Jake Thiessen is the Founding Director of the School of Pharmacy at the University of Waterloo. He receives the 2014 Pillar of Pharmacy Award from the Canadian Foundation for Pharmacy, for his lifelong commitment to the pharmaceutical profession.
As Founding Director, Thiessen had a clear vision of what would make an exceptional pharmacy program and made it come to life at the University of Waterloo. He promoted students getting hands-on experience and applying classroom knowledge to the real world by developing the first co-op pharmacy program in Canada. Over time, he has obtained more than 16.5 million dollars in research funding and has pursued research in many domains, such as cancer treatment. He also led an independent review looking into chemotherapy under dosing in Ontario in 2013, commissioned by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.
Jake has had a major impact on the profession of pharmacy and the use of medications in Canada, his lengthy and distinguished career in academic pharmacy makes him an ideal candidate for the 2014 Pillar of Pharmacy Award.
Thiessen will be honoured at the 2014 Pillar of Pharmacy Awards Dinner on October 21 in Toronto.