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Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Research

WSU discovery could aid in battle of debilitative and deadly inflammation

By Charlie Powell, College of Veterinary Medicine

PULLMAN, Wash.—Most, if not all, infections and diseases in animals and people are met with some level of the body’s own inflammatory response.  Sometimes this inflammatory response crosses a line from being protective and useful to becoming debilitative or even deadly.

Scientists in Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceuticals Sciences (CPPS) have discovered an important step in the progression of the body’s inflammatory response that may soon lead to effective management and treatments. The team’s paper was published Monday in the prestigious journal, Nature Communications.

“Inflammation is vital for life, without it … » More …

Worldwide rare disease study led by WSU researchers

By Judith Van Dongen, WSU Spokane Office of Research

Scientists at Washington State University are leading a new study that will take them one step closer to making treatment options available to patients with a rare inherited disease.

Researchers Jean-Baptiste Roullet and Mike Gibson of the WSU College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences are conducting a natural history study of patients with succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase deficiency (SSADHD).

SSADHD is a genetic disorder that is most commonly diagnosed in young children; it disrupts the metabolism of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)—a neurotransmitter that serves to inhibit the activity of nerve cells in the brain—and causes a wide … » More …

Making radiation therapy less toxic to the heart is focus of this graduate fellowship award

SPOKANE, Wash.—Panshak Dakup, a graduate student at Washington State University in Spokane, received a Pre-doctoral Fellowship from the American Heart Association (AHA). The fellowship comes with $53,688 over two years to support his research, which he is conducting in the laboratory of Shobhan Gaddameedhi at the WSU College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (CPPS).

“We are interested in pursuing this study because heart failure is a major concern with radiation treatment that target the chest region in breast cancer patients.” Dakup said. “Fortunately, we discovered that the AHA has a way to fund graduate students with … » More …

New nanoparticles wait to release drugs, target infection

Washington State University researchers have found a new way to fight sepsis, a systemic inflammatory response that can cause organ failure.

In a research study published in the journal Advanced Materials, scientists at WSU’s College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences built a new nanoparticle and coated it with the molecules that blood vessels have been found to release in response to infections. This dressing makes the nanoparticle sensitive to the signature acidity of infection sites, and upon arrival at the site of an infection the bacterial enzymes present act as a trigger for the drugs to be released.

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Better treatments for RA the focus of this graduate fellowship award

Ruby Siegel is searching for a better way to treat rheumatoid arthritis.Ruby Seigal

According to Siegel, this painful auto-immune disease affects one percent of the population worldwide and currently there is no cure. Siegel recently received a Graduate Student Fellowship from the Rheumatology Research Foundation (RRF). The fellowship includes $1,000 to Washington State University and $3,000 directly to Siegel to fund her research.

Siegel is a Ph.D. student in the Pharmaceutical Sciences Graduate Program at the WSU College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (CPPS). … » More …

Part 3: WSU leads in expanding scientific knowledge of natural products

Welcome back to the final segment of our three-part series on the Center of Excellence for Natural Product-Drug Interaction Research (NaPDI Center). Interactions between natural products and conventional drugs are a concern because of their potential impact on drug effectiveness or toxicity.

In case you missed Parts 1 and 2: The NaPDI Center is a multidisciplinary effort involving clinical pharmacologists, natural products chemists, and health informaticists to provide leadership in the study of these complex interactions.

This effort is being led by Mary Paine, who is a pharmaceutical sciences researcher and associate professor at the Washington State University College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Read … » More …

Part 2: WSU leads in expanding scientific knowledge of natural products

In case you missed Part 1: Mary Paine is a pharmaceutical sciences researcher and associate professor at the Washington State University College of Pharmacy. She leads the Center of Excellence for Natural Product-Drug Interaction Research (NaPDI Center) in Spokane.

“Patients often seek herbal and other natural products as a ‘natural,’ and therefore perceived as ‘safe,’ means to alleviate illnesses or supplement prescribed therapeutic regimens,” Paine said. “Co-consuming natural products with conventional medications—either prescription or over-the-counter—can lead to adverse interactions.”

Funded by the National Institutes of Health National Center for Complimentary and Integrative Health, the mission of the NaPDI Center is to contribute to the scientific … » More …

WSU pharmacy faculty joins national scholars program

Julie AkersSPOKANE, Wash.—Julie Akers, Pharm.D., has been selected for the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) Foundation Faculty Scholars program.

Akers will receive a $2,500 research grant from NACDS and is currently working on a research proposal. According to the program outline, each faculty scholar will design and implement a patient-focused research project conducted in a community pharmacy setting during the next year.

“Community pharmacy patient-care focused research will lead to better access to care and health outcomes for our patients, which is always my primary focus,” Akers said.

Akers is a clinical assistant professor in … » More …

Richard Okita to present 2018 Allen I. White Lecture March 13

SPOKANE, Wash.—Richard Okita, Ph.D., a program director with the National Institutes of Health National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), will present the 2018 Allen I. White Lecture at noon on Tuesday, March 13, in the Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences Building Walgreens Auditorium on the WSU Spokane campus.

The lecture titled, “Navigating your life in the biomedical sciences: one person’s perspective,” is hosted by the Washington State University College of Pharmacy in Spokane to provide an opportunity to discuss the scientific, social or political aspects of pharmacy or related matters.

The lecture is open to the public. People planning to attend are asked to click … » More …

WSU pharmacy faculty joins research scholars program

kimberly mckeirnanKimberly McKeirnan, clinical assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacotherapy at WSU, has been selected for the Translational Research Scholars Program (TRSP) through the Institute of Translational Health Sciences.

The institute is a program funded through the National Institutes of Health and is administrated through the University of Washington. TRSP provides early-stage faculty investigators with targeted and structured translational science career development. The program includes research funding up to $10,000, mentoring, peer-to-peer networking, and grant review services.

McKeirnan will be using the grant to develop ways to use smart phone technology to improve patient medication adherence.

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