Category: News
Dumond receives $3.4 million from NIH to improve HIV treatment outcomes
August 4, 2021Julie Dumond, Pharm.D., M.S., is focused on improving the lives of patients living with HIV. Dumond, a faculty member in the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics (DPET) is primarily focused on the pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics of antiretrovirals for HIV treatment and prevention. Her recent five-year, $3,453,929 grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, will help propel her latest research, “Quantifying Sex-and-Age-Related Differences in Antiretroviral Exposure and Adverse Effects in the MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study.” MACS/WIHS, meaning Multicenter AIDS Clinical Study/Women’s Interagency HIV Study. The long-term objective of the … Read more
Kristy Ainslie receives $1.5 million from NIH to combat type 1 diabetes
July 30, 2021With the aid of a $1.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, Kristy Ainslie, Ph.D., will work to develop a long-term treatment for type 1 diabetes. The four-year grant will support her work, “Formulation to Generate Tolerance Towards Type 1 Diabetes.” According to the NIH, type 1 diabetes typically occurs in adolescents and affects about 5% of those living with diabetes in the United States. People with type 1 diabetes rely on insulin injections to survive because their bodies do not produce the hormone. Ainslie, chair of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular … Read more
Craig Lee, Pharm.D, Ph.D. promoted to professor in Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics
July 28, 2021Craig Lee, Pharm.D, Ph.D., has been promoted to full professor in the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics (DPET), effective July 1. “I am very honored to receive this recognition from the School and University, which would not be possible without the tremendous support I have received from my family and so many wonderful mentors, collaborators, students, fellows, and staff,” Lee said. “I am eager to advance our research that focuses on developing and evaluating more precise medication selection and dosing strategies that improve patient health, and to help train the next generation of … Read more
Klarissa Jackson secures $1.9 million from NIH to study drug metabolism in ethnically diverse populations
July 23, 2021Klarissa Jackson, Ph.D., is the recipient of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award for Early-Stage Investigators (R35). The five-year award totals $1,908,009 and will support her project titled, “Interindividual Variability in Drug Metabolism in Ethnically Diverse Populations.” Jackson said the goal of her project is to better understand how genetic and non-genetic factors affect drug metabolism and drug response in patients from understudied ethnic backgrounds. “We believe this research is important to individualize drug treatment for patients to be able to maximize beneficial drug effects and minimize serious adverse effects,” she said. Jackson, along with … Read more
Herb Patterson receives 2021 Fred M. Eckel Pharmacy Leadership Award
July 21, 2021UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s Herb Patterson, Pharm.D., is the recipient of UNC Health’s 2021 Fred M. Eckel Pharmacy Leadership Award. The award is presented annually in recognition of an individual associated with the UNC Hospitals and Clinics post-graduate pharmacy training programs who has demonstrated sustained professional contributions to pharmacy practice throughout his or her career. “To win any award from the UNC Department of Pharmacy is an honor and particularly one named after one of my mentors, Fred Eckel. When I saw the list of previous winners it is very humbling to now be a part of that group,” Patterson said. The … Read more
PharmD student finds room to improve communication between adolescent patients, physicians when discussing smoking, vaping
July 16, 2021Fourth-year UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy student Bethany Beznos has spent the past two years studying communication between physicians and their adolescent patients on the topics of smoking and vaping. She was curious what conversations were taking place during pediatric visits as adolescent smoking and vaping is an important public health problem. Beznos, along with a team which included faculty members from the School’s Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, conducted a secondary analysis of 359 transcripts of medical visits of adolescents with asthma to examine communication about caregiver and adolescent smoking and vaping. Forty providers and 359 patients participated … Read more
Three Ph.D. students receive American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education fellowship
July 14, 2021UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy Ph.D. students, Daisy Zhu, Pharm.D., and Aaron Devanathan, Pharm.D., as well as incoming Ph.D. student Patricia Maglalang, Pharm.D., are this year’s recipients of an American Foundation of Pharmaceutical Education (AFPE) fellowship. The pre-doctoral fellowship is designed to positively affect patient and public health by supporting high performing Ph.D. students who possess the skill and aptitude to become outstanding scientists and leaders in the pharmaceutical industry, academia, and government/nonprofit sectors, according to the AFPE. The fellowship stipend allows students to make progress in their pursuit of a Ph.D. degree. Each of the School’s recognized students work … Read more
E(I) Lab Names Entrepreneurship and Innovation Winners for Cohort 6
July 9, 2021The E(I) Lab Program, an entrepreneurship and innovation lab that encourages interdisciplinary collaboration of UNC Chapel Hill graduate students, professional students, and postdocs, wrapped up its sixth cohort for solving challenges in healthcare. The winning team, the Mental Health Matchmarkers, included: Ashley Gleaton, Eshelman School of Pharmacy Kayla McKisky, Gillings School of Global Public Health Noah Hammes, Gillings School of Global Public Health Christina Shaban, Kenan-Flagler Business School Thomas Kaplan, Kenan-Flagler Business School They worked on a project to test the match-making feasibility of mental health services with students who were coping with substance use disorders. “The five … Read more
Innovation, Entrepreneurship: A convergent code
July 2, 2021Many cancers and rare diseases have origins in our DNA. A team of UNC faculty from many scientific backgrounds are converging around the field of epigenetics to rewrite faulty instructions by delivering chemical compounds to our genome – to treat genetic diseases without changing the DNA itself. Story by Shellie Edge, Innovate Carolina Photography by Sarah Daniels, Innovate Carolina When you hear the word “DNA,” what normally comes to mind? If you’re like most, your brain fires up the image of the twisted, two-fold ladder we all remember from science class. What might not be as familiar as the double … Read more
Beard Hall gets fresh look
June 30, 2021The partial renovation of Beard Hall is complete after years of planning and construction to improve inside elements of the building for students, faculty, staff and friends of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. “For more than 60 years, Beard Hall has been home to future pharmacists and pharmacy leaders, and it has changed very little during that time,” said Scott Savage, Chief Operating Officer at the School of Pharmacy. “It was time to honor those who have walked through our halls and help spark new inspiration for those to come. A fresh space has the power to do that.” … Read more