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GRADUATE STUDENT HANDBOOK

Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences


THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE, COLLEGE OF PHARMACY
Memphis, Tennessee

INTRODUCTION
CONGRATULATIONS on your decision to pursue a career in the pharmaceutical sciences! We are very
pleased that you are considering graduate studies at The University of Tennessee Health Science Center
in Memphis. The purpose of this brochure is to provide you with information about the Department of
Pharmaceutical Sciences. The brochure should tell you about some of the more important issues
affecting your decision: academic opportunities, the faculty, research interests, and living in Memphis.
You are cordially invited to arrange a visit to see our facilities and meet some of the faculty and
students.

MESSAGE FROM
THE ASSOCIATE DEAN RESEARCH AND GRADUATE PROGRAMS
We are very pleased that you are considering graduate studies in the
pharmaceutical sciences and honored that you are thinking about pursuing
those studies at The University of Tennessee.
The Department of
Pharmaceutical Sciences is composed of three divisions, Medicinal Chemistry,
Pharmaceutics, and Health Outcomes and Policy Research. For further
information on the Health Outcomes and Policy Research Program click on the
following link:
http://www.uthsc.edu/pharmacy/pharmsci/hopr/

Almost any avenue of study and research is available to you in these


disciplines. In the Department we have a very diverse faculty dedicated to
excellence in teaching, research, and public service. Our College of Pharmacy has consistently been
ranked among the top schools in the nation.
As a graduate of our program, you have the ability to enter many different arenas: academia, industrial
research, government service, and management, to name only a few. We believe our graduates are
eminently qualified for whatever position they choose.
I am pleased to provide this information about our program. Please let us know how we may help you
make your decision about graduate studies at The University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy. If you
have any questions, please dont hesitate to ask any of the faculty members or myself. We look forward
to meeting with you to discuss our excellent program.
BERND MEIBOHM, PHD
Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences
Associate Dean, Graduate and Research Program
5P Crowe
Memphis, TN 38163
901.448.1206

bmeibohm@uthsc.edu

ENDOWED PROFESSORS
DUANE D. MILLER, PH.D.
HARRIETT S. VAN VLEET PROFESSOR OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES
A native of Larned, Kansas, Dr. Miller earned his Bachelor of Science
degree in Pharmacy in 1966 from the University of Kansas and his
Doctor of Philosophy degree in Medicinal Chemistry in 1969 from the
University of Washington. He became a faculty member at Ohio State
University in 1969. After eleven years, he was promoted to full
professor, and, from 1983 to 1992, he served as chairman of the
Department of Medicinal Chemistry at Ohio State. He was named Van
Vleet Professor at the UT College of Pharmacy in 1992. Dr. Millers
research is focused on the relationship between chemical structure and biological activity of drug
molecules, specifically working with drugs that affect the central and peripheral nervous systems. He
was one of the co-discoverers of the new class of nonsteroidal selective androgen receptor modulators
(SARMs). He is also interested in drugs that can be used to treat and prevent complications arising from
diabetes and cancer. He is the author of over 200 articles, book chapters, and review articles. He holds
many U.S. patents and has directed many graduate students and postdoctorals.

David Rogers, PHARM.D. Ph.D.


FIRST TENNESSEE CHAIR OF EXCELLENCE IN PEDIATRICS
Dr. David Rogers is Associate Dean for Translational Research for the
College of Pharmacy, and Professor and Vice Chair for Research for the
Department of Clinical Pharmacy at the University of Tennessee College
of Pharmacy. He holds joint appointments in the Department of
Pharmaceutical Sciences in the College of Pharmacy, as well as the
Departments of Molecular Sciences and Pediatrics in the College of
Medicine. Dr. Rogers completed his undergraduate work at the
University of Memphis, received the Doctor of Pharmacy degree from
the University of Tennessee, and the Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in
Microbiology from the University of Mississippi. He completed an ASHP-accredited Residency in
Pharmacy Practice at the Regional Medical Center at Memphis, as well as an ASHP-accredited Residency
in Infectious Diseases Pharmacy Practice and Fellowship in Infectious Diseases Pharmacotherapy at the
University of Mississippi Medical Center. Dr. Rogers is an elected Fellow of the American College of
Clinical Pharmacy. He is the recipient of the 2002 Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists Young
Investigator Award, the 2004 Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists Impact Paper in Infectious
Diseases Pharmacotherapy Award, and the 2004 American College of Clinical Pharmacy Young
Investigator Award. The objective of Dr. Rogers research program is to identify ways to improve
currently available antifungal drugs as well as to identify novel approaches for treating invasive fungal
infections. His current work focuses on the elucidation of the molecular basis of antifungal resistance
and tolerance in the pathogenic fungi Candida albicans and Candida glabrata. Dr. Rogers research is
supported through grants from associations, industry, and the National Institutes of Health. He has
authored over 60 publications, and over 100 scientific abstracts to date.

THE UNIVERSITY
The University Of Tennessee, founded in 1794 in Knoxville, is Tennessees land grant university. From
her humble beginnings over 200 years ago, The University is now home to over 40,000 students at four
main campuses located in Knoxville, Memphis, Chattanooga, and Martin. Indeed, the entire State of
Tennessee is the campus of the University. The three-fold mission of The University of Tennessee is
teaching, research, and public service.
The College of Pharmacy was founded in 1898 as part of the Science Department in Knoxville and moved
to Memphis in the early 1900s. UTHSC, the Universitys health sciences campus, was established in
1911 as part of the UT System.
The UTHSC campus has approximately 2,600 students enrolled in its six colleges. Of these,
approximately 284 are graduate students. The six colleges on the Memphis campus are Allied Health
Sciences, Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences, Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy.

THE COLLEGE OF PHARMACY


The University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy enjoys one of the best reputations of any pharmacy
school in the United States. The College was one of the first to grant the Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.)
degree. The first all Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) class was graduated in 1988. As reported in the U. S.
News & World Report, deans and senior faculty from across the nation have consistently ranked the UT
College of Pharmacy in the top twenty pharmacy schools nationwide. Everyone associated with the
College students, faculty, alumni, and staff -- is extremely honored and proud of these achievements,
but they are also striving to improve on every aspect of the three-fold mission of the University and the
College: teaching, research, and public service.

FACILITIES
The Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences is headquartered in the Pat and Joe Johnson Building, with
additional offices and laboratories in the R. L. Crowe and Feurt Pharmacy Research Building. Research
facilities of the Department are well equipped with contemporary scientific instrumentation (see
specialized laboratories below). In addition, the University supports an excellent library, computer
center, mass spectrometry center, vivarium, and biostatistics center.
The 55-acre UTHSC campus is an integral part of one of the largest medical centers in the United States.
The Memphis Medical Center area can roughly be defined as a six-block area located within blocks of
downtown Memphis. The area contains one of the worlds largest private hospitals, Methodist
Hospitals of Memphis. St. Jude Childrens Research hospital, founded by entertainer Danny Thomas, is
the internationally-recognized hospital for the treatment of childhood cancers. The Veterans Affairs
Medical Center is a 946-bed hospital affiliated with UTHSC. Just two blocks north of the campus is
LeBonheur Childrens Medical Center, nationally known for its pediatric care. The Regional Medical
Center at Memphis is a comprehensive hospital recognized for its Elvis Presley Memorial Trauma Center.

SPECIALIZED LABORATORIES
DRUG DISCOVERY LABORATORIES
Molecular Modeling Laboratory
The Molecular Modeling Laboratory is designed to find and develop new
pharmaceutical agents as well as to enhance activity of existing drugs. The
Department has many Linux and SGI workstations running the Tripos
software package, AMBER, and a variety of other software packages. The
traditional development of chemotherapeutic agents involved the
systematic synthesis of compounds and qualitative assessment of the
structure-activity relationships. The utilization of molecular modeling
techniques in drug development now permits the quantitative
determination of structure-activity relationship, conformational analysis of drug molecules, visualization
of drug in the receptor/enzyme ligand binding pocket, and the in silica screening of combinatorial
libraries against potential drug targets. Additionally, computational chemistry is utilized to develop
models of proteins for which the structure is unknown as well as determine the reaction coordinates of
chemical reactions.
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Laboratory
The Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences has modern equipment for the
performance of a wide range of experimental procedures. It consists of a Varian
(now part of Agilent) Inova 500 MHz NMR and a Bruker Avance III 400M NHz
NMR equipped with an automatic sample changer. The NMR lab is located in
the Johnson Building. The 500MHz NMR is equipped with a Nano-probe, VAST,
and three 5 mm probes. The 400M NMR is recently purchased by a NIH/NCRR
instrument. These instruments are available to members of the Department for
qualitative and quantitative purposes, and are presently being used to
determine the structures of drug molecules, the metabolic profiles of living cells, and the highthroughput screening of combinatorial libraries.
Proton, carbon, phosphorous, fluorine and
multinuclear capabilities, as well as multi-dimensional experiments are available.
LC-MS LABORATORY
The Bruker Esquire-LC ion Trap LC/MS(n) system is located in room 310,
Johnson Building. Mass range (m/z) can be measured from 50 up to 6000 with
high resolution and high sensitivity. Multiple fragmentation (MS/MS) of
analyte molecule can go up to MS6 for structural elucidation. Coupled with HP
1100 Chemstation and the robust, versatile software running on Windows NT,
the LC-MS system is an extremely powerful and indispensable instrument for
life science and chemical research. The machine is currently available as an
open access resource for our students to use.

PARENTERAL MEDICATIONS LABORATORIES


The Parenteral Medication Laboratories are the result of a cooperative effort
between The University of Tennessee and many private corporations who have
special interests in injectable medications. Accordingly, private industry has
generously contributed money and equipment to make these laboratories
possible. The Laboratories contain a core processing area designed for
academic instruction as well as for the processing of sterile dosage forms. It
provides the capacity for small-scale manufacturing of sterile preparations. The faculty and staff
associated with the Parenteral Medications Laboratories are involved in development of sterile
formulations, manufacture of small lots of product for clinical investigation, development and
determination of stability of new sterile products, and development of biotech dosage forms. The
Parenteral Medications Laboratories continue to provide hands-on training for the pharmaceutical
industry in aseptic processing. Click on the link below for more information about the Parenteral
Medications Laboratories: http://www.uthsc.edu/pharmacy/parenterals/

PHARMACEUTICAL RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING LABORATORIES


The Pharmaceutical Research Development and Training Laboratories
specialize in the research and development of conventional and controlled
release dosage forms using state-of-the-art equipment. The laboratories
are used to teach and train advanced undergraduate and graduate
students and postdoctoral fellows. The laboratories are also used to do
contract/research work for pharmaceutical, biotechnology and other
health related industries. The graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and
faculty are actively involved in all the research/contract projects as well as
in the postgraduate training program. The research interests of faculty and staff of The Pharmaceutical
Research Development and Training Laboratories include: preformulation and formulation of solid
dosage forms, including controlled release oral drug delivery systems, evaluation of compaction
properties of excipients; development of new methodologies for non-destructive testing of solid and
semisolid dosage forms; and formulation and development of biodegradable, injectable and implantable
controlled release drug delivery systems for small molecules, as well as for macromolecules such as
biologically active proteins and peptides. The following laboratories have several state-of-art pieces of
equipment:
PREFORMULATION LABORATORY
A sonic sieve analyzer for particle size analysis from Gilson; dynamic flow measuring equipment from
Hanson Research Corporation; moisture adsorption/desorption equipment from VTI Corp.; a differential
scanning calorimeter from Perkin Elmer Corp.; and a helium pycnometer and surface area measurement
equipment from Micromeritics, Inc.

