USC School of Pharmacy Dean R. Pete Vanderveen and director of external programs Michael Wincor have met with officials at Cyberjaya University in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to discuss a formal exchange agreement between the two institutions.

Cyberjaya University plans to launch the first Pharm.D. program in Malaysia and is seeking advice from USC in developing this academic track.

USC started the first PharmD. in the United States in 1950 and has continued to lead the nation in clinical pharmacy programs.

Cyberjaya University Dean Shaharuddin bin Mohd knew that fact about the School of Pharmacy, having earned his M.S. in radiopharmacy and his Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences at USC during the 1980s.

Cyberjaya is a major private university in Malaysia. While the school currently offers a five-year bachelor’s degree in pharmacy, Dean bin Mohd is moving it toward a Pharm.D. program that will provide students with additional clinical training.

The Pharm.D. curriculum gives pharmacy students an opportunity to gain skills preparing them to oversee medication therapy management for patients. This educational model is now emerging throughout Asia, and Cyberjaya is one of many Asian institutions that have come to USC for help in setting up clinical programs.

Wincor, who heads up international programs at the school, is also working with Showa Pharmaceutical University in Tokyo, Duksung Women’s University in Seoul and Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences over the summer.

Visiting Showa in late June, Wincor discussed logistical aspects to providing students with clinical training as well as teaching a module in sleep disorders to first and second-year master’s students.

Wincor is an expert in the pharmaceutical care of patients with sleep disorders.

Students from Showa will spend two weeks at the USC School of Pharmacy at the end of August. Their visit will focus on clinical training, exposing the students to various clinical pharmacy sites while they are here.

The School of Pharmacy has signed formal exchange agreements with 13 universities in Japan, China, Korea, Thailand and Malaysia. The school has informal agreements with seven institutions in Korea, Australia, Argentina, Denmark, Norway and the United Kingdom.

The USC School of Pharmacy has emerged as an international player in helping institutions around the world develop programs in clinical pharmacy. This educational model has emerged in response to the expanded role of the pharmacist, working directly with patients as the medication expert on the health care team.