Category: Faculty
Weeks Named as Partnership Director at Elizabeth City
August 17, 2010Latasha Weeks, PharmD, has been named the new Elizabeth City State University director of the UNC-ECSU Doctor of Pharmacy Partnership Program. Weeks is a former clinical assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy and recently completed a community pharmacy residency at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “I very much look forward to working with Latasha,” say Pamela U. Joyner, associate dean of professional education at the School. “The broad scope of her professional experiences, her creativity, her passion for students, and her leadership experience make her a … Read more
Sleath Study Explores Problems N.C. Children Have with Asthma Medicine
July 23, 2010More than 85 percent of North Carolina children who have asthma need more help understanding how to take their medications, according to a new study from the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The study, led by Betsy Sleath, PhD, a professor at the pharmacy school, looked at the types of medication problems and concerns reported by asthmatic children and their caregivers in North Carolina and examined the association between child and caregiver demographic and sociocultural characteristics and medication problems they reported. “Asthma is a disease of devices. It’s usually not as … Read more
Blalock Receives Grant to Study RA Medication Risk Communication
July 19, 2010Susan Blalock, PhD, an associate professor in the Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, has received a two-year grant from the American College of Rheumatology Research and Education Foundation for a study that could help improve rheumatoid arthritis patients’ understanding of medication risks. This $400,000 grant will support an investigation of communication between patients and rheumatologists about medication risks. “Medications play an important role in the management of RA,” Blalock says. “Previous research has shown that most RA patients want to be informed of medication risks, but that they currently have a poor understanding of these risks. Therefore we need to … Read more
Shrewsbury Elected to USP Compounding Committee
July 15, 2010Associate professor will help set standards for prescription and over-the-counter drugs in the United States and abroad. Bob Shrewsbury, PhD, an associate professor in the Division of Pharmacy Practice and Experiential Education, has been elected to serve on the Compounding Expert Committee of the United States Pharmacopeial Convention. The USP publishes the U.S. Pharmacopeia and National Formulary, which sets standards for prescription and over-the-counter drugs and other health-care products sold in the United States and in many other countries.
Lee Study: Boosting P450 Enzyme Lowers Blood Pressure
June 8, 2010Scientists at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have discovered that increasing levels of a certain enzyme in blood vessels can lower blood pressure, at least in mice, which could bode well for a new class of drugs currently in phase II clinical trials. Investigators Craig Lee, PharmD, PhD, and Darryl Zeldin, MD, demonstrated that high levels of the enzyme cytochrome P450 cause mice to produce more of a substance called epoxyeicosatrienoic acid, or EET, which relaxes blood vessels and lowered blood pressure by 40 percent in the test groups. Their … Read more
Mumper Appointed as Executive Associate Dean
June 8, 2010Russell Mumper, PhD, has assumed the role of the executive associate dean for academics at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy effective June 1. Mumper is the John A. McNeill Distinguished Professor in the Division of Molecular Pharmaceutics and director of the School’s Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery. In this new position, he succeeds Gary Pollack, PhD, who has been named as the dean of the Washington State University College of Pharmacy. Mumper’s experience and success in both industry and in academia made him a natural for the job, says Dean Robert Blouin. “Russ has published more than 200 … Read more
Gates Foundation Provides Seed Money for UNC Researchers’ Germ of an Idea
May 5, 2010Researchers at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy have received a Grand Challenges Explorations grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for an idea that could see a tiny seed, a bit of saliva and a few tweaks to a hormone create a simple test for diagnosing diseases of the developing world, such as malaria, tuberculosis and African sleeping sickness. David Lawrence, PhD, and Vyas Sharma, PhD, of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy received one of seventy-eight grants recently announced by the foundation in the fourth funding round of Grand Challenges Explorations, an initiative to help scientists around … Read more
Kohn to Receive AACP Dawson Biotech Award
April 21, 2010The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy will recognize professor Harold L. Kohn, PhD, for his contributions to contemporary teaching and scholarship in biotechnology with the prestigious Paul R. Dawson Biotechnology Award. “It gives AACP great pleasure to recognize Dr. Kohn with this illustrious award,” explained Lucinda L. Maine, PhD, AACP executive vice president and CEO. “He is a pioneer of biotechnology research and a leader in scholarly activities and teaching, especially as applied to students and faculty mentoring.” Kohn is the Kenan Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. He is recognized … Read more
White Harris Receives University Diversity Award
April 19, 2010Carla White Harris, director of recruitment and diversity initiatives at the School, has been named the recipient of a University Diversity Award. The award recognizes significant contribution to the enhancement, support, and furtherance of diversity on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus and in the community. It is given annually in each of seven categories: community member, graduate student, faculty member, university unit/school, staff member, undergraduate student, and student organization. White Harris, this year’s faculty honoree, will receive her award at a reception on April 27. White Harris was tapped to lead the School’s new recruitment and diversity initiatives in 2007. She … Read more
Two Student-Faculty Tandems Earn AACP Walmart Scholarships
March 25, 2010Community pharmacy resident Ashley Branham, PharmD, PY4 student Tsu-Hsuan “Sherry” Yang, and their faculty mentors have won Walmart Scholarships from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. This marks the fourth consecutive year that members of the School have won Walmart Scholarships. The awards, which began in 2005, aim to strengthen the recipients’ skills and commitment to careers in academic pharmacy through their participation at the AACP Annual Meeting and Seminars. Each student-faculty pair will receive $1,000 to help cover registration and travel expenses for the AACP Annual Meeting and Seminars on July 10-14 in Seattle, Washington. Branham, mentored by … Read more