Women in Pharmacy: Q&A with Heba Aref

Third year PhD student at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Heba Aref, has a pharmacy degree and two master degrees—one in clinical pharmacy from Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt, where she grew up, and the other in health outcomes research from the University of Auburn in Alabama, USA. While she works towards her PhD, and developing a better health literacy program for pharmacogenetic testing in community pharmacies, she is also raising a family alongside her spouse.

What are you working on at the Faculty now?

I am interested in health communication. Right now, I am working on utilizing social behaviour theories to develop a health literacy educational program for patients to promote the provision of pharmacogenetic testing in the community pharmacies. Pharmacogenemics is the study of how genes can influence the body’s responses to drugs. Offering a pharmacogenetic test in pharmacies would allow a patient to find the drug that works best for them with the least amount of side effects or adverse reactions. 

What made you choose this field?

Since high school, I was passionate about human behaviour. I used to read a lot of books about psychology and social interaction. When it came to choosing what to do in college, my parents were so enthusiastic about pharmacy school, I had to apply there. And, I got admitted!

My faculty at that time was so innovative in teaching psychology to pharmacy students. It was an “Aha!” moment for me when I realized I could still be passionate about social behaviour by pursuing a graduate degree where social sciences merge with pharmacy practice. Fortunately, I found that feasible with my supervisor here, Dr. Lisa Guriguis. Currently, we are utilizing social behaviour theories in the pharmacy practice field to promote quality pharmacy practice that leads to effective and safe medication management plans.

What does it mean to you to be a woman in the pharmacy research field?

For a woman with three kids, who is a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, and a graduate student, it means to be resilient enough to fulfill my duties in all these domains. At the end of each day, knowing that I am able to contribute to pharmacy research while fulfilling all these roles, makes me feel strong and satisfied. If I can inspire even one young girl or another woman somewhere in the world, that would be a great achievement for me. 

What do you hope to accomplish in the future?

I hope to get a job in the academic field to inspire other girls, especially here in North America and in the Middle East region. I would also like to join a government position in Canada, where I can bring a scholarly academic lens to health communication programs in government projects.