School of Pharmacy

Department of Pharmaceutics: a very good year

To see an album of photos from the PCEU awards reception, click here.

During the 2011-12 academic year, the School of Pharmacy’s Department of Pharmaceutics faculty, staff and students secured about $1.36 million in grants, contracts, scholarships and gifts to underpin departmental research.

The department’s first Grants, Scholarships and Awards Reception took place in January at the Larrick Student Center. “This reception is held to acknowledge all those who contributed,” wrote department chairman Peter Byron. “Without their efforts, it would be impossible to run the department’s graduate and postdoctoral programs and contribute to VCU’s Quest for Distinction.”

During the reception, which featured a number of exotic hors d’oeuvres, Byron greeted attendees. “We hardly ever say thanks, but this year we are. And we will again next year!”

Byron noted a quote from “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” by Jules Verne: “Science, my lad, is made up of mistakes, but they are mistakes which it is useful to make, because they lead little by little to the truth.”

The following people and programs were credited for their contributions and potential contributions to science (and the truth!):

Scholarships and awards
Poonam Delvadia: Altria Regulatory Sciences Fellowship
Morse Faria: VCU University Service Award
Matthew Halquist:  2012 John Wood Award
Xiang Li: 2011 Thakker Award
Aditi Mulgaonkar: 2011 American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics and Drug Metabolism Section Annual Meeting Travel Award and Joseph Schwartz Graduate Student Travel Award
Li Wang: 2011-12 VCU Graduate Student Travel Grant

Summer fellows and awards
Maimuna Bruce (advisor Jürgen Venitz): Best Graduate Student Poster (2011 Pharmaceutical Sciences Research and Career Day)
Tamoor Asif (advisor Phillip Gerk): Best Pharm.D Poster (2011 Pharmaceutical Sciences Research and Career Day)
Elizavet Budko (advisor Douglas Sweet)
Ngochan Vo and Biruk Mikru (advisor Masahiro Sakagami)

Grants and contracts FY 2012
Peter Byron, Masahiro Sakagami and Norbert Voelkel, “Inhaled Iloprost in a Rat Model of Severe Pulmonary Hypertension,” Actelion Pharmaceuticals
Douglas Boudinot, “Graduate Student Fellowship,” Vietnam Educational Fund
Phillip Gerk, “Eradicating HIV Infection: Eliminate HIV Viral Sanctuaries,” Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Phillip Gerk, “Targeting Anti-Retroviral Drugs to Pharmacologic Sanctuaries,”VCU Presidential Research Incentive Program
Phillip Gerk and Mary Jayne Kennedy, “Characterization of the Megalin Receptor and its Role in Aminoglycoside Uptake,” Jeffress Memorial Trust
Michael Hindle and Hu Yang, “Development of Vectors for Targeted Airway-Mediated Anti-Cancer Drug Delivery,” Massey Cancer Center Pilot Project Program
Worth Longest and Michael Hindle, “Computational Study of Lung Deposition for Orally Inhaled Drug Products,”  DHHS/FDA
Michael Hindle and Worth Longest, “Improved Lung Delivery of Medical Aerosols Through Enhanced Condensational Growth,” NIH
Michael Hindle and Worth Longest, “Excipient Enhanced Aerosol Particle Formulations and Inhaler Development for Improved Pulmonary Drug Delivery,” NIH
Michael Hindle and Worth Longest, “Effective Delivery of Pharmaceutical Aerosols During Non-Invasive Ventilation,” NIH
Thomas Karnes,“Suitability and Optimal Method Parameters to Measure Biotherapeutics and Macromolecular Biomarkers,”  Pfizer Pharmaceuticals
Thomas Karnes, “Method Development for Compounding Monographs,” United States Pharmacopeia
Masahiro Sakagami, “Novel Cinnamic Acid-Based Oligomer for Emphysema,”  American Lung Association
Douglas Sweet, “Biochemical and Behavioral Consequences of Organic Anion Transporter Disfunction,” VCU Presidential Research Initiative Program
Douglas Sweet, “Elucidating the Role of Organic Cation Transporters in Renal Aminoglycoside Toxicity”, AD Williams Foundation
Jürgen Venitz and Martin Safo, “Concentration-and Time-Dependent PK/PD of Allosteric Hemoglobin Effectors,” VCU Presidential Research Initiative Program

Bioanalytical Core Laboratory awards
Thomas Karnes and Randy James, funds for collaborative research were provided by Bamvet Laboratories, Delcath Systems, IBA Molecular Imaging, Teva Animal Health, National Cancer Institute, VCU Department of Physiology and VCU Office of Research

Gifts, licensing fees and donations
Peter Byron and Joanne Peart: Respiratory Drug Delivery 2012 Sponsorship
Peter Byron and Joanne Peart: License fees (RDD Online)
Peter Byron: Charles G Thiel Endowment (3M Pharmaceuticals)
Thomas Karnes: Regulatory Sciences Graduate Fellowship (Altria)

Patents
Michael Hindle, Peter Byron and Rajiv Gupta: “Improved Method and Apparatus of Generating an Aerosol,” EU Patent #1441785, issued April 25, 2012

Conference organizers
Thomas Karnes: International Symposium on PBA, Brazil, October 2011
Douglas Sweet: ABC Transporter Session, AAPS, Washington, November 2011
Peter Byron and Joanne Peart: Respiratory Drug Delivery 2012, Arizona, May 2012

Postdoctoral fellowships
Yakun Chen (advisor Thomas Karnes): performed research in bioanalysis
Yoen-Ju Son (advisor Michael Hindle):  performed research in aerosol pharmaceutics

Ph.D. graduates
Renishkumar Delvadia (advisor Peter Byron)
Darren Desoi (advisor Thomas Karnes)
Matthew Halquist (advisor Thomas Karnes)

Staff
Scott Crenshaw
Kenya Gage
Laura Georgiadis
Angela McGrath
Gai Nyok
Keyetta Tate

   

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