It is with immense pride that I welcome our largest ever cohort of 1^st year pharmacy students. I hope that your next 4 years are full of challenges, new discoveries, and new friendships but most of all enjoyment! 

I also want to take this opportunity to welcome back our 2nd, 3rd & 4th year students and convey to them my best wishes for the year ahead.

I should also mention that the School’s research has continued to grow and develop over the years and this year is no different.  We have recorded an increase in the numbers of research and higher degree students and I would like to extend my welcome to them and wish them success for the year ahead.

Professor Nick Shaw
Head of School

School Welcomes Largest Cohort in History

The start of 2009 saw the School open its doors to the largest cohort of students in its 50 year history.

282 budding pharmacists have enrolled in their first year of the Bachelor of Pharmacy degree. The group, which includes students from 12 countries around the world, was welcomed in an orientation lecture given by Head of School, Professor Nick Shaw, on February 24th.

As well as being the largest group to begin their degree at the School of Pharmacy, they will also go down in the history books as being the last class to begin their degree at St Lucia, as the School will re-locate to The Pharmacy Australia Centre of Excellence (PACE) at the beginning of 2010.

The School welcomes all new students from around the globe, and would like to take the opportunity to wish you all the best for the coming 4 years of study.

"Teamwork In Action" Day Gets 1st Years Working Together

Nearly 1500 first year health students attended the 2nd Annual Teamwork in Action Day on Thursday 20 March.

Students from all disciplines across the Faculty of Health Sciences worked together on challenging and fun team activities, including lifts and jumps as part of a stunting routine and construction of an improvised stretcher for a ‘field emergency’. They were also required to create and perform a jingle that promoted teamwork and studying health at UQ.

The aim of the event, the only one of its type in Australia, is to promote the importance of teamwork in healthcare delivery. It was attended by 1447 students and was staged with the assistance of 15 academic staff from all schools within the Faculty and eight final year students.

Faculty Associate Dean, Academic, Associate Professor Michele Groves, said preliminary evaluations showed that a majority of students found the event interesting, interactive and fun, and agreed it had achieved the learning objectives.

“Most students also indicated they enjoyed being part of a team and appreciated the opportunity to meet students from other programs and to gain an awareness of the other health professions,” Michele said.

During their degree, students will continue to be exposed to the concept of the healthcare team, as part of the only faculty-wide interprofessional education curriculum on offer in an Australian university.

Students are required to complete modules reinforcing the importance of collaboration. Modules increase in complexity with their studies and include using a teamwork approach to solving patient cases and improving patient care.

"The aim is for UQ health graduates to understand that their profession involves more than the isolated practice of discipline-specific knowledge and skills, and that they have an important role to play as part of a health team. So, our graduates will be better equipped for the demands they will face in delivering quality patient care,” Michele said

Story courtesy Marlene McKendry, Faculty of Health Sciences
Photo courtesy Stuart Gould, Office of Marketing & Communications

Iron Woman Raises Cash for Breast Cancer Cause

School of Pharmacy Lecturer Ms Judy Burrows competed in the New Zealand Ironman Triathlon.

Judy managed to raise almost $3000.00 in sponsorship for the Breast Cancer cause when she completed the 3.8km swim, 180km ride and 42.2km run in 15 hours, 39 minutes and 16 seconds.

The NZ Ironman, which is held annually in Taupo, New Zealand, is the world's oldest international Ironman event, celebrating its 25th year in 2009. It is also the most international race on the Ironman qualifying calendar with more than 37 countries represented.

For more information on the event, visit the New Zealand Ironman Triathlon website.

Congratulations go to Judy on her fantastic effort in the competition, and for raising funds for such a needy cause.

Ministerial Advisory Role for Dr Lisa Nissen

School of Pharmacy Senior Lecturer, Dr Lisa Nissen, has been appointed to a key industry ministerial advisory committee.

