Category: Center for Pharmacogenomics and Individualized Therapy
Live Stream: Personalized Medicine: Two Papers on The Cost Effectiveness of Genetic Tests for Determining Treatment for Patients With Acute Coronory Syndromes (ACS)
June 18, 2010The UNC Institute for Pharmacogenomics and Individualized Therapy, the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the Gillings School of Public Health will host a seminar on Friday, June 18, 2010. The seminar is titled “Personalized Medicine: Two Papers on The Cost Effectiveness of Genetic Tests for Determining Treatment for Patients With Acute Coronory Syndromes (ACS).” The event will be live-streamed from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. The first presentation will be delivered by Laura Panattoni, a lecturer at the University of Auckland Business School. Her paper is titled “Personalised thienopyridine therapy: the cost effectiveness of genetic testing for CYP2C19 variants to … 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
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
Study: Genetic Information Improves Warfarin Dosing
February 19, 2009Roy Fagerberg, age eighty-two, of Chapel Hill, is among more than 1.5 million Americans taking the blood thinner warfarin. The typical starting dose is five milligrams a day, but he needs only three. Two milligrams in difference are important when the drug has also been used as rat poison for fifty years. Finding the right dose of warfarin for each patient is time-consuming trial and error, but a new study by an international group that includes UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy scientists suggests that looking at a patient’s genes can speed up the process. Warfarin is tricky: the dose needed … Read more
IPIT Announces Patient-Safety Award Honoree
November 10, 2008Medication errors kill thousands of people each year in the United States, says Michael Cohen, a pharmacist and patient safety advocate who is this year’s recipient of the UNC Institute for Pharmacogenomics and Individualized Therapy Award for Patient Service. Cohen is the founder and president of the Institute for Safe Medication Practices. Recognized by Modern Healthcare as one of the one hundred most powerful people in health care, Cohen has committed his professional career to reducing preventable drug and drug-delivery mistakes. “Through his work with the ISMP and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Cohen has played key roles … Read more
IPIT honors Dr. Mark Ratain for unlocking the promise of gene-guided cancer therapy
October 24, 2008University of Chicago professor Mark J. Ratain, MD, is this year’s recipient of the Award for Clinical Service presented by the Institute for Pharmacogenomics and Individualized Therapy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The award honors a person who has made significant contributions to the advancement of individualized therapy in clinical practice. “Dr. Ratain’s work with the University of Chicago has shown us a clear model for understanding how anticancer drugs work in real patients,” said Howard McLeod, PharmD, director of IPIT. “The ultimate goal of Dr. Ratain’s research is to help tailor medicines to a person’s … Read more
Motsinger-Reif Appointed to IPIT
September 25, 2008Alison Motsinger-Reif, PhD, has been named to the UNC Institute for Pharmacogenomics and Individualized Therapy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research focuses on the development and applications of computational methodology to detect complex genetic and environmental models that predict a clinical outcome. She holds a PhD in human genetics from Vanderbilt University and has more than forty scientific papers published in peer-reviewed journals to her credit. Motsinger-Reif is an assistant professor in the Bioinformatics Research Center at North Carolina State University and an adjunct assistant professor in the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. The UNC … Read more
WHO Leader to Receive UNC IPIT Public Service Award
September 25, 2008Access to essential medicines is part of the fulfillment of the right to health, says Hans Hogerzeil, PhD, a World Health Organization leader who will speak on the subject next week at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Hogerzeil, director of essential medicines and pharmaceutical policies at WHO, is this year’s recipient of the UNC Institute for Pharmacogenomics and Individualized Therapy Award for Public Service. He will receive the award and present a seminar at UNC on Oct. 2 at 2:00 p.m. in the Nelson Mandela Auditorium in the Global Education Building on the Chapel Hill campus. “Dr. … Read more