News, Events & Announcements
Drs. Iyer and Azad Receive a $1.35M Grant
from the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute
Drs. Anand Iyer and Neelam Azad, Assistant Professors in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Hampton University School of Pharmacy received a $1.35M grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Cancer Institute (NCI) for their research project entitled “Anti-Tumorigenic Potential of Novel Digitoxin Analogues”. The primary aim of the project is to develop novel drug therapies for the treatment of lung cancer, and has been funded for a period of five years, extending through August 2017. Their team was also the recipient of another $1.3M grant award from NIH/ National Heart Lung Blood Institute (NHLBI) in 2011 for a five-year study on pulmonary fibrosis, led by Dr. Azad.
The overall goal of this project is to synthesize novel digitoxin analogues that exhibit much higher efficacy in the inhibition of lung cancer as compared to digitoxin, generated using a combinatorial approach involving de novo palladium-catalyzed synthesis methodologies, structural bioinformatics and cell and molecular biology principles and techniques. A qualitative assessment of the anti-cancer potential of drug candidates will be made based upon their pro-apoptotic and tumor-angiostatic effects on lung cancer cells, and the signal transduction pathways involved therein. The proposed study will be instrumental in identifying, using a rational drug-design approach, novel digitoxin analogues that elicit potent anti-tumorigenic effects without the cardiotoxic side-effects typically associated with naturally occurring cardiac glycosides. This study is important not only for understanding the mode of action of cardiac glycosides in lung cancer cells, but also to generate a new class of drugs that may target multiple novel pathways critical to tumor progression, and thus may prove to be effective anti-cancer agents.
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VPhA's OTC Championship Bowl
We are pleased to announce that HAMPTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PHARMACY won first place in the Virginia Pharmacists Association’s Self-Care Challenge (OTC Competition) on August 7, 2012.
Congratulations to fourth professional year students Jonathan Grant, Tamika Greenwood, Sharita Grimes, Robert Sweeney and alternates Melanie Markland and Samantha Watson for their excellent representation of the School of Pharmacy.
ASHP Student Leadership Award
Mr. Kenneth W. Worsham, II (P4 Student) is a 2011-2012 recipient of the ASHP (American Society of Health-System Pharmacists) Student Leadership Award. The award recognizes and celebrates the contributions of students who represent the very best attributes and accomplishments of ASHP student members. Mr. Worsham has served as the president of his student society of health-system pharmacy chapter and as a member of both the ASHP Pharmacy Student Forum Policy and Legislative Advocacy Advisory Group and the Community and eCommunications Advisory Group. He led a successful T-shirt fundraiser for his SSHP chapter’s participation in the American Heart Associations Heart Walk. He also promoted health-system pharmacy by holding an informational session for high school students, a partnership that has since continued. In addition, he is passionate about community service as a means of professional development.
NAPLEX Pass Rate
The Hampton University School of Pharmacy is pleased to announce a 92.45% NAPLEX First-Time Candidate pass rate in 2011!
Drs. Azad and Iyer receive a $1.3M grant
Drs. Neelam Azad and Anand Iyer, Assistant Professors in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Hampton University School of Pharmacy received a $1.3M grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for their research project entitled “Impact of Oxidative Stress-Regulated Angiogenesis in Pulmonary Fibrosis”.
The research project will explore the modalities that dictate pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis. The overall objective of this project is to elucidate the role of some of the characteristic features such as angiogenesis and oxidative stress that have been implicated in pulmonary fibrosis but are understudied. The idea of angiogenic mediators regulating lung fibrosis represents a paradigm shift in the present understanding of this disease, and will pave way for tackling fibrosis using a new and different approach. This study will be important not only to the increased understanding of the molecular mechanisms of lung fibrosis but also in the development of potential therapeutic and preventive strategies for this fatal disease.