FORMULATION LABORATORY
A roller compactor from Vector Corporation, several highshear mixer granulators from Robot-Coupe, Inc.; an 18stations instrumented tablet press attached to a fully
automated and computer-controlled three-way tablet tester
from Elizabeth-Hata International, Inc.; a fluid-bed dryer and
coater from Glatt Air Techniques., Inc.,

QUALITY CONTROL/ANALYTICAL LABORATORY


Three HPLC systems equipped with photodiode array and refractive index
detectors from Shimadzu; a near infrared spectroscopy equipment from
Foss NIRSystems; USP dissolution and disintegration testers from Hanson
Research Corporation and Distek Inc.; Rainbow dissolution tester from
Delphian Technologies; a fully automated flow-through UV-visible
spectrophotometer for dissolution testing from Perkin Elmer Corp.; a
tensile strength tester from Ametek, Corp., and shaker-incubators from
Labline Instruments. Click on the link below for more information about
the Pharmaceutical Research Development and Training Laboratories:
http://www.uthsc.edu/pharmacy/pharmsci/tablettech/

PHARMACOKINETIS/PHARMACODYNAMICS RESEARCH LABORATORIES


CELL CULTURE LABORATORIES
Investigations of drug activity, metabolism, binding, protein/nucleic acid
delivery and intracellular trafficking are often performed using isolated
receptors or cultured cells. The Cell Culture Laboratory serves as the
primary facility for these studies in the Department of Pharmaceutical
Sciences. The laboratories consist of three temperature-and humiditycontrolled rooms in the Johnson, Crowe and Feurt Buildings. The majority
of research conducted in these laboratories is focused on the
identification of compounds useful in the treatment of cancer as well as
for evaluation of novel polymeric carriers and gene expression systems for the treatment of diabetes,
cancer and cardiovascular diseases.

GRADUATE FACULTY
DEPARTMENT OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES

MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY FACULTY

JOHN K. BUOLAMWINI, PHD


Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences
327C Johnson
Memphis, TN 38163
901. 448.7533
jbuolamwini@uthsc.edu

ISAAC O. DONKOR, PHD


Professor and Vice Chair, Pharmaceutical Sciences
Associate Dean, Health Career Programs
327E Johnson
Memphis, TN 38163
901.448.7736
idonkor@uthsc.edu

MICHIO KUROSU, PHD


Associate Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences
327A Johnson
Memphis, TN 38163
901.448.1045
mkurosu@uthsc.edu

WEI LI, PHD


Associate Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences
327B/107 Johnson
Memphis, TN 38163
901.448.7532
wli@uthsc.edu

DUANE D. MILLER, PHD


Chair, Pharmaceutical Sciences
Van Vleet Endowed Professor
227C Johnson
Memphis, TN 38163
901.448.6026
dmiller@uthsc.edu

BOB M. MOORE, PHD


Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences
327D Johnson
Memphis, TN 38163
901.448.6085
bmoore@uthsc.edu

PHARMACEUTICS FACULTY
HASSAN ALMOAZEN, PHD
Assistant Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences
205T Johnson Building
Memphis, TN 38163
901.448.2239
halmoaze@uthsc.edu
SARKA BERANOVA-GIORGIANNI, PHD
Assocaite Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences
5P Crowe
Memphis, TN 38163
901.448.5433
sberanova@uthsc.edu

JAMES R. JOHNSON, PHD.


Associate Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences
200 Feurt Building
Memphis, TN 38163
901.448.4635
jmjohnson@uthsc.edu

VIVIAN S. LOVELESS, PHARM.D.


Associate Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences
227E Johnson Building
Memphis, TN 38163
901.448.6931
vloveless@uthsc.edu

TAO L. LOWE, PHD


Associate Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences
227D Johnson Building
Memphis, TN 38163
901.448.1087
Tlowe4@uthsc.edu

RAM MAHATO, PHD


Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences
224 Cancer Research Building
Memphis, TN 38163
901.448.6929
rmahato@uthsc.edu

BERND MEIBOHM, PHD


Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences
Associate Dean, Graduate and Research Program
5P Crowe
Memphis, TN 38163
901.448.1206
bmeibohm@uthsc.edu

GEORGE C. WOOD, PHD


Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences
227D Johnson
Memphis, TN 38163
901.448.2357
gwood@uthsc.edu

C. RYAN YATES, PHARMD, PHD


Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences
5P Crowe
Memphis, TN 38163
901.448.4135
cyates4@uthsc.edu

FACULTY WITH PRIMARY APPOINTMENTS IN OTHER DEPARTMENTS


William E. Evans, Pharm.D., FR-Professor*
Lawrence J. Hak, Pharm.D., BCPS, FCCP Professor, Clinical Pharmacy
Richard Lee, Ph.D., FR-Adjunct Professor*
Mary V. Relling, Pharm.D., FR-Professor, Clinical Pharmacy*
Erin Schuetz, Ph.D., FR-Adjunct Professor*
John Schuetz, Ph.D., FR-Adjunct Professor*
Scott E. Snyder, Ph.D., FR-Adjunct Associate Professor*
Clinton F. Stewart, Pharm. D., FR-Adjunct Professor*
Thomas R. Webb, Ph.D., FR-Adjunct Professor*
*St. Jude

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HASSAN ALMOAZEN, PH.D.


Assistant Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences

B.S. Pharmacy, Damascus University, Syria, 1991


Ph.D. (Pharmaceutics) Long Island University, 2002

Research Interests
Dr. Almoazens laboratory is involved in basic pharmaceutics and biophysical
pharmacy. He has projects involved in the delivery of nanoemulsions to enhance
drug permeability, evaluate the stability of nanocrystals and solid dispersions to
enhance the solubility of poorly soluble therapeutic agents. He is also interested in
the delivery of adjuvants that augment the immune response to vaccines.

Selected Publications

Hassan Almoazen, Anthony Samsa and Charlie C. May, Why Analytical Testing is needed in
Pharmaceutical Compounding American Journal of Pharmacy Education, 74; (2); 2010: p 32c.
Hassan Almoazen, Himanshu Bhattacharjee, Anthony Samsa and Steve Pate Stability of Mesna
in Ready Med Infusion Devices The Annals of Pharmacotherapy, 44; (1); 2010: P 224-225.
Hassan Almoazen and Anthony P. Simonelli. Determining the Critical Micelle Concentration in
O/W Emulsion Using the Rate Constant of Hydrolysis for Benzyl Acetate Journal of Dispersion
Science and Technology, Vol. 29; (7); 2008: P. 958-965.
Geoffrey Wall, Hassan Almoazen, and Erik Maki. Lack of a Physicochemical Interaction between
Metronidazole and Cholestyramine International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents, October 30,
(4), 2007: 372-4.
Madiha Sidhom, Nadya Rivera, Hassan Almoazen, David Taft, and Harold Kirschenbaum.
Stability of Sotalol Hydrochloride in Extemporaneously Prepared Oral Suspension
Formulations International Journal of Pharmaceutical Compounding, Vol. 9, No. 5, Sep/Oct
2005: 402-406.
Shoufeng Li, SuiMing Wong, Sundeep Sethia, Hassan Almoazen, Yatindra M. Joshi, and Abu T. M.
Serajuddin. Investigation of solubility and Dissolution of Free base and two different salt forms
as a function of pH Pharmaceutical Research, Vol. 22, No. 4, 2005: 628-635.
Ishani A. Savant, Michelle Kalis, Hassan Almoazen, Stephan R. Ortis, Malaz Abu Tarif and David R.
Taft. Alternative high-performance liquid chromatography assay for p-aminohippuric acid
(PAH): effect of aging on PAH excretion in the isolated perfused rat kidney Journal of
Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis, December 26, (5-6) 2001: 687-99.

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SARKA BERANOVA-GIORGIANNI, PH.D.


Associate Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences

M.S. (Chemistry), Prague Institute of Chemical Technology, Czechoslovakia, 1989.


Ph.D. (Analytical Chemistry), University of Akron, 1995

Research Interests
The research of Dr. Beranova-Giorgianni focuses on the application of mass
spectrometry and proteomics to the study of human diseases. Current areas of
interest include: (i) discovery of potential biomarkers and drug targets (prostate
cancer; lung diseases); (ii) characterization of the phosphoproteome in human
tissues (prostate; pituitary) and cultured cells (LNCaP); (iii) development and
optimization of new proteomics methods that incorporate state-of-the-art mass
spectrometry.
Selected Publications

Wang, X.; Tong, Y.; Giorgianni, F.; Beranova-Giorgianni, S.; Penn, J.S.; Jablonski M.M. Cellular
Retinol Binding Protein 1 Modulates Photoreceptor Outer Segment Folding In the Isolated Eye.
Dev. Neurobiol 70, 623-635, 2010.
Chen, L.; Giorgianni, F.; Beranova-Giorgianni, S. Characterization of the Phosphoproteome in
LNCaP Prostate Cancer Cells by in-gel Isoelectric Focusing and Tandem Mass Spectrometry. J.
Proteome Res. 9, 174-178, 2010.
Nookala, S.; Gandrakota, R.; Wohabrebbi, A.; Wang, X.; Howell, D.E.; Giorgianni, F.; BeranovaGiorgianni, S.; Desiderio, D.M.; Jablonski, M.M. In Search of the Identity of the XAP-1 Antigen: A
Protein Localized to Cone Outer Segments. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 51, 2736-2743, 2010.
Beranova-Giorgianni, S.; Desiderio, D.M.; Giorgianni, F. Phosphoproteome Analysis by In-gel
Isoelectric Focusing and Tandem Mass Spectrometry. Methods Mol. Biol. 519, 383-396, 2009.
Wang, X.; Narayanan, C.; Giorgianni, F.; Beranova-Giorgianni, S.; McCollum, G.; Gerling, I.C.;
Penn, J.S.; Jablonski, M.M. Proteomic analysis of the retina: identification of key players in
photoreceptor outer segment assembly. Glia 57, 380-392, 2009.
Pabst, M.J.; Pabst, K.M.; Handsman, D.B.; Beranova-Giorgianni, S.; Giorgianni, F. Proteome of
monocyte priming by lipopolysaccharide, including changes in interleukin-1beta and leukocyte
elastase inhibitor. Proteome Sci. 6:13, 2008.
Giorgianni, F.; Zhao, Y.; Desiderio, D.M.; Beranova-Giorgianni, S. Toward a global
characterization of the phosphoproteome in prostate cancer cells: Identification of
phosphoproteins in the LNCaP cell line. Electrophoresis 28, 2027-2934, 2007.
Beranova-Giorgianni, S; Zhao, Y; Desiderio, DM.; Giorgianni, F. Phosphoproteomic Analysis of
the Human Pituitary. Pituitary 9, 109-120, 2006.
Zhao, Y; Giorgianni, F; Desiderio, DM; Fang B; Beranova-Giorgianni S. Analysis of the Proteome
in Human Pituitary Tissue by Multiple Gel-Based Technology. Anal. Chem. 77, 5324-5331, 2005.
Giorgianni, F., Cappiello, A., Beranova-Giorgianni, S., Palma, P., Trufelli, H., Desiderio, D.M. LCMS/MS Analysis of Peptides with Methanol as Organic Modifier: Improved Limits of Detection.
Anal. Chem. 76, 7028-7038, 2004.

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JOHN K. BUOLAMWINI, PH.D.


Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences

B. Pharm. (Honors), University of Science and Technology, Ghana, 1981


Ph.D. (Medicinal Chemistry), University of Alberta, Canada, 1990
Research Interests
Research in Dr. Buolamwinis laboratory focuses on the design, synthesis,
isolation and/or modification and evaluation of new molecules as potential
therapeutic agents or pharmacological and biochemical research tools.
Approaches used include computer-aided drug design by molecular modeling,
including Docking (GLIDE, GOLD), 2D- and 3D-QSAR (CoMFA, CoMSIA, CATALYST,
PHASE), as well as multivariate statistical analyses (PLS) and artificial neural
networks, synthetic medicinal chemistry and chemical biology, combichem, cell
and molecular biology, flow cytometry and radioisotope methods of analysis of
ligand-receptor interactions. Molecular targets include nucleoside transporters,
HIV integrase, EGFR, HER2, MDM2, GST-Pi and STAT3. Therapeutic areas include
Ischemia-Reperfusion injury (coronary heart disease and stroke), Cancer
Chemotherapy and Chemoprevention, and HIV/AIDS
Other Professional
Editor-in-Chief, Current Cancer Drug Targets
Selected Publications
Sharma H, Patil S, Sanchez TW, Neamati N, Schinazi RF, Buolamwini JK. Synthesis, biological
evaluation and 3D-QSAR studies of 3-keto salicylic acid chalcones and related amides as novel HIV-1
integrase inhibitors. Bioorg. Med. Chem. Mar 1. (2011) [Epub ahead of print]
Wang C, Pimple S, Buolamwini JK. Interaction of benzopyranone derivatives and related compounds
with human concentrative nucleoside transporters 1, 2 and 3 heterologously expressed in porcine
PK15 nucleoside transporter deficient cells. Structure-activity relationships and determinants of
transporter affinity and selectivity. Biochem Pharmacol. 79, 307-320 (2010)
Okamura T, Singh S, Buolamwini J, Haystead T, Friedman H, Bigner D, Ali-Osman F. Tyrosine
phosphorylation of the human glutathione S-transferase P1 by epidermal growth factor receptor. J.
Biol. Chem. 284, 16979-16989 (2009)
Lin W, Buolamwini JK. Synthesis, flow cytometric evaluation, and identification of highly potent
dipyridamole analogues as equilibrative nucleoside transporter 1 inhibitors. J. Med. Chem. 50, 39063920 (2007)
Zhu Z, Hofmann PA, Buolamwini JK. Cardioprotective effects of novel tetrahydroisoquinoline analogs
of nitrobenzylmercaptopurine riboside in an isolated perfused rat heart model of acute myocardial
infarction. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 292, H2921-H2926 (2007)
Patil S, Kamath S, Sanchez T, Neamati N, Schinazi RF, Buolamwini JK. Synthesis and biological
evaluation of novel 5(H)-phenanthridin-6-ones, 5(H)-phenanthridin-6-one diketo acid, and polycyclic
aromatic diketo acid analogs as new HIV-1 integrase inhibitors. Bioorg Med Chem. 15, 1212-1228
(2007)

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ISAAC O. DONKOR, PH.D.


Professor And Vice Chair, Pharmaceutical Sciences
Director of Graduate Programs

B. Pharm. (Honors), University of Science and Technology (Ghana), 1978


Ph.D. (Medicinal Chemistry), Duquesne University, 1988

Research Interest
Dr. Donkors laboratory is involved in the design, synthesis, and evaluation of
enzyme inhibitors and DNA interactive agents as potential therapeutic agents. The
laboratory is currently focused on discovery of potent and selective inhibitors of
calpain. Calpain is a calcium activated cysteine protease with several known
isoforms. The enzyme is an important modulator of a number of physiological and
pathological events hence, it is considered a potential drug target. The laboiratory
is probing the subsites of calpain to determine structural differences between the
major calpain isoforms (calpains 1 and 2) with the goal of developing calpain
isoform selective inhibitors. Additionally, the laboratory is investigating allosteric
sites on calpain for development of nonpeptide allosteric inhibitors of the enzyme.
Selected Publications

I.O. Donkor. Calpain inhibitors: a survey of compounds reported in the patent and scientific
literature. Exp. Opin. Ther. Pat. 21, 1-36 (2011) (Invited Review).
J.J. Sampson III, I.O. Donkor, T.L. Huang, and S.E. Adunyah. Novel piperazine induces apoptosis
in U937 cells. Int. J. Biochem. Mol. Biol. 2, 78-88 (2011).
I.O. Donkor and R. Korukonda. Synthesis and calpain inhibitory activity of peptidomimetic
compounds with constrained amino acids at the P2 position. Bioorg. Med. Lett. 18, 4806-4808
(2008).
I.O. Donkor, H. Assafa and J. Liu. Structural basis for the potent calpain inhibitory activity of
peptidyl -ketoacids. J. Med. Chem., 51, 4346-4350 (2008).
T.L. Huang, C.J. Bacchi, N.R. Kode, Q. Zhang, G. Wang, N. Yartlet, D. Rattendi, I. Londono, L.
Mazumder, J.J.V Eynde, A. Mayence, and I.O. Donkor. Trypanocidal activity of piperizine-linked
bisbenzamidines and bisbenzamidoxine, an orally active prodrug. Int. J. Antimicrob. Agents, 30,
555561 (2007).
R. Korukonda, J. Liu, N. Guan, J.T. Dalton, and I.O. Donkor. Synthesis, calpain inhibitory activity,
and cytotoxicity of P2-substituted proline and thiaproline peptidyl aldehydes and peptidyl ketoamides. J. Med. Chem., 49, 5282-5290 (2006).
N. Guan, R. Korukonda, E. Hurh, T.D. Schmittgen, I.O. Donkor, and J.T. Dalton. Apoptosis
induced by novel aldehyde calpain inhibitors in human tumor cell lines. Int. J. Oncol. 29, 655663 (2006).
T.L. Huang, J.J.V. Eynde, A. Mayence, I.O. Donkor, S.I. Khan, and B.L. Tekwani. Antiplasmodial
and antileishmanial activities of conformationally restricted pentamidine congeners. J. Pharm.
Pharmacol., 58, 1033-1042 (2006).
M.L. Sanders and I.O. Donkor. Peptidomimetic calpain inhibitors incorporating P 2-aza-amino
acids. Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 16, 1965-1968 (2006).
Book Chapters
The APhA Complete Review for the FPGEE (Chapter 8).
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JAMES R. JOHNSON, PH.D.


Associate Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences
Director, Pharmaceutical Research, Development and Training Laboratories

B.S.Pharmacy, University of Minnesota, 1962


M.S., University of Minnesota, 1968
Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 1968

Research Interest
The Pharmaceutical Research Development and Training Laboratories specialize in
the research and development of conventional and controlled release dosage forms
using state-of-the-art equipment. The laboratories are used to teach and train
undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows as well as over 100
industry personnel annually.
The laboratories are also used to conduct
contract/research work for pharmaceutical, biotechnology and other health related
industries. The graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty are actively
involved in the research/contract projects as well as in the postgraduate training program.
Selected Publications

S. Yu, X. Zhang, Y. Sun, Y. Peng, J. R. Johnson, T. Mandrell, A. J. Shukla, and S. C. Laizure,


Pharmacokinetics of buprenorphine after intravenous administration in the mouse, Journal of
the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science : JAALAS, 45 (3), p.12-16, May 2006.
Y. Sun, D. Scruggs, Y. Peng, J. R. Johnson and A. J. Shukla, Issues and challenges in developing
long-acting antibiotic formulations, Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, 56 (10), p.1481-1496, Jun
2004
Y. Sun, Y. Peng, N. Aksornkoae, J. R. Johnson, J. G. Boring, D. Scruggs, R. C. Cooper, S. C. Laizure
and A. J. Shukla, Controlled release of oxytetracycline in sheep, Journal of Controlled Release,
2002 13 (85) (1-3) 125-34.
Sun Y, Watts DC, Johnson JR and Shukla AJ, Biodegradable drug delivery systems, American
Pharmaceutical Review, 4 (4) 25-30, 2001.
Sun Y, Watts DC, Johnson JR and Shukla AJ., Biodegradable Polymers and their degradation
mechanisms, American Pharmaceutical Review, 4 (3) 8-18, 2001.

Abstracts:
S. Bedi, S. Shukla, J. Johnson, E. Brunson, H. Bhattacharjee, H. Almoazen, Preparation and
Characterization of PLGA Microspheres Incorporated with Materials Having Surface Affinity to
Achieve High Encapsulation Efficiency of a Peptide Drug with Minimized Rapid Initial Drug
Release, American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists 2010 annual meeting, New Orleans,
LA.
W. Qu, Y. Sun, A. Soscia, P. Jain, Y. Peng, E. Brunson, H. Almoazen, A. Shukla, J. Johnson, Abuseresistant Immediate Release Oxycodone Formulation, American Association of Pharmaceutical
Scientists 2010 annual meeting, New Orleans, LA.
W. Wu, C. Egger, J. Xu, J. Johnson, A. Shukla, Development of Sustained Release Buprenorphine
Formulations for Dogs, American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists 2009 annual meeting,
Los Angeles, CA.

15

MICHIO KUROSU, PH.D.


Associate Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences

B.S. (Organic&Bioorganic Chemistry/Pharmacy), Tokyo Univ. of Pharmacy and Life Science (Japan), 1990
M.S. (Organic Chemistry/Pharmacy), Osaka University (Japan), 1992
Ph.D. (Organic Chemistry/Pharmacy/Pharmacology), Osaka University (Japan), 1995

Research Interest: Infectious Filed: Our group has a long-term interest in development of new
antibacterial agents targeting novel or unexploited drug targets. In order to
develop novel antibacterial molecules, we develop concise syntheses of
complex molecules, designs chiral molecules, and generate small optimized
libraries. We also design convenient assays against the target enzymes of
interest. These efforts have resulted in the discovery of several new drug leads
effective against MDR-Gram-positive pathogens including MDR-M. tuberculosis
(Mtb). Over the last 5 years, we have studied on unexploited peptidoglycan
biosynthesis (MraY) and their inhibitor molecules, and selective electron
transport system inhibitors. Cancer Research: We have been interested in
eukaryotic inhibition factors (eIFs), protein synthesis inhibitors, and topoisomerase inhibitors. Our
primary efforts are to develop concise synthesis of validated molecules and to generate small optimized
libraries. Early Diagnosis of Cancer: We have been developing new molecular imaging tools via magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI).
Selected Publications
Vitamin K2 in Electron Transport System: Are Enzymes Involved in Vitamin K2 Biosynthesis
Promising Drug Targets?, Kurosu, M.; Begari, E. Molecules, 2010, 15, 1531-1553.
Bacterial Protein Kinase Inhibitors. Kurosu, M.; Begari, E. Drug Development Research 2010, 71,
168-187.
A Concise Synthesis of Capuramycin. Kurosu, M.; Li, K.; Crick, D. C. Org. Lett. 2009,11, 2393.
New Chiral Derivatizing Agents: Convenient Determination of Absolute Determination of Free
Amino Acids by 1H-NMR, Kurosu, M.; Li, K. Org. Lett. 2009, 11, 911.
Highly Efficient O-Glycosylations with p-Tolyl thioriboside and p-TolSOTf. Kurosu, M.; Li, K. J. Org.
Chem. 2008, 73, 9767.
MenA Is a Promising Drug Target for Developing Novel lead Molecules to Combat
Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Kurosu, M.; Crick, D. C. Medicinal Chemistry 2009, 5, 197-207.
Multiple-delayed Release Formulation Approach for the treatment of Methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus. Kurosu, M. Expert Opinion Patent Evaluation 2008, 18, 1313-1322.
Polymer-Supported (2,6-Dichloro-4-alkoxyphenyl)(2,4-dichlorophenyl)methanol: A New Linker
for Solid-Phase Organic Synthesis, Kurosu, M.; Biswas, K.; Crick, D. C. Org. Lett. 2007, 9, 11411444.
Fe/Cr-and Co/Cr Mediated catalytic Asymmetric 2-Haloallylations of Aldehydes, Kurosu, M.; Lin,
M-H.; Kishi, Y, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2004, 126, 12248-12249.
Representative Patents
Compositions and Methods of Use of Electron Transport System Inhibitors Serial Number: PCT /
US 2007 / 63122, Kurosu, M. et.al.
Books and Book Chapters
Electrophile cleavable linker unit In Linker Strategies in Solid-Phase Organic Synthesis (2009), 2776, John Wiley and Sons, Ltd, 2009 (October).

16

WEI LI, PH.D.


