Category: News
Associate Professor Ian Hollis named AACP Master Preceptor
May 21, 2021Ian Hollis, Pharm.D., associate professor of clinical education at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy has been named one of four 2021 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Master Preceptors. Hollis is a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist in advanced heart failure, including left ventricular assist device and heart transplant, and cardiac surgery at the University of North Carolina Medical Center. The purpose of the AACP Master Preceptor Recognition Program is to highlight preceptors, who are not full-time employees of a school/college of pharmacy, for their sustained commitment to excellence in experiential education and professional practice. “It’s an honor to … Read more
David Lawrence awarded millions from NIH to study light-activated therapeutics
May 19, 2021Imagine the possibility of using light to active therapeutics when treating diseases – reducing the potential harsh side effects of aggressive disease treatments used today. That’s what Professor David Lawrence, Ph.D., at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy is focused on. And a four-year $2,649,507 ROI grant from the National Institutes of Health will support his work, “Design and Application of Photoresponsive Modules in Circulating Erythrocytes.” Lawrence and a team of researchers have developed a new technology that transforms drugs into light responsive “phototherapeutics” that are transported by circulating erythrocytes (red blood cells). Phototherapeutics offer the promise of targeted delivery … Read more
Meet alumni Jai Patel, Chair of Cancer Pharmacology & Pharmacogenomics at Levine Cancer Institute
May 14, 2021In this alum spotlight, we chat with Jai Patel, Pharm.D., BCOP, CPP, (Class of ’11), Chair of Cancer Pharmacology & Pharmacogenomics at Levine Cancer Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina. Q: Describe your novel practice setting. What makes your career path unique? My current position at Levine Cancer Institute is Chair of our Department of Cancer Pharmacology & Pharmacogenomics, as well as associate professor in our division of Hematology Oncology. Originally, I was hired at Levine in 2013 as Chief of Pharmacology Research and was promoted to chair of the department in early 2020. My practice setting is a bit novel … Read more
Ph.D. candidate Samantha Ottavi selected as American Chemical Society Medicinal Chemistry fellow
May 12, 2021Ph.D. candidate Samantha Ottavi has been selected as an American Chemical Society (ACS) Division of Medicinal Chemistry fellow. Fellowships are provided to predoctoral students in their third or fourth year of graduate study engaged in medicinal chemistry research in a medicinal chemistry, pharmaceutical chemistry, biochemistry, or chemistry department listed in the current ACS Directory of Graduate Research, according to the organization’s website. Ottavi’s fellowship was sponsored by Dr. John LaMattina, Ph.D., former President of Pfizer Global Research and Development. The fellowship provides $30,000 toward research support, $1,000 for travel to present a fellow’s work at a national ACS meeting, and … Read more
Assistant professor Joshua Niznik awarded five-year grant to study deprescribing in nursing homes
May 7, 2021The National Institutes on Aging awarded Joshua Niznik, Pharm.D., Ph.D., a 5-year K08 Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award for his study, “Deprescribing Bisphosphonates in Nursing Home Residents with Dementia.” The $759,090 award will support Niznik’s study, which seeks to evaluate the risks and benefits of deprescribing versus continuing bisphosphonates (a group of medicines that slow down or prevent bone loss) in older nursing home residents with Alzheimer’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease-Related Dementias. “Deprescribing is an important and rapidly growing area of research in aging. Our study will address a critical gap in knowledge regarding the value of preventive medications in … Read more
Executive Vice Dean helps to strengthen primary care on national level
May 4, 2021UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s Mary McClurg, Pharm.D., M.H.S., was selected in 2019 to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) committee on Implementing High-Quality Primary Care. This ad hoc committee, under the auspices of the NASEM, examined the current state of primary care in the United States and developed an implementation plan to build upon the recommendations from the 1996 IOM report, “Primary Care: America’s Health in a New Era,” to strengthen primary care services in the United States, especially for underserved populations, and to inform primary care systems around the world. The National Academies of Sciences, … Read more
Sam Lai, Ph.D. promoted to professor in Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics
April 30, 2021Sam Lai Ph.D., has been promoted to full professor in the Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, effective March 25. “I am grateful for this promotion, and it is a reflection of the hard work of many outstanding students and postdocs I’ve had the privilege of working with over my past 10 years at UNC,” Lai said. “We have accomplished a great deal already, but I think the best is yet to come. I look forward to the opportunity for my team to make further impacts on improving human health.” Lai was … Read more
Alumnus Robb Malone of UNC Health, partners launch COVER NC program to create equitable COVID-19 vaccination efforts
April 28, 2021As COVID-19 vaccine administration continues throughout North Carolina, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy alumnus Robb Malone, Pharm.D., is working to ensure vaccines are equally accessible to all. In an effort to do so, Malone, Chief Operating Officer at UNC Health Alliance, along with Crystal Wiley Cené, MD, MPH System Executive Director for Health Equity, UNC Health, launched the COVID Vaccination for Equity Re-imagined for NC (COVER NC) program in January to promote equitable vaccination opportunities. “COVID-19 is taking a toll on health care organizations and patients alike,” Malone said. “COVID morbidity and mortality is the highest among vulnerable and historically … Read more
Ph.D. student Isabella Young earns prestigious National Science Foundation predoctoral fellowship
April 23, 2021The National Science Foundation recently announced Ph.D. student Isabella Young was awarded a predoctoral fellowship to further her research in bettering women’s health care around the world. Young is a student in Dr. Rahima Benhabbour’s lab, within the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics. Young’s research is centered around developing translational and long-acting multipurpose technologies for HIV prevention and contraception for women around the world. “This is a terrific reward for Isabella’s hard work and drive for success. I am extremely proud of her and I look forward to seeing her continue to grow and … Read more
Students clinch first place in 2020-21 Value of Industry Pharmacists Case Competition
April 21, 2021UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy students captured a first-place victory in this year’s Value of Industry Pharmacists Case Competition. The Value of Industry Pharmacists (VIP) Case Competition is an annual national competition hosted by the Industry Pharmacists Organization (IPhO) with more than 70 competing chapters across the country. Throughout the six-month active period of the case, more than 30 student pharmacists from the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy worked within four functional area teams to bring a theoretical drug through the drug development process from preclinical development to post-market surveillance. “This is only the third year the UNC Chapter of … Read more