It was a legacy that brought Tze Ning Hiew to the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy, and now she’s working toward leaving her own stamp on its distinguished pharmaceutics history.
Hiew was hired in January 2023 as an assistant professor in the Pharmaceutics Program of the Pharmaceutical Sciences and Experimental Therapeutics Department (PSET). Her research interests center on pharmaceutical oral solids, including pre-formulation, formulation, and manufacturing science of drug products, particularly related to tablets and pellets.
“Tze Ning has been a fantastic addition to the pharmaceutics faculty,” said Associate Professor and Pharmaceutics Program Director Lewis Stevens. “Her expertise and research have broad ranging applications to current needs in industry and the health sciences.”
An emphasis of Hiew’s research is developing smaller, easier-to-swallow dosage forms for pediatric patients, such as pellets, mini-tablets, and granules. “I also want to understand strategies we can use to taste-mask bitter drugs for improved palatability,” she said.
Particle coating is a big part of Hiew’s lab and one reason she was drawn to the College. In 1971, former UI College of Pharmacy Dean and Professor Emeritus Dale Wurster invented a method for applying coatings to tablets and particles called the Wurster Air-Suspension Coating Technique.
“I can’t count the number of times I’ve used a fluidized bed coater in my research,” said Hiew. “In fact, pellet coating was my first encounter in oral solids research as part of my undergraduate senior project.”
Making Her Mark
Since becoming a Hawkeye, Hiew was asked to present at the Pharmaceutical Science and Technology Seminar in Singapore, in conjunction with the 25th anniversary celebration of her major professor’s lab. Hiew also initiated and guest-edited a special issue of the International Journal of Pharmaceutics honoring his retirement. Furthermore, she recently was invited to serve on the editorial boards of AAPS PharmSciTech and the International Journal of Pharmaceutics. Most significantly, Hiew was awarded a $100,000 Faculty Starter Grant in Drug Delivery from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America Foundation to study particle-light interactions to create safer tablet film coatings.
“Dr. Hiew’s unique expertise in oral dosage forms and innovative approach utilizing particle engineering will foster numerous partnerships on campus, with the pharmaceutical industry and elsewhere,” said Jonathan Doorn, PSET chair.
Hiew is eager for such opportunities.
“I am enthusiastic about establishing collaborative research bridging industry and academia, because my research, which focuses on innovative particle engineering strategies, holds significant relevance to the ongoing work within the pharmaceutical industry,” said Hiew.
Science Ambassadors
Linchpins for Hiew’s research program are her graduate students – Trong Bien Tran and Bharathi Karunakaran – and postdoctoral researcher Roxana Lili Roque Flores. Besides training them to be strong researchers and experts in dosage form design for pharmaceutical products, she also wants them to be effective science communicators.
“They should be ambassadors of the research we do and as such need to be able to describe their science and research to people from all walks of life,” said Hiew.
The word is spreading about Hiew’s work, and she’s on the way to establishing her own reputation.
“My goal is to be one of the prominent labs known for research in pharmaceutical formulation and processing with a focus on oral solid dosage forms,” she said.