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Mahfoud Assem
Division of Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy
College of Pharmacy
http://www.pharmacy.uiowa.edu/CAP/fac/assemm.html
Research Program
Dr. Assem has a long-standing interest in the fields of Pharmacogenetics and Pharmacogenomics. His current works are focused on the genetic and environmental regulations of drug metabolism (Pharmacokinetics) and drug action (Pharmacodynamics), with an emphasis on the role of genetic polymorphisms in drug response. The aims of his works are to develop an individualized dosing protocol that predicts efficacy and reduce toxicity of clinically relevant agents especially those with a narrow therapeutic window.
He also has a secondary interest in understanding the role of nuclear receptors, specifically, Pregnane X Receptor (PXR) and Constitutive Androstane Receptor (CAR) in liver physiopathology. Nuclear receptors are ligand-dependent transcription factors that act as sensors for endobiotics and xenobiotics, directing many biological pathways, particularly in the liver and intestine, where they serve as principal regulators of lipid, cholesterol, bile acid, and xenobiotic metabolisms.
His research uses many genomics technologies such as gene specific knock out mouse models, cell culture, retroviruses and adenoviruses transductions, western blot, real time PCR, PCR sequencing, promoter studies and affymetrix microarray.
Key Words: Pharmacogenetics, pharmacogenomics, personalized medicine, nuclear receptors, liver, metabolism |
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John Brooks
Division of Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy
College of Pharmacy
http://www.pharmacy.uiowa.edu/CAP/fac/brooksj.htm
Research Program
Dr. Brooks is presently tackling the theoretical and empirical issues surrounding treatment effectiveness research in several clinical areas including breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, end-stage renal disease, and acute nursing care. He is Deputy Director of the Healthcare Effectiveness Research Center (HERCe), a center co-sponsor by the College of Public Health and College of Pharmacy is dedicated to the understanding the theoretical and applied issues associated with effectiveness research in healthcare.
In addition, Dr. Brooks’ research interests include modeling and describing bargaining outcomes and processes in healthcare. Dr. Brooks’ theoretical models and empirical work on bargaining over price between healthcare providers and payers were said to “represent a significant advance over other work by writing down a carefully specified theoretical model of bargaining” by Martin Gaynor and William Vogt in the Handbook of Health Economics (North-Holland 2000).
Key Words: treatment effectiveness, evaluation of observational data, bargaining in healthcare |
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Barry Carter
Division of Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy
College of Pharmacy
http://www.pharmacy.uiowa.edu/CAP/fac/carterb.htm
Research Program
The long range goal of Dr. Carter’s research is to evaluate strategies to improve chronic disease control and minimize medication risk utilizing physician/pharmacist collaborative teams. Dr. Carter is an expert in HTN, participated on writing panels for the JNC-5, 6 and 7 guidelines and has been PI on a number of relevant studies including hypertension interventions using physician-pharmacist collaboration. Dr. Carter was PI of the IMPROVE study conducted in nine VHA ambulatory clinics. The study used pharmacists to identify drug-related problems and randomized 1054 patients to the intervention (n = 523) or usual care (n = 531). Pharmacists documented 1855 contacts with intervention patients and made 3048 recommendations. Intervention patients had higher scores for eight SF-36 domains; moreover, differences were “dose-related,” such that the number of recommendations was associated (p<.01) with changes in two domains (general health perceptions and vitality) and in overall health. Intervention patients also had fewer clinic visits (p=.02) and somewhat lower utilization (cost) (p=.06).84 A subgroup analysis of 437 patients with dyslipidemia found greater (p<.05) reductions in total (18 vs, 7 mg/dl) and LDL cholesterol (23 vs. 13 mg/dl) in intervention patients.
