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Bush Wins Best Poster at Biennial Monash Pharmacy Education Symposium

August 15, 2017

Antonio Bush, Ph.D., assistant professor of educational innovation and research in the Division of Practice Advancement and Clinical Education, won best poster for education research at the Ninth Annual Biennial Monash Pharmacy Education Symposium. The Monash University Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences in Melbourne, Australia, hosts the symposium in Prato, Italy. Bush’s poster was titled, “Preliminary Results: Exploring the Experiences and Agential Behaviors of Pharmacy Students Identifying as Underrepresented Racial Minorities (URMs).” Through 60 to 90 minute interviews with 20 students, Bush studied the strategic actions the participants took to navigate their pharmacy school experiences. Bush studied both the … Read more


UNC Reaches Milestone in Development of Kinase Chemogenomic Set

August 2, 2017

The Structural Genomics Consortium at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partnership with the DiscoverX Corporation has reached the halfway point in developing a set of selective and potent inhibitors that will be made freely available to explore the human kinome, a family of more than 500 enzymes. The kinome is made up of enzymes called kinases, and it provides a tremendous opportunity for drug discovery, said David Drewry, Ph.D., a research associate professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and a principal investigator of the SGC-UNC in the School. More than 30 kinase inhibitors have … Read more


Aaron Anselmo Joins DPMP to Explore Microbiome

July 31, 2017

Aaron Anselmo, Ph.D., has joined the Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics as an assistant professor. Anselmo comes from the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he was a postdoctoral fellow under adviser Robert Langer. Sc.D. Anselmo’s faculty appointment at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy includes both research and teaching duties. Anselmo earned his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara under adviser Samir Mitragotri, Ph.D. His undergraduate degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute was also in chemical engineering. He has published over 30 peer-reviewed papers in … Read more


Hickey Awarded Mercer Prize for Work with Aerosol Drug-Delivery Systems

July 26, 2017

Professor Emeritus Anthony Hickey, Ph.D., an expert in aerosol and nanomaterials engineering at RTI International, received the Thomas T. Mercer Joint Prize from the American Association for Aerosol Research and International Society for Aerosols in Medicine. The award recognizes Hickey for his achievements and groundbreaking research in the field of inhalable materials and pharmaceutical aerosols, including drugs and vaccines delivered by inhalers. His work has paved the way for new methods of treatment and prevention of asthma, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, tuberculosis and more. Hickey is a professor emeritus in the School’s Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics and an adjunct … Read more


DPET Grad Student Srinivas Wins International Prize for HIV Research

July 26, 2017

Nithya Srinivas, a graduate student at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, is the recipient of the IAS/ANRS Lange-van Tongeren Prize for Young Investigators in the clinical sciences track from the International AIDS Society and the France Recherche Nord & Sud Sida-HIV Hépatites. Srinivas is a fourth-year student in the Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics. She is a member of the UNC Graduate School’s Royster Society of Fellows. Her adviser is Angela Kashuba, Pharm.D., DPET chair and the John and Deborah McNeill, Jr. Distinguished Professor at the School. The four Lange-van Tongeren Prizes are $2,000 awards that support young … Read more


Mosedale Awarded Regulatory Science Award from Burroughs Wellcome Fund

July 20, 2017

Merrie Mosedale, Ph.D., has been selected as one of five recipients of the 2017 Burroughs Wellcome Fund Innovation in Regulatory Science Award. The award provides $500,000 over five years for research into new methodologies and innovative approaches in regulatory science. Mosedale’s research proposal is titled, “Development of an In Vitro Platform for the Evaluation of Genetic Susceptibility Factors Associated with Adverse Drug Response.” William Valdar, Ph.D., associate professor of genetics at the UNC School of Medicine, is a co-investigator on it. “The funding will allow me to pursue an exciting and truly novel area of research focused on incorporating genetics … Read more


Bogart Earns GSK Fellowship for Research into New Antibiotics

July 19, 2017

Jon Bogart, Ph.D. candidate in the Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, was awarded the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy Foundation’s 2017 GlaxoSmithKline Fellowship of $12,000 over one year to support his research into the clinical value of thiopeptides, a class of antibiotics produced by bacteria. Bogart’s adviser is Assistant Professor Albert Bowers, Ph.D. “Thiopeptides are very complex and hard to make in a lab and this is one reason you don’t see them in the clinic,” Bogart said. “We have developed a method that combines the power of enzymes and synthetic chemistry to access these compounds easily and … Read more


Savage Promoted to Clinical Assistant Professor

July 17, 2017

Amanda Savage, Pharm.D., formerly a clinical instructor in the Division of Practice Advancement and Clinical Education, has been promoted to clinical assistant professor. Savage works in the Asheville, North Carolina, satellite campus. Her scholarship efforts will focus on best practices in simulated patient and preceptor encounters utilizing objective structured clinical examinations. “Amanda is a valued member of PACE and our Asheville campus. She has made significant contributions to both our legacy and transformed curriculums,” said Denise Rhoney, Pharm.D., Ron and Nancy McFarlane Distinguished Professor and chair of PACE. Savage holds certificates in pharmacy-based immunization delivery, pharmacist and patient-centered diabetes care … Read more


Benhabbour Spin Off Earns UNC KickStart Award

July 13, 2017

A company founded by Rahima Benhabbour, Ph.D., a faculty member at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, has received a KickStart award from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to help create the first 3-D printed intravaginal ring designed to treat a women’s health condition. Benhabbour created AnelleO along with graduate student Rima Janusziewicz from the UNC Department of Chemistry. The company’s work is centered on 3D printed intravaginal rings that can be used as a platform for treating a wide range of women’s health conditions. “3D printing allows us to introduce geometric complexity to the rings that … Read more


Lafata Named New DPOP Vice Chair as Blalock Retires

July 11, 2017

Jennifer Lafata, Ph.D., professor in the Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy will take over as its vice chair upon the retirement of Susan Blalock, Ph.D., M.P.H, professor in DPOP and current vice chair. Blalock’s retirement is phased, so she will continue working part-time for the near future. As vice chair, Lafata will assist in faculty development, recruitment and retention, overseeing educational training programs and serving as a mentor to DPOP’s junior faculty and trainees. She said she is excited to be a part of the DPOP leadership and to learn, grow and … Read more