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Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences News

Study points to cause of safety concerns in painkiller diclofenac

By Judith Van Dongen, originally published in the WSU Insider

Safety concerns related to the widely used painkiller diclofenac may be tied to a little-studied drug-metabolizing enzyme whose expression can vary as much as 3,000 times from one individual to the next, according to new research.

Published in the journal Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics, findings from the study could be used to develop ways to identify individuals at risk of serious side effects from diclofenac and to determine safer dosing standards for specific populations, including women, young children and people of certain ethnicities. » More ...

Real talk on the future of pharmacy jobs and pay

By Elina Schmauch, class of 2025 student pharmacist

I think every pharmacy student has asked themselves, “What the heck am I doing?”

If we aren’t fighting imposter syndrome or the fear of entering the field, we stop and think about what we want to do when we graduate pharmacy school and how it will be a reflection of the 4 years of the Doctor of Pharmacy program that we just underwent.

I am only in my second year (PY2), but I am looking ahead always—asking pharmacist how much they are making per hour at my local community pharmacy or looking into residencies and their time … » More …

Tips and Tricks for Funding Pharmacy School

By Elina Schmauch, class of 2025 student pharmacists

In my two years of pharmacy school I have learned a lot outside of the pharmacy program. A few things of note are that I learned how to set up utilities, Wi-Fi, and how to drive a U-Haul truck (not very well, I’ll admit). Most importantly, I learned how to budget and find ways to extend my student budget as far as I can. You are welcome to take my advice, modify it, or leave it, as I have no formal financial training and my lowest undergraduate grade was in Econ 101. While maybe not financially literate, … » More …

April 2023 Updates

FACULTY SCHOLARSHIP

Publications

Pharmaceutical Sciences and Molecular Medicine Graduate Student Rakshit Tanna (Paine lab), Pharmaceutical Sciences and Molecular Medicine Graduate Student James Nguyen (Paine lab, PharmD ’20)), Pharmaceutical Sciences Fiscal Analyst Deena L. Hadi, Department of Translational Medicine and Physiology Professor Matthew E. Layton, Pharmacotherapy Chair and R. Keith Campbell Distinguished Professor in Diabetes Care John White, Pharmaceutical Sciences Professor Mary F. Paine and four co-authors published, “Clinical assessment of the drug interaction potential of the psychotropic natural product kratom,” in Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, published online ahead of print in March.

Postdoctoral Research Associate Yujie Su and Associate Professor Zhenjia Wang and one co-author published, “Remote co-loading … » More …

PhD student to educate Capitol Hill lawmakers on health science research

Paul Panipinto researches rheumatology, a branch of medicine which focuses on the management of inflammation in the bones, joints, and internal organs. After receiving his bachelor’s from the University of Washington, he followed his long-time mentor Pharmaceutical Sciences Professor Salah Ahmed to Washington State University to continue their work on researching the inner workings of rheumatoid arthritis, a debilitating autoimmune disease which affects 1.3 million people in the U.S.

Panipinto was recently named a 2023 Fellow for the American Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) where he and a select group of scientists across the country will influence policy for the development of new … » More …

CBD shows promise for reducing cigarette smoking

By Sara Zaske, WSU News & Media Relations

SPOKANE, Wash. – Cannabidiol or CBD, a non-psychoactive component of cannabis, inhibits the metabolism of nicotine, new research has found, meaning it could help tobacco users curb the urge for that next cigarette.

A team led by Washington State University researchers tested the effects of CBD and its major metabolite on human liver tissue and cell samples, showing that it inhibited a key enzyme for nicotine metabolism. For the … » More …

March 2023 Updates

FACULTY SCHOLARSHIP

Publications

Pharmaceutical Sciences Postdoctoral Research Associate Dilip Singh, Pharmaceutical Sciences Associate in Research Guihua Yue, Pharmaceutical Sciences Associate Professor Bhagwat Prasad  with Pharmaceutical Sciences and Molecular Medicine Graduate Students Sheena Sharma and Deepak Ahire and three other co-authors published, “Quantitative characterization of clinically relevant drug-metabolizing enzymes and transporters in rat liver and intestinal segments for applications in PBPK modeling,” in Molecular Pharmaceutics in February 2023.

Bhagwat Prasad with Pharmaceutical Sciences and Molecular Medicine Graduate Student Sheena Sharma and one other co-author published, “B. Interplay of breast cancer resistance protein (Bcrp/Abcg2), sex, and fed state in oral pharmacokinetic variability of furosemide in rats,” in Pharmaceutics in January 2023.

… » More …

WSU program aims to address shortage of rural pharmacists, ‘the most accessible health care providers in America’

James Hanlon’s reporting for The Spokesman-Review is funded in part by Report for America and by members of the Spokane community. This story, which was first published on January 31, 2023 in the Spokesman Review, can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license.

By James Hanlon, reporter for The Spokesman-Review

A shortage of pharmacies in rural areas has made it harder for people to fill prescriptions and to access other critical services.

Roughly 450,000 adults in Washington live in what are called pharmacy deserts, according to the University of Washington. An interactive map by the telepharmacy software company TelePharm … » More …

WSU doctor of pharmacy program accredited through 2031

The Washington State University College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences has received confirmation from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) that effective February 6, 2023, the college has been successfully reaccredited for its doctor of pharmacy program through June 2031. The standard length of accreditation is 8 years (some programs may be accredited for fewer years, but never beyond 8 years).

“I’m so pleased with the overwhelmingly positive responses we received from our accreditation site visitors,” said Mark Leid, dean of the college. “I have been privileged to be a part of a total of five accreditation site visits over my 30 years in … » More …

Preserving WSU Pharmacy’s Black history

The first recorded Black student who graduated from Washington State University (or Washington State College as it was known at the time) was a Black woman named Jessie Senora Sims. She received a pharmacy degree in 1913 and was the only woman and Black student in her graduating class of six students. According to a 1914 Chinook publication, she was known to her classmates as “Sister Sims” and described herself as a “Pharmacister.”

Not much is known about Sims after she graduated from Washington State College (WSC). There were no smart phones to snap a quick photo, or social media platforms to stay in touch. … » More …