Dr. Carter is the PI for two studies involving physician-pharmacist collaboration to improve BP control in family medicine clinics. The Adherence to BP Guidelines study (R01 HL070740) is ongoing and will not be completed until late 2007 but some work has already been published. The Collaborative Management of Hypertension (CMH) study (R01 HL069801) was a randomized trial of a pharmacist-physician collaborative intervention that finished in October 2006. The pharmacist conducted a baseline interview and risk stratification, assessed patients’ drug regimens, suggested a goal BP based on JNC 7 guidelines, and provided physicians with recommendations to improve treatment and BP control. The pharmacist and physician then worked as a team to determine a strategy to achieve the goal BP. Intervention and control patients were seen by a research nurse at identical time intervals (baseline and 2, 4, 6, 8 and 9 months) for the purpose of data collection. The study enrolled 178 patients and there were 19 who withdrew leaving 159 patients who completed the trial. BP control in the intervention group (89%) and 55% in the control group. Dr. Carter is also a Senior Scientist in the Iowa City VA Center for Research in the Implementation of Innovative Strategies in Practice (CRIISP).
Key words: chronic care, hypertension, collaboration, clinical pharmacy |
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Maureen D. Donovan
Division of Pharmaceutics
College of Pharmacy
http://www.pharmacy.uiowa.edu/pharmaceutics/people/Donovan.htm
Research Program
Dr. Donovan's research interests include novel drug delivery systems in mucosal drug delivery especially via the nasal, gastrointestinal and vaginal epithelia; and mechanisms of drug absorption and disposition.
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Jonathan Doorn
Division of Medicinal and Natural Products Chemistry
College of Pharmacy
http://www.pharmacy.uiowa.edu/mnpcphar/Pages/doorn.html
Research Program
In general, Dr. Doorns’ work involves examining the role of reactive intermediates in toxicity and disease. Specifically, his mechanistic, hypothesis-driven research focuses on the potential role of protein modification by a reactive metabolite of dopamine metabolism in neurotoxicity and neurodegenerative disease, i.e. Parkinson’s disease. Dopamine (DA) is an important neurotransmitter that is metabolized by monoamine oxidase to 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetaldehyde (DOPAL), an intermediate shown to be reactive toward proteins and toxic to dopaminergic cells. Specifically, the following areas are being investigated. (1) Characterize the chemistry of DOPAL, with emphasis on determining DOPAL reactivity toward proteins and identifying novel ways to synthesize the DA-derived aldehyde. (2) Elucidate mechanisms for generation of DOPAL at aberrant concentrations, involving exposure to drugs, oxidative stress and environmental agents. (3) Identify proteins modified by DOPAL. The Doorn lab is developing a proteomics-based approach to isolate and identify proteins with DOPAL adducts. (4) Determine the functional consequence of protein modification by DOPAL. Several potential targets are being studied, including the proteasome and proteins involved in DA synthesis and trafficking. In summary, the Dr. Doorn is studying the biological chemistry of DOPAL, as aberrant levels of the DA-derived aldehyde may represent a “chemical trigger” for neurodegeneration (e.g. PD). This work is highly significant as outcomes of the research may yield novel targets for therapeutic intervention, and future work will evaluate the potential of aldehyde-scavenging drugs to attenuate DOPAL-mediated toxicity and neurodegeneration.
Key Words: dopamine, Parkinson’s disease, reactive intermediates, aldehydes, oxidative stress |
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William Doucette
Division of Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy
College of Pharmacy
http://www.pharmacy.uiowa.edu/CAP/fac/doucettew.htm
Research Program
Dr. Doucette's primary interest is in how the characteristics of health care systems impact the practitioner behavior, especially the delivery of care to patients with chronic conditions. He has used individual social psychology, exchange, and organization models to study pharmacist and physician behavior. He has developed and is testing a model of physician-pharmacist collaboration. He has been active in evaluating pharmacist services in a community setting.
