Pharmacy professor named Fulbright specialist

Harrison School of Pharmacy associate professor C. Edward Chou has been named a Fulbright specialist and will travel to Taiwan in December to consult at China Medical University Hospital.

The Fulbright specialist program sends U.S. faculty and professionals to serve as expert consultants on curriculum, faculty development, institutional planning and related subjects at academic institutions abroad for up to six weeks, according to the U.S. Department of State.

During his 26-day stay in Taiwan, Chou will assist China Medical University Hospital with facilitating a new pharmacy curriculum reform, especially for the development of an advanced pharmacy practice experience program. Additionally, he will provide lectures introducing current research in social and administrative pharmacy to all master and doctoral students and work with pharmacy faculty and clinical pharmacists to engage heath care professional students in advanced research.

“It is an honor to be selected for the Fulbright award and I am grateful for the opportunity to apply my knowledge and skills to work collaboratively with international partners in Taiwan for their educational and scientific needs as a Fulbright participant and a representative of the United States,” said Chou. “I look forward to establishing open communication and long-term cooperative relationships with those international partners. It is also my goal to help establish good reputation for Auburn University Harrison School of Pharmacy in Taiwan through this opportunity.”

While there, China Medical University Hospital will collaborate with other pharmacy institutes and associations in Taiwan, including the Taiwan Society of Health-System Pharmacists and the Taiwan Medical Products Anti-Counterfeiting Taskforce, to arrange lectures and seminars during the project period at different universities and medical centers. Classes will also be arranged for graduate and undergraduate pharmacy students from three universities, including China Medical University, Taipei Medical University and National Cheng-Kung University.

Chou will travel to the pharmacy schools and medical centers as part of his position to give presentations and consultations.

At Auburn, Chou conducts research on evaluating the disease burden and impact of health-related policies or programs on healthcare access, utilization and outcomes among vulnerable populations.

His work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, New York State Health Foundation and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Chou’s work has been published in the likes of the New England Journal of Medicine, Health Affairs, Medical Care, Psychiatric Services and Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety.