BJOERN
BAUER, PH.D |
University
of Minnesota College of Pharmacy |
Faculty
Position: |
Assistant
Professor, Pharmacology/Toxicology |
Project
Title: |
“Targeting
cPLA2 to Overcome P-glycoprotein-mediated Drug-resistant Epilepsy” |
Project
Description: |
More
than 20 million epileptic patients worldwide suffer from uncontrolled
seizures because they do not respond to treatment with anti-epileptic
drugs. This drug resistance is in part due to over-expression
of the drug efflux transporter, P-glycoprotein, at the blood-brain
barrier. The research project proposes to study the regulation
of P-glycoprotein in drug-resistant epilepsy. It is anticipated
the gained knowledge can be exploited to increase brain uptake
of anti-epileptic drugs resulting in reduced seizure occurrence.
Thus, we expect this knowledge will help improve pharmacotherapy
of drug-resistant epilepsy. |
AFPE
Award: |
Ortho-McNeil
Janssen Scientific Affairs - AFPE - AACP Pharmacy Faculty New
Investigator Grant |
JANELLE
S. CROSSGROVE, PH.D. |
Ohio
Northern University Raabe College of Pharmacy |
Faculty
Position: |
Assistant
Professor, Toxicology |
Project
Title: |
“Sex
Differences in Beta-Amyloid Removal at the Blood-CSF Barrier” |
Project
Description: |
This
project examines a putative biological mechanism to explain why
postmenopausal women have an increased risk for Alzheimer’s
disease compared to men in the same age range. We hypothesize
that estrogen enhances the rate at which the toxic amyloid peptides
are pumped across the brain’s protective barriers and out
of the brain. This research project tests that hypothesis by determining
how quickly amyloid is moved across the brain barriers of young
adult, healthy male and female rats. We expect the rate will be
faster for females because their higher level of estrogen will
increase the mechanisms for moving amyloid out of the brain. |
AFPE
Award: |
Wyeth
- AFPE - AACP Pharmacy Faculty New Investigator Grant
|
RADHIKA
DEVRAJ, PH.D. |
Southern
Illinois University, Edwardsville School of Pharmacy |
Faculty
Position: |
Assistant Professor, Social & Administrative Sciences |
Project
Title: |
“Pharmacists’
Understanding of Health Literacy” |
Project
Description: |
Improving
health literacy is one of the goals of Healthy People 2010, the
US government initiative for improving the health of the US population.
Low health literacy is associated with poor health outcomes and
medication adherence. The purpose of the research project is to
determine Illinois pharmacists’ awareness (knowledge and
attitudes), and the barriers related to health literacy and to
use this information to make targeted recommendations to incorporate
health literacy into patient-pharmacist interactions. The goals
of the project are: 1) to determine Illinois pharmacists’
awareness and attitudes about health literacy, 2) to understand
the extent to which methods are used to tailor pharmacist-patient
interaction with respect to health literacy, 3) to determine barriers
that Illinois pharmacists’ face with respect to addressing
low health literacy, and 4) to make targeted recommendations to
assist pharmacists in incorporating health literacy into their
patient care responsibilities. |
AFPE
Award: |
Bayer
HealthCare - AFPE - AACP Pharmacy Faculty New Investigator Grant |
ELVIN
A. HERNANDEZ, DrPH, MPH, CHES |
Loma
Linda University School of Pharmacy |
Faculty
Position: |
Assistant
Professor, Social & Administrative Sciences |
Project
Title: |
“The
Role of Patient-Pharmacist Communication regarding Health Disparities:
Attitudes and Perceptions of Minority Patients in Clinical Settings” |
Project
Description: |
We
will examine communication factors between pharmacists and their
patients and how they influence health outcomes and health disparities
among minority populations. We will use Interpersonal Processes
of Care (IPC) measurements to identify communication factors between
pharmacists and their minority patients. This project is the second
year of a two-year study in which we disseminate and analyze the
results from a self-administered questionnaire that utilizes IPC
measures to examine patient-pharmacist communication. The first
study phase consists of focus group interviews that will be funded
in-kind by Loma Linda University School of Pharmacy, Department
of Pharmacotherapy and Outcomes Science. Our survey instrument
will be administered to a diverse ethnic population using internal
medicine and ambulatory care clinics in San Bernardino County.
