University of Tasmania, Australia

Innovative research excellence is at the heart of our ongoing commitment to the improvement of health care outcomes for patients, locally and globally. A strong foundation in research draws us to the forefront of discovery, enables us to deliver a world-class program of education, and positions us to influence key changes and advances in policy towards the provision of progressive, effective and responsible health care. Our researchers are proven leaders in their respective fields and our research students graduate with the skills and the passion to make a difference.

Specialisations

The School is at the very forefront of Pharmacy research across the spectrum of the medicines pathway, including laboratory, clinical and community-based studies related to medication discovery, preparation, administration and use. We provide research students with a supportive yet highly rigorous program of study, preparing them for rewarding futures in the rapidly changing health care sector and industry. Areas of specialisation include:

• Pharmaceutics
  
• Molecular pharmacology
  
• Natural product research
  
• Health informatics
  
• Smoking cessation
  
• Antithrombotics
  
• Medication reviews
  
• Chronic disease management
  
• Quality use of medicines

Impact

What may initially appear as a small step in the laboratory or interview-room, can often translate to major changes in the field. Time and again, the School has demonstrated the significance and relevance of the advancement of knowledge and innovation:

• Since 2008 the School has attracted more than $8M of funding from the Department of Health and Ageing to conduct research in pharmacy practice. One of these projects, PROMISe III, led to the implementation of a $100M commonwealth-funded service to electronically document the medication incidents and clinical interventions within community pharmacy in Australia.
  
• The Australian Cancer Council awarded Dr Stuart Ferguson with a 3-year Fellowship to help fund his research into the most effective support interventions to improve the quit rate of smokers.
  
• Dr Juanita Westbury and Prof Greg Peterson, in collaboration with Prof Andrew Robinson (School of Nursing and Midwifery), were awarded the National Medicines Symposium (NMS) Award for community engagement in 2012, to recognise their RedUSE (Reducing Use of Sedatives) Program in aged care facilities.
  
• The Head of School, Prof Gregory Peterson, was awarded the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia’s highest honour, the Australian Pharmacist of the Year award (2007), for contribution to the profession and excellence in research. The following year, Dr Luke Bereznicki was awarded the Australian Young Pharmacist of the Year for his research into improving the quality use of anticoagulant medications.
  
• In 2006 Dr Luke Bereznicki was awarded the prestigious Inaugural National Prescribing Service Student Quality Use of Medicine Award for his PhD research on improving the management of anticoagulants in community and hospital settings and also won the National Pearcey Award for Innovation and Pioneering Achievements and Contribution to Research and Development in Information Technology in 2006 and was also the Tasmanian Young Achiever in Science and Technology in 2008.

Leadership

The School’s research staff are active collaborators, contributors and leaders of the health care sector and academic community. Members of staff serve / have served as National Board Directors/Alternate Directors to the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA), National Prescribing Service (NPS) and Australian Association of Consultant Pharmacy (AACP), and assist a number of expert advisory groups, committees and boards. Staff members are editors, co-editors and reviewers for leading international pharmacy journals, for example, Blackwell-Wiley’s Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics and Annals of Pharmacotherapy. The Head of School, Prof Gregory Peterson, is Adjunct Professor at Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Manipal University, India, and External Examiner to the International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.