Mar 06, 2014 - DEAN CHRIS M. IRELAND RECEIVES 2014 PAUL J. SCHEUER AWARD
Dean Chris M. Ireland Receives the 2014 Paul J. Scheuer Award, the most prestigious award in the field of Marine Natural Products Research. The criteria to receive the award is as follows:
- conducted research with major impact on the field of marine natural products or the associated fields including, but not limited to, marine chemical ecology, marine toxicology, marine biosynthesis, synthesis or pharmacology of marine metabolites
- contributed to the overall advancement and promotion of the field
- contributed to the education and inspiration of young investigators in the allied fields represented by marine natural products research
An excerpt from a nomination letter for Dr. Ireland:
"The Paul J. Scheuer Award honors more than the publication record of a prolific scientist, and recognizes the broader impact that a scientist can have as mentor, educator, and one who stands tall as a strong figure who shapes our community. Like Paul Scheuer, who was most influential in his career during their time together at the university of Hawaii, Chris has fully embraced and lives the Hawaiian principle of ‘ohana’: a sense of community and mutual respect where no one gets left behind or forgotten, and, in our case, a family bonded by a common passion of Marine Natural Product Science".
May 28, 2014 - EPILEPSY FOUNDATION PRESENTS LIFETIME ACCELERATOR AWARD TO H. STEVEN WHITE, PH.D.
Epilepsy Foundation Presents lifetime accelerator award to H. Steven White, Ph.D., FOR contributions to THE FIELD OF epilepsy and seizures
Dr. White to be honored at 4th Biennial Epilepsy Pipeline Conference 2014 in San Francisco June 5-7
LANDOVER, MD, May 29, 2014 – The Epilepsy Foundation announced today that H. Steven White, Ph.D., professor of pharmacology and toxicology and principal investigator of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-sponsored Anticonvulsant Drug Development Program at the University of Utah College of Pharmacy, has been named the 2014 recipient of the Epilepsy Foundation’s Lifetime Accelerator Award, in recognition of his commitment and pioneering contributions to the field of epilepsy and seizures. Dr. White will be honored at the 4th Biennial Epilepsy Pipeline Conference 2014, being held June 5-7, 2014, at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco.
A leader in translational research in anticonvulsant drug therapies, Dr. White is well-recognized for his scientific leadership of the University of Utah NIH-sponsored Anticonvulsant Drug Development (ADD) Program, founded in 1975 by the late Ewart A. Swinyard in collaboration with the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), NIH. Dr. White’s career in antiepileptic drug discovery began in 1986 as the senior scientist of the ADD Program. Over the three decades that mark Dr. White’s research in the field, this program has played a crucial role in the early identification and characterization of thousands of novel anticonvulsant medications using established seizure and epilepsy models. Dr. White's laboratory has identified and characterized the anticonvulsant profile and potential mechanism of action for established and new anti-epilepsy agents. Notably, the efforts of the faculty, staff and students of this program, which Dr. White has directed since 2001, have since its establishment in 1975 contributed to the successful development of multiple new therapeutics, including felbamate, rufinamide, topiramate, retigabine and lacosamide.
“On behalf of the Epilepsy Foundation and many clinicians treating seizure conditions today, we are especially pleased to honor Dr. White with the Lifetime Accelerator Award and to recognize his outstanding contributions in anticonvulsant drug development,” said Philip M. Gattone, president and CEO of the Epilepsy Foundation. “We are grateful not only for his steadfast commitment to our mission, but also for his energy and enthusiasm for mentoring the next generation of neuroscientists and epilepsy educators.”
“Dr. White has been a force behind many of the therapeutics used in treatment today. He is truly dedicated to finding therapies that will make a difference to patients through development of new animal models,” said Jacqueline A. French, M.D., director of the Epilepsy Study Consortium, and director of clinical trials at NYU’s Comprehensive Epilepsy Center. “He has given generously of his free time to collaborate with other researchers and epilepsy organizations and this recognition is well-deserved.”
