Doha: Dr. Feras Alali, Professor and Acting Dean of College of Pharmacy at Qatar University (QU), has led the establishment of several academic programmes (Bsc, Msc and PhD) and pharmacy colleges in the region and is actively engaged in the discovery and development of anti-cancer agents and phytotherapeutics herbal products.
He joined the College of Pharmacy in 2013 as Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies. He then became Founding Director of QU Health Office of Research and Graduate Studies 2016-2021 and now Acting Dean of College of Pharmacy.
The College of Pharmacy at QU, established in 2007, is the only pharmacy college in the country and accredited by the Canadian Council of Association of Pharmacy Programs. The college offers several programmes: Bsc in Pharmacy, Doctor of Pharmacy degree, and MSc in Pharmacy Sciences. The college has been recognized globally for excellence and quality in education, services, and research. Recently Pharmacy and Pharmacology at QU was ranked in the top 300 globally by QS Ranking Agency.
Commenting on research at the college, Dr. Feras said, “We at the college are working to advance pharmacy practice and clinical research methods — developing cutting-edge and contemporary approaches to addressing issues related to medication use optimisation, prescribing, de-prescribing, and medication safety, understanding the competency of community pharmacists.
“We are also actively participating in the Practice Educator’s Academy Program continuing education preceptor development program, innovative educational intervention. Others are researching anticoagulation clinic drive-up service during COVID-19 in Qatar. In terms of pharmaceutical sciences, we are designing and preparing new therapeutic agents based on gold nanoparticles and developing chalcone analogs used to treat breast cancer.”
On new subjects, Dr. Feras said, “We have developed new courses PHAR499 (Industrial & Regulatory Pharmacy): This elective course is designed to provide pharmacy students with an in-depth understanding of different facets of drug production including research and development, equipment used, manufacturing processes, documentation and associated regulatory aspects.”
“Another course is PHAR488 (Pharmacogenomics & Precision Medicine): This is an interactive, practice-based elective course that will address the emerging fields of pharmacogenomics and personalized `precision’ medicine. We also introduced content related to new areas such as “biosimilar” in several courses within the BSc and PharmD curricula,” he adds.
College of Pharmacy has 313 students currently enrolled, among which 25% are Qatari, and 14% are graduate level (PharmD, MSc, and Ph.D.). In AY21, the college graduated with 31 Bachelors, 14 PharmDs, and nine with MSc degrees.
Recently and driven by the need for more integration, the college has reviewed and restructured its curriculum to adopt a modular approach that is a biological health system-based.
“We are aiming to enforce learning, cut redundancy and encourage spiral integration between pharmaceutical sciences and clinical and pharmacy practice sciences,” says Dr. Feras
The college is also expanding in admission with the advent of male admission and moving to the new permanent state-of-the-art facility. He adds, “We are also expanding in graduate program offering with the reinstalling of our part-time PharmD and the launching of the new track of Clinical and Population Health Research among our Ph.D. in Health Sciences (QU Health collaborative program).”
The college is also studying the feasibility of hosting a Drug Information Center within its premises. This center will be operated by clinical staff and students will serve as a platform to train students and provide trustworthy drug-related information and counseling to the general public.
The college of pharmacy is currently organising the 10th Annual Dean’s list celebration in recognition of its highest achieving students for the Fall 2020/ Spring 2021 semester. In addition, the college is planning to host its annual community outreach awareness campaign to raise public awareness and address their concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic with a focus on advocating for best practices within the community. The college also hosts weekly seminars for its faculty members to maintain access to current topics that directly add to their teaching, practice, and research skills.
As for students’ events, “Qatar Pharmacy Undergraduate Society (QPhUS) is hosting the 4th pharmacy patient counselling competition during February 2022, where all pharmacy students will have the chance to apply the knowledge and skills gained from the undergraduate curriculum in a patient counselling challenge. Furthermore, the society is organizing for an on-campus campaign on March 2022 to raise awareness about women’s health and for a workshop on April 2022 that will discuss medications management during Ramadan,” said Dr. Feras
Among the college’s achievements include successfully reviewing and restructuring both bachelor and part-time PharmD to enhance program and student learning outcomes. The college published more than 109 scientific papers in international peer-reviewed journals and secured a record number of research grants, totalling 64 and a budget of QR4.2m.
Also, the college has contributed to the top subject ranking of Pharmacy and Pharmacology by a leading ranking agency and graduated a record 63 undergraduate and graduate students.
As a dean of the college, Dr. Feras said, “I am proud to lead an exceptional team working diligently to offer our students a rich and life-changing educational experience with a wide range of opportunities including research, experiential education, interprofessional education, student leadership to better prepare them for their future roles in an ever-evolving and expanding profession. I am also as proud to lead elite cohorts of passionate and active students who thrive to excel in academia and community engagement.”
