is an outstanding new opportunity for academic global engagement,” says Britta Baron, Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President (International). “USP is the top university in Brazil and one of the leading universities in Latin America.”

“This dual degree program will allow students to enrich their university experience with an international dimension," says Baron.

"Participating students will gain a much broader perspective of their discipline and will also enhance their career prospects in an ever more global job market.”

Monteiro says her classmates in Brazil were excited for her and were motivated to become the next student to participate in next year’s dual degree program and travel to Edmonton.

As for adjusting to a new city, new university and new country, Monteiro says she is quickly getting used to life as a student in Edmonton. “I like the smaller size of Edmonton compared to São Paulo, which has more than 11 million people,” says Monteiro. “I don’t mind the cold weather either and it’s nice that I get to walk a short distance to school, so it’s been great.”  UAlberta Pharmacy: Fall 2016

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PHARMACY DEAN [ PROFILES ] This is the first in a series of articles profiling the eight deans in the history of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. In this issue, we profile Dr. Mervyn Huston, the faculty’s first dean (1955-1978).

From 1940-42, Dr. Mervyn Huston in one of the labs during the time he was completing his master's degree.

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UAlberta Pharmacy: Fall 2016

s the faculty’s first official dean, Dr. Mervyn Huston, is the person most remembered for bringing the faculty into the modern era. According to former professor Dr. Len Wiebe, Huston was a man of many talents.

“I would sum Merv up as a Renaissance man,” says Wiebe, a former emeritus faculty member from 1969-2005. “He was a talent in many fields and areas both professional and personally. His accomplishments as dean are on record – building the department and keeping it together with a skeleton staff. Then in the mid-60s, he expanded it with key recruits and built it to be one of the strongest pharmacy faculties in Canada in both undergraduate teaching and research.”

Wiebe notes that while Huston took his title as dean seriously, he had several interests outside pharmacy and was also an accomplished writer, musician, amateur boxer, card player and public speaker among other things.

Huston’s 23 years as dean was preceded by nine years as the director of the School of Pharmacy before it officially became a faculty.

Wiebe met Huston in 1966 when he was recruited as a sessional instructor in Saskatchewan. Three years later, after Wiebe had completed his doctoral research in Australia, Huston convinced Wiebe to come to Edmonton to work with him. “My first day here, I came up from Calgary on the bus,” says Wiebe. “Merv stayed back in the office until 6:30 p.m to wait for me to arrive and even took me over to lodging where I was to stay. He was definitely a hands-on dean - that’s the kind of guy he was.”

Dr. Mervyn Huston and a graduate student discuss a research project involving the use of a Warburg apparatus for measuring tissue respiration.

Huston did a lot of good work as dean and maintained a strong relationship with the pharmacy association which was the professional association at that time.

His other accomplishments were significant. He was a scientist by trade but he also built a strong research department.

Huston was born in 1912 and his involvement in the profession was a family matter – he apprenticed in his father’s drugstore in Ashcroft, B.C. He had a great aptitude for science.

Huston earned the B.Sc. Pharm degree from the University of Alberta in 1937 and his master's degree four years later. He actually began lecturing in the University of Alberta’s School of Pharmacy while he was still completing his master's degree. He then joined the staff of the School of Pharmacy and returned to it after earning his PhD from the University of Washington in 1943. After the resignation of Dr. AW Matthews in 1946, he was named acting director of the School, an appointment which was confirmed on a continuing basis in 1948.

A former president of CPhA (1968-69), Huston advocated for, and then edited, a scientific section in CPJ. He has served in various capacities with national and international pharmacy organizations, including CFAP, ADPC, AFPC and FIP. The University of Alberta conferred an honorary Doctor of Science degree (DSc) on him in 1988 in recognition of his contributions to the University and to the community at large.

Huston was known for setting a professional environment in the faculty – male students had to wear dress shirts and ties to class and always wore lab coats in the dispensing labs. This was to instill a sense of professionalism in students early on in their

career. He was very serious about students receiving an education – he would often walk through dispensing labs making a comment or two on the student’s work, then leaving the room.

