Fariha Ayaz

In range · 4.4 °C · 2–8 °C

Someone has to account for every capsule.

I manage investigational medicinal product for clinical trials: the receipt, the fridge, the blind, the count, and the paperwork that has to survive a regulator reading it line by line. Twenty-plus trials, zero protocol deviations on product.

EMAIL FARIHA CV LINKEDIN

Fariha Ayaz, research pharmacist
  • 20+Trials with IMP
    under my custody
  • 217Participants enrolled
    on schedule
  • 7+DRAP reconciliation
    panels led
  • 4International multicentre
    trials led end to end

01 · About

A hospital pharmacist who went and read the protocol.

I spent three years on the wards at Aga Khan University Hospital, ran the Emergency Department pharmacy team, and precepted ASHP PGY1 residents through their inpatient rotation. Then I moved into research, where the drug stops being routine and starts being evidence.

At AKU’s Clinical Trials Unit I’ve worked both sides of a study. In the research pharmacy I held IMP for more than twenty trials and answered for it to sponsors, monitors, JCIA surveyors, and DRAP. At the coordination desk I ran four international multicentre trials and a validation study from start-up to closeout, and chaired the unit’s Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement group.

Those two vantage points don’t usually sit in one person. Coordinators learn IMP as a checklist. Pharmacists learn the protocol as someone else’s problem. I’ve had to answer for both, which means I catch the gap between them before a monitor does.

I’m a Canadian permanent resident, based in Edmonton, and open to conversations about research pharmacy, IMP management, and clinical trial operations.

02 · IMP lifecycle

Six custody points. Each one is a place a trial can quietly fail.

  1. 01 · Receipt

    The box meets the paperwork

    Temperature on arrival, quantity against the manifest, seal and damage check. Nothing goes in the fridge until the shipment and the documentation agree.

  2. 02 · Storage

    Hold the conditions

    Cold chain at 2–8 °C or controlled room temperature, restricted access, calibrated loggers, continuous monitoring, and an excursion procedure people actually follow at 3am.

  3. 03 · Dispensing

    Right kit, blind intact

    IWRS/IRT assignment, label verification, participant counselling, and a blind that survives contact with a busy clinic.

  4. 04 · Accountability

    Every unit has a name on it

    Dispensed, returned, unused, damaged. Each one logged against a participant, a visit, and a date, in a record that reads the same six years later.

  5. 05 · Reconciliation

    The monitor sees my numbers

    Sponsor reconciliation and DRAP inspection panels work from the same count I do. No reconstruction, no surprises during closeout.

  6. 06 · Return

    Close the chain

    Return shipments or on-site destruction, certificates filed, custody documented from the manufacturer to the last unit.

Ref 01 · Academic record

Education

The degrees behind the counts.

Doctor of Pharmacy — 3.93/4.0

Silver Medallist · Summa Cum Laude

  • Silver Medallist of the Pharm.D batch of 2019.
  • Canadian equivalency established by PEBC: BSc in Pharmacy.

top of the batch, and the paperwork to prove it

MBA, Health & Hospital Administration — 3.68/4.0

Health policy · Research methodology · Health ethics and law

  • Core competencies in health policy, research and survey methodology, health ethics and law.
  • Completed alongside full-time trial coordination: the management half of running studies.

PGY1 Pharmacy Residency (IPPR)

Inpatient practice residency

  • Trainee Pharmacist of the Year, 2020.
  • Later returned to the same rotation as preceptor-in-training.

PEBC equivalency

Ref 02 · Employment record

Experience

Ward, then research pharmacy, then trial lead.

Senior Research Coordinator

The Aga Khan University

  • Led four international multicentre trials plus a validation study, start-up to closeout.
  • Opened new enrolment channels (advertising, community clinics, off-site physician referrals) reaching 217 participants on schedule.
  • Led the unit’s Patient & Public Involvement and Engagement group, building its terms of reference and structural framework.

Research Coordinator

The Aga Khan University

  • Ran timelines, deliverables, reporting and milestones for the PI’s studies, with CRF design, source data verification and real-time EDC entry to ALCOA+ standards.
  • Quality reviews, internal audits, regulatory inspections: inspection-ready at all times, CAPAs closed.
  • Also the unit’s marketing and communications lead: editor and design lead of the CTU newsletter, LinkedIn page and SharePoint site.

Research Pharmacist

The Aga Khan University

  • IMP custody for 20+ trials, fully compliant with protocol, ICH-GCP, regulatory and JCIA requirements.
  • Led 7+ DRAP reconciliation panels for international multicentre trials.
  • Rewrote temperature-control policy; deviations dropped across the IMP lifecycle.

this is the one I’d put on the record first

Research pharmacy cold storage holding investigational product at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius
Rack of investigational product vials, some blinded, each labelled

Inpatient Pharmacist

Aga Khan University Hospital

  • Emergency Department pharmacy team lead, with a certificate of appreciation for dedicated work in the ED, 2021.
  • Built learning modules and precepted ASHP PGY1 residents on inpatient rotation.