Associate Professor and Director of NMR Facility
BS, Chemistry, Univ. of Sci. & Technol. of China, 1992
PhD, Chemistry, Columbia University, 1999
Research Interest
The research in our lab is highly multi-disciplinary and often involves
collaboration with other labs. Currently research in our group broadly
focuses on the following three areas: 1) Discovery of novel therapeutic
agent for melanoma; 2) Discovery of novel vitamin D analogs as potential
therapeutic agents; and 3) Application of NMR spectroscopy, especially high
resolution magic angle spinning NMR (HRMAS NMR) techniques, in drug
discovery studies. Techniques used in our lab include extensive molecular
modeling, organic synthesis, in vitro and in vivo biological assay, and nanotechnology based drug
delivery approaches. For more information about the group including recent publications, please visit
our lab homepage.
Selected Publications

Andrzej Slominski, Wei Li, Syamal K. Bhattacharya, Jianjun Chen, Robert C Tuckey, Duane Miller,
Arnold E. Postlethwaite, "Novel Vitamin D Analogues 20,23(OH)2D3 and 17,20(OH)pD are
Noncalcemic and Biologically Active", J Invest Dermatol., in press, PMID: 21228816, (2011).
Chien-Ming Li#, Zhao Wang#, Yan Lu, Wei Li*, Sunjoo Ahn, Ramesh Narayanan, Jeffrey D.
Kearbey, Deanna N. Parke, Duane D. Miller, James T. Dalton*, Biological activity of 4Substituted Methoxybenzoyl-Aryl-Thiazole (SMART): An active microtubule inhibitor, Cancer
Res, 71(1), 216-224, (2011). (# equal contributions; * Li and Dalton are corresponding authors).
Andrzej T. Slominski, Zorica Janjetovic, Brian E. Fuller, Michal A. Zmijewski, Robert C. Tuckey,
Minh N. Nguyen,Trevor Sweatman, Wei Li, Jordan Zjawiony, Duane Miller, Tai C. Chen, Gerard
Lozanski, Michael F. Holick, Novel products of vitamin D3 or pro-vitamin D3 (7dehydrocholesterol) metabolism by cytochrome P450scc show anti-leukemia effects, having
low or absent calcemic activity, PLOS One, 5(3):e9907 (2010).
Wei Li, Jianjun Chen, Zorica Janjetovic, Tae-Kang Kim, Trevor Sweatman, Yan Lu, Jordan
Zjawiony, Robert C Tuckey, Duane Miller, Andrzej Slominski, Chemical Synthesis of 20Shydroxyvitamin D3, which shows anti-proliferative activity, Steroids, 75(12):926-35, (2010).
Jianjun Chen, Zhao Wang, Chien-Ming Li, Yan Lu, James T. Dalton, Duane D. Miller, Wei Li,
Discovery of novel 2-aryl-4-benzoyl-imidazoles targeting tubulin polymerization as potential
agents for resistant cancer treatment, J. Med. Chem., 53 (20), pp 74147427, (2010).
Yan Lu, Chien-Ming Li, Zhao Wang, Charles R. Ross, II, Jianjun Chen, James Dalton, Wei Li and
Duane. D. Miller, "Discovery of 4-Substituted Methoxybenzoyl-Aryl-Thiazole as Novel Anticancer
Agents: Synthesis, Biological Evaluation and Structure-Activity Relationships", J. Med. Chem.,
52(6):1701-1711, (2009).
Zhao Wang, Yan Lu, William Seibel, Duane D. Miller, and Wei Li, Identifying Novel Molecular
Structures for Advanced Melanoma by Ligand-Based Virtual Screening, J. Chem. Info. Model.,
49(6):1420-7, (2009).
17

VIVIAN S. LOVELESS, PHARM.D.,BCNP, FAPhA


Associate Professor

B.S., The University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy, 1975


Pharm. D., The University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy, 1976
Residency in Nuclear Pharmacy, The University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy, 1977

Research Interest
Research interest is in the area of traditional radiopharmaceuticals, positron
emission tomography (PET) radiopharmaceuticals, and interventional agents
used in nuclear medicine.

Selected Publications

VS Loveless, CP Surdock, H Bhattacharjee. Evaluation of zeta-potential and particle size of


technetium 99mTc-sulfur colloid subsequent to the addition of lidocaine and sodium bicarbonate.
J Nucl Med Technol, 2010:38:49-52.
VS Loveless. Quality control of compounded radiopharmaceuticals. Continuing Education for
Nuclear Pharmacists and Nuclear Medicine Professionals, The University of New Mexico Health
Sciences Center College of Pharmacy, Albuquerque, NM. 2009;15(3).
V Loveless. Nuclear Medicine Imaging in the Pediatric Patient. J Pediatr Pharmacol Ther,
2006;11:200-211.
VS Loveless. Drugs Used as Interventional Agents in Nuclear Medicine. Continuing Education
for Nuclear Pharmacists and Nuclear Medicine Professionals, The University of New Mexico
Health Sciences Center College of Pharmacy, Albuquerque, NM. 1998;7(2).
JF Rockett, HL Magill, VS Loveless and GL Murray. Intravenous Dipyridamole Thallium-201
SPECT Imaging Methodology, Applications and Interpretations. Clin Nucl Med, 1990:15;712-25.
J Rockett, WC Wood, M Moinuddin, VS Loveless and B Parrish. Intravenous
Dipyridamole Thallium-201 SPECT Imaging in Patients with Left Bundle Branch
Block. Clin Nucl Med, 1990:15;401-7.
CR Morris, LH Blackwell and VS Loveless. Antileukemic Properties of
Combinations of Radiation and Malonato (1,2-diaminocyclohexane) Platinum (II). (NSC-224964).
J Med, 1977:8;253-59.

18

TAO L. LOWE, PH.D.


Associate Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences

Ph.D., Polymer Chemistry, Eximia Cum Laude, University of Helsinki, Finland, 1998
Postdoctoral Associate, Chemical Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1999-2001
Research Interest
In Dr. Lowes state-of-the-art Biomaterials for Translational Research Laboratory,
the research features innovative bionanotechnology, drug delivery, gene therapy,
tissue engineering, and biosensor. The research activities include rational design and
synthesis of multi-stimuli-responsive polymeric biomaterials including nanogels,
branched nanoparticles, hydrogels and thin films; characterizations of the
mechanisms by which the designed biopolymers regulate targeted and sustained
delivery of drugs, proteins and genes, promote cell growth, and provide biosensing;
and in vitro and in vivo studies of the bioefficacy of these biomaterials. The ultimate
goal of the research in Dr. Lowes lab is to develop novel biomaterials that can
provide exquisitely sensitive, selective, non-toxic, biodegradable and responsive platforms to target
therapeutic agents to the sites of ocular, central nervous, cancerous, or musculoskeletal lesions.
Selected Publications

Yuan W, Li G, Gil ES, Lowe TL, Fu BM. Effect of surface charge of immortalized mouse cerebral
endothelial cell monolayer on transport of charged solutes. Annals of Biomedical Engineering
38(4):1463-72, 2010. PMID: 20087768.
Misra GP, Singh RS, Aleman TS, Jacobson SG, Gardner TW, and Lowe TL. Subconjunctivally
Implantable Hydrogels with Degradable and Thermoresponsive Properties for Sustained Release
of Insulin to the Retina. Biomaterials 30(33):6541-6547, 2009. PMID: 19709741. NIHMS138962.
Gil ES, Li JS, Xiao HN and Lowe TL. Quaternary Ammonium -Cyclodextrin Nanoparticles for
Enhancing Doxorubicin Permeability across the in vitro Blood Brain Barrier. Biomacromolecules
10(3): 505-516, 2009. PMID: 19216528.
Huang X, Misra GP, Vaish A, Flanagan JM, Sutermaster B and Lowe TL. Emulsion Polymerization
of Both Hydrolytically Degradable and Thermoresponsive Nanogels without Using Low Molar
Mass Surfactants. Macromolecules 41 (22): 8339-8345, 2008.
Stover TC, Kim YS, Lowe TL and Kester M. Thermoresponsive and Biodegradable Linear-Dendritic
Nanoparticles for Targeted and Sustained Release of a Pro-apoptotic Drug. Biomaterials 29 (3):
359-369, 2008. PMID: 17964645.
Huang X, Zhang Y, Donahue HJ and Lowe TL. Porous Thermoresponsive-co-Biodegradable
Hydrogels as Tissue Engineering Scaffold for 3-D in Vitro Culture of Chondrocytes. Tissue
Engineering 13 (11): 2645-2652, 2007. PMID: 17683245.
Kim YS, Gil ES and Lowe TL. Synthesis and Characterization of Thermoresponsive-coBiodegradable Linear-Dendritic Copolymer. Macromolecules 39 (23): 7805-7811, 2006.
Huang X and Lowe TL. Biodegradable Thermoresponsive Hydrogels for Aqueous Encapsulation
and Controlled Release of Hydrophilic Model Drugs. Biomacromolecules 6(4): 2131-2139, 2005.
PMID: 16004455.
Kim YS, Lim JY, Donahue HJ and Lowe TL. Thermoresponsive Terpolymeric Films Applicable for
Osteoblastic Cell Growth and Noninvasive Cell Sheet Harvesting. Tissue Engineering 11(1-2): 3040, 2005. PMID: 15738659.

19

RAM MAHATO, PH.D.


Professor, Pharmaceutical Science

B.S. (Pharmaceutics), China Pharmaceutical University, China, 1989


Ph.D. (Pharmaceutics/Drug Delivery), University of Strathclyde, Britain, 1992

Research Interest
Dr. Mahatos laboratory is involved in: (i) design and synthesis of polymers and
lipids for delivery and targeting of small molecules, oligonucleotides, siRNA and
genes; (ii) design and construction of gene/shRNA expression systems; (iii)
formulation and in vitro Characterization of Nucleic Acid Delivery Systems, (iv)
Micellar delivery of small molecule drugs; (v) Bioconjugation and particulate carrier
systems for treating a) liver fibrosis, ischemia reperfusion liver injury, prostate
cancer and diabetes; (vi) Mesenchymal stem cells as gene delivery vehicles for
improved islet transplantation; and (vii) mechanisms of cellular uptake and
intracellular trafficking of nucleic acid drugs, (viii) gene/siRNA delivery to human pancreatic islets.
Selected Publications

Zhu L, Mahato RI (2010) Targeted Delivery of siRNA to Hepatocytes and Hepatic Stellate Cells by
Bioconjugation. Bioconjug Chem. 21: 2119-2127.

Li F, Danquah M and Mahato RI (2010) Synthesis and Characterization of Amphiphilic


Lipopolymers for Micellar Drug Delivery. Biomacromolecules 11: 2610-20.

Pratap A, Panakanti R, Yang N, Eason JD and Mahato RI Inhibition of Endogenous Hedgehog


Signaling Protects against Acute Liver Injury after Ischemia Reperfusion. Pharm Res 27: 2492504.

Danquah M, Fujiwara T, Mahato RI (2010) Self-assembling methoxypoly (ethylene glycol)-bpoly(carbonate-co-l-lactide) block copolymers for drug delivery. Biomaterials. 31: 23582370.

Yang N, Ye Z, Li F and Mahato RI (2009) HPMA Polymer-based Site-specific Delivery of


Oligonucleotides to Hepatic Stellate Cells. Bioconjugate Chem 20:213-221.

Panakanti R and Mahato RI (2009) Bipartite Adenoviral Vector encoding hVEGF and hIL-1Ra for
Improved Human Islet Transplantation. Mol Pharm6: 274-284.

Chen Y and Mahato RI (2008) siRNA Pool targeting different sites of human hepatitis B surface
antigen efficiently inhibits HBV infection. J Drug Target 16:140-148.

Ye Z, Guntaka RV and Mahato RI (2007) Sequence-specific triple helix formation with genomic
DNA. Biochemistry 46: 11240-11252.

