Trailblazer in HIV care and pharmacy practice innovator, Dr. Debbie Kelly named 2025 Canadian Pharmacist of the Year
March 26, 2025 (Ottawa/St. John’s): Dr. Debbie Kelly has been named the 2025 Canadian Pharmacist of the Year by the Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPhA), recognizing her leadership and groundbreaking work in HIV care, health equity and the advancement of pharmacy practice.
A dedicated pharmacist, advocate and professor at Memorial University’s School of Pharmacy, Dr. Kelly has spent her career ensuring that those who face the greatest barriers to care—rural residents, people living with HIV and individuals without access to physicians—receive the support they need.
Her work has shown that pharmacists, when given the appropriate authority and resources, can act as a vital gateway into the health-care system by offering accessible testing, treatment and referrals for those who might otherwise fall through the cracks.
With a profound impact on public health policy, both in Canada and internationally, Dr. Kelly’s work has influenced policies that integrate pharmacists into primary care, optimizing health resources and improving patient outcomes.
“Canada’s health-care system has many inefficiencies, and underutilizing highly qualified, trusted and accessible pharmacists is one issue that my research program is directly addressing,” says Dr. Kelly. “The more we integrate pharmacists into primary care, the more we can improve patient outcomes and optimize health resources.”
Dr. Kelly’s research is driven by a singular goal: to improve health-care access and outcomes through pharmacist-led care. Her early work in the mid-1990s, at the height of the HIV epidemic, helped shape medication management practices that improved treatment effectiveness while minimizing side effects and drug interactions. Over the years, her research has evolved to focus on expanding the scope of pharmacy practice to better serve patients, particularly those who face systemic barriers to health care.
As the Principal Investigator of the APPROACH 2.0 study, Dr. Kelly facilitated a pharmacist-led testing model for HIV, hepatitis C and syphilis across three Canadian provinces, demonstrating that pharmacists can play a key role in increasing access to essential health-care services. She is currently co-leading a research team focused on the implementation and sustainability of a pharmacy-based sexual health services model to improve equity and access to sexual health care across Canada.
“Dr. Kelly has demonstrated the incredible impact pharmacists can have when empowered to practice to their full education,” says Annette Robinson, CPhA Chair. “Her dedication to improving access to HIV care and her leadership in research and affecting policy change have helped shape a brighter future for pharmacy practice and patient-centred care in Canada. We are honored to recognize her as the 2025 Canadian Pharmacist of the Year.”
Dr. Kelly has been instrumental in expanding the role of pharmacists in direct patient care. She led the establishment of the MUN School of Pharmacy’s Medication Therapy Services (MTS) Clinic and continues to serve as the clinic’s Director and Special Advisor on Practice Innovation. Through her teaching, mentorship and advocacy, she continues to inspire the next generation of professionals to push the boundaries of pharmacy practice and champion equity in health care.
Whether through her clinical work, research or policy advocacy, Dr. Kelly’s impact is undeniable. Her leadership has paved the way for pharmacist-led care models that are not only improving health outcomes today but also shaping a more inclusive and accessible health-care system for the future.
The Canadian Pharmacist of the Year Award is given annually by the Canadian Pharmacists Association to recognize a pharmacist who demonstrates leadership and exemplifies the evolution of the pharmacy profession toward an expanded role in health care.
Learn more about Dr. Debbie Kelly, CPhA’s 2025 Canadian Pharmacist of the Year.
About the Canadian Pharmacists Association
The Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPhA) is the uniting national voice of pharmacy and the pharmacist profession in Canada. As pharmacists undertake an enhanced role in the delivery of health care services, CPhA ensures that the profession is recognized as a national leader in health care, influencing the policies, programs, budgets and initiatives affecting the profession and the health of Canadians.
For more information, please contact:
Tyler Gogo
Senior Manager, Communications
Canadian Pharmacists Association
tgogo@pharmacists.ca
613-293-7223