AS THE Medicines Management conference - marked by near-record attendance - closed out on Saturday, Advanced Pharmacy Australia (AdPha) celebrated members' honours, achievements and conference awards.
Jesslyn Ha was announced as the 2025 AdPha Resident of the Year in the closing plenary.
Ha, who is Lead Analgesic Stewardship Pharmacist at Monash Health in Melbourne, was awarded for her presentation: 'Researching the researchers: perspectives on what makes a good research supervisor'.
Julian Tran, who is undertaking the inaugural Registrar Training Program in Mental Health at The Alfred Hospital, was announced as the recipient of the 2025 KC Leong Memorial Registrar of the Year Award.
The award was renamed this year in honour of Kum Chuan 'KC' Leong, a pharmacist registrar training program participant whose dedication, compassion and commitment to excellence left an enduring legacy on the profession.
Tran developed and implemented an initiative to ensure safe benzodiazepine deprescribing in a psychiatric inpatient unit.
The 2025 AdPha Early Career Pharmacist of the Year was Katelyn Jauregui of NSW, honoured for her leadership on opioid tapering and pain management.
Karen Donn of WA was named 2025 AdPha Technician of the Year, having transformed the way the Statewide Obstetric Medicines Information Service manages medication safety enquiries.
The 2025 AdPha Hospital Team Innovation of the Year is the Pharmacist-led Parenteral Nutrition Prescribing Team at Fiona Stanley Hospital (WA), led by Sharon Selvanayakam, which has pioneered a new model of care, in which pharmacist prescribers now work alongside dietitians to manage complex nutritional therapies.
Earlier in the day, Associate Professor Jonathan Penm from the University of Sydney was honoured with the Australian Clinical Pharmacy Award, recognised for his global leadership in advancing pharmacy practice.
AdPha President Assoc. Prof Tom Simpson said Assoc Prof Penm's impact reflects the highest ideals of the profession, and he "exemplifies clinical excellence, intellectual rigour and deep commitment to patient-centred care".
Meanwhile on Fri, pharmacy technician Tara Clayson-Fisher was awarded the 2025 AdPha Medal of Merit for her exceptional contribution to the advancement of Australia's pharmacy technician workforce, as well as her national leadership in redefining pharmacy practice.
"Every year, our members and their peers arrive more energised, more ambitious, and more determined to push our profession forward - and this year was no exception," said Assoc Prof Simpson in summing up.
"With more than 400 presentations delivered by an extraordinary lineup of speakers, Medicines Management once again demonstrated why it remains Australia's most influential scientific pharmacy event."
MM2026 will take place in Brisbane from 22 to 24 Oct. KB
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