Narang AS, Cheng K, Henry J, Zhang C, Sabek O, Fraga D, Kotb M, Gaber AO and Mahato RI
(2004) Vascular endothelial growth factor gene delivery to human islets for neoangiogenesis
after transplantation. Pharm Res.21:15-25.

Wang D-A, Narang AS, Kotb M, Gaber OA, Miller DD, Kim SW and Mahato RI (2002) Novel
branched poly(ethylenimine)-cholesterol water soluble lipopolymers for gene delivery.
Biomacromolecules 3: 1197-1207.

20

BERND MEIBOHM, PH.D., F.C.P.


Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences
Associate Dean, Graduate and Research Program

B.S. (Pharmacy), Technical University Carolo-Wilhelmina, Braunschweig, Germany, 1989


Ph.D. (Pharmaceutics), Technical University Carolo-Wilhelmina, Braunschweig, Germany, 1994

Research Interest
Dr. Meibohms research is focused on the investigation of the pharmacokinetics
(PK), pharmacodynamics (PD) and pharmacogenetics (PG) of drugs with special
emphasis on PK/PD/PG-correlations.
Areas of interest include chronic
inflammatory processes (e.g., COPD), transplantation, pediatric pharmacotherapy
and preclinical and clinical drug development, especially of biotechnology drugs.
The ultimate goal of the research in Dr. Meibohms lab is to contribute to the
optimization of dosing regimens for increased efficacy and reduced toxicity and to
modulate pharmacotherapy according to the needs of the individual patient.
Selected Publications

Dirks, NL, Meibohm, B. Population Pharmacokinetics of Therapeutic Monoclonal Antibodies.


Clinical Pharmacokinetics 2010, 49, 633-59.
Kumar, R, Seibold, MA, Aldrich, MC, Williams, LK, Reiner, AP, Colangelo, L, Galanter, J, Gignoux,
C, Hu, D, Sen, S, Choudhry, S, Peterson, EL, Rodriguez-Santana, J, Rodriguez-Cintron, W, Nalls,
MA, Leak, TS, O'Meara, E, Meibohm, B, Kritchevsky, SB, Li, R, Harris, TB, Nickerson, DA, Fornage,
M, Enright, P, Ziv, E, Smith, LJ, Liu, K, Burchard, EG. Genetic ancestry in lung-function
predictions. New England Journal of Medicine 2010, 363(4), 321-30.
Vaddady, PK, Lee, RE, Meibohm, B. In Vitro Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic Models in Antiinfective Drug Development: Focus on Tuberculosis. Future Medicinal Chemistry 2010, 2, 135569.
Suryawanshi, S, Zhang, L, Pfister, M, Meibohm, B. The current role of model-based drug
development. Expert Opinion on Drug Discovery 2010, 5, 311-21.
Mehrotra, N, Tolley, EA, Bauer, DC, Harris, TB, Newman, AB, Kritchevsky, SB, Meibohm, B.
Predictors of Mortality in Elderly Subjects with Obstructive Airway. Annals of Epidemiology
2010, 20, 223-32.
Laer, S, Barrett, JS, Meibohm, B. The In Silico Child: Using Simulation to Guide Pediatric Drug
Development and Manage Pediatric Pharmacotherapy. Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 2009,
48, 889-904.
Zhang, L, Pfister, M, Meibohm, B. Concepts and Challenges in Quantitative Pharmacology and
Model-Based Drug Development. AAPS Journal 2008, 10, p. 552-9.
Zhang, Y, Mehrotra, N, Budha, NR, Christensen, ML, Meibohm, B. A Tandem Mass Spectrometry
Assay for the Simultaneous Determination of Acetaminophen, Caffeine, Phenytoin, Ranitidine,
and Theophylline in Small Volume Pediatric Plasma Specimens. Clinica Chimica Acta 2008, 398,
p. 105-12.
Budha, NR, Lee, RE, Meibohm, B. Biopharmaceutics, Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics
of Antituberculosis Drugs. Current Medicinal Chemistry 2008, 15, p. 809-25.

21

DUANE D. MILLER, PH.D.


VAN VLEET PROFESSOR
Chair, Pharmaceutical Sciences

B.S. in Pharmacy, University of Kansas, 1966


Ph.D. (Medicinal Chemistry), University of Washington, 1969

Research Interest
Dr. Miller has several research interests including: the design and synthesis of
beta-3 adrenergic antagonists for the treatment of obesity; imidazoline analogs as
molecular probes of the adrenergic receptors; nonsteroidal selective androgen
receptor modulators (SARMs); aldose reductase inhibitors; anticancer (glioma)
agents and new phospholipid agents for the interaction with LPA (EDG) receptors.

Selected Publications
Lu, Y, Li, CM, Wang, Z, Ross, CR, Chen, J, Dalton, JT, Li, W, Miller, DD. Discovery of 4-substituted
methoxybenzoyl-aryl-thiazole as novel anticancer agents: synthesis, biological evaluation, and
structure-activity relationships. J Med Chem, 52 (6), 1701-11, 2009.
Zmijewski, MA, Li, W, Zjawiony, JK, Sweatman, TW, Chen, J, Miller, DD, Slominski, AT. Photoconversion of two epimers (20R and 20S) of pregna-5,7-diene-3beta, 17alpha, 20-triol and their
bioactivity in melanoma cells. Steroids, 74 (2), 218-28, 2009.
Ramagiri, S, Ma, F, Kosanam, H, Wang, X, Patil, R, Miller, DD, Geisert, E, Yates, CR. Fast and
sensitive liquid chromatography/electrospray mass spectrometry method to study ocular
penetration of EDL-155, a novel antitumor agent for retinoblastoma in rats. J Mass Spectrom,
2009.
Mohler, ML, He, Y, Wu, Z, Hwang, DJ, Miller, DD. Recent and emerging anti-diabetes targets.
Med Res Rev, 29 (1), 125-95, 2009.
Zmijewski, MA, Li, W, Zjawiony, JK, Sweatman, TW, Chen, J, Miller, DD, Slominski, AT. Synthesis
and photo-conversion of androsta- and pregna-5,7-dienes to vitamin D3-like derivatives.
Photochem Photobiol Sci, 7 (12), 1570-6, 2008.
DeCuypere, M, Lu, Y, Miller, DD, LeDoux, MS. Regional distribution of tetrahydroisoquinoline
derivatives in rodent, human, and Parkinson's disease brain. J Neurochem, 107 (5), 1398-413,
2008.
Zhu, L, Lu, Y, Miller, DD, Mahato, RI. Structural and formulation factors influencing pyridinium
lipid-based gene transfer. Bioconjug Chem, 19 (12), 2499-512, 2008.
Narayanan, R, Coss, CC, Yepuru, M, Kearbey, JD, Miller, DD, Dalton, JT. Steroidal androgens and
nonsteroidal, tissue-selective androgen receptor modulator, S-22, regulate androgen receptor
function through distinct genomic and nongenomic signaling pathways. Mol Endocrinol, 22 (11),
2448-65, 2008.
Kang, GS, Wang, XD, Mohler, ML, Kirichenko, OV, Patil, R, Orr, WE, Miller, DD, Geisert, EE.
Effects, in an in-vivo model system, of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline on glioma. Anticancer
Drugs, 19 (9), 859-70, 2008.
DeCuypere, M, Kalabokis, VN, Hao, R, Schroeder, D, Miller, DD, LeDoux, MS. Localization of Nmethyl-norsalsolinol within rodent and human brain. J Neurosci Res, 86 (11), 2543-52, 2008.
22

BOB M. MOORE II, PH.D.


Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences

B.S. (Chemistry), Indiana State University, 1983


M.S. (Chemistry), Indiana State University, 1989
Ph.D. (Medicinal Chemistry), University of Kansas, 1995

Research Interest
Research in Dr. Moores lab integrates synthetic organic chemistry, computational
chemistry and in vivo and in vitro assays aimed at developing new
chemotherapeutic entities. The current areas of research include: development
of cannabinoid receptor (CB1 and CB2) agonist and antagonist for the treatment
of cancer; hemorrhagic shock; and immune regulation. The anti-cancer activity of
cannabinoid based therapeutics is one of the most promising areas in
antineoplastic development owing to the low in vivo toxicity and broad spectrum
activity. The significance of cannabinoid based cancer therapeutics is exemplified
by the efficacious activity of Dr. Moores cannabinoid ligands against cancer stem like cells. This
subpopulation of cancer cells is increasing being linked to metastasis and drug resistance, the ultimate
cause of mortality in cancer patients.
Selected Publications

1. H. Bhattacharjee, A. Nadipuram, S. Kosanke, M. Kiani, B.M. Moore B.M. II, Low Volume
Binary Drug Therapy for the Treatment of Hypovolemia. Shock, 2011, in press.

2.
P.K. Vaddady, N. Mehrotra, X. Zhang, C.R. Yates, B.M. Moore, B. Meibohm,
Pharmacokinetics of a combination of (9) -Tetrahydro-cannabinol and celecoxib in a porcine
model of hemorrhagic shock. Biopharm. Drug Dispos. 2011, 32, 89.

3. H. Bhattacharjee, S. Gurley, P. Allison, X. Zhang, B. M. Moore II, Evaluation of Novel Vanilloid


Based Hemostatic Agents in Rats J. Trauma 2010, 68, 676.

4. A. M. Ferreira, M. Krishnamurthy, B. M. Moore, II, D. Finkelstein, D. Bashford, Quantitative


Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) for a Series of Novel Cannabinoid Derivatives Using
Descriptors Derived from Semi-empirical Quantum Chemical Calculations. Bioorg. Med. Chem.
2009, 17, 2598.

H. Bhattacharjee, S.Gurley, B. M. Moore II, Design and synthesis of novel tri-aryl CB2 selective
cannabinoid ligands Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 2009, 19, 1691.

M. Krishnamurthy, S. Gurley, and B. M. Moore II, Exploring the Substituent Effects on a Novel
Series of C1'-Dimethyl-Aryl 8-Tetrahydrocannabinol Analogs. Bioorg. Med. Chem. 2008, 16,
6489.

23

GEORGE C. WOOD, PH.D.


Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences

B.S. (Pharmacy), University of Illinois Medical Center, Chicago, 1965


M.S. (Pharmaceutics), University of Illinois Medical Center, Chicago, 1968
Ph.D. (Pharmaceutics), University of Illinois Medical Center, Chicago 1970

Research Interest
Dr. Woods research interest includes development of biotechnology based,
parenteral dosage forms. He is also interested in educational assessment of
pharmacy student performance.

Selected Publications

Y. Mi, G.Wood, Y. Gao, B. Bothner, R. Ray, L. Thoma. Freeze thaw protection mechanisms of
polyethylene glycols on lactate dehydrogenase. AAPS Annual Meeting 2001.

Y. Mi, G. Wood, L. Thoma. Cryoprotection of polyethylene glycols on lactate dehydrogenase


activity and secondary structure. PDA Annual Meeting 2001.

G. Wood, N Aksornkoae and L Thoma. Evaluation of an oxygen extraction device in slowing


oxidative epinephrine degradation. Parenteral Drug Association National Meeting, Washington,
D.C. November, 1998.

G. Wood. Lyophilization of protein drugs. Nycomed Pharmaceutical Company, Barcelonetta,


Puerto Rico, 6 hours, May, 1998.

G. Krishna, G. C. Wood, and B. B. Sheth. Improving emulsification efficacy of lecithin by


formulation design K: Effect of adding a secondary surfactant. Pharm. Res. 13, (9), S-217 (1996).

G.C. Wood, M.R. Iyer, A.M. Geller, A.M. Fleischner, B.B. Sheth. An HPLC method for analysis of
deslorelin and and benzyl alchol in deslorelin injection. Pharm. Res. 10, 66 (1993).

