College Newsletter

Acting Associate Dean Appointed

Dr. David Blackburn has been appointed as Acting Associate Dean Research and Graduate affairs until June 30, 2020. A search process for the Associate Dean Research and Graduate Affairs will proceed early in the new year with the intent to fill the position for July 1, 2020.

Student Award

Sofiya Terekhovska received the Best Contact Person (IPSF Liaison) Award at International Pharmaceutical Students' Federation World Congress Gala.

Dr. Hassan Vatanparast and a group of researchers from the university traveled to Guatemala early August to monitor the progress on current projects related to stunting, women empowerment and health, and extend their collaboration with local NGOs, universities and relevant government agencies.

 

The college hosted Indigenous youth from multiple communities for the Saskatoon Tribal Council Summer Research Experience Program on Wednesday, July 3. They spent the morning learning about how to apply the college and about being a Registered Dietitian and pharmacist. Thank you to Dr. Jaris Swidrovich, Diane Favreau, pharmacy students Marissa Pirlot and Wallace Rourke, nutrition students Ali Stobbe and Jessica Martino, and Carla Guedo (BSP '05) for sharing their experiences and knowledge with the youth. 

On Wednesday, August 21, we bid farewell to Tracy Everitt, Nutrition Professional Skills Coordinator, after 5 years with the college. Tracy has accepted a position as an assistant professor in the Department of Human Nutrition at St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia.

Heather Tulloch joined the college on Wednesday, August 7, as the new Nutrition Practice Coordinator to fill the role vacated by Tracy.

Dr. Anas El-Aneed has been appointed to the Executive Committee of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada for the term May 2019 to February 2021.

Dr. Meena Sakharkar has been appointed as a member of the Genes, Cells and Molecules Evaluation Group for the Discovery Grants Program at the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada for a three-year term ending in June 2022. 

Dr. Kishor Wasan has been appointed as a Member of the Steering Committee for the Canadian Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases and will be the university's ambassador and liaison for this network.

Dr. Kishor Wasan was one of the experts answering questions in the online session “Ask the Experts About Designing and Preparing Lipid-based Formulations for Oral Application” hosted by the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists on Wednesday, August 7.

In the media

Kelly Kizlyk, medSask drug information consultant, was on Global Saskatoon Morning News on Tuesday, July 30, to talk about treating sunburns. Watch the video. 

Dr. Robert Laprairie spoke with The Growth Op about the funding he received for the next five years to explore the brains and behaviour of mice treated with cannabinoids to better understand how these drugs interact with body’s natural neurotransmitters to regulate wakefulness and appetite. Read the article.

Dr. Jonathan Dimmock was profiled by the USask News website for his accomplishments in research after officially retiring in 2002. Read the article.

Christine Hrudka (BSP '82) spoke with the Saskatoon StarPhoenix about her work as the Canadian Pharmacists Association chair to increase female leadership in the pharmacy profession. Read the article.

Mike Stuber (BSP ‘07) recently appeared in a Canadian Pharmacists Association video about his work on HIV treatment and prevention in Saskatchewan. Watch the video.

Congratulations to Dr. Amy Smith-Morris (BSP ‘10) who received the ASHP Foundation Pharmacy Leadership Academy Scholarship earlier this year. 

Brooke Bulloch (BScNutr ‘09) was on Global Saskatoon Morning News to talk about sustainable eating. Watch the video.

Grant Wilson (PhD '18) recently wrote an article about his study on the effects of expanding pharmacy services, which appeared in The Conversation and the USask News website. Read the article. 

Grant Wilson (PhD '18) spoke with CBC Radio about his study on pharmacy services. Listen to the full interview on the CBC website. Listen to the interview.

In July, the Nutrition Class of 2009 held their 10-year reunion, which included a tour of the new college facilities by Dr. Susan Whiting.

