Dr. Lynne Nakashima, BSc(Pharm)’88
Dr. Nakashima currently is the provincial pharmacy director and pharmacy residency program director at BC Cancer and has been a national leader in oncology pharmacy for over 30 years. Dr. Nakashima has been instrumental in shaping pharmacy oncology services provincially by expanding clinical and distribution services, education, and research with a patient-centered focus. She has numerous publications, presentations, lectures and is a mentor to staff, students and residents.
Upon completion of her pharmacy training, she was the first clinical pharmacist in the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at BC Cancer. This role offered an inter-professional collaborative experience for both patients and clinicians. In her other roles, such as clinical coordinator, pharmacy professional practice leader for Vancouver Centre, she helped establish the student internship program at BC Cancer, which gives pharmacy students the opportunity to work at BC Cancer to experience oncology practice and other unique roles that pharmacists can have in oncology care and research.
Dr. Nakashima has been involved in UBC’s Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences’ pharmacy programs since 1991 as an oncology section coordinator, lecturer and preceptor for both undergraduate and graduate pharmacy students.
She is a Fellow of the Canadian Association of Pharmacy in Oncology (2016), and has helped establish a national presence for oncology pharmacy – serving as co-chair of the National Cancer Institute of Canada Pharmacists Network Steering Committee (1994–99) and president of the Canadian Association of Pharmacy in Oncology (2003-05). She has also served on various other committees such as the International Society of Oncology Pharmacy Practice, Canadian Association of Provincial Cancer Agencies, Canadian Partnership against Cancer, Health Canada’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Oncology Therapeutics, the College of Pharmacists of BC and the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists.
Dr. Nakashima is an active community volunteer and the current president of Pacific Coast Amateur Hockey Association. In addition to her professional successes, she has received numerous awards for her volunteerism in this area. Supplementary to her UBC degree, she obtained her PharmD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1990. During the Alumni Agent of Change event, Dr. Nakashima will present a keynote talk focusing on her journey as a national leader in oncology pharmacy.
2020 Alumni Future Agent of Change
Dr. Ahmad Ghahary, BSc(Pharm)'08
Dr. Ahmad Ghahary, BSc(Pharm)’08 saw a need for a progressive, clinical community pharmacy as early as his first year of undergraduate pharmacy school. Following graduation, he did a one year Community Pharmacy Residency. In this residency, Dr. Ghahary gained exposure to a variety of community pharmacies and pharmacy organizations in British Columbia where he worked with marginalized populations and became aware of their need for a higher level of care.
Dr. Ghahary was employed at an independent community pharmacy that worked with marginalized populations, who suffered from infectious diseases, mental health conditions, and many other ailments. In June 2013, Dr. Ghahary left this position to pursue the creation Community Apothecary Inc., a closed door pharmacy that works with community partners to offer patient centric care to mental health and addictions patients in the Downtown Eastside. Dr. Ghahary opened a second location of Community Apothecary Inc. in Victoria, BC with the similar model where pharmacists help witness drug therapies. In addition to his UBC degree, Dr. Ghahary holds a PharmD from the University of Toronto. He will also be delivering a short presentation at the event.