Category: Faculty
Juliane Nguyen inducted into the prestigious AIMBE College of Fellows
April 5, 2024The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) College of Fellows inducted UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s Professor Juliane Nguyen, Ph.D., for outstanding contributions focused on the development of complex biologics for cancer and cardiovascular treatments. “As a first-generation college student and scientist, I see this as a remarkable opportunity not only to give back but also to play a pivotal role in shaping and mentoring the next generation,” said Nguyen, vice chair of the Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics (DPMP). The AIMBE Fellows represent the top 2% of medical and biological engineers. They include the most accomplished … Read more
Research shines spotlight on preventing Alzheimer’s disease in women
April 1, 2024According to the Alzheimer’s Association, of the more than 6 million Americans over age 65 with Alzheimer’s disease, almost 4 million are women. Amanda Seyerle, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, is hoping to help change that thanks to a three-year grant from the Alzheimer’s Association. Seyerle plans to use the nearly $200,000 grant to determine the metabolomic and genetic markers a woman needs to utilize hormone replacement therapy (HRT) effectively for the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. Medicines that include female hormones, like estrogen, may decrease the risk for Alzheimer’s disease but may increase risk … Read more
Faculty member receives AACP Distinguished Teaching Scholar Award
March 27, 2024Associate Professor Jacqueline (Jacqui) McLaughlin, Ph.D., has been named one of two 2024 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Distinguished Teaching Scholars, recognizing her excellence in scholarly teaching and the scholarship of teaching and learning. “AACP is a global leader in pharmacy education, so to be reviewed and recognized as distinguished is a real honor,” she said. This award is in addition to the AACP Emerging Teaching Scholar Award that McLaughlin received in 2017. What differentiates someone from emerging to distinguished is engagement in activities that support the institutional advancement of scholarly teaching and the scholarship of teaching and … Read more
Professor advancing first inhaled antibody treatment for RSV
February 26, 2024Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes lower respiratory tract infection in millions each year and is the leading cause of hospitalization in young children. It is also responsible for over a hundred thousand hospitalizations each year among the immunocompromised and the elderly. Sam Lai, Ph.D., professor in the Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, and his lab, have created an inhaled “muco-trapping” monoclonal antibody that effectively treats RSV infections, called Mota-MT. “Building off of our experience with COVID and the challenge that comes with vaccine hesitancy, our team was motivated to explore an … Read more
Using AI to build a smart sensing device
February 22, 2024Alexander Tropsha, Ph.D., is using machine learning and artificial intelligence to help his collaborators at Harvard build a portable chemical gas sensing device called iNOSES that will help identify volatiles in the air. Tropsha, K.H. Lee Distinguished Professor in the Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, and collaborators at Harvard University, received a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant as part of the Convergence Accelerator program. The program is investing nearly $10 million across several projects to develop transformative bio-inspired solutions, like iNOSES. “The proposed bioinspired device employs a ‘sniffing’ sequence of … Read more
New leaders in pharmacy: Yevgeny Brudno
February 20, 2024Yevgeny (Yev) Brudno, Ph.D., joined the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy as an associate professor in the Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics (DPMP) in January after serving as adjunct faculty for six years. He also holds an appointment in the joint department of biomedical engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University. “I’m excited to work with friends and colleagues at the school of pharmacy to bring potent and affordable therapies to patients both in the U.S. and around the world,” said Brudno. Brudno received dual degrees in chemistry and biophysics with … Read more
Mollie Scott joins ABCCM Board of Directors
February 15, 2024Mollie Scott, Pharm.D., Regional Associate Dean for the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s Asheville campus, has been named as a new member of the board of directors for Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry’s (ABCCM) Doctors’ Medical Clinic. “I am thrilled to be named as a member of the ABCCM Medical Ministry Board of Directors,” said Scott. “ABCCM is a critical organization for our community and provides essential services for those in need. Our pharmacy students and faculty have volunteered at the medical clinic for decades, and I look forward to ongoing collaborations to address social determinants of health in vulnerable … Read more
Highlighting the impact of rural pharmacies through practice-based research
February 12, 2024The Rural Research Alliance of Community Pharmacies (RURAL-CP) is the first multi-state practice-based research network (PBRN) exclusively for rural community pharmacies. PBRNs work to identify clinical questions of interest to health care professionals and design studies to answer those questions. Although other pharmacy PBRNs exist, before RURAL-CP, none have focused exclusively on rural community pharmacies. The RURAL-CP’s mission is to reduce rural health disparities by supporting high-quality implementation research. This network will identify pressing research priorities in rural pharmacies and evaluate the implementation of pharmacy practices in rural areas with the goal of amplifying the voice of rural pharmacies … Read more
Associate Professor awarded $2 million to study the effect of antibody-based therapies
February 7, 2024Associate Professor Carter Cao, Ph.D., in the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics, is harnessing the power of quantitative systems pharmacology (QSP) and cutting-edge computational modeling and simulation tools to understand how antibody-based treatments interact among diverse biological contexts. Cao’s research looks at the dynamics and mechanisms of the immune system in response to the constantly evolving diseases in our world. Using QSP, computational modeling and simulation tools will provide multi-dimensional data that navigates the body’s dynamic physiology. It will study how each immune system, diseases and antibodies interact with each other, with the hope … Read more
New leaders in pharmacy: Grace Marley
January 24, 2024Grace Marley, Pharm.D. ‘23, will join the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy in February as a research assistant professor in the Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy (DPOP) positioned at the Southeastern Area Health Education Center (SEAHEC) in Wilmington, North Carolina. “I am most excited about this role given the opportunities to make a true impact through research in coastal North Carolina,” said Marley. “There are so many incredible initiatives already up and running in that area to counteract the opioid epidemic, however I am excited to truly give a voice to the impact that pharmacy, and in particular community … Read more