Ongoing translational research in Dr. White's laboratory is focused on the development of novel models of therapy resistant models and understanding the influence of genetics on the pathophysiology, seizure-susceptibility and anti-epileptic drug pharmacology of animal seizure and epilepsy models. Dr. White and his colleagues at Utah and the NINDS are conducting research that may lead to novel therapies for treatment-resistant epilepsy and importantly, disease-modifying therapies with the potential to halt, slow, or prevent the development of epilepsy in susceptible individuals. He is also a scientific co-founder of NeuroAdjuvants, Inc., a Salt Lake City-based biotechnology firm focused on the development of metabolically stable, blood-brain-barrier neuropeptides for the treatment of refractory epilepsy and pain.
Dr. White earned his Ph.D. in Pharmacology in 1984 at the University of Utah and an M.S. in Pharmacology and baccalaureate degree in Pharmacy at Idaho State University. He began his career as a practicing pharmacist and since 1984 has risen through the academic ranks at the University of Utah. On November 18, 2011, Dr. White received an Honorary Doctor of Science from The University of Copenhagen Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Copenhagen, Denmark. Over the years, Dr. White has been the recipient of significant research funding from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and he and his collaborators have published over 170 original papers pertaining to the mechanism of action and the pharmacology of antiepileptic drugs. In addition to his academic service, Dr. White has served as Research Director of CURE (Citizen’s United for Research in Epilepsy), the largest non-governmental provider of epilepsy research funding, since November 2011.
Epilepsy Foundation’s Lifetime Accelerator Award
The Lifetime Accelerator Award was established in 2012 to honor physicians, scientists, industry leaders, and other individuals who have demonstrated a lifelong commitment to bringing new therapies to people living with epilepsy. Lifetime Accelerator Award recipients are chosen by an independent committee of global thought leaders and clinical investigators in epilepsy and seizure therapy discovery and development. Harvey Kupferberg, Ph.D., past chief of the Preclinical Pharmacology Section, Epilepsy Branch, NINDS, NIH, was conferred the 2012 Lifetime Accelerator Award, and Henrik Klitgaard, Ph.D., vice president, head CNS research, UCB, received the award in 2013.
About Epilepsy
When a person has two or more unprovoked seizures, they have epilepsy, which affects more than 2 million people in the United States and 65 million people worldwide. This year, another 150,000 people in our country will be diagnosed with epilepsy. Despite all available treatments, four out of 10 people with epilepsy continue to experience uncontrolled seizures while many more experience less than optimal seizure control.
About the Epilepsy Foundation
The Epilepsy Foundation, a national non-profit with 48 affiliated organizations throughout the United States, has led the fight against seizures since 1968. The Foundation is an unwavering ally for individuals and families impacted by epilepsy and seizures. The mission of the Epilepsy Foundation is to stop seizures and sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), find a cure and overcome the challenges created by epilepsy through efforts including education, advocacy and research to accelerate ideas into therapies. The Foundation works to ensure that people with seizures have the opportunity to live their lives to their fullest potential. For additional information, please visitwww.epilepsy.com.
# # #
Media Contacts:
Kim Macher, Vice President Epilepsy Therapy Project, Epilepsy Foundation, 540-687-8077; kmacher@efa.org
Tim Mikulski, Manager, Program Communications, Epilepsy Foundation, 301-918-3743; tmikulski@efa.org
Karen L. Bergman, BCC Partners, 650-575-1509; kbergman@bccpartners.com
Susan Pietropaolo, BCC Partners, 201-923-2049; spietropaolo@bccpartners.com
Jun 19, 2014 - NIH RANKINGS RELEASED JUNE 2014
The College of Pharmacy maintains a #3 ranking in grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Jun 22, 2014 - PROFESSOR GARY S. YOST PASSES AWAY
I am deeply saddened to inform you that my close friend and Colleague Gary S. Yost passed away this morning. Professor Gary Yost joined the faculty of the College in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology in 1987. Throughout his career Gary maintained an active research group and was a mentor to many generations of students, postdocs and visiting scholars. Gary was always an an avid support of the College and ardent Ute fan. The family has asked me to pass along their thanks to the College for its support of Gary over the years and lifelong friendship. He will truly be missed. Information about services will be forthcoming. Our Best Wishes Go out to Barb and all of Gary's family.
