Category: Faculty
Tropsha Awarded NSF Grant to Design Tools to Analyze Protein-Protein Interactions
August 14, 2012Alex Tropsha, PhD, has been awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation worth almost $900,000 over three years to design novel approaches to analyzing protein-protein interactions. The interactions between proteins play a central role in all major signaling events that occur in living cells. However, many if not most pairs of interacting proteins remain unknown, and their discovery presents a key challenge for postgenomic biology, says Tropsha, the K.H. Lee Distinguished Professor in the School’s Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry. “We plan to create and deliver—ultimately in the form of user-friendly software—novel approaches to analyzing protein-protein interactions … Read more
Frye Awarded $1 Million Eshelman Professorship
July 26, 2012The UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy has named Stephen Frye, PhD, as the recipient of a $1 million Eshelman Distinguished Professorship. Frye is the director of the School’s Center for Integrative Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery, a research group bringing dedicated medicinal chemistry expertise to bear on biological targets of therapeutic relevance that are under investigation by UNC faculty. CIBDD project teams work with other groups on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus to move potential drug targets through the drug discovery and development process. “The Eshelman professorships support outstanding scholars and researchers like Dr. Frye who are working at the forefront … Read more
Pioneering UNC Study Paves Way for New Strategy to Fight HIV
July 25, 2012A team of scientists from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that includes Professor Angela Kashuba, PharmD, has published pioneering research showing that a drug used to treat certain types of lymphoma could dislodge hidden HIV virus in patients. The findings, published in the July 25 issue of the leading scientific journal Nature, provide proof of concept for a new approach in the effort to cure AIDS. Researchers believe that a major reason that HIV infection reemerges after patients stop taking their medication is the existence of persistent reservoirs of dormant virus in the immune system that are not attacked … Read more
UNC Study: Milk Thistle Extract Doesn’t Help Chronic Hepatitis C
July 17, 2012The botanical product silymarin, an extract of milk thistle commonly used by some patients with chronic liver disease, did not provide greater benefit than a placebo for patients with treatment-resistant chronic hepatitis C virus infection, according to a study by UNC scientists published in the July 18 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Chronic hepatitis C virus infection, or HCV, affects almost 3 percent of the global population and may lead to cirrhosis, liver failure, and liver cancer. A large proportion of patients do not respond to certain treatments for this infection, and many others cannot be treated … Read more
Grant Funds Dressler’s Study of Disparity Between Participation of Blacks and Whites in PGx Research
June 27, 2012Lynn Dressler, DrPH, has received a grant of approximately $15,000 to examine the attitudes and experiences of different ethnic groups towards the genomic-research component of cancer clinical trials. In a previous NCI sponsored study involving more than 8,000 cancer patients, African American patients were significantly less likely to participate in the pharmacogenomic portion of a cancer clinical trial compared to Caucasians. The African American patients were already participating in the cancer clinical research trial but did not participate in the component that required blood to be contributed in order to study inherited responses to cancer treatment. “The new funding will … Read more
Craig Lee Promoted, Receives Tenure
June 8, 2012Craig R. Lee, PharmD, PhD, has been promoted to the rank of associate professor with tenure at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. He is a member of the Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics. “Since joining the School’s faculty, Dr. Lee has achieved national prominence by establishing a strong translational research program in the pharmacogenomics of cardiovascular disease,” says Dean Bob Blouin, PharmD. “His promotion and tenure reflect the sustained excellence he has attained in the areas of teaching, research, and service.” Through his NIH-supported research program, Lee examines the role of genomics in the development, progression, and treatment … Read more
People More Likely to Take Free Meds, UNC Study Finds
May 24, 2012Patients with chronic conditions are more likely to take their prescribed medications as directed when those medicines are offered at no cost, according to a study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill done in conjunction with Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina and Duke University. BCBS made generic medications for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, congestive heart failure, and diabetes free to nearly 75,000 patients, which resulted in statistically significant improvements in patients’ adherence to their medication, researchers at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy found. The copayment for brand-name drugs was also lowered. Over a … Read more
McLeod Honored with Coriell Scientific Award
May 21, 2012Howard McLeod, PharmD, is a recipient of a 2012 Coriell Personalized Medicine Research Award from the Coriell Institute for Medical Research. McLeod is a Fred Eshelman Distinguished Professor and director of the Institute for Pharmacogenomics and Individualized Therapy at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. McLeod will be honored with Coriell’s Scientific Award at a reception on May 23 at the Union League of Philadelphia. The institute also presents a humanitarian award and an ambassador award. As an internationally recognized expert in the field of pharmacogenomics, McLeod has helped identify genetic variations that predispose patients to risk of severe side … Read more
UNC Awarded $2.4 Million to Study Genetic Variation in Diabetics
May 3, 2012Scientists at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and the UNC School of Medicine have received a $2.4 million grant to study genetic variations in people with diabetes. The goal of the study is to identify genetic variations that may help predict the response to various treatment options for type 2 diabetes to reduce cardiovascular disease. Michael Wagner, PhD, and John Buse, MD, are coprincipal investigators on the grant. Wagner is a research professor in the School’s Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics and a member of the Institute for Pharmacogenomics and Individualized Therapy. Buse is director of the Diabetes … Read more
Lai Receives NSF Award to Support Mucus Research, Science Education Outreach
May 3, 2012Assistant professor Sam Lai, PhD, is teaming up with mathematicians and science educators to tackle a sticky subject. Lai has received a Career Award from the National Science Foundation, the NSF’s most prestigious award for the development of junior faculty. The five-year, $400,000 award will support his research into stopping pathogens in the body’s mucous membranes. He will also be part of several educational efforts, including working with a precollege science-education program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to develop a curriculum to teach middle and high school students about the health functions of mucus. Most infections … Read more