Circular mRNA may improve treatments
SoP researchers are changing the shape of the fight against COVID, cancer and more. Although they’ve been effective at preventing the virus, the VCU School of Pharmacy’s Guizhi “Julian” Zhu, Ph.D., notes that mRNA molecules used in those vaccines still have room for improvement: Their linear shape makes them more susceptible to being broken down […]
To fight cancer recurrence, VCU experts go right to the source
By Lewis Brissman If you think of cancer as a grizzly bear, an attack isn’t the only danger you face. An equal worry is the hibernation. Dr. Umesh Desai is – metaphorically, of course – targeting the beast in both states In the VCU School of Pharmacy, Desai is chairman of the Department of Medicinal […]
Peers and colleagues thank DiPiro for eight years as dean
Colleagues, friends and peers gathered at the Smith Building last week to say thank you to Joseph T. DiPiro, Pharm.D., for eight years of leadership as dean of the School of Pharmacy. DiPiro is stepping aside as dean but plans to continue teaching and will serve as associate vice president of faculty affairs. A nationwide […]
Opioids and HIV: The mystery of the ‘bouncer’ in the brain
By Greg WeatherfordVCU SoP News The opioid epidemic that has devastated families and lives across the U.S. in the past decade has brought along with it another deadly problem: HIV. The two conditions have long been intertwined. As the use and misuse of opioids has increased and spread, rates of HIV have as well. To make […]
Doing it all
May Abdelaziz, a VCU Alumni 10 Under 10 honoree, excels as a researcher, mother and teacher. By Leah SmallFor VCU SoP News A single word half-heard during a phone call with a colleague led May Abdelaziz, Ph.D., on a search for insights on the causes of bacterial resistance in superbugs. It’s the sort of connection […]
Study: Sickle cell costs U.S. $1.5 billion per year in lost wages and productivity
Sickle cell disease causes $1.5 billion in lost wages and productivity each year in the U.S. alone, according to the first study of its kind. That comes to more than $650,000 lost over the average working life of a person living with the painful genetic disorder. Lead researcher David Holdford, Ph.D., a professor of pharmacoeconomics […]
Once a coronavirus vaccine exists, a VCU researcher’s mailable patch could deliver it to millions
Greg WeatherfordVCU School of Pharmacy Someday, hundreds of millions of vaccinations against the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 could show up in people’s mailboxes and be applied as simply as slapping on a Band-Aid. That’s the vision of Guizhi “Julian” Zhu, Ph.D., at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy. Zhu, an assistant professor in the school’s Department of […]
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 […]
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 […]