news in brief
UCSF Study Reveals How to Make Gasoline from Yeast and Bacterium A chemical precursor molecule of gasoline can be produced from biomass and salt, according to research by University of California, San Francisco School of Pharmacy’s Dr. Christopher A. Voigt and UCSF colleagues. In this case, the precursor is methyl halide, and the gasoline derived from it through catalytic conversion is chemically indistinguishable from that produced from petroleum and would not require new vehicle engines, according to Voigt. His approach to methyl halide production uses cellulose-rich, non-food crop waste or grasses and consequently would not displace food-producing crops.
The results of this research were published online April 20, 2009 by the Journal of the American Chemical Society and have subsequently attracted international media attention. Voigt, who is a professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, is the principal investigator of the study. Using tools from synthetic biology, the group programmed the DNA of yeast to produce methyl halides from biomass and salt. In doing so, they created an artificial symbiotic relationship between a bacterium and yeast. The bacterium, which was originally isolated from a French garbage dump, can eat non-food agricultural waste and convert it to a form that the yeast can then turn into methyl halides.
New Members Join AJPE Editorial Board Five new members of the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education (AJPE) Editorial Board began their three-year terms in July. Drs. Harold L. Kirschenbaum (Long Island University), Amy L. Seybert (University of Pittsburgh), Zubin H. Austin (University of Toronto), Frank Romanelli (University of Kentucky) and Monica G. Holiday-Goodman (The University of Toledo) will join returning Board members Drs. Patrick J. Davis (The University of Texas at Austin), Sudip K. Das (Butler University), Gary E. Delander (Oregon State University) and JoLaine R. Draugalis (The University of Oklahoma) who were reappointed for three-year terms along with 16 continuing members of the Board.
Board members serve as reviewers for manuscripts, write editorial viewpoints, serve as guest editors, review Journal performance and recommend to the editor topics that would be of interest to Journal readers. Board members completing their terms are Dr. Bradley A. Boucher (The University of Tennessee), Jeffrey C. Delafuente (Virginia Commonwealth University) and Dr. Wendy Duncan (St. Louis College of Pharmacy). Criteria considered for Editorial Board appointments include: consistent publication of high quality papers in the Journal, outstanding contributions to one or more disciplines in pharmacy or pharmaceutical sciences, leadership in pharmacy education and expertise in a field of education or health professions.
Roosevelt University Appoints New Dean to Develop College of Pharmacy Roosevelt University is creating a College of Pharmacy at its Schaumburg Campus and has appointed Dr. George E. MacKinnon III, former AACP vice president of academic affairs, as founding dean. The new College of Pharmacy will be Roosevelt’s sixth college and the first it has opened since 1970. The creation of this college is important because pharmacists are urgently needed in Illinois and across the nation. According to a study by the Illinois Department of Employment Security, the state will have more than 500 openings for pharmacists annually through 2014. Employment of pharmacists is expected to grow by 22 percent between 2006 and 2016, which is much faster than the national average for all occupations, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. “We are prepared to meet the demand for pharmacists head on,” said Roosevelt University President Chuck Middleton. “We expect to have 65 students when the college enrolls its first class in fall 2011 and we anticipate that number will grow to a total of 195 students within three years.”
A Wisconsin native, Dr. MacKinnon possesses more than 20 years of experience as a pharmacy administrator and educator. He has held joint academic appointments in medicine and pharmacy at several educational institutions and has engaged in clinical practice, research, teaching and administration. He previously was associate dean, founding chairman and professor at the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmacy Administration, Midwestern University College of Pharmacy –Glendale and the assistant dean for experiential and postgraduate education at the Chicago College of Pharmacy. “Roosevelt University is presented with a tremendous opportunity through the establishment of the new College of Pharmacy to offer a health science program in Chicago’s northwest suburbs in partnership with world-class regional and rural health care facilities, national chain pharmacies and local pharmacy practitioners,” said Dr. MacKinnon. “The new College of Pharmacy will embody the spirit of Roosevelt University in preparing its diverse graduates to become responsible citizens in a global society, of which the profession of pharmacy is an integral part of ensuring optimal medication therapy outcomes in patients.”
academic Pharmacy now Jul/Aug/Sept 2009
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