Category: Featured
Jay Receives University Distinguished Teaching Award
January 27, 2016Michael Jay, Ph.D., Fred Eshelman Distinguished Professor of Molecular Pharmaceutics, is the 2016 recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award for Postbaccalaureate Instruction from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Jay will be recognized along with other recipients during a half-time ceremony at the men’s basketball game against the University of Pittsburgh on Sunday, February 14, in the Dean E. Smith Center. Jay joined the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy in 2008. He served as director of graduate admissions for the Division of Molecular Pharmaceutics until 2012, when he was named division chair. He recently served as the School’s executive vice … Read more
UNC Alumni Association Honors Blouin with Faculty Service Award
January 27, 2016The General Alumni Association at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill honored Bob Blouin, Pharm.D., dean of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, with the GAA’s 2016 Faculty Service Award. The award was established in 1990 and honors those who have performed outstanding service for the University or the GAA. Blouin, along with Joy Kasson, a professor of American Studies and English, were selected as the 2016 recipients. Blouin is the Vaughn and Nancy Bryson Distinguished Professor and director of the School’s Eshelman Institute for Innovation, Blouin joined the School as dean in 2003 after 25 years at … Read more
Jennifer Fox Wins Phyllis Smith Staff Award for Excellence
January 20, 2016Jennifer Fox is the recipient of the 2015 Phyllis Smith Staff Award for Excellence given by the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. As the executive assistant in the Office of Professional Education, she supports the work of Pam Joyner, Ed.D., M.S., executive associate dean for professional education; Wendy Cox, Pharm.D., associate dean for curricular and student affairs; and Phil Rodgers, Pharm.D., assistant dean of pharmacy practice partnerships. The award recognizes a staff member who is committed to the School’s pursuit of excellence through its business practices. The winner must demonstrate leadership, be an effective team member, have a positive attitude … Read more
Becton Dickinson Donates $200,000 in Newest Drug-Preparation Technology to School
January 14, 2016UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy students in Chapel Hill and Asheville will train with the newest technology for preparing IV medications thanks to a recent gift of two BD Cato gravimetric scales, valued at $200,000, from Becton Dickinson and Company. Representatives from BD Medical visited the School on December 3 to demonstrate the new system. “The vision behind acquiring this technology was to create real-world experiences that our students can understand, that they can practice before they move into the workplace,” said Clinical Associate Professor Stephen Eckel, Pharm.D., M.H.A., associate director of pharmacy at UNC Hospitals. “I think UNC was … Read more
Batrakova Makes Cancer Drug 50 Times More Potent by Delivering It with Exosomes
January 14, 2016For the first time, scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have packaged the cancer drug paclitaxel in exosomes — containers derived from a patient’s own immune system — to make it 50 times more potent against drug-resistant lung-cancer tumors. Elena Batrakova, Ph.D., and her colleagues at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery harvested tiny spheres called exosomes from macrophages, white blood cells that protect the body against infection. Exosomes carry chemical messages and are made of the same material as cell membranes. Diseases like cancer and AIDS propagate throughout the … Read more
Wendy Cox to Serve as Associate Dean For Curricular and Student Affairs
January 12, 2016Wendy Cox, Pharm.D., is the new associate dean for curricular and student affairs at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, moving from her role as assistant dean for professional education effective January 1. Cox is also a clinical associate professor in the Division of Practice Advancement and Clinical Education. Cox’s new responsibilities include managing curricular issues, including the re-engineered Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum, and she will continue to oversee the Office of Student Affairs. She also serves as chair of the curricular transformation steering committee. Pam Joyner, Ed.D., M.S. Pharm., executive associate dean of professional education, said the new position … Read more
Nithya Srinivas receives ASCPT Presidential Trainee Award
January 7, 2016Nithya Srinivas, a Ph.D. student in the Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, has been awarded a 2016 Presidential Trainee Award through the American Society of Clinical Pharmacology Therapeutics. The award recognizes her abstract, “Antiretroviral Drug Exposure in Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) as a Predictor of Neurocognitive Outcomes in HIV Infected Patients,” and indicates it received a top score when compared to other project submitted by clinical pharmacologists in training. Srinivas graduated with her Bachelor of Science in pharmacy in 2014 in Bangalore, India, and is completing her Ph.D. under the guidance of Angela … Read more
Oral Chemotherapy Still Too Expensive Even after Doughnut Hole Closes, UNC Study Finds
December 7, 2015Simply closing the Medicare Part D doughnut hole will not be enough to increase cancer patients’ access to oral chemotherapy drugs, according to a new analysis from the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. The drugs are just too expensive at an average of more than $10,000 a month. “Closing the doughnut hole will save patients up to $2,550 for a typical course of therapy, but that doesn’t make much of a dent when they will still be paying on average more than $5,600 out of pocket annually for these oral chemotherapy drugs,” Stacie Dusetzina, Ph.D., said. “That’s more than the … Read more
Katelyn Arnold Receives USP Global Fellowship
December 4, 2015Katelyn Arnold, a Ph.D. student in the Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, has been awarded a $30,000 predoctoral U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention Global Fellowship. The U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention Global Fellowship program awards aims to advance new research contributing to innovative or updated quality standards for chemical and biological medicines, excipients, dietary supplements, herbal medicines, health-care quality and food ingredients. Arnold graduated in May 2015 with a B.S. in Medicinal Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of Dayton. She works in the lab of her adviser, McNeill Distinguished Professor Jian Liu, Ph.D., where she … Read more
Tojan Rahhal Receives 2015 Brewington Award as Most Outstanding Graduate Student
December 1, 2015Tojan Rahhal, a graduate student in the Division of Molecular Pharmaceutics at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, has been awarded the School’s Kathryne A. Brewington Graduate Student Research Award. The Kathryne A. Brewington Graduate Student Research Award was created to honor the memory of Kathryne Brewington, who died in 1997 while pursuing her doctoral degree at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. In honor of Brewington’s commitment to public service and higher education, the award is given annually to the most outstanding doctoral student in the pharmaceutical sciences. The purpose of the award is to facilitate the research of … Read more