Meet Our Team!

Meet our incredible team of SSHP officers committed to the success of our organization and all of its members!

President

Ariba Abbas

Hello everyone! My name is Ariba Abbas and I am currently a P3 at UHCOP. I completed my undergraduate studies at the University of Houston. I am interested in ambulatory care pharmacy and would like to pursue a residency in the future. I love to travel in my free time and spend time with my family and friends. As President this year, I hope to work together with our team to provide our members with numerous opportunities to learn more about residency through our residency preparation series. I would also make sure that our members are aware of all the amazing career development and networking opportunities SSHP has to offer. Along with that, I’m looking to push our SSHP chapter to reach national recognition through the help of our wonderful team and members. I am looking forward to another great year with SSHP!

President Elect

Catherine Vu

Hello! My name is Catherine and I'm excited to be serving as President-Elect for 2020-2021 as I begin my P2 year. My journey toward pharmacy has been a continuation from my time at The University of Texas at Austin (Hook 'em!). I graduated with a B.S. in Nutrition and minored in Health Communications because I love food and genuine connections through health. More importantly, I joined the SSHP team to engage with my long-term goals in health system pharmacy and to help other members do the same through our events. As President-Elect, my goal is to bridge members in SSHP with the educational resources and professional opportunities available. I'm eager to meet you all and look forward to this year with SSHP!

Immediate Past President

Alan Luu

​Hello everyone! My name is Alan and I'm currently a P4 at UHCOP. I was born and raised in Houston and attended UH for undergrad. As Immediate-past President this year, I’m looking forward to providing members with numerous networking opportunities and residency preparation events to help guide them in their journeys through school. With this, I hope that students will find their specific interests and discover new career pathways they didn’t know about before. Along with that, I’m looking to push our SSHP chapter to reach national recognition through the help of our wonderful team and members. I’m looking forward to another amazing year with SSHP!

VP of Communications

Humayra Rifat

Hi everyone! My name is Humayra and I'm currently a P3 student hoping to purse a residency after completing my doctorates in pharmacy. Before entering pharmacy school, I completed my undergrad at the University of Texas at Dallas in biochemistry. U-T-D Whoosh! I've been a part of SSHP ever since my P1 year and had the pleasure of serving as secretary last year. As the VP of Communications this year, I hope to increase collaboration between our student chapter and the state chapter, TSHP. I also hope to promote TSHP events and help both officers and SSHP members build lasting relationships in the pharmacy world! I'm excited to serve as your VP of Communications and looking forward to working with my incredible SSHP team this year! 

VP of Programming

Sue'ad Elchehimi

Hello everyone! My name is Sue'ad Elchehimi and I am a P3 at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy. I went to undergrad and received my B.S. in Healthcare Studies from the University of Texas at Dallas. Last year, I had the opportunity to serve as SSHP's treasurer and maintain the organization financially while working closely with the team. This year as VP of Programming, I want to continue enhancing the educational and professional experience of student pharmacists by exposing them to different fields of pharmacy and residency programs. Looking forward to another great year with SSHP!

Secretary

Amania Anwer

Hi everyone! My name is Amania send I am currently a P3 at UHCOP. I was born in Pasadena, TX and was raised in Sugar Land,TX .I completed my pre-pharmacy courses at the University of Houston. Some of the fields of pharmacy that I am interested in are chronic disease states management, geriatrics, health-systems, and clinical pharmacy. As your secretary this year, my goals are to make sure to address all members’ needs, send emails that are easy to read and understand in a timely manner, keep members updated on upcoming SSHP events , and provide insight on different residency programs.

Treasurer

Alexis Nguyen

Hello all! My name is Alexis Nguyen and I am a P2 at UHCOP. I graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a major in Biochemistry, but am glad to be back in Houston where I was born and raised. I had the privilege of being one of SSHP's P1 Liaison last year and am so excited to serve a new role as SSHP's Treasurer for the upcoming school year. I look forward to helping our organization fund and host our three annual events to not only help connect our students to different residency programs, but to also help build their professional and personal growth. I hope to show everyone what SSHP has offered me! In my free time, I love working, eating, baking cheesecakes, and cuddling with my three cats.

Historian

Vien Do

Hi everyone! My name is Vien Do and I am a P2 at UHCOP. My hobbies are watching korean dramas, painting, and of course, taking photos! I am very excited to be your historian for the upcoming school year. My goals are to document all of the great events that our officers have planned and to showcase everything that SSHP has to offer. I hope that my pictures can offer at least a glimpse of the opportunities offered from this organization. I am looking forward to a great year with SSHP!

