WELCOME BACK! Hello all! We hope you and your families have enjoyed your summer and stayed safe while doing so. This year the BioPharm executive society is launching its new email newsletter where we hope to send you valuable information about the program, co-op job search tips and tricks, as well as keeping everyone updated with upcoming events and opportunities. - Kruti Bhakta and Tavishi Weeraratna
Meet the PHARMAC professors The BioPharm program has the best professors! Here are all the instructors that will be teaching the PHARMAC courses:
Dr. Gurmit Singh
Dr. Luke Janssen
Dr. Jeffrey Dickhout
Dr. Derek Lobb
Dr. Patangi Rangachari
Dr. Renee Labiris
Dr. Alison Holloway
Dr. Rosalyn Johnson
Dr. Helga Duivenvoorden
Dr. Ram Mishra
Meet the 2020-2021 Executive Members Meet the crew that will be bringing you all the mentorship, social and networking events as well as journal club, the annual Denis Crankshaw lectureship, cool merch and this newsletter in the coming year!
Alyssa Burrows MBPS Co-president Level V
Tyler Seto MBPS Co-president Level IV
Tavishi Weeraratna Co-VP Administration Level V
Nimah Siddiqui Co-VP Administration Level IV
Kristyn Guglielmin Co-VP Events/Marketing Level V
Tasfiah Tasnim Co-VP Events/Marketing Level IV
Holly Crandon Co-VP Finance Level V
Kruti Bhakta Co-VP Finance Level IV
Upcoming Events Mentorship Program Events Monday August 31st, 8-9 PM: "Get to know you, Ice Breakers and Games night". On August 31st we held a virtual meet and greet for 3rd and 4th years to get to know each other and play games. Thursday September 10th 9-10 PM: "Things I wish I knew in Third year with MBPS execs". We know you have a lot of questions about your upcoming years as a third-year BioPharm student. Come out to our third year Q&A night where we will answer all your questions about BioPharm from electives to co-op! Check your email for the Zoom link to join! Journal Club The BioPharm Society will be starting our own journal club! It will be biweekly club from September- November with a new topic each month! We will be doing a hybrid model where one week a student leads the discussion and the following session a professor leads the session. More details coming soon! September’s topic will be "Pain and Pain Management". Dr. Gurmit Singh will be our first guest lecturer. Why should you join us? Connect with your peers across all years, learn about different topics within pharmacology in an casual environment, and develop your scientific literacy skills! BioPharm Socials Come meet and connect with other BioPharm students through a variety of engaging activities. Stay tuned for more details
The Annual Denis Crankshaw Lectureship The fifth year BioPharm students will be inviting a guest lecturer to present their research and work pertaining to pharmacology during second semester. Stay tuned for more details! Networking Opportunities Check out OscarPlus and the co-op office for potential networking opportunities. Stay tuned for more details. Merchandise The BioPharm society will be releasing some great new merch this year so keep an eye out for more information via email.
A Message from the Co-op Office The start to fall is often met with excitement and anticipation for what the new school year will bring. Some with the excitement of the chance to start in the BioPharm program, some getting ready for their next work opportunity and some of us returning to campus to finish their final year. This year some of that excitement has turned to fear and anxiety because of the uncertainty due to COVID-19 and this uncertainty has fundamentally shifted the way we look at co-op. Students are now working remotely, working on theoretical projects, and venturing far outside the comfort zones to develop the skills that will help them attain future success. We still do not know a lot about what the end of 2020 will bring and what 2021 will look like, but collectively we
will have to be more diligent about looking for opportunities, reaching out to our contacts and creating new ones so that this school year can be a success. Employers are still keen on hiring and some have even reached out to help guide our co-op students through these uncertain times. The important thing to remember is that we are all in this together and we all have the same goals; to find work opportunities that will challenge and help you develop your potential. The SCCE is still committed to providing the service you have come to know and expect. While you may not be able to physically drop in and talk us, we can still be found us in the digital space through email, phone calls, and our new virtual office through Brazen. We encourage everyone to “drop in� to our office in September so that we can hear about your summers no matter how small or grand they were. - Jared Kunar
Message from the Program Director Welcome to the first newsletter of the BIOPHARM student society! Despite all the upheaval in the last 6 months, the importance of good pharmacology has not diminished, in fact it has received much more attention. Critical evaluation of scientific research has also received its due and we in BioPharm have been a strong advocate for this since our program’s inception. First I would like to acknowledge the very important role our student society plays in our program. From helping to inform prospective students about our program, social events for new students, mentorships etc. And now the initiative to start this newsletter! I strongly encourage everyone to get involved! To our new students: the restrictions on face to face teaching is affecting how we will teach this fall. Our faculty teachers all have experience with Zoom or Team teaching and they look forward to engaging with you using these formats. Prof. Luke Janssen has spent many hours making video’s of 3B06 labs and he will make it as informative for you as possible. We hope that we can have some real lab interaction soon but we have to accept the rules set out by the university. We will keep you posted! To all students: I strongly encourage you to create a group social account for each course so that you guys can interact outside the official class time and please discuss with your faculty tutors any ways the experience can be
enhanced! We have to make it work together! Personally, I have found that Zoom or Team teaching is much better than I anticipated. Coop placements and 4T12 honours thesis placements have been severely affected by the COVID 19 pandemic and I am very proud of our students for the creativity they have shown, and their persistence in finding meaningful alternatives. Please look into funding from Biotalent and Magnet. You could be eligible for up to $7500 in funding and it can be used by anyone, including professors at any institution. The coop office has been posting roles that they wouldn’t normally post, for example, management jobs with the Ministry of Transportation and with the Government of Ontario. This is not focused on pharmacology but the skill-sets can be what some of you are looking for. You can also send your resume to the coop office so they can refer them directly to employers. Stephanie and I have started working on the organization of the thesis defenses and I encourage all of you to keep us informed about your thesis work progress or issues. This newsletter will help us stay connected in this time of forced separation. We will introduce you to faculty, students and programs in new ways, so keep in touch! Dr. Huizinga