Category: Divisions
Rob McGinty Joins CBMC as Assistant Professor
August 3, 2016Rob McGinty, M.D., Ph.D., has joined the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy as an assistant professor in the Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry. He also has a joint appointment in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. McGinty’s principal research interests surround structural biology and biochemistry, specifically chromatin regulation. The human genome is organized in cells in the form of chromatin by wrapping around tiny spools of proteins. Each protein spool wrapped by DNA is called a nucleosome and is the smallest unit of chromatin. Prior to coming to UNC, McGinty was a Damon Runyon Postdoctoral Fellow in the … Read more
Kashuba Named 2017 ACCP Frontiers Lecturer
July 29, 2016Angela Kashuba, Pharm.D., has been selected as the 2017 American College of Clinical Pharmacy Therapeutic Frontiers Lecturer. Kashuba, the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s John A. and Deborah S. McNeill Jr. Distinguished Professor, is the chair of the Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics, the director of the UNC Center for AIDS Research Clinical Pharmacology and Analytical Chemistry Core and the director of the UNC CARE Collaboratory for Eradication of HIV Pharmacology Core. ACCP is a 17,000 member professional association of clinical pharmacy scientists, practitioners and educators. The organization selects a distinguished scientist each year to present the prominent Therapeutic … Read more
Sam Lai Promoted to Associate Professor
July 27, 2016Sam Lai, Ph.D., has been promoted to associate professor with tenure in the Division of Molecular Pharmaceutics. Lai’s research focuses on mucosal immunology and mucosal barriers to infectious disease, antibody response to synthetic materials, targeted nanoparticle delivery using bispecific fusion proteins, and computational modeling of physiological processes. Since joining the School in 2010, Lai has established the E(I) Lab program for UNC students from different subject areas to design, develop and assess solutions to unmet health-care needs. In collaboration with the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, he created the “What’s Snot to Like?” laboratory module and education curriculum that’s been … Read more
Jerry Heneghan Gives Keynote at Serious Play Conference
July 27, 2016Jerry Heneghan, M.B.A., delivered the keynote address at this year’s Serious Play Conference, hosted by the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School from July 25-28. Global thought leaders in the field of serious games and simulations descended on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to participate in the Serious Play Conference. “Serious play” uses the fun, engaging qualities of entertainment games to improve participant interest in education and training and provide better research from the results Heneghan is a professor of the practice in the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and the director of the School’s Center for Innovation in … Read more
Spending on Expensive Specialty Drugs Triples since 2003
July 6, 2016Specialty drugs are a relatively small part of total prescriptions filled at the pharmacy, but they are a dramatically increasing part of total prescription spending. A new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill reveals that just 1.8 percent of drugs make up 43.2 percent of spending in 2014. The work, led by Stacie Dusetzina, an assistant professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and Gillings School of Global Public Health, shows a dramatic increase from 2003, when specialty drugs accounted for just 11 percent of the money spent by commercial health plans on prescription drugs … Read more
Removing a Brain Tumor Makes Remaining Cancer More Aggressive, UNC Study Finds
June 29, 2016Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill seeking a better treatment for glioblastoma have discovered that removing a brain tumor causes any cancer left behind to grow 75 percent faster than the original tumor did, which helps to explain why this cancer is so lethal. “The thing that is deadly about this disease is that it diffusely invades the brain. Unlike tumors elsewhere in the body, you can’t cut it all out,” said Ryan Miller, M.D., Ph.D., a neuropathologist and an associate professor at the UNC School of Medicine and member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer … Read more
Patterson Named Fellow of the Heart Failure Society of America
June 23, 2016Professor Herb Patterson, Pharm.D., is a member of the inaugural group of fellows of the Heart Failure Society of America, one of the most distinguished appointments the organization offers its members. He is also the first pharmacist to be selected to the HFSA executive council. Patterson is the executive vice chair of and a professor in the Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics, as well as a research professor in the UNC School of Medicine Division of Cardiology. Those nominated for the fellowship are selected based on their outstanding credentials, achievements and contributions to the field of heart failure medicine … Read more
Brown Named Mutual Drug Clinical Programs Coordinator, Residency Co-Director
June 21, 2016Patrick Brown, Pharm.D., has been named clinical programs coordinator for Mutual Drug in a shared position with the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. In this position, he will be responsible for establishing the Mutual Clinical Network and connecting it to research and educational support at UNC. Additionally, he will serve as the co-director of the School’s independent pharmacy ownership residency program, launched in partnership between the School, Mutual and the National Community Pharmacists Association. Brown said his position formalizes a long-standing relationship between the School and Mutual, a cooperatively owned wholesaler for independent pharmacies that is interested in starting a … Read more
UNC Health Care Promotes Pharmacy Leaders Daniels and Savage
June 16, 2016Rowell Daniels, Pharm.D., and Scott Savage, Pharm.D., both faculty members at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, have been promoted to new leadership position at UNC Hospitals and Clinics. Daniels, the executive associate dean for pharmacy clinical practice and an associate professor of clinical education at the School, was named system vice president of pharmacy services. Scott Savage, Pharm.D., an assistant professor of clinical education, was named director of pharmacy. Rowell Daniels In his new position, Daniels and a team of pharmacy leaders from across UNC Health Care will work to develop, oversee and maintain high-quality, cost-effective integrated pharmacy programs … Read more
Syringes a Surprising Source of Wasted Medication, UNC Study Finds
June 6, 2016When medicine is injected, a little bit stays behind in the syringe. It’s not much, but depending on syringe design and the cost of the drug, this waste — or dead space — can add up to as much as $2,300 per year for a patient, according to a new study from researchers at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and RTI International. Syringe dead space is the leftover fluid that remains inside the syringe after the plunger is fully depressed. In syringes with high dead space, often those designed with detachable needles, the leftover amount is equal to 3 … Read more