Key words: team, pharmacist, medication therapy, ambulatory |
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Michael W. Duffel
Division of Medicinal and Natural Products Chemistry
College of Pharmacy
http://www.pharmacy.uiowa.edu/mnpcphar/Pages/duffel.html
Research Program
Dr. Duffel’s current research activities are centered on enzyme-catalyzed reactions that occur with xenobiotics. The major component of this effort includes studies to better understand and predict the role that sulfotransferases play in the cytotoxic, immunologic, mutagenic and carcinogenic responses to drugs, environmental chemicals, and other xenobiotics. This exploration of sulfotransferases employs a broad array of techniques in enzymology, biological chemistry, and chemistry that range from laboratory-based to computational approaches. These studies include investigations into the molecular bases for the substrate specificities, catalytic mechanisms, stereospecificities, and regulation of these enzymes. One major current research project, “Aryl and Alcohol Sulfotransferases in Drug Metabolism,” is funded by the National Cancer Institute. This project includes investigations on the role of sulfotransferases in a carcinogenic side-effect of a metabolite of the drug tamoxifen, studies on the mechanism and catalytic regulation of aryl and alcohol sulfotransferases, and development of methods to discover highly selective inhibitors of sulfotransferase isoforms. A second major research effort is directed towards understanding how polychlorinated biphenyls and their hydroxylated metabolites alter the regulation and catalytic function of the hydroxysteroid sulfotransferases. This is a component project, entitled “PCBs and Hydroxysteroid (Alcohol) Sulfotransferases”, within the Iowa Superfund Basic Research Program entitled “Semi-volatile PCBs: Sources, Exposures, Toxicities”. This research is funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
Key Words: drug metabolism, enzymology, toxicology. sulfotransferase, carcinogenesis |
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Erika Ernst
Division of Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy
College of Pharmacy
http://www.pharmacy.uiowa.edu/CAP/fac/ernste.htm
Research Program
Dr. Ernst’s research interests are in the area of infectious diseases and antimicrobial agents. This includes studies pharmacodynamics, pharmacoepidemiology and pharmacogenetics of antibiotics. Pharmacodynamic research has focused on the relationship between drug concentration and antimicrobial killing properties of antifungal and antibacterial agents. This research includes designing dosing regimens that optimize antimicrobial action while minimizing toxicity and the development of resistance. Pharmacoepidemiological studies investigate the relationships between drug utilization and risk factors for infection with resistant organisms and adverse effects of antimicrobial agents. Newer research interests include describing the pharmacogenetic basis for adverse effects of antimicrobial agents.
Key words: infectious diseases, antimicrobial agents, pharmacodynamics, pharmacoepidemiology, pharamcogenetics, adverse effects |
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Karen Farris
Division of Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy
College of Pharmacy
http://www.pharmacy.uiowa.edu/CAP/fac/farrisk.htm
Research Program
Dr. Farris’ research uses social-psychological theories with community pharmacy as the context, and she uses quantitative and qualitative approaches in her research. Her work contributes to the theoretical and practical aspects of community pharmacy, ascertaining the social/behavioral roles of pharmacists and their influences on medication use. These roles include treatment as well as preventive roles that community pharmacists may have. For example, she is studying community pharmacists’ use of brief smoking cessation counseling and developing tools to assist pharmacists in providing Pharmaceutical Case Management. A second and equally important research interest is older adults’ ability to manage their medications. She is exploring different facets of cognition and their relationship to intentional and unintentional medication non-adherence. A practical aspect of this research area is that she is quantifying the impact of the MD.2 Medication Dispensing machine on patient outcomes.
Key Words: community pharmacy services, elderly, smoking cessation |
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Jennifer Fiegel
Division of Pharmaceutics
College of Pharmacy
http://www.pharmacy.uiowa.edu/pharmaceutics/people/Fiegel.htm
Research Program
Dr. Fiegel’s research focuses on the development of novel drug delivery systems for diseases of the lung, with special emphasis on infectious and inflammatory diseases. Through experimental studies and mathematical modeling, the laboratory designs medical aerosols with an improved ability to target the delivery of therapeutics within the lungs and explores the complex physical interactions between these delivery systems and various cells and fluids native to the lungs. The group is also investigating new ways to suppress the transmission of airborne pathogens via local variations in the lung lining fluid.