Trainee Success

Program Update

Congratulations to the following Pharmacy and Nutrition graduate students who completed their degree requirements over the spring and summer: Dr. Leandy Bertrand (supervisor: Dr. Carol Henry), Dr. Mona Hamada (supervisors: Drs. Anas El-Aneed and Darryl Adamko), Dr. Muath Helal (supervisors: Drs. Jane Alcorn and Brian Bandy), Dr. Adegboyega Lawal (supervisor: Dr. Gary Groot), Dr. Getenesh Teshome (supervisors: Drs. Carol Henry and Susan Whiting), Natasha Breward (supervisors: Drs. Jane Alcorn and Charity Evans), Rana Jazeri (supervisor: Dr. Carol Henry), Sharayu Karkare (supervisor: Dr. Kate Dadachova), Razieh Ostad Ali Dehagi (supervisors: Drs. Jane Alcorn and Terra Arnason), Shuyu Shang (supervisors: Drs. Jane Alcorn and Martin Reany).

Welcome to the four new graduate students who have started their graduate programs this fall: Jaline Broqueza (MSc with Dr. Kate Dadachova), Erin Leeder (MSc with Dr. Allison Cammer), Seshni Naidoo (MSc with Dr. Allison Cammer), and Amanda Vanzan (MSc with Dr. Jessica Lieffers). 

External Award Recipients

Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarship – Master’s Saskatchewan Innovation and Opportunity Scholarship Pharmacy and Nutrition Tuition Award
Brigitte Moser, Pharmacy MSc (Supervisors: Drs. Ed Krol and Jeremy Lee)
Cheryl Roett, Pharmacy MSc (Supervisors: Drs. Allison Cammer and Michael Szafron)

Hope Hunt Scholarship
Mojtaba Shafiee, Nutrition MSc (Supervisor: Dr. Hassan Vatanparast)

Rhea Ritchie Scholarship
Elsa Keshavarz, Nutrition MSc (Supervisor: Dr. Hassan Vatanparast) 

College Award Recipients

The College is pleased to announce that the following students have been awarded scholarships for the 2019-2020 academic year:

• Apotex Award (Pharmacy)
  Amir Khajavinia, Pharmacy MSc (Supervisors: Dr. Azita Haddadi)
• Pharmacy and Nutrition Graduate Scholarship
  Itoro George, Nutrition MSc (Supervisor: Dr. Phyllis Paterson)
  Asmita Poudel, Pharmacy PhD (Supervisors: Drs. Ildiko Badea and Anas El-Aneed)
• Pharmacy and Nutrition Graduate Scholarship (Patient-Oriented Research)
  Erin Leeder, Nutrition MSc (Supervisor: Dr. Allison Cammer)
  Amanda Vanzan, Nutrition MSc (Supervisor: Dr. Jessica Lieffers)
• Interdisciplinary Graduate Scholarship (with the College of Medicine)
  David Asante, Pharmacy MSc (Supervisors: Dr. Jane Alcorn and Darrell Mousseau)
• Graduate Research Fellowship
  Omar Abuhussein, Pharmacy PhD (Supervisor: Dr. Franco Vizeacoumar)
• 0.5 Graduate Teaching Fellowships
  Coral Ennis, Pharmacy MSc (Supervisor: Dr. Dave Blackburn)
  Jeffrey Herbert, Pharmacy MSc (Supervisor: Dr. Dave Blackburn) 

Student Poster Presentations

Natasha Breward (Pharmacy MSc with Drs. Jane Alcorn and Charity Evans) presented her poster Cannabis and Multiple Sclerosis: A Systematic Review Examining Utilization and Effectiveness at the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centres Annual Meeting held in Seattle, WA, from May 28 to June 1, 2019 

Yajia Guo (Pharmacy MSc with Drs. Jane Alcorn and Martin Reaney) presented her poster Effects of Flaxseed Lignans on Hypercholesterolemic Rats: Comparison of Purified SDB and SDG Polymer Forms at the Canadian Society for Bioengineering meeting held in Vancouver from July 14-17, 2019.

