Category: Divisions
Sleath Awarded Travel Grant to Help Glaucoma Patients in India
May 25, 2006Betsy Sleath, PhD, associate professor in the Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, has been awarded a travel grant from the UNC Partnership in Global Health to support her proposal “Improving Treatment Adherence of Glaucoma Patients in Southern India.” In 2004 Sleath and Alan Robin, MD, associate professor of ophthalmology at Johns Hopkins University, developed a a survey to examine problems that patients were having using glaucoma medications. Sleath and Robin recently modified the survey for use at the Aravind Eye Care System in southern rural India. The Aravind Eye Care System offers essentially free eye care to individuals at five eye clinics and hospitals in southern India. Despite the free … Read more
Researchers Link Gene Variation to Coronary Heart Disease
May 24, 2006Research led by Craig Lee, PharmD, a graduate student in the Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics, shows that a common genetic variation makes some people more susceptible to coronary heart disease. About 15 percent of all Caucasians have the genetic variation, which is also known as a polymorphism. Those who carry the polymorphism are approximately 1.5 times more likely to have a CHD event, such as a heart attack, than those who do not. “We found that Caucasians who carry this polymorphism, named K55R, were at significantly higher risk of coronary heart disease, independent of other risk factors, like cigarette smoking, diabetes, and hypertension,” said … Read more
DPET News Briefs
April 28, 2006Angela Kashuba, associate professor, has been awarded $1.8 million to evaluate the drug interaction potential of a new HIV protease inhibitor. Bruce Canaday, clinical professor, was installed on March 20 as the 2006-2007 APhA president. Jo Ellen Rodgers, clinical assistant professor, is president-elect, Cardiology PRN. Tim Ives, associate professor, was elected secretary of the AACP Pharmacy Practice Section. Ralph Raasch, associate professor, and Christine Walko, academic fellow, received the PY3 Instructor of the Year Award. Dee Melnyk, clinical assistant professor, was named AHEC Instructor of the Year. Angela Kashuba, associate professor, and Julie Dumond, academic fellow, have received the ACCP Infectious Disease Fellowship Award.
Graduate Student Wins Impact Recognition Award
April 25, 2006Tim Wigle, a graduate student in the Division of Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products, has won a 2006 Impact Recognition Award. The awards, sponsored by the UNC Graduate Education Advancement Board, recognize graduate students whose research provides special benefits to the citizens of North Carolina. In 2004, tens of thousands of North Carolinians acquired antibiotic resistant infections that led to more than 1,000 unnecessary deaths and cost the state’s health care system nearly $1 billion. Wigle’s research, in the laboratory of Professor Scott Singleton, focuses on a bacterial protein called RecA, which may facilitate the development and spread of antibiotic … Read more
Roth Receives Defriese Award
April 17, 2006Mary Roth, PharmD, MHS, has received the 2006 Gordon H. Defriese Career Development in Aging Research Award. The award, given by the UNC Institute on Aging, is presented each year to one UNC faculty or staff member and one doctoral student who demonstrates outstanding promise in aging research. Roth is an assistant professor in the Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy in the School of Pharmacy and a research assistant professor in the Division of Geriatric Medicine in the School of Medicine. She has served as co-investigator on numerous aging research projects that focus particular attention to optimizing medication use in older adults with chronic diseases. Roth … Read more
Tropsha Named Chair of the Division of Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products
March 29, 2006Alexander Tropsha, PhD, has been named chair of the Division of Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products. He has served as interim chair of the division since last July. “I am delighted to announce Dr. Tropsha’s new position,” said Robert Blouin, dean of the School. “Dr. Tropsha has been a faculty member at the School for more than ten years, and he has done an excellent job of providing leadership for the division since last summer.” Tropsha is a professor of medicinal chemistry and director of the Laboratory for Molecular Modeling at the School of Pharmacy. He directs the UNC Graduate Program … Read more
White-Harris Receives Inaugural Mentoring Award
March 13, 2006Carla White-Harris, a clinical assistant professor at the UNC School of Pharmacy, received one of the University’s first Carolina Women’s Leadership Council Mentoring Awards, which was presented at the council’s recent annual meeting. The award recognizes outstanding faculty members who go the extra mile to guide, mentor, and lead students and junior faculty members as they make important career decisions, embark on innovative research challenges and enrich their lives through public service, teaching, and meaningful educational opportunities. Each recipient receives a $5,000 stipend. White-Harris, who is also director of the School’s Pharmaceutical Care Labs, received the award for the faculty-to-student category. One of … Read more
Kos Continues Funding of Cardiology Residency
February 15, 2006Kos Pharmaceuticals provided a $10,000 grant to support the School of Pharmacy’s cardiology specialty residency for the fourth year. T. Don Marsh, PharmD, FASHP, associate director of medical affairs at Kos and former director of pharmacotherapy at the Mountain AHEC, has been instrumental in securing the funding for the program, says assistant professor Jo Ellen Rodgers, PharmD. She is one of the residency’s coordinators along with clinical assistant professor Debbie Montague, PharmD. “There are only a handful of cardiology specialty residencies available in the U.S.,” Rodgers says. “These residencies are critically important, helping us achieve our mission of elevating the … Read more
Scott Named as a John Payne Fellow
February 14, 2006Mollie Scott, PharmD, is a recipient of the 2006 John Payne Fellowship. The fellowship is awarded annually to one or more faculty members of the AHECs in North Carolina. It provides support to allow the Payne Fellow to study some aspect of health professions education relevant to the AHEC Program. Projects emphasize lifelong learning, involving experiences and activities which explore new models, new ways of thinking, and innovation. Scott will be working on developing a geriatrics pharmacotherapy curriculum for the Mountain AHEC’s geriatrics fellowship program. “I am honored to have been chosen as the John Payne Fellowship this year,” said Scott. “Medication appropriateness in … Read more
Ives Elected Secretary of the Pharmacy Practice Section
February 10, 2006Tim Ives has been elected secretary of the AACP Pharmacy Practice Section. The section fosters excellence in education, research, and practice through the development and implementation of policies and programs.