Professional Development Co-Chairs

Hiba Al Shaikhli

Hello everyone! My name is Hiba Al Shaikhli and I'm currently a P3 at UHCOP. I moved to the United States when I was 16 years old and completed my undergraduate studies at the University of Houston. I am interested in both academia as well as clinical pharmacy. As Professional Development Co-chair, I hope to overcome the barriers that are brought on this year with the rise of COVID-19 and organize events that cater to the various interests of the students at UHCOP. I am eager to create events that provide more information on health-system pharmacy and excited to be working with this year's wonderful team and for a great year with SSHP.

Priya Patel

Hi guys, my name is Priya Patel and I am a P2. As the professional development chair, I hope to be able to help the organization further grow by incorporating new events/seminars/simulations that are unique and engaging. My goal is to create more hands on activities this year so that students and members have the ability to actually go through the experience. I hope that this way students are better able to grasp the take home message and it will stick with them in the long run. Furthermore, I am excited to work on a Disease State Management seminar series with my co-chair where we focus on how to manage specific disease states in certain populations such as pediatrics, geriatrics, pregnancy/lactation and in different cultures. With the new online platform due to Covid-19, my goal is to accommodate to this and still be able to host valuable and educational seminars. I am excited to see what this year brings and look forward to working with my co-chair, the rest of the SSHP officer team, the organization members, and UHCOP students.

Fundraising Co-Chairs

Aroge Imran

Hello everyone! My name is Aroge Imran and I’m a P2 at UHCOP. For my undergraduate studies, I went to the University of Houston and received my B.S in Bioinformatics before I decided on staying here for pharmacy school! In my free time, I love traveling, playing basketball, and picking up random new hobbies like photography. Along with my fundraising co-chair, I look forward to raising funds for SSHP in order to move forward financially as an organization and to help facilitate the various opportunities SSHP provides to students. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me. I look forward to seeing the amazing things SSHP accomplishes this year!

Dustin Vo

Hello everyone! My name is Dustin Vo and I’m currently a P2 at UHCOP. I completed my undergrad at Texas A&M University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Biomedical Studies. My interest in clinical pharmacy was sparked by the many SSHP opportunities available throughout the year. As fundraising co-chair I hope raise sufficient funds for the chapter for it to grow as an organization and I look forward to meeting each and everyone of you!

​Service Co-Chairs

Wendy Nguyen

“Xin chào!” That is how you say “Hello!” in Vietnamese. My name is Tran (Wendy) Nguyen and I am from Vietnam. I attended high school in Arizona and did my two years of pre-requisites at Houston Community College. Being with UHCOP for the past two years has been a memorable journey for me. I have had opportunities to get involved in community outreach, make great connections and sharpen my leadership skills by actively participating in organizations. As your Service Chair this year, I would like to create as many meaningful events for SSHP members as possible so that they can develop both personally and professionally like I did. Even though I am currently a P3, I enjoy socializing with all underclassmen. Therefore, if you have any questions about SSHP or about school in general, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. I am looking forward to meeting you- our future SSHP member!

Raymond Thai

Salutations! My name is Raymond Thai and I am a second year student at University of Houston College of Pharmacy. I graduated from UT Austin with a Bachelor of Science in Public Health. I was born and raised in Houston, TX so I was excited to come back home to work on my PharmD! Since I am only a P2, I am still exploring career options in the pharmacy field, but I am mainly interested in a clinical role. As Service Co-Chair, I look forward to hosting events for our members to apply their knowledge and practice their patient communication skills. Although the events we host this year may be limited due to the unprecedented times we live in, us Service Co-Chairs still hope to deliver events for our members to grow their knowledge as pharmacy students!

Orientation Co-Chairs

Isha Pervaiz

Hi guys! My name is Isha Pervaiz and I’m a P2 at UHCOP this year. I completed my undergraduate at the University of Houston with my degree in Nutritional Sciences (Go Coogs!). The reason to why I chose pharmacy was mainly because I wanted to play a more active and accessible role in delivering personalized care in the community. As of right now I’m keeping my options open in regards to the field of pharmacy that I’m interested in, however, currently I’m interested in pursuing ambulatory care. As the Orientation co-chair this year, my goal is not only to increase recruitment, but to educate the incoming P1 class on what residency is and how SSHP can help students get there. We’re aware that we’re unable to hold the org fair and the social in person during these trying times. But we hope to deliver everything you need to know about SSHP and residency in a simplistic, creative and engaging way! Looking forward to meeting you all!

​Fun fact about me: My mom and I share the same birthday!

Jenny Trinh

Hello! My name is Jenny and I’m currently a P2 at UHCOP. I am from Dallas, TX and studied Biomedical Sciences at Texas A&M. As Orientation Chair this year, I’m looking forward to welcoming and helping incoming students explore health-system pharmacy. SSHP has provided me with many opportunities for professional and personal growth, and I hope to share this with the incoming class. I am excited to see what all we accomplish this year and look forward to meeting the Class of 2024!

