Category: Faculty
Cho Receives $1.5 Million Grant to Deliver a False Infection to Cancer Tumors
August 19, 2008Cancer cells are deadly traitors; good cells gone bad. They evade the body’s defense systems, passing themselves off as organisms that pose no threat. Moo J. Cho, PhD, an associate professor in the Division of Molecular Pharmaceutics, is working on a way to blow their cover. Cho is creating a delivery system that would infect a cancer tumor with bacterial elements in order to encourage the body’s immune system to recognize and attack the tumor. “It’s like planting a big red flag on the tumor to attract the attention of the body’s immune system, which normally ignores cancerous cells,” Cho … Read more
Jarstfer Receives Two Grants Totalling $750K
August 14, 2008Mike Jarstfer, PhD, an associate professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, has received two grants. One of the grants, “The Structure of Telomerase RNA Attending Catalysis”, is from the National Science Foundation. It is worth $556,000 for three years and will support Jarstfer’s study of telomerase structure. The other grant, on which Jarstfer is the coprincipal investigator, is from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. The project is titled “Development of Non-Peptide Human Oxytocin Receptor Agonist and Potentiator Drugs” and aims to discover new therapeutics for treating diseases characterized by social deficits, such as autism. The grant provides $215,863 … Read more
Ives Receives Grant from DHHS
July 28, 2008Timothy Ives, PharmD, MPH, an associate professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, has received a grant from the Department of Health & Human Services for a study on using clinical pharmacist practitioners to improve care. The grant, titled “A Study to Assess the Impact of a Primary Care Practice Model Utilizing Clinical Pharmacist Practitioners (CPP) to Improve the Care of Medicare-Eligible Populations in North Carolina,” is worth $95,305.
Upstream Biosciences Appoints Tropsha to Scientific Advisory Board
June 27, 2008Upstream Biosciences Inc. has appointed Alexander Tropsha, PhD, of the University of North Carolina, chair of the School’s Division of Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products, to the company’s Scientific Advisory Board. Tropsha one of the world’s leading chemoinformatics experts. Chemoinformatics combines chemistry and computer science to accelerate the speed and reduce the cost of discovering drugs to treat disease. Joel L. Bellenson, chief executive officer of Upstream, said Dr. Tropsha brings invaluable knowledge and validation to the company’s drug discovery and drug development programs. “Dr. Tropsha is widely considered to be the leading authority in the world at applying chemoinformatics … Read more
Emekalam Receives Bernstein Fellowship
May 29, 2008Anthony Emekalam, PharmD, a clinical assistant professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, has been selected as a Jim Bernstein Community Health Leadership Fellow. Emekalam will receive a two-year fellowship with at least $3,000 in funding. The fellowship program aims to develop future leaders to work in and improve the health of rural and other underserved communities and populations in North Carolina. The fellowships are individually tailored to work in concert with the fellow’s current work. Fellows are paired with mentors and will interact with health care leaders and work with various state agencies, university programs, nonprofit organizations, and … Read more
Persky Named ACSM Fellow
May 1, 2008Adam Persky, PhD, a clinical assistant professor at the UNC School of Pharmacy, has been named a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine. Persky, who is in the Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics, will be inducted into the fellowship program during the ACSM’s national meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana, on May 28-31. He will also deliver a tutorial lecture at the conference on May 29 about drug interactions with nutrients, supplements and exercise. The ACSM Fellowship program recognizes professional achievement and competence in the related disciplines of sports medicine through education, published works, and professional practice, as well … Read more
Roth Receives Grant from NARSAD
April 29, 2008Bryan Roth, MD, PhD, a professor at the UNC School of Pharmacy, has received a Distinguished Investigators Award from the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, the largest donor-supported organization in the world that supports research on brain and behavior disorders. NARSAD awarded eleven Distinguished Investigators grants this year from a pool of 160 applicants. The one-year, $100,000 grants will support research with the greatest potential to lead the field forward in its understanding and treatment of serious mental illness. Roth is using new methodology recently invented in his lab to create mice with specially engineered characteristics, with … Read more
Juliano to Oversee School’s Research and Graduate Education
April 25, 2008The UNC School of Pharmacy has named Rudy Juliano, PhD, an expert in drug targeting, as its new associate dean for research and graduate education. Juliano fills the vacancy left by Dhiren Thakker, PhD, who stepped down to pursue other projects at the School. Before coming to the School, Juliano was the Cary C. Boshamer Distinguished Professor in the Department of Pharmacology at the UNC School of Medicine, where he served as department chair from 1987 to 2002. In his new position, Juliano will oversee the School’s research and graduate education programs. One key component of his responsibilities will be … Read more
Ives Receives Recertification in Pharmacotherapy
April 21, 2008Timothy Ives, PharmD, MPh, an associate professor at the UNC School of Pharmacy, has received recertification in pharmacotherapy from the Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties. BCPS is pharmacy’s the highest credential in pharmacotherapy. To receive board certification, pharmacotherapy specialists must demonstrate a defined level of education and training, as well as mastery of the knowledge and skills necessary to meet the public’s demand for expert pharmaceutical care.
Huang Receives More than $3 Million in NIH Funding
April 17, 2008Leaf Huang, PhD, a Fred Eshelman Distinguished Professor at the UNC School of Pharmacy, has received two grants from the National Institutes of Health, each worth more than $1.5 million over five years, to support cancer-therapy research. Huang, who chairs the School’s Division of Molecular Pharmaceutics, is an expert in designing new methods of drug delivery that could make gene therapy an effective weapon in the fight against cancer. One of his new grants will support the development of cancer therapy using LPD nanoparticles, a novel vector that Huang’s lab created. LPD nanoparticles are consisted of lipid, polycations (molecules with … Read more