Chris M. Ireland
L. S. Skaggs Presidential Endowed Chair for Pharmacy and Dean
Jun 23, 2014 - YOU HAN BAE - CONTROLLED RELEASE SOCIETY COLLEGE OF FELLOWS 2014 AWARDEE
Professor You Han Bae is a Controlled Release Society College of Fellows 2014 awardee. His outstanding contributions to the field including thermosensitive polymers and hydrogels, material design for improving cellular drug delivery and to CRS with his service and leadership are many. The selection committee is very pleased to honor Professor You Han Bae with this most prestigious CRS award – induction into the CRS College of Fellows. The award will be presented at the CRS annual meeting in July.
Jun 23, 2014 - TWO UTAH PHARMACEUTICS RESEARCHERS (S.W. KIM, Y-H. BAE) AMONG THE TOP 1% MOST CITED RESEARCHERS IN THOMSON REUTERS "PHARMACOLOGY/TOXICOLOGY" CATEGORY
EXPLANATION OF THE METHOD AND PURPOSE OF THOMSON REUTERS NEW LIST OF HIGHLY CITED RESEARCHERS 2014
Thomson Reuters has generated a new list of Highly Cited Researchers in the sciences and social sciences to update and complement a previously published list that was presented on the website ISIHighlyCited.com.
The old list, first issued in 2001, identified more than 7,000 researchers who were the most cited in one or more of 21 broad fields of the sciences and social sciences, fields similar to those used in the Essential Sciences Indicators database. This analysis considered articles and reviews published in Web of Science-indexed journals from 1981 through 1999. Approximately 250 researchers in each field were selected based on total citations to their papers published during this period. An update in 2004 took into account papers published from 1984 to 2003 and cited during the same period, and additional names were added to supplement the original list.
A selection of influential researchers based on total citations gives preference to well-established scientists and social sciences researchers who have produced many publications. It is only logical that the more papers generated, generally the more citations received, especially if the papers have had many years to accumulate citations. Thus, this method of selection favors senior researchers with extensive publication records. It sometimes identifies authors who may, in fact, have relatively few individual papers cited at high frequency. Nonetheless, total citations is a measure of gross influence that often correlates well with community perceptions of research leaders within a field. Such was the nature of the prior lists of highly cited researchers.
Thomson Reuters decided to take a different approach -- and use a different method -- to identify influential researchers, field-by-field, to update the previously published list. First, to focus on more contemporary research achievement, only articles and reviews in science and social sciences journals indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection during the 11-year period 2002-2012 were surveyed. Second, rather than using total citations as a measure of influence or ‘impact,’ only Highly Cited Papers were considered. Highly Cited Papers are defined as those that rank in the top 1% by citations for field and year indexed in the Web of Science, which is generally but not always year of publication. These data derive from Essential Science Indicators℠ (ESI). The fields are also those employed in ESI – 21 broad fields defined by sets of journals and exceptionally, in the case of multidisciplinary journals such as Nature and Science, by a paper-by-paper assignment to a field. This percentile-based selection method removes the citation disadvantage of recently published papers relative to older ones, since papers are weighed against others in the same annual cohort.
Those researchers who, within an ESI-defined field, published Highly Cited Papers were judged to be influential, so the production of multiple top 1% papers was interpreted as a mark of exceptional impact. Relatively younger researchers are more apt to emerge in such an analysis than in one dependent on total citations over many years. To be able to recognize early and mid-career as well as senior researchers was one goal for generating the new list. The determination of how many researchers to include in the list for each field was based on the population of each field, as represented by the number of author names appearing on all Highly Cited Papers in that field, 2002-2012. The ESI fields vary greatly in size, with Clinical Medicine being the largest and Space Science (Astronomy and Astrophysics) the smallest. The square root of the number of author names indicated how many individuals should be selected.
The first criterion for selection was that the researcher needed enough citations to his or her Highly Cited Papers to rank in the top 1% by total citations in the ESI field in which they were considered. Authors of Highly Cited Papers who met the first criterion in a field were ranked by number of such papers, and the threshold for inclusion was determined using the number derived through calculation of the square root of the population. All who published Highly Cited Papers at the threshold level were admitted to the list, even if the final list then exceeded the number given by the square root calculation. In addition, and as concession to the somewhat arbitrary cut-off, any researcher with one fewer Highly Cited Paper than the threshold number was also admitted to the list if total citations to his or her Highly Cited Papers were sufficient to rank that individual in the top 50% by total citations of those at the threshold level or higher. The justification for this adjustment at the margin is, it seemed to work well in identifying influential researchers, in the judgment of Thomson Reuters citation analysts.
