The AAPS student chapter at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), in Richmond, Va., was established in 2004 and has since grown in leadership and members. Our mission is to provide educational outreach programs for VCU students who have an interest in pharmaceutical sciences. The executive board for 2017–2018 is excited to revitalize our student organization by focusing on our members’ needs and connecting them to our organizational goals:
1) providing a forum for networking and mentoring among and faculty, and
2) fostering student participation in outreach activities that further AAPS’ goals and objectives.
To support mentoring, networking, and opportunities for professional development each year, we invite a speaker to share his or her career journey and research. In October, we hosted Richard N. Dalby, Ph.D., an AAPS Fellow and accomplished scientist in aerosol research from the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. Dalby shared stories of his career in research and academia as well as his personal insights on the future outlook of aerosol research both over dinner in a local restaurant and during a lunchtime research seminar. Our chapter plans to continue this tradition in the future with the broad goal of learning from the experiences of other AAPS professional members.
AAPS student chapter members at Virginia Commonwealth University sporting their newly acquired chapter shirts. Pictured from left to right: Raymond Lai, Palak Phansalkar, Sulaiman Alhudaithi, Hanming Zhang, and Rashed Almuqbil.
Another initiative is to strengthen our student and faculty relationships by organizing casual social events. In past years, we have organized “fireside chats,” where students were invited to faculty members’ homes and had the opportunity to get to know them on a personal level. Our students have enjoyed the social aspect of this event, and we look forward to planning a fireside chat this spring.
The VCU student chapter has also encouraged participation in AAPS’ national efforts in recent years. In addition to being involved in focus groups and online communities, members have served as student representatives on the Content Advisory Committee for the AAPS Newsmagazine and the Diversity Equity and Inclusiveness Task Force. This past November, five students from our chapter attended the AAPS Annual Meeting and Exposition in San Diego to present posters and volunteer as poster and/or speaker session moderators. “The electric scientific environment as well as the plethora of professional development resources and networking opportunities at the AAPS annual meeting is a win-win in helping students prepare for their future professional careers,” noted VCU Student Chapter Chair Raymond Lai. “The beautiful San Diego weather and scenery was icing on the cake.”
Lastly, we want to participate in outreach activities in alignment with AAPS’ goals and objectives. We have kicked off our outreach efforts by organizing and teaching a summer class through VCU Discovery, a summer camp for middle and early high school children. In Pharmacy: Curating Cures, we explained the drug development process, which planted the seed for our sustained involvement in the Richmond community. Our executive team is excited to continue planning events in the interest of our members, and we anticipate our energy from this effort will last for years to come!