UBC Pharm Sci alumni and friends to celebrate the careers and achievements of 2018 Alumni Agent of Change recipients
On Tuesday, March 6, 2018, the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of British Columbia (UBC) will host the third annual UBC Pharm Sci Alumni Agent of Change celebration. The event, to be held at the Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre, will pay tribute to the outstanding career and significant achievements of 2018 Alumni Agent of Change recipient, Bob Nakagawa, BSc(Pharm)'80.
Nakagawa is the registrar of the College of Pharmacists of British Columbia, where he draws on his extensive industry knowledge to inform and operationalize the College Board's direction in regulating pharmacy practice. A registered pharmacist with over 35 years of experience, Nakagawa began his career as a staff pharmacist at St. Paul's Hospital before moving to Lions Gate Hospital where he spent 13 years serving as director in a number of different areas including pharmacy; pharmacy and clinical nutrition; community drug utilization; clinical nutrition and palliative care; and patient care services.
Nakagawa's extensive career also includes roles with the Ministry of Health, Simon Fraser Health Region, and the Fraser Health Authority. During his time with the Ministry of Health, Nakagawa 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.
A respected industry leader, Nakagawa has served as president (board-chair) of the College of Pharmacists of BC, and of the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists. He has 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.
UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences lecturer and pharmacist, Larry Leung, will also be honoured at the event as a Future Alumni Agent of Change. Leung graduated from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2010 and completed his community pharmacy practice residency in 2011. Leung is a clinical pharmacist at the Faculty's Pharmacists Clinic, Canada's first university-affiliated, licensed, pharmacist-led patient care clinic. 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. He is also co-lead for interprofessional education in the Faculty's Office of Experiential Education and has led the development and delivery of numerous interprofessional education activities, including case-based learning with pharmacy, dentistry, and physiotherapy students.
Leung 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.
In 2011, Leung 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.
The Alumni Agent of Change program will be officiated by Dr. Michael Coughtrie, professor and dean, UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
"Bob Nakagawa and Larry Leung have made significant contributions to the profession of pharmacy and the care of their patients," says Dr. Coughtrie. "We look forward to celebrating their achievements with our community at the event."