By 2023, the Faculty of Pharmacy has 23 full-time academic staff and 84 part-time lecturers (62 national lecturers and 22 international lecturers).

Prof. Chea Sin completed his Bachelor Degree in Pharmacy in 2002 at University of Health Sciences (UHS), Cambodia, and then a Master in Public Health at National Institute of Public Health, Cambodia, and a Master of Education at Panhasastra University of Cambodia (PUC). In August, 2006, he graduated in Doctor of Specialized Pharmacy in hospital pharmacy from University of Health Sciences, Cambodia and University of Mediterranean, France. He had been working as an intern of pharmacy in Martigues hospital in France for 18 months (November 2004 to April 2006).

He started his professional career as a store and stock manager for all U-Care pharmacies in Cambodia in April 2006. From October, 2006 to January 2012, he had been working for RHAC (Reproductive Health Association Of Cambodia) as an Inventory Control Manager and Procurement Team Leader. At that time, he was also a member of national contraceptives security working group at the Ministry of Health, Cambodia. From February to June 2012, he had been working as an Associate Editor/ Editing and Production Manager/Member of Management Team for PSP (Ponleu Sokhapheap Organization). In that organization, he was an Associate Editor for Cambodian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery (CJNM) and Cambodian Journal of Medicine (CJM). At the same time, he was also a principal investigator for target survey for Cambodian Journal of Medicine (CJM). From July 2012 to May 2015, he had been working for PharmaProduct Manufacturing (PPM) as R&D Manager, Deputy General Manager, and Director of Quality Management, R&D, and Regulatory Affairs, and GMP project leader. From June 2015 till now, he has been working for University of Puthisastra (UP) as Head of Pharmacy, Deputy Director of Research Committee, Dean of Faculty of Health Sciences in charge of Medicine, Pharmacy, and medical laboratory, Chair of Curriculum Advisory Committee, and finally as Dean of Faculty of Pharmacy, Chair of Academic Board and Deputy Director of Research Committee for UP. He is also a professor at college of biology, Hunan University (China), a member of Board of Directors for Asian Association of School of Pharmacy, and a member of Board of Directors for ASEAN Association of School of Medical Technology. Meanwhile, he has also been a member of editorial board for ASEAN Journal of Pharmacognosy, member of Board Director for the French Society of Clinical Pharmacy, Elsevier Journal, member of Editorial Advisory Board and Editorial Board for The journal "Current Trends in Pharmaceutical Research [CTPR], board member of Phnom Penh Pharmacy Council, and Vice President of Regional Pharmacy Council for region 1, which covers Phnom Penh, Kandal, Kampong Chhnang, and Kampong Speu. Until now he has been publishing more than 100 papers locally and internationally and supervised 6 Master Theses. He has edited four issues of local journals and 12 issues of international journal. He has supervised 15 research projects. So far, he has received five awards: RHAC best performer award for 2010 (best performed staff of the year), Excellence Performance for 2015 from University of Puthisastra’ president, the Cambodian youth role model appointed by Prime Minister Hun Sen. In 2019, the gold medal form Prime Minister Hun Sen for his contribution to the building of Cambodian nation. And Finally, on December 08, 2020, he received the 2020 Global Pharmacy Champion award from the Vennue Foundation, US-based NGO, working to build a stronger global pharmacy workforce, for his extraordinary contributions in the fields of international pharmacy education and patient-centered healthcare.

Asst. Prof. Chhea Sophearom

Mr. SO Visessakseth

Mrs. Ung Huykhim

Ms. Keath Meng Puthyda

Mrs. Oeung Sokunvary

Mr. Heim Mengkhim

Ms. Sreng Nalen

Mr. MAO Kimchhay

Ms. Norng Sreyroth

Mr. Eang Phanith

Ms. Yeang Dalin

Ms. Ly Lina

Ms. Touch Sokkeang

Ms. Huot Huysean

Ms. Nara Vottey

The Faculty of Pharmacy offers access to the newest equipment and instrumentation in each laboratory. There are five laboratories that serve the pharmacy students from year 2 to year 5, including Pharmaceutical Technology, Pharmacognosy, Inorganic, Analytical, Medical Biology and Stimulation pharmacy through investment and with the primary goal of providing excellence in teaching, innovative research, quality control, and consultation services.