Since 1990, the Australian Government and the Pharmacy Guild of Australia have entered into agreements which set out the remuneration that pharmacists will receive for dispensing Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) medicines and the arrangements regulating the location of pharmacies. The agreement also provides for funding for professional pharmacy programs and services.

Lisa will be a member of The Professional Programs and Services Advisory Committee (PPSAC), which was established to provide advice to the Minister for Health and Ageing on the programs and bodies to receive this funding.

Lisa said the committee would look at funding in the priority areas of:

• Better Community Health Programs

• Medication Management Review Programs

• Rural Programs

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Programs, and

• e-Health Initiatives.

For further information, please visit the Department of Health and Ageing Website

Will you be the student entrepreneur of 2009?

In 2009 the National Student Business Plan competition will determine who are the best and brightest young minds in pharmacy.

In addition to over $15,000 in cash and prizes, teams will have the opportunity to present their vision for the future live on stage at the Pharmacy Women’s Congress on the Gold Coast.

The National Student Business Plan Competition has been designed to promote creative and innovative entrepreneurship amongst students studying pharmacy and encourage them to develop viable, innovative, pharmacist-owned community pharmacies.

Kos Scalvos, National President of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia said “The National Student Business Competition helps pharmacy students approach the idea of business ownership and management confidently, by giving them real-life skills in buying, owning and operating a community pharmacy,”

After the rigours of clinical study and achieving full registration as a pharmacist, approaching the task of owning or managing a business may seem overwhelming. Let this competition be a springboard to getting those first ideas on paper and have some fun in the process.

“The Guild is proud to be behind the National Student Business Plan Competition, which is an excellent tool for the career development of pharmacy students. I encourage any students considering getting involved to do so,” Mr. Sclavos said.

The Competition is run by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia and is proudly sponsored by Pharmacy Defense Limited and Gold Cross Pty Ltd.

For further information regarding the competition, please visit the Guild's website or contact Ms Jude Singleton, j.singleton@pharmacy.uq.edu.au

School of Pharmacy Take Modeling & Simulation to India

The Population Approach Group of India (PAGIN) was successfully launched in April 2008.

The overarching goal of PAGIN is to bring together individuals in India who share the passion to learn, train, and use model-based population approach methods for data analysis.

As part of this inaugural event UQ School of Pharmacy members Bruce Green and Glynn Morrish donated their time to teach a 3 day workshop in population pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic modeling.

The success of this initial course and great demand for further teaching in this area has resulted in Bruce and Glynn, along with School of pharmacy PhD student Phey Yen Han, being invited to return to India in 2009 to teach a 3 day beginners and 1 day intermediate course to PAGIN members.

The workshops will teach methods in population pharmacokinetic and pharmacokinetic data analysis, modeling and simulation, with the course consisting of a large “hands-on” component.

The 2009 meeting is to take place 20 - 23 April at the PSG Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Coimbatore, India and is shaping up to be another outstanding event with the courses already at capacity!

For further information regarding PAGIN, please visit the PSG Website

Pharmacists Board Awards Research Grants

Three School of Pharmacy academics received research grants from The Pharmacists Board of Queensland, which awarded over $180,000 in research funding to three projects aimed at improving pharmacy practice and health outcomes in Queensland.

Congratulations go to:

• Dr Therese Kairuz: $19,909 for the project "Exploring comprehension, communication and health literacy issues in community pharmacy" in the Early Career Researcher category

• Mr. Neil Cottrell: $29,810 for the project "The role of pharmacists in improving adherence in consumers with Acute Coronary Syndrome" in the Experienced Researcher category and

• Dr Lisa Nissen: $149,927 for the project "Commercial influences on community pharmacist recommendations and their impact on patients' quality use of medicines" in the Pharmacy College Trust Research Grant category

Board Chairperson Mr. Peter Brand said it was the first time the Board had provided funding for research, having developed a research program after consulting in 2007 with registrants and key interest groups on its Strategic Plan 2008 – 2012.

