Exhibition winners
Exhibition winners have earned the Faculty's highest academic distinctions. These students achieved the highest grade across one year of their degree program.
Pharmacy
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Exhibition winners have earned the Faculty's highest academic distinctions. These students achieved the highest grade across one year of their degree program.
This award is proudly supported by Guild Insurance.
Alex Lotric is currently undertaking her pharmacy internship with Alfred Health, a leading tertiary hospital network in Melbourne. She was keen to put learnings from her undergraduate degree at Monash University into practice this year, and working at The Alfred has provided a dynamic and innovative environment to do just that.
Alex is passionate about improving the medication management of each of her patients and working collaboratively with other healthcare professionals. Alex’s short experience working in hospital pharmacy has already provided her insight into the significant impact that a pharmacist can have on patient care, which is enhanced by the increasing scope of practice available to pharmacists.
Post her internship, Alex is keen to apply for a SHPA foundation residency program to further develop her clinical pharmacy skills. She has a particular interest in areas such as oncology and haematology and hopes to one day work in this space. Alex is excited by the broad skillset that her Pharmacy degree has provided and knows she has a rewarding and dynamic journey ahead. In particular, she is keen to explore opportunities in leadership, education, and research as she moves forward with her career.
"Studying pharmacy has enlivened my passion for learning about the interplay of medicines and diseases and imparting this knowledge to patients and their families. I have my family, peers and teachers to thank for this achievement, who have all provided immense support throughout my pharmacy journey. I hope to do them proud as I embark on my career."
This award is proudly supported by Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Sin Yee Looi is currently a fourth year pharmacy student, who will be completing her internship in the community setting next year. She initially picked pharmacy as it is a very diverse and rewarding career, with opportunities in various healthcare environments including but not limited to community, hospital and pharmaceutical industry.
Throughout her studies, she has developed many interests in the pharmacy course, particularly the pathogen, host defence and treatment topic and the role of a pharmacist in antimicrobial stewardship. In addition, being exposed to extemporaneous compounding at Monash and during her placement at a compounding pharmacy has led her to develop an interest in undertaking further training in this area. Sin Yee is eager to explore and experience the various roles of a pharmacist in different settings in her future career.
"It is an honour to receive this award and I would like to thank everyone who has supported me throughout this journey. I am also looking forward to continuing this journey with those I have met through this course."
This award is proudly supported by Pharmacy Guild of Australia.
Jessalyn Tan is a Third Year Pharmacy student. Her drive to work in the industry arose from her desire to optimise the health outcomes of patients in the Victorian healthcare system. Having the privilege to work in her role as a Pharmacy Technician at Eastern Health, Jessalyn has the opportunity to interact with renal transplant and tuberculosis patients in the outpatient pharmacy, and also has experience dispensing discharge prescriptions in the inpatient pharmacy. Additionally, Jessalyn also enjoys gaining hands-on experience through working in a community pharmacy, where she is exposed to a wide range of medicines and can assist patients with their primary care needs.
Jessalyn has thoroughly enjoyed being able to interact with her facilitators and peers through workshops on campus. She found an interest through studying the Comprehensive Care units at university, and from this, has become inspired in furthering her career in hospital pharmacy in the future. Jessalyn has also found her placements at her allocated community pharmacies to be extremely rewarding and is looking forward to her upcoming placements in Fourth Year.
"Pharmacy has given me new opportunities to not only learn about the exciting development of medicines, but has also encouraged me to step outside my comfort zone and mature into a more empathetic and confident health professional."
This award is proudly supported by Pharmaceutical Defence Limited.
Born and raised in Vietnam, Truc Thanh Huynh Do is an international student who has travelled a long way to become a registered pharmacist in Australia. She is a determined, hard-working and committed student inside the classroom who is always trying her best to engage with the learning materials and contribute to collaborative group projects.
