Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
$25 million commitment to U of A includes largest ever one-time gift to a Canadian pharmacy school
Canada's largest drug store chain of companies, the Edmonton-based Katz Group, and the Government of Alberta announced Friday that they are each contributing $7 million to the U of A. The $14 million investment - the largest ever one-time gift to a Canadian pharmacy school - will be used to support important new educational initiatives in the U of A Faculties of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Law. In recognition of the gift, the west wing of the Health Research Innovation Facility, which is now under construction at the corner of 87th Avenue and 114th Street, has been named The Katz Group-Rexall Centre for Pharmacy and Health Research.
Original: ExpressNews
', 'The Dentistry/Pharmacy Centre, formerly the Medical Building, was completed with the aid of a major grant from the Rockefeller Foundation in 1921. At that time it was the home of the health sciences, the Provincial Laboratory for Public health, Chemistry, Entomology, and U of A labs. It is now home to the dentistry component of the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, and the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.', 'Image Copyright University of Alberta Archives. Photographer: Unknown', 'images/Organizations/UACS-2007-0110_det.jpg', 2); "Dentistry/Pharmacy Centre (c. 1995-2007)")
In October 2006, when the Government of Alberta, along with the Katz Group, jointly pledged $14 million, the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciencesbecame the recipient of the largest one-time donation to a Canadian school of pharmacy. An additional $5.5 million to augment the donation, mustered from pharmaceutical companies, is being matched by the government, bringing the total donation amount to $25 million. The donations will support the Faculties of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Law.
A 2008 campaign goal for the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences is to raise $5 million to support the establishment of off-campus learning centres. Such centres would allow students to engage in clinical practice, essential for continued excellence in this field of study.
It’s a long way from the Faculty's modest beginnings as a department within the Faculty of Medicine in 1913, and as a school after 1917. When the School of Pharmacy's first three graduates convocated in 1921, they were the first students in the British Empire to have graduated from a four-year pharmacy program—all other existing programs being three-year programs. Granted faculty status in 1955, the Faculty of Pharmacy continued to grow and pursue scientific study to enhance patient care. Its first PhD student graduated in 1961. In 1968, because of its efforts in furthering the study of pharmaceutical science, the Faculty of Pharmacy was renamed the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
', 'The Dentistry/Pharmacy Centre, formerly the Medical Building, was completed with the aid of a major grant from the Rockefeller Foundation in 1921. At that time it was the home of the health sciences, the Provincial Laboratory for Public health, Chemistry, Entomology, and U of A labs. It is now home to the dentistry component of the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, and the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. ', 'Image Copyright University of Alberta Archives. Photographer: Richard Siemens', 'images/Organizations/UACS-2007-0109_det.jpg', 2); "Dentistry/Pharmacy Centre (c. 1995-2007)")
Since 1989, the program has been a five-year program, with the addition of a professional year in the field. Today’s Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences has one space for every seven applicants eager to work toward a BSc in Pharmacy; this indicates that the field is rich in career potential and that it is an exciting discipline for those interested in creating and developing safe and effective drugs for health care. The undergraduate program is accredited by the Canadian Council for Accreditation of Pharmacy Programs in Canada. Further accreditation is required of individuals wishing to practice pharmacy. In Alberta, students with a BSc in Pharmacy apply to the Alberta College of Pharmacists, which requires that students meet standards for pharmaceutical practice, conduct, and competence prior to receiving a pharmacy licence.
Pharmacy students experience clinical and research work, much of it in labs set up by faculty members who spend their research grants to furnish the labs with equipment.
Undergraduates devote 500 hours to an internship program and spend sixteen weeks in a practicum for hands-on pharmacy experience. Research work in labs can be credited towards the internship hours.
The pharmacy in the Students' Union Building is run by the Faculty and staffed by students. Most undergraduates, when they complete their degree, go on to work in the field rather than continue with graduate work; this demonstrates that there is opportunity for work and that their university schooling has prepared them for a career. Community practice, hospital practice, and work within the pharmaceutical industry and within government departments (usually regulatory departments) are some of the many options for those with degrees and licensure in pharmacy.
Those who do go on to do graduate work enjoy one of the finest pharmacy schools in Canada. The graduate program has been ranked among the top graduate programs in North America. The Faculty offers MPharm, MSc, and PhD graduate programs. There are a number of collaborations between the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and departments within the Faculty of Medicine and Dentisty, in particular, cancer research through the Department of Oncology.
Many graduate students add value to their masters or doctorate degrees in pharmacy by adding on a degree in law or business.
Areas of research include*:
- Bionucleonics
- Biopharmaceutics
- Drug Analysis/Drug Metabolism
- Medicinal Chemistry
- Microbiology
- Neurochemistry
- Pharmacy Administration
- Pharmaceutical Biotechnology
- Pharmaceutical Chemistry
- Pharmaceutical Microbiology
- Pharmaceutics
- Pharmacokinetics
- Physical Pharmacy
- Radiopharmacy
At the Pharmaceutical Orthopaedic Research Laboratory, students conduct research into bone conditions (e.g., bone cancer, arthritis, osteoporosis) and their treatment, as well as into bone mineral density imaging.
The Drug Metabolism and Pharmokinetics Laboratory conducts research on the effects of inflammation and heavy metals on the body.
The Biological and Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory conducts research into protein-protein reactions relevant to medicinal chemistry.
Dr Lavasanifar's lab studies pharmaceutics and drug delivery, including a number of projects focusing on cancer drugs.
The Office of Continuing Pharmacy Education offers continuing education courses for pharmacists.
The Alberta Pharmacy Students’ Association publishes Pharmacy Quarterly to keep students informed about research, job opportunities, social events, and issues in pharmacy.
| Deans of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Studies | |
| 1999– | Franco Pasutto |
| 1989–1999 | Richard E. Moskalyk |
| 1981–1989 | John A. Bachynsky |
| 1980–1981 | Gordon Edward Myers |
| 1978–1980 | Garry Robert VanPetten |
| 1955–1978 | Mervyn J. Huston |
| Directors of the School of Pharmacy | |
| 1946–1955 | Mervyn J. Huston |
| 1943–1946 | Arnold Whitney Matthews |
| 1925–[1943] | Frank Ambrose Stewart Dunn |
| 1923–[1925] | Frank Ambrose Stewart Dunn (Acting) |
| 1917–1923 | Halley Hamilton Gaetz |
- *. University of Alberta Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. "Frequently Asked Questions, Graduate Admissions."