But, as Wiebe noted, Huston had a lighter side to his personality. He was an accomplished musician who played with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and the local opera company for several years.

“He was a bassoon player and was a member of other jazz and dance bands in Edmonton,” says Wiebe. “He was also pretty handy on the keyboard and other wind instruments.”

His nickname, Happy Huston, came from a dance band he created – Happy Huston and his Merry Men. While on a two-year hiatus between the completion of his pharmacy degree, he was a full-time musician, mostly playing with Chet Lambertson’s orchestra.

Lambertson was the composer of the U of A Cheer Song.

Huston was known as an eloquent speaker.

In fact, over his career, he spoke formally at more than 500 professional associations, conventions and other clubs across North America. “He was very good at it because like everything, he went in prepared,” says Wiebe.

He was prolific at writing novels and he won a Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour in 1982 for the novel, Gophers Don’t Pay Taxes. Some of his smaller stories were also published in professional journals and others in student newspapers.

“He wrote a novel called Julius Seizure where he substituted medical words for non-medical words,” says Wiebe. “He also wrote musicals and textbooks including a pharmaceutical arithmetic textbook.”

Few people remember that he was also an amateur boxer. Wiebe recalls a story that Huston told to him that happened when Huston and his wife visited Huston's hometown, Ashcroft, B.C. “There was a damsel in distress nearby, so Huston walked over and punched out the man who was harassing the woman,” said Wiebe. “That made an impression on his wife. He wasn’t a big man either – he was small in stature.”

“He had a big interest in other things and he not only dabbled in them, he did well at them,” says Wiebe. “He was a great card player – he won his fair share of poker games.

At the time, it was a popular activity and he led an informal poker club in the faculty.”

Huston’s legacy as dean of the faculty is indisputable but he will be remembered by those who knew him well as a well-rounded person who lived a full life both inside and outside the classroom.  Editor’s Note: Credit to New Trail Magazine for research for this article.

(L-R) Professor Lloyd Stephens-Newsham, Dr. Mervyn Huston and Dr. Len Wiebe.

UAlberta Pharmacy: Fall 2016

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Faculty strengthens ties, relationship with Qatar University Alberta expertise in pharmacy education reaches emerging region, builds on international reputation by

26

Bernie Poitras

UAlberta Pharmacy: Fall 2016

Even though the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences has a strong and established reputation worldwide, professor Ayman El-Kadi and professor Cheryl Sadowski are working to strengthen that reputation in the Middle East, specifically in Qatar.

El Kadi just returned from the small sovereign country on the Arabian Peninsula where he served as the dean of the College of Pharmacy at Qatar University in Doha for the past three years.

“The opportunity to gain valuable experience was great for me personally and the purpose for the move was to establish collaboration between our faculty and Qatar University,” says El-Kadi.

“The middle east is a growing, emerging region when it comes to pharmacy education, so it was an opportunity we couldn’t pass up.”

After Qatar’s previous dean retired, El-Kadi was approached by Qatar to apply for the position and after consulting with then Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences dean, Dr. James Kehrer, El Kadi made the transition in 2013.

El-Kadi notes that Qatar’s College of Pharmacy is accredited by the Canadian Council for Accreditation, a designation he helped the college apply for and achieve. The college was previously granted conditional status.

“With an official working relationship, it’s also an opportunity to take part in student and professor exchange programs and apply for joint grant applications,” says El-Kadi. “We also help them get their accreditation, review their curriculum and serve as advisors to ensure they keep their accreditation status.”

The University of Alberta has several connections to Qatar. For his part, El-Kadi arranged for three people – an Alberta Health Services employee and two post doctorate students in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry – to take part in an exchange program in Qatar.

He also notes that five Alberta Alumni already teach at Qatar University, which has a student population of 17,000.

