U of T Pharmacy welcomes Nedzad Pojskic as 2025 Leader-in-Residence

New Leader in Residence will mentor future leaders in pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences and strengthen connections with industry

The University of Toronto’s Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy is pleased to announce Nedzad Pojskic as the 2025 Leader in Residence, hosted by the Centre for Practice Excellence. Starting in January 2025, Pojskic will teach and mentor professional pharmacy and graduate students in this role, engage with alumni, and explore opportunities to enhance connections between academia and industry.

An alumnus of the Faculty, Pojskic holds a PhD from the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and has contributed to the education of future pharmacists as an Adjunct Lecturer in the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program for over 10 years. As Vice President of Pharmacy Benefits Management at GreenShield, Pojskic leverages extensive expertise in drug formulary management, health policy, and stakeholder relations. He focuses on optimizing medication access and using data-driven innovations to enhance care for clients. GreenShield, Canada’s only national non-profit health and benefits company, is dedicated to improving health outcomes, driving systemic change, and empowering all Canadians to achieve their full health potential.

“I am delighted to welcome Ned as our 2025 Leader in Residence after having had such an impactful career. I’m looking forward to seeing the many ways in which Ned will be able to give back to our Faculty in this role and what we will be able to accomplish together,” said Zubin Austin, Professor and Academic Director, Centre for Practice Excellence, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy.

Bridging academia and industry

Pojskic’s term will focus on advancing practical and tangible ways to bridge academic and private sector knowledge. “Knowledge translation between these two industries or sectors is often very fragmented. But there is an incredible opportunity for both sides to benefit from breaking down traditional silos and work pragmatically on solutions that can benefit patients and society more broadly,” said Pojskic, who is also a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council.

Pharmacy’s growing role in patient care and Canada’s health care system

When it comes to tackling some of the critical challenges in health care today, Pojskic sees pharmacists as central to a more innovative, accessible system. Something he studied as part of his PhD more than 10 years ago. “My PhD was a policy analysis of the expanded scope of pharmacy practice, which at that time was just coming to fruition. When you fast forward to today, we see not only the expanded scope in immunization but also in minor ailments, and it’s incredible to be at the place we are now.”

A 2024 Drug Trends Report published by GreenShield found that pharmacists initiated 6 per cent of prescriptions in Canada in 2023, an increase of 140 percent since 2019. “The system needs pharmacists more than ever, and we need pharmacists to serve in these expanded roles. Pharmacists are very well trained, and as a country, I think we are waking up to how we can use these skills in a more expanded capacity,” said Pojskic.

Leveraging real-world evidence for drug safety and effectiveness

Real-world evidence (RWE) has long played an important role in evaluating safety, effectiveness, and health economics after a drug has entered the market. It is poised to become increasingly crucial for drug approvals and value assessments. As Leader in Residence, Pojskic will also work with Mina Tadrous, assistant professor at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy and Canada Research Chair in Real World Evidence and Pharmaceutical Policy, on ways to leverage RWE to assess medication use and safety and accelerate access to new medications.

“This a massive topic of conversation today because I think there's an increasing recognition that drugs can work in one way in a clinical trial, which can be sanitized but can work very differently when used by patients in the real world,” said Pojskic. “There is a unique opportunity here to start to create an infrastructure for this country as a whole and explore how we can measure the real-world evidence to provide better care to patients.”