“The Board is responsible for developing programs and encouraging research relevant to pharmacy and the continuing professional education and training of pharmacists,” Mr. Brand said.

“As the Board is totally funded by registrant fees from Queensland’s 5,000 pharmacists, we are very proud to invest fees in projects that will benefit the profession of pharmacy and the Queensland community.”

The Board announced in July 2008 that it had allocated up to $250,000 for research activities, including up to $150,000 under the Pharmacy College Trust Research Grant. Funding was available to all levels of researcher experience, ranging from new to experienced researchers.

“The Pharmacists Board of Queensland congratulates all recipients and looks forward to receiving an update on progress by the project team around mid-2009,” Mr. Brand said.

Pictured (L - R): Board member A/Prof. Sarah Roberts-Thomson; recipient in the Experienced Researcher category Mr. Neil Cottrell (who also accepted the Pharmacy College Trust Research Grant on behalf of Dr Lisa Nissen); Board Chair Peter Brand; Board member and Research Grants Committee Chair Dr John Parke; and recipient in the Early Researcher category Dr Therese Kairuz

Inaugural Academic Scholarships Awarded to 1st Year Pharmacy Students

This year’s intake of Bachelor of Pharmacy students includes 7 recipients of UQ’s new academic scholarships. This is the first year these scholarships have been awarded.

Among the 147 Excellence Scholarships across UQ, 2 School of Pharmacy applicants were recognised:

• Ms Clare Craig
• Ms Qi Gao

5 Merit Scholarships were also awarded, out of 200 across UQ. These went to:

• Ms Francesca Grace
• Mr. Jarrad Horsfall
• Mr. Jared Miles
• Ms Simone Williams
• Mr. Nicholas Xynias

Faculty Deputy Executive Dean (Academic), Professor Helen Chenery, who met with the award winners said the Faculty was richer for the leadership qualities and academic excellence the students would bring to the first year cohort.
"Many of the students have performed community volunteer work during secondary school and will bring these and other experiences to enrich the Faculty," Helen said.

A special ceremony for Excellence Scholarship recipients was held at the St Lucia Campus on 22 February. The Faculty hosted a special event to welcome Merit Scholarship students on 23 February.

UQ Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Professor Deborah Terry said the new scholarships were one of the richest university merit scholarship packages for school leavers in Queensland and also one of Australia's biggest. 

“We received almost 1500 applications from Year 12 students across Queensland including St George, Cairns, Charters Towers, Mackay, Rockhampton and Dirranbandi, as well as the Northern Territory, New South Wales, ACT, Victoria and overseas,” Professor Terry said.

“We were tremendously impressed by the depth of talent and the academic achievements of these young people.”

The School would like to congratulate all 7 recipients on their outstanding achievement.

For further information regarding scholarships offered, please visit the UQ Scholarships Website

Pictured (L - R): Prof. Nick Shaw, Head of School, with Merit Scholarship recipients Nicholas Xynias, Jarras Horsfall & Jared Miles

School of Pharmacy Students Excel at PAGANZ Conference

Ms Damara McAndrew

Ms Damara McAndrew attended the 48th annual meeting for the American Society for Cell Biology, in San Francisco from December 13-17, 2008. She reports:

"Many of the speakers were mavericks in the field of cell biology, and there were some outstanding talks.  I presented a poster that was well attended, and I received a lot of positive feedback.

"In addition to supporting cell biology research, the society is also highly involved in promoting public involvement in science and science education, and I found the talks on these topics particularly inspiring.  I was also able to attend some career oriented sessions, and met with several journal editors. 

"I’d like to thank the School of Pharmacy, along with my advisors, A/Prof. Greg Monteith and A/Prof. Sarah Roberts-Thomson for providing me with a travel grant, and the ASCB for a lot of support and a great conference."

Ms Phey Yen Han

Ms Phey Yen Han, PhD candidate, travelled to Marseille, France, to attend the Population Approach Group Europe (PAGE), from 18 – 20 June 2008. She reports:

“PAGE is a group of individuals with a common interest in data analysis using the population approach, and the conference provided an informal atmosphere for interaction with researchers from a wide range of fields.

