Research Spotlight July 13, 2026 What inspired you to focus your research interest? My research interests have been shaped by a desire to help others by addressing challenges I encounter in practice. When I see patients and colleagues going through a difficult time, I am motivated to better understand their experience and explore solutions through research. For example, witnessing fellow pharmacy team members experience burnout during the pandemic prompted me to explore this area further. I became interested in understanding what brings purpose and meaning to pharmacists’ work, and how we can foster more of that into our workday. Similarly, in my role as a clinical pharmacist, I work closely with patients who have recently received a kidney transplant. Our team has observed that the transition from dialysis to transplant can be complex and difficult for many patients and their families. This has led to several ongoing research projects focused on better understanding the post-transplant experience and identifying interventions to better support patients during this transition. How do you involve patients, families, or care teams in your research? Patient Experience Advisors have become an essential part of the research teams I work with. Meaningful patient engagement ensures that research reflects the needs and priorities of the population being studied. Patients bring a unique perspective that strengthens both the relevance and impact of research. Dr. Jo-Anne Wilson from the Dalhousie University College of Pharmacy has been an excellent mentor in guiding my approach to patient engagement in research. As part of her research team, I had the opportunity to contribute to the development of videos and written materials focused on safe medication use in chronic kidney disease. Patient Experience Advisors played a key role by helping to ensure that the content was clear and relevant from a patient perspective. Why is research important for improving care? Research is important for improving care because it helps us continuously improve the quality, safety, and effectiveness of the care we provide. Health care continues to evolve at a rapid pace, so it’s important to regularly reflect on and re-evaluate our practices as new challenges and discoveries emerge. What’s a recent finding or project you’re especially excited about? I’m very excited about the findings from a recent project evaluating the feasibility of a pharmacist-led model of care using validated algorithms to identify diabetic kidney disease and optimize guideline-directed medication therapy (GDMT) in New Brunswick community health centres. This work was led by Horizon Pharmacy Resident Steph McKenna, in collaboration with Dr. Jo-Anne Wilson and me. Although GMDT for diabetic kidney disease – including ACEi/ARBs, SGLT2 inhibitors (SGLT2i), and finerenone – is proven to slow disease progression, these therapies remain underused in primary care. In our feasibility study, the use of pharmacist-led prescribing algorithms resulted in 65% of patients being initiated on at least one GDMT over a two-month period. This is an encouraging finding that will have a positive impact on delaying diabetic kidney disease progression. This project contributed to system-level change in New Brunswick. As a result of advocacy associated with this work, the New Brunswick Prescription Drug Program revised its special authorization criteria for finerenone, removing the requirement for nephrologist involvement to obtain coverage. What challenges have you encountered in your research, and how have you worked through them? A major challenge is limited time for research, as many pharmacists balance busy clinical roles without dedicated research time. Utilizing learners to grow our research capacity has been a key strategy to overcoming this challenge. For example, each year our six pharmacy residents complete a research project with support from a preceptor and Research Services. Project preceptor teams often pair experienced and novice pharmacist researchers to promote mentorship. We also offer elective research rotations for pharmacy students, allowing them to gain experience while contributing to projects. Students take on tasks such as protocol writing, data collection, and poster preparation. Some work can be done virtually, enabling collaboration with students from other institutions, including the University of Ottawa. What advice would you give to someone interested in pursuing research at Horizon? Don’t let fear of the unknown hold you back. Research can feel intimidating at first, but you don’t have to navigate it alone. Start with something small for your first project to build confidence and skills. Reach out to colleagues involved in research and ask to join a project; most are very open to collaboration. Take advantage of Horizon’s amazing Research Services team, who can guide you through each step of the process. Heather Naylor, Pharmacist