People profiles

Dr. Waite’s research program examines the development and assessment of curricula to produce pharmacists prepared to provide medication management in an evolving healthcare landscape, as well as explores the impact of novel pharmacist interventions and pharmacist scope of practice changes on medication management and health outcomes.

Dr. Michael Beazely’s lab research focuses on understanding how growth factor receptors and G protein-coupled receptors modulate ion channels and neuronal cell function. His clinical and education research is focused on the role of health professionals in reducing harms associated with problematic substance use.

Dr. Chang is a clinical pharmacist specializing in geriatric pharmacotherapy. Her research interests include caring for vulnerable older adults in primary care settings, particularly older adults in rural areas, for conditions such as chronic pain and dementia, and the role of pharmacists in care provision.

Dr. Foldvari's research focuses on the development of intelligent delivery systems and biomolecular devices with the goal of developing new, non-invasive technologies to deliver and target therapeutic agents into the body and to diseased tissues, as well as investigating the fundamental properties of these delivery technologies and the cells they target.

The HoResearchGroup is interested in the development and characterization of innovative drug delivery strategies including nanomedicines, medical devices and biomaterials for the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS, cancer, and chronic wound healing.

Dr. Joseph’s research is focused on ascertaining how the β-cell senses glucose and on searching for ways to reduce the number of islets required for islet transplantation. These two themes are connected in that the first theme provides novel targets to enhance islet function in the second theme.

Dr.  Tom McFarlane teaches oncology, internal medicine, and immunology topics to the undergraduate students at the School of Pharmacy. He has a particular interest in GI, lung, and prostate cancers, and conducts practice based research in these settings which includes exploring ways of improving supportive care regimens for patients and the impact of supportive care on overall outcomes.

Dr. Nekkar Rao specializes in medicinal and bioorganic chemistry; exploring rational drug design aided by molecular modelling techniques and small molecule synthetic organic/medicinal chemistry.

Dr. Richard completed her undergraduate degree in pharmacy at Dalhousie University, and has experience in community pharmacy.  She completed her PhD in Pharmacology at Dalhousie University, and then studied vitamin D’s anti-cancer activity during a post-doctoral research fellowship at the University of Guelph. 

Dr. Wong’s research focuses on system-level policy modeling, infectious diseases modeling, health services and outcomes research, particularly in hepatitis B and C. His health services and outcomes research interests include quality of life research, costing and return on investment.

Working in classes and behind the scenes, Robin is responsible for the organization of the Professional Practice Labs—including many of the day to day operations.

Steve has a B.A. in Commerce from the University of Toronto and a Certifcat en Français Langue Seconde from Laval University in Quebec City / Université d'Aix-Marseille II in Provence, France. He spent 6 years in Tokyo, Japan where he incorporated his own business. Upon returning to Canada in the 90's he obtained his Certified Help Desk Manager designation and has been in the I.T.

Rosemary’s background includes community pharmacy practice, health program management, as well as experience in medical writing and publishing. Her current position is focused on the design and delivery of educational programs for pharmacists and other healthcare professionals.

Ken has been actively involved with the University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy in various capacities since 2007. Ken aided in the formation of the Society of Pharmacy Students (SOPhs), volunteered as a student coach/mentor and worked as a co-op employer. He continues to volunteer as an admission interview panelist, course assessor and injection trainer.

Anthony graduated from Dalhousie University with a pharmacy degree in 1996.

Ken brings diverse experience in community and hospital pharmacy, industry and associations to the University of Waterloo. Most recently, he served as Executive Director of the National Association of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities (NAPRA), and prior to that he was the Director, Research and Analysis, for Canada’s Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (Rx&D).

Douglas Brown graduated from the University of Toronto’s Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy in 1989, completing his internship at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Following his passion for community practice, he transitioned to primary care pharmacy and worked with an independent pharmacy, followed by a group practice (Big V Pharmacies) before realizing his dream to be a pharmacist/owner.

Kaitlin’s background includes community and hospital pharmacy practice, as well as experience in medication safety, delivery of continuing education programs for pharmacists, and continuous quality improvement. Her current position is focused on recruiting and admitting highly qualified students to the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) undergraduate degree program and the Conditional Admission to Pharmacy (CAP) status.

Donnie co-owns Boggio & Edwards IDA, a specialty compounding pharmacy in Ridgeway, Ontario. His focus is on pain management, women’s health and addiction services. He has been appointed to the Narcotics Monitoring Working Group by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to provide advice on managing and evaluating data created by the Narcotics Monitoring System.

Since graduating as a member of Waterloo’s first graduating class – the Vanguards — Dr. Heather Foley is now on a mission to discover all there is to know about the profession of pharmacy.

Noëlla Robert-Kappel is the Regional Clinical Coordinator for Barrie and Hunstville. She has 15 years of professional experience in hospital pharmacy and six years in long-term care. She is a Certified Diabetes Educator, a Certified Geriatric Pharmacist, and an assessor for the Pharmacy Examination Board of Canada's qualifying examination.

Rosemarie graduated in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the University of Toronto, after which she completed her hospital pharmacy residency.

Jason Wentzell joined the University of Waterloo’s School of Pharmacy in April 2014 as a Regional Clinical Coordinator, representing the Ottawa and Brockville region.

Professor Sian is a passionate pharmacist and loves practicing in a community setting. She sees firsthand the positive effect good patient care has on an individual’s quality of life and strives to instill those same principles in her students.

Debbie’s experience includes community pharmacy practice, pharmacy benefit management and pharmaceutical advertising and communications.

Barbara Coulston is a clinical pharmacist specializing in Primary Care, chronic pain, and diabetes.  She maintains a clinical practice at the Centre for Family Medicine in Kitchener where she is the Pharmacy Lead, Preceptor for 4th year pharmacy clinical rotations for the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto and the School of Pharmacy, University of Waterloo, and is

Lidia Yrigoyen-DaCruz is the Regional Clinical Coordinator for Windsor / Essex County and Sarnia and has over 19 years of professional experience. She is a graduate of the Wayne State University Pharm.D program and has achieved ACCP board certification as a pharmacotherapy specialist. Lidia has pharmacy experience both in the United States as well as a critical care specialist at Windsor Regional Hospital (WRH).

Claude is a member of the School of Pharmacy’s original Vanguard Class and the student societies’ inaugural President.  Following graduation Claude joined Health Sciences North specializing in infectious diseases, critical care and medicine while maintaining a presence in community pharmacy. 

Dr. Gamble is a pharmacist and epidemiologist who leads a research program in drug safety and effectiveness. His team focuses on understanding the real-world use and effects of diabetes therapies. Moreover, Dr. Gamble’s lab is interested in exploring methods to communicate drug information to facilitate evidence informed decision making for patients, health provider, and policy-makers.