Our results will lay the foundation for patient-pharmacist communication
research among minority populations. |
AFPE
Award: |
Bayer
HealthCare - AFPE - AACP Pharmacy Faculty New Investigator Grant |
ERIN
R. HOLMES, PH.D. |
University
of Mississippi School of Pharmacy |
Faculty
Position: |
Assistant
Professor, Pharmacy Administration |
Project
Title: |
“Community
Pharmacy Technicians’ Emotional Labor and Resultant Work
Life Outcomes” |
Project
Description: |
A
self-administered questionnaire will be fielded to a sample of
community pharmacy technicians to determine if they experience
emotional labor, defined as the process of regulating felt or
expressed emotions for organizational goals. A series of hypothesis
will be tested with hierarchical and moderated multiple regression
to determine if their emotional labor is predicted by perceived
role overload, if their emotional labor is related to their job
satisfaction and job turnover intentions, and if these latter
relationships are moderated by perceived organizational support. |
AFPE
Award: |
AFPE
21st Century Club Alumni & Friends - AACP Pharmacy Faculty
New Investigator Grant |
TIMOTHY
E. LONG, PH.D. |
University
of Georgia College of Pharmacy |
Faculty
Position: |
Assistant
Professor |
Project
Title: |
“Novel
ß-Lactam Antibiotics for Resistant Bacteria” |
Project
Description: |
These
investigations focus on a novel class ß-lactam antibiotic
called oxamazins which could be beneficial in the treatment of
resistant bacteria infections. During the course of this research,
the oxamazins will be synthesized and tested for bioactivity in
bacteria that include methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
(MRSA). |
AFPE
Award: |
Burroughs
Wellcome Fund Endowed - AFPE - AACP Pharmacy Faculty New Investigator
Grant |
TAREK
M. MAHFOUZ, PH.D. |
Ohio
Northern University Raabe College of Pharmacy |
Faculty
Position: |
Assistant
Professor, Pharmaceutical Chemistry |
Project
Title: |
“Structure
–Based Design of Broad-Spectrum Glutamate Racemase Inhibitors” |
Project
Description: |
The
continuing emergence of antibiotic resistant strains of pathogenic
bacteria represents an increasing public health problem. One way
to combat this problem is to develop new antibacterial agents
with less resistance potential. Peptidoglycan is an essential
cell wall component in both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria.
Inhibition of the enzyme glutamate racemase is lethal to bacterial
because this enzyme catalyses the interconversion of L-glutamate
and D-glutamate making available D-glutamate, which is essential
for peptidoglycan biosynthesis. Since glutamate racemase is a
new target in the peptidoglycan biosynthetic pathway, its inhibitors
will be less susceptible to resistance than the currently available
antibiotics. The goal of this research is to develop inhibitors
of the enzyme glutamate racemase using computer-aided rational
drug design techniques. These inhibitors will represent a new
class of antibiotics. |
AFPE
Award: |
AFPE
21st Century Club - AACP Pharmacy Faculty New Investigator Grant |
BRIAN
F. McBRIDE, PHARM.D. |
Midwestern University Chicago College of Pharmacy |
Faculty
Position: |
Assistant
Professor, Pharmacy |
Project
Title: |
“The
pharmacodynamic influence of MDR1 and OCTN1 drug transporters
on antiarrhythmic drugs” |
Project
Description: |
Interpatient
variability is an accepted consequence of human drug administration.
A key determinant of the magnitude of any drug effect in patients
in the drug concentration achieved at the molecular effector site,
and so variable drug metabolism is one well-recognized determinant
of variable drug action in patients. More recently, delivery of
drug to and removal from intracellular molecular effector sides
by xenobiotic transporters has become increasingly well recognized
as a modulator of intracellular drug concentration. Voltage gated
ion channels (including calcium, potassium, and sodium channels)
represent a class of molecular targets where the site of drug
action has been identified at the intracellular face of the pore
region. Accordingly, I propose that modulation of intracellular
drug concentration by drug transport molecules is a key modulator
of patient response to drugs that block cardiac ion channels.
