Professor Heather Boon Appointed Dean of the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy
Dr. Boon is licensed pharmacist, Professor and Interim Dean of the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, and holds cross-appointments with the Department of Family and Community Medicine and the Department of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto.
A graduate of the Faculty’s Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy and PhD programs, Professor Boon has been an active member of the Faculty since 2001. Over that time, she has developed a robust research program and instructed a large complement of graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and undergraduate summer research students. Focusing on the safety and efficacy of natural health products, and related regulatory and policy issues, her research has been supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the SickKids Foundation, the Lotte and John Hecht Memorial Foundation, and the National Centres of Excellence program, among others. Through this research, Professor Boon has published more than 130 peer-reviewed articles, as well as numerous book chapters, policy reports, and textbooks.
During the 2013-2014 academic year, Professor Boon served as Interim Dean for the Faculty. Prior to assuming this role, she was Associate Dean, Graduate Education, where she was responsible for overseeing the Faculty’s Master’s and Doctoral programs. During her term as Associate Dean, Dr. Boon successfully grew these programs, enhanced the graduate student experience, and brought fiscal sustainability to the graduate department.
Throughout her career, Professor Boon has held key administrative roles both at the Faculty and in a variety of national and international associations and organizations. Through these experiences, she has developed strong operational skills, demonstrated an ability to build productive relationships with students, faculty members, administrators, and key stakeholders, and cultivated a highly collaborative leadership style that she will apply to the role of Dean.
“I am excited and honoured to be leading the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy at a time of incredible opportunity, when how we care for patients and promote health is changing rapidly,” said Boon. “Our innovative academic faculty, including those teaching in our new PharmD and PharmD for Pharmacists programs, pioneering researchers, and exceptional graduate and undergraduate students are leading this change.”
“I look forward to working together with our inspiring faculty members, staff, students, alumni, healthcare partners, and the University of Toronto community to drive this change forward, continue our growth as a Pharmacy educator and hub for groundbreaking research discoveries and innovations, produce outstanding graduates, and improve patient outcomes across the country and throughout the globe.”
