Faces of Reading

The thing I enjoy most about Reading is the School I work in, both the staff and the students. Everyone is supportive and friendly and will stop to have a chat. We do our work but we also do have time to catch-up as well. Because I’m the Programmes Director, I also get involved with the Reading University Construction Society (RUCS), as well as the University's Ghana Student Society.

I’ve been given the opportunity to grow in what I do, and I think Reading gives everyone that opportunity – you just have to be yourself, and take it. Regardless of where you come from, grasp the opportunity and go with it.

I have been teaching pharmacy students since the Reading School of Pharmacy was established, with our first intake of less than 50 students in 2005. Now I am very happy to see how it developed into a very successful department delivering many undergraduate and postgraduate programs with several hundred students each year. 

Currently, I am Professor of Formulation Science and I teach undergraduate and postgraduate students and also contribute to the Graduate School with a course on ‘How to write a paper’. In addition to my teaching responsibilities, I supervise a large and very interdisciplinary research group, which includes postgraduate students and researchers from many countries. I am also a Programme Director for MSc by Research for 3 different programmes in Pharmacy and in this role, I oversee the delivery of teaching to our taught postgraduate students. 

I widely collaborate with researchers from many countries, which means that each year I travel to different institutions to deliver lectures, conduct joint experiments and attend research conferences and meetings. I am glad that the University of Reading provides a flexible working environment that helps to manage all my academic activities, including teaching, research, administration, and visits to collaborators in many countries. 

The two disorders demonstrate intriguing differences in music, language, emotion, pitch, memory and cognitive processing that may provide us with a unique opportunity for examining the underlying mechanisms of normal music and language functioning.

I'll be delivering a Year 3 optional module on "Music, language and the brain", engaging students with cutting-edge research and encouraging them to design new experiments.

I have a lot of support at Reading. My Head of School and colleagues are all very supportive and helpful. I can ask them for help and advice whenever needed.

I'm originally from China and did my PhD at the University of Chicago, where I studied the differences and similarities in speech prosody between Mandarin and English.

I then worked at Goldsmiths, University of London, Stanford University, the Chinese University of Hong Kong and University College London as a postdoctoral researcher and at the University of Essex as a lecturer, before coming to Reading.

I really enjoy living in different countries, being exposed to different things and getting to know different people from different backgrounds. This has helped me develop both as a person and as a scientist.

I currently work in the School of Chemistry, Food and Nutritional Sciences and Pharmacy in my role as a Lecturer in Pharmacy Practice and the Pharmacy Director of Teaching and Learning. I work with an inspiring, motivating and diverse team of academics who all pride themselves on producing a workforce who has the passion, drive and the motivation to deliver the patient-centred care and positive health outcomes. 

I am a British Indian and fall into the BAME category. I have been thoroughly supported in my time at the University of Reading, with opportunities to develop my leadership, assertiveness and overall management skills. I have been supported to develop and take on additional roles including module convenor, Pharmacy Director of Teaching and Learning and the University Chair for the Student Discipline Committee. The support and development at the University has enabled me to secure leadership positions elsewhere and in January 2021 I became a General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) Accreditation and Recognition Panel member.

The continued support I have received at the University of Reading enables me to bring my passion into the classroom and ensure that my enthusiasm converts into an inspiring learning experience. I take immense pride in witnessing the ‘light-bulb’ moment and take great pleasure in being part of the student’s journey. I am passionate about nurturing the next cohort of enthusiastic pharmacists, who hold ethics, patient health and values as close to their hearts as I do.