Heidi Wicks

Three graduate students from the School of Pharmacy who were honoured as Fellows of the School of Graduate Studies on June 3 at the Graduate Awards Ceremony say they wouldn’t be where they are if it wasn’t for their dedicated and tireless graduate supervisors.

Betty Chen was also honoured for her receipt of the prestigious A.G. Hatcher Memorial Scholarship (September of 2013), becoming the first student from the School of Pharmacy to receive this honour. The $15,000 award is based on academic excellence and is awarded annually to three students at Memorial, categorized according to the origin of their undergraduate degree.

Ms. Chen’s area of study is medicinal chemistry, primarily in the area of synthesis and drug discovery, more specifically, investigating the synthesis of low toxic anti-fungal agents that have been previously declared metabolically unstable.

“My work is only at the very early stages, but eventually the goal would be a new option for the anti-fungal therapies in the future,” Ms. Chen recently told The Prescription. “Patients who have weakened immune systems often include those undergoing cancer chemotherapy, organ transplant, or people with AIDS. The goal is for these therapies to combat fungal infections that can be life threatening for those patients.”

Upon receiving her award, she paused to remember how Dr. Mohsen Daneshtalab, her supervisor and a beloved faculty member who passed away last month, influenced her work.

“He welcomed me to this country and took care of me like a father, so to me, he was far more than just my supervisor. He would be in his office by 7:30 every morning because he didn’t want me to be on my own in case I had questions. Even when he was very sick, he still worried about me. The first question he would ask me when I visited him in the hospital was, ‘How is your work?’ – that is why I will keep working harder and harder. I don’t want to let him down.”

Amy Randell received the School of Pharmacy Millennium Graduate Fellowship, which recognizes academic excellence in course work and research. 

She is grateful towards her supervisor, Dr. Noriko Daneshtalab, who she credits for helping her qualify for the award.

“She holds her students to a very high standard, but invests so much of her time and energy to train and empower us,” Ms. Randell gushed, just a little. “She encourages us to constantly push our own limits to grow in knowledge, but also become proficient in our lab techniques. It’s easy to become captivated by your research when you’re working with someone with her level of passion and dedication to teaching and discovery.” 

Waseem Abu-Ashour was thrilled at the news that he had been selected as a recipient.

“The Fellow of the School of Graduate Studies is a prestigious award, and it’s one of the best memories that I will take away from my time at MUN and the School of Pharmacy. I am very lucky to have Dr. Gamble as my supervisor – he always gave me the support and pushed me to better myself in my studies. His guidance definitely helped me get this award.”