Category: Faculty
UNC Spin-off Licenses Technology to Drug Development Company
December 14, 2006Qualyst, a company created based on discoveries made at the UNC School of Pharmacy, announced that Covance Laboratories Inc., has licensed the use of Qualyst’s B-CLEAR® system to provide its pharmaceutical and biotechnology sponsors with pharmacokinetic services. B-CLEAR® is a sandwich-cultured hepatocyte system for the in vitro assessment and in vivo prediction of critical pharmacokinetic properties, including hepatobiliary disposition, hepatic uptake, hepatic accumulation, biliary clearance and drug transport. B-CLEAR® offers research organizations the ability to generate physiologically-relevant data and enable decision making in critical areas related to hepatic transport and adverse drug interactions, helping to avoid costly drug-development challenges and … Read more
Ferreri One of 40 to Attend Nonprescription Medicines Academy Conference
November 13, 2006Stefanie Ferreri, PharmD, was one of forty-four participants at the ninth annual Nonpresecription Medicines Academy Conference held October 5–7 in Cincinnati. The conference is for college faculty who provide instruction on nonprescription medicines and medical devices. The conference included topics such as education, research, and public health issues. Each participant provided a brief presentation or a poster on an instructional innovation, project or research initiative in the area of nonprescription medicines. Ferreri’s presentation was “Evaluation of Calcium Supplementation in Bisphosphonate Therapy.” Other presentations included “National Curriculum Survey—Status of Instruction of Nonprescription Medicines,” “Future Rx to OTC Switches,” and “Creating Awareness … Read more
Faculty Letter Published in Science Magazine
October 11, 2006Science magazine recently published a letter written by Alan Kozikowski, Bryan Roth, and Alex Tropsha that argues in favor of developing academic drug discovery programs. Tropsha and Roth are faculty at the UNC School of Pharmacy, and Kozikowski is a professor at the University of Chicago. Please click “Why Academic Drug Discovery Makes Sense” to read the full text.
Rezk Honored With Two Prestigious Awards
October 9, 2006Naser Rezk, a research associate in the Clinical Pharmacology and Analytical Chemistry Laboratory at the School of Pharmacy, has been honored with two prestigious awards: the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Innovation and the State Employees’ Award for Excellence in Innovation. Rezk is responsible for developing ways to measure drugs and metabolites in biological fluids to answer important questions in the treatment of HIV/AIDS and other diseases. The data he generates are critical to improving patient care. The awards were given in recognition of Rezk’s work in establishing the Clinical Pharmacology and Analytical Chemistry Laboratory’s top ranking in the number of drugs measured and the … Read more
Faculty Mentoring Program Launched with $1 Million Endowment
September 21, 2006The UNC School of Pharmacy has created a new faculty mentoring program—believed to be the first of its kind among the nation’s pharmacy schools—designed to help young faculty succeed by matching them up with experienced mentors both inside and outside the University. The Bill and Karen Campbell Faculty Mentoring Program is supported by revenue generated from the $1 million Bill and Karen Campbell Professorship, which covers mentoring expenses and provides honoraria for the mentors. Supporters of the School and friends of the Campbells created the professorship through the Pharmacy Foundation of North Carolina, Inc. to honor the couple’s long commitment … Read more
Brouwer Honored by the University of Kentucky
September 1, 2006Kim Brouwer, chair of the Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics, has been selected as the inaugural recipient of the University of Kentucky Outstanding Graduate Program Alumni for the Pharmaceutical Sciences. The goal of this award is to honor graduates of the University of Kentucky in recognition of their accomplishments and contributions to scholarship, education, and research in the pharmaceutical sciences.
Jian Liu Promoted to Associate Professor
August 8, 2006Jian Liu, PhD, who joined the Division of Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products in 2000, has been promoted to associate professor with tenure. Liu’s research interests are centered in glycobiology, an area of science that holds tremendous significance for medicinal chemistry and drug discovery. Liu and his group’s work on the synthesis of polysaccharides has recently led to the successful production of a synthetic form of heparin. Liu believes that the chemical synthesis of polysaccharides will play a significant role in drug development in the future, particularly in the treatment of herpes, cancer, and bacterial infection, and he hopes his method will accelerate … Read more
McLeod Joins School as Eshelman Professor
July 19, 2006Howard McLeod, PharmD, formerly of Washington University in St. Louis, has been appointed the Fred Eshelman Distinguished Professor in the Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics at the UNC School of Pharmacy. He is also the director of the new UNC Institute for Pharmacogenomics and Individualized Therapy and a member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. “Dr. McLeod is one of the pioneers in the field of cancer pharmacogenomics and we are extremely pleased that he has decided to join the faculty,” said Kim Brouwer, PharmD, chair of the division. Richard Goldberg, MD, associate director of UNC Lineberger, said, … Read more
Farrington Elected to PPAG Board
July 17, 2006Elizabeth Farrington, clincial assistant professor, has been elected to the Pediatric Pharmacy Advocacy Group’s Board of Directors. The Pediatric Pharmacy Advocacy Group is an international, non-profit, volunteer organization of healthcare providers dedicated to improving the lives of children.The sole purpose of PPAG is to advocate safe and effective medication use in children through communication, education, and research.
Kashuba Awarded $1.7 Million to Study Drug-Interaction Potential of New HIV Protease Inhibitor
June 19, 2006Angela D. M. Kashuba, PharmD, has been awarded a $1.7 million contract from Boehringer Ingelheim to study the drug-interaction potential of tipranavir, a new HIV protease inhibitor. Protease is an enzyme that HIV needs in order to make new viruses. When protease is blocked, HIV makes copies of itself that can’t infect new cells. According to Kashuba, many individual drug-drug interaction studies have demonstrated tipranavir’s high interaction potential. Kashuba’s novel phenotyping approach will help in understanding the basis for these interactions and will form the groundwork for further exploration of potentially important drug interactions. The title of Kashuba’s project is “Evaluating the Effects of Tipranavir (with Ritonavir) … Read more