• J01:responsible for teaching theoretical, practical and research essentials for the dosage form design, evaluation and manufacture, and development method to apply and quality control for pharmaceutical applications.
• J11:responsible for all aspects in practical, research and development in medicinal plants and their products, which also provide services of phytochemical research raw material and finish products.
• J21:responsible for teaching theoretical, practical and research in inorganic chemistry and pharmaceutical chemistry which can identify chemical compounds by technical methods.
• J51:responsible for teaching theoretical, practical and research in the field of applied bacteriology, microbiology aspects for biological samples.
• J52:responsible for teaching theoretical, practical and research in organic chemistry, Therapeutic chemistry which focuses on subsequent synthesis, natural product chemistry and instrumental analysis of pharmaceutical agents.
• J53:responsible for teaching and practical in community pharmacy which the students could apply the knowledge, skill and share experience of community pharmacy practices.

There are 67 partner institutions in 16 countries have MoU with the Faculty of Pharmacy:

Local Partner	Country	International Partner	Country
Angkor's children hospital	Cambodia	Ajou University	Korea
Pharmacy Council of Cambodia		Chung-Ang University, Public of Korea
Angrorkar Referral Hospital		Korea Maritime and Ocean University
Bati Referral Hospital		University of Northern Philippines	Phillippines
Battambang Province Referral hospital		University of the Philippine
Biobykhin Laboratory		Lyceum of the Philippines University Cavite
Cambodia Pharmaceutical Enterprise (CPE)		Chiang Mai University	Thailand
Cambodia-Japan Friendship Provincial Hospital Mongkul Borey		Chulalongkorn University
Center of Hope Friendship Clinics		Khon Kaen University
Central Hospital		Krishna Institute of Medical science	India
Central Medical Stock (CMS)		Lovely Professional University, India
Chea Chamnan Laboratoire Co.,ltd		Chandigarh University
Cho Ray Phnom Penh Hospital		Can Tho University of Medicine and Pharmacy	Vietnam
Department of Pharmacy, Food, Hospital equipment, and Cosmetics		University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ho Chi Minh City
DKSH Cambodia		FPT University, Hanoi
Health Department of Battambang Province		National University of Singapore	Singapore
Health Department of Kompong Cham Province		Hainan Medical University	China
Health Department of Siem Reap Province		Hiroshima University	Japan
Hebron Medical Centre (HMC), Cambodia		City University Malaysia	Malaysia
Kampong Chhnang Health Department		James Cook University	Australia
Kantha Bopha Children's Hospital		SDI Limited, Australia
Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital		Edgewood College	United State of America
KV Hospital		Fort Hays State University
National Blood Transfusion Center Cambodia		Leeds Beckett University	United Kingdom
National Center for Traditional Medicine (NCTM)		University of the West of England
Preah Ang Duong Hospital		HELMO University	France
Preah Ket Mealea Hospital		Istanbul OKAN University	Turkey
Preah Kossamak Hospital
Sunrise Japan Hospital (Phnom Penh)
Ucare Pharmacy
V.S Medical Laboratory
National Health Products Quality Control Centre
National Institute of Public Health
National Pediatric Hospital
Pharma Product Manufacturing (PPM)
PillTech Solution Co.,Ltd
Biotrust Dianostics
Institut Pasteur du Cambodge

For the clerkship activities in the Faculty of Pharmacy, Pharmacy students conduct their clerkship from year 3 to year 5 based on national curriculum which following:

• Hospital Pharmacy clerkship for year 3
• Medical Laboratory clerkship for year 4
• Pharmaceutical industrial, Pharmacy management, quality control and traditional medicine clerkship for year 5.

The faculty of pharmacy also created the extra curriculum for pharmacy students to strengthen their knowledge. 296 students attend international internship/ Summer course/ conference such as:

• International internship program at Khon Kaen University, Thailand
• Summer program:
  • University of Illinois, Chicago, USA
  • Silpakorn University, Thailand
  • Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia
  • University of Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, Indonesia
  • National University of Singapore, Singapore
  • International University of Health and Welfare, Japan
• International Conference:
  • The 14th Annual Northeast Pharmacy Research Conference of 2023, Khon Kaen University and Mahasarakham University, Thailand
  • International Conference on the 4th industrial Revolution and its impact Walailak University, Thailand
  • Asean PharmNet, Malaysia
  • Asian Association of Schools of Pharmacy, Ajou University, Korea

