Category: Grants and Awards
Faculty member receives AACP Distinguished Teaching Scholar Award
March 27, 2024Associate Professor Jacqueline (Jacqui) McLaughlin, Ph.D., has been named one of two 2024 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Distinguished Teaching Scholars, recognizing her excellence in scholarly teaching and the scholarship of teaching and learning. “AACP is a global leader in pharmacy education, so to be reviewed and recognized as distinguished is a real honor,” she said. This award is in addition to the AACP Emerging Teaching Scholar Award that McLaughlin received in 2017. What differentiates someone from emerging to distinguished is engagement in activities that support the institutional advancement of scholarly teaching and the scholarship of teaching and … Read more
Professor works to build HIV pharmacology data sharing service
March 25, 2024Assistant Professor Mackenzie Cottrell, Pharm.D., M.S, co-director of the UNC Center for AIDS Research Clinical Pharmacology and Analytical Chemistry Core, was awarded $2.5 million from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. The five-year grant will fund the creation of a searchable data portal called the HIV Pharmacology Data Repository. “Our charge, as part of this core facility, is to help investigators at Carolina and other institutions who are working in the HIV space with any clinical pharmacology needs, so we run a lot of samples to measure drug concentrations,” … Read more
Using AI to build a smart sensing device
February 22, 2024Alexander Tropsha, Ph.D., is using machine learning and artificial intelligence to help his collaborators at Harvard build a portable chemical gas sensing device called iNOSES that will help identify volatiles in the air. Tropsha, K.H. Lee Distinguished Professor in the Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, and collaborators at Harvard University, received a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant as part of the Convergence Accelerator program. The program is investing nearly $10 million across several projects to develop transformative bio-inspired solutions, like iNOSES. “The proposed bioinspired device employs a ‘sniffing’ sequence of … Read more
School partners with Carolina Across 100 to launch third rural pharmacy hub
February 14, 2024The UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy was recently awarded a $200,000 grant from Carolina Across 100 to launch a third rural pharmacy hub at the Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center in Ahoskie, North Carolina as part of the School’s Rural Pharmacy Health Initiative. This grant enables the School to extend its reach to people in medically underserved communities across North Carolina. The goal is to improve access to care in these areas while creating new, sustainable models for rural health care. “I’m so grateful to Carolina Across 100 for recognizing the importance of this endeavor—not only are we reaching rural … Read more
Associate Professor awarded $2 million to study the effect of antibody-based therapies
February 7, 2024Associate Professor Carter Cao, Ph.D., in the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics, is harnessing the power of quantitative systems pharmacology (QSP) and cutting-edge computational modeling and simulation tools to understand how antibody-based treatments interact among diverse biological contexts. Cao’s research looks at the dynamics and mechanisms of the immune system in response to the constantly evolving diseases in our world. Using QSP, computational modeling and simulation tools will provide multi-dimensional data that navigates the body’s dynamic physiology. It will study how each immune system, diseases and antibodies interact with each other, with the hope … Read more
Fellow receives two awards from ASCPT
February 5, 2024UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy fellow, Miramar Kardouh, Pharm.D., was selected as a recipient of the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (ASCPT) 2024 Presidential Trainee Award and the 2024 David J. Goldstein Trainee Award. The Presidential Trainee Award is given by the scientific program committee who selects the top scoring abstracts by clinical pharmacologists and translational scientists in training. The David J. Goldstein Trainee Award is given to the highest scoring trainee abstract in honor of the longtime ASCPT member, who was committed to trainees and the future of the discipline of clinical pharmacology. “I’m ecstatic to get … Read more
Faculty member advancing an inhalable pan-SARS treatment into clinical development
January 18, 2024Four years since SARS-CoV-2 first spread across the U.S., there are still tens of thousands of new weekly COVID hospitalizations, underscoring the need for more effective means to prevent these infection-induced hospitalizations. Sam Lai, Ph.D., professor in the Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, is advancing an inhalable antibody treatment that not only works against all SARS variants but can be dosed with at-home convenience rather than the traditional means of systemic infusion. Lai’s research spans the interface of immunology and engineering, with a particular emphasis on developing novel bioactive molecules that … Read more
Ameya Chaudhari named 2023 Kathryne A. Brewington Graduate Research Award winner
January 8, 2024Ph.D. candidate Ameya Chaudhari is the 2023 recipient of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s Kathryne A. Brewington Graduate Research Award. The School presents the award annually to the most outstanding doctoral student in pharmaceutical sciences in honor of the late Katherine Brewington’s commitment to public service and higher education. Brewington passed away while pursuing her doctoral degree at the School. “Receiving the Kathryne A. Brewington Graduate Student Research Award is a significant milestone for me,” he said. “It not only validates my dedication and hard work throughout my academic journey, but also strengthens my commitment to contribute to the … Read more
Meet the 2023 staff award winners
December 18, 2023Each year, the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy recognizes the achievements of staff who excel in their area of expertise and who help create an engaging culture by upholding the School’s values and mission. With the addition of two new categories, there are a total of nine award winners this year. Behind the Scenes – Vishal Tiwari This person quietly gets the job done and remains dedicated to those we serve. “I am really grateful for having such a wonderful team and managers! It makes me happy and motivated to see them recognize my ‘behind the scenes’ efforts,” said Vishal … Read more
Art, equity and health care
December 4, 2023With the goal of shifting perspectives and raising self-awareness, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy faculty and staff attended the first of three Ackland Art & Equity events to gain a greater understanding of the power of equity in education and health care. “The Ackland Art & Equity event was designed with the understanding that all our work is made possible through connection. It highlights individual experiences and how each of our unique perspectives creates something that can’t exist without collaboration,” said Amanda Storyward, director of organizational diversity and inclusion (ODI) at the School. This event was hosted by the School’s … Read more