Key Words: Drug delivery, lungs, aerosol, infectious disease |
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Douglas Flanagan
Division of Pharmaceutics
College of Pharmacy
http://www.pharmacy.uiowa.edu/pharmaceutics/people/Flanagan.htm
Research Program
Dr. Flanagan’s research involves the application of diffusion principles to the analysis of dissolution processes for the development of controlled release formulations using biodegradable polymers or other polymeric delivery systems. He is also interested in the application of thermal analytical methods to the characterization of the kinetics of solid-state reactions.
Dr. Flanagan’s research has led to the development of a unified dissolution model for spherical particulate drug systems which included experimental support for the model. This model unified three other models into one model describing the diffusion layer-controlled dissolution of drug particles. This model has been extended to particles that are normally distributed in size and will be further extended to describing the dissolution behavior of non-spherical particles. These models have further application to a number of controlled release drug systems in which diffusion of drug through or in a polymeric matrix is the controlling factor in the rate of drug release. The polymeric systems involve both biodegradable polymers such as polyesters and non-degradable polymers commonly used in pharmaceutical formulation to control drug release.
Dr. Flanagan has also been recently involved in developing new methods to analyze thermoanalytical data to extract meaningful kinetic parameters for solids that undergo physical or chemical change when they are heated. There are many methods for extracting such data from thermogravimetric or differential scanning calorimetric data on solid systems. Dr. Flanagan’s research has focused on methods to extract kinetic parameters that are independent of the analysis method that can lead to a better understanding of the controlling mechanisms for solid-state reactions. His methodology has been successfully applied to the desolvation kinetics of drug solvates and will be extended to other physical and chemical process in the solid-state.
Key Words: diffusion, dissolution, drug release, solid-state kinetics, thermal analysis, biodegradable polymers, controlled drug release |
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Lawrence Fleckenstein
Division of Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy
College of Pharmacy
http://www.pharmacy.uiowa.edu/CAP/fac/fleckensteinl.htm
Research Program
Dr. Fleckenstein’s long-term research focus has been in clinical pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics (PK/PD), particularly as these disciplines relate to the influence of disease states or population factors on the variability and elimination of drugs from the human body. Traditional and population pharmacokinetics models and modeling form an increasing part of the approach to the optimal design, development and use of new medicines. While models to characterize the pharmacokinetics of drugs take on many forms, one of the most powerful and useful approaches is to integrate patient demographic, pathophysiologic and therapeutic features to investigate alteration of dose-concentration relationships. Population pharmacokinetics seeks to identify pathophysiologic factors that cause changes in the dose-concentration relationship so that if such changes are associated with clinically significant shifts in the therapeutic index, the dosage can be appropriately adjusted. Population pharmacokinetics is the study of the sources and correlates of variability in drug concentrations between and within individuals representative of those in whom the drug will be used clinically.
Dr Fleckenstein’s research interests include:
1) Design of clinical pharmacokinetic experiments, population PK/PD study design and clinical trial design
2) The use of traditional and population methods for PK/PD analysis.
3) The influence of disease factors on the pharmacokinetics of drugs.
Dr. Fleckenstein’s current research program is focused on the pharmacokinetics and development of new therapies for parasitic diseases for underdeveloped countries, primarily malaria, and onchocerciasis. These studies involve quantitation of drug levels of investigational new drugs in biological fluids by HPLC or LCMS analysis and subsequent PK/PD analysis using traditional and population approaches.