24

C. RYAN. YATES, PHARM.D., PH.D.


Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences
Coordinator Of Dual Degree Program

Pharm.D. (Pharmacy), The University of Tennessee, Memphis, 1997


Ph.D., (Pharmaceutics), The University of Tennessee, Memphis, 2000

Research Interest
Dr. Yates' research is focused on the discovery and development of anti-inflammatory
drugs. His platform technology, based upon the quinic acid derivative KZ-41, has
demonstrated radiomitigating activity in a murine model of the hematopoietic acute
radiation syndrome (ARS). Moreover, his laboratory is investigating the genomic basis
for susceptibility to injury following high dose radiation exposure using BXD mice as a
human population genetics model. Our overall goal is to elucidate the mechanism of
action of our radiomitigant platform and to identify novel molecular pathways/targets
critical to the radiation injury response.
Selected Publications
Gupte R, Patil R, Lu J, Wang Y, Lee SC, Fujiwara Y, Bolen AL, Emmons-Thompson K, Yates CR,
Siddam A, Panupinthu N, Pham TC, Baker DL, Parrill AL, Mills GB, Tigyi G, and Miller DD. Benzyl
and naphthalene-methyl phosphonic acid inhibitors of autotaxin with anti-invasive and antimetastatic actions. BMCL (2011).
Patil R, Wang X-D, Orr WE, Yates CR, Geisert EE, and Miller DD. Synthesis and antiglioma activity
of new tetrahydroisoquinolines. Med Chem Res 2011 January.
Vaddady PK, Mehrotra N, Moore BM, Yates CR, and Meibohm B. Pharmacokinetics of a novel
combination of 9-tetrahydrocannabinol and celecoxib in porcine model of hemorrhagic shock.
Biopharm Drug Dispos 2010 Dec 23 (epub ahead of print).
Kosanam H, Ma F, Ramagiri S, Kimura Y, Gududuru V, Deng W, Tigyi G, Miller DD, and Yates CR.
Development of an LC-MS/MS assay to determine plasma pharmacokinetics of the
radioprotectant octadecenyl thiophosphate (OTP) in monkeys. J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol
Biomed Life Sci. 2010 Sep 15;878(26):2379-83. Epub 2010 Jul 18.
Zeng K, Thompson KE, Yates CR, and Miller DD. Synthesis and biological evaluation of quinic acid
derivatives as anti-inflammatory agents. BMCL 19 (2009) 54585460.
Ramagiri S, Ma F, Kosanam H, Wang X-D, Patil R, Miller DD, Geisert EE, and Yates CR. Fast and
sensitive liquid chromatography/electrospray mass spectrometry method to study ocular
penetration of EDL-155, a novel antitumor agent for retinoblastoma in rats. J Mass Spec 2009
Jan 21. [Epub ahead of print]

25

RICHARD E. LEE, PH.D.


FR-Adjunct Professor
Member, St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital

B.Sc. (Honors Class 1), Chemistry, University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK, 1989


Ph.D. (Organic Chemistry), University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK, 1993

Research Interest
The research focus of Dr Lees laboratory is the design and synthesis of new
drugs targeting non-classical antibacterial drug targets using interdisciplinary
approaches and the latest technologies. His research design includes drug
target selection from pathogen genome analysis, high throughput screen
development of these targets, rational and combinatorial drug design and
their subsequent synthesis.

Selected Publications

Hurdle JG, O'Neill AJ, Chopra I, Lee RE. Targeting bacterial membrane function: an
underexploited mechanism for treating persistent infections. Nat Rev Microbiol 9(1):62-75,
2011.
Hevener KE, Yun MK, Qi J, Kerr ID, Babaoglu K, Hurdle JG, Balakrishna K, White SW, Lee RE.
Structural Studies of Pterin-Based Inhibitors of Dihydropteroate Synthase. J Med Chem
53(1):166-177, 2010.
Budha NR, Lee RB, Hurdle JG, Lee RE, Meibohm B. A simple in vitro PK/PD model system to
determine time-kill curves of drugs against Mycobacteria. Tuberculosis (Edinb) Sep;89(5):37885, 2009.
Mahrous EA, Lee RB, Lee RE. Lipid profiling using two-dimensional heteronuclear single quantum
coherence NMR. Methods Mol Biol 579:89-102, 2009.
Sun D, Xu H, Wijerathna SR, Dealwis C, Lee RE. Structure-Based Design, Synthesis, and Evaluation
of 2'-(2-Hydroxyethyl)-2'-deoxyadenosine and the 5'-Diphosphate Derivative as Ribonucleotide
Reductase Inhibitors. Chem Med Chem 2009 Oct;4(10):1649-56, 2009.
Hurdle JG, Yendapally R, Sun D, Lee RE. Evaluation of analogs of reutericyclin as prospective
candidates for the treatment of staphylococcal skin infections. Antimicrob Agents Chemother Jul
6, 2009. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 19581456.
Zhao W, Hevener KE, White SW, Lee RE, Boyett JM. A Statistical Framework to Evaluate Virtual
Screening. BMC Bioinformatics Jul 20;10:225, 2009.
Sun D, Scherman MS, Jones V, Hurdle JG, Woolhiser LK, Knudson SE, Lenaerts AJ, Slayden RA,
McNeil MR, Lee RE. Discovery, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Piperidinol analogs With
Anti-tuberculosis Activity. Bioorg Med Chem May 15;17(10):3588-94, 2009.
Hevener K, Zhao W, Ball D, Babaoglu K, Qi J, White S, Lee RE. Validation of Molecular Docking
Programs for Virtual Screening against Dihydropteroate Synthase. J Chem Inf Mod 49 (2), 444
460, 2009.
Aubry S, Lee RE, Mahrous EA, Small PL, Beachboard D, Kishi Y. Synthesis and Structure of
Mycolactone E Isolated from Frog Mycobacterium. Org Lett 10 (23), 53855388, 2008.
Grimes KD, Lu Y, Zhang Y-M, Luna VA, Hurdle JG, Carson EI, Qi J, Kudrimoti S, Rock CO, Lee RE.
Novel Acylphosphate Mimics that Target PlsY, an Essential Acyltransferase in Gram-Positive
Bacteria. ChemMedChem 3 :1936-45, 2008.
26

MARY V. RELLING, PHARM.D.


FR-Adjunct Professor
Member, St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital

B.S. (Pharmacy), College of Pharmacy, University of Arizona, Tucson, 1982


Pharm.D., College of Pharmacy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, 1985

Research Interest
Her primary interests are in antineoplastic pharmacokinetics and
pharmacodynamics in children; pharmacogenetics of antileukemic therapy, and
host- and treatment-related risk factors for adverse effects and secondary
malignancies. Dr. Relling is one of the Principal Investigators within the
Pharmacogenomics Research Network. The impetus for her research is the
need to improve drug therapy of childhood leukemia by better understanding
the contributions of and mechanisms underlying interindividual differences in
pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.
Selected Publications

Pui CH, Pei D, Campana D, Bowman WP, Sandlund JT, Kaste SC, Ribeiro RC, Rubnitz JE, CoustanSmith E, Jeha S, Cheng C, Metzger ML, Bhojwani D, Inaba H, Raimondi SC, Onciu M, Howard SC,
Leung W, Downing JR, Evans WE, Relling MV. Improved prognosis for older adolescents with
acute lymphoblastic leukemia. J Clin Oncol 29:386-91, 2011
Yang JJ, Cheng C, Devidas M, Cao X, Fan Y, Campana D, Yang W, Neale G, Cox NJ, Scheet P,
Borowitz MJ, Winick NJ, Martin PL, Willman CL, Bowman WP, Camitta BM, Carroll A, Reaman
GH, Carroll WL, Loh M, Hunger SP, Pui CH, Evans WE, Relling MV. Ancestry and
pharmacogenomics of relapse in acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Nat Genet (in press)
Kawedia JD, Kaste SC, Pei D, Panetta JC, Cai X, Cheng C, Neale G, Howard SC, Evans WE, Pui CH,
Relling MV. Pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic and pharmacogenetic determinants of
osteonecrosis in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Blood (in press)
Panetta JC, Sparreboom A, Pui CH, Relling MV, Evans WE. Modeling mechanisms of in vivo
variability in methotrexate accumulation and folate pathway inhibition in acute lymphoblastic
leukemia cells. PLoS Comput Biol 6:e1001019, 2010.
Relling MV, Altman RB, Goetz MP, Evans WE. Clinical implementation of pharmacogenomics:
overcoming genetic exceptionalism. Lancet Oncol 11:507-9, 2010.
Harvey RC, Mullighan CG, Wang X, Dobbin KK, Davidson GS, Bedrick EJ, Chen IM, Atlas SR, Kang
H, Ar K, Wilson CS, Wharton W, Murphy M, Devidas M, Carroll AJ, Borowitz MJ, Bowman WP,
Downing JR, Relling M, Yang J, Bhojwani D, Carroll WL, Camitta B, Reaman GH, Smith M, Hunger
SP, Willman CL. Identification of novel cluster groups in pediatric high-risk B-precursor acute
lymphoblastic leukemia with gene expression profiling: correlation with genome-wide DNA copy
number alterations, clinical characteristics, and outcome. Blood 116:4874-84, 2010.
Pottier N, Paugh SW, Ding C, Pei D, Yang W, Das S, Cook EH, Pui CH, Relling MV, Cheok MH,
Evans WE. Promoter Polymorphisms in the -2 Adrenergic Receptor Are Associated With DrugInduced Gene Expression Changes and Response in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Clin
Pharmacol Ther 88:854-61, 2010.
Chen SH, Pei D, Yang W, Cheng C, Jeha S, Cox NJ, Evans WE, Pui CH, Relling MV. Genetic
variations in GRIA1 on chromosome 5q33 related to asparaginase hypersensitivity. Clin
Pharmacol Ther 88:191-6, 2010.
27

ERIN SCHUETZ
FR-Adjunct Associate Professor
Member, St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital

PhD - Medical College of Virginia, Richmond

Research Interest
Regulation of cytochrome P4503A
Interplay of drug transport, cytochromes P450 and nuclear hormone receptors
Pharmacogenetics of drug transporters, cytochromes P450 and nuclear hormone
receptors

Selected Publications

Lin YS, Yasuda K, Assem M, Cline C, Barber J, Li CW, Kholodovych V, Ai N, Chen JD, Welsh WJ,
Elkins S, Schuetz EG. The major human pregnane X receptor (PXR) splice variant, PXR.2, exhibits
significantly diminished ligand-activated transcriptional regulation. Drug Metab Dispos
Jun;37(6):1295-304, 2009.
Schadt EE, Molony C, Chudin E, Hao K, Yang X, Lum PY, Kasarskis A, Zhang B, Wang S, Suver C,
Zhu J, Millstein J, Sieberts S, Lamb J, GuhaThakurta D, Derry J, Storey J, Mehrabian M, Drake TA,
Lusis AJ, Smith RC, Guengerich FP, Strom SC, Schuetz E, Rushmore TH, Ulrich R. Mapping the
genetic architecture of gene expression in human liver. PLoS Biol 6(5):e107, 2008. PMCID:
PMC2365981.
Poonkuzhali B, Lamba J, Strom S, Sparreboom A, Thummel K, Watkins P, Schuetz E. Association
of breast cancer resistance protein/ABCG2 phenotypes and novel promoter and intron 1 single
nucleotide polymorphisms. Drug Metab Dispos 36:780-95, 2008.
Lamba J, Lamba V, Strom S, Venkataramanan, Schuetz E. Novel SNPs in the Promoter and Intron
1 of Human PXR/NR1I2 and Their Association with CYP3A4 Expression. Drug Metab Dispos
36:169-81, 2008.
Marzolini C, Tirona RG, Gervasini G, Poonkuzhali B, Assem M, Lee W, Leake BF, Schuetz JD,
Schuetz EG, Kim RB. A Common Polymorphism in the Bile Acid Receptor FXR is Associated with
Decreased Hepatic Target Gene Expression. Mol Endocrinol 21(8):1769-1780, 2007.
Zhou C, Assem M, Tay JC, Watkins PB, Blumberg B, Schuetz EG, Thummel KE. Steroid and
xenobiotic receptor and vitamin D receptor crosstalk mediates CYP24 expression and druginduced osteomalacia. J Clin Invest 116(6):1703-1712, 2006.
Finkelstein D, Lamba V, Assem M, Rengelshausen J, Yasuda K, Strom S, Schuetz E. The ADME
transcriptome in Hispanic versus White donor livers: Evidence of a globally enhanced NR1I3
(CAR, Constitutive Androstane Receptor) gene signature in Hispanics. Xenobiotica 36:989-1012,
2006.
Lamba J, Strom S, Venkataramanan R, Thummel KE, Lin YS, Liu W, Cheng C, Lamba V, Watkins P,
Schuetz E. MDR1 genotype is associated with Hepatic CYP3A4 basal and induction phenotype.
Clin Pharmacol Therap 79(4):325-338, 2006.

