Category: Grants and Awards
Blalock Receives Grant to Study RA Medication Risk Communication
July 19, 2010Susan Blalock, PhD, an associate professor in the Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, has received a two-year grant from the American College of Rheumatology Research and Education Foundation for a study that could help improve rheumatoid arthritis patients’ understanding of medication risks. This $400,000 grant will support an investigation of communication between patients and rheumatologists about medication risks. “Medications play an important role in the management of RA,” Blalock says. “Previous research has shown that most RA patients want to be informed of medication risks, but that they currently have a poor understanding of these risks. Therefore we need to … Read more
Washington Receives AcademyHealth Award
June 8, 2010Deidre Washington, PhD, a postdoctoral research associate, in the Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, has been awarded a scholarship from AcademyHealth’s new Minority Scholars Program. Washington has been recognized for her potential to contribute to the field of health services research through her promising work. The scholarship provides support for travel and lodging for her to attend AcademyHealth’s Annual Research Meeting in Boston on June 27 to 29, as well as training in research methods and attendance at the Disparities Interest Group meeting. As a part of the program, Washington will also be matched with a mentor who is … Read more
Gates Foundation Provides Seed Money for UNC Researchers’ Germ of an Idea
May 5, 2010Researchers at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy have received a Grand Challenges Explorations grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for an idea that could see a tiny seed, a bit of saliva and a few tweaks to a hormone create a simple test for diagnosing diseases of the developing world, such as malaria, tuberculosis and African sleeping sickness. David Lawrence, PhD, and Vyas Sharma, PhD, of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy received one of seventy-eight grants recently announced by the foundation in the fourth funding round of Grand Challenges Explorations, an initiative to help scientists around … Read more
Awards Day 2010
May 3, 2010The UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy announced the recipients of its 2010 honor during its annual Awards Day ceremony on Friday, April 30. You can download a PDF copy of the program here. The winners are as follows: Ballenger-Smith Award for Excellence in the Pharmaceutical Care Laboratory Jessica Renee Szewczyk Boka Hadzija Student Excellence Award LaKia Shevan Scoggins Buxton Williams Hunter Award Benyam Muluneh F.O. Bowman Award Rebekah Howell Wrenn Facts and Comparisons Award for Excellence in Clinical Communications Jamie Lin Jurkiewicz George H. Cocolas Pharmacy Student Body Award Maurice DeAngelo Alexander Jacobs Award in Medicinal Chemistry Sherry Yang Kappa Epsilon … Read more
2010 Awards Banquet
May 1, 2010The UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy held its 2010 Awards Banquet on April 30 at the Carolina Club in Alumni Hall. Here is the list of award recipients. Student Academic Awards Student Activities Awards Teaching Awards Special Recognition Phi Lambda Sigma Pharmacy Leadership Society Rho Chi National Honor Society STUDENT ACADEMIC AWARDS TEVA Outstanding Student Award Brian Murray This award, sponsored by TEVA Pharmaceuticals, is given to the graduating student who has excelled in the study of pharmacy. Facts and Comparisons Award for Excellence in Clinical Communications Jamie Lin Jurkiewicz This award, sponsored by Facts and Comparisons, is given in … Read more
Kohn to Receive AACP Dawson Biotech Award
April 21, 2010The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy will recognize professor Harold L. Kohn, PhD, for his contributions to contemporary teaching and scholarship in biotechnology with the prestigious Paul R. Dawson Biotechnology Award. “It gives AACP great pleasure to recognize Dr. Kohn with this illustrious award,” explained Lucinda L. Maine, PhD, AACP executive vice president and CEO. “He is a pioneer of biotechnology research and a leader in scholarly activities and teaching, especially as applied to students and faculty mentoring.” Kohn is the Kenan Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. He is recognized … Read more
White Harris Receives University Diversity Award
April 19, 2010Carla White Harris, director of recruitment and diversity initiatives at the School, has been named the recipient of a University Diversity Award. The award recognizes significant contribution to the enhancement, support, and furtherance of diversity on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus and in the community. It is given annually in each of seven categories: community member, graduate student, faculty member, university unit/school, staff member, undergraduate student, and student organization. White Harris, this year’s faculty honoree, will receive her award at a reception on April 27. White Harris was tapped to lead the School’s new recruitment and diversity initiatives in 2007. She … Read more
Postdoctoral fellow Richards Receives Kirschstein Award
April 6, 2010Justin Richards, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the Division of Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products, has received a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award from the National Institutes of Health to support his project to better understand how the bacterial protein RecA contributes to the development and transmission of antibiotic resistance. The grant is worth up to more than $143,000 over three years. Richards, who is in associate professor Scott Singleton’s lab, will use the funding for research aimed at determining the role that RecA’s myriad of activities play in the different ways bacteria try to survive an attack … Read more
Two Student-Faculty Tandems Earn AACP Walmart Scholarships
March 25, 2010Community pharmacy resident Ashley Branham, PharmD, PY4 student Tsu-Hsuan “Sherry” Yang, and their faculty mentors have won Walmart Scholarships from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. This marks the fourth consecutive year that members of the School have won Walmart Scholarships. The awards, which began in 2005, aim to strengthen the recipients’ skills and commitment to careers in academic pharmacy through their participation at the AACP Annual Meeting and Seminars. Each student-faculty pair will receive $1,000 to help cover registration and travel expenses for the AACP Annual Meeting and Seminars on July 10-14 in Seattle, Washington. Branham, mentored by … Read more
MCNP Graduate Student Receives TraCS Grant
March 2, 2010Jui-Hua Hsieh, a graduate student in the Division of Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products, has received a $2,000 grant from the North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute to fund her project, “Design of Novel Therapeutic Agents against Mer Kinase for Cancer Treatment.” Elevated expression and activity of the enzyme Mer kinase are associated with various types of cancers, and researchers have found very few small-molecules inhibitors against Mer kinase so far, Hsieh says. Hsieh’s project will try to identify novel, potent Mer kinase inhibitors. She will use computer programs to virtually screen large libraries of chemical structures and use … Read more