CHSU Pharmacy Student Completes Competitive Rotation with FDA Oncology Center of Excellence

In her last year of pharmacy school, Roxanne Dekker took a giant stride towards her goal of making a global impact after completing a highly competitive clinical rotation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Oncology Center of Excellence (OCE).

“After graduation I want to make an impact on my community and to save as many lives as I can in the field that I enter,” said Roxanne Dekker, fourth-year pharmacy student at CHSU. “I will hold this experience near to my heart and look forward to working alongside the FDA one day to make a national and global impact in pharmacy.”

With the dream to become a pharmacist, Fresno-native Dekker has progressed through multiple roles in the pharmacy environment since 1992, including pharmacy technician, pharmacy buyer, inventory specialist, and even a part-time professor for pharmacy technician school.

Now as a fourth-year pharmacy student attending California Health Sciences University (CHSU) College of Pharmacy, Dekker began the fall semester with the FDA OCE Project Orbis to complete one of her Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPE) rotations, a six-week, full-time clinical experience at a medical establishment to gain real-world pharmacy experience.

Project Orbis serves as the framework to receive and review submissions of oncology products among international partners.

Dekker completed the virtual APPE rotation with Project Orbis attending webinars and working alongside experts, such as Richard Pazdur, MD, Director of the FDA OCE, to implement the oncology product clinical review with other departments of the FDA.

“This environment challenged me to become a better pharmacist and introduced me to many facets of the FDA where many departments worked collaboratively together to investigate the safety and effectiveness of all drugs for approval in the United States,” said Dekker. “This experience is important to me because the FDA and international regulators allow patients with cancer to receive earlier access to products in other countries due to numerous global trials that are started by drug manufacturers.”

After graduating from CHSU with her Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree, Dekker looks forward to pursing a pharmacy career in oncology.