The following graduate students presented their work at the Saskatchewan Cannabinoid Research Symposium on August 15-16, 2019:

• Tallan Black (Pharmacy MSc with Dr. Robert Laprairie) - Characterization and Targeting of the Endocannabinoid System in Traumatic Brain Injury.
• Asher Brandt (Pharmacy PhD with Dr. Robert Laprairie) - Structure Activity Relationship between GAT Allosteric Modulators and CB1 Receptor
• Natasha Breward (Pharmacy MSc with Drs. Jane Alcorn and Charity Evans) - Cannabis and Multiple Sclerosis: A Systematic Review Examining Utilization and Effectiveness
• Jay Kim (Pharmacy PhD with Dr. Robert Laprairie) – In vivo interactions between orexin and cannabinoid receptor systems
• Stephanie Vuong (Pharmacy MSc with Drs. Jane Alcorn and Andrew Lyon) - Determining Plasma Protein Binding Profiles of Bioactive Cannabinoids in Human Plasma 

Student Engagement

Congratulations to Se’era Anstruther, PhD student studying with Dr. Hassan Vatanparast, on being named the University of Saskatchewan’s Canadian Nutrition Society University Student Representative.

Research Funding

Dr. Carol Henry and colleagues were awarded a $266,000 3-year grant from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund managed by the Global Institute for Food Security for the project Genomic and Physiological Selection for Yield Stability. 

Drs. Ellen Wasan (PI), Kishor Wasan, Bob Hancock (UBC), and Yan Zhou and Volker Gerdts (VIDO-Intervac) were awarded a 2-year $200,000 grant from the Nanomedicine Innovation Network NCE for their project entitled Lipidic nanoparticle formulation of a triple adjuvant for intranasal vaccines for pertussis and influenza. 

