Researcher develops novel vaccine to treat colorectal cancer in combination with immunotherapy
A School of Pharmacy researcher’s new vaccine to boost the immune system’s ability to fight colorectal cancer has shown promise in pre-clinical experiments. Julian Zhu, Ph.D., an assistant professor at VCU School of Pharmacy and a member of the Developmental Therapeutics research program at VCU Massey Cancer Center, developed the novel vaccine and used it […]
Pharmacy joins with engineering to make inhaled medications more effective for infants
Pharmaceutical aerosols are painless, fast-acting and less likely to cause side effects than medicines delivered via pills or injections. Yet inhaled therapies are often avoided because of the challenges associated with targeting how aerosol particles are deposited within the lung. “Current inhalers produce fairly large particles, so approximately 90 percent of the medication gets lost […]
$6.8M grant supports research at VCU interdisciplinary center on opioids and other addictions
By Greg WeatherfordVCU School of Pharmacy Every day more than 130 people in the United States die from opioid overdose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — enough people each year to fill an Olympic stadium. That’s why Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Medicine and School of Pharmacy have teamed up on a $6.8 million grant […]
“There’s going to be so much opportunity”: Kelly Goode on the future of community pharmacy
Community pharmacies today are much more than places to pick up medications. Pharmacists and other health-care workers increasingly are taking on additional roles and working to improve patient health. In a recent article in Pharmacy, Jean-Venable “Kelly” Goode, Pharm.D., examines the evolution of community pharmacy in the United States. We spoke to her about what […]
State approves nation’s first Ph.D. program in pharmaceutical engineering
Greg Weatherford VCU School of Pharmacy (804) 828-6470 Virginia Commonwealth University will be home to the nation’s first Ph.D. program in pharmaceutical engineering. The doctoral program, a collaboration between VCU’s School of Pharmacy and College of Engineering, will focus on research and training students in areas of drug product development such as continuous manufacturing and […]
Zhu designs drug delivery systems to test nanovaccines for brain and skin cancer
By Blake Belden Having a research laboratory on a medical campus, Guizhi Zhu, Ph.D., will often cross paths with cancer patients, and it’s during those instances that he is most driven to continue his work. “I sometimes feel helpless because I can’t do much for them in that moment other than saying some kind words,” he […]
VCU team explores epigenetics as cause of adverse drug reactions in elderly
Greg Weatherford Director of Communications VCU School of Pharmacy A VCU School of Pharmacy research team is studying how aging affects the ways drugs interact with the body. The results may help doctors better manage medications in older patients. The aim is to better understand why older people seem to metabolize drugs more slowly, with […]
VCU creates Center for Pharmaceutical Engineering and Sciences
By Greg Weatherford VCU School of Pharmacy (804) 828-6470 goweatherfor@vcu.edu By Kendra Gerlach VCU College of Engineering (804) 827-0631 kegerlach2@vcu.edu Wednesday, April 17, 2019 Virginia Commonwealth University has opened a Center for Pharmaceutical Engineering and Sciences. The new interdisciplinary center, one of few in the country and the only one of its kind in Virginia, is […]
Medicinal Chemistry ranked as top VCU department for inventions
Greg Weatherford Director of Communications VCU School of Pharmacy The No. 1 department at VCU for invention disclosures in 2018 was the School of Pharmacy’s Department of Medicinal Chemistry, according to the latest annual report from VCU’s Innovation Gateway. With 12 faculty members, the Medicinal Chemistry Department reported 14 inventions last year. That figure […]
In clearest view ever of cell membrane, VCU team finds unexpected structure and new areas for pharmaceutical research
Greg Weatherford VCU School of Pharmacy Director of Communications Working with a Nobel Prize-winning biophysicist, a team of researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University has used an innovative technique to gain the clearest view yet of a patch of cell membrane and its components, revealing unexpected structures and opening up new possibilities for pharmaceutical research. Cell […]