Category: Featured
UNC Reaches Milestone in Development of Kinase Chemogenomic Set
August 2, 2017The Structural Genomics Consortium at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partnership with the DiscoverX Corporation has reached the halfway point in developing a set of selective and potent inhibitors that will be made freely available to explore the human kinome, a family of more than 500 enzymes. The kinome is made up of enzymes called kinases, and it provides a tremendous opportunity for drug discovery, said David Drewry, Ph.D., a research associate professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and a principal investigator of the SGC-UNC in the School. More than 30 kinase inhibitors have … Read more
Aaron Anselmo Joins DPMP to Explore Microbiome
July 31, 2017Aaron Anselmo, Ph.D., has joined the Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics as an assistant professor. Anselmo comes from the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he was a postdoctoral fellow under adviser Robert Langer. Sc.D. Anselmo’s faculty appointment at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy includes both research and teaching duties. Anselmo earned his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara under adviser Samir Mitragotri, Ph.D. His undergraduate degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute was also in chemical engineering. He has published over 30 peer-reviewed papers in … Read more
Faculty and Students Lead the Way at AACP 2017
July 28, 2017At the 2017 Annual Meeting of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy held in Nashville, Tennessee, July 15 to 19, faculty and students from the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy led more than a dozen symposia and workshops and collected a number of significant awards. “It is extremely gratifying to see our faculty and students playing such a central role in this key event, and I congratulate them all on the prominence of their contributions to the AACP meeting,” said Bob Blouin, Pharm.D., dean of the School and the Vaughn and Nancy Bryson Distinguished Professor. “This level of leadership … Read more
Mosedale Awarded Regulatory Science Award from Burroughs Wellcome Fund
July 20, 2017Merrie Mosedale, Ph.D., has been selected as one of five recipients of the 2017 Burroughs Wellcome Fund Innovation in Regulatory Science Award. The award provides $500,000 over five years for research into new methodologies and innovative approaches in regulatory science. Mosedale’s research proposal is titled, “Development of an In Vitro Platform for the Evaluation of Genetic Susceptibility Factors Associated with Adverse Drug Response.” William Valdar, Ph.D., associate professor of genetics at the UNC School of Medicine, is a co-investigator on it. “The funding will allow me to pursue an exciting and truly novel area of research focused on incorporating genetics … Read more
Bogart Earns GSK Fellowship for Research into New Antibiotics
July 19, 2017Jon Bogart, Ph.D. candidate in the Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, was awarded the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy Foundation’s 2017 GlaxoSmithKline Fellowship of $12,000 over one year to support his research into the clinical value of thiopeptides, a class of antibiotics produced by bacteria. Bogart’s adviser is Assistant Professor Albert Bowers, Ph.D. “Thiopeptides are very complex and hard to make in a lab and this is one reason you don’t see them in the clinic,” Bogart said. “We have developed a method that combines the power of enzymes and synthetic chemistry to access these compounds easily and … Read more
Savage Promoted to Clinical Assistant Professor
July 17, 2017Amanda Savage, Pharm.D., formerly a clinical instructor in the Division of Practice Advancement and Clinical Education, has been promoted to clinical assistant professor. Savage works in the Asheville, North Carolina, satellite campus. Her scholarship efforts will focus on best practices in simulated patient and preceptor encounters utilizing objective structured clinical examinations. “Amanda is a valued member of PACE and our Asheville campus. She has made significant contributions to both our legacy and transformed curriculums,” said Denise Rhoney, Pharm.D., Ron and Nancy McFarlane Distinguished Professor and chair of PACE. Savage holds certificates in pharmacy-based immunization delivery, pharmacist and patient-centered diabetes care … Read more
Benhabbour Spin Off Earns UNC KickStart Award
July 13, 2017A company founded by Rahima Benhabbour, Ph.D., a faculty member at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, has received a KickStart award from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to help create the first 3-D printed intravaginal ring designed to treat a women’s health condition. Benhabbour created AnelleO along with graduate student Rima Janusziewicz from the UNC Department of Chemistry. The company’s work is centered on 3D printed intravaginal rings that can be used as a platform for treating a wide range of women’s health conditions. “3D printing allows us to introduce geometric complexity to the rings that … Read more
Lafata Named New DPOP Vice Chair as Blalock Retires
July 11, 2017Jennifer Lafata, Ph.D., professor in the Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy will take over as its vice chair upon the retirement of Susan Blalock, Ph.D., M.P.H, professor in DPOP and current vice chair. Blalock’s retirement is phased, so she will continue working part-time for the near future. As vice chair, Lafata will assist in faculty development, recruitment and retention, overseeing educational training programs and serving as a mentor to DPOP’s junior faculty and trainees. She said she is excited to be a part of the DPOP leadership and to learn, grow and … Read more
Sleath Receives $1.6 Million AHRQ Grant to Help African-Americans with Glaucoma
July 11, 2017Betsy Sleath, Ph.D., has received a grant worth nearly $1.6 million over four years from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to help reduce vision problems in African-Americans caused by glaucoma. Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness for African-Americans; they are five times more likely to get glaucoma than white Americans and six times more likely to go blind from it. Glaucoma is a condition that can damage the optic nerve leading to loss of vision. It is caused by abnormally high pressure inside the eye. “We want to empower glaucoma patients to be more actively involved … Read more
Rodgers Honored with ACCP Clinical Practice Award
July 10, 2017Jo Ellen Rodgers, Pharm.D., has been named the recipient of the 2017 Clinical Practice Award from the American College of Clinical Pharmacy. Rodgers is a clinical associate professor and associate director of clinical fellowship programs in the Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. The ACCP Clinical Practice Award recognizes an ACCP member who has developed an innovative clinical pharmacy service, provided innovative documentation of the impact of clinical pharmacy services, provided leadership in the development of cost-effective clinical pharmacy services or shown sustained excellence in providing clinical pharmacy services. Rodgers is the first … Read more