She is an Education Officer of the Victorian Pharmacy Students' Association and works with renowned organisations in the pharmacy industry to present to the study body, such as Smith and Nephew, Pharmacists' Support Service and Pharmaceutical Defence Limited. As a participant in the Vice-Chancellor's Ancora Imparo Leadership Program, Truc works with thirty-nine other high-achieving students in meaningful seminars and masterclasses about topics such as environmental sustainability, media ethics and positive social change. She appreciates learning about different topics and enjoys exploring multi-faceted approaches to current issues from incredible leaders including the Hon Julian Burnside AO QC and the Hon Kim Carr.
In the future, Truc hopes to pursue the doctoral program within the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Education Research team. It is also her long-term goal to gain more experience from working in hospital pharmacies, aged care facilities and clinical trials.
"It is a huge honour for me to receive this academic prize. I am extremely thankful to my lecturers, facilitators and peers for this recognition and acknowledgment of my work. I would also like to express my deep gratitude to my family and friends for their continuous help and support."
This award is proudly supported by Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Yuchen Lu always has a different answer when she is asked about her favourite place in the world. She loves staying in the hospitals and watching how medicine is prepared. Inspired by her interest, she decided to become a pharmaceutical scientist.
During her journey at Monash University, Yuchen developed a holistic and integrated understanding of the drug discovery pipeline and the pharmaceutical industry around the world. The fact that many current treatments may not be able to cure diseases while others have side effects or individual variations further enhances her passion for pharmaceutical research. Given that Yuchen prefers more translational and bedside research opportunities, she eventually chose Europe as her future workplace. The accurate, cutting-edge and comprehensive drug discovery and development knowledge and skills that Monash had taught her have prepared her to pursue a Master's and a PhD degree in pharmaceutical science.
"I hope there will be a day when I can meet and communicate with my old friends and lovely lecturers with more competent skills and different perspectives of science from another side of the world."
This award is proudly supported by Australian Society of Cosmetic Chemists.
Yifan (Laura) Wen is a current third year Pharmaceutical Sciences advanced honours student, who is ready to conclude her undergraduate studies and commence her honours year at Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2023. Through her time at Monash, she found herself enjoying scientific research and explored projects in the immunology, mRNA drug delivery and neuroscience fields. She endeavours to delve further into cellular pathways involved in neuroinflammation, and utilising them to devise treatment options for neurodegenerative disorders.
Outside of academic work, Laura is heavily involved in volunteering. She was elected as the 2022 President of the Monash Parkville Student Union to lead like-minded students and engage the Parkville community. She also developed a passion for teaching through sharing her experience and connecting with first year students as the PASS Leader for Medicinal Chemistry. Laura is looking forward to a career that integrates both teaching and research.
"This course and my experience in research taught me the importance of resilience. I am truly grateful to my family, friends and mentors who supported me during this journey."
This award is proudly supported by Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Mengjia (Afra) Yu is an international student from China, she first came to Australia in 2019. She is a dedicated Pharmaceutical Sciences student who is especially interested in medicinal chemistry research. She looks forward to implementing the organic and synthetic chemistry theories into practise to manufacture pharmaceutical molecules that would benefit the general public, which is her motivation of studying this course. She firmly believes that hard work is key to excellence and has demonstrated that throughout her studies.
"Hard work always pays off and resilience is the foundation of distinction. Always remember to appreciate the support from family, friends, peers and teachers."
This award is proudly supported by Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Mikayla Begent is in her fourth year of a Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science/Chemical Engineering. She is currently completing her course part-time while taking advantage of the skills acquired through the pharmaceutical units to work as a formulation scientist in the agriculture sector. She aspires to apply the relevant knowledge of both degrees to work toward improving the sustainability of the industry until graduation. Then ideally get a job in the pharmaceutical sector, so she can achieve her long-term goal of improving the lives of others through advancements in medical technology.
"The two years studying at Parkville were the most enjoyable experience of my degree, largely thanks to the supportive staff and welcoming environment."