Category: Featured
Koval Reappointed as BPS Chair
January 30, 2018Peter Koval, Pharm.D., has been reappointed to serve a three-year term on the Board of Pharmacy Specialties Board of Directors and elected as the 2019 chair of the organization. The chair commitment includes a year as chair-elect, a year as chair and a year as immediate past chair. Koval is an associate professor of clinical education in the Division of Practice Advancement and Experiential Education and director of pharmacy education at the Greensboro Area Health Education Center. The Board of Pharmacy Specialties was established in 1976 by the American Pharmacists Association with the goal of improving patient care and recognizing … Read more
Huang, Roth among 2017’s Most Highly Cited Researchers
January 29, 2018Leaf Huang, Ph.D., and Bryan Roth, M.D., Ph.D., both faculty members at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, were included in Clarivate Analytics’ roster of the most highly cited researchers of 2017. Clarivate Analytics assembled the roster of more than 3,300 highly cited researchers. The researchers included have published a high number of papers that rank in the top 1 percent most cited in 21 fields of science from 2005 to 2015. Huang, the Fred Eshelman Distinguished Professor in the Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics, is included in the field of pharmacology and toxicology. Huang is a co-principal investigator … Read more
Steeb Receives APhA New Practitioner Award
January 26, 2018David Steeb, Pharm.D., M.P.H., is the recipient of the 2018 Distinguished New Practitioner Award from the American Pharmacists Association. The award recognizes a new practitioner, within the first five years of practice, who has demonstrated distinctive achievements in mentorship, service and commitment to the profession of pharmacy. Steeb is a clinical assistant professor and director of global engagement at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. Steeb conducts research in global pharmacy education and training and is collaborating with faculty at other UNC health affairs schools in developing curricula at the intersection of pharmacy and global health. Award recipients must be … Read more
Ferreri Receives APhA Pharmacy Practice Award
January 25, 2018Stefanie Ferreri, Pharm.D., is the recipient of the 2018 Distinguished Achievement Award in Pharmacy Practice from the American Pharmacists Association. The award recognizes an individual who has developed or implemented an innovative, original pharmacy program or service that is significant to their area of practice. Ferreri is a clinical professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and executive vice chair of the Division of Pharmacy Practice and Clinical Education. She is a fellow of the APhA and a board certified ambulatory care pharmacist. APhA selected Ferreri for her role in the development and implementation of a collaborative care model in … Read more
Sleath Receives APhA-APRS Research Achievement Award
January 24, 2018Betsy Sleath, Ph.D., is the recipient of the American Pharmacists Association Academy of Pharmaceutical Research and Science 2018 Research Achievement Award. The award recognizes outstanding, meritorious achievement in any of the pharmaceutical sciences. Sleath is the George H. Cocolas Distinguished Professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and chair of the Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy. She is the co-director of the NCTRACS Community Engagement Core and director of the child and adolescent health program at the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research. She is also an adjunct professor in epidemiology and health policy and management … Read more
Honkakoski Delivers Nuclear Receptor Short Course at UNC
January 22, 2018Paavo Honkakoski, Ph.D., professor of the School of Pharmacy and Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Eastern Finland presented a short course on nuclear receptor regulation at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy in January. In two-hour sessions held over three days, Honkakoski covered the basics of nuclear receptors, including receptor structure and function, measurement of receptor activation, their importance in human physiology, disease and drug therapy, the development of selective NR modulators, and examples for diseases of the central nervous system. He then discussed nuclear receptors and absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion, and the regulators PXR and … Read more
UNC Researchers Create Light-Activated Version of a Ubiquitous Protein Kinase
January 12, 2018In a lab at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a tiny blue light flashes, and a protein switches on in a cell. Light directs the protein to the mitochondria of the targeted cell. Alternatively, by a bit of genetic tweaking, the protein can be directed to the cell membrane or the cytoskeleton of the cell. This selective targeting and activation allows scientists to see exactly what the protein is doing in a single place and time. This technology is possible due to the efforts of a team at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy led by Fred … Read more
Watkins Honored with 2018 ASPET Toxicology Career Award
January 11, 2018Paul Watkins, M.D., is the recipient of the 2018 American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics Division for Toxicology Career Award. Watkins is the Howard Q. Ferguson Distinguished Professor in the Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics and director of the Institute for Drug Safety Sciences at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, This award recognizes outstanding original research contributions to toxicology by an established investigator. Watkins was nominated by Alison Harrill, Ph.D., from the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences, who said that his “ability to see value in developing a variety of experimental … Read more
UNC Scientists Take a Big Step toward a Better Opioid
January 10, 2018For the first time, scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and collaborators solved the crystal structure of the activated kappa opioid receptor bound to a morphine derivative. They then created a new drug-like compound that activates only that receptor, a key step in the development of better pain medications. The research, published in the journal Cell, shows a route toward creating opioids that relieve pain without causing the severe side effects at the heart of the opioid epidemic. Currently, most opioids bind to several opioid receptors on the surface of cells, and this is one of the main reasons … Read more
McDaniel Receives 2017 Smith Staff Award for Excellence
January 5, 2018Ryan McDaniel is the recipient of the 2016 Phyllis Smith Staff Award for Excellence at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. The award was presented at the annual holiday staff luncheon at the Carolina Inn on Friday, Dec. 15. McDaniel is the executive assistant floater at the School. Rather than having one permanent administrative role, McDaniel moves from job to job, filling in wherever he’s needed. He joined the School in January 2017. The $500 staff excellence award honors the career of Phyllis Smith, the School’s former director of facilities, who retired in 2014 after more than 30 years of … Read more