Key Words: Clinical research, pharmacokinetics, clinical pharmacokinetics, drug development |
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James D. Hoehns
Division of Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy
College of Pharmacy
http://www.pharmacy.uiowa.edu/CAP/fac/hoehnsj.htm
Research Program
The Research Department is a department of the Northeast Iowa Medical Education Foundation (NEIMEF). NEIMEF includes the Northeast Iowa Family Practice Center which serves as the home clinic for the Northeast Iowa Family Medicine Residency Program. The Research Department was established to facilitate the opportunity for patients and providers from our practice to be able to participate in clinical research protocols.
Since 1992, NEIMEF has participated in over 90 clinical research protocols. Most of these protocols are sponsored phase II-IV pharmaceutical clinical trials. We participate in clinical protocols involving disease states which are commonly treated by Family Medicine physicians. Specific areas of emphasis for our site include: diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, osteoarthritis, and depression. NEIMEF utilizes a complete electronic patient medical record which assists our research activities.
Our experienced research team includes: John E. Sutherland, M.D., Matthew E. Ulven, MD, MPH, FAAFP, Pam Trenkamp, R.N., CCRC, and Angie Bixby-Ellerman, CRC.
Key Words: clinical research, family medicine, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, osteoarthritis, depression, primary care |
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Zhendong Jin
Division of Medicinal and Natural Products Chemistry
College of Pharmacy
http://www.pharmacy.uiowa.edu/mnpcphar/Pages/jin.html
Research Program
The main emphasis of Dr. Jin’s research is the total synthesis of various biologically active natural products and structural analogues, the discovery and development of new synthetic methods with particular interest in asymmetric reactions, and synthesis of novel anticancer agents.
Key words: organic synthesis, total synthesis, new synthetic methods, anticancer agents |
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Robert Kerns
Divisional of Medicinal and Natural Products Chemistry
College of Pharmacy
http://www.pharmacy.uiowa.edu/mnpcphar/Pages/kerns.htm
Research Program
Dr. Kerns’ research is focused in two programmatic areas. One research program is focused on the study of biologically important glycoconjugates. A main area of emphasis in this program is the evaluation of new approaches to inhibit cellular interactions and biological processes mediated by cell surface glycosaminoglycans. The Kerns lab is developing new strategies to prepare non-polyanionic molecules that selectively inhibit heparan sulfate-protein interactions, and working to identify minimally-charged oligosaccharides that block or modulate physiological processes mediated by heparin-protein and heparan sulfate-protein interactions. Recently, the Kerns lab has employed the diversity-oriented parallel synthesis and screening of chemically modified heparin derivatives to demonstrate that anionic groups in heparin previously shown to be required for heparin to bind specific heparin-binding proteins can be replaced with certain non-ionic groups to afford unique heparin-derived saccharides that possess increased affinity and selectivity for binding to individual heparin-binding proteins. This work has resulted in the discovery of novel heparin-derived saccharides that bind select growth factors, select coagulation factors and select extracellular matrix proteins; and that are potent inhibitors of heparin-binding proteases such as cathepsin G and neutrophil elastase. A newly funded project in this program is aimed at understanding the effect of endogenous glycosaminoglycans and exogenous sulfated saccharides on the direct and indirect roles of cationic antimicrobial peptides in innate and adaptive immunity.
The second area of research in the Kerns laboratory is focused on antibiotic resistance. This program employs synthetic chemistry as the foundation of an interdisciplinary strategy utilizing the design, synthesis and evaluation of novel antibiotics, analogs and molecular probes to study bacterial resistance mechanisms and to explore the development of new antibacterial agents that are active against drug-resistant microorganisms. In collaboration with researchers at Wayne State University the Kerns lab is working to understand the structure-function relationships of compounds that are inhibitors and/or substrates of multi-drug efflux transporters toward developing new strategies to inhibit or evade efflux-mediated antimicrobial resistance. In collaboration with researchers at the Public Health Research Institute in Newark, NJ the Kerns lab is working to understand how certain structurally unique fluoroquinolone antibiotics kill M. tuberculosis in the absence of ongoing protein synthesis, and working to design novel quinolone-class antibiotics that are effective against strains of M. tuberculosis that are resistant to current fluoroquinolone antibiotics.