• Project Plants Collection and Ethnobotanical survey for year 2 pharmacy students.
• Parasitology and community health project for year 3 pharmacy students.
• Pharmaceutical Industrial and quality control study tour for year 4 pharmacy students.
• Community Outreach for year 5 pharmacy students.
• Pharmacy Family trip

UP pharmacy students have opportunities to do international internship outside Cambodia. During the last 7 years, 296 students have been sent to do international internship, exchange program and conference in USA (3 students), Japan (13 students), Thailand (210 students), Korea (29 students), Malaysia (4 students), Singapore (7 students), Turkey (7 students) and Indonesia (23 students).

The internship and exchange program help to expose students to new knowledge, new cultures, and life-changing experiences, as well as helping to build strong links with universities and fellow-students overseas.

Pharmacy Students are required to spend at least five years of study, including theories, laboratory practices, clerkship, and research. In addition, bachelor program also includes extra curricula activity to strengthen the quality of pharmacy education. The Pharmacy Club is also a potential contributor to provide knowledge, and experiences to students. Previous years, Faculty of Pharmacy has set up three clubs: Pharmcareer Club, Senior Club, and Clinical pharmacy club.

From 2019 to 2023, pharmacy clubs received 1247 students.

1. The senior club is created with an aim to support pharmacy students for their graduation examination, and national exit examination.
2. The clinical pharmacy club is created to give students chance to learn clinical skills and knowledge from clinical cases presented.
3. The pharma-career club is created to orient students about various pharmaceutical careers, skills needed for various pharmaceutical careers, post-graduation studies and how students should do to be well prepared to be successful in their future careers.

Pharmacists are healthcare professionals with specialized scientific training in drug production, supply, distribution and providing guidance on medication usage. Pharmacists play a vital role in ensuring the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines for patients and the health system as a whole.

Competent pharmacists have a comprehensive understanding, skills and positive attitudes in various areas:

• Production, management and distribution of medicines
• Offering health education and advising patients on the use of high quality, safe and highly effective medications with efficiency
• Conducting research to improve the quality of drugs and the use of drugs
• Explore new drug formulations and improving drug formulations
• Adhering to the principles of good practice in the production, storage and distribution of drugs.

• Pharmacists in community, clinic and hospital pharmacies
• Pharmacists in pharmaceutical enterprises
• Pharmacists in import-export pharmaceutical companies and pharmaceutical distributors
• Pharmacists in medical and biomedical laboratories
• Pharmacists in NGOs, Ministry of Health and other private and public institutions
• Researchers/Lecturers/Professors in universities
• Pharmacists who run private business in community pharmacy, medical biology, pharmaceutical distribution company, and industrial pharmacy.

Pharmacy students undergo 5 years of study to obtain a Bachelor Degree in Pharmacy, during which they work with qualified and experienced instructors/lecturers/professors with good behaviors. From Year 2, pharmacy students conduct practical work in well-equipped laboratories such as laboratory of pharmaceutical technology, laboratory of pharmacognosy, laboratory of inorganic chemistry, laboratory of medical biology, laboratory of organic chemistry and laboratory of pharmacology, and simulation pharmacy.

Starting from Year 3, students will undertake clerkship within hospital pharmacies, UP pharmacy, hospital laboratories, Department of Drug and Food, Central Medical Stores, National Health Product Quality Control Center, National Center for Traditional Medicine, Consumer Protection Competition and Fraud Repression Directorate-General, and various pharmaceutical enterprises.

The University also provides many extracurricular activities to support students’ learning and develop their soft skills such as study tours, exchange programs, social activities, training, competition, voluntarism, seminars, workshops, orientations, study clubs, conferences and research.

Faculty of Pharmacy (FoP) of the University of Puthisastra (UP) has been making efforts to host the international conference on pharmaceutical research where all pharmaceutical researchers can gather to celebrate their achievements, share knowledge, and learn from each other in order to improve their research quality. So far, FoP have held 4 rounds of research conferences with more than two hundred participants in each round from multidisciplinary pharmaceutical sciences fields. At the conference, researchers, pharmacists, academicians, and pharmacy students will share their research findings, and discuss ways forward to improve pharmaceutical research quality and encourage researchers and students to conduct more research. During the event, there was a panel discussion from invited speakers, oral presentations, and poster presentations.

