Dear AAPS members–
Summer is a good time for reading! If you currently do not have your nose in a beach-compatible page-turner, but rather are looking to stay current in pharmaceutical science, look no further than our AAPS journals: The AAPS Journal, AAPS PharmSciTech, and Pharmaceutical Research. The pages of these publications are always inspiring, but I find them especially so right now.
The first two weeks of our recent COVID-19 workshop highlighted the number and magnitude of the scientific questions that science must answer in order to conquer this public health crisis. I am filled with hope when I see the scientists publishing research on every aspect of this virus across the entire spectrum of pharmaceutical science. Our journals are part of this far-reaching response, and their current issues include papers discussing different aspects of the COVID-19 response. If you feel that you can't even gauge the full breadth of developments in the area of COVID treatment research, the Mini-Review by Yan et al. in AAPS PharmSciTech is a great place to start.
On the clinical side, @Duxin Sun ponders the potential benefits of pulmonary administration for remdesivir in his AAPS Journal article.
In Pharmaceutical Research, Baker et al. take a broader view of repurposing quaternary ammonium as potential treatments for COVID-19. Their extensive bibliometric analysis of drug repurposing over the years helped me understand why hydroxychloroquine has gotten so much attention lately, it is their closer look at cetylpyridinium chloride that hints at the possibility of an antiviral mouthwash in our future. Now that's a plot twist worthy of a summer read!
The serious ripple effects of the pandemic across the pharmaceutical supply chain have the attention of many scientists (See this blog post by Ron Piervincenzi for his reflections on the topic, or access his presentation from the second week of the AAPS COVID-19 Workshop). In their AAPS PharmSciTech White Paper, @Vadim Gurvich and @Ajaz Hussain lay out their vision of what is needed to better prepare our nation and ensure a reliable, affordable, high quality supply of medications.
Supply chain was also the focus of this week's great eChalk Talk, brought to us by the folks from Certara. It'll be posted here soon if you missed it! Make sure to leave room in your schedule for next week's eChalk Talk with Thomas Lancaster about pivoting manufacturing from therapeutics to a COVID-19 diagnostic ELISA test.
If you are a member of one or more of our AAPS Communities, you may get relevant AAPS journal articles directly delivered to your digital home. A big shout-out here to @Ho-Leung Fung (Editor-in-Chief of The AAPS Journal) who is incredibly dedicated to both ensuring the journal publishes fascinating research, and that you know about articles of interest in the current issue of the journal. He makes the rounds each time the journal publishes, posting links in your AAPS Community so that you don't miss out.
While you pore over so much good reading, please don't forget about a couple of important deadlines: you still have until June 17 to submit Rapid Fire proposals for PharmSci 360. There is also still time until June 10 to submit an award nomination.
As we live through these interesting times, many of you may find yourselves at career junctures in uncharted waters, regardless of where you are in your professional journey. AAPS has been an important connector for me over the course of my own career, so I am pleased to see that we keep adding career development resources for our members, especially at this critical time. I am extremely grateful to our Board of Directors who took the time to talk to AAPS student members about their career questions in a lively Q&A Thursday. It was a great kick-off for next week's AAPS Career Planning Workshop: Navigating the Job Market Today. The agenda, delivered by career experts, is focused on communication skills and how you can advance your ideas effectively. But I must admit I am looking forward some fun in the Career Trivia Challenge on Wednesday afternoon!
I do want thank our friends at American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) for the session they're presenting next week on building a career pathway that makes the most of your skills and experiences. Their panel will be especially valuable to anyone interested in an academic career right now.
Lastly, @Joy Davis tells me that with the warm summer weather comes summer pests! Specifically, scammers who attempt to steal from our members and partners each year by offering for sale or rent contact lists for attendees of PharmSci 360. If you receive an email offering to sell you such a list, it is fraudulent! Reputable partners may arrange to send a message to attendees through our business development team. We approve the content, and it's sent by a third party for us-the partner never sees the actual list containing contact information. Don't be the victim of a scammer!
Enjoy your summer reading and stay inspired!
Tina
Share your thoughts with Tina via the AAPS Community!