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The Education Section

IUPHAR-Education Section Online Meetings

The Online Meetings Steering Group (OMSG) was established in 2023 as an initiative of IUPHAR-Ed, to create a community of practice to identify and organise education-focussed activities of interest to the membership in the intervening years between World Congress of Pharmacology (WCP) meetings.

The OMSG will host activities of interest to the members, which will be conducted 2-4 times annually. Such events will include interactive workshops, seminars, upskilling activities, and panel discussions.

  • Co-Chairs:
    • Dr. Anna-Marie Babey, University of New England, Australia
    • Dr. Jennifer Koenig, University of Nottingham, UK
  • Members-at-Large
    • Dr. Lynette Fernandez, University of Western Australia
    • Dr. Carol Restini, Michigan State University
    • Dr. Willmann Liang, University of Hong Kong

All meetings are held via Zoom/Teams.

Upcoming Meetings

The Place of Pharmacology in an Integrated Curriculum – Workshop 1
REGISTER NOW > 
Date: 15 Oct 2025 • Time: 1-2.30pm New York; 6-7.30pm London via Zoom

Speaker(s):

  • Integrated curriculum: what is it and what are the challenges and pitfalls for pharmacology? Dr Kelly Karpa East Tennessee State University
  • Threading the Needle: Effective Pharmacology Leadership Dr Munder Zagaar Baylor College of Medicine, Houston and Dr Carolina Restini, Michigan State University
  • Chair: Prof John Szarek

Description: Teaching pharmacology in an integrated medicine/health sciences curriculum can be challenging but, at the same time, it comes with many advantages.
In the first of two workshops, we will look at what we mean by an integrated curriculum and the different forms it can take. Three experienced pharmacologists from very different institutions will describe their experiences and highlight what worked well and why, and how they resolved some of the challenges that they faced. They will explain what they wished they knew before they started! Participants will have the opportunity to share their own successes and challenges so that we can crowdsource solutions.
Link to recording:

About the Speakers

  • Kelly Karpa RPh, PhD, FAAPE, FNAP is a Professor in the Department of Medical Education at East Tennessee State University Quillen College of Medicine where she also serves as Associate Dean for Institutional Effectiveness and Innovation. Karpa is a member of ASPET and contributes to the American Medical School Pharmacology Chairs’ (AMSPC) Knowledge Objectives and the IUPHAR Core Concepts projects. In the interprofessional realm, Dr. Karpa co-leads the American Interprofessional Health Collaborative Membership Committee and is a Distinguished Fellow of National Academies of Practice.
  • Carolina Restini, PharmD, Ph.D., FAAPE is an Associate Professor and Thread Director for Pharmacology in the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) and Director of the Foundry for Innovative Research and Education (FIRE) programs at Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine (Dept. Pharmacology&Toxicology). With extensive expertise in pharmacology education, curriculum development, and medical education research, she brings a wealth of knowledge and leadership to the field.
    Munder Zagaar is an Associate Professor of Foundational Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine, where he directs the pharmacology thread and serves as Director of Curriculum Threads and Integration. He has over 15 years of experience in pharmacology education and has led curriculum design initiatives in both pharmacy and medical programs that integrate foundational and clinical sciences, strengthen assessment for learning, and support mastery learning.
  • Chaired by John L. Szarek, BPharm, PhD, is Professor of Pharmacology and Vice Chair of Phase 1 Curriculum at Geisinger College of Health Sciences School of Medicine in Pennsylvania. He manages the day-to-day operations of Phase 1 and teaches pharmacology. His educational scholarship is widely disseminated. A Fellow of ASPET’s Academy of Pharmacology Educators, he co-directs the IUPHAR Pharmacology Education Project and contributes to global pharmacology education initiatives.

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The Place of Pharmacology in an Integrated Curriculum – Workshop 2
REGISTER NOW > 
Date: 18 Nov 2025 • Time: 1-2pm New York; 6-7pm London via Zoom

Workshop 2 will follow up from the first workshop and here we will address further the challenges and opportunities through a series of lightning (5 min) presentations. We invite expressions of interest to give a 5 min lightning presentation on an aspect of teaching pharmacology in an integrated curriculum. Deadline for submitting expression of interest is 22nd October 2025 (see below for information required).

Topics could include (but are not limited to): Ways of mapping curriculum and communication; assessment; integrating core concepts; sequencing content; reinforcement across the years; tracking retention; integration with clinical years (e.g., vertical integration); use of AI; use of virtual reality; simulation-based learning; supplemental materials/resources used, etc.

Please email the following information to jennifer.koenig@nottingham.ac.uk and janet.mifsud@um.edu.mt by 22nd Oct 2025. We will review and select presenters within a few days of this deadline.

Expression of Interest for 5 min lightning presentation on an aspect of teaching pharmacology in an integrated curriculum.

