Dissertation abstracts and project descriptions 2025

Abstract

Pharmaceutical Sciences face several challenges in ensuring good governance in accordance with Regulatory Sciences. Dealing with medicines requires addressing three basic pillars: Quality, Safety and Efficacy with reflections on accessibility and environmental issues. The pharmaceutical sciences demand aspects to ensure sustainability and resilience. One must keep in the centre of activities the patient, namely patient safety. Simultaneously, consideration of cost-efficiency and meeting patients and other stakeholder needs, is crucial. In the case of signals in detection and management, the pharmacist and pharmaceutical scientist focus on how aspects of signals may be elevated to that of a scientific interpretation- hence the evolved term of signalomics. Another aspect of increasing relevance is that of risk- the possibility of an event occurring and its impact and likelihood of occurring. The relevance of education in these modern aspects is that one, at least to date, does not aim to eliminate risk or adverse signals. Students and graduates of the Department of Pharmacy conceive the elements needed for managing and controlling risks and signals. Crises management is unfortunately too common an occurrence in the pharmaceutical field. The keyword in dealing with crisis management is avoidance. In the COVID pandemic, we were all preparing for the worst. Today we look at lessons learnt from the pandemic- lessons learnt how to improve services but also to reduce costs. The Department of Pharmacy should be proud that in addition to a great scientific, clinical and professional contribution, academics and students focus on these crucial intense areas of risks and signals. Some may wrongly think that such advancements are causing bureaucratic, time-consuming activities which could serve better in addressing other more traditional studies. Project management and financing are highly successful if one, in addition to knowledge, awareness and visibility, includes in the project plan an analytical mind concept of how signal detection and risks facing the project could be managed. In the same way that in pharmaceutical sciences we are conscious of the relevance of Standard Operating Procedures, guidelines, instructions, controls, deliberations to include risk management and integrate signal detection are modern tools which are components for success. Tools explained in our curriculum include the use of Risk Registers, co-ordination, objectives, prioritisation, methods to rapid response as well as strategy, record keeping and compliance. [excerpt].