This project will determine if mammalian cell lines are equivalent
to HL-1 myocytes to assess drug interactions mediated by xenobiotic
transporters. This important project will contribute to my long
term goal of developing a high-throughput system to assess transporter
mediated drug failure and interactions observed in the clinic. |
AFPE
Award: |
sanofi-aventis
- AFPE - AACP Pharmacy Faculty New Investigator Grant |
NADER
H. MONIRI, PH.D. |
Mercer
University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences |
Faculty
Position: |
Assistant Professor, Medicinal/Pharmaceutical Chemistry |
Project
Title: |
“Uncovering
the molecular mechanisms behind ß2-adrenergic receptor mediated
generation of reactive oxygen species” |
Project
Description: |
We
have recently shown that agonist stimulation of the beta-2-adrenergic
receptor (ß2AR) facilitates the generation of intracellular
reactive oxygen species (ROS). Importantly, our results demonstrate
that ROS generation is a critical component of ß2AR signal
transduction, in that if ROS generation in inhibited, ß2AR-mediated
signaling is significantly abrogated. These data suggest that
ß2AR-mediated ROS generation is required to stabilize the
receptor in a manner that allows for proper signal transduction.
The goal of this project is to begin to characterize the mechanisms
whereby intracellular ROS are formed upon stimulation of ß2AR.
Here, we will utilize RAN interference techniques to knock-down
endogenous oxidant-generating proteins and their partners to allow
us to elucidate the source of ROS which follows ß2AR agonism. |
AFPE
Award: |
Pfizer
Inc. - AFPE - AACP Pharmacy Faculty New Investigator Grant |
CATHERINE
C. MOORE, PH.D. |
University
of the Sciences in Philadelphia College of Pharmacy |
Faculty
Position: |
Assistant
Professor, Pharmacology/Toxicology |
Project
Title: |
“GPCR
Regulation in Metastatic Cancer Cells” |
Project
Description: |
The
proposed research focused on the G protein-coupled receptor CXCR4.
Aberrant expression of CXCR4 in tumor cells plays a critical role
during metastasis, the major cause of mortality in cancer patients.
This has led to the vigorous pursuit of cellular factors that
regulate CXCR4 which may serve as novel cancer therapeutic targets.
Our current research has led to the novel finding that CXCR4 trafficking
and signaling are regulated by ARF6, a monomeric G protein of
the Ras superfamily. The proposed research will specifically assess
the hypothesis that ARF6 regulates CXCR4 function in metastatic
breast cancer cells by supporting CXCR4-mediated cell migration
and invasion. This research will advance the establishment of
ARF6 as a viable breast cancer therapeutic target, and has broad
implications to the vast number of cancers shown to have aberrant
acquisition of functional CXCR4 receptors. |
AFPE
Award: |
sanofi
aventis - AFPE - AACP Pharmacy Faculty New Investigator Grant |
SHAFIQUR
RAHMAN , PH.D. |
South
Dakota State University College of Pharmacy |
Faculty
Position: |
Assistant
Professor |
Project
Title: |
“Development
of Lobeline to Treat Alcoholism”
|
Project
Description: |
Alcoholism
is a chronic and progressive neurological disease that affects
millions of people in the USA. Currently, there is no therapeutic
intervention that is fully satisfactory in preventing relapse
and sustaining abstinence. Previous evidence suggests that neuronal
nicotinic acetylcholine receptor proteins in the brain reward
system control the development of both alcohol and nicotine dependence.
