Faculty of Pharmacy

The Faculty of Pharmacy is a specialised division within a university dedicated to the education, research, and professional training of pharmacists and other pharmaceutical scientists. It typically encompasses a variety of academic programs and departments focused on different aspects of pharmaceutical sciences and practice.

About the Faculty

Established since the founding of the university, the Faculty of Pharmacy prides itself on being one of the leaders in pharmacy education in Malaysia. The Faculty is the first private institution in Malaysia that offers the Masters in Clinical Pharmacy programme (MClinPharm) and the only higher education provider in Malaysia that offers the postgraduate Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) programme.

The Faculty started its first intake of students for the Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPHarm)(Hons.) programme following the assessment visit by the Pharmacy Board of Malaysia (PBM) and Lembaga Akreditasi Negara (LAN) on 6th December 2005.

The 1st level of monitoring of the pharmacy program was implemented on 30th-31st January 2007 and the 2nd level of monitoring was performed on 17th-18th April 2008, both by the PBM. The programme was granted a Provisional Accreditation status on 13th July 2009. UoC BPharm programme has successfully obtained its Full Accreditation status in 2010.

Academic staff at the faculty are passionate individuals who are active contributors to student development, faculty & university development, and research in their areas of expertise. The Faculty has strong linkages and research collaborations with other universities of international repute and leading Malaysian pharmaceuticals.

The Faculty consists of 4 departments namely the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Pharmaceutical Technology & Industry, Department of Community & Pharmacy Practice and Department of Hospital & Clinical Pharmacy and 3 main units including Publication, Entrepreneurship, Research, Industrial Networking and Development Unit (P.E.R.I.N.D.U), Quality Assurance (QA) unit and recently established Halal Science Centre (HSC).

About the Dean

Prof. Dr. Gan Siew Hua is a distinguished Professor of Pharmacology and the current Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy. She earned a Bachelor of Pharmacy (Hons) from Manchester University, funded by a government scholarship, and went on to complete a Master’s in Clinical Pharmacy and a PhD in Pharmacogenetics/Pharmacokinetics from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM).

With over 20 years of academic experience, Prof. Gan has held significant leadership roles. She began her career at USM, where she spent 18 years as Head of the Pharmacology Department and Director of the Human Genome Centre. In 2018, she assumed the role of Head of the Pharmacy School at Monash University Malaysia, where she led the school until 2024. Under her leadership, the school saw remarkable growth in student enrolment, research output, and industry collaborations. Prof. Gan also introduced four new pharmacy programmes and guided the school through achieving Provisionally Registered Pharmacist (PRP) certification successfully.

Her research interests particularly focus on natural products, including honey and propolis. Prof. Gan’s contributions to this field have been widely recognised, earning her numerous awards, including the ITEX Gold and Silver Medals for products developed in collaboration with industry. She also serves as a member of the working group for the Standards of Malaysia, where she plays a crucial role in setting quality standards for honey produced in the country.

In addition to her research, Prof. Gan is a seasoned trainer in scientific writing. She has conducted workshops for staff and students across Malaysia, Indonesia, and India, focusing on scientific writing and research grant applications.

Professor Dr Gan Siew Hua

Dean

Her work in natural products has earned international recognition, with more than 300 Scopus-indexed papers to her name. She is ranked among the world’s top 2% of cited researchers (2022-2024) and is a recognised expert in scientific writing. In addition to her research, she has shared her expertise through numerous teaching and training initiatives. She serves as an evaluator for research grant programmes in Malaysia and Chile and is a panel member for the Malaysia-France Hubert Curien Partnership.

Over the years, she has authored more than ten books, including collaborations with prestigious publishers such as John Wiley & Sons and Frontiers. Additionally, she is an editor for nine academic journals, including PLOS One and Seminars in Cancer Biology. Her exceptional contributions to teaching and research were honoured with the National Outstanding Educator Award.

Programmes Offered

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