Q&A with Tien Ng

The Mann School appointed Tien M.H. Ng as chair of the Titus Family Department of Clinical Pharmacy in April 2024. A nationally recognized expert in heart failure management, Ng had served as interim chair of the department since 2022 and was vice chair before that. A native of Toronto, he earned his BS from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and then moved back to Ontario. He commuted across the international border from Windsor, Ontario, to Detroit for his PharmD at Wayne State University. Ng’s distinctions include being one of the only two pharmacists admitted into the inaugural group of Heart Failure Society of America fellows. Here he discusses his leadership goals, what drew him to cardiology and the importance of role models.

Your leadership of the Titus Family Department has expanded its faculty and added professional development and mentoring programs. What’s next on your agenda as chair?

After several years of being interim chair, I feel like I’ve learned what our department and individual faculty need. One of my biggest goals is to ensure that the diversity of our expertise continues growing, even as we remain integrated as a single departmental unit. For example, we’ve invested a lot in education and clinical practice, but we still need to more fully integrate research scholarship— from the biological to the computational—into what our department does.

Why did you choose cardiology as your subspecialty?

I wanted to go into a field that applies to everyone, and the heart impacts every organ system in our bodies. Everyone either has or knows someone who has cardiovascular problems. Even if you’re healthy, you’re trying to stay healthy from a cardiovascular standpoint to keep everything else working well.

What is your advice for students?

During my pharmacy training, my intent was to stay in community practice for a few months and then transition to hospital-based practice. I remember telling a friend that I would never want to be a university professor. But then different doors of opportunity opened for me over time. So now I tell students that they have to be very open-minded because you never know where your career path is actually going. Make sure you leave doors open and continue to explore. Sometimes life makes you pivot, since you may not be getting career satisfaction from a particular type of work. So look for other paths in the pharmacy profession instead of leaving the field, because there are so many avenues to pursue.

How important is it to have role models and mentors who challenge you?

When I made full professor, I thanked four people who especially influenced my career: one of my BS pharmacy professors, whom I thanked for being a role model; two PharmD professors, one in cardiology and one focused on stroke, who really helped me along; and my fellowship boss in cardiovascular pharmacotherapy at the University of Utah. They all pushed me to think about not taking the easy path—and the academic path is definitely not easy.

What do you enjoy most about being part of the Mann School?

Our department and the school are unique because we strive to excel in multiple areas. I think that’s why I’m still here. Basically, I’m in this role because I like our dean. He really empowers his team and delivers on his promises.