Category: Divisions
Brouwer Receives $2.6 Million NIGMS Outstanding Investigator Research Award
November 8, 2017Kim L.R. Brouwer, Pharm.D., Ph.D., has received an Outstanding Investigator Research Award from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. The award is a National Institutes of Health R35 Senior Investigator Award worth $2.6 million over five years. Brouwer is the W.R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor in the Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics and the School’s associate dean for research and graduate education. The project is titled “Mechanisms of altered hepatic transport: Impact on drug therapy” and will run through the end of March 2022. The study will answer key questions related to the hepatic transport of bile acids … Read more
Pharmacy Grad Students Prevail in UNC Three Minute Thesis Competition
November 2, 2017Katelyn Arnold, a graduate student in the Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, won first place in this year’s Three Minute Thesis competition hosted by the UNC Graduate School on Nov. 1. Aaron Devanathan, Pharm.D., a graduate student in the Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics, received the People’s Choice Award. Arnold received a prize of $1,000 and will represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the 2018 regional Three Minute Thesis competition. Arnold graduated in May 2015 with a B.S. in medicinal pharmaceutical chemistry from the University of Dayton. She works in the lab of … Read more
UNC Catalyst Hosts NIH/NCATS Assay Guidance Workshop
October 25, 2017The UNC Catalyst for Rare Diseases, together with Promega, sponsored an NIH/NCATS assay guidance workshop for high-throughput screening and lead discovery on Monday, October 23. Forty-nine scientists from academia and the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries registered to attend. The workshop was held at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Carolina Club and was followed by an evening reception. “The workshop proved to be an invaluable opportunity to learn about the current state of the art and best practices in the areas of assay development, high throughput screening and lead optimization,” said Dave Morris, Ph.D., interim director of UNC … Read more
Jinan University Faculty Visit Natural Products Research Laboratories
October 18, 2017Faculty from Jinan University visited the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and its Natural Products Research Laboratories directed by Kenan Distinguished Professor Kuo-Hsiung Lee, Ph.D., on Oct. 16 and 17 for a symposium on the globalization of Chinese medicine. This symposium was organized by Katie Musgrove, the executive associate for the NPRL. Lee was invited to Jinan University in Guangzhou, China, in May to deliver a lecture entitled “Perspectives and strategies on discovery and development of world-class new drugs from Chinese herbal medicine and formulas” and to discuss both the NPRL’s and Jinan University’s traditional Chinese medicine programs. He reciprocated … Read more
N.C., S.C. School Nurses Want to Be Better Prepared for Opioids, UNC Study Finds
October 17, 2017Many school nurses in North Carolina and South Carolina are contending with prescription opioids at school but very few have access to naloxone, which can reverse an opioid overdose, according to a new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The nurses also said they would welcome more training in dealing with opioids. Many school nurses (40 percent) said they had encountered a student with an opioid prescription, but less than 4 percent had naloxone available in case of an overdose despite an agreement between Adapt Pharma and state departments of education to provide naloxone nasal spray … Read more
Steeb to Lead AACP Global Pharmacy Education SIG
October 17, 2017Clinical Assistant Professor David Steeb, Pharm.D. , was recently elected chair of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Global Pharmacy Education Special Interest Group. Steeb is director of global engagement and clinical assistant professor in the Division of Practice Advancement and Clinical Education. Steeb said the mission of the SIG is to develop, facilitate, advance and promote quality global health pharmacy education. In executing the mission, Steeb said, the SIG seeks to provide opportunities for SIG members to network and connect with each other around shared interests within global pharmacy education, including research projects, webinars and conference presentations among others. … Read more
Hathaway Gets $1.5 Million Grant to Study Heterochromatin’s Genetic Role
October 11, 2017Nate Hathaway, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, has received a grant worth more than $1.5 million over five years from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences to investigate the mechanism of HP1-mediated heterochromatin assembly and durability in live cells. “Proper regulation of chromatin, the material that makes up chromosomes, is required for human development,” Hathaway said “Abnormalities or impairment in the regulation of chromatin modification pathways lies at the root of many human cancers.” Hathaway is an assistant professor in the Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry and a member of the … Read more
Antibody-Biogel Partnership Can Be Stronger Defense than Previously Thought, Study Proves
October 10, 2017Strong molecular bonds between antibodies and biological gels like mucus aren’t necessary to catch pathogens as was previously thought, according to new research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In fact, rapid and weak interactions between antibodies and biogels are much better suited to locking down foreign invaders in the body’s sticky first line of defense. “Biological gels like mucus are abundant in the body and protect every opening and exposed organ not covered by the skin,” said Sam Lai, Ph.D., an associate professor in the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. “If we can trap pathogens in … Read more
Robinson is New Community Pharmacy Research Fellow as Previous Fellow Renfro Joins Tennessee Faculty
September 21, 2017Jessica Robinson, Pharm.D., is the new community pharmacy practice research fellow at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy as the previous fellow, Chelsea Phillips Renfro, Pharm.D., moves on to a position as an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Pharmacy. Renfro will be teaching student pharmacists in UTHSC’s Interprofessional Simulation and Patient Safety Center with a focus on community pharmacy. Renfro said a highlight of her time at the School was a $25,000 grant she received from the Community Pharmacy Foundation to investigate successful collaborative working relationships between pharmacists and other members of the … Read more
Beta Blockers Not Needed after Heart Attack if Other Meds Taken, UNC study finds
September 18, 2017A new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill finds beta blockers are not needed after a heart attack if heart-attack survivors are taking ACE inhibitors and statins. The study is the first to challenge the current clinical guideline that heart-attack survivors should take all three drugs – beta blockers, ACE inhibitors and statins – for the rest of their lives. Heart-attack survivors are usually prescribed all three drugs to help prevent a second attack and death. However, the beta blockers offer no additional benefit for patients who take the other two drugs as prescribed, according to … Read more