Category: Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics
Pollack to Be Dean at Washington State
March 18, 2010Gary Pollack, PhD, executive associate dean of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will be the new dean of the Washington State University College of Pharmacy starting August 1. “I am absolutely delighted that Pollack has accepted our offer,” says Warwick Bayly, provost and executive vice president of WSU, in a news release. “He has an outstanding academic record and is a perfect fit when it comes to leading the pursuit of the College of Pharmacy’s and Washington State University’s strategic goals.” Pollack, who has been at UNC since 1984, is … Read more
NIAID Grant Launches Kashuba’s Plan for HIV-Prevention Trials
December 18, 2009Development of an AIDS vaccine is struggling. Topical treatments aimed at stopping HIV have made little progress. Angela Kashuba, PharmD, believes that antiretroviral drugs are the best hope for halting the spread of AIDS, especially in the developing world. “I and the scientists I work with believe antiretrovirals are probably the most rational approach for preventing HIV infection,” she says. “We think they are going to be the key for stemming the epidemic of HIV.” Kashuba is an associate professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and director of the Clinical Pharmacology and Analytical Chemistry Core of the UNC … Read more
ASCO President Richard Schilsky Receives UNC IPIT Clinical-Service Award
November 16, 2009Selecting the best treatment based on the unique features of a particular patient is the goal of personalizing cancer care, says Richard Schilsky, MD, this year’s recipient of the Award for Clinical Service from the UNC Institute for Pharmacogenomics and Individualized Therapy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “We are moving into the frontier of personalized medicine and are treating patients not just by the site of their tumor but by the genetic composition of their disease and of their normal DNA,” Schilsky told the U.S. House of Representatives in March, “This enables us to determine which … Read more
McLeod featured in University marketing campaign
November 9, 2009Howard McLeod, PharmD, Fred Eshelman Distinguish Professor and director of the Institute for Pharmacogenomics and Individiualized Therapy, is featured in the first television commercial produced as part of the University’s privately funded One campaign. The ad has been running at football and basketball games and on television during the games. Its purpose is to show how just one person at UNC can improve the lives of hundreds or thousands of other people. McLeod’s specialty is pharmacogenomics, the science of matching medicines to the unique genetic makeup of a patient, or as McLeod say, “getting the right drug to the right person … Read more
Former FDA commissioner Mark McClellan to receive UNC IPIT public-service award
November 3, 2009The best way to advance personalized medicine is by encouraging patient choice and practicing evidence-based medicine, says Mark McClellan, MD, PhD, this year’s recipient of the Award for Public Service from the Institute for Pharmacogenomics and Individualized Therapy at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. This annual award from the institute honors a person who has made significant contribution to the advancement of rational drug-therapy initiatives across society. The award acknowledges McClellan’s advocacy of pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine throughout his career. Currently the director of the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at the Brookings Institution, he has also served … Read more
Graduate Student Schuck Receives TraC$2K Grant
October 12, 2009Bob Schuck, PharmD, a graduate student at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, has received a $2,000 grant from the North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute for research looking into the role of an enzyme in the development of cardiovascular disease. The grant will support Schuck’s dissertation research study of the enzyme 5-lipoxygenase (ALOX5). ALOX5 synthesizes fatty molecules called leukotrienes, which promote inflammation. Genetic variation in ALOX5 has been associated with the development of cardiovascular disease, but the reason remains unclear. Schuck’s study will try to determine whether cardiovascular disease patients with a genetic variant in their ALOX5 have … Read more
School Researchers Attract $2 Million in ARRA Stimulus Funding
October 6, 2009Faculty members at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy have been awarded grants totaling more than $2 million from the National Institutes of Health through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, commonly known as the economic stimulus bill or recovery act. At the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, we believe we have a special obligation to our fellow citizens to report on the projects funded with this money. This page will be updated as new projects are funded. Stephen Frye, PhD, “Discovery of Small Molecule MBT Domain Antagonists” Frye received a two-year $873,000 challenge grant to study proteins involved in … Read more
DNA Direct Founder to Receive UNC IPIT Patient-Care Award
September 30, 2009Ryan Phelan, CEO and founder of DNA Direct, is this year’s recipient of the Award for Patient Service from the Institute for Pharmacogenomics and Individualized Therapy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. When Phelan launched DNA Direct in 2005, she believed that genomics would transform health care, she says. “My promise at that time was to start with the people we knew would benefit most, and evolve our offerings as the landscape unfolded,” Phelan says. ”So we began with services for consumers. By helping consumers access state-of-the-art genetic testing and interpretation, we knew we could make a … Read more
Craig Lee Receives NIH Grant to Find New Inflammation Treatment
August 27, 2009Craig Lee, PharmD, PhD, an assistant professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health for a study that could lead to more treatment options for inflammation. The grant, worth up to $1.55 million over five years, will fund research investigating the role of a family of enzymes called cytochromes P450 — CYP for short — in the regulation of inflammatory responses in the liver and other tissues. “Inflammation plays an integral role in the development of numerous diseases and conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, asthma, cancer, and septic shock,” says … Read more
Rodgers Named ACCP Fellow
August 17, 2009Jo Ellen Rodgers, PharmD, has been elected a fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy. Fellowship is the highest honor the college can bestow upon a member. Rodgers is a clinical associate professor in the Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics. Rodgers will be officially inducted as a fellow at a special ceremony on October 18 during ACCP’s 2009 Annual Meeting in Anaheim, California.