Category: Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics
Stem Cells Show Promise as Drug Delivery Tool for Childhood Brain Cancer
August 28, 2018The latest in a series of laboratory breakthroughs could lead to a more effective way to treat the most common brain cancer in children. Scientists from the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center reported results from early studies that demonstrate how cancer-hunting stem cells, developed from skin cells, can track down and deliver a drug to destroy medulloblastoma cells hiding after surgery. Previously, UNC Lineberger’s Shawn Hingtgen, PhD, and his collaborators showed in preclinical studies they could flip skin cells into stem cells that hunt and deliver cancer-killing drugs to glioblastoma, the deadliest … Read more
UNC Builds Better Particle Tracking Software Using Artificial Intelligence
August 23, 2018Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have created a new method of particle tracking based on machine learning that is far more accurate and provides better automation than techniques currently in use. Single-particle tracking involves tracking the motion of individual particles, such as viruses, cells and drug-loaded nanoparticles, within fluids and biological samples. The technique is widely used in both physical and life sciences. The team at UNC-Chapel Hill that developed the new tracking method uses particle tracking to develop new ways to treat and prevent infectious diseases. They examine molecular interactions between antibodies and biopolymers … Read more
Sokolsky Awarded St. Baldrick’s Hero Grant to Target Brain Tumors
July 30, 2018Marina Sokolsky-Papkov, Ph.D., a research assistant professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, is the recipient of a Hero Fund grant from the St. Baldrick’s Foundation to support her research into more effective methods of treating medullosblastoma, the most common malignant brain tumor seen in children. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation, the largest private funder of childhood cancer research grants, awarded 76 new grants totaling $19.1 million in its summer grant cycle to support research in pediatric cancer. Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant brain tumor of children. New approaches to treatment are needed, because current treatment can cause brain injury … Read more
Eshelman Institute Awards $3.5 Million in June 2018 Funding Round
June 20, 2018The Eshelman Institute for Innovation on June 1 funded projects proposed by 25 UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy faculty and staff members totaling more than $3.5 million. The Eshelman Institute was created by a $100 million gift from alumnus, philanthropist and pharmaceutical executive Fred Eshelman, Pharm.D., to the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy in December 2014. The institute aims to inspire a culture of innovation where imagination and creative solutions accelerate change in education, research and health care. The Eshelman Institute has awarded more than $20.8 million since 2015. Awards are divided into three funding tiers: tier 1 projects are funded up to $50,000, … Read more
Microbiome Experts Gather for PharmSci 2018 Conference
June 5, 2018The UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy hosted the 12th annual Chapel Hill Pharmaceutical Sciences Conference on June 4, focused on the interface between drug delivery and the microbiome. Over 100 attendees gathered at the William and Ida Friday Center in Chapel Hill for the conference. Speakers included faculty from the School and from UNC’s chemistry, microbiology and biomedical engineering programs, as well as faculty from other universities, including Duke University, N.C. State University, the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Colorado Boulder. Experts from the private sector also lectured at the conference, and students and postdoctoral researchers … Read more
Kabanov Elected 2018 Controlled Release Society Fellow
June 4, 2018Alexander “Sasha” Kabanov, Ph.D., Dr. Sci., has been selected for membership in the College of Fellows of the Controlled Release Society for his “outstanding contributions to the field of delivery science and technology.” Kabanov will be inducted into the college at the 45th Annual Meeting and Exposition of the Controlled Release Society July 22–24 in New York City. Kabanov is the Mescal S. Ferguson Distinguished Professor in the Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics and the director of the School’s Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery. He is a member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. Elevation from member … Read more
Shawn Hingtgen Promoted to Associate Professor
June 1, 2018Shawn Hingtgen, Ph.D., a faculty member who is pioneering a new treatment for cancer using induced neural stem cells to deliver therapeutic agents, has been promoted to the rank of associate professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. Due to their expansive utility, stem cell-based therapies hold the potential to redefine therapeutic approaches and provide cures for many terminal diseases, Hingtgen said. His lab seeks to harness the potential of stem cells to develop new and better methods for treating terminal cancer. They use an integrative approach that begins with creating specially designed targeted therapeutic proteins. They then “arm” … Read more
Kabanov Receives TBJ Life Sciences Award
May 10, 2018Alexander “Sasha” Kabanov, Ph.D., Dr. Sci., is a recipient of a 2018 Life Sciences Award from the Triangle Business Journal. Kabanov was nominated in the category of Outstanding Individual Research from Universities or Research Institutes. The award was presented at a ceremony held May 10 at the Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary. Kabanov is the Mescal S. Ferguson Distinguished Professor in the Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics and the director of the School’s Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery. He is a member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. In 2017 a team led by Alexander Kabanov, … Read more
Third Carolina Nanoformulation Workshop Shares Discoveries in Nanomedicine
April 25, 2018From March 12 to 16, scientists from industry and academia came together at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy to learn about the latest advances in nanomedicine and to get hands-on experience with advanced nanoformulations at the third annual Carolina Nanoformulation Workshop. The workshop is a unique blend of classroom and hands-on training that stresses interaction and participation. The 2018 edition featured three days of seminars presented by 21 speakers followed by two days of practical experience in the laboratories of the School’s Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery. Twenty-seven participants have attended the workshop, with each experiencing a unique … Read more
Batrakova Gets $1.7 Million Grant to Treat Parkinson’s with Cell-Delivered Gene Therapy
April 16, 2018Elena Batrakova, Ph.D., is principal investigator on a new R01 grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to explore cell-based gene delivery to the brain as a therapy for Parkinson’s disease. The grant is worth up to $1.7 million over five years. Batrakova and her team at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery will genetically modify white blood cells called monocytes to produce glial cell–derived neurotrophic factor, or GDNF, and deliver it to the brain. Glial cells provide support and protection for nerve cells throughout the brain and body, and GDNF … Read more