Category: Academic Programs
Mariya Popova Awarded NVIDIA Graduate Fellowship
February 21, 2019Mariya Popova, a second-year Ph.D. student in the Laboratory for Molecular Modeling, is the recipient of the 2019-20 NVIDIA Graduate Fellowship. Popova is supervised by Alexander Tropsha, Ph.D., and Olexandr Isayev, Ph.D. Her research focuses on applications and development of deep learning methods for computational chemistry and drug design. Popova is developing deep learning algorithms to solve computational chemistry problems, such as the generation of novel molecules with desired properties and prediction of a synthesis path for a given chemical compound. “My research goal is to revolutionize drug design with artificial intelligence,” she said. “Having these problems solved will speed … Read more
Christine Ko to Represent UNC Pharmacy at CLARION Case Competition
February 13, 2019Third-year Pharm.D. student Christine Ko will represent the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy in the CLARION interprofessional health care case competition. Ko is a member of UNC’s four-person interdisciplinary team, which also includes Natalie Browne, of the Gillings School of Global Public Health; Uzma Khan, of the Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling program at the School of Medicine; and Monica Kim, of the School of Dentistry. The competition is held at the University of Minnesota in April. It is organized by CLARION, a University of Minnesota student organization dedicated to improving health care through interprofessional collaboration. Student teams, consisting … Read more
Grandy Receives Bernstein Fellowship for Hepatitis C Research
February 11, 2019Rebecca Grandy, Pharm.D., was named a Jim Bernstein Community Health Leadership Fellow for her work providing hepatitis C care in rural communities. Grandy is an assistant professor of clinical education at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s Asheville satellite campus and practices at the Mountain Area Health Education Center’s Family Health Center. The Bernstein Fellows Program identifies and develops future healthcare in rural and underserved communities in North Carolina. The two-year program, awarded by the Foundation for Health Leadership and Innovation, supports the work of outstanding individuals working in rural communities through funding and mentorship opportunities. As a Bernstein Fellow, … Read more
Pharm.D. Students Find Balance with Ultimate Frisbee
January 25, 2019Colin Smith sprinted 50 yards down the field as the disc soared above, curling towards the left corner of the end zone. He ran past one defender, in front of a second, and as the disc descended he leaped into the air. A year ago, Smith could only dream of being in this position — a score away from winning the 2018 national championship with UNC Darkside, one of the nation’s elite teams in ultimate. As an undergraduate at Texas A&M University, Smith spent three years playing ultimate, the sport colloquially known as Ultimate Frisbee. But each year, he was … Read more
Skrajna Awarded American Cancer Society Postdoc Fellowship
January 24, 2019Aleksandra Skrajna, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, has been awarded a three-year post-doctoral fellowship from the American Cancer Society. The fellowship, worth over $150,000 over three years, supports the training of promising post-doctoral scientists in preparation for independent careers in cancer research. Skrajna works in the lab of Robert McGinty, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor at the School and an associate Lineberger member. Skrajna’s research is focused on how enzymes bind to our genetic material in cells to ensure that our genes are expressed appropriately. “By understanding how … Read more
Students Make International Impact through GPS Ethiopia Program
November 30, 2018Until recently, cancer patients at Tikur Anbessa Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia were unable to receive chemotherapy involving high doses of methotrexate — a treatment commonly used for a wide variety of cancers. High-dose methotrexate treatment requires involvement from clinical pharmacists, who guard against severe toxicities. Clinical pharmacists at Tikur Anbessa had neither the protocol nor the training. But when two PY4 students and a PGY2 resident from the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy visited the hospital in 2017, they noticed the limitation and worked with Tikur Anbessa to develop a training program so the hospital’s pharmacists could begin administering … Read more
Pharmacy Residents Benefit from Flipped Research Model at UNC Medical Center
November 15, 2018A new research model for pharmacy residents at the UNC Medical Center is receiving attention and commendation. The UNC Medical Center received the Best Practice Award from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists for its implementation of a flipped residency research model — one of six projects that received the award out of over 70 submissions. The flipped research initiative was led by a team of pharmacists from UNC Hospitals and the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. This year’s submission for award consideration was coordinated by Kamakshi Rao, Pharm.D., a clinical manager at the Medical Center and an associate professor … Read more
Pharm.D. Students Receive PharmAlliance Grant for Medication Safety Project
November 13, 2018A group of Pharm.D. students received a $10,000 PharmAlliance grant — the first of its kind to be awarded to Pharm.D. students — to support a project promoting medication safety. The project is led by PY3 Clara Kim and PY2 Vraj Patel from the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. It is co-authored by PY3 Ember Lu from the School and students from University College London and Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. Their initiative aims to promote safe use of the three medications most associated with drug errors — opioids, insulins and anticoagulants — through the creation of a comic series … Read more
MAHEC, UNC-Chapel Hill Celebrate New Interprofessional Academic Health Center
October 30, 2018The Mountain Area Health Education Center and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have partnered for the construction of a new academic health center building on MAHEC’s Biltmore campus in Asheville. UNC Health Sciences at MAHEC seeks to address health care worker shortages and improve education across a number of health science fields in western North Carolina. The UNC Health Sciences at MAHEC building supports an innovative educational partnership between UNC-Chapel Hill and MAHEC and will house UNC School of Medicine’s Asheville campus; a Master of Public Health program led by UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health; … Read more
In First-of-Its-Kind Partnership, China Scholarship Council Sends Three Pharm.D. Students to UNC
October 1, 2018Three Pharm.D. students from China began classes at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy this September, thanks to a first-of-its-kind scholarship partnership. The students are supported financially by the China Scholarship Council, which signed a five-year agreement with the School last year. The partnership is the first the CSC has had with any pharmacy school. Feiyun Ma, Xiaorui Fu and Lirong Yang are the first of as many as 35 Pharm.D. students who can earn scholarships from CSC to attend the School over the next five years. The organization will also offer up to 25 Ph.D. scholarships during this timespan. … Read more