2025-2026 Dean's Report

Advancing equitable, inclusive and culturally responsive care requires education, research, and meaningful engagement with the communities pharmacy serves.

Throughout the year, the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy strengthened this commitment by preparing future pharmacists to deliver culturally safer care, advancing research that improves health equity and celebrating leaders whose work is expanding access to care.

Assistant Professor and Indigenous Engagement Lead Jaris Swidrovich exemplified this commitment through initiatives that promote culturally safer pharmacy practice. During a PharmD classroom session, Shasha Wolfe, an Indigenous Two Spirit trans woman, shared her experiences navigating the health-care system, encouraging students to consider how trust, identity and lived experience influence patient care. As Wolfe reminded students, "Support doesn't always come in the form of a prescription." The discussion reinforced the importance of empathy, cultural humility and building respectful relationships with patients.

Swidrovich also explored how Black pharmacy students develop their professional identity, alongside Pharmaceutical Sciences graduate student Tim Lim and 2T7 PharmD student Tyiesha Wright. By examining the roles of community, mentorship and representation, the project aims to help pharmacy programs better support Black students throughout their education and into their careers.

The Faculty's commitment to health equity extends beyond the classroom.

PharmD alumna Taban Saifi is advancing equitable care for underserved communities through leadership in the pharmaceutical industry, scientific collaboration and mentorship. Meanwhile, PhD candidate Diana Nelles, supervised by Professor and Associate Dean, Research Micheline Piquette-Miller, is advancing women's and maternal health by generating evidence to support safer medication use during pregnancy through research examining how medications cross the placenta.

Preparing future-ready pharmacists requires an education that evolves alongside the profession. This year, the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy advanced that commitment through curriculum renewal, experiential learning and new investments in student success, ensuring graduates are equipped to thrive in an increasingly collaborative and complex health care system.

Many of our faculty contributed to this future thinking through their work on the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) curriculum renewal, alongside students, alumni and partners across the pharmacy community. Naomi Steenhof, assistant professor, teaching stream, brought her experience in adaptive expertise and pharmacy education research to the renewal, with her research playing a central role in shaping the curriculum. Developed with meaningful input from students, the renewed curriculum emphasizes collaboration, professional identity formation and practice readiness while responding to the rapidly changing needs of patients and the health care system.

The Faculty welcomed the inaugural cohort of its three-year PharmD program during Catalyst Week, marking an important milestone in pharmacy education. Led by Jamie Kellar, associate dean, academic and Natalie Crown, director, Doctor of Pharmacy program, the week introduced students to an innovative curriculum designed to foster collaboration, professional identity and practice readiness from the outset of their professional education.

Later in their first term, students gathered for the annual Induction into the Profession of Pharmacy Ceremony as they prepared to transition into their first experiential course. As part of the renewed curriculum, Alison Thompson, associate dean, student success, led students in a discussion about the meaning of the white coat, professionalism and the responsibilities health professionals hold within the communities they serve. Students also read a new professionalism pledge recognizing the power imbalances inherent in patient care and their responsibility to provide compassionate, inclusive care.

Experiential learning remained central to the student experience. Throughout the year, PharmD students supported influenza vaccination efforts in community pharmacies across the Greater Toronto Area. Working alongside faculty members and community preceptors, students strengthened their clinical skills while helping improve access to immunization services.

The Faculty also reinforced its commitment to student success with the appointment of Alison Thompson as associate dean, student success. In this new leadership role, Thompson will lead initiatives that foster well-being, belonging and academic success, ensuring students are supported throughout their educational journey as they prepare for careers in pharmacy.

Experiential Learning

Experiential education gives students meaningful opportunities to apply classroom learning in diverse practice settings while developing the confidence, clinical judgment and communication skills essential to patient care.

Strong leadership and a connected community create the conditions for people and ideas to thrive. Throughout the year, the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy strengthened these foundations by investing in people, fostering collaboration and creating opportunities for leadership, mentorship and service.

A significant milestone was the launch of the Toronto Centre for Real-World Evidence (T-RWE), a new research centre that brings together researchers, clinicians, policymakers and patients to generate evidence that informs health care decision making and improves patient outcomes. Led by Associate Professor Mina Tadrous, T-RWE was established through a transformative $1.5 million investment from Johnson & Johnson and will expand research capacity through new research chairs, interdisciplinary collaboration and knowledge mobilization initiatives.

The Faculty further strengthened its expertise in this growing field through the joint tenure appointment of Muhammad Mamdani, professor, whose work in real-world evidence, artificial intelligence and population health research will help advance the centre's mission.

Leadership is also demonstrated through service to the profession and community.

Throughout the year, students, faculty members, alumni, preceptors and partners strengthened patient care and pharmacy education through initiatives ranging from influenza vaccination clinics and Discovery Pharmacy services to mentorship, volunteerism and philanthropic support. The Faculty also celebrated the contributions of individuals and organizations whose dedication continues to strengthen the profession and the communities it serves.

Zebrina Kassam, chief operating officer, Simpill Health Group, joined the Faculty as the 2026 Leader-in-Residence, providing students with mentorship and opportunities to explore leadership, career development and the advancement of women in pharmacy. Through conversations with students and the broader pharmacy community, Kassam encouraged emerging leaders to build the confidence, skills and perspective needed to navigate an evolving profession.