While in Qatar, El-Kadi along with current dean, Dr. Neal Davies and past dean, Dr. James Kehrer helped convene the first ever conference on interprofessional pharmacy education.

“Several Canadian students attended the conference and we plan to grow those events over the next few years to further develop pharmacy education in the region, including in other countries like Kuwait and Saudi Arabia,” he says.

“Qatar’s College of Pharmacy brings in expertise from all over the world with 60 per cent of faculty members being Canadian,” says ElKadi. “The Canadian accreditation is held up as a high standard – our reputation is strong.”

One day, he hopes Qatar University’s pharmacy students will come to Edmonton to complete Left: Professor Ayman El-Kadi speaks at Qatar University in Doha.

their rotations – practicums in clinics or retail pharmacies students are required to complete between class terms.

El-Kadi says Qatar and other universities in that region look for international partners for grant applications and the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences is poised to collaborate in those applications in the near future. He says other universities like the University of Kuwait are starting to look at the Qatar College of Pharmacy model he and others helped set up and they want to seek the same Canadian accreditation. “Kuwait University’s College of Pharmacy was founded by a former University of Alberta professor, so there’s a history of connections between our two institutions,” he says.

Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences professor Cheryl Sadowski recently took part in a joint research project with assistant professor Monica Zolezzi, a colleague at Qatar University.

The two faculty members, who share an interest in geriatric pharmacy research, supervised a study looking at geriatric pharmacy curriculum and specifically how it is taught and perceived in both countries. Zolezzi received her master of pharmacy degree from the University of Alberta.

“Technology enabled us to complete this international project. Using Skype and email, we were in touch regularly with the two Qatar University pharmacy students doing the research,” says Sadowski. “The students were very interested in how pharmacy education is taught in other countries like Canada, and how older adults are cared for.”

“The demographics are very different in Qatar, with less than one per cent of the population over age 65, while in Canada that is 15 per cent,” Sadowski says. “In Qatar, it is quite rare for an older adult to be placed in a nursing home, or an institutional setting. As researchers and educators, Dr. Zolezzi and I were interested to find that both schools could be doing more to teach geriatrics, but that has to be in context for pharmacy practice in each country. We plan to share our research at pharmacy and education conferences in the coming year. Projects like this allow us to reflect on our own teaching practices and curriculum, while establishing these international relationships. It was a great experience for both universities, and our curricula will be better in the future.”

El-Kadi will continue to serve as a member on Qatar’s International Advisory Board ensuring the University of Alberta’s contribution helps build on the success of the program.

Although they are more than 11,000 kilometres apart, building relationships and respect between the two universities is bringing them closer together. 

QATAR UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF PHARMACY

BY THE NUMBERS 60% of Canadian faculty

in the College of Pharmacy

85% of international students in College of Pharmacy

26 students

in B.Sc. program

14 students

in PharmD program

2.2 million

Qatar’s population Below: Professor Cheryl Sadowski took part in a joint project with a colleague at Qatar University.

NEWS & NOTES An annual feature in UAlberta Pharmacy, the News & Notes section is dedicated to highlighting awards, accolades and updates of our faculty, staff, students and alumni. It also includes upcoming events. If you have news or a note to share in this section, email us at: phcomms@ualberta.ca

PRECEPTORS OF THE YEAR AWARDS

The Faculty and students at the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences are very grateful to our preceptors. Through sponsorship of Teva Canada, we are fortunate to be able to award Preceptor of the Year to deserving recipients each year.

(L-R) Miranda To, Class of 2016, and Craig MacAlpine, Pharm 426 Preceptor of the Year.

Recipients of the awards are chosen on the basis of communication and collaboration skills, demonstrated professionalism, ethical decision making, leadership, and advocacy for patients and the profession.

PHARM 426 PRECEPTOR OF THE YEAR: Craig MacAlpine (B.Sc. Pharm '09), Wal-Mart Pharmacy #3657. Nominated by Miranda To (Class of 2016).

