GSK invests $300,000 in new School of Pharmacy immunization initiative
| June 7, 2025
Global biopharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has pledged $300,000 to UW’s School of Pharmacy for its new Pharmacy Innovation in Immunization Research Collaborative (PIIRC) initiative.
On Friday, June 8, the UW School of Pharmacy in Kitchener hosted an event celebrating the funding from GSK Canada. Present at the event were GSK Canada’s Country Medical Director Michelle Horn and the two co-founders of PIIRC, Nancy Waite and Sherilyn Houle.
Waite, a professor at UW’s School of Pharmacy, said that the funding will provide much needed support in addressing challenges faced by pharmacists and patients regarding immunization access. “The goal of our program is to create a space where we can talk with… individuals and stakeholders who are involved in the vaccine decision-making process,” Waite stated in an interview with Imprint at the event. “We want all Canadians to be able to access the vaccines that they want [and] the information they need to have, and to be able to make great decisions in [getting] vaccines. The ultimate goal is to serve Canadians in that way, and we do that by doing [this] research in a collaborative manner.”
Michelle Horn, country medical director at GSK Canada, added this funding will also help to discover what methods will best improve vaccine accessibility. “Is the COVID model the right way to go? Understanding that different communities engage with healthcare services differently, whether you’re a member of an Indigenous community, whether you’re a member of an underserved population, whether you’re a blue collar worker who isn’t able to book an appointment because you’re paid by the hour.”
GSK’s funding will also go toward research and educational programs at the School of Pharmacy, including hiring more graduate students for pharmacy research, additional co-op opportunities, and supporting existing research initiatives. Waite expressed interest in exploring continued use of technology to enhance pharmacy practice, citing clinical associate professor Jeff Nagge’s work on AI-enabled training for pharmacy students and the idea of AI-generated case studies for practicing real-world scenarios in pharmacy settings. Funds will also help support the Pharmacy5in5 learning platform for pharmacy students, created and led by associate professor Kelly Grindhold, and named for the goal of teaching users key facts about selected pharmacy topics (”5 things in 5 minutes”).
When asked how GSK selects organizations to invest in, Horn said, “It’s organic – it’s by intention, and by design, but the process is organic… It is invariably through conversations that we would have, so these will happen at some of the bigger conferences.”
She added that GSK has industry partnerships with academic institutions across the world, and has provided funding for other Canadian universities in the past, such as University of Toronto and University of Alberta.
“A particular central university will say, ‘Hey we’ve got capabilities. We know how to do this. We have an innovative idea.’ And we will then look to partner with that university or institution to really see how we can bring that idea to the fore,” Horn explained.
Outside of the school of pharmacy, GSK’s funding also opens doors to opportunities for multidisciplinary collaboration. To the rest of the UW community, Dr. Waite extends an invitation for all those interested in advancing immunization access and pharmacy research to get involved in PIIRC. “There are so many groups that can come and be involved… students, professors and other staff that are interested in this area: come and speak to us; we would love to hear from you.”