Key Words: glycosaminoglycans, heparin, heparan sulfate, carbohydrates, glycoconjugates, medicinal chemistry, antimicrobial resistance, antimicrobial peptides, drug design, antibiotics |
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Lee E. Kirsch
Division of Pharmaceutics
College of Pharmacy
http://www.pharmacy.uiowa.edu/pharmaceutics/people/Kirsch.htm
Research Program
Dr. Kirsch's research interests include macromolecular peptide prodrugs for targeted drug delivery, the kinetics and mechanisms of the chemical instability of drugs, the kinetics and mechanisms of the physical instability of dispersed and colloidal systems, and pharmaceutical package integrity technologies. |
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Vijay Kumar
Division of Pharmaceutics
College of Pharmacy
http://www.pharmacy.uiowa.edu/pharmaceutics/people/Kumar.htm
Research Program
Vijay Kumar’s research interests fall in the following two areas: (i) basic and applied pharmaceutics and (ii) tissue engineering. His research in basic and applied pharmaceutics involves the study of different polymorphic forms of cellulose and their aqueous dispersions as potential pharmaceutical excipients and chemical modifications of cellulose to produce novel functionalized polymers for use as drug carriers. Studies in tissue engineering focus on the use of cellulose, oxidized cellulose, and oxidized cellulose-chitosan scaffolds to develop functional, tissue engineered small diameter blood vessels and heart valves. The major emphasis of this research is the rationale design of small diameter (< 5 mm) tubular and heart valve scaffolds that support and promote cell adhesion and growth, provide the geometric guidance to the proliferating cells, and perform mechanically and hemodynamically similar to the native vessels and valves.
Key Words: Cellulose; modified celluloses; oxidized cellulose; chitosan; Pharmaceutical excipients; drug delivery; biodegradable polymers; tissue engineering; cardiovascular tissue engineering. |
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Gary Milavetz
Division of Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy
College of Pharmacy
http://www.pharmacy.uiowa.edu/CAP/fac/milavetzg.htm
Research Program
Dr. Milavetz’s research interests include the pharmacotherapeutics of respiratory medications. He has numerous original research publications on the pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and clinical efficacy of medications used to treat respiratory disease. |
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Daryl Murry
Division of Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy
College of Pharmacy
http://www.pharmacy.uiowa.edu/CAP/fac/murryd.htm
Research Program
His research interests include: incorporation of innovative dosing strategies into Phase I clinical trials, the development and validation of surrogate endpoints in clinical trials, and the clinical pharmacology of anti-neoplastic agents. Dr. Murry collaborates with a number of research groups within the Schools of Pharmacy, Medicine, and Public Health and with national partners across the country. Dr. Murry has published extensively in many health sciences journals. He is a member of the Cancer and Leukemia Group B Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics Committee and of the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Dr. Murry is currently an Associate Professor in the College of Pharmacy. Dr. Murry earned his B.S. and his Pharm.D. degree from the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy. He completed his Residency training at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and his research fellowship training in cancer pharmacology at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis. He then became co-director of the Clinical Pharmacology Unit at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, Texas. Murry returned to the Midwest in 1998 to accept a position at Purdue University prior to arriving at the University of Iowa in 2003.