PHARM 428 PRECEPTOR OF THE YEAR: Charles Au, Foothills Medical Centre.

Nominated by Robert Wright (Class of 2016).

(L-R) Robert Wright, Class of 2016, Charles Au, Pharm 428 Preceptor of the Year and Ann Thompson, Clinical Associate Professor, Director of Experiential Education.

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UAlberta Pharmacy: Fall 2016

PHARM 316 PRECEPTOR OF THE YEAR: Serena Bains (B.Sc. Pharm '12), Stollery Children's Hospital and Lorraine Delano (B.Sc. Pharm '99), Stollery Children’s Hospital. Nominated by student Diva Niaz (Class of 2016).

The PHARMD PRECEPTOR OF THE YEAR is Matt Mink with the Poison and Drug Information Service (PADIS) in Calgary.

Matt has been chosen on the basis of; communication and collaboration skills, demonstrated professionalism, ethical decision making, leadership, and advocacy for patients and the profession. Catherine Dewaal (PharmD '16) had submitted this nomination.

PHARM 305 PRECEPTOR OF THE YEAR: Taria Gouw (B.Sc.Pharm '93), Bow Island Apple Drugs. Nominated by Cassandra Ann Cooper (Class of 2019).

FACULTY NOTES

Professor Fakhreddin Jamali received a 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences from the Canadian Society for Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Professor Afsaneh Lavasanifar received a patent award from TEC Edmonton at the Innovation Makes Sense event celebrating the talented scientific minds behind these inventions, and recognize the funders and business entities who support the creation and commercialization of these achievements. Her patent is for a material that can be used to prepare degradable polymers with potential applications in the field of drug delivery and tissue engineering.

Clinical assistant professor Sherif Mahmoud received the 2016 Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Teaching Excellence Award.

Tatiana Mahkinova was recently hired as an assistant professor in the Pharmacy Practice Division.

Brenda Oscroft was presented with the Faculty’s Award of Merit for her significant contribution and commitment.

STUDENT AWARDS

Graduate student Seyed Amirhossein Tabatabaei Dakhili won best poster presentation award for the 5th Western Canadian Medicinal Chemistry Workshop (WCMCW) in Saskatoon.

SO LONG, SLOWPOKE

(L-R) Graduate student Chowdhury Faruquee and Lisa Guirguis, Associate Professor, Director of Grad Studies-Pharmacy Practice

PhD student Chowdhury Faruquee won best research paper award from the Canadian Pharmacists Journal for her systematic review of the scope of research on pharmacists prescribing in Canada. She also won best pharmacy practice research poster presentation award at the Canadian Pharmacy Association’s (CPhA) national conference in Calgary.

Class of 2016 student Humirah Sultani received the Alberta Pharmacy Students’ Association Past President Award.

Class of 2016 student Megan Hanks received the Alberta College of Pharmacists Gold Medal for most outstanding students in the graduating class.

Two graduate students won awards at the Canadian Society for Pharmaceutical Sciences Conference: Igor Paiva awarded the Cedarlane Poster Award & Hoda Soleymani Abyaneh awarded the 2nd prize in the CCCRS Best Poster Competition.

(L-R) Former Dean James P. Kehrer, Megan Hanks, Class of 2016 and Rick Hackman, Past President, Alberta College of Pharmacists

OTHER NEWS

Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences alumni Taciana Pereira (B.Sc. Pharm '04) has been named incoming Alberta College of Pharmacists Council President for the 2016-17 term.

Ayaz Bhanji (B.Sc. Pharm '91) was recently elected as President Elect UAlberta Alumni Council.

OUTSTANDING ALUMNI AWARD

The outstanding Alumnus Award celebration celebrates accomplished alumni and recognizes outstanding contributions to the profession, community, society at large, or to the University of Alberta Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. The 2016 winners are: Melissa Hozack (B.Sc.Pharm '01) and Ron Pohar (B.Sc.Pharm '95).

