Wern Chai

Dr Wern Chai

Lecturer, Pharmacy and Pharmacology

School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Science

College of Health

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD (as Co-Supervisor) - email supervisor to discuss availability.

Available For Media Comment.

Brian graduated with a BPharm (Hons) and PhD in Pharmacy (Pharmacology) at the University of South Australia. He has since practised as a registered pharmacist in academia, research and community pharmacy including niche areas such as complex compounding. He is a vaccinating pharmacist and has completed the prescribing training to prescribe antibiotics for uncomplicated urinary tract infection in South Australia.
Brian has a passion for academia as he would like to create a long-lasting impact among students who will benefit from the ever-increasing demand for pharmacists. To deliver this role, Brian endeavours to facilitate the translation of theoretical sciences of pharmacology into clinical practice.
Brian also has a strong interest in drug discovery, drug development and antimicrobial resistance. In the face of antimicrobial resistance, his research focuses on developing a new antimicrobial agent with a novel mechanism of action. Additionally, Brian contributes his expertise to various professional organizations. This includes Therapeutic Guidelines: Antibiotic, Australian Pharmacy Council: Subject Matters Expert (Examination), and the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia: Early Career Pharmacist (SA/NT). Collectively, it enables Brian to translate his research and draw upon a variety of experiences he encountered, and can bring current clinical expertise to his teaching. His continuous dedication and comitment to research and teaching earned him the recognition as a Rising Star in Pharmacy (AJP 2021), and Emerging Leader in Science (APSA 2022).

Drug discovery and drug development of novel antimicrobial agents targeting resistant pathogens.

Expanding the roles of community pharmacist in practice.

Year Citation
2025 Tan, J. M., Desforges, K., Chai, W. C., Proudman, S. M., Wiese, M. D., & Reeve, E. (2025). Perspectives of patients with rheumatoid arthritis towards the use of parenteral methotrexate: a qualitative study. International Journal Of Clinical Pharmacy, online, 1-12.
DOI Europe PMC1
2025 Kalisch Ellett, L. M., Janetzki, J. L., Suppiah, V., Chai, W., Staff, K., Amato, D., . . . Ward, M. B. (2025). Quantifying the non-remunerated services provided by pharmacists in community pharmacies: a direct observational study. International Journal of Pharmacy Practice, online, 1-8.
DOI
2025 Janetzki, J. L., Chai, W. C., Bui, T. N. T., Sim, T. F., & Suppiah, V. (2025). Impact of medicine shortages on Australian pharmacists' professional practice and patient care: a nationwide survey. Journal of Pharmacy Practice and Research, 55(2), 146-153.
DOI Scopus2 WoS3
2024 Hendry, A., Janetzki, J., & Chai, W. C. (2024). Understanding Australian Pharmacists’ Perceptions on the Utilisation of Oral 5-HT3 Antagonists as Pharmacist-Only Anti-Emetics in Comparison to Oral D2 Antagonists. Journal of Pharmacy Practice, 37(5), 1044-1047.
DOI
2023 Bui, T. N. T., Janetzki, J. L., Chai, W. C., & Suppiah, V. (2023). Exploring consumers' perspective of community pharmacists delivering COVID-19 vaccinations: an Australian pilot study. International Journal of Pharmacy Practice, 31(3), 337-340.
DOI Scopus3 WoS3 Europe PMC2
2023 Janetzki, J., Chai, W., Bui, T., Sim, F., & Suppiah, V. (2023). The impact of medication shortages.. Australian Journal of Pharmacy, online.
2022 Chai, W. C., Whittall, J. J., Polyak, S. W., Foo, K., Li, X., Dutschke, C. J., . . . Venter, H. (2022). Cinnamaldehyde derivatives act as antimicrobial agents against Acinetobacter baumannii through the inhibition of cell division. Frontiers in Microbiology, 13(967949), 18 pages.
DOI Scopus20 WoS20 Europe PMC16
2021 Li, P., Chai, W. C., Wang, Z. Y., Tang, K. J., Chen, J. Y., Venter, H., . . . Xiang, L. (2021). Bioactivity-guided isolation of compounds from Sophora flavescens with antibacterial activity against Acinetobacter baumannii. Natural Product Research, 36(17), 4340-4348.
DOI Scopus14 WoS17 Europe PMC9
2021 Hu, S., Chai, W. C., Xu, L., Li, S., Jin, C., Zhu, R., . . . Xiang, L. (2021). Catecholic alkaloid sulfonates and aromatic nitro compounds from Portulaca oleracea and screening of their anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial activities. Phytochemistry, 181(112587), 1-11.
DOI Scopus17 WoS15 Europe PMC4
2020 Chai, W. C., Whittall, J. J., Song, D., Polyak, S. W., Ogunniyi, A. D., Wang, Y., . . . Venter, H. (2020). Antimicrobial action and reversal of resistance in MRSA by difluorobenzamide derivatives targeted at FtsZ. Antibiotics (Basel), 9(12), 1-22.
DOI Scopus14 WoS13 Europe PMC9
2017 Wang, Y., Cong, C., Chai, W. C., Dong, R., Jia, L., Song, D., . . . Ma, S. (2017). Synthesis and antibacterial activity of novel 4″-O-(1-aralkyl-1,2,3-triazol-4-methyl-carbamoyl) azithromycin analogs. Bioorganic and medicinal chemistry letters, 27(16), 3872-3877.
DOI Scopus13 Europe PMC5
2017 Arzanlou, M., Chai, W. C., & Venter, H. (2017). Intrinsic, adaptive and acquired antimicrobial resistance in Gram-negative bacteria. Essays in Biochemistry, 61(1), 49-59.
DOI

Courses I teach

  • PHAR 2023 Pharmacology A (2025)
  • PHAR 3027 Pharmacy Practice Health Services Provision (2025)
  • PHAR 4029 Managing and Developing Pharmacy Operations (2025)
  • PHAR 5068 Pharmacy Healthcare Services (2025)
  • PHAR 2023 Pharmacology A (2024)
  • PHAR 3027 Pharmacy Practice Health Services Provision (2024)
  • PHAR 4026 Pharmacy Practice Elective (2024)
  • PHAR 4029 Managing and Developing Pharmacy Operations (2024)

Programs I'm associated with

  • IHPC - Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours)
  • IBOP - Bachelor of Podiatry
  • IHPP - Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science, Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours)
  • ICPH - Graduate Certificate in Pharmacy Practice

Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
2024 Co-Supervisor - - Master Full Time Mr Rory Shepherd

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