Dean’s Profile
DNA for Success Eminent geneticist appointed dean of the School of Pharmacy By Curtis Brown and John MacDonald
“Research will be at the heart of my ten-year tenure as the dean of School of Pharmacy. It will be a multi-disciplinary research institute, with particular emphasis on translation research.” —Dr. Pierre Zalloua
page 18
Transitioning to his new position as dean of the School of Pharmacy should be fairly smooth for Dr. Pierre Zalloua; after all, he has been interim dean there since 2010. On the other hand, he will be very busy indeed; on top of his stewardship of the school, Zalloua will continue to teach genetics at LAU’s School of Medicine, and serve as adjunct associate professor at Harvard’s School of Public Health. “Research will be at the heart of my ten-year tenure as the dean of School of Pharmacy,” says Zalloua. “It will be a multi-disciplinary research institute, with particular emphasis on translation research,” which, he explains, is research that has a direct impact on the community and patients. This emphasis on research is no surprise:.As a leading authority on the genetics of complex diseases in Middle Eastern populations, Zalloua has published more than 60 peer-reviewed articles. Since 2006, he has been the principal investigator for the MENA region of the Genographic Project, a National Geographic-sponsored effort to trace historical human migrations using DNA. He has also won a major grant from the Qatari National Research Fund to study the genetic determinants of Type-2 diabetes. Zalloua has ambitious goals for the recently reaccredited LAU School of Pharmacy. He aims to develop a closer relationship between it and the pharmaceutical industry, ensuring that “whenever there is something new, we are at the forefront of it. This will give us opportunities not only in terms of research, but also in providing health to the consumer.” The role of pharmacists in Lebanon has been in flux in recent years, says Zalloua, but the emerging field of clinical pharmacology will be at the foreground at the University Medical Center-Rizk Hospital (UMC–RH). “If you look at the U.S. today, the clinical pharmacist is an integral part of health
care, his presence is comparable to that of the clinician. Within a couple of years, we would like UMC–RH to be operating exactly like a U.S. hospital, with clinical pharmacists in every unit.” Zalloua obtained his B.S. at the American University of Beirut in 1987, his master’s from San Jose State University in 1990, and his Ph.D. in genetics from the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) in 1996. He conducted post-graduate fellowships at UC Davis in applied biosciences and at the Harvard School of Public Health before accepting a teaching position at the American University of Beirut in 2004. He was ultimately drawn to LAU by its effective administration and the close bonds between faculty members. “LAU has a special charm that no other university has; there is a cohesive, familial spirit that you don’t see anywhere else.” Zalloua’s two years as interim dean of the School of Pharmacy were pivotal, as the school pursued and obtained reaccreditation from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE). It remains the only ACPE-accredited school of its kind outside the United States. In spite of the demands of his position, Zalloua always makes time for his wife and two daughters, and to produce the occasional painting for relaxation. “The purpose,” he says, “is to forget yourself and what you do. Let this be half an hour or sometimes two hours to just use your imagination.” Fittingly for a researcher, Zalloua keeps his optimism for the School of Pharmacy and LAU measured and empirical, citing recent milestones for the university as well as its trajectory of growth. “If we judge by the last five years and this curve LAU has been riding, I think it’s clear we are on a course to become one of the top academic institutions in the Middle East,” he says. “This is not merely an aspirational vision but a realistic one.”