The University of Alberta SLOWPOKE nuclear reactor will be removed from service and its dismantled components moved away from the University of Alberta in a process referred to as decommissioning. The initial site work for the decommissioning will begin in the spring of 2017.

In 1977, the University of Alberta opened the doors on its newly commissioned SLOWPOKE (Safe Low Power Kritical Experiment) Nuclear Reactor Facility - the fourth SLOWPOKE II research reactor installed on a Canadian university campus at the time - located on the North campus.

The reactor was designed, built and installed by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) and was commissioned on April 22, 1977.

The reactor was established under the direction of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences to support the Radiopharmacy program.

Isotopes were used in biomedical research and increasingly as a diagnostic in Oncology. Based on the isotopes produced, the Edmonton Radiopharmacy centre was established in the Dentistry & Pharmacy building where it operated for a number of years before being moved to the Cross Cancer Centre.

UPCOMING EVENTS The Alberta Pharmacy Students' Association has the honour of hosting the 30th annual Professional Development Week (PDW) held on January 10-13, 2018! PDW 2018 is an annual 4-day pharmacy student conference that strives to provide a unique set of educational opportunities to the next generation of pharmacists.

The theme chosen for this conference is “Fueling Our Future.” This idea showcases the potential that all pharmacy and pharmaceutical professionals have in shaping the future of the pharmacy industry in Alberta as well as across Canada.

Innovation in healthcare, pharmacy practice and research will be highlighted among the many speakers and sessions coming to PDW 2018. Furthermore, the Health Fair will showcase a range of diverse professionals and non-profit groups to discuss their latest ideas and developments. Highlighting our list of phenomenal speakers, we have Dr. Samantha Nutt (Founder/Director of War Child Canada) and Ben Nemtin (Actor/ Producer on MTV’s The Buried Life).

In order to make this one of the best conferences to date, we are reaching out to pharmacy alumni and previous

PDW attendees for support in the form of sponsorship opportunities, speakers, and booths at the Health Fair. This is the largest platform for current professionals and pharmacy alumni to re-connect with students and help create a memorable and educational experience for future pharmacists.

For more information, or if you are interested in contributing to PDW 2018 in any of the above ways, please contact Diva Niaz and Anuvir Bhullar at pdw2018cochairs@capsi.ca UAlberta Pharmacy: Fall 2016

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IN MEMORIAM We honour those alumni who have passed before us.

*Asterisk indicates date when University of Alberta was notified of alumnus passing, not date of passing.

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James Holmes, Class of 1968 March 10, 2016