Of course, there are many highly accomplished and influential researchers who are not recognized by the method described above and whose names do not appear in the new list. This outcome would hold no matter what specific method was chosen for selection. Each measure or set of indicators, whether total citations, h-index, relative citation impact, mean percentile score, etc., accentuates different types of performance and achievement. Here we arrive at what many expect from such lists but what is really unobtainable: that there is some optimal or ultimate method of measuring performance. The only reasonable approach to interpreting a list of top researchers such as ours is to fully understand the method behind the data and results, and why the method was used. With that knowledge, in the end, the results may be judged by users as relevant or irrelevant to their needs or interests.
Aug 22, 2014 - BRANDON JENNINGS NAMED 2014 PHARMACIST OF THE YEAR
Brandon Jennings (Associate Professor) in the Department of Pharmacotherapy was just named 2014 Pharmacist of the Year by the Utah Society of Health System Pharmacists.
This is a huge honor for Brandon and the College of Pharmacy.
Sep 22, 2014 - GEOFF MILLER WON BEST POSTER AWARD AT THE UU BIOSCIENCES SYMPOSIUM
Congratulations to Geoff Miller who won best poster award at the UU Biosciences Symposium on September 23, 2014!
Sep 24, 2014 - NACDS POINT-OF-CARE TESTING TRAINING PROGRAM
University of Utah, College of Pharmacy, L.S. Skaggs Pharmacy Institute is hosting the Community Pharmacy-Based Point-of Care Testing certificate & Train the Trainer program, NACDS’ two-day training opportunity for pharmacists.
Day 1 - equips participants with the skills to implement a point-of-care testing program in their pharmacy for influenza, Group A streptococcus, HIC and hepatitis C.
Day 2 - participants learn to train their fellow pharmacists.
Get more information about the program at: http://nacds.learnercommunity.com
PROGRAM DETAILS:
- Day 1 for Certificate Program: August 7th at 8:30am - 5pm
- Day 2 for Train-the-Trainer: August 8th at 9am - 3pm
- Lunch provided on both days
- Exact Location for Trainings: The exact building/room number of the training at the University of Utah will be shared via e-mail with participants closer to the training date, when confirmed.
- There is no hotel room block affiliated with this training. Please make travel arrangements as you see fit.
To prepare for the live training, please login to NACDS' eLearning platform and complete home study reading followed by an assessment and an evaluation. Please allow adequate time to complete these activities, as home study accounts for 12 hours of study for the Certificate Program. This platform also serves as the access point to receive continuing education credit and a course certificate.
Please follow these instructions to login:
-
- Go to http://nacds.learnercommunity.com/
- Click “Log in” at the middle right side of the homepage, then click “Sign up for a new account.”
- In the Enrollment Code redemption area, enter:
-
-
- Certificate Enrollment Code: KNFLKPMK, then click “Redeem.”
- Train-the-Trainer Enrollment Code: X7JP7LHN, then click “Redeem.”
-
-
- Once you finish the login process, click on “My Learning Activities” where you will be able to access both courses. Completion of home study activities is only required for the Certificate Program.
- All students must complete Steps 1-3 within the Certificate Program learning product PRIOR to the live training. Completion of these steps is necessary to prepare for the live program and to also receive continuing pharmacy education credit. You will have two attempts to receive a grade of 70% or higher for the online assessment.
-
-
- Step 1: Home Study of Required Readings
- Step 2: Take Online Assessment & Complete Home Study Evaluation
- Step 3: What to Bring to Class & Other Helpful Tips
-
Please wear comfortable clothing to the live training so that you can participate in physical assessment and specimen collection activities. You will be provided with a hard copy of the presentation slides at the live trainings. You do not need to bring any home study materials with you.