28

JOHN SCHUETZ, PH.D.


FR-Adjunct Professor
Member, St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital

B.A., University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, 1979


Ph.D., Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, 1984
Research Interest
Our laboratory focuses on the function and regulation of mammalian ABC (ATPbinding cassette) transporters. These transporters play an critical role in drug
penetration and retention in biological systems. We have recently defined the
function of two new ABC transporters, MRP4 and BCRP. MRP4 is unique among
ABC transporters in its ability to remove specific nucleotides from cells. This
property allows cells that express high levels of it to evade chemotherapy by
removing the nucleotide forms of nucleoside analogues. The other transporter is
BCRP which is highly and uniquely expressed in mammalian stem cells. This unique
expression allows BCRP to protect stem cells from chemotherapeutic insults. Besides determining ABCtransporter function, we are evaluating the signals that lead to up or down regulation of these genes.
The knowledge of function as well as regulation should facilitate the future design of more effective
chemotherapeutic regimens.
Selected Publications

Takenaka K, Morgan JA, Scheffer GL, Adachi M, Stewart CF, Sun D, Leggas M, Ejendal KFK,
Hrycyna CA, Schuetz JD. Substrate overlap between Mrp4 and Abcg2/Bcrp affects purine
analogue drug cytotoxicity and tissue distribution. Cancer Res 67:6965-6972, 2007.
Li C, Krishnamurthy PC, Penmatsa H, Marrs KL, Wang XQ, Zaccolo M, Jalink K, Li M, Nelson DJ,
Schuetz JD, Naren AP. Spatiotemporal coupling of cAMP transporter to CFTR chloride channel
function in the gut epithelia. Cell 131(5):940-951, 2007.
Krishnamurthy P, Du G, Fukuda Y, Sun D, Mercer K, Wang J, Sosa-Pineda B, Murti G, Schuetz JD.
Identification of a mitochondrial porphyrin transporter. Nature 443:586-589, 2006.
Mennone A, Soroka CJ, Cai SY, Harry K, Adachi M, Hagey L, Schuetz JD, Boyer JL. Mrp4-/- mice
have an impaired cytoprotective response in obstructive cholestasis. Hepatology 43(5):10131021, 2006.
Krishnamurthy P, Ross DD, Nakanishi T, Bailey-Dell K, Zhou S, Mercer KE, Sarkadi B, Sorrentino
BP, Schuetz JD. The stem cell marker Bcrp/ABCG2 enhances hypoxic cell survival through
interactions with heme. J Biol Chem 279:24218, 2004.
Assem M, Schuetz EG, Leggas M, Sun D, Yasuda K, Reid G, Zelcer N, Adachi M, Strom S, Evans
RM, Moore DD, Borst P, Schuetz JD. Interactions between hepatic Mrp4 and Sult2A as revealed
by the constitutive androstane receptor and Mrp4 knockout mice. J Biol Chem 279:22250, 2004.
Leggas M, Adachi M, Scheffer GL, Sun D, Wielinga P, Du G, Mercer KE, Zhuang Y, Panetta JC,
Johnston B, Scheper RJ, Stewart CF, Schuetz JD. Mrp4 confers resistance to topotecan and acts
as a double agent in protecting the brain from chemotherapy. Mol Cell Biol 24(17):7612-21,
2004.
Lamba JK, Adachi M, Sun D, Tammur J, Schuetz EG, Allikmets R, Schuetz JD. ABCC4 Gene
Structure Reveals Phylogenetically Conserved Nonsense Exons that are Regulated by Nonsense
Mediated mRNA Decay. Hum Mol Genet 12(2):99-109, 2003.

29

SCOTT E. SNYDER, PH.D.


FR-Adjunct Associate Professor
Associate Member, St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital

BS. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, 1986
PhD, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 1993

Research Interest
Development of novel radiopharmaceuticals for positron emission tomographic
(PET) imaging. Particular PET imaging applications include: Functional
characterization of tumors; Therapy response monitoring; and Investigation of
therapy-induced neurological disorders in cancer survivors.

Selected Publications

Li X, Jung Y-W, Snyder SE, Blair J, Sherman PS, Desmond T, Frey KA, Kilbourn MR. 5-tert-Butyl-2(4'-[18F]fluoropropynylphenyl)-1,3-dithiane oxides: Potential new GABAA receptor radioligands.
Nucl Med Biol, 35:549-59, 2008.
Kuhl DE, Koeppe RA, Snyder SE, Minoshima S, Frey KA, Kilbourn MR. In vivo
butyrylcholinesterase activity is not increased in Alzheimer synapses. Ann Neurol 59:13-20,
2006.
Shao X, Koeppe RA, Butch ER, Kilbourn MR, Snyder SE*. Evaluation of 18F-labeled
acetylcholinesterase substrates as PET radiotracers. Bioorg Med Chem 13:869-875, 2005.
Shao X, Butch ER, Kilbourn MR, Snyder SE*. N-[18F]Fluoroethylpiperidinyl, N[18F]fluoroethylpiperidinemethyl and N-[18F]fluoroethylpyrrolidinyl esters as radiotracers for
acetylcholinesterase. Nucl Med Biol 30:491-500, 2003.
Shao X, Lisi JM, Butch ER, Kilbourn MR, Snyder SE*. N-Methylpiperidinemethyl, Nmethylpyrrolidyl and N-methylpyrrolidinemethyl esters as PET radiotracers for
acetylcholinesterase activity. Nucl Med Biol 30:293-302, 2003.
Koeppe RA, Raffel DM, Snyder SE, Ficaro EP, Kilbourn MR, Kuhl DE. Dual-[11C]tracer singleacquisition positron emission tomography studies. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab 21:1480-1492,
2001.
Skaddan MB, Kilbourn MR, Snyder SE, Sherman PS. Acetylcholinesterase inhibition increases in
vivo radioligand binding to muscarinic acetylcholine receptors. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab
21:144-148, 2001.
Snyder SE*, Gunupudi N, Sherman PS, Butch ER, Skaddan MB, Kilbourn MR, Koeppe RA, Kuhl DE.
Radiolabeled cholinesterase substrates: In vitro methods for determining structure-activity
relationships and identification of a positron emission tomography radiopharmaceutical for in
vivo measurement of butyrylcholinesterase activity. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab 21:132-143,
2001.
Skaddan MB, Kilbourn MR, Snyder SE, Sherman PS, Desmond TJ, Frey KA. Synthesis, 18F-labeling
and biological evaluation of piperidyl and pyrrolidyl benzilates as in vivo ligands for muscarinic
acetylcholine receptors. J Med Chem 43:4552-4562, 2000.
30

CLINTON STEWART, PHARM.D.


FR-Professor
Member, St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital

B. S. (Pharmacy), Auburn University, 1976


Pharm.D., University of Tennessee Center for the Health Sciences, Memphis, 1983
Research Interest
My research interests focus on: Clinical pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and
pharmacogenetics of anticancer drugs in children; Role of ABC transporters in CNS
penetration of camptothecin analogs; Multidrug resistance proteins (e.g., MRP4,
BCRP) in camptothecin pharmacology and physiology; Novel methods to optimize
drug exposure in children with cancer (pharmacokinetically guided dosing); Use of
preclinical models to enhance design of clinical trials of new agents in children with
cancer; Role of pharmacokinetics in drug development in pediatric oncology; and
Use of clinical pharmacology to optimize therapy for children with primary CNS
malignancies

Selected Publications

Elmeliegy MA, Carcaboso AM, Tagen M, Bai F, Stewart CF. Role of ATP-binding cassette and solute
carrier transporters in erlotinib CNS penetration and intracellular accumulation. Clin Cancer Res
17(1):89-99, 2011.
Pollack IF, Stewart CF, Kocak M, Poussaint TY, Broniscer A, Banerjee A, Douglas JG, Kun LE, Boyett
JM, Geyer JR. A phase II study of gefitinib and irradiation in children with newly diagnosed
brainstem gliomas: a report from the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium. Neuro Oncol February 3,
2011.
Warren KE, Goldman S, Pollack IF, Fangusaro J, Schaiquevich P, Stewart CF, Wallace D, Blaney SM,
Packer R, Macdonald T, Jakacki R, Boyett JM, Kun LE. Phase I trial of lenalidomide in pediatric
patients with recurrent, refractory, or progressive primary CNS tumors: Pediatric Brain Tumor
Consortium Study PBTC-018. J Clin Oncol December 13, 2010.
Nemeth KM, Federico S, Carcaboso AM, Shen Y, Schaiquevich P, Zhang J, Egorin M, Stewart C,
Dyer MA. Subconjunctival carboplatin and systemic topotecan treatment in preclinical models of
retinoblastoma. Cancer September 3, 2010.
Fouladi M, Stewart CF, Blaney SM, Onar-Thomas A, Schaiquevich P, Packer RJ, Gajjar A, Kun LE,
Boyett JM, Gilbertson RJ. Phase I trial of Lapatinib in children with refractory CNS malignancies: a
Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium study. J Clin Oncol August 16, 2010.
Bai F, Tagen M, Colotta C, Miller L, Fouladi M, Stewart CF. Determination of the gamma-secretase
inhibitor MK-0752 in human plasma by online extraction and electrospray tandem mass
spectrometry (HTLC-ESI-MS/MS). J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci July 30, 2010.
Beaty O, Berg S, Blaney S, Malogolowkin M, Krailo M, Knight R, Schaiquevich P, Stewart C, Chen Z,
Nelson M, Voss S, Ivy SP, Adamson PC. A phase II trial and pharmacokinetic study of oxaliplatin in
children with refractory solid tumors: a Children's Oncology Group study. Pediatr Blood Cancer
55(3):440-445, 2010.
Fouladi M, Park JR, Stewart CF, Gilbertson RJ, Schaiquevich P, Sun J, Reid JM, Ames MM, Speights
R, Ingle AM, Zwiebel J, Blaney SM, Adamson PC. Pediatric phase I trial and pharmacokinetic study
of vorinostat: a Children's Oncology Group phase I consortium report. J Clin Oncol July 6, 2010.

31

THOMAS R. WEBB, PH.D.


