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Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences News

Army combat veteran on her journey to becoming a pharmacist

Monica Sines never imagined a career in pharmacy. As a driver in Tikrit and Mosul in Iraq, transporting Iranian, Iraqi and Pakistani workers safely to their destinations, 19-year-old Sines witnessed harrowing scenes while serving in the military.

“I saw things that people at that age should not see,” said Sines, who is now 35 and a third year at the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences pursuing her Doctor in Pharmacy.

Sines joined the military in November 2002 at age 18, just before the March 2003 invasion of Iraq. After six years of service, Sines left the military in 2008 and received her bachelor’s degree … » More …

Finding the right dosing for children

Prescribe at your own risk. That is the general feeling that most doctors get when prescribing medicine to children. Due to ethical and legal challenges, conducting clinical trials on children has proven to be a major obstacle for drug researchers. In fact, many prescription drugs rarely go through clinical trials using children. As a result, doctors only have two options in pediatric care: 1. Don’t prescribe children drugs shown to be effective in adults, or 2. Prescribe drugs off-label to children at their own risk. That’s where Dr. Bhagwat Prasad, Associate Professor in Pharmaceutical Sciences at WSU, is transforming pediatric precision medicine so that drugs … » More …

PharmD student’s career path in medication management

Derek Matlock, a specialist at the University of Arizona Medication Management Center, returned to the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (CPPS) to share insights with student pharmacists about his career path in medication management.

Since graduating CPPS in 2017, Matlock now works as a Medication Management Specialist at SinfoniaRx with the University of Arizona Medication Management Center which serves roughly 8 million Medicare patients. As a specialist, Matlock helps patients and caregivers to comprehensively manage medications to reduce the risk of an adverse drug event, overdosing or underdosing, or other important factors that might limit a patient’s adherence to a plan.

“I get to … » More …

December Updates

FACULTY SCHOLARSHIP

Publications

Pharmacotherapy Clinical Associate Professor Kimberly McKeirnan and two co-authors published, “The value and potential integration of pharmacy technician national certification into processes that help assure a competent workforce,” in the peer-reviewed journal Pharmacy in September 2019 as part of the Special Issue Pharmacy Workforce Support Personnel. Read article »

Kim McKeirnan and one co-author published, “Implementing immunizing pharmacy technicians in a federal healthcare facility,” in Pharmacy in October 2019  as part of the Special Issue Pharmacy-based Immunization Services. Read article »

Pharmacotherapy Clinical Assistant Professor Lauren Marcath and two co-authors published, “Challenges to assess substrate-dependent allelic effects in CYP450 enzymes … » More …

New technology promises improved treatment of inflammatory diseases

By Judith Van Dongen, Office of Research, WSU Health Sciences Spokane

SPOKANE, Wash. – A study led by researchers at Washington State University has uncovered a potential new treatment approach for diseases associated with inflammation, including sepsis, stroke, rheumatoid arthritis, acute lung injury, and atherosclerosis.

Published in the open-access journal Science Advances, their paper describes a novel, patent-pending technology that uses nanosized particles to transport cell-killing drugs directly to activated neutrophils, the cells that drive the exaggerated immune response involved in inflammatory diseases. They also demonstrated the technology’s feasibility at selectively killing activated neutrophils without harming other cell types or compromising the immune system.

… » More …

November Updates

FACULTY SCHOLARSHIP

Publications

Pharmaceutical Sciences Assistant Professor Zhaokang Cheng and Postdoctoral Research Associate Peng Xia with six co-authors published, “Genome-wide RNAi screen identifies regulators of cardiomyocyte necrosis,” in ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science, a peer-reviewed open-access journal from the American Chemical Society in September 2019. View abstract »

Pharmaceutical Sciences Associate in Research Christy J.W. Watson, Pharmaceutical Sciences Professor and Chair Philip Lazarus, Pharmaceutical Sciences Assistant Professor Travis T. Denton and six co-authors published, “The novel CYP2A6 inhibitor, DLCI-1, decreases nicotine self-administration in mice,” in the peer-reviewed The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics in October 2019. View abstract »

… » More …

WSU professor awarded by United States Pharmacopeia

The College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences is proud to announce that Danial E. Baker, professor of pharmacotherapy, received the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) Thomas S. Foster Award in recognition for his significant contributions to global public health. Dr. Baker is one of more than 800 experts who volunteer their time to ensuring the safety and quality standard of the nation’s formularies. » More ...

WSU to collaborate with UAE’s Gulf Medical University on education, training and research

Last month, the WSU College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (CPPS) signed a memorandum of understanding with the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Gulf Medical University (GMU) to collaborate through faculty and student exchanges. In the agreement, the two schools will have joint educational training and research activities as well as share expertise on drug information services.

“Through this exchange, I hope that students and faculty from both our universities are able to broaden their horizons on the practice of pharmacy,” said Linda Garrelts MacLean, interim dean at CPPS, who led the WSU delegation and signed the agreement with Sherief Ibrahim Khalifa, dean for College of … » More …

WSU study identifies new target for treatment of gout

Pharmaceutical Sciences researchers have identified a new therapeutic target for the treatment of gout, a common type of arthritis that causes episodes of painful and stiff joints. The research lays the foundation for the development of potential new treatment strategies that could significantly improve the quality of life of millions of people around the world who suffer from the condition. » More ...