Category: Divisions
Carolyn Thorpe promoted to full professor
October 9, 2024For Carolyn Thorpe, PhD, her career path has always been about understanding how people adjust to health challenges, especially chronic illness. With a background in psychology and a master’s in public health, she was first drawn to how individuals manage life-altering diagnoses. “Research was a good fit for my skills and interest,” Thorpe said, recalling her early days working on health behavior research. She earned her PhD in health behavior from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health where her focus shifted to treatment adherence—understanding how patients carry out prescribed medical plans. “It’s one thing to adjust to illness, … Read more
The Career of Leaf Huang: Intellectual Curiosity and Impact
December 20, 2023Written by Zach Read Leaf and Shilling Huang Earlier this semester, Leaf Huang, Fred Eshelman Distinguished Professor, Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics (DPMP), and a Professor in the joint UNC-NC State Department of Biomedical Engineering, taught his last class at Carolina. Leaf is retiring after a long career—one dedicated to advancing the understanding and treatment of cancer, improving the lives of cancer patients, and sharing his passion for the intellectual challenges of molecular pharmaceutics and drug delivery with his students. “My experience at UNC has been fantastic,” Leaf says. Leaf began his academic career at the University of Tennessee … Read more
Juliane Nguyen promoted to full professor and honored with Controlled Release Society Award
July 31, 2023Juliane Nguyen, Ph.D., has been promoted to full professor in the Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics (DPMP) at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy where she also serves as vice chair and director of graduate admissions. “I’m grateful for this promotion, and I truly believe it’s a testament to the incredible efforts of the outstanding students, postdocs and collaborators I’ve had the privilege of working with at Carolina and the University at Buffalo. I’m excited to continue our work to create safer and more effective treatment options for patients, ultimately enhancing their quality of life,” said Nguyen. Nguyen is … Read more
Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics welcomes two team members
July 12, 2019Two new faculty members joined the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics on July 1. Get to know Benyam Muluneh, Pharm.D., BCOP, CPP, and Klarissa Jackson, Ph.D.: Q: What is your hometown? Benyam: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Klarissa: Tyler, Texas Q: What are you looking forward to about your new role? Benyam: I am looking forward to contributing to the teaching and scholarship missions at the School with the ultimate goal of improving the lives of patients. I am excited about collaborators and mentors within the Eshelman School of Pharmacy in … Read more
Students Select 2019 Best Instructors; Phil Rodgers Wins Top Award
May 2, 2019Phil Rodgers works with pharmacy students in the SIM lab (Photo By Jeyhoun Allebaugh/UNC-Chapel Hill). Pharm.D. students at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy selected the Instructor of the Year award winners for 2018-19, honoring the winners at the annual awards ceremony on April 13. The Instructor of the Year award recognizes one course instructor from each year of the Pharm.D. curriculum who demonstrates the highest qualities of instructional ability and an interest in both the students and the educational programs of the school. Overall Instructor of the Year Award: Philip Rodgers, Pharm.D. PY3 Instructor of the Year Award: Kathryn … Read more
Beaudoin, Vogt Earn NIH Predoctoral Research Grants
March 27, 2019Jim Beaudoin, left, and Caleb Vogt Two Ph.D. candidates at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy recently received National Research Service Awards from the National Institutes of Health. Jim Beaudoin, from the Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics, and Caleb Vogt, from the Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, received the NRSA grants. Beaudoin is advised by Kim Brouwer, Pharm.D., Ph.D., and Vogt is advised by Jeff Aubé, Ph.D. The NIH grant, known also as an F31, is awarded to promising predoctoral students so that they can obtain individualized, mentored research training while conducting dissertation research. Beaudoin’s research project … Read more
UNC Study Reveals Precision Oncology Insights for Colorectal Cancer
March 25, 2019Federico Innocenti, M.D., Ph.D. Next-generation sequencing of tumor DNA from patients with colorectal cancer revealed genetic alterations that were linked to different survival and treatment outcomes in an analysis led by a researcher at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. The findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, could help define strategies to more effectively treat colorectal cancer, the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. “This is an example of precision oncology, where using genetics, we are able to stratify tumor types that we once believed were homogeneous, and to identify new patient subgroups that might … Read more
Josh Guffey Named Director of Office of Continuing Education
March 22, 2019Josh Guffey, Pharm.D., has been named director of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy Office of Continuing Education. Guffey is currently the director of pharmacy education at the Charlotte Area Health Education Center/Carolinas Medical Center, where he has extensive experience in pharmacy education and continuing education. He also holds a faculty appointment in the Division of Practice Advancement and Clinical Education. Guffey will continue his work at the Charlotte AHEC and will spend part of his time as the director of the Office of Continuing Education at the School. In this new role, Josh will lead the vision, creation, implementation and assessment of … Read more
Mucommune Receives Over $3M to Advance Muco-Trapping Antibodies
March 20, 2019Mucommune LLC has been awarded over $3 million in five separate federal grants over the past several months to advance its muco-trapping antibody technology. The company was launched in 2016 by Sam Lai, Ph.D., an associate professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. The muco-trapping antibody technology advanced by Mucommune is based on engineering the Fc region of IgG antibodies to interact with mucins. Tuning the Fc region to combine with mucins enables antibodies to immobilize viral and bacterial pathogens in different mucosal secretions, including respiratory airways, GI tract and female reproductive tract. Once the pathogens are trapped in … Read more
Gurysh Receives NIH F32 Grant for Brain Cancer Research
March 18, 2019Elizabeth Gurysh, Ph.D. Elizabeth Gurysh, Ph.D., received a National Research Service Award from the National Institutes of Health to support her brain cancer research. Gurysh is a postdoctoral researcher working in the lab of Kristy Ainslie, Ph.D., at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. Ainslie is an associate professor in the Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics. Gurysh is researching a combination therapy of stem cells and drug-eluting scaffolds to prevent recurrence of glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive form of brain cancer. Glioblastoma is usually treated with surgery followed by radiation or chemotherapy. However, due to glioblastoma’s tentacle-like growth, … Read more