Community Outreach Initiatives

Lauren Lee

Medication Safety Senior Chair

Hello, my name is Lauren Lee. I am a P2 student at UHCOP. In my free time I enjoy painting and telling jokes to my friends. I decided to join SSHP because of my interest in clinical and hospital pharmacy. Through SSHP’s residency workshops and events, I have been able to develop professionally. As the P1 Medication Safety Junior Chair, I was able to develop personally too. Through this experience I learned about how to communicate to the community in ways that everyone would understand. Many patients often have trouble understanding what they’re being prescribed and how to administer, store, and dispose of their medications. As future pharmacists we will be responsible for educating the patients on all the ways to take their medications. I am happy to be back as the Medication Safety Senior Chair and am ready to present on these important topics. I hope to see everyone soon!

Raina Abraham

Medication Safety Junior Chair

Hello everyone! My name is Raina Abraham, and I am currently a P1 at UHCOP. I was born and raised in Houston, TX and completed my undergraduate studies at The University of Texas at Dallas. As the Medication Safety Junior Chair, I hope to provide the necessary resources and educate others on the importance of medication safety. I am looking  forward to a great year with SHHP!

Tara Boyd

Antibiotic Awareness Senior Chair

My name is Tara Boyd and I am in my 2nd year at UHCOP. I completed my undergraduate studies at Texas A&M (whoop!) in biomedical sciences. I am interested in clinical pharmacy in emergency medicine. I first became interested in pharmacy while caring for chimpanzees involved in pharmaceutical research at MD Anderson Research Center. I was happy to be there to make the chimpanzees lives as wonderful as possible while they were an integral part of the pharmaceutical research necessary to test important breakthrough medications. As the Senior Antibiotic Awareness Chair, I am looking forward to educating the public on the importance of antibiotic stewardship and the steps we can take to ensure that antibiotics sustain their effectiveness. In my spare time I like to read fiction novels and go fishing with my son and husband.

Adam Siddique

Antibiotic Awareness Junior Chair

Hey everyone! My name is Adam Siddique and I am currently a first year pharmacy student here at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy. I attended undergrad at the University of Oklahoma where I received my B.S. in Biology. After graduation I took time to work as a phlebotomist in the transplant department of the OKC Integris Baptist hospital system, where I was fortunate enough to work with some great pharmacists that introduced me to their profession. Fast forward to the present, and my involvement with SSHP has given me more insight into my pharmaceutical pursuits than I could have ever thought possible as a P1 student. As the Jr. Antibiotic Awareness chair, I aim to be the ideal right hand man to Tara (the Senior Antibiotic Awareness chair) so that we can host engaging events that emphasize the importance of proper antibiotic stewardship in a meaningful way. Although we may not always realize it, our daily survival depends on our understanding of the delicate balance we share with the microbial world. During my time in this position I hope to make that evident and look forwarding to sharing with you all!

P1 Liaisons

Amy Shum

P1 Liaison

Hello everyone! My name is Amy Shum, and I am currently a P1 at UHCOP. I received my bachelor's degree in biology and genetics at Texas A&M University, and I am so excited to be one of the P1 Liaisons for SSHP for the 2020-2021 school year! Since coming into pharmacy school, I have become really interested in both pharmacogenetics and ambulatory care pharmacy, and I know pursuing a residency will help get me to where I want to be in the future. This year, remote learning has brought on many new challenges especially feeling disconnected with our peers and classmates. Therefore, one of my main goals as P1 Liaison is to help facilitate the communication between SSHP and the P1 class and to encourage more students to get involved with SSHP. In my spare time, I enjoy traveling, baking, bouldering and indoor rock climbing, and reading. I am really looking forward to getting to know all of the SSHP members and officers, and I can't wait to learn more about everything SSHP has to offer!

Yash Desai

P1 Liaison

Hello everyone! My name is Yash Desai and I am currently a P1 at UHCOP. I was born and raised in Houston and attended UH for my undergrad and I am interested in ambulatory care pharmacy. As P1 liaison this year I am looking forward to represent SSHP for the class of 2024 and meet all of the fellow officers to grow as a leader and a professional. My goals would be to help organize various events and expand my role by being involved wherever I may be needed. We also hold many events throughout the year and I want to shed light on the diverse opportunities within this organization for those interested in clinical care pharmacy.

FACULTY ADVISORS

DR. ELIZABETH SULAICA, PharmD

DR. DIVYA VARKEY, PharmD, MS

DR. MATTHEW WANAT, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP, FCCM