Lobeline, a plant derived alkaloid and putative brain nicotinic
receptor ligand, has received little attention despite evidence
that it might play significant role to treat alcoholism. The focus
and overall objectives of this proposal are to evaluate the ability
of lobeline to reduce voluntary alcohol drinking using a preclinical
model of dependence and examine brain mechanisms that may underlie
motivation to alcohol drinking in dependent compared to non-dependent
models. |
AFPE
Award: |
Burroughs
Wellcome Fund Endowed - AFPE - AACP Pharmacy Faculty New Investigator
Grant
|
WARREN
E. ROSE, PHARM.D. |
University
of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy |
Faculty
Position: |
Assistant
Professor |
Project
Title: |
“Impact
of Dendrimers on Antibiotic Activity in Multi-drug Resistant Staphylococcus
Aureus” |
Project
Description: |
Dendrimers
have been evaluated for biomedical applications, but few studies
have characterized the antimicrobial activity of PAMAM dendrimers
and their application with clinically utilized antimicrobial agents.
The objective of this project if to determine the in vitro antimicrobial
activity of dendrimer-antimicrobial complexes. This objective
will be accomplished by pursuing two specific aims that evaluate
the impact of dendrimers on vancomycin, gentamicin, and rifampin
activity alone and in combination against planktonic and biofilm
bacteria. This is significant since dendrimers may be important
compounds in increasing antibiotic efficacy and reducing drug
resistance. |
AFPE
Award: |
Pfizer
Inc. - AFPE - AACP Pharmacy Faculty New Investigator Grant
|
CHALET
TAN , PH.D. |
Mercer
University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences |
Faculty
Position: |
Assistant
Professor, Pharmaceutics |
Project
Title: |
“Micellar
nanocarriers for targeted cancer therapy” |
Project
Description: |
17-AAG
is a potent HSP90 inhibitor that is currently undergoing clinical
trials in patients with advanced cancers. Due to low water solubility,
17-AAG is formulated in DMSO-containing intravenous solution which
causes serious toxic effects. We propose herein a novel drug delivery
system for 17-AAG using biocompatible/biodegradable polymeric
micelles. We hypothesize that 17-AAG incorporating micelles will
enhance targeted drug delivery to tumor cells, reduce the drug
exposed to normal tissues, and improve anticancer affect of 17-AAG.
We plan to prepare and characterize 17-AAG loaded micelles, study
their effects on the proliferation and signaling transduction
in cancer cells, and evaluate the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics
of these micelles in tumor-bearing mice. |
AFPE
Award: |
AFPE
21st Century Club - AFPE - AACP Pharmacy Faculty New Investigator
Grant
|
ERICA
L. WOODAHL, PH.D. |
University
of Montana Skaggs School of Pharmacy |
Faculty
Position: |
Assistant
Professor, Pharmacologys |
Project
Title: |
“Pharmacogenomics
in ABCB1 and the Susceptibility to Parkinson’s Disease” |
Project
Description: |
The
ABCB1 gene encodes for the drug transporter P-glycoprotein (P-gp),
which plays a major role in the pharmacokinetic disposition of
many drugs and also may be important in disease susceptibility,
including Parkinson’s disease. Exposure to neurotoxins is
a risk for Parkinson’s disease. We propose to investigate
whether P-gp transport mediates neurotoxin distribution into the
brain and whether genetic variability in ABCB1, or pharmacogenomics,
alters P-go transport of their neurotoxinse. |
AFPE
Award: |
AFPE
21st Century Club - AFPE - AACP Pharmacy Faculty New Investigator
Grant
|
YOON
YEO, PH.D. |
Purdue
University School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences |
Faculty
Position: |
Assistant
Professor |
Project
Title: |
“Leukocyte-mimetic
Nanoparticle Engineering for Tumor-Targeted Drug Delivery” |
Project
Description: |
For
safe and effective chemotherapy, I propose a new nanoparticulate
drug carrier system, which will better interact with the peri-tumoral
endothelium and actively extravasate at the tumor sites. The surface
of PEGylated nanoparticulate carriers will be grafted with a mimetic
of sialyl-Lewis-s (sLe), quinic acid derivative. The binging affinity
and selectivity of the nanoparticles will be evaluated using the
rotating disk system. I expect that the proposed system will provide
tumor-selective biodistribution of anti-cancer drugs, thereby
clinically improving the safety and effectiveness of chemotherapy. |
AFPE
Award: |
AstraZeneca
Pharmaceuticals - AFPE - AACP Pharmacy Faculty New Investigator
Grant
|
