Editorial appointments recognize research
(April 2008) Mel de Villiers, associate professor in the Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, has been selected to serve on the Editorial Board of Current Drug Discovery Technologies. He was also recently appointed as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Biomedical Nanotechnology. Research from the de Villiers' lab describing the effect of polyamidoamine dendrimers on the cytotoxicity of paclitaxel in prostate cancer cells is featured on the cover of the March 2008 edition of the journal.
Research may help you breathe easier
(April 2008) The research work of Ron Sorkness, professor in the Pharmacy Practice Division, and colleagues from the Severe Asthma Research Program (SARP) has identified key physiological differences between severe and non-severe forms of the disease. The multi-center research project has gained national attention and was recently highlighted in the April 13 edition of the Wisconsin State Journal.
Flu shot may leave heart patients at risk
(April 2008) Orly Vardney, assistant professor (CHS) and lead investigator in the research study on influenza vaccine responses in heart failure patients, presented research findings at the American College of Cardiology meeting in Chicago in March. The work was highlighted in several media outlets including ABC News, Reuters and Sign On San Diego.
Adam Nickel to be remembered by Crazylegs runners
(April 2008) More than 60 runners participating in Saturday’s Crazylegs Classic ran in memory of Adam Nickel , a UW-Madison School of Pharmacy student who died after completing last month’s Little Rock Marathon. To celebrate his life and memory, friends from Pharmacy, across campus and Group Health Cooperative, where he had been interning, formed the R.A.N. (Remembering Adam Nickel) Team. They will run Crazylegs wearing special shirts and buttons. In addition, the School of Pharmacy has set up the Adam Nickel Memorial Scholarship Fund though the UW Foundation to honor a Pharm.D student with a passion for athletics and exercise and a commitment to helping others as evidenced by fund raising activities or community service.
Early detection can be key
(April 2008) Eva Vivian, associate professor in the Pharmacy Practice Division, and School of Pharmacy students raised awareness for youth diabetes by providing screenings for the first time at the annual Multicultural Health Fair as highlighted in the April 6 edition of the Wisconsin State Journal.
Grant furthers work of halogen-containing pharmaceutical agents
(April 2008) The research of Weiping Tang, assistant professor in the Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, was awarded $50,000 from the American Chemical Society-Petroleum Research Fund for his proposal, "Catalytic Enantioselective Halogenation of Olefins." This proposal focuses on the development of stereoselective methods for the synthesis of biologically active halogen-containing pharmaceutical agents. The ACS-PRF funding is designed for early career faculty.
Graduate students to host research panel
(April 2008) In conjunction with the School's 125th anniversary celebration, members of the Madison chapter of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists will host a forum titled, "Public Relations and Pharmaceutical Research: Is the 'Wisconsin Idea' Being Realized?" A panel discussion by School of Pharmacy faculty addressing pharmaceutical research and how communication bridges the gap between research and you. The event will be held April 14 from 6-7:30 p.m. in room 2002, Rennebohm Hall.
Students put their spin on the School's quasquicentennial
(April 2008) Continuing the year-long celebration of the School's 125th anniversary, current School of Pharmacy students will host a student-planned day of festivities Tuesday, April 15. The activities will begin with the annual Kremers Lecture at Noon featuring Cynthia Raehl, continue with a fun-filled amazing race to identify historic pharmacy landmarks, a picnic, fashion show hosted by the Mulitcultural Affairs Program in Pharmacy, and finish with a performance by UW's own a capella group, The Madhatters. Students, faculty and friends are invited to help mark this memorable spring tradition.
Students' work recognized at APhA conference
(March 2008) The Wisconsin Society of Pharmacy Students Operation Diabetes program, chaired by Andy Ince and Amy Dietzel, both third year Doctor of Pharmacy students, received a first place award at the recent American Pharmacists Association annual conference in San Diego, California. Over the past year, Operation Diabetes has implemented innovative programming to raise public awareness of diabetes. Such events include diabetes awareness presentations for elementary and middle school children, reaching out to under-served populations in the Madison area in collaboration with the Students for Improvement of Urban Healthcare and the School's Multicultural Affairs Program in Pharmacy (MAPP), and distributing educational pamphlets to local community pharmacies. In addition, Operation Diabetes has collaborated with School of Pharmacy professor Dr. Eva Vivian in the implementation of her research study which focuses on the development of diabetes in youth.
