Category: Grants and Awards
Liu Receives $1.5 Million NIH Grant to Perfect Synthetic Heparin
March 2, 2009Jian Liu, PhD, an associate professor in the Division of Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products, has been awarded a four-year $1.48 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to further develop Recomparin, his synthetic version of the drug heparin. Liu’s project is titled “In vitro synthesis of recombinant heparan sulfate.” Heparan sulfate is a compound produced in the body that is similar to heparin but has weaker anticoagulant properties. Heparin can be made from heparin sulfate, and by modifying the molecular structure of the heparan sulfate he produces, Liu can customize the properties of heparin derived from it. Currently, … Read more
UNC Employee Forum Honors Middleton, Smith
January 26, 2009Geri Middleton and Phyllis Smith, employees at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, have received awards from the UNC-Chapel Hill Employee Forum recognizing their service to the School. Middleton, who received the Rookie Award, is the Pharmaceutical Care Labs assistant. Here’s part of what PCL Director Kelly Scolaro, who nominated Middleton for the award, said about her contributions: She jumped right in and has made a huge difference for the faculty, teaching assistants, and students in the Pharmaceutical Care Labs. She is organized and efficient and helps the labs run smoothly. She helps with schedules, orders supplies for labs, helps with … Read more
Graduate Student Wang Wins Scientific Art Competition
January 22, 2009Sheena Wang, a graduate student at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, has won first place in the Scientific Art Competition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The contest, coordinated by the Chapel Hill Analytical and Nanofabrication Laboratory through the Institute of Advanced Materials at UNC-Chapel Hill, showcased scientific data that had artistic appeal. Submissions were evaluated for their title, description, artistic value, and scientific significance. Wang took the $150 first-place prize with her entry, “The Haunted House”, an electron microscope image of particles in a dry-powder formulation for a nasal vaccine. All entries are on display … Read more
Bethea Receives Off-Campus Dissertation Research Fellowship
December 4, 2008Heather Bethea, a graduate student at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, has received an Off-Campus Dissertation Research Fellowship from the Graduate School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Bethea, the first student from the School to receive the fellowship, will receive a $7,350 stipend to support her study of heparan sulfate, a carbohydrate that is synthesized in mammalian cells by a series of enzymes. It is involved in many physiological functions, including regulation of cell growth and blood coagulation, and also has been found to inhibit an enzyme that enhances the onset of Alzheimer’s. Bethea’s work … Read more
Alumni Couple Receive Highest Honor from Board of Trustees
November 24, 2008Vaughn and Nancy Bryson, 1960 graduates of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, received the William Richardson Davie Award from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Board of Trustees. Established by the Board in 1984, the Davie Award recognizes extraordinary service to the University or society and is the Board’s highest honor. It is named for the Revolutionary War hero who is considered the father of the University. Chancellor Holden Thorp and the Board honored the recipients at a Carolina Inn dinner on November 19. The Brysons, who reside in Vero Beach, Florida, were among five University alumni … Read more
Askew Named Distinguished Young Pharmacist of the Year
November 18, 2008The North Carolina Association of Pharmacists has named Jennifer Askew, a preceptor for the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, the 2008 Distinguished Young Pharmacist of the Year in the state. Askew has been working at New Hanover Regional Medical Center for five years. She received her doctor of pharmacy from the School in 2003 and has been a UNC pharmacy preceptor since 2006. She has precepted more than twenty UNC pharmacy students in introductory and advanced hospital, community, and practice management rotations. She was named the School’s Hospital Pharmacy Preceptor of the Year for 2008. Askew is also an active participant … Read more
Diabetes Care Program at UNC Health Care Receives NCQA Recognition
November 14, 2008The Internal Medicine Clinic at UNC Health Care has received recognition from the National Committee for Quality Assurance Diabetes Physician Recognition Program, a widely recognized indicator of high-quality care. The Diabetes Care Program at the Internal Medicine Clinic is directed by Robb Malone, PharmD, CDE, CPP, who is also a clinical assistant professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. In order to be recognized by the NCQA, organizations must first pass a rigorous, comprehensive review and must annually report on their performance. The NCQA seal is a reliable indicator that an organization is well-managed and delivers high-quality care and … Read more
DPET Student Yan Receives Travel Award
November 10, 2008Grace Yan, a graduate student at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, has received a travel award from the Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics and Drug Metabolism Section of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists. The $750 award will help cover travel and lodging expenses for the 2008 AAPS Annual Meeting and Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia, on November 16-20. Yan and other travel award winners will also be recognized at the PDDM Section Membership Meeting on November 18. Yan is in the lab of Kim Brouwer, PhD, the chair of the Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics. She entered the School’s PhD program … Read more
Kashuba Receives ASCPT Goldberg Award
November 5, 2008Angela Kashuba, PharmD, will receive the 2009 Leon I. Goldberg Young Investigator Award from the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. The award was established in 1986 to honor a young scientist for accomplishments in the field of clinical pharmacology achieved early in his/her career. The goal of the Leon I. Goldberg Young Investigator Award is to encourage and recognize young scientists active in the field of clinical pharmacology. Kashuba has made significant contributions regarding the clinical pharmacology of antiretroviral agents used in the treatment of HIV infection. During her ten years at UNC, she has published more than … Read more
IPIT honors Dr. Mark Ratain for unlocking the promise of gene-guided cancer therapy
October 24, 2008University of Chicago professor Mark J. Ratain, MD, is this year’s recipient of the Award for Clinical Service presented by the Institute for Pharmacogenomics and Individualized Therapy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The award honors a person who has made significant contributions to the advancement of individualized therapy in clinical practice. “Dr. Ratain’s work with the University of Chicago has shown us a clear model for understanding how anticancer drugs work in real patients,” said Howard McLeod, PharmD, director of IPIT. “The ultimate goal of Dr. Ratain’s research is to help tailor medicines to a person’s … Read more