This Week@WesternU, Jan. 4-8, 2016
From the College of Pharmacy:
Kudos on accomplishments
Jeffrey Wang, PhD, received a $30,000 gift from Saratoga, California-based Eureka BioVenture Partners, LLC. This gift is to support Dr. Wang’s research in the development of silkworms as innovative in vivo models for drug discovery studies. Eureka BioVenture Partners, LLC recognizes Dr. Wang’s research as an important alternative to vertebrate animal tests.
Kabir Lutfy, PhD, and his collaborator, Dr. Nurulain T. Zaveri of Astraea Therapeutics, LLC, received funding on their NIH/NIAAA SBIR Phase II grant titled, “Development of Nociceptin Receptor Agonists for Alcohol Use Disorders.” Dr. Zaveri is the principal investigator for the in vitro aspect of the project and Dr. Lutfy is the principal investigator for the in vivo aspect of the project. The goal of the SBIR Phase II grant is to develop novel NOP agonists and test their efficacy in animal models of alcohol reward and reinforcement. Dr. Lutfy received a two-year subcontract in the amount of $276,714.
Zubair Karim, PhD, Research Assistant Professor in Dr. Fadi Khasawneh’s lab, received $308,000 in funding for his American Heart Association’s Scientist Development Grant titled “Role of IKK and Proteasome in Platelet Function.” The goal of the grant is to understand how platelets are activated in order to ultimately identify new therapeutic targets for managing cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and strokes. The research project focuses on defining the role of two proteins, IKK and PSMC1, to purpose them as new antithrombotic drug targets.
Sunil Prabhu, Eunice Chung, Quang A. Le, Megan Nguyen and Daniel Robinson published the following: “Process and Performance Outcomes of a Nontraditional Postbaccalaureate PharmD Program Geared Toward Internationally Trained Pharmacists.” AJPE 2015; 79(8), Article 113. http://www.ajpe.org/doi/pdf/10.5688/ajpe798113. This publication is based on a comparative analysis of our traditional PharmD and IPBP programs.
Dr. Megan Nguyen recently presented her work that included her former AE student, Jina Jung, Class of 2013. Eells SJ, Nguyen MH, Jung J, Macias-Gil R, May L, Miller LG. Examining the Relationship Between Adherence to Oral Antibiotics and Post-Discharge Clinical Outcomes among Patients Hospitalized with Staphylococcus aureus Skin Infections. Abstract 1541. ID Week, San Diego, CA, October 7-11, 2015.
At the recently held American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP), in NOLA, Dr. Patrick Chan presented the following posters with our students:
Ng R, Dinh N, Richman M, Chan P. Evaluation of antipsychotic use on alcohol-related readmissions in schizophrenic patients with comorbid alcohol use disorders. Robert Ng and Nee Dinh are students.
Shin J, Hyun D, Richman M, Chan P. Do antidepressants reduce substance abuse readmissions in patients suffering from depression and substance abuse? Dr. Janet Shin and Dr. Diana Hyun are alumni and Dr. Hyun is a resident with Dr. Janice Hoffman.
Dr. Emmanuelle Schwartzman participated in the residency showcase along with Dr. Hata, Dr. Chan, Dr. Edwards, Dr. Shah, Dr. Bibayan, Dr. Hyun, and Dr. Mansky, recruiting for five PGY1 positions and one Fellowship position.
Dr. Cynthia Jackevicius served on the Planning Committee for the ASHP Midyear Satellite Symposium, “30th Pharmacy Invitational Conference on Antithrombotic Therapy (PICAT).” She also spoke about “Shared Decision Making for Stroke Prevention in Atrial Fibrillation.”
From the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific:
Kudos on accomplishments
Assistant Professor Brian Loveless, DO ’02, recently completed his NMM/OMM residency at Chino Valley Medical Center (CVMC). The program was started in 2014 as a partnership between CVMC DME James Lally, DO’ 91, and Program Director Jesus Sanchez, DO ’04, and Dr. Loveless was the first resident to complete the program and pass the AOBNMM board exam.
From the College of Veterinary Medicine:
Kudos on accomplishments
Dr. Curtis Eng is a contributor to a recent article published in PLOS One. The article, “Seroepidemiologic Survey of Potential Pathogens in Obligate and Facultative Scavenging Avian Species in California” can be accessed at: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0143018. The authors are Mary H. Straub, Terra R. Kelly, Bruce A. Rideout, Curtis Eng, Janna Wynne, Josephine Braun, Christine K. Johnson.
