September 2019 Updates

Faculty Scholarship

Publications

Pharmacotherapy Clinical Assistant Professor Cheyenne Newsome and five co-authors published, “A cross-sectional survey evaluating transgender-related care education in United States pharmacy school curricula,” in Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning in August 2019. Read article

J. Roberts and Marcia Fosberg Distinguished Professor Danial Baker published, “Drug evaluation – midazolam nasal spray (Nayzilam)” in Wolters Kluwer Health’s The Formulary Monograph Service (FMS) in August 2019. Wolters Kluwer Health is a drug and health information publisher, the FMS is a resource used in the formulary decision making process for hospitals and managed care systems on recently released and investigational drugs.

Danial Baker and Pharmacotherapy Research Associate Jesse Dinh published, “Drug evaluation – mannitol inhalation powder (Bronchitol): preliminary evaluation,” in the FMS in August 2019.

Danial Baker published, “Drug evaluation – alpelisib (Piqray),” in the FMS in August 2019.

Danial Baker, Pharmacotherapy Clinical Professor Terri Levien and co-authors published, “Drug evaluation – fosfomycin IV (Contepo): preliminary evaluation,” in the FMS in August 2019.

Danial Baker, Terri Levien and co-authors published, “Drug evaluation – erdafitinib (Balversa),” in the FMS in August 2019.

The August 2019 issue of the radiation safety journal, Health Physics, was dedicated to a special issue on USTUR research:
  • Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Professor and U.S. Transuranium and Uranium Registries (USTUR) Director Sergei Y. Tolmachev and one co-author published, “The United States Transuranium and Uranium Registries (USTUR): A five-decade follow-up of plutonium and uranium workers.”
  • Sergei Tolmachev and three co-authors published, “The importance and quantification of plutonium binding in human lungs.”
  • Sergei Tolmachev, USTUR Associate in Research Stacey L. McComish and four co-authors published, “The pseudo-pelger huët cell as a retrospective dosimeter: analysis of a radium dial painter cohort.”
  • USTUR Assistant Research Professor Maia Avtandilashvili and Sergei Tolmachev published, “Modeling the skeleton weight of an adult Caucasian man.”
  • Maia Avtandilashvili, Sergei Tolmachev and one co-author published, “Evaluating plutonium intake and radiation dose following extensive chelation treatment.”
  • Maia Avtandilashvili, Stacey McComish, Sergei Tolmachev and one co-author published, “USTUR Case 0846: Modeling americium biokinetics after intensive decorporation therapy.”
  • USTUR Assistant Research Professor George Tabatadze, Sergei Tolmachev and one co-author published, “Mapping 241Am spatial distribution within anatomical bone structures using digital autoradiography. Health Physics 117, 179-186.
  • Stacey McComish, Sergei Tolmachev and one co-author published, “A Monte Carlo t-test to evaluate mesothelioma and radiation in the U.S. Transuranium and Uranium Registries.”
  • Sergei Tolmachev and five co-authors published, “Measurements and Monte Carlo simulations of 241Am activities in three skull phantoms: EURADOS-USTUR Collaboration.”
  • Sergei Tolmachev, Maia Avtandilashvili and one co-author published, “Estimation of total skeletal content of plutonium and 241Am from analysis of a single bone.”

Presentations

Pharmacotherapy Clinical Assistant Professor Anne P. Kim, Allen I. White Distinguished Associate Professor Joshua J. Neumiller and co-presenters presented, “Impact of class attendance on exam performance in an active-learning classroom model,” for Pharmacy Education 2019 – Annual meeting of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) in Chicago, Illinois on July 13-17, 2019.

Josh Neumiller and one co-presenter presented, “Medications update: new treatment recommendations and emerging therapies,” for the 2019 Annual Meeting of the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE19) in Houston, Texas on August 12, 2019.

Clinical Assistant Professor Jeffrey Clark hosted the nationwide webinar, “Identify problems related to medication adherence in patients receiving home healthcare,” for the Visiting Nurses Association of American and ElevatingHOME on August 20, 2019. The webinar focused on sharing an assessment tool our team developed for home healthcare clinicians and published in 2017. The webinar had 125 attendees live and 250 registrations for online attendance.

Pharmaceutical Sciences Associate Research Professor and U.S. Transuranium and Uranium Registries (USTUR) Director Sergei Y. Tolmachev, USTUR Assistant Research Professor Maia Avtandilashvili and co-authors presented, “Case studies in brain dosimetry for internally deposited radionuclides,” at the 64 Annual Meeting of the Health Physics Society in Orlando, Florida, July 7-11, 2019.

USTUR Associate in Research Stacey L. McComish, Sergei Tolmachev and co-authors presented, “Limitations of cause of death data among autopsied population in the United States transuranium and uranium registries,” at the 64 Annual Meeting of the Health Physics Society.

Maia Avtandilashvili and Sergei Tolmachev presented, “Macrodistribution of plutonium among dosimetric compartments of the human respiratory tract,” at the 64 Annual Meeting of the Health Physics Society.

USTUR Adjunct Professor Daniel J. Strom, Maia Avtandilashvili, Stacey McComish, USTUR Assistant Research Professor George Tabatadze, Sergei Tolmachev, and co-author presented, “Cylindrical representations of recycling biokinetic models,” at the 64 Annual Meeting of the Health Physics Society.