  • Name:
  • Contact email:
  • Title: Provide a clear and concise title that reflects a specific aspect of teaching pharmacology in an integrated curriculum.
  • Institution/University name and country:
  • Abstract: Summarize the talk in 250 words or fewer, it might include: What has worked well and/or what challenges have you overcome? What challenges have you tried to solve but would like further possible solutions for?

Organising team: Lindsay Cormier (University of Kentucky, USA), Kelly Karpa (East Tennessee State University, USA), Jennifer Koenig (University of Nottingham, UK), Janet Mifsud (University of Malta), Carolina Restini (Michigan State University, USA), John Szarek (Gesinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, USA) and Munder Zagaar (Baylor College of Medicine, USA).

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Past Meetings

Inspiring Scholarly Action Toward Educational Research in the Biomedical Sciences. Focus – Perspectives of the Editors
Date: Weds 13 November 2024
Time: 14:30 – 17:00 EST (USA)
Organised by: Carol Restini (Michigan State University) and Kelly Karpa (East Tennessee State University)
Speakers:

  • Prof. Kevin Eva (Medical Education) – Focus on the cause, not the symptom: Positioning your research for publication in health professional education Link to recording
  • Prof. David Harris (Medical Science Educator) – Be courageous: Overcoming fears about publishing in health sciences education Link to recording

Developing Capacity in Discipline-based Education Research and Scholarship. Focus – Education and publication
Date: Tues 12 November 2024
Time: 16:30–19:00 (Sydney time, GMT +11)
Organised by: Willmann Liang (University of Hong Kong) and Tina Hinton (University of Sydney)
Speakers:

  • Dr. Megan Anakin – Pharmacology Education Scholarship and Research: Where do I start and what’s my first step? 
  • Prof Pauline Ross – Enablers to Discipline-based Education Research and Scholarship Link to recording
  • Prof Lynn Monrouxe – Successful Academic Publishing: Hints and Tips from an Editor-Author Viewpoint Link to recording

Title: IUPHAR Ed Online Workshop 1: Resources for Core Concepts of Pharmacodynamics
Date: Tues 12th March 2024
Time: 13:00–16:00 (Sydney time, GMT +11)
Description: This workshop will focus on the creation of education resources related to some of the pharmacology core concepts: drug targets, drug-target interactions, structure-activity relationships, mechanisms of drug action. After a short introduction and discussion of some common misconceptions associated with the core concepts, participants will work in breakout rooms to create a learning resource.
Presenters:

  • Anna-Marie Babey – University of New England, Australia
  • Lynette Fernandes – University of Western Australia
  • Willmann Liang – University of Hong Kong
  • Gavin Dawe – National University of Singapore

Title: IUPHAR Ed Online Workshop 2: Resources for Core Concepts of Pharmacokinetics
Date: Tues 12th March 2024
Time: 12:00 – 14:00 (UK time, GMT)
Description: This workshop will focus on the creation of education resources related to some of the pharmacology core concepts: volume of distribution, half-life, clearance and elimination. After a short introduction and discussion of some common misconceptions associated with the core concepts, participants will work in breakout rooms to create a learning resource.
Presenters:

  • Prof. Jenny Koenig – University of Nottingham, UK
  • Prof. Martin Hawes – University of Surrey, UK
  • Prof. Janet Mifsud – University of Malta
  • Prof. Steve Tucker – University of Aberdeen
  • Prof. Kelly Karpa – East Tennessee State University

 

Meetings, Events & Highlights

The next official IUPHAR-Ed meeting planned is a Satellite to the 20th World Congress of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (WCP2026) in Melbourne/Narm, Australia on July 12-17, 2026.  To suggest topics for this or other meetings, please contact the Executive Office at admin@iuphar.org.

The following include past IUPHAR-Ed meetings:

  • Education Section Satellite of the 19th World Congress of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology 2018 (WCP2023) Glasgow, SCOTLAND; July 17-22
  • Education Section Satellite of the 18th World Congress of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology 2018 (WCP2018) Kyoto, JAPAN; July 1-6
  • Education Section Satellite of the 17th World Congress of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology 2014 (WCP2014) Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA; July 12-13
  • Teaching Satellite of the XVIth World Congress of Pharmacology 2010 (WorldPharma2010) Copenhagen, Denmark; July 17-18.
  • Teaching Satellite of the XVth World Congress of Pharmacology 2006
    Beijing, China; July 1-2.
  • A one-day workshop of the 8th International Congress on Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics
    Brisbane, Australia; August 1, 2004.
  • Meeting report: Innovation in pharmacology teaching and learning
    Porto, Portugal; July 17th 2004.
  • Workshop in San Francisco, July 8th, 2002; Technological Tools in Teaching and Learning; abstracts and slide presentations
  • Satellite workshop in Asilomar, July 4-7, 2002; abstracts and slide presentations.  The meeting was supported by ADInstruments to whom we are very grateful.