Category: Research
Craig Lee Receives NIH Grant to Find New Inflammation Treatment
August 27, 2009Craig Lee, PharmD, PhD, an assistant professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, has received a grant from the National Institutes of Health for a study that could lead to more treatment options for inflammation. The grant, worth up to $1.55 million over five years, will fund research investigating the role of a family of enzymes called cytochromes P450 — CYP for short — in the regulation of inflammatory responses in the liver and other tissues. “Inflammation plays an integral role in the development of numerous diseases and conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, asthma, cancer, and septic shock,” says … Read more
NIH Funds Xiao’s New Approach to Treating Muscular Dystrophy
July 29, 2009Xiao Xiao, PhD, the Fred Eshelman Distinguished Professor of Gene Therapy in the Division of Molecular Pharmaceutics, has received a five-year grant worth up to $1.66 million from the National Institute of Arthritis and Muscoskeletal and Skin Diseases of the NIH to support his research into treatments for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The grant will support Xiao’s project, “Myostatin Inhibition in DMD Dogs by Gene Transfer.” Muscular dystrophies are genetic diseases characterized by progressive muscle wasting. Duchenne muscular dystrophy occurs when a genetic mutation prevents the production of dystrophin, an essential muscle protein. Without this protein, individuals with DMD experience progressive … Read more
Paine Receives Stimulus Funding for Milk Thistle Study
July 24, 2009Mary Paine, PhD, has received an NIH grant of nearly $350,000 through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, commonly known as the Economic Stimulus Package. Milk thistle extracts, made from the seeds of the plant, have been used traditionally as a treatment for liver diseases such as hepatitis and cirrhosis. A flavonoid complex called silymarin is thought to be the biologically active component. Modern studies into the plant’s effectiveness have been mixed in both their quality of design and their results. Paine is an assistant professor in the Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics. “We know a great deal about … Read more
Blalock, Injury Prevention Center Receive CDC Award
July 22, 2009Susan Blalock, PhD, is one UNC researcher who will benefit from $4.8 million in renewed funding for the UNC Injury Prevention Research Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill received from the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Blalock is an associate professor in the School’s Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy. The CDC money will support her work in preventing falls among older adults. The UNC center is one of eleven Injury Control and Research Centers addressing injury prevention in the U.S. At each ICRC, scientists from … Read more
Live Stream: MCNP Dissertation Defense: Yizhou Dong
July 10, 2009Yizhou Dong, a graduate student in the Division of Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products, will defend his dissertation on Friday, July 10, from 10:00 a.m. to noon. Dong is in the lab of Kenan Professor K. H. Lee, PhD. His dissertation is titled “Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Neo-tanshinlactone Analogues as Potent and Selective Anti-Breast Cancer Agents.” The defense will be held in Beard Hall, room 116. The defense will be streamed live on this page.
Lunch Leads to $5 Million Partnership for Lawrence
June 29, 2009After they both arrived in Chapel Hill in 2007, Nancy Allbritton, MD, PhD, asked fellow cancer researcher David Lawrence, PhD, to lunch to float the idea of a collaboration. “How could I say no? She was paying,” jokes Lawrence, a Fred Eshelman Distinguished Professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. That lunch created a research partnership dedicated to attacking breast and prostate cancer backed by a $5 million grant over five years from North Carolina’s University Cancer Research Fund. Lawrence moved to UNC from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. Allbritton came from the University of … Read more
Mumper Study: Nanocapsules Can Overcome Chemotherapy Resistance
May 21, 2009One of the most challenging situations that oncologists face is when chemotherapy fails to slow down or stop the growth of cancer. This phenomenon, called multi-drug resistance, is the result of several simultaneous biochemical processes that scientists do not fully understand. New research led by pharmaceutical scientist Russell Mumper, PhD, director of the UNC Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery and member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, uses nanotechnology to overcome multi-drug resistance. Mumper’s team used an innovative formulation of lipid nanocapsules loaded with the anticancer drugs doxorubicin or paclitaxel to destroy cancer cells both in laboratory-based experiments … Read more
Photos: Fourth Annual Chapel Hill Drug Conference
May 19, 2009The UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy hosted the Fourth Annual Chapel Hill Drug Conference on May 13-14. The conference focused on identifying the opportunities and challenges in bringing cutting-edge nanotechnology from discovery through preclinical evaluation and into human clinical studies and onward. The event was coordinated by theCenter for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery, UNC’s Institute for Nanomedicine, and The Carolina Partnership, an $18 million fund created by the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and the University Cancer Research Fund to support the School’s research centers. PHOTOS FROM THE CONFERENCE https://www.flickr.com//photos/uncpharmacy/sets/72157623277309237/show/
Photos: Dedication Ceremony for the Genetic Medicine Building
May 6, 2009The Genetic Medicine Building, which provides 75,000 square feet of laboratory space for the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, was dedicated on May 6. The GMB was completed in 2008 and is located off Mason Farm Road, just east of the Environmental Protection Agency building. It is one of the largest buildings on campus, providing about 330,000 square feet of space to researchers from the School of Pharmacy and the UNC School of Medicine. Researchers from the School of Pharmacy occupy the first and second floors. PHOTOS FROM THE DEDICATION CEREMONY https://www.flickr.com//photos/uncpharmacy/sets/72157623288731364/show/
Murray Study: Pharmacist’s Care Reduces Medication Problems, Costs for Heart Patients
April 27, 2009The patient in the heart-failure clinic had all the symptoms of digitalis toxicity from taking too much of the heart medicine digoxin. However, his dose was right and no one was sure what the problem was. This was a riddle Herb Patterson, PharmD, a professor in the Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics who treats patients in the UNC heart-failure program, had to solve. Patterson quizzed the patient on the medicines he was taking and discovered he had received two prescriptions for digoxin by different doctors: one for the generic version and one for the brand name. The patient was … Read more