By voluntarily participating in the NACDS Point-of-Care Testing training program, you consent to being photographed at the training by NACDS and further authorize NACDS to publish for any purpose, and to claim any applicable rights to, such photos.
Please be in touch if you have any questions prior to the live training, or experience any difficulty using the eLearning platform. These trainings are fully booked – if you can no longer attend for any reason, please let me know as soon as possible.
Oct 02, 2014 - WORLD'S MOST INFLUENTIAL SCIENTIFIC MINDS 2014
Two of our faculty, You Han Bae and Sung Wan Kim were recognized as the World's Most Influential Scientific Minds of 2014 by Science Watch.
Oct 12, 2014 - DON BLUMENTHAL PAPER SELECTED AS JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY PAPER OF THE WEEK
For Immediate Release
Researchers Look Inside to Reveal Workings of A Powerful Biochemical Switch
PKA helps regulate basic cellular functions, leads to disease when mutated
(SALT LAKE CITY)—A University of Utah-led study using X-rays and neutron beams has revealed the inner workings of a master switch that regulates basic cellular functions, but that also, when mutated, contributes to cancer, cardiovascular disease and other deadly disorders.
Learning more about how the Protein Kinase A (PKA) switch works will help researchers to understand cellular function and disease, according to Donald K. Blumenthal, Ph.D., associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the University of Utah (U of U) College of Pharmacy who led the study. “To develop new drugs and treatments for disease, it’s important to understand how PKA works,” he says. “This study helps us get a clearer picture of how the PKA protein helps regulate cellular function and disease.”
The study, published in the Oct. 10 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry as its paper of the week, is a collaboration among researchers at the U of U, University of California, San Diego (UCSD), and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee.
The PKA protein comes in four forms, each of which serves as a sensor for a signaling molecule called cyclic AMP (cAMP). When these forms of PKA sense cAMP, they change shape, which researchers believe is critical in determining how PKA works as a biochemical switch. Many hormones, neurotransmitters and drugs communicate with cells by changing the level of cAMP found within them. Accordingly, PKA helps regulate cellular activity in reaction to different levels of cAMP within cells. Because PKA serves as a master switch in cells, mutations in it lead to a variety of diseases including metabolic disorder, disorders of the brain and nervous system, cancer and cardiovascular ills.
Blumenthal and colleagues focused on a form of PKA called II-beta, a protein found mostly in the brain and fat cells that is suspected of being involved in obesity and diet-induced insulin-resistance associated with type 2 diabetes. II-beta contains two mechanisms for sensing cAMP, each of which unfolds and separates in response to the signaling molecule.
The researchers wanted to know whether both of II-beta’s cAMP-sensing mechanisms are required to determine its ability to change shape – a critical factor for its function. To answer this, they removed one of the cAMP sensors and used advanced small-angle neutron scattering imaging, a technology available at Oak Ridge’s High Flux Isotope Reactor, and small-angle X-ray scattering at the U of U, each of which produces images that reveal information about the shape and size of molecules. The images showed that II-beta does, indeed, change shape with only one sensor.
“By process of elimination, this must mean that parts of the remaining single sensor of II-beta give it its unique shape and internal architecture,” says Susan Taylor, Ph.D., professor of chemistry, biochemistry and pharmacology at UCSD and co-author on the study. “Our findings further narrow and define the key components of II-beta and identify new regions for further study.”
Future research should focus on a part of II-beta called the “linker region,” which connects the remaining cAMP sensor with a part of II-beta that helps target PKA to specific cell locations, according to Blumenthal. “Based on what we know about II-beta and other forms of PKA, it’s likely that the linker region plays a major role in organizing the internal architecture and shape changes the determine the unique biological functions of PKA.”
The study’s co-authors include Jeffrey Copps, Eric V. Smith-Nguyen and Ping Zhang, UCSD Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute and William T. Heller, Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Funding support for this research came, in part, from the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health (grant GM34921).