“I attended various talks and tutorial sessions covering diverse topics, including the application of modelling and simulation in the different clinical areas of oncology, paediatrics and diabetes. In addition, I presented part of my PhD work as a poster at the conference, and received valuable feedback regarding my research.

“I also took the opportunity to do some sightseeing around Marseille and Paris, enjoying authentic French cuisine and picking up some basic French along the way.

“I would like to thank the School of Pharmacy for their travel support, and my supervisors (Dr Bruce Green, Dr Carl Kirkpatrick and Dr Amitha Hewavitharana) for their guidance throughout my study.”

Ms Neeraj Bala

PhD candidate Ms Neerag Bala participated in a "Fungal Foray" (Mycoblitz, 2009), which was held in Cairns from 19 - 25 February. She reports:

"It was the first fungal foray in the Wet Tropics World Heritage area of Far North Queensland, Australia and was organized in conjunction with the School of Marine and Tropical Biology at James Cook University and the new Australian Tropical Herbarium.

"The aim of the Mycoblitz was to collect as many new species of fungi as possible in a short period of time. The program included daily collection, identification of the samples and short seminars from visiting international and national experts in the evenings. The surveys focused on the participating taxonomists’ fields of expertise and included Agaric, Boletoid, Coralloid and Hypogeous (truffle) fungi.

Ms Alesha Smith

PhD candidate, Alesha Smith, attended the 24th International Conference on Pharmacoepidemiology & Therapeutic Risk Management in Copenhagen, Denmark, from August 17 - 20, 2008.

"Over 500 delegates attended from all regions, the presented research focused on the development of policy and education around pharmacoepidemiology, including pharmacovigilance, drug utilization, and therapeutic risk management.

"I presented part of my PhD work as a poster and received some valuable feedback and guidance on my research. The chance to network with international researchers also allowed me to make contacts for future research opportunities.

"Attendance at this international conference would not have been possible without the support from my supervisors, Prof Sue Tett and Prof Wayne Hall as well as the support and travel grant from the School of Pharmacy."

Ms Susan Hua

School of Pharmacy PhD candidate Susan Hua attended the 38th annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in Washington DC, United States of America, from 15–19 of November 2008. Susan presented the following report:

"Neuroscience 2008 provided a forum for learning, information exchange and professional development, with over 30,000 diverse attendees from around the world gathering to present and share ideas.

"The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) Conference provides the premier venue for neuroscientists to share research findings. By attending lectures, symposia, and workshops, I was able to experience the most exciting and cutting-edge research the field of neuroscience has to offer in a multitude of research areas such as neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases.

"It was an absolutely wonderful experience to be able to present my PhD work as a poster at the conference. The poster session offers a more intimate forum for discussion, which allowed me to interact and network with other international delegates interested in adapting my research into their field of research. It was also a great platform to receive invaluable feedback on my work and to form future collaborations.

"At the same time as the SfN conference, Washington DC also hosted the “G20 Summit Meeting” with leaders from countries across the world. And with the new President-elect of the United States in town, Washington DC was just buzzing with excitement and chock-a-block with security.

“I would like to acknowledge the support from my supervisor Dr Peter Cabot and the travel grant that I received from the School of Pharmacy.”

Research Quality Awards Showcase RHD Excellence

The School of Pharmacy recognised the work of its Research Higher Degree (RHD) students during February, with the presentation of Research Quality Awards and the celebration of RHD Day.

The awards were given for publications from 2008.

Usually three awards of $1000 are presented, one for each research strength in the School: Therapeutic Targeting , Quality Use of Medicine (QUM), and Modeling and Simulation. This year however, there were entrants in only the first two categories, but organisers said the caliber of publications submitted were extremely high.

To assist the judges in deciding a winner, all entrants were asked to demonstrate the quality of their publication and PhD studies in a 50-word justification.

