Diverse summer research
The School of Pharmacy檚 first Undergraduate Student Summer Research Program (USSRP) is underway, allowing eight students to explore career options in research.
The goal of the program is to encourage undergraduate students in pharmacy or any discipline with relevance to pharmacy research to become aware of career options in research.
淲e have a diverse graduate research program here in the School of Pharmacy that many people don檛 know about, said Dr. John Weber, Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Research. 淲e have been making a concerted effort over the past few years to promote our graduate programs, and the Undergraduate Student Summer Research Program is something we檙e really proud of and look forward to being able to offer for many years to come.
In February the School pioneered its , intended to draw students who may never have considered pharmaceutical sciences or clinical pharmacy graduate research as an area they檇 like to explore. In March as part of Pharmacist Awareness Month, the second annual was held, and featured the first ever wherein graduate students gave short, five-minute presentations to creatively communicate their work to a mass audience.
淥ne of the highlights of our is to increase our undergraduate students awareness of career opportunities in research, explained Dr. Carlo Marra, Dean. 淲hether in practice or a lab, there are many ways students can become involved in research and we feel it檚 our responsibility here in the School to make them aware of the most current and exhaustive list of opportunities that exist with an undergraduate degree in pharmacy or a related discipline. And of course we檇 also like them to consider continuing their education by doing a graduate program with us. We want to make sure they know that we have a diverse and outstanding program right here at 91亚色. Our graduate supervisors are well-funded and are excellent mentors.
The USSRP takes place throughout June, July and August, and culminates with a reception event where participants give an oral presentation of their findings.
淧art of the purpose is to get students used to presenting their research, said Dr. Weber. 淲hether they choose to go into a career in research or not, effective communication skills are essential, so no matter which way their career goes, presenting and speaking in an articulate manner to groups of people will serve them well.
The students will also participate in the School檚 research poster competition on Pharmacy Research Innovation Day, which takes place annually during Pharmacist Awareness Month (March).
淲e want the teaching and learning aspect of this program to be long lasting and to have impact, Dr. Marra added. 淲e don檛 want them to just forget what they檝e learned when the summer program ends.
From health outcomes to drug discovery and delivery, the USSRP includes a varied collection of research projects.
A complete list of faculty supervisors, students, research topic and funding agent includes:
- Dr. Tiffany Lee working with Jeremy MacDonald (Class of 2017), 淓valuation of the Newfoundland and Labrador Antibiotics Adherence Program (funded by TEVA)
- Dr. Debbie Kelly working with Caitlyn Walsh (Class of 2017), 淒eveloping an Evaluation Framework for the (funded by Apotex)
- Dr. John Weber working with Scott Unruh (Class of 2018), 淧otential protective effects of wild blueberry extracts in a model of Parkinson檚 disease (funded by TEVA)
- Dr. Noriko Daneshtalab working with Robyn St. Croix (Class of 2017), 淒etermination of hemorrhagic stroke formation in the hypertensive, arthritic rat model (funded by Apotex)
- Dr. Laleh Alisaraie working with Maria Flynn (Class of 2017), 淐omputational Research on Cancer Drugs and their side effects (funded by Apotex)
- Dr. Lisa Bishop working with Jillian McInnis (Class of 2018), 淎 description of services utilized by youth in a community health centre: preparing for a youth drop-in-clinic (funded by Apotex)
- Dr. John Weber working with Steven Rowe (Class of 2018) 淓ffects of adolescent alcohol exposure on long-term motor function (funded by )
- Dr. John Weber working with Catherine Grandy (Class of 2019), 淭he effects of wild blueberry extracts on neuroinflammation(Ms. Grandy is a recipient of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Undergraduate Student Research Award)
The School of Pharmacy檚 USSRP is made possible through unrestricted financial support from Apotex and Teva. For more information on graduate programs, visit .