The release of the “Call for Abstracts” was announced months before the conference. The submitted abstracts were passed through the review process by the scientific committee of the conference. The outstanding abstracts will be either oral or poster presentations during the event and were categorized into tracks as follows:

• Track 1: Pharmacy Education
• Track 2: Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Pharmacology
• Track 3: Pharmacognosy
• Track 4: Pharmaceutical Technology
• Track 5: Clinical Pharmacy
• Track 6: Pharmacoepidemiology
• Track 7: Medical Biology

After the conference, the research abstracts were established as short proceedings and conference books. There are many benefits from this event, i.e., promotion of research cooperation with private and public partners, building of research capacity of students, staff, and lecturers, ennoblement of UP toward the international academic standard, and motivating pharmaceutical researchers to conduct more research.

The conference gathers pharmacy professionals from various disciplines to share with and learn from each other on their work and success at their current workplaces and to discuss ways forwards to improve pharmacy profession in Cambodia. Our conference delegates primarily involve successful pharmacists from different areas including Community Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Distribution Company, Industrial Pharmacy, Clinical Pharmacy, Pharmacy Education, Pharmacoepidemiology, Health Consumer Protection and Health Management, Non-Governmental Organization, Pharmacy Law and Legislation and Medical Biology. This also serves as a platform for you to inform them about the importance of your products or services which might be useful for their work advancement and business success.

The conference is organized by faculty members of the Faculty of Pharmacy (FoP), University of Puthisastra under the leadership of Prof. Chea sin, Dean of Faculty of Pharmacy. It is the national conference for the pharmacy profession held for the purpose of sharing knowledge, experiences, and successes among Cambodian pharmacists. Our committee plans to make this event happen every year to enhance collaborations and share successes. More than that FoP aims to provide CPD to all pharmacists in Cambodia who join this conference to fulfill the scores for their practice license.

Medicinal plants have played an important role in human healthcare as the essential ingredients of traditional medicines for thousands of years. It is reported that more than 80% of the world populations still rely on medicinal plants as a source of primary healthcare. Botanical gardens worldwide play an important role in the conservation, cultivation and utilization of plant species along with research activities related to ecology, taxonomy, systematics, biotechnology, etc. Botanical Garden (Figure 1) currently situated inside building J was established in 2012 as the Medicinal Plant Garden of Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, and University of Puthisastra. Botanical garden cover with a total area of 100 square meters, has been built on the 3rd floor, Building J, University campus. The Botanical Garden has a living collection of approximately 100 medicinal plant species. A variety of medicinally significant herbs, shrubs, and trees are planted in a well-defined section of the garden.

The cultivated plants are beneficial in the practical classes of pharmacognosy and natural products contests. This professionally designed medicinal plant garden serves as a significant catalyst for the study of herbal drugs and trains undergraduate and graduate students. The student, a recent graduate of the Faculty of Pharmacy, uses it to obtain the raw materials and fresh plant specimens needed to conduct research on herbal drugs and other natural products.

The University of Puthisastra Pharmacy is the largest local pharmacy, covering an area of over 413 square meters. We are renowned for providing exceptional pharmacy services, ensuring the accuracy and suitability of prescriptions for patients. This includes reviewing dosage, administration timing, and proper labeling. We also offer supervised administration of medicines, advice on medications and their potential side effects, and guidance on managing minor ailments. Our expert pharmacists provide specialized healthcare advice on issues such as blood pressure, cholesterol monitoring, hypertension, and diabetes screening. We actively support patients in making healthier choices, such as adopting a more nutritious diet, increasing physical activity, or quitting smoking.

We also conduct comprehensive medicine use reviews and collaborate with doctors and other healthcare professionals to monitor, assess, and evaluate the effectiveness of medications. Our facility is equipped with a private counseling room and a drug compounding laboratory, enabling us to provide personalized patient counseling and prepare custom-made medications when they are not readily available from manufacturers. At UP Pharmacy, we ensure the professional dispensing of prescribed medications and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs sourced from reliable and legal suppliers.

In addition to pharmaceuticals, we offer an extensive range of products, including health and beauty items, medical equipment, and a variety of imported products from countries such as France, the USA, Canada, Australia, Korea, Japan, Singapore, and Thailand, as well as locally made products at competitive prices. Our pharmacists possess extensive professional experience in community pharmacies. Our team is dedicated to providing high-quality services based on scientific evidence, ensuring that our customers receive excellent care with genuine compassion.

