Bob Nakagawa, BSc(Pharm)'80
Bob Nakagawa is the registrar of the College of Pharmacists of British Columbia, which is responsible for administering provincial pharmacy legislation and protecting public health by licensing and regulating pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and the pharmacies in which they practice. He draws on his extensive industry knowledge to inform and operationalize the College Board's direction in regulating pharmacy practice. Additionally, he manages and provides guidance to the College's executive team in the creation and fulfillment of strategic goals and initiatives.
A registered pharmacist with over 35 years of experience, he held numerous positions in hospital pharmacy and public health administration. From his early career in St. Paul's and Lion's Gate hospitals he moved into roles including Pharmacare director with the Ministry of Health and director of pharmacy services for both the Simon Fraser Health Region and the Fraser Health Authority.
He went on to become the assistant deputy minister of the Pharmaceutical Services Division of the Ministry of Health. During his time with the Ministry, he was responsible for Pharmanet, drug use optimization programs and other provincial drug programs. He implemented an innovative evidence-based policy-making model that has become the gold standard for public drug plans in Canada.
Bob also has extensive experience as an industry leader in BC's pharmacy profession having served as president (board-chair) of the College of Pharmacists of BC, and of the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists. He also served as the Federal government representative on the Health Council of Canada and chaired the Medical Services Commission, the BC Drug Benefits Committee, and the Federal Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee for Canada.
Future Alumni Agent of Change
Larry Leung, BSc(Pharm)'10
Larry Leung completed his bachelor of science in pharmacy from the University of British Columbia (UBC) in 2010, and his community pharmacy practice residency in 2011. He is currently a lecturer and pharmacist in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at UBC. As a clinical pharmacist, he works at the Faculty's Pharmacists Clinic, Canada's first university-affiliated, licensed, pharmacist-led patient care clinic. His responsibilities include providing direct patient care, precepting undergraduate and graduate learners, and leading innovative projects aimed at expanding the scope of practice for pharmacists in primary care. His professional areas of clinical interest include complex chronic pain, cardiovascular risk reduction, and deprescribing. Larry also has a strong passion for Indigenous health and collaborates with First Nations communities in the delivery of culturally safe medication management services. He is currently leading grant-funded initiatives and research related to healthy medication use in collaboration with the Heiltsuk Health Centre Society and the First Nations Health Authority.
As a lecturer in the Entry-to-Practice PharmD program, he coordinates a seminar course in contemporary issues in pharmacy and co-coordinates an elective in Indigenous health. Larry is also co-lead for interprofessional education in the Faculty's Office of Experiential Education and has previously taught in the UBC School of Nursing. He has led the development and delivery of numerous interprofessional education activities, including case-based learning with pharmacy, dentistry, and physiotherapy students.
In 2011, Larry co-founded Clinicare Pharmacists Inc., a non-dispensing pharmacy organization aimed at developing and implementing clinical pharmacist services in the community. Through Clinicare, he works with and enables a team of pharmacists to deliver chronic disease management programs in a family physician setting.
Larry has also received a number of awards which recognize his innovative approach to practice and his work with Indigenous communities.