Does every patient need a genetic test before taking the cancer drug irinotecan? Does cranberry juice impede the breakdown of some medicines the way grapefruit juice does? Can giving HIV-infected mothers antiretroviral drugs in the first six months of their babies’ lives make it safe to breastfeed?  Those are just a few examples of the kind of questions our researchers are asking. Research in the Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics focuses on assessing emerging therapeutic drugs and evaluating their safety, efficacy, and impact on specialized populations. Our faculty collaborates with researchers and professional practitioners across campus, throughout the state, and around the world. We have strong ties with industry as well, and two of our faculty — division chair Kim Brouwer and executive associate dean Gary Pollack — helped cofound a company based on the breakthrough research they conducted in collaboration with fellow School of Pharmacy professor Dhiren Thakker.
In 2006, the School formed the UNC Institute for Pharmacogenomics and Individualized Therapy, a research center that is the first of its kind in the United States. Under the direction of DPET professor Howard McLeod, an internationally recognized expert in pharmacogenmoics, the institute will bring together researchers from the Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Business, Law, and Journalism with the goal of finding ways to match medicines to the unique makeup of patients so as to improve efficacy and safety. | |
Recent Grants Received - Drug Induced Liver Injury Network
Paul B. Watkins: National Institutes of Health. 8/30/08 – 7/31/12. $1,250,000. - Shared UPLC-MS/MS for absolute quantitative proteomics
Mary Paine (co-PI): Shared Instrument Grant. NCRR, NIH. $381,000 (total direct costs). - Dysfunctional Eicosanoid Metabolism and Cardiovascular Disease
Craig R. Lee: Junior Faculty Development Award, UNC-Chapel Hill, Office of the Provost. 1/1/08 – 12/31/08. $7,500 (total direct costs). - Pharmacokinetics of enalapril and carvedilol with inhibition of transporters by famotidine
Jo Ellen Rodgers: University Research Council, UNC-Chapel Hill. $5,000 (total direct costs). - Characterization of novel antiretroviral resistance among HIV-infected patients in the UNC-CH cohort
Corbett AH: Virco Laboratories. 05/08 – 12/08. $15,000. - Pharmacokinetics of Lopinavir/ritonavir in Breastmilk and Breastfeeding Infants
Corbett AH: Abbott Laboratories. 04/08 – 12/08. $31,000. Recent Publications - Using controlled clinical trials to learn more about acute drug-induced liver injury.
Watkins PB, Seligman PJ, Pears JS, Avigan MI, Senior JR. Hepatology 48(5):1680-9, 2008 - Cyclooxygenase polymorphisms and risk of cardiovascular events: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study.
Lee CR, North KE, Bray MS, Couper DJ, Heiss G, Zeldin DC. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2008;83(1):52-60. - Immediate feedback, answer-until-correct examinations in a core-curriculum pharmacokinetics course
A.M. Persky and G.M. Pollack. Am J Pharm Educ, accepted. - A hybrid jigsaw approach to teach renal clearance concepts
A.M. Persky and G.M. Pollack. J Pharm Teaching, accepted. - High frequency of HIV-related medication errors and associated risk factors in hospitalized patients
Pastakia S, Corbett A, Raasch R, Napravnik S, Correll T. Annals of Pharmacotherapy 2008;42(4):491-7. Recent Presentations - Use of Clinical trials to identify novel biomarkers of hepatotoxicity
Paul Watkins: CBI Symposium on Hepatotoxicity; November 6-7, 2008 - “Comparison of the hepatobiliary disposition of DB289 and DB868”
Mary Paine: Consortium for Parasitic Drug Development Annual Scientific Meeting; Atlanta, GA; October 30, 2008. - Use on genomics to identify hepatotoxicity biomarkers in clinical trials: A case study in acetaminophen treated health volunteers
Paul Watkins: HESI Case Studies Workshop: Genomics Applications in Safety Studies – Case Study Workshop; Washington DC; October 28, 2008 - “Phenotypic characterization of endothelial function in individuals with established atherosclerosis using two non-invasive methods”
Bass A, Caughey M, Hull JH, Stouffer GA, Hinderliter AL, Lee CR: Pharmacotherapy. 2008;28(10):120 [abstract 19]. American College of Clinical Pharmacy Annual Meeting; Louisville, KY; October 21, 2008. - “Pharmacogenomics in Cancer Patients: One size does not fit all”
Christine Walko: Annual Symposium for Nurses and Pharmacists Specializing in Oncology. Dallas, Texas; October 2008. - “A validation study of self-reported antiretroviral use within a clinical cohort of HIV positive patients”
Brouwer E, Napravnik S, Corbett A., Eron J: 24th International Conference on Pharmacoepidemiology and Therapeutic Risk Management; Copenhagen, Denmark; August 17-20, 2008. |
