Certina Ho announced as Assistant Professor – teaching stream

The Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy is pleased to announce Certina Ho as Assistant Professor in the Teaching Stream at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, effective January 1, 2025.

A trained pharmacist and Faculty alumna, Assistant Professor Ho holds a graduate degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Toronto and PhD in Education from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. She holds an affiliation with the Institute for Safe Medication Practices Canada (ISMP Canada) as a Medication Safety Advisor, and represents Canada on the Executive Committee, Social and Administrative Pharmacy Section, of the International Pharmaceutical Federation.

Assistant Professor Ho’s research investigating medication safety initiatives in community pharmacy practice has contributed to the implementation of mandatory reporting of medication incidents in several provinces, and she is regarded as an expert in patient and medication safety both in Canada and internationally. In 2017, she was awarded the Exceptional Achievement in Research and Academia Award by the Ontario Pharmacists Association, and was a 2018 recipient of the Wellspring Leadership Award from the Canadian Foundation for Pharmacy for her work involving medication incident reporting.

Since joining the Faculty in 2013, Assistant Professor Ho has transformed how students are taught medication and patient safety. Linking learning and practice, she incorporates games into her educational exercises to increase retention of material, as well as provides students the opportunity to research and co-write articles on drug and patient safety topics for different healthcare publications, like Hospital News.

“Having our students apply their in-class learning to educational resources for frontline health care workers helps link the classroom to professional practice and solidify their learning.”

Enhancing teaching and curriculum development using AI

Supporting the development of the new three-year Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum, Assistant Professor Ho is the theme lead for patient safety and artificial intelligence (AI). As theme lead for artificial intelligence, she will work to implement the use of AI in the classroom for learning and teaching.

“AI is a powerful tool, and it is here to stay. The question is, how can we leverage it in our instruction, and properly teach students how to use it for learning and practice while honing their critical appraisal skills.”

“AI is a powerful tool, and it is here to stay. The question is, how can we leverage it in our instruction, and properly teach students how to use it for learning and practice while honing their critical appraisal skills.”

In her new role, Assistant Professor Ho now has a primary appointment at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy. She will retain her cross-appointment at the Department of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, continuing her educational program evaluation and scholarship roles.

“Assistant Professor Ho’s expertise in medication and patient safety, as well as her passion for quality improvement and innovative learning methods is an asset to the advancement of our Faculty and its programs” said Lisa Dolovich, professor and dean at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy.

“We look forward to her ongoing and future contributions to these important areas as we continue our mission to move science and health forward.”