Category: Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery
Alexander Kabanov receives millions from NIH to develop effective therapeutics for triple-negative breast cancer
August 27, 2021Alexander “Sasha” Kabanov, Ph.D., Dr.Sci., recently received funding from the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute to help combat triple-negative breast cancer, a disease that has fewer treatment options than other types of breast cancer. The four-year funding totaling $2,452,236 will support his project, “Toward Translation of Nanoformulated Paclitaxel-Platinum Combination.” The goal of Kabanov’s project is to obtain pre-clinical data to enable the translation of a novel nanotechnology-based immunotherapeutic drug to treat triple-negative breast cancer. The disease is currently associated with a poor prognosis, and according to the American Cancer Society, the 5-year relative survival rate is 77%. Through his … Read more
Tropsha, Muratov, partners identify potential drug candidates for COVID-19, land on National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences 2020 Papers of the Year list
February 12, 2021The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) recently announced UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy faculty paper “Computational modeling identifies drug candidates for SARS-CoV-2” as one of the organization’s 2020 Papers of the Year. The publication, with Alex Tropsha, Ph.D. and Eugene Muratov, Ph.D., both in the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, as senior authors along with co-authors at the NIEHS and members of the Tropsha lab, was selected as one of 27 from nearly 3,500 publications by NIEHS researchers and grantees in 2020, according to the organization’s website. “It is a great honor and … Read more
Carolina Nanoformulation Workshop, Nanomedicine Drug Delivery Symposium tops 800 virtual participants, largest turnout in 18 years
September 28, 2020The Carolina Nanoformulation Workshop and the Nanomedicine Drug Delivery Symposium (NanoDDS) combined to host the 2020 Virtual Carolina Nanoformulation Workshop & Nanomedicine Drug Delivery Symposium on September 14-16, 2020. BUILDING ON AN 18-YEAR LEGACY The one-day virtual NanoDDS symposium welcomed more than 800 registered participants, the largest turnout in the past 18 years, said Alexander “Sasha” Kabanov, director of the UNC Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery, which supported the event. Nearly 400 people in various time zones across the world attended NanoDDS live. Other registrants who could not attend because of time differences of the live meeting will receive … Read more
T32 Carolina Cancer Nanotechnology Training Program renewed for another five years
August 12, 2020Alexander “Sasha” Kabanov, Ph.D., Dr.Sci., recently received a five-year renewal of his T32 Carolina Cancer Nanotechnology Training Program (CCNTP), totaling more than $2.3 million in funding. The Carolina Cancer Nanotechnology Training Program is a 24-to 36-month National Cancer Institute–sponsored T32 postdoctoral training program offered at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. The overarching goal of the CCNTP is to equip a cohort of outstanding young scientists with the multidisciplinary concepts and skills needed to improve cancer diagnosis and therapy based on concepts, tools and discoveries made in nanoscience and nanotechnology. Following the program, Kabanov said trainees become significant contributors to … Read more
UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy on the COVID-19 Frontlines
April 22, 2020UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy faculty, staff, students and alumni have come together while apart to serve patients in need during the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers and labs are actively pursuing solutions to combat the COVID-19 virus, while students are finding unique ways to connect community members virtually while in isolation, and alumni are directly delivering patient care. Together while apart, the School continues Advancing Medicine for Life. Meet the team: Thank You! A Thank You message from the UNC One Pharmacy Community to all Carolina Pharmacy Healthcare professionals, Healthcare workers, First Responders, and Essential Employees working hard to keep … Read more
Ainslie receives NIH grant for influenza research
February 4, 2020According to the Centers for Disease Control, the flu vaccine for the 2018-19 season was only 29 percent effective. Kristy Ainslie, Ph.D., wants to improve that number with the help of a $2.8 million grant. “All of us have been exposed to influenza,” she said. “When it happens to the sick, the young or the old, then it can become lethal.” Ainslie, a professor and vice chair of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics, recently received a prestigious R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health. The grant will support research for a more … Read more
Professor becomes first Russian-American scientist elected to Russian Academy of Sciences
November 27, 2019Alexander “Sasha” V. Kabanov, Ph.D., Dr.Sc., M.A.E., FNAI, became interested in research at an early age. From his home in Moscow, he marveled at the work of his father, Viktor Kabanov, an award-winning polymer chemist and Chernobyl “liquidator,” whose advances in science and personal work on the contaminated soil helped lead cleanup solutions following the Chernobyl accident. His father donned roles in notable academies around the world, including the Royal Belgian Academy, the European Academy, and the Russian Academy of Sciences. Today, Sasha Kabanov’s scientific achievements mirror those of his father’s, who he credits for his love of science. Most recently, … Read more
Two UNC Ph.D. students are making cancer research accessible through blogging
October 11, 2019For Sara Musetti and Manisit Das, Ph.D. students in the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, their commitment to research doesn’t stop in the lab. Das and Musetti founded OncoBites, a blog that posts summaries of new developments in cancer research. Das said part of the motivation for the blog came from a question he always received – “When will there be a cure for cancer?” OncoBites is meant to explain scientific research in an accessible way and includes information about the complexity of the research process and how long it takes to implement new treatments. Blog posts are crafted by … Read more
Propelling Into Success
August 26, 2019In 2005, when Dr. Leaf Huang joined UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy as chair of what is now Pharmaco Engineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics, the school wasn’t ranked in the top 10. So, Dr. Huang rolled up his sleeves and got to work. By 2016, the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy had topped the U.S. News & World Report’s rankings at No. 1. “My job was to look for the right professors,” says Huang, a Fred Eshelman Distinguished Professor. “I recruited five senior faculty members within my first five years. That kind of gave us the critical mass we needed, and then we began … Read more
The Tools To Change The World
August 1, 2019Sam Lai, Ph.D., grew up in a privileged setting and thought the best way to show his appreciation was to become a doctor – until it wasn’t. “I’ve always felt that the two pillars in any society are health and education, but during my teenage years I came to realize I didn’t want to be a doctor, but instead someone who provides a doctor with the necessary tools to treat patients,” Lai says. Lai works as an associate professor and director of the Pharmacoengineering Program at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, where he runs the Lai Lab. “I hope … Read more