President
Imran Ahmed, PhD
Wilmington, North Carolina
Dr. Imran Ahmed is the current President of AABPS since January 2019. He received his PhD and MS degrees in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS and a Bachelor degree in Pharmacy from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. After completing his graduate studies in 1984, Dr. Ahmed joined the faculty at University of Louisiana Monroe, LA, as an Assistant Professor. In 1987, he joined Pfizer Inc., Groton, CT, where he worked for 25 years with increasing responsibilities. In 2012, Dr. Ahmed moved to Fort Worth, TX as the Director of Formulations and Process Development at Alcon Laboratories and continued in role after the acquisition of Alcon by Novartis. Starting 2018 through end of 2020, he was Senior Director and Head of Formulation Development at Alcami Corporation, a Contract Development and Manufacturing organization located in Wilmington, NC. Currently, Dr. Ahmed is R&D Executive Director at American Regents, New Albany, Ohio.
Dr. Ahmed served as the Chairperson of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Veterinary Drug Product Subcommittee. He has been actively involved with the AABPS for the last 7 years. He served as the Convener of 2017 AABPS Convention held in Delaware.
Dr. Ahmed has taken leadership role in many not-for-profit organizations. He served as the President of the Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR), Connecticut Chapter; President of the Islamic Center of New London (ICNL), Groton, Connecticut; Chairman of the Dawah Committee of the Islamic Association of Tarrant County (IATC), Fort Worth, Texas; Vice President of the Wilmington Islamic Learning Center (WILC), Wilmington, North Carolina; and organized and coordinated joint programs of interest with other religious organizations and communities.
Vice President
Farzana Musawwir, PharmD BCPS
Maryland, USA
Farzana Musawwir is an accomplished Clinical Pharmacist at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) and a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy – Baltimore & Eastern Shore. She holds a PharmD from Shenandoah University and a post graduate fellowship in Emergency Pharmacy by the American Society of Health System Pharmacy (ASHP). Farzana is a Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist (BCPS). She is a Certified Provider of Pharmaceutical Care for Patients with Diabetes, Certified in Total Nutritional Care, APhA Certified Registered Immunization Provider, Medication Therapy Management, and Anticoagulation Provider.
With 20 years of experience in clinical practice along with some retail and pharmaceuticals background, Farzana has extensive experience in population health, designing and implementing new clinical guideline-protocols and education programs to improve patient care and health outcomes. As a Heart Failure Program Clinical Specialist at UMMC, she is currently working on implementing a new heart failure education program with improved health outcomes. She has also developed several processes and guidelines for the handling of high-risk medication, workflow processes, and bedside clinical pharmacy service in intensive care settings as well as in ambulatory care. As a Clinical faculty of University of Maryland, she teaches Advanced Pharmacy Practice and mentors fourth year PharmD students along with PGY1 and PGY2 residents, runs clinical meetings and educational sessions, and supports research and journal publication.
Beyond her professional achievements, she has a strong passion for community service. In her free time, Farzana serves as a Director of Social Service at Community Compassion USA Inc., supporting homeless and needy families in Baltimore City through organizing food drives, arranging assistance for refugee resettlement, and supplying local food pantries. Farzana enjoys reading, gardening, traveling, and most of all, spending time with her family.
General Secretary
Lasker S. Lasker, PhD
Flowery Branch, Georgia
Dr. Lasker S. Lasker is Pharmaceutical Scientist, currently working for United States Pharmacopeia in Rockville, MD. His Pharmaceutical experiences include Branded Pharma, Generic Pharma, API manufacturing/Bio-Tech Company and Contract Research Labs. Companies include Pfizer, ENDO/Qualitest, Nektar Therapeutics, Societal Pharma and PPD Development.
Additionally, Dr. Lasker served 7-years as Academic Researcher at Indiana University Medical Center at Indianapolis, IN. He published 8 peer reviewed journals and delivered a many presentations in organizations like ACS, Pittcon, etc.
Dr. Lasker earned his PhD in Bio-Analytical Chemistry from University of Rhode Island, an MS in Analytical Chemistry from Purdue University, and MSc in Inorganic Chemistry from University of Dhaka.
His passion is to serve under privileged people in the community and society. To fulfill that aspiration, Dr. Laker actively participated in numerous volunteer activities with different organizations. Some are listed below:
- Served as Board Member, General Secretary and Social Affair Secretary for Huntsville Islamic Center, AL.
- Founder and General Secretary of Avicenna Free Medical Clinic in Huntsville, AL.
- An active member of Distress Children and Infants International, providing educational and medical support to young orphans in Bangladesh.
- Actively collaborated with CAIR-AL chapter on different social and legal help for the Muslim community.
Treasurer
Rebecca S. Islam, MBA
Denville, New Jersey
Mrs. Islam has been working in the pharmaceutical industry for over 25 years in the area of Clinical Data Management. Currently, she is a Lead Clinical Data Manager for TCM Groups in Berkley Heights, New Jersey. She has worked for industry leaders like Pfizer, Novartis, Abbott, as well as, multiple Clinical Research Organizations (CROs). Her specialization in data management encompasses study start up activities to completion including: senior management support, plan and manage budget, prepare and review protocols and operation manuals, build Case Report Forms, setup database and validations, write edit checks, perform QC audits, and lock databases.
Mrs. Islam holds a BBA in Management from Wichita State University and an MBA with MIS concentration from Saint Peters University in New Jersey.
Mrs. Islam is involved with multiple voluntary organizations for community development and participations. She is a Member of the Community Advisory Team organized by Drew University’s Housing Project. She is an active member of AABPS, helping with the organization’s annual conventions for the last 7 years.
Chair-Education Committee
Abu Bakar Siddique, PhD
Monroe, Louisiana
Dr. Abu Bakar Siddique is currently serving as a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM), LA, USA. Dr. Siddique’s research expertise is in areas of medicinal chemistry, drug designing, and molecular cancer biology including breast and lung carcinoma. Dr. Siddique is an associate member of multiple professional organizations including AACR, EACR, AAPS and ASP. Dr. Siddique has built an impressive record of publications and patents submission. He received his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences (Major in Medicinal Chemistry/Natural Products) from University of Louisiana at Monroe, LA, USA.
Dr. Siddique is the current Head of Education Committee of the American Association of Bangladeshi Pharmaceutical Scientists (AABPS). Prior to this, he actively participated in organizing 2017 AABPS Convention held in Delaware and organized and led student activities of the AABPS. He served as Vice-chair and Chair of ULM Student Chapter of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) in 2015 and 2017, respectively.