Pallavi Patwardhan, graduate student in the Social and Administrative Sciences Division, was a finalist for the postgraduate best paper podium award. Patwardhan works with Betty Chewning, associate professor and Director of the Sonderegger Research Center, and presented "Ask, Advise, and Refer: A Thematic Analysis for Generating Hypotheses to Promote Adoption of a Brief Tobacco Cessation Intervention in Community Pharmacies." Kristina Phillips, fourth year Doctor of Pharmacy student, represented the School of Pharmacy in the APhA National Patient Counseling Competition.
Campus smoke-free policy revised
(March 2008) Beginning April 2, 2008, no smoking will be permitted anywhere on Clinical Science Center or Health Sciences Learning Center property within the ring road or on the grounds surrounding the Waisman Center and Rennebohm Hall. more..
Megan Sheahan recognized as student leader
(March 2008) Meagan Sheahan, third year Doctor of Pharmacy student, is the recipient of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacist (ASHP) Student Leadership Award. The award fosters continued personal and professional development through a formal recognition program and recognizes student leader role models who have an interest in health-system practice and encourage student involvement in professional organizations. Sheahan is active in multiple efforts at the School of Pharmacy, including serving as the current president of Wisconsin Society of Pharmacy Students. Megan will receive a plaque, an ASHP drug information reference library, a $2,500 cash award and will be formally recognized at the upcoming national conference. The ASHP Award Program consists of 12 awards annually, awarded to four student members in each professional year of pharmacy school, beginning with the second professional year.
David Mott elected a Fellow of the APhA
(March 2008) David Mott, Hammel/ Sanders Distinguished Chair in Pharmacy Administration and associate professor in the Social and Administrative Sciences Division, was elected a Fellow of the American Pharmacists Association Academy of Pharmaceutical Research and Science (APHA-APRS). In addition to being a member of APhA-APRS, a Fellow brings a minimum of 10 years of professional experience and achievement in professional practice and outstanding service to the profession through activities in APhA and other organizations. The service to organizations may come by way of appointed office, service on a committee, expert panel, or review board, or other relevant activities. Mott joins current colleagues David Kreling, Willliam S. Apple Distinguished Professor of Pharmacy Administration and Chair; Betty Chewning, associate professor and Director of the Sonderegger Research Center; Bonnie Svarstad, professor emerita; and several School of Pharmacy alumni as an APhA Fellow.
Collaboration yields innovation in cancer research
(March 2008) Darin Furgeson, assistant professor in the Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, and colleague Dr. Chris Brace, assistant scientist at the School of Medicine and Public Health and the College of Engineering, were awarded $70,000 from the University of Wisconsin W.H. Coulter Translational Research Partnership, for their proposal, "Microwave Thermal Ablation and Tumor Margin Directed Chemotherapy for Cancer Eradication." The funding forms a working partnership with the biomedical engineering department to promote, develop and support translational research via a number of initiatives, including funding promising research projects, increasing and supporting effective collaborations between biomedical engineers and clinicians, and developing and supporting sustainable methods for moving promising technologies into clinical application.
Students, faculty and staff of the School of Pharmacy grieve the loss of Adam Nickel. Adam will be honored in a variety of ways in the days and months ahead by the School of Pharmacy community.
The School of Pharmacy community mourns the loss of a pioneer and champion
(Feb 2008) Lenor B. Zeeh, passed away February 24, 2008. Zeeh graduated from the School of Pharmacy in 1936 and dedicated his life work to advancing the field. In recent years the School's Pharmacy Experiment Station was named in his honor. In 2004, Zeeh was the recipient of the first-ever Dean's Lifetime Achievement Award from the UW School of Pharmacy. His long career with Rennebohm Drug Stores spanned from employee, 1934 until April 1980, to service on the company's board of directors for more than 25 years and continuing his dedication with 28 years on the Oscar Rennebohm Foundation Board. The School of Pharmacy community is a different place through his life work and legacy.
Bacteria offers a designer label
(Feb 2008) The bacteria research of Ben Shen, the Charles M. Johnson Chair in the School of Pharmacy and Professor of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, may change the view of chemistry and chemotherapy and is highlighted in the February 27 edition of Wisconsin Week. Shen's blend of basic and applied chemistry in the area of natural products has been instrumental in launching a National Cooperative Drug Discovery Group (NCDDG) on campus.
