news in brief
News Briefs UH Hilo College of Pharmacy Awarded Grant to Expand Graduate Programs
said Gilliland. “Their excitement and knowledge must be coupled with leadership. The combination will directly impact a student’s desire to learn and also the future of pharmacy.”
The University of Hawaii at Hilo (UHH) will use a $951,000 federal grant to expand graduate programs within the College of Pharmacy and to setup a physical therapy degree track, according to Senator Daniel K. Inouye’s office.
UT Austin Professor Receives NIH Grant for Male Fertility Research
Part of the money, awarded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, will be used to establish a dual M.S.nurse practitioner, family nurse practitioner specialty/Doctor of Pharmacy (FNP/Pharm.D.) degree, the first of its kind in the U.S. “Students studying at the University of Hawaii at Hilo’s College of Pharmacy are able to take advantage of the best that Western science, Eastern traditions and native Hawaiian heritage has to offer as they explore the healing arts,” said Senator Inouye. “We must continue to expand the educational opportunities available to them so that new ways to heal our sick and prevent illness emerge.” UHH will use its 2009 Congressionally-directed grant for a variety of other programs. Some of the funds will also be used to develop a clinical pharmacist training and supply model for rural and underserved areas of Hawaii, and create a general practice pharmacy residency program/drug information and medication therapy management center/distance learning program.
Auburn Campaign for Professorships Receives Significant Gift to Harrison School of Pharmacy Auburn University alumnus Dr. David Gilliland recently designated a $1.05 million gift to support seven professorships at the Harrison School of Pharmacy at Auburn University. The gift will count toward Auburn’s current campaign to fund 81 professorships. Auburn University President, Jay Gogue, identified raising funds for professorships as a key strategic initiative for the university. Professorships reward faculty with exceptional merit. These funds offer a huge morale boost by providing salary enhancements to faculty who stimulate young minds and contribute to building programs that enhance the university. “A first-rate education stems from professors who are not only knowledgeable, but are also good mentors and role models,”
Dr. John H. Richburg, associate professor of pharmacy at The University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy, has received a five-year $1.5 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to study the adverse effects of environmental toxicants on male fertility and disease. Richburg is investigating a class of compounds, called phthalates, used in the manufacturing of plastics and other common consumer products. “Exposure to low levels of phthalates during the fetal period of testicular development may cause testicular cancer or infertility later in adult life,” Richburg said. Despite the association of exposure to these agents and infertility, very little is known of the mechanisms by which they act on the male reproductive system. “If we can understand the underlying mechanisms at the molecular and cellular level that account for the effects of toxic compounds, then we can develop more effective strategies to prevent disease and infertility,” Richburg said. Richburg’s lab at the university is internationally recognized for its work on revealing the molecular mechanisms that regulate cell death in the testis and the influence that environmental chemicals have on these processes. The insights gained from this research are expected to allow for the development of a clinical treatment that will effectively treat the cancer while sparing the fertility and post-treatment quality of life for these young men.
Human Ingenuity + Cutting Edge Technology = Award-Winning Program at SCCP At the South Carolina College of Pharmacy (SCCP), sure hands at the tiller of the information technology program have leveraged applications and architecture to produce an award-winning distance education program. The program was recognized with the Technology in Education/Govern-
academic Pharmacy now Oct/Nov/Dec 2009
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