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

Asst. Prof. Chhea Sophearom is currently serving as the Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Puthisastra (UP). He has demonstrated exceptional leadership and academic excellence, earning the Employee of the Year – Academic (Exceptional Performance) Award in 2019. With 12 years of experience in education, he has been instrumental in enhancing academics, operations, and student rotations within the Faculty of Pharmacy.

He has played a key role in curriculum development, short-course design, and the establishment of new programs, including the Master of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Master of Medical Biology. Throughout his career, he has led 40 workshops and training sessions, both locally and internationally. His collaborations with international lecturers from France, India, the UK, Thailand, Pakistan, Nigeria, Australia, and New Zealand have enriched the academic experience at UP. He has also been invited as a keynote speaker and trainer on topics such as assessment design, problem-based learning, and learning outcome development.

Additionally, Asst. Prof. Chhea Sophearom has extensive expertise in laboratory design, having contributed to the development of facilities for Organic Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Medical Biology, Pharmacognosy, and Pharmaceutical Technology. He has also built strong partnerships with hospitals and pharmaceutical industries to secure clerkship and internship opportunities for students.

With eight years of experience in health and research, he has made significant contributions to enhancing research quality at UP. As a researcher, he has published over 10 abstracts and full-text papers in conference proceedings and academic journals. He has also served as a committee member for research conferences for four years and has led 29 projects since 2015, including 14 research projects. His two most recent projects—Community Outreach in Mondulkiri and Ratanakiri Provinces, Cambodia were successfully implemented with budgets of USD 62,954.05 and USD 66,173.80, respectively. His leadership and commitment continue to drive advancements in research across Cambodia.

Beyond academia, Asst. Prof. Chhea Sophearom has over eight years of experience in retail pharmacy, having worked as a pharmacy manager, pharmacist, and pharmacy assistant in various retail pharmacies. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he successfully established two retail pharmacies within three years.

Academically, he holds a Pharmacist Degree, a Bachelor of Education in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL), and a Master of Science in Epidemiology. He has received multiple scholarships and awards, including a full scholarship for a Master of Pharmacy at Airlangga University, Indonesia, a full scholarship for his pharmacist degree, and the Samdech Techo Hun Sen – Dr. Haruhisa Handa National Scholarship. Additionally, he holds a DELF B1 certification in French.

Throughout his career, Asst. Prof. Chhea Sophearom has taken on multiple roles, including dean, assistant dean, researcher, educator, pharmacy manager, pharmacist, laboratory technician, trainer, translator, lecturer, and project leader. His diverse expertise, leadership skills, and dedication have significantly contributed to the advancement of pharmacy education and research in Cambodia.

Mrs. Ung Huykhim

Mr. SO Visessakseth

Mrs. Oeung Sokunvary

Ms. Sreng Nalen

Mr. MAO Kimchhay

Mr. Heim Mengkhim

Mr. Eang Phanith

Ms. Ly Lina

Ms. Norng Sreyroth

Ms. Huot Huysean

Ms. Nara Vottey

Ms. Phuy Meyli

Mr. Keun Mengky

Ms. Chhe Sereypoar

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

The Faculty of Pharmacy has also developed extracurricular programs for pharmacy students to enhance their knowledge. By 2024, a total of 354 students had participated in international internships, summer courses, or conferences such as:

• University of Illinois, Chicago, USA
• Khon Kaen University, Thailand
• Silpakorn University, Thailand
• Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia
• University of Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
• National University of Singapore, Singapore
• International University of Health and Welfare, Japan
• Tokyo University, Japan
• International Summer School Pharmacy-Universitas Brawijawa, Indonesia

• Asia Association of School of Pharmacy (AASP), South Korea
• The 14th Annual Northeast Pharmacy Research conference, Thailand
• International conference on the 4th industrial revolutions impact, Thailand
• The 8th International Mediterranean Symposium 2022, Turkey.
• The 2nd International Conference on Pharmacy-on-Pharmacy Education & Research Network of ASEAN.
• Workshop for Molecular Marker Discovery and Application, in Beijing, China
• The 14th International Conference on Public Health among the Greater Mekong Sub-Regional Countries, Lao PDR

The Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Puthisastra actively promotes international programs to broaden students’ academic, professional, and cultural perspectives. These experiences expose students to global standards, innovative research, and diverse learning environments, helping them develop intercultural skills and prepare for careers in international healthcare and pharmaceutical fields. By engaging with global institutions through exchanges, internships, conferences, and research, students enhance their knowledge, leadership, and adaptability—boosting their competitiveness in the global job market. These initiatives also support the university’s mission to foster international collaboration and elevate its global reputation.

• 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.

Since its founding in 2017, the Pharmacy Club at the University of Puthisastra has been a dynamic and supportive platform that promotes academic excellence, professional growth, and peer collaboration among pharmacy students. There was total member 1,821 by 2024 that have involved in this club.

The club is structured into three distinct branches, each serving a specific purpose to enrich the student experience:

1. Clinical Pharmacy Club is dedicated to enhancing students’ clinical competencies through practical learning and professional engagement. From 2017 to 2024, the club has welcomed 617 members and provided numerous opportunities to bridge classroom knowledge with real-world clinical practice.

   Key activities include clinical case discussions, patient counseling simulations, skill-building workshops, and hospital exposure programs. The club regularly invites alumni, community pharmacists, and hospital pharmacists to share their expertise and real-life case studies, offering valuable insights into clinical decision-making and patient care.

   To deepen students’ practical understanding, the Clinical Pharmacy Club has organized hospital visits to leading healthcare institutions, including Sunrise Japan Hospital Phnom Penh, Techo Santepheap National Hospital, and Ucare Pharmacy. These visits have allowed members to observe professional practice in action and engage directly with experienced healthcare providers. By fostering critical thinking and applied clinical skills, the club plays a vital role in preparing students for successful careers as clinical pharmacists.

2. Pharma-Career Club The Pharma-Career Club is committed to guiding students in exploring and preparing for a wide range of career opportunities within the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors. With 463 members to date, the club serves as a vital resource for professional development and career readiness.

   Activities include guest speaker sessions featuring industry professionals, career orientation workshops, and networking events with alumni who share insights into various career paths such as community pharmacy, hospital pharmacy, pharmaceutical industry, regulatory affairs, research, and more.

   To support job readiness, the club offers CV writing and interview training sessions, including personalized guidance from the Human Resources Manager at the University of Puthisastra. These sessions help students craft professional resumes that reflect their skills and aspirations.

   Additionally, the club organizes career path “mind-mapping” workshops, where students can explore their interests and define clear, strategic goals for their future. These sessions empower students to identify strengths, align them with career options, and develop a tailored action plan for success.

3. Senior Club (Mock MCQ & Mock IEE Club) The Senior Club supports final-year pharmacy students in preparing for the national MCQ exam and the Internnal Exit Exam (IEE), including both MCQ and OSCE components. Since its founding, the club has guided 741 members through a comprehensive academic and emotional support system by 2024.

   Key activities include mock exams, focused revision classes, and peer-led study groups to strengthen core knowledge and test readiness. The club also hosts top-performing alumni to share strategies and success stories, offering valuable insights and motivation.

   To build OSCE confidence, the club conducts structured role-play sessions for all five stations, helping students develop clinical and communication skills in a practical setting. Recognizing exam-related stress, the Senior Club provides emotional support sessions, including stress management workshops and motivational talks, fostering resilience and confidence. With its well-rounded approach, the Senior Club plays a crucial role in helping students transition successfully from university to professional practice.

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.