Category: Centers
Mumper Study: Nanocapsules Can Overcome Chemotherapy Resistance
May 21, 2009One of the most challenging situations that oncologists face is when chemotherapy fails to slow down or stop the growth of cancer. This phenomenon, called multi-drug resistance, is the result of several simultaneous biochemical processes that scientists do not fully understand. New research led by pharmaceutical scientist Russell Mumper, PhD, director of the UNC Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery and member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, uses nanotechnology to overcome multi-drug resistance. Mumper’s team used an innovative formulation of lipid nanocapsules loaded with the anticancer drugs doxorubicin or paclitaxel to destroy cancer cells both in laboratory-based experiments … Read more
Photos: Fourth Annual Chapel Hill Drug Conference
May 19, 2009The UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy hosted the Fourth Annual Chapel Hill Drug Conference on May 13-14. The conference focused on identifying the opportunities and challenges in bringing cutting-edge nanotechnology from discovery through preclinical evaluation and into human clinical studies and onward. The event was coordinated by theCenter for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery, UNC’s Institute for Nanomedicine, and The Carolina Partnership, an $18 million fund created by the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and the University Cancer Research Fund to support the School’s research centers. PHOTOS FROM THE CONFERENCE https://www.flickr.com//photos/uncpharmacy/sets/72157623277309237/show/
Speakers Set for Chapel Hill Drug Conference: Nanotech Is the Topic
April 14, 2009Application of nanotechnology to cancer, siRNA delivery, infectious diseases and vaccines, imaging and diagnostics, as well as nanomaterials engineering, nanotoxicology, and regulatory considerations in obtaining FDA-approved nano-based products will be the topics of this year’s Chapel Hill Drug Conference at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The conference, titled “The Use of Nanotechnology to Create Safe and Effective Therapeutic and Diagnostic Products,” will be hosted on campus by the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and held in Kerr Hall on May 13 and 14. Nanotechnology is the control and manipulation of structures at the atomic and molecular level, … Read more
Undergraduate Student in Mumper’s Lab Selected for Workshop
April 1, 2009Eric Butter, a junior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was selected by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to attend a workshop for academically talented, undergraduate and graduate students performing research in allergy, immunology, and infectious diseases. Only 23 students were selected out of 203 applicants for the Intramural NIAID Research Opportunities program. The four-day workshop, held Feb. 2-5, gave students the opportunity to learn about research and training opportunities in NIAID’s Division of Intramural Research, hear scientific lectures and participate in informal discussions with world-renowned researchers within the various NIAID laboratories, tour NIAID … 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
UNC Announces Fourth Annual Chapel Hill Drug Conference
November 14, 2008Application of nanotechnology to cancer, siRNA delivery, infectious diseases and vaccines, imaging and diagnostics, as well as nanomaterials engineering and nanotoxicology will be the topics of this year’s Chapel Hill Drug Conference at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The conference, titled “The Use of Nanotechnology to Create Safe and Effective Therapeutic and Diagnostic Products,” will be hosted by the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and held in Kerr Hall on May 13 and 14. Nanotechnology is the control and manipulation of structures at the atomic and molecular level, generally those smaller than 100 nanometers in size. A … 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