Recent Publications

• *Alwani, S., Hua, Q., Iftikhar, S., Appathurai, N. P., Michel, D., Karunakaran, C., & Badea, I. (2019). Lysine functionalized nanodiamonds as gene carriers - Investigation of internalization pathways and intracellular trafficking. Diamond and Related Materials, 98, 107477.
• Barbour‐Tuck, E. N., Erlandson, M. C., Sherar, L. B., Eisenmann, J. C., Muhajarine, N., Foulds, H., Vatanparast, H., Nisbet, C. … Baxter‐Jones, A. D. G. (2019). Relationship Between Trajectories of Trunk Fat Development in Emerging Adulthood and Cardiometabolic Risk at 36 Years of Age. Obesity,
• Blackburn, D. F., Fowler, S., Crawley, A., Gerwing, S., Alcorn, J., Mansell, H., Evans, C., Mansell, K., Taylor, J., Jorgeson, D., Larocque, D., Rotter, T., Shevchuk, Y. (2019). An Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience for Community Pharmacies Based on a Clinical Intervention Targeting Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Journal of Pharmacy Practice, 089719001985741.
• *De Silva, S. F., & Alcorn, J. (2019). Flaxseed Lignans as Important Dietary Polyphenols for Cancer Prevention and Treatment: Chemistry, Pharmacokinetics, and Molecular Targets. Pharmaceuticals, 12(2), 68.
• Gao, R., Duff, W., Chizen, D., Zello, G. A., & Chilibeck, P. D. (2019). The Effect of a Low Glycemic Index Pulse-Based Diet on Insulin Sensitivity, Insulin Resistance, Bone Resorption and Cardiovascular Risk Factors during Bed Rest. Nutrients, 11(9), 2012.
• Gordon, J. A., Noble, J. W., Midha, A., Derakhshan, F., Wang, G., Adomat, H. H., Wasan, KM., … Cox, M. E. (2019). Upregulation of Scavenger Receptor B1 Is Required for Steroidogenic and Nonsteroidogenic Cholesterol Metabolism in Prostate Cancer. Cancer Research, 79(13), 3320–3331.
• Hosseini, S. H., Jones, J. M., & Vatanparast, H. (2019). Association between Grain Intake, Nutrient Intake, and Diet Quality of Canadians: Evidence from the Canadian Community Health Survey–Nutrition 2015. Nutrients, 11(8), 1937.
• *Hosseini, Z., Whiting, S. J., & Vatanparast, H. (2019). Type 2 diabetes prevalence among Canadian adults — dietary habits and sociodemographic risk factors. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 1–6.
• Huntsman, R. J., Tang-Wai, R., Alcorn, J., *Vuong, S., Acton, B., Corley, S., Laprairie, R.,… Major, P. (2019). Dosage Related Efficacy and Tolerability of Cannabidiol in Children With Treatment-Resistant Epileptic Encephalopathy: Preliminary Results of the CARE-E Study. Frontiers in Neurology, 10.
• Jiang, Z., Albanese, J., Kesterson, J., Warrick, J., Karabakhtsian, R., Dadachova, E., & Phaëton, R. (2019). Monoclonal Antibodies Against Human Papillomavirus E6 and E7 Oncoproteins Inhibit Tumor Growth in Experimental Cervical Cancer. Translational Oncology, 12(10), 1289–1295.
• *Jin, W., Al-Dulaymi, M., Badea, I., Leary, S. C., Rehman, J., & El-Aneed, A. (2019). Cellular Uptake and Distribution of Gemini Surfactant Nanoparticles Used as Gene Delivery Agents. The AAPS Journal, 21(5), 98.
• Khiabani, N. P., Fakhroueian, Z., Bahramian, A., & Vatanparast, H. (2019). Crystal growth of magnesium oxide nanocompounds for wetting alteration of carbonate surfaces. Chemical Papers, 73(10), 2513–2524.
• Lane, G., Nisbet, C., & Vatanparast, H. (2019). Food Insecurity and Nutritional Risk among Canadian Newcomer Children in Saskatchewan. Nutrients, 11(8), 1744.
• Lane, G., Nisbet, C., & Vatanparast, H. (2019). Dietary habits of newcomer children in Canada. Public Health Nutrition, 1–12.
• Marrie, R. A., Wijnands, J. M. A., Kingwell, E., Zhu, F., Zhao, Y., Ekuma, O., Evans, C. … Tremlett, H. (2019). Higher health care use before a clinically isolated syndrome with or without subsequent MS. Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders, 35, 42–49.
• McBreairty, L. E., Chilibeck, P. D., Gordon, J. J., Chizen, D. R., & Zello, G. A. (2019). Polycystic ovary syndrome is a risk factor for sarcopenic obesity: a case control study. BMC Endocrine Disorders, 19(1), 70.
• Michaelsen, M. H., Siqueira Jørgensen, S. D., Abdi, I. M., Wasan, K. M., Rades, T., & Müllertz, A. (2019). Fenofibrate oral absorption from SNEDDS and super-SNEDDS is not significantly affected by lipase inhibition in rats. European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, 142, 258–264.
• *Nwabufo, C. K., El‐Aneed, A., & Krol, E. S. (2019). Tandem Mass Spectrometric Analysis of Novel Caffeine Scaffold‐Based Bifunctional Compounds for Parkinson’s disease. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, rcm.8540.
• *Prabaharan, C. B., Yang, A. B., Chidambaram, D., Rajamanickam, K., Napper, S., & Sakharkar, M. K. (2019). Ibrutinib as a potential therapeutic option for HER2 overexpressing breast cancer – the role of STAT3 and p21. Investigational New Drugs, 1–13.
• Purcell, S. A., Baracos, V. E., Chu, Q. S. C., Sawyer, M. B., Severin, D., Mourtzakis, M., Lieffers, J.,… Prado, C. M. (2019). Profiling Determinants of Resting Energy Expenditure in Colorectal Cancer. Nutrition and Cancer, 1–8.
• *Rafiei, P., & Haddadi, A. (2019). A robust systematic design: Optimization and preparation of polymeric nanoparticles of PLGA for docetaxel intravenous delivery. Materials Science and Engineering: C, 104, 109950.
• Ulrich, E., Hurdelbrink, J., Perepelkin, J., & Welter, K. (2019). Financial Incentive Required for Pharmacy Students to Accept a Post-Graduation Position in Rural and Undesirable Pharmacy Settings. Pharmacy, 7(3), 109.