The QUM Prof Lloyd Sansom Prize was presented to Greg Kyle for his publication entitled “Pharmaceutical company influences on medication prescribing and their potential impact on quality use of medicines”, published in The Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics.

The William Harris Award for Therapeutic Targeting was presented to Dr Helen Faddy for her publication in the Journal of Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications entitled “Localization of plasma membrane and secretory calcium pumps in the mammary gland”.

RHD day included a speech given by Greg Kyle, about the conferences that he attended during his PhD candidature - including his trip to Seoul Korea - which was partially financed by the School of Pharmacy’s PhD travel scholarship.

Following on from Greg’s presentation, the students heard from Dr Helen Faddy about the career choices she had made post PhD and her pearls of wisdom about her career journey thus far.

Helen graduated in 2008 and is currently working as a research analyst with the Red Cross Blood Service.

Dr Tracey Bessell presented an interesting and informative talk later in the day. Dr Bessell originally trained as a Pharmacist and worked in community pharmacy before completing a Masters of Public Health and then a PhD.

Dr Bessell is currently employed by the federal government and is involved with the government’s new GP Super Clinic initiative. The group was entertained and informed about her life after her PhD and what it is like working in the public sector.

The RHD day also served as an opportunity for the students to learn about PACE, as well as the new milestone policy that has been introduced into the University of Queensland for all RHD candidates.

Finally, after lunch, the day concluded with a presentation and workshop facilitated by Amanda Suter from Student Services on "What Employers Want", which was well received, informative and funny.

Pictured Above: Dr Helen Faddy received her certificate from head of School, Prof. Nick Shaw
Pictured Right : (L - R) A/Prof. Sarah Roberts-Thomson, Dr Helen Faddy, Dr Tracey Bessell & Mr. Greg Kyle

Congratulations to the following candidates who have been awarded their RHD:

Ms Madusha Peiris

Degree Conferred: Doctorate of Philosophy

Date Conferred: 12 March, 2009

Advisors: Dr Pete Cabot, A/Prof. Sarah Roberts-Thomson & A/Prof. Greg Monteith

Project Title: Development of a Novel Relapsing-Remitting Experimental Auto-immune Encephalomyelitis (RR-EAE) Model and characterisation PPARB in Multiple Sclerosis

The School of Pharmacy Welcomes the Following Research Higher Degree Candidates:

