In this Kāwili Lā‘au newsletter photo above, lab manager Dr. Tamara Kondratyuk (right), works with Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy (DKICP) Dean Pezzuto. The DKICP at the University of Hawai`i at Hilo is the newest member of a multinational group known as the U.S.-Thai Consortium.

HILO, Hawaii – Hilo’s College of Pharmacy has joined the U.S.-Thai Consortium for the Development of Pharmacy Education in Thailand.

The Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy at the University of Hawai`i at Hilo is the newest member of a multinational group, “working to advance pharmacy education, research, practice, and improve the health and welfare of the people in Thailand”, the university announced on Monday. Membership will allow Hilo’s pharmacy students an opportunity to go to Thailand for their experiential training; DKICP has clinical site and research agreements with Chulalongkorn University and Rangsit University. The agreements will also bring Ph.D. students and postdoctoral associates to Hawaii to work in DKICP labs.

From the university:

The U.S.-Thai Consortium for the Development of Pharmacy Education in Thailand, founded in May 1994, made the announcement at the 2014 consortium conference from May 28-30 at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy in Baltimore, MD. DKICP’s Drs. Carolyn Ma and Supakit Wongwiwatthananukit attended.

The consortium now includes 19 Thai and 17 U.S. schools of pharmacy. The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) signed the original Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with eight schools of pharmacy in Thailand and the Committee for Pharmacy Manpower Development of the Thailand Ministry of University Affairs.

Other U.S. schools of pharmacy in the consortium include top-10 schools University of Minnesota, University of North Carolina, University of Texas, University of Kentucky, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Ohio State University, Purdue University, University of Utah, University of Washington and University of Arizona. University of Hawai`i at Hilo media release

Dr. Supakit Wongwiwatthananukit, DKICP associate professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice, helped shape the existing agreements.

This consortium will help us expand our scope to include other universities in Thailand, which in turn gives our respective students a wider global perspective. Being born and raised in Thailand, this is very meaningful because I know our work can affect generations to come.”Dr. Wongwiwatthananukit in July 14th media release

Outgoing DKICP Dean John Pezzuto praised new union.

We are energized by and grateful for the opportunity to join these other top schools of pharmacy because we understand how to affect global health and make a difference for humanity. Our geographic location positions us to become the hub of pharmaceutical research where contributions of western sciences, eastern traditions and Pacific Island heritage combine to advance pharmaceutical knowledge and practice.”DKICP Dean John M. Pezzuto in July 14th media release

UH-Hilo says DKICP has developed relationships and signed memorandums of understanding (MOU) with universities in China, Thailand and Japan. Students in the UH Hilo program also have unique learning opportunities available throughout Hawai`i, across the mainland and the Pacific Basin, in Guam, American Samoa and Saipan.