Key words: Pharmacokinetics, pharmacogenomics, Phase I trials |
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Horacio F. Olivo
Medicinal and Natural Products Chemistry
College of Pharmacy
http://www.pharmacy.uiowa.edu/mnpcphar/Pages/olivo.html
Research Program
We have three main research program areas in our group. The first one is on the total syntheses of novel cytotoxic marine marcrolactones. We are currently focused on the syntheses of 14-membered ring callipeltosides and aurisides. A second theme is to develop chemical strategies for the syntheses of complex Stemona alkaloids. These molecules possess challenging structures and potent biological activity. The third area of research is the application of biotransformations to problems in synthetic organic chemistry. Research efforts include the preparation of chiral synthons by enzymatic desymmetrization of meso-compounds to single enantiomers and microbial hydroxylation of heteroatoms and unactivated carbons. These chiral synthons are then employed in the total enantioselective syntheses of natural products with great biological importance: marine glycosylated and halogenated macrolides and complex alkaloids of great biological significance. |
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Kevin G. Rice
Division of Medicinal and Natural Products Chemistry
College of Pharmacy
http://www.pharmacy.uiowa.edu/mnpcphar/Pages/rice.htm
Research Program
My laboratory is focused on the development and testing of non-viral gene delivery systems. This typically involves the development of peptides that either bind ionically or covalently to plasmid DNA to direct its targeting across the cell membrane and to the nucleus. We also develop glycopeptides for gene delivery, where the N-glycan mediates cell-specific targeting of DNA and receptor mediated endocytosis. The lab expertise includes solid-phase peptide synthesis, HPLC and MS, plasmid DNA and siRNA formulation, in vitro and in vivo testing of gene delivery systems and bioconjugate chemistry including N-glycan purification and PEGylation of peptides.
Key Words: non-viral gene delivery, DNA, siRNA, gene formulation, solid phase peptide synthesis, LC-MS, luciferase, in vitro and in vivo gene transfer, bioluminescence imaging, proteasome inhibition, polyethylene glycol, glycoprotein, glycopeptide, N-glycan, bioconjugate chemistry |
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Aliasger K. Salem
Division of Pharmaceutics
College of Pharmacy
http://www.pharmacy.uiowa.edu/pharmaceutics/people/Salem.htm
Research Program
Dr. Salem's research interests are primarily focused on self-assembling systems, the rational design of novel drug and gene delivery systems and on the development of sophisticated scaffolds for tissue-specific regeneration. In tissue engineering, Dr. Salem's laboratory applies microfabrication techniques to novel biomaterials to provide spatial control over tissue formation and to integrate minimally invasive scaffold delivery strategies. In drug/gene delivery, he is currently exploring the synergistic application of degradable particle technology, CpG oligonucleotides and heat shock proteins for generating sustained immunotherapeutic responses against cancer.
Key Words: Immunotherapy, Gene Delivery, Drug Delivery, Polymeric Biomaterials, Nanotechnology, Self-assembly |
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Bernard Sorofman
Division of Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy
College of Pharmacy
http://www.pharmacy.uiowa.edu/CAP/fac/sorofmanb.htm
Research Program
Dr. Sorofman’s primary research centers on health behavior theory in the context of treatment-oriented health care practices (actions) by patients. Therefore, studies are directed at the lay-oriented health care system. A second, complementary research interest is related to the system of pharmacy in society as it relates to access and impact on care. The content of the research usually covers one or more of the following areas: self-care, pharmacy, gerontology, rural health care, medication adherence and interdisciplinary teams.
This program of research began with a focus on self-care with an interest in culture and how culturally diverse patients use the health care system. Further research into this area examined, at the margins, the elderly’s well-held health care beliefs and cultural views and the modern technology of health care that was confronting them in their daily lives. As the research began to mature the team found that self-care acculturation was a more gradual process than acceptance of general medical care processes. This resulted in studying the process of self-care response, and ethnic and elderly health care in a broader perspective. More recently this self-care research has evolved into a study of self-perception of care. One set of studies found that patients have a preconceived idea about adverse drug reactions, their experiences moderate their self-care behaviors to adverse events, and they are concerned about the differences between their cultural beliefs and those of their providers when it comes to traditional and complementary medicines.