Pharmaceutical Sciences Professor Mary Paine presented “Translational approaches to assess pharmacokinetic herb-drug interactions,” during the inaugural HERO (Hepatic and Enteric Research Organizations) workshop at the 12 International ISSX (International Society for the Study of Xenobiotics) Meeting in Portland, Oregon on July 29, 2019.

Mary Paine presented “Natural product-drug interactions: cultivating best practices,” at the Linus Pauling Institute’s International Conference on Bioactives, Botanicals, and Redox Mechanisms at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon on August 14, 2019.

Service

Danial Baker was awarded the National Ski Patrol (NSP) Pacific Northwest Division’s Outstanding Alpine Patroller award for the 2018-2019 season on August 10, 2019 in Eugene, Oregon at their annual convention. The National Ski Patrol was founded in 1938. The Pacific Northwest Division includes 40 ski patrols from Washington, Idaho, and Oregon.  Dr. Baker has been a member of the NSP and the 49 Degrees North Ski Patrol for 26 years

Three Pharmacotherapy faculty/student or faculty/fellow pairs were recipients of the AACP Walmart Scholars program.

  • Pharmacotherapy Research Associate (Yakima) Emily C. Darst, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Eshelman School of Pharmacy with faculty mentor Pharmacotherapy Clinical Assistant Professor (Yakima) Damianne Brand-Eubanks.
  • Pharmacotherapy Academic Fellow (Yakima) Micah E. Miller, the University of Montana Skaggs School of Pharmacy with faculty mentor Pharmacotherapy Clinical Assistant Professor (Yakima) Christina Buchman.
  • Brandy R. Seignemartin, Pharm.D. class of 2020, Washington State University College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences with faculty mentor Pharmacotherapy Clinical Assistant Professor Jennifer C. Miller.

Pharmacotherapy Clinical Professor Jean-Baptiste Roullet successfully completed a patent for the compositions and methods for treatment of neurological symptoms associated with alcohol-withdrawal and for convulsive seizure. This patent was a 15-year project, that was adapted and finalized through WSU and Dr. Jean-Baptiste Roullet.

Director of Graduate Studies and Pharmaceutical Sciences Clinical Associate Professor Sue Marsh was an invited participant in the first annual Leadership Summit for the American Physiological Society in Leesburg, Virginia, on April 22-23, 2019.

Awards

Pharmaceutical Sciences Postdoctoral Research Associate Tyler Bland (Wu lab) received the first-place award in the oral presentation category at the 2019 Washington State University College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Day.

Grants

Tyler Bland and Pharmaceutical Sciences Assistant Professor Boyang (Jason) Wu received $30,000 from the Washington Research Foundation for a research project titled, “Repurposing anti-muscarinic drugs for lethal chemoresistant prostate cancer.”

Pharmaceutical Sciences Clinical Assistant Professor Connie Remsberg received a grant as a co-investigator with other faculty from the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine and the College of Nursing in the amount of $1,929,121 over five years from the Heath Resources and Services Administration for the project, “Rethinking education on substance use through inter-professional education and rural community training (RESPECT).”

Jean-Baptiste Roullet received a subaward under an EWU NIH grant in the amount of $80,050 over three years for the project, “Targeting the GABA-modulator microbiota against the progression of CNS inflammatory demyelination.”

Student Achievement

Pharmaceutical Sciences (Ph.D.) Students

Ana Vergara (left) with meeting chair John Herrelson

Ana Vergara (pharmaceutical sciences, Lazarus lab) received a $500 travel grant to attend the AAPS Rocky Mountain Discussion Group in July 26-27 in Hillsboro, Ore. This award is possible through the Bracken Family Graduate Fellowship, which was established in 1995 to support cancer prevention research at the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Ana Vergara gave the oral presentation, “Glycosylation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by UDP-glycosyltransferase 3A2 (UGT3A2) and in tobacco-target tissues,” at the AAPS Rocky Mountain Discussion Group in July, 2019, in Hillsboro, Oregon.

Ana Vergara received second place for the best poster presentation at the AAPS Rocky Mountain Discussion Group.

Rakshit Tanna (pharmaceutical sciences, Paine lab) presented a poster, “The natural product kratom is a potential precipitant of pharmacokinetic interactions with common drugs of abuse,” at the 12 International ISSX (International Society for the Study of Xenobiotics) Meeting in Portland, Oregon on July 29, 2019. [WSU co-authors: James Nguyen, Mary Paine]

James Nguyen (pharmaceutical sciences, Paine lab) presented a poster, “Assessing the predictive performance of in silico generated binding parameters for various natural product constituents,” at the 12 International ISSX (International Society for the Study of Xenobiotics) Meeting, Portland, Oregon on July 30, 2019. [WSU co-authors: Rakshit Tanna, Mary Paine]

Ruby Siegel (pharmaceutical sciences, Ahmed lab) received a fellowship from NIH in the amount of $72,522 over two years for the project, “Elucidating the role of sulfatase-2 in RA pathogenesis.”

Sara Dumit (pharmaceutical sciences, Tolmachev lab) with faculty co-authors Maia Avtandilashvili and Sergei Tolmachev published, “Evaluating plutonium intake and radiation dose following extensive chelation treatment,” in the radiation safety journal Health Physics in August 2019.

Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) Students

Ashley Ta with faculty co-presenters Anne P. Kim, Joshua J. Neumiller and others presented, “Impact of class attendance on exam performance in an active-learning classroom model,” for Pharmacy Education 2019 – Annual meeting of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) in Chicago, Illinois.