FR-Adjunct Professor
Member, St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital

Ph.D., University of California, Santa Cruz


Research Interest
Synthetic organic chemistry and medicinal chemistry:
Heterocyclic and enantioselective synthesis, synthesis of non-peptide
peptide mimics, protein kinase inhibitor design and synthesis, synthesis of
active small molecules based on the pharmacophores of natural products;
Lead discovery: integration of cheminformatics, small molecule library
design and medicinal chemistry, synthesis of novel combinatorial
templates

Selected Publications

Lagisetti C, Pourpak A, Goronga T, Jiang Q, Cui Xiaoli, Hyle J, Lahti J, Morris S, Webb T. Synthetic
mRNA Splicing Modulator Compounds with In Vivo Anti-tumor Activity. J Med Chem 52:69796990, 2009.
Boyd VA, Mason J, Hanumesh P, Price J, Russell CJ, Webb TR. 2-Substituted-4,5Dihydroxypyrimidine-6-Carboxamide Antiviral Targeted Libraries. J Comb Chem 11:1100-1104,
2009.
Kasinathan RS, Goronga T, Messerli SM, Webb TR, Greenberg RM. Modulation of a Schistosoma
mansoni multidrug transporter by the antischistosomal drug praziquantel. FASEB J [Epub ahead
of print] Sept 2009.
Aragon AD, Imani RA, Blackburn VR, Cupit PM, Melman SD, Goronga T, Webb TR, Loker ES,
Cunningham C. Towards an understanding of the mechanism of action of praziquantel. Mol
Biochem Parasitol 164:57-65, 2009.
Webb TR, Slavish J, George RE, Look AT, Xue L, Jiang Q, Cui X, Rentrop WB, Morris SW.
Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinsase: role in cancer pathogenesis and small-molecule inhibitor
development for therapy. Expert Rev Anticancer Ther 9(3):331-356, 2009.
Slavish PJ, Jiang Q, Cui X, Morris SW, Webb TR. Design and synthesis of a novel tyrosine kinase
inhibitor template. Bioorg Med Chem 17(9):3308-3316, 2009. PMCID: PMC2696309
Lee JY, Im I, Webb TR, McGrath D, Song MR, Kim YC. Combinatorial synthesis and biological
evaluation of peptide-binding GPCR-targeted library. Bioorg Chem 37(3):90-95, 2009.
Lagisetti C, Pourpak A, Jiang Q, Cui X, Goronga T, Morris SW, Webb TR. Antitumor Compounds
Based on a Natural Product Consensus Pharmacophore: J Med Chem 51:6220-6224, 2008.
Webb TR, Venegas RE, Wang J, Deschenes A. Generation of New Synthetic Scaffolds Using
Framework Libraries Selected and Refined via Medicinal Chemist Synthetic Expertise. J Chem Inf
Mod 48 (4), 882-888, 2008.
Webb TR, McGrath D, Wang J, Li R, Jiang L, Sviridov S. Application of a Novel Design Paradigm to
Generate General Nonpeptide Combinatorial Scaffolds Mimicking Beta Turns: Part II; Synthesis
of Agonists of Melanocortin Receptors. J Comb Chem 9, 704-710, 2007.
Zhu T, Yan Z, Chucholowski A, Webb TR, Li R. Polymer-supported Synthesis of Pyridone-focused
Libraries as Inhibitors of Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase. J Comb Chem 8(3), 401, 2006.

32

JUN J. YANG, PH.D.


Assistant Member, St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital

Ph.D., Purdue University (West Lafayette, IN), 2006

Research Interest
The research focus of my group is pharmacogenomics of treatment outcomes (e.g.
relapse) of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The goals of our research
are to elucidate biological pathways dictating response to antileukemic drugs, to
identify genetic predictors for drug resistance which can be utilized for treatment
individualization, and to develop novel therapeutic agents to overcome drug
resistance. We have led the first genome-wide association study to identify
germline genetic variations associated with minimal residual disease in response to
remission induction therapy in children with ALL (JAMA 301:393) and the first
genome-wide interrogation of copy number alterations related to ALL relapse
(Blood 112:4178). We are particularly interested in the genetic basis for
racial/ethnic differences in ALL treatment outcomes. Our group is part of the NIH
Pharmacogenomics Research Network (PGRN) and the Pharmacogenomic of Anticancer Agents
Research in Children project (PAAR4Kids).
Selected Publications

Mikkelsen TS, Thorn CF, Yang JJ, Ulrich CM, French D, Zaza G, Dunnenberger HM, Marsh S,
McLeod HL, Giacomini K, Becker ML, Gaedigk R, Leeder JS, Kager L, Relling MV, Evans W, Klein
TE, Altman RB. PharmGKB summary: methotrexate pathway. Pharmacogenetics and Genomics
(in press) 2011.
Yang JJ, Cheng C, Devidas M, Cao X, Fan Y, Campana D, Yang W, Neale G, Cox NJ, Scheet P,
Borowitz MJ, Winick NJ, Martin PL, Willman CL, Bowman WP, Camitta BM, Carroll A, Reaman
GH, Carroll WL, Loh M, Hunger SP, Pui C-H, Evans WE, Relling MV. Ancestry and
Pharmacogenomics of Relapse in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Nat Genet 43(3):237-241
(2011).
Harvey RC, Mullighan CG, Wang X, Dobbin KK, Davidson GS, Bedrick EJ, Chen IM, Atlas SR, Kang
H, Ar K, Wilson CS, Wharton W, Murphy M, Devidas M, Carroll AJ, Borowitz MJ, Bowman WP,
Downing JR, Relling M, Yang JJ, Bhojwani D, Carroll WL, Camitta B, Reaman GH, Smith M, Hunger
SP, Willman CL. Identification of novel cluster groups in pediatric high-risk B-precursor acute
lymphoblastic leukemia with gene expression profiling: correlation with genome-wide DNA copy
number alterations, clinical characteristics, and outcome. Blood. [Epub ahead of print]PMID:
20699438 (2010).
Meeker ND, Yang JJ, Schiffman JD. Pharmacogenomics of pediatric acute lymphoblastic
leukemia. Expert Opin Pharmacother. [Epub ahead of print] (2010).
Atkinson EJ, McDonnell SK, Witte JS, Crawford DC, Fan Y, Fridley B, Li D, Li L, Rodin A, Sadee W,
Speed T, Weiss ST, Yang JJ, Yerges L, Schaid DJ. Lessons learned from the Fifth Statistical
Analysis Workshop of the Pharmacogenetics Research Network. Pharmacogenomics (In press)
(2011).
Yang W, Trevio LR, Yang JJ, Pui CH, Evans WE, Relling MV. ARID5B SNP rs10821936 is associated
with risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia in blacks and contributes to racial
differences in leukemia incidence. Leukemia 24(4):894-896 (2010).

33

PROGRAMS OF STUDY
The Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences offers the Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy
degrees through the College of Graduate Health Sciences at The University Of Tennessee Health
Sciences Center in Memphis. Areas of specialized studies are in medicinal chemistry and pharmaceutics.
Medicinal chemistry includes the design, synthesis and evaluation of compounds with potential
therapeutic applications.
Pharmaceutics includes the development of novel dosage forms,
biopharmaceutics, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, pharmacogenetics, and pharmaceutical
technology. Normally, about four years are required for a well-prepared student to obtain the Ph.D.
Graduates of the program in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences are prepared to assume
positions of responsibility in academia, the pharmaceutical industry, government, and other healthrelated organizations and institutions. The nature and variety of research projects available to students
reflect the stimulating and dynamic environment of the health science center and provide for truly
meaningful research.
DUAL PHARM. D./PH.D. PROGRAM
UT College of Pharmacy offers an accelerated, integrated program, which combines study for the Doctor
of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree with the opportunity to earn the Ph.D. The program requires
approximately seven years to complete, including summer research. This innovative dual degree
program is designed to reduce the total time needed for completion while maintaining the high
standards for both programs individually. Additional information about the dual degree program may be
obtained by contacting Dr. C. Ryan Yates (cyates4@uthsc.edu).

COST OF STUDY/FINANCIAL AID


Tuition and fees for Tennessee residents are $4,338 per semester and $11,883 per semester for nonresidents. A limited number of predoctoral fellowships are available on a competitive basis to qualified
applicants. These provide an annual stipend of $23,000 plus a waiver of tuition.

APPLICATIONS
The normal admission time for new students is in the fall semester, which usually begins in mid-August.
Prospective students should submit a completed application form and supporting documents no later
than March 15 for admission in the fall semester. Generally a minimum undergraduate grade point
average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale is required. All applicants are required to take the Graduate Record
Examination (GRE) and achieve a minimum combined score (verbal and quantitative) of 1,000 (or a
combined minimum score of 300 (150 on verbal and 150 on quantitative) on the new GRE score scale)
and a minimum score of 3.5 on the analytical section. Foreign applicants whose native language is not
English are required to take the Test of English as Foreign Language (TOEFL) and achieve a minimum
score of 213 on the computer-based test or 79 on the internet-based test. It is also recommended that
the Test of Spoken English (TSE) be taken. Applications are accepted from students with a B.S. or M.S.
degree in pharmacy, chemistry, biology, mathematics, engineering or other appropriate disciplines.
You may apply on-line at http://www.uthsc.edu/admiss/Application.html. Look under College of
Graduate Health Science to select our program. On-line applicants are not required to pay the $75.00
application fees.
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Note that there are no separate forms to apply for financial assistance. Successful applicants will be
automatically considered for financial assistance.
Arrange for recommendation letters (at least two), official transcripts of all your college level academic
work, GRE scores, and TOEFL scores (if English is not your first language) to be sent to the following
address:

ATTN: Admissions Counselor


Office of Enrollment Services
University of Tennessee Health Science Center
910 Madison Avenue, Suite 525
Memphis, TN 38163.

EVERY IMPORTANT. NON-US ALLICANTS, PLEASE NOTE: Official test scores and three letters of
recommendation must be sent directly from the contributing source and not by the student to the
address listed above (i.e., ATTN: Admissions Counselor etc). Applicants may initiate the application
process with uncertified transcripts. However, we require that transcripts from any non-US institution
must be verified and certified to generate a Grade Point Average (GPA) before an official letter of
admission will be sent to the applicant. Service agencies include but are not limited to Educational
Credit Evaluation (ECE) eval@ece.org, World Education Services (WES) support@wes.org, Association of
Collegiate Registrars and Admission Officers (AACRAO) oies@aacrao.org. These agencies and others
charge a fee for services. Document by document certification is not adequate.

CONTACT
For more information, please contact
Dr. Isaac O. Donkor
Director of Graduate Programs
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
College of Pharmacy
University of Tennessee
847 Monroe Avenue, Suite 327E
Memphis, Tennessee 38163
Telephone: (901) 448-7736
FAX: (901) 448-6828
Email: idonkor@uthsc.edu

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OUR HOMETOWN, MEMPHIS_______________________________


The fourteenth largest city in the nation, Memphis is many different things to many different people:
the world capitol of barbeque pork to the discriminating gourmet. home of the blues and Beale Street
to the music aficionado; birthplace of rock-and-roll and site of Elvis Presleys Graceland mansion to the
rock-o-phile, host of the worlds art treasures through Wonders Series, the Memphis International
Cultural Series to the connoisseur; site of the worlds largest cotton market to the historical scholar;
home of the National Civil Rights Museum. For the sports enthusiast, Memphis is home to the NBA
Grizzlies and the Triple A baseball Red Birds team. Lastly, but certainly not least Memphis is the home of
the largest medical center in the Southeast.
Whatever you and your family are looking for, chances are youll find it in Memphis. The city holds
many surprises for the unknowing; serene botanic gardens in the heart of the city; victorian
architecture and stately homes amid the bustle of downtown; wineries, world-class sporting facilities,
outdoor activities, a new downtown trolley line, and much, much more.
Memphiss central geographic location provides easy access. The city is the headquarters of Federal
Express and is one of three national hubs for Northwest Airlines. Memphis International Airport is the
largest cargo airport in the world and is also served by Delta, American, United and USAir.
Memphis is located in extreme southwest Tennessee with the Mississippi River at its doorstep.
Mississippi and Arkansas are adjacent neighbors. The city is at the junction of interstate highways 55
and 40, with I-240 providing circumferential transportation routes around the city.
The University Of Tennessee, Health Science Center, is located within blocks of downtown, with easy
access to I-240 and only minutes from Memphis International Airport. The 55-acre UTHSC campus is the
hub of the Memphis Medical Center.
To learn more about Memphis click on this link: http://www.cityofmemphis.org

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