Trainee Pharmacist

IPPR PGY1 (ASHP)

Intern Pharmacist

Oncology pharmacy operations

Six years, no gaps

Ref 03 · Case record

Work

Five problems, and what I did about them.

Chart recorder printout showing a temperature excursion above 8 degrees Celsius
Cold chain2023

The fridge kept drifting out of range

Recurring temperature deviations across the IMP lifecycle. I revised the governing policies rather than the individual logs: monitoring, thresholds, escalation, and who does what when the alarm sounds at 3am. Deviations fell and control held.

the printout that told the story

Deviations,
after revision
Investigational product reconciliation form stamped reconciled, with sealed kits
Regulatory2023 – 2024

DRAP wanted the count reconciled

Led 7+ investigational product reconciliation panels with Pakistan’s drug regulator, records kept inspection-ready between panels rather than assembled the week before.

the count, reconciled

7+DRAP panels
led
Clinical Trials Summit of Pakistan 2025 stage and screen
Convening2025

A national summit needed running

Lead organizer of the Clinical Trials Summit of Pakistan 2025: marketing, registrations, audience engagement, and speaker and partner logistics.

a whole summit, start to finish

2025Clinical Trials Summit
of Pakistan
Diagram of three referral channels feeding enrolment, counter reading 217 of 217
Recruitment2026

Enrolment was going to miss the window

In-hospital referrals wouldn’t fill the studies. Added trial advertising, community-clinic referral pathways, and off-site physician referrals. 217 participants, on time.

three channels, one number

217Participants,
on time
Round table with the protocol at the centre and participant notes around it
Engagement2026

Participants had no route into study design

Led the CTU’s PPIE group, bringing patients and the public into planning rather than consulting them after the protocol was fixed.

a seat at the table, early

PPIEGroup lead,
AKU CTU

Trial index, a selection

As coordinator
  • STROKE
  • OvaPrint
  • KA6
As research pharmacist
  • D-LIVR
  • SUNRISE-3
  • ACT-SouthAsia
  • ACTION-III
  • ESPRESSO
  • HECOLIN
  • AVT06
  • EFFORT
  • V201_03
  • PREFER
Closeout
  • PLATCOV
  • A-PLUS
  • FRACT-COV
  • ACT
  • DEFLECT
  • CARES
  • FURI
  • + more

No findings on product

Ref 04 · Certification register

Credentials

All current. All verifiable.

Certifications

  • Certified Clinical Research Professional ACRP Issued Apr 2026
  • GCP, Clinical Trials Involving Drugs CITI Program To 23 Jul 2028
  • GCP, Clinical Trials Involving Devices CITI Program To 29 Jul 2028
  • Basic Life Support, CPR & AED American Heart Association To 12 Sep 2027
  • PEBC equivalency BSc Pharmacy, Canada Established

Recognition

  • Silver Medallist, Pharm.D batch of 2019 Dow University of Health Sciences 2019
  • Trainee Pharmacist of the Year AKU Residency Program 2020
  • Certificate of appreciation Emergency Department 2021
  • Certificate of appreciation D-LIVR trial contribution 2023
  • Trophy of appreciation Malaria Elimination Consortium Symposium 2024
  • Sustainability Champions Initiative nominee Aga Khan University 2024

EDC & trial systems

  • REDCap
  • iMediData RAVE
  • eCOA
  • Suvoda
  • YPrime
  • Cenduit IRT
  • DrugDev
  • CliRes
  • Clinica
  • 4G Clinical
  • shinyApp

Analysis & tools

  • SPSS
  • Python
  • Advanced Excel
  • Canva
  • SharePoint

Practice

  • IMP management
  • Regulatory submission
  • Informed consent
  • Patient recruitment
  • Project management
  • CAPA
  • Inspection readiness
  • Risk management plans

All dates current

Ref 05 · Writing, editing, posters

Publications

In print and in progress.

Chronic Therapy Medications During the Perioperative Period: To Continue or Discontinue?

Aga Khan University Hospital

The Research Continuum

CTU newsletter, Aga Khan University

  • Founded the design and led content creation and publication of the unit’s recurring newsletter.

still my favourite side project

The Research Continuum newsletter, issue one

2023 onwards

Ref 06 · Correspondence

Say hello

If it involves research, I want to hear about it!

Fariha Ayaz, research pharmacist

Research pharmacy roles, clinical trial operations, IMP consulting, or a question about getting a regulatory panel through. Email is fastest.

Canadian permanent resident, based in Edmonton, Alberta, available from September 2026.

Get in touch

EMAIL FARIHA CV LINKEDIN

Location
Edmonton, AlbertaCanada
Status
Permanent residentConfirmed
Available from
September 2026Open
Response
Within 48 hours

The whole record, in one place.

Get in touch

EMAIL FARIHA CV LINKEDIN