• Ms Jacqui Bond - PhD Candidate
  Supervisor/s: Dr Catherine Manathunga, Ms Caroline Steel & Prof. Nick Shaw
  Project Title: Factors affecting the academic performance of international students in pharmacy programs in Australia and the UK
• Ms Hidy Chan - PhD Candidate
  Australian Postgraduate Award (APA)
  Supervisors: Dr Lisa Nissen & Dr Kathryn Steadman
  Project Title: Comparison of health care system and the regulation of complementary medicines in Australia and Asia
• Ms Merril Curry - PhD Candidate
  University of Queensland Research Scholarship (UQRS)
  Supervisor/s: A/Prof. Sarah Roberts-Thomson & A/Prof. Greg Monteith
  Project Title: Over expression of PMCA2 and how this impacts on breast cancer
• Ms Gina Gujral - PhD Candidate
  Australian Postgraduate Award (APA)
  Supervisor/s: Mr. Neil Cottrell & Dr Lisa Nissen
  Project Title: The role of a pharmacist supporting beliefs about medications in consumers who have experienced an episode of Acute Coronary Syndrome
• Mr. Andy Hale - Masters of Philosophy
  Supervisor/s: Dr Lisa Nissen & Dr Ian Coombes
  Project Title: The evaluation of the impacts of a doctor - pharmacist collaborative prescribing model on the management of HIV infected patients
• Ms Dewi Hariyadi - PhD Candidate
  Indonesian Government Scholarship
  Supervisor/s: A/Prof. Allan Coombes
  Project Title: Investigations of drug loading and delivery from gelatin and alginate gel microparticles produced by atomisation of biopolymer solutions
• Ms Dilanthi Herath - PhD Candidate
  AusAID Scholarship
  Supervisor/s: Dr Pete Cabot, Dr Amitha Hewavitharana & Prof. Nick Shaw
  Project Title: A study of the fate of opioid peptides released in inflamed tissue with particular emphasis on the fragments that are responsible in pain reduction
• Ms Esther Lau - PhD Candidate
  Australian Postgraduate Award (APA)
  Supervisor/s: Dr Kathryn Steadman
  Project Title: Controlled release of medications using delivery systems based on protein biopolymers derived from plants
• Ms Nicole Luk - PhD Candidate
  Supervisor/s: A/Prof. Sarah Roberts-Thomson & A/Prof. Greg Monteith
  Project Title: Altered activity and/or expression of calcium transporters upregulated in specific cancers affect regulation of key calcium dependent transcription factors
• Ms Krishneeta Prakash - PhD Candidate
  Supervisor/s: Dr Lisa Nissen, Mr Greg Kyle & Dr Simon Smith
  Project Title: The efficacy of medication histories in the diagnosis of sleep disorders
• Ms Hemalatha Rajaram – PhD Candidate
  UQ Research Scholarship and UQ International Research Tuition Award (UQRS/UQIRTA)
  Supervisor/s: Dr Ben Ross
  Project Title: Photolabile drug delivery devices
• Mr Meng-Wong Taing - PhD Candidate
  UQ Research Scholarship (UQRS) & ARC Linkage Top-up
  Supervisor/s: A/Prof. Greg Monteith, Prof.Mike Gidley, A/Prof. Sarah Roberts-Thomson, Prof. Nick Shaw & Dr Ralf Dietzgen
  Project Title: Bioactive characterisation of mango constituents in cell models by identification of calcium flux responses using FLIPR tetra system

About the School of Pharmacy Alumni Network

When you graduate from The University of Queensland, you become part of a global network of some 150,000 graduates, or alumni. Every past student of the University is a valued member of the alumni community.

The School of Pharmacy alumni network seeks to establish mutually beneficial links between graduates of the School, the University and the wider community. The School of Pharmacy Alumni network allows students to stay connected with the university and take an active role in the rich university life of UQ through social, educational and intellectual activities.

Some of the benefits of Alumni membership include:

• Maintain valuable links with industry, allied health professionals, community organisations, fellow alumni and UQ
  
• Network with past students, staff and industry professionals through invitations to alumni functions, professional seminars and conferences
  
• Opportunities for professional development through invitations to continuing education courses and lectures
  
• Stay connected with your graduating class through reunions, social events, school newsletters and Graduate Connect magazine
  
• Reduced rates for library access
  
• Continued access to UQ Employment Services
  
• Reduced rates for internet access via UQ Connect
  
• Reduced rates for membership to UQ Sport
  
• Membership to the UQ Staff and Graduates Club

The Alumni network is open to all graduates of The University of Queensland's School of Pharmacy. Associate membership is now being offered to current students as well. Membership is free, and you can request to leave the network at any time. To register for membership, please click on the button to the right.

Please contact the School's Alumni Coordinator, Stephanie Dunn if you have any queries regarding The Alumni Network. If you are currently a member of the Alumni Network and wish to update your address, contact numbers or email address please do so by clicking on the button to the left.

The Alumni Network will host 3 reunion during 2009. These will be:

• 20 Year Reunion - Combined Class of 1989/1990 (October 24, 2009)
• 30 Year Reunion - Combined Class of 1979/1980 (September 26, 2009)
• 40 Year Reunion - Combined Class of 1969/1970 (August 29, 2009)

If you are a Graduate of any of the above classes, and would be interested in attending a reunion please contact the School Alumni Coordinator, Stephanie Dunn, on s.dunn@uq.edu.au or 07 3365 2034.