Neil Fjell, Class of 1958 – November 3, 2015

Olaf Sorenson, Class of 1951 – June 25, 2015

Stephanie Andrews, Class of 1947 – February 2, 2015

David McRitchie, Class of 1950 – July 8, 2015*

Ralph Cooper, Class of 1928 – January 8, 2015

Sandra Shepherd, Class of 1973 – September 15, 2015*

Wesley Given, Class of 1959 – February 27, 2015

Prudence Penley, Class of 1944 – November 18, 2014

Nyal Fletcher, Class of 1937 – April 15, 2016

Janet Russell, Class of 1961 – August 25, 2015

Bernard Dlin, Class of 1955 – May 17, 2016

William Leisen, Class of 1954 – May 19, 2016

Harry Nolan, Class of 1953 – Novemebr 20, 2014

Mervin Daum, Class of 1942 – October 30, 2014*

Jane Boston, Class of 1963 – May 22, 2015

Alan Campbell, Class of 1954 – October 9, 2015

David Lajoie, Class of 1991 – December 17, 2015

Walter Maday, Class of 1943 – June 27, 2015

Ken Okamura, Class of 1970 – December 11, 2014

James Ferguson, Class of 1975 – February 1, 2015

Robert Brearley, Class of 1932 – January 7, 2015

Shawn Bews, Class of 1994 – July 19, 2014

Jim Miller, Class of 1965 – March 19, 2016

George Graham, Class of 1941 – October 8, 2014

Marlain Wong, Class of 1975 – December 12, 2015

Myros Samycia, Class of 1951 – September 19, 2015

Ian Ellis, Class of 1929 – December 12, 2014

Gary Williams, Class of 1979 – September 28, 2015

Ross Shears, Class of 1958 – February 26, 2016

Orest Verchomin, Class of 1954 – December 18, 2015

Darryl Horon, Class of 1979 – March 26, 2016

Aloysius Kluck, Class of 1928 – November 3, 2014*

Lloyd Weicker, Class of 1956 – July 24, 2016

Allen Bailey, Class of 1947 – January 8, 2015

Marian Smith, Class of 1949 – December 10, 2014

Raymond Holmes, Class of 1932 – October 31, 2014*

Clayton Richardson, Class of 1951 – November 16, 2015

John Taciuk, Class of 1951 – March 3, 2015

Duncan Kennedy, Class of 1951 – May 22, 2009

Carol Wlashyn, Class of 1972 – October 18, 2014

Raymond Fisher, Class of 1935 – January 2, 2015*

Darrell Dixon, Class of 1976 – July 21, 2014

Alan Robison, Class of 1957 – May 25, 2015

Peter Stevens, Class of 1952 – June 5, 2016

Drummond Cotterill, Class of 1950 – December 3, 2015

Alan Lister, Class of 1955 – June 10, 2016

Doris Johnston, Class of 1933 January 12, 2016

Lorne Baldwin, Class of 1963 – June 7, 2016

Margaret Bolduc, Class of 1977 – November 14, 2014

Lillian Harasym, Class of 1965 – July 4, 2015

Alhandro Poon, Class of 1972 – June 13, 2015

Leslie Chatten, Class of 1947 – August 11, 2015

Hugh Levy, Class of 1953 – February 11, 2016

Martin Valentine, Class of 1952 – November 20, 2014

Dorothy MacQuisten, Class of 1954 – February 8, 2015

Santo Rizzuto, Class of 1968 – April 18, 2016

Stuart Dunlap, Class of 1941 – October 29, 2014*

Marvin Bartzen, Class of 1960 – July 5, 2016

Keith Nickel, Class of 1991 – October 3, 2014

Kenneth Sproule, Class of 1957 – May 18, 2016

Doris Douglas, Class of 1943 – January 8, 2015

Patricia Lebrecque, Class of 1953 October 3, 2014

Isabel Metcalf, Class of 1945 – November 3, 2014*

Patrick Man, Class of 1972 – May 14, 2014

Michael Bao, Class of 2003 – May 24, 2015

UAlberta Pharmacy: Fall 2016

ALUMNI WEEKEND

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(L-R) Bob Bailey (B.Sc. Pharm ‘66) and Kiyo Oikawa (B.Sc. Pharm ‘66)

he faculty brunch and student-led tours took place on September 24, 2016. Alumni shared their memories and celebrated the proud tradition of the U of A pharmacy family.

(L-R) Gwen Glasgow (B.Sc. Pharm ‘72), Deb Holmes (B.Sc. Pharm ‘72), Debby Oikawa (B.Sc. Pharm ‘72) and Ev Wright (B.Sc. Pharm ‘72).

Dean Neal Davies (B.Sc. Pharm '91, PhD '96) speaks to alumni as they tour the Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences offices during Alumni Weekend.

Students lead a group of pharmacy alumni on a tour of the faculty.

UAlberta Pharmacy: Fall 2016

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Canada Post indicia Please return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences 2-35H MSB, University of Alberta 8613 -114 Street Edmonton AB T6G 2H7 Email: phcomms@ualberta.ca Website: ualberta.ca/pharmacy

Mail recipient info

Share your pharmacy history with us!

We’re collecting great photos, videos or other historic articles from your days at the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences or any other historical mementos about pharmacy in Alberta.

Send us your best memories of your time here on campus.

(Don’t worry, we’ll return all original photos).

Email: phcomms@ualberta.ca with your submissions.