Kwon's words make top ten list
(Feb 2008) An article co-authored by Glen Kown, professor in the pharmaceutical sciences division, is named fifth among the "ten most highly cited articles in 2007" by the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences." The article, "Amphiphilic Block Copolymers for Drug Delivery" J. Pharm. Sci., 92, 1343-1355, 2003 (Minireview) was written by Monica L. Adams, Afsaneh Lavasanifar, and Dr. Kwon.
Study concludes that severe asthma may be different
(Jan 2008) The research work of Ron Sorkness, professor in the pharmacy practice division, and colleagues from the Severe Asthma Research Program (SARP) has identified key physiological differences between severe and non-severe forms of the disease. The multi-center research project is highlighted in the January 30 edition of ScienceDaily.
Carb chemistry garners sweet results
(Jan 2008) The sugar research work of Jon Thorson, professor in the pharmaceutical sciences division, and colleagues at the School of Pharmacy continues to gain recognition in both the drug development and discovery arenas as highlighted in the January 19 edition of the Wisconsin State Journal.
Shen group identifies new chorismate metabolic pathway
(Jan 2008) A group led by Ben Shen, professor in the Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, and colleagues at the School of Pharmacy were highlighted in the January 14, 2008 edition of Chemical & Engineering News in a news brief titled "New Chorismate Metabolic Pathway." The Shen group "identified a seventh branching point in chorismate metabolism and determined that a product of this pathway is a major component of the enediyne antitumor antibiotic C-1027, one of the most cytotoxic natural products known." The full paper explaining the findings was published in the January 15, 2008 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Spotlight on Jon Thorson & Zeeh Station history
(Nov 2007) The groundbreaking work of Professor Jon Thorson, Ph.D., Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, and the history of the Zeeh Pharmaceutical Station are dually highlighted in "Inherit the Weeds," by John Allen in the Winter 2007 edition of On Wisconsin.
Shen Group enhances performance of cancer-fighting enediynes
(Nov 2007) A group led by Ben Shen, Professor in the Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, and researchers at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York have modified a family of potent bioactive compounds known as enediynes to enhance their anticancer activity. The engineered enediynes may be shown to be therapeutically advantageous, especially in solid tumors. The work is highlighted in a news brief, "Enediynes Taught to Act Better" in the November 5, 2007 edition of Chemical & Engineering News. The full paper explaining the findings was published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Pharmaceutical Sciences Division receives grant from AstraZeneca to support research of Yu and de Villiers research groups
(Nov 2007) The research of Lian Yu and Mel de Villiers, Professors in the Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, will benefit from an exceptional commitment from AstraZeneca towards the School's Pharmaceutical Sciences Graduate Program. AstraZeneca has generously agreed to provide three years of support towards research to study the stability and stabilization of amorphous drugs. The project will build on the discovery from the Yu and de Villiers research groups that surface crystallization is a major failure mechanism for amorphous drugs and that nanometer thin coatings effectively inhibit surface crystallization.
Darin Furgeson joins faculty at Biomedical Engineering Center for Translation Research
(Oct 2007) Darin Furgeson, Assistant Professor in the Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, has been named a faculty member of the UW-Madison Biomedical Engineering Center for Translational Research. The Center supports collaborations between biomedical researchers and practicing physicians. The membership recognizes Furgeson's research efforts in developing solutions that address particular clinical problems or unmet clinical needs, a current priority of the National Institutes of Health. For more information on the Biomedical Engineering Center for Translational Research, see http://bmec.wisc.edu/
Thorson Lab and affiliated researchers create new enzyme with anti-cancer and antibiotic properties
(Sept 2007) Professor Jon Thorson, Ph.D., Pharmaceutical Sciences Division is among a team of University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers who have created a new form of an enzyme capable of producing a range of potential new therapeutic agents with anticancer and antibiotics properties. The work has received attention in scientific journals including the September 9 issue of the journal Nature Chemical Biology, the September 17 issue of Chemical and Engineering News and with local media in the 'Discoveries' section of the September 16 edition of the Wisconsin State Journal
Thorson lab's work with neoglycoranomization strategies published in Chemical & Engineering News
(Aug 2007) The July 30, 2007 issue of Chemical and Engineering News refers to the work of Professor Jon Thorson, Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, and his lab's neoglycorandomization strategies. Dr. Thorson presented in June at the distinguished Benzon Symposia in Copenhagen; the Benzon Symposia are international conferences focused on front line research in medical, pharmaceutical and related sciences and are funded by the Alfred Benzon Foundation.