Faculty of Pharmacy (FoP) of the University of Puthisastra (UP) has been improving pharmaceutical research quality and encourage staffs and students to conduct more research. FoP aim to promote of research cooperation with private and public partners, build research capacity of students and staffs, and support UP toward the international research standard, and motivating pharmaceutical researchers to conduct more research. FoP’s achievements so far, we published international peer review journals and other than 50 research conference presentation in national and international research conference, i.e., Turkey, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and south Korea. Our research team are the full-time lecturers and full-time staffs as shown in the table below, we together improve pharmaceutical researchers in Cambodia.

The number of pharmacists is increasing every year to meet market demand. However, pharmacists from various disciplines have little opportunity to share what they are doing in the field of work, their experiences, challenges and success stories with their peers for discussion or advice. In addition, there is little opportunity for pharmacists to have Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in Cambodia. The Pharmacy Council of Cambodia (PCC) is responsible for enforcing the Law on the Management of Health Professionals and setting minimum standards for further professional development to be followed by all pharmacists in Cambodia.

The decision of PCC on the minimum standard of CPD requires pharmacists to meet the minimum number of hours of CPD related to the profession, as well as increase their professional knowledge and ability to provide management, production, quality assurance, distribution of drugs to patients or clients in accordance with ethics, pharmaceutical standards, quality, safety and efficiency.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) takes a multi-dimensional approach to long-term career development. Any learning activities undertaken by professionals for developing new skills and enhancing their current capabilities represent elements of CPD. Committing yourself to ongoing improvement provides you with the opportunity to stand out from the crowd as a leader in you field. Whether considering a career change or pursuing promotion with an existing employer, it is essential to update your skills and knowledge on a regular basis. The approach you take to CPD is up to you, but anything you do to broaden your horizons could prove invaluable for your long-term progression.

In the context of rapid technological advances, production management procedures, quality assurance, supply, distribution of medicines, protection for medical care, the growing public expectation and the need for quality of care as well as better accountability. CPD is recognized as an important way for all pharmaceutical professionals to maintain their professional capacity.

Continuing professional development can help you regularly update what you have learned from basic training and reflect changes in the profession to ensure that production management, quality assurance, supply, distribution of medicines, preventive care, quality, safe, effective and apply new knowledge to your patients, clients or community.

Research evidence shows that within five years of completing the training, the acquired knowledge base becomes obsolete, and therefore, if professional development is not pursued, practice will not perform well and may pose a high risk to patients, clients and communities (e.g., illness and death). CPD is not only a guarantee of the professionalism of the professionals but also a key indicator for ensuring the quality of their professional practice.

Each CPD starts from the date on which the PCC issued each pharmacist's license until the date the license expires.

Cambodian Pharmacists are required to complete a minimum of 40 points for CPD over a two-year period.

For each year of CPD, Cambodian Pharmacists professionals are required to complete a minimum of 20 points of CPD each year.

One point of CPD is equal to one hour of active learning, meaning 40 points of CPD in two years equals 40 hours of active learning.

Active learning is the actual number of hours that an accompanying pharmacy professional actively takes part in academic activities to maintain their professional capacity and development. The score for each CPD activity depends on the actual number of hours that the health professional is actively involved in the study activity. Time spent on program activities such as registration, breaks, snacks, speeches, and other programs is not recognized as active learning and cannot be classified as a point of further professional development.

1. Group Discussion
2. Webinars
3. Training Course
4. Short Course
5. In-service Training
6. Local and international conferences or conventions
7. Research for Presentation in Local and international
8. Project about Health
9. Join as a member or team to develop health policies and guidelines
10. Lecturer
11. Research further and prepare to develop the role of mentor, coach, staff or student and have a well-documented training plan.
12. Participate in reviewing and editing educational documents related to pharmacological, journal articles, chapters in books or research papers.
13. As a co-author, publish documents or reports related to accompanying pharmacy.
14. Write a research article, chapter, book or report as the first author and submit for publication.
15. Publish documents, chapters, books or reports related to pharmacology as the first author.
16. Lead a research study related to pharmacological pharmacy.

Attend postgraduate courses in the country or abroad with official qualifications such as bachelor's, master's or doctoral degrees related to the pharmacy profession.