Category: Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics
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
Huang, Roth among 2017’s Most Highly Cited Researchers
January 29, 2018Leaf Huang, Ph.D., and Bryan Roth, M.D., Ph.D., both faculty members at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, were included in Clarivate Analytics’ roster of the most highly cited researchers of 2017. Clarivate Analytics assembled the roster of more than 3,300 highly cited researchers. The researchers included have published a high number of papers that rank in the top 1 percent most cited in 21 fields of science from 2005 to 2015. Huang, the Fred Eshelman Distinguished Professor in the Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics, is included in the field of pharmacology and toxicology. Huang is a co-principal investigator … Read more
Kabanov to Lead Russian-American Science Society
December 13, 2017Alexander “Sasha” Kabanov, Ph.D., Dr.Sci., is the president-elect of the Russian-American Science Association. Kabanov was elected to his new post at the organization’s annual meeting at Northwestern University in Chicago on Nov. 4 and 5, where he also received the George Gamow Award for his work in drug delivery. He is the Mescal Swaim Feruguson Distinguished Professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, director of the School’s Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery and co-director of the Carolina Institute for Nanomedicine. Kabanov will take office as president of the association one year from now and will serve a two-year … Read more
Kabanov Elected to National Academy of Inventors
December 12, 2017Alexander “Sasha” Kabanov, Ph.D., Dr.Sci., Mescal Swaim Feruguson Distinguished Professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, has been named a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, the organization announced Tuesday. Kabanov is the director of the School’s Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery and co-director of the Carolina Institute for Nanomedicine. Election to NAI fellow status is the highest professional accolade bestowed solely to academic inventors who have demonstrated a prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and the welfare of society. Kabanov … Read more
Kabanov Meets with President of Armenia
November 9, 2017Alexander “Sasha” Kabanov, Ph.D., met with the president of Armenia on Nov. 8 as part of a group of participants in the second All-Armenian Scientific Conference held in the capital city of Yerevan on November 5-8. The delegation consisted of prominent Armenian scientists and scholars from the United States, Russia, France, Ireland, Denmark and other countries. Kabanov is the Mescal S. Ferguson Distinguished Professor at the School and director of the School’s Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery and co-director of the Carolina Institute for Nanomedicine. “It is crucial for young people to have the opportunity of communicating with individuals … 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
$10 Billion in UNC Startup Revenue Delivers Economic Boost to NC
August 17, 2017Falcon Therapeutics, a company spun out of Assistant Professor Shawn’s Hingtgen’s work treating brain cancer, is one of the ventures contributing to a rise in the economic value of startups connected with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, according to a biannual report on Carolina’s commercial and social ventures. Falcon Therapeutics is advancing a new approach using tumor-homing stems cells to treat glioblastoma cancer, the most common form of primary brain cancer and also one of the deadliest. The company recently raised $700,000 in a private equity stock offering, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. It … Read more
Aaron Anselmo Joins DPMP to Explore Microbiome
July 31, 2017Aaron 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, 2017Professor 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
Benhabbour Spin Off Earns UNC KickStart Award
July 13, 2017A 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