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SGC@UNC Researchers Adopt ‘Extreme’ Open Science, Share Data as It Happens

April 26, 2018

Researchers in the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy are taking part in an experiment in experimentation by making their research publicly available as it happens. Postdoctoral research associates Alfredo Picado, Ph.D., and Carla Alamillo Ferrer, Ph.D., are participants in the Structural Genomics Consortium’s Extreme Open Science Initiative, which encourages SGC scientists in labs around the world to publish their notes online. The UNC-Chapel Hill hub of the SGC, run by Tim Willson, Ph.D., conducts open research into new protein kinase inhibitors with the aim of expanding drug discovery and creation. The norm in science is to guard data until publication. … Read more


Third Carolina Nanoformulation Workshop Shares Discoveries in Nanomedicine

April 25, 2018

From March 12 to 16, scientists from industry and academia came together at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy to learn about the latest advances in nanomedicine and to get hands-on experience with advanced nanoformulations at the third annual Carolina Nanoformulation Workshop. The workshop is a unique blend of classroom and hands-on training that stresses interaction and participation. The 2018 edition featured three days of seminars presented by 21 speakers followed by two days of practical experience in the laboratories of the School’s Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery. Twenty-seven participants have attended the workshop, with each experiencing a unique … Read more


Fourth Annual Asheville Summit Addresses Population Health

April 24, 2018

On Saturday, March 10, approximately 150 students, residents and pharmacists from across the Southeast attended the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s Fourth Annual Asheville Summit at the Mountain Area Health Education Center in Asheville, North Carolina. The Asheville Summit is a one-day conference planned by students at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy with the majority of the planning done at the School’s Asheville campus. This year’s topic was population health. In the past, the summit has covered provider status, innovation within pharmacy practice, and the importance of interprofessional care. Pharmacy students from Auburn University, High Point University, Mercer University, … Read more


Top Students, Faculty Honored at 2018 Awards Ceremony

April 23, 2018

The UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy held its annual Awards Ceremony on Saturday, April 21, at the Rizzo Center. Professor emeritus Hal Kohn, Ph.D., received the School’s Distinguished Service Award, presented each year for distinguished service and support for the School’s service and outreach initiatives and for accomplishments that advance the profession of pharmacy. Ashley Henson McKnight was the winner of the Samuel Burrus Award for Community Service. This award is presented to a student currently enrolled in the School who exhibits outstanding and unselfish civic, community or church volunteer service provided outside the scope of regular pharmacy practice. Associate … Read more


Asher Prince Honored as Physician Assistant Fellow

April 20, 2018

Heather Asher Prince has been named a distinguished fellow of the American Academy of Physician Assistants. Asher Prince is director of clinical operations for Clinical Pharmacology and Analytical Chemistry Laboratory in the Division of Pharmacy and Experimental Therapeutics at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. Distinguished fellows are physician assistants who have demonstrated outstanding dedication to their profession in the following areas: Distinction in medical practice, education, research or health-care management Leadership in medicine and health care Professional involvement Commitment to lifelong learning Community service The UNC Physician Assistants Program published a Q&A interview with Asher Prince. “Heather has been … Read more


Alumna Lisa Grimes Shares Book of Life Lessons at UNC

April 20, 2018

Lisa T. Grimes, a UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy alumna returned to campus Wednesday, April 18, to share insights from her new book. Grimes, a 1985 graduate of the School, and her coauthor, fellow UNC-Chapel Hill alumna Paula Brown Stafford, M.P.H., discussed their book, “Remember Who You Are: Achieve Success, Create Balance, Experience Fulfillment,” at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. The book provides insights and encouragement for women looking for career advancement and a high quality of life — knowledge the authors said they wish they’d had as young professionals 30 years ago. The book also advises … Read more


Pharm.D. RASP Students Present Research Findings to Peers, Faculty and Alumni

April 16, 2018

Third-year Doctor of Pharmacy students in the inaugural cohort of the Research and Scholarship in Pharmacy pathway presented their research findings to peer students, faculty and guest alumni as part of the RASP 3 (PHCY 726) course. The poster presentation simulated what students would experience at a professional meeting and served as an opportunity for the students to share their project results and develop their presentation skills. Guest alumni included Amy Meadowcroft, BSPHR ’93, Pharm.D. ’95, of GlaxoSmithKline and Susan Marchant, BSPHR ’86, Pharm.D. ’03, of Eli Lilly and Company. When asked about the work being presented by the students, Marchant said, “At their age and experience level, they’re incredibly impressive. … Read more


Batrakova Gets $1.7 Million Grant to Treat Parkinson’s with Cell-Delivered Gene Therapy

April 16, 2018

Elena Batrakova, Ph.D., is principal investigator on a new R01 grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to explore cell-based gene delivery to the brain as a therapy for Parkinson’s disease. The grant is worth up to $1.7 million over five years. Batrakova and her team at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery will genetically modify white blood cells called monocytes to produce glial cell–derived neurotrophic factor, or GDNF, and deliver it to the brain. Glial cells provide support and protection for nerve cells throughout the brain and body, and GDNF … Read more


Postdoc Gilliland Receives Spectroscopy Career Development Award

April 11, 2018

Mac Gilliland, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, has been selected for the 2018 Postdoctoral Career Development Award from the American Society of Mass Spectroscopy. Gilliland is a member of the lab of Angela Kashuba, Pharm.D., the John and Deborah McNeill, Jr. Distinguished Professor and chair of the Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics. He joined the Kashuba lab in May 2017 as a postdoctoral research associate and works under the direction of Research Associate Professor Eli Rosen, Ph.D., who is focused on developing a novel mass spectroscopy imaging technique called infrared matrix-assisted laser desorption … Read more


Brouwer Selected to Give 2018 ASCPT-FDA Abrams Lecture

April 9, 2018

Kim. L. R. Brouwer, Pharm.D., Ph.D., will be honored by the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics as the recipient of the 2018 ASCPT and US Food and Drug Administration William B. Abrams Lecture Award. Brouwer is the associate dean for research and graduate education and the William R. Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. The William B. Abrams Lecture is a joint educational initiative of ASCPT and the FDA. The lecture series, supported in part by the Merck Company Foundation, was established in 1999 to honor William B. Abrams, M.D., an ASCPT president … Read more