Dr. Sorofman’s interest in self-care deepened as he began to work with the pharmacist / patient interface and a concept called “patient satisfaction.” It began with the finding that individual self care varied by the purchase situation, that the impact of the pharmacy was important and the physical pharmacy environment influenced satisfaction. This lead to the first health care study on the differences between goods (drugs) and services (care). Being in a dynamic environment for pharmacist practice, Dr. Sorofman examined the pharmacist’s role in immunizations, prescription drug contract bargaining in pharmacy, the pharmacist practitioner, including continuity of care and studies that that defined the pharmacist as the most accessible rural health professional in the United States. One project helped to create the Pharmacy Practice Activity Classification (adopted by the National Library of Medicine as the classification for pharmacy.
Key Words: self-care, pharmacy, medication adherence and interdisciplinary teams |
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Julie Urmie
Division of Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy
College of Pharmacy
http://www.pharmacy.uiowa.edu/CAP/fac/urmiej.htm
Research Program
Dr. Urmie's main area of research is health insurance, particularly prescription drug insurance. She has completed, or is in the process of completing, research on the differences in prescription drug utilization between insured and uninsured individuals, research on the effects of insurance benefit design on patients' decisions about prescription drug use, and research on the effects of health insurance on health care providers. Dr. Urmie's second area of interest is behavioral economics, specifically consumer attitudes and preferences related to the use of medical care. She has studied attitudes toward generic prescription drugs, attitudes toward different insurance benefits, and preferences for using different types of medical care.
Key words: prescription drug use, health insurance, consumer preferences |
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Peter Veng-Pedersen
Division of Pharmaceutics
College of Pharmacy
http://www.pharmacy.uiowa.edu/pharmaceutics/people/Veng-Pedersen.htm
Research Program
Dr. Veng-Pedersen's main research interests include the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics (PK/PD) of erythropoietin in pre-mature, very low birth weight babies, the PK/PD of the insulin-glucose system in diabetic and pre-diabetic subjects, and the kinetic assessment and optimization of drug delivery.
Key words: pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, diabetes, insulin, drug delivery, mathematical modeling, optimization.
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Dale Eric Wurster
Division of Pharmaceutics
College of Pharmacy
http://www.pharmacy.uiowa.edu/pharmaceutics/people/Wurster.htm
Research Program
Dr. Wurster's research interests include the physics of tablet compression, adsorption and desorption thermodynamics, solution calorimetry, analytical applications of FT-IR, surface characterization by XPS, and micellar catalysis. |
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Yang Xie
Division of Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy
College of Pharmacy
http://www.pharmacy.uiowa.edu/CAP/fac/xiey.htm
Research Program
Dr. Xie’s main research interests are in the areas of health economics, clinical outcomes, and health services research. Specifically, he is interested in the following research topics: determinants of clinical outcomes, determinants of health and treatment choice, physician-patient relationship, gender and racial/ethnic disparities in health care, and program evaluation.
In his current research he is looking at how different levels of information asymmetry between patients and health care providers affect the utilization and treatment choices in a patient consumerism environment when the interactions between patients and health care providers are changing.
A second current research focuses on the learning-by-doing effect and technology diffusion in health care providers. Because of the rapid medical technology change, it becomes increasingly important to understand the learning curves of health care providers, and to understand how they accumulate experiences through practice and how that affects their performance in terms of treatment outcomes and patient safety.
Dr. Xie is also conducting a study using econometric tool to examine the causes of the well cited racial/ethnic disparities of health care. An important dimension of racial/ethnic disparities is the extent to which such disparities may be explained by observed differences in endowments (e.g., education, wealth, baseline health status) or by differential impacts given the same endowments, as well as how specific factors contribute to the observed racial/ethnic disparities in health care utilization and access.
He is also interested in applying econometric tools and methods to study cancer treatment outcome and effectiveness.
Key Words: patient consumerism, information asymmetry, clinical decision making, volume-outcome, racial/ethnic disparities |
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