Oct 26, 2014 - NATHANIEL CORDOVA RECEIVES SCHOLARSHIP FROM SACNAS
Nathaniel Cordova, a Hispanic student in the Class of 2018 at the College of Pharmacy, began researching with Dr. Mario Alburges, Diversity Committee Chair and Research Associate Professor from the Pharmacology and Toxicology Department, three years ago. They study the role of neuropeptides in mediating the effects of drug of abuse on rat CNS, and together with a team of other researchers, they published a paper on, “Responses of the Rat Basal Ganglia Neurotensin Systems to Low Doses of Methamphetamine.” Conference coordinators awarded Nathaniel with an all-expenses paid scholarship to present the paper at this year’s SACNAS Conference (Society for the Advancement of Chicos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science) in Los Angeles.
Nathaniel came through the LEAP program here at the University of Utah where Dr. Carolyn Bliss, PhD connected him with Dr. Alburges years ago. Nathaniel credits the LEAP program with advising him to take a library research class where he met Alfred Mowdood. Nathaniel took the class and then after TAing for Mr. Mowdood, Nathaniel was asked to be part of a marketing campaign for Imagine U. Nathaniel’s poster can be found all over the U campus. We are proud to have Nathaniel in our Class of 2018!
Oct 28, 2014 - TOM CHEATHAM PUBLISHED PAPER IN NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
Tom Cheatham had a high profile paper come out yesterday in Nature Communications
Oct 29, 2014 - TOM CHEATHAM HAS BEEN NAMED DIRECTOR OF THE CHPC
University Information Technology (UIT) is pleased to announce that after a competitive search, Professor Thomas E. Cheatham III has been named director of the Center for High Performance Computing (CHPC), which provides large-scale computer and networking resources to facilitate advances in academic disciplines that require computing and network capabilities beyond those existing in individual colleges, departments, and groups.
“We are extremely pleased that Tom Cheatham is assuming this campus research computing leadership position in addition to his ongoing faculty duties in Medicinal Chemistry,” said Steve Corbató, the U’s interim CIO. “Tom is a widely respected computational scientist and a long-time faculty user of CHPC, and he brings an impressive record of leadership in numerous campus and national cyberinfrastructure oversight groups.”
Cheatham has long been a user and advocate of CHPC, and for many years has served on various IT advisory committees at the U, including the CHPC User Advisory Committee. He chairs the U’s Information Technology Research Portfolio, serves on the UU Operational IT committee, chairs the College of Pharmacy Computer Committee, is Director of Graduate Studies for the Department of Medicinal Chemistry, is a member of the Academic Senate, and was recently promoted to full professor of Medicinal Chemistry in the College of Pharmacy.
He performs extensive service related to information technology outside the University on review panels for the NSF (CHI, ACI), NIH (MSFG “Computational Biophysics” Study Section Member) and National Academies (Anton Review Panel). This includes serving as Chair of the NSF’s eXtreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE) User Advisory Committee, as a member of both the XSEDE Science Advisory Board and XSEDE Senior Management Team, and more recently as an XSEDE Domain Champion. He also serves as a member of the University of Illinois Blue Waters Sustained Petascale Computing Resource’s Science and Engineering Team Advisory Committee and as a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Swedish National Infrastructure for Computing.
Cheatham’s collaborative NSF- and NIH-funded research efforts, with over 100 publications to date, center on the application of biomolecular simulation methods to understand nucleic acid and protein structure, dynamics, function and interactions with their environment. The Cheatham Group is one of the core Amber software development teams, using large allocations of heterogeneous and high performance computational resources from XSEDE and Blue Waters.
Prior to coming to the U as a faculty member in 2000, Cheatham was a National Research Council Research Associate in the Laboratory of Biophysical Chemistry in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health where he worked with Dr. Bernie Brooks. He received his Ph.D. in pharmaceutical chemistry in 1997 from the University of California at San Francisco in the laboratory of the late Peter Kollman. Cheatham worked with specialized parallel computer resources for a few years as a programmer/analyst at the Aiken Computation Lab at Harvard after earning a bachelor’s degree at Middlebury College majoring in mathematics, computer science, and chemistry (honors).
Nov 23, 2014 - ERIC SCHMIDT INTERVIEW ON THE SCOPE
Eric Schmidt, Ph.D., professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of Utah, searches marine organisms for novel compounds that could be transformed into therapeutics, such as medicines to combat pain or cancer.
Dr. Schmidt is also the recipient of the William R. Droschkey Endowed Chair in Pharmacy.