Research seminar - 2 July
On Monday 2 July there will be a Pacific Awareness Training seminar, presented by Tofilau Nina Kirifi-Alai from the Pacific Islands Centre. This seminar is open to all and it is greatly encouraged that you attend if you are able. It will be held in room 713 at 1pm.
50th Jubilee - New Class Photo
The count down continues until our 50th Jubilee and each week we will be adding a new class photo to our virtual photo wall.
This weeks photo is the amazing class of 2006. Good work guys!.
50th Jubilee - New Class Photo
The count down continues until our 50th Jubilee and each week we will be adding a new class photo to our virtual photo wall.
This weeks photo is the fantastic class of 1981. Some great smiles amongst the graduates.
Research seminar - 18 June
On Monday 18 June, Michael Bagge, PhD Candidate, School of Pharmacy, will be giving his final PhD research seminar on ‘Medicines in the context of older people’s lives’ in Room 713, Adams Building at 1pm.
Vacancy - Executive Assistant to the Dean
Executive Assistant to the Dean [HR link]
We are seeking an energetic and enthusiastic person to provide professional and confidential executive assistance in managing the day-to-day operations of the Dean’s Office in the School of Pharmacy. The successful applicant will have relevant experience, preferably, but not essentially, in the University environment.
Other essential skills and attributes are the ability to initiate tasks without direction, very good oral and written communication skills, and the ability to work to deadlines and display sound judgement. The position entails liaison with University staff and people in organisations with which the School has essential functional relationships, such as the Pharmacy Council of New Zealand. A strong capacity for relating to people is therefore fundamental to the job.
This is an excellent opportunity for a positive and enthusiastic person, with initiative and the ability to work well with others, to join our School.
Applications will close on Friday, 6 July 2012.
Studentships: a great way to spend summer
Third-year student Andrew Davis spent last summer in rural and remote areas of Tairawhiti, meeting and talking to people picking up their medication from small depots.
Meanwhile, fellow student Suchaya Sanhajariya was back in the lab at Otago University conducting experiments into the lipophilicity of drugs.
Catherine Fletcher, another of their classmates, was conducting a literature review into the health and medicine taking practices of migrants to New Zealand.
They spent their summers in quite diverse ways, but all were participating in summer studentships offered by the school of pharmacy. The studentships enable students who have completed their second or third year of the BPharm degree to undertake research projects over 10 weeks during the summer break, for which they are paid a tax-free scholarship.
In Andrew’s case he was awarded a Maori health research scholarship from the Health Research Council. Andrew is of Nga Rauru descent and his research was related to Maori health.
All three enjoyed their experience and would like to do some more research in the future. For Suchaya, who is this year a fourth-year student, it was the second time she had taken part in a summer studentship. She particularly enjoys the chance to learn something different outside of the usual class situation. This past summer she investigated the lipophilicity of seven ionisable drugs by measuring the increase in surface pressure in phospholipid monolayers.
For Catherine, her research into migrants was topical as she is originally from Malaysia. She undertook a literature review into the health and medicine-taking practices of the Chinese, South Asian and Dutch migrants in New Zealand and found there are barriers including language and a lack of knowledge of the health system which make healthcare less accessible to them.
She particularly enjoyed the one-on-one time she was able to spend with her supervisor, lecturer Dr Susan Heydon.
Travel was a big part of Andrew’s research which saw him visit pharmacy depots in places like Tolaga Bay, Ruatoria and Te Puia. His project explored the barriers people have to accessing medicines in the Tairawhiti region as well as identifying storage conditions for medicines in transit and at depots.
He found the cost of medicines, the cost of petrol and having a physical disability or impairment were all barriers to access, while often medicines were not stored in optimal conditions. In one extreme case a woman who had a disability and who lives alone with no electricity, had to rely on getting a ride with someone else to pick up her medicine.
Most alarming was the fact 41 per cent of participants had already run out of their medicines by the time they were picking up their new medication.
Needless to say, Andrew says his summer studentship was an eye-opening experience.
Article written by Liane Topham-Kindley for Pharmacy Today
Andrew Davis' summer studentship took him to Tolaga Bay on the East Coast.
Otago student a winner
PhD student Chakradhar Lagishetty was a winner at the recent Population Approach Group in Australia and New Zealand conference.
He was one of six Otago School of Pharmacy students who presented at the conference held in Melbourne, Australia, in February and won the prize for best student presentation.
The conference focuses on methods applied to analysing data and application of methods to learn about the time course of the effects of drugs, how quickly they work, how much effect they have and how long they last. A wide range of people from industry, academia and clinical perspectives attend the conference.
Chakradhar’s project is about covariates (patient characteristics) with an emphasis on identification of biomarkers of aging to predict drug clearance in the elderly.
Chakradhar has previously worked in industry as a research scientist in India for Dr Reddy’s Discovery Research and Advinus Therapeutics. “While working in the pharmaceutical industry I realised the importance of population pharmacokinetics and PKPD correlations (pharmacometrics), this led me to purse a PhD in pharmacometrics.”
The school of pharmacy’s research group in pharmacometrics is led by school dean, Professor Stephen Duffull, and Chakradhar says Professor Duffull’s expertise in this field led him to study at Otago. The other students to attend and present at the conference were Hesham Al-Sallami, Dan Wright, Julia Korell, Abhishek Gulati and Katie Owens.
Article written by Liane Topham-Kindley for Pharmacy Today
PhD student Chakradhar Lagishetty
Movies zoom in on pharmacy research
Film-maker Andrew Scott is surprised at the breadth and depth of research going on at the pharmacy school.
A master’s student at Otago University’s Centre for Science Communication, Mr Scott recently finished making two promotional videos about research carried out at the pharmacy school for the school’s new website.
A marine biology graduate, Mr Scott admits he was surprised at the amount of research being carried out.“There’s all sorts; it was quite staggering just how much they are doing - the sheer breadth of things they were covering - from things you would expect they might do, to things you wouldn’t.”
He filmed research being carried out into protein modelling and clinical testing. He also captured an oral history of how older people approach medicines and how they interface with doctors and pharmacists.
Originally from Scotland, Mr Scott says the decision to study film-making led him to Otago University, one of only two places in the world where the Master’s in Science Communication course is offered.
He recently handed in his thesis and is delighted to have secured a job with Dunedin-based television company, Natural History New Zealand.
Article written by Liane Topham-Kindley for Pharmacy Today
Andrew Scott has been making fils about the School's research
2013 already set to be a 'golden' year
April 2013 is an important date in the history of the Otago School of Pharmacy with golden jubilee celebrations currently being planned.
It was in 1963 that the first students entered the professional pharmaceutical component of their undergraduate course. Because, while Otago University’s department of pharmacy officially opened in 1961, it was not until 1963, after two years of health sciences study, that students moved into the discipline of pharmacy.
“So 2013 is the 50 year anniversary of the first cohort who moved into the first pharmaceutical course,” school dean and jubilee committee chairperson, Stephen Duffull says.
He understands there was one student in the 1963 class and, as far as he is aware, this will be the first official significant celebration the school has held. A committee is currently busy preparing celebrations which will include a social programme and opportunities for year classes to celebrate.
Professor Duffull plans to showcase work of both current and past students in two symposia which will separately feature highlights from both the school and students.
“The foci will be on the school and what it has achieved and its alumni and what they have achieved,” Professor Duffull says.
Anyone interested in attending the jubilee or with ideas for the celebrations should email the Jubilee Committee
Article written by Liane Topham-Kindley for Pharmacy Today
