Centers & Research Groups |
Center for Molecular Toxicology
The RI-INBRE Program includes faculty from diverse disciplines, united under the general research theme of Toxicology and the Program is entitled “A Network for Molecular Toxicology in Rhode Island”.
In keeping with the research focus areas identified in the University of Rhode Island’s 2003-2006 Strategic Plan, the CMT seeks to strengthen the Pharmaceutical Sciences research area. The CMT fosters interdepartmental and intercollegiate collaborations, enhances competitiveness of its members in securing external grants and trains undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and research faculty.
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Center for Pharmacogenomics and Molecular Therapy
The Center's mission is to integrate research, teaching and service to maximize drug efficacy and minimize toxicity through a genomically-guided approach in drug discovery and development, therapeutic design and post-clinical surveillance.
The goal of the Center is to promote translational research from laboratory to bedside and from laboratory to retail store.
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Natural Products Research Group
The University of Rhode Island has numerous clinical and medicinal chemistry researchers who work with natural products. In 2008 the College of Pharmacy reinvested for a promising future in chemical aspects of pharmacognosy work at URI with the hire of energetic new faculty who seek to advance natural products research in exciting directions.
The Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences within the College of Pharmacy at URI now represents the largest collection of natural products researchers on the east coast. All are focused on collaborative, cross-disciplinary research to discover the next generation of medicines and molecules to benefit human health.
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Faculty Labs |
Clinical Pharmacokinetics Research Laboratory
Dr. Fatimeh Akhlaghi, Pharm.D., Ph.D.
Specialized in the areas of pharmacokinetics (PK), pharmacodynamics (PD), and therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM).
We have established and validated analytical methods for determination of immunosuppressants (i.e. cyclosporine, tacrolimus, sirolimus and mycophenolic acid) and other medications. In addition, we specialize in the measurement of free (unbound) drug concentration either in plasma or oral fluids (saliva) and have established methods for determination of contrast media agents, iohexol or iodixanol, useful for accurate estimation of Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR).
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Dr. Roberta S. King, Ph.D.
Research emphasis is in the area of biotransformation and chemical toxicology. Specifically: sulfotransferase biochemistry and physiological effects of inhibition, mechanisms causing inter-individual variation in metabolism and biotransformation of heterocyclic amine carcinogens in animal models and human tissues.
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Dr. Cho
Research area is chemical carcinogenesis with a major emphasis on the structural and synthetic aspects of DNA-adduct formation.
Aromatic amine and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are present in environment, thereby posing a threat to human health. Particularly interested in how environmental carcinogens, upon metabolism, interact with cellular DNA and initiate mutagenesis/carcinogenesis. The long-range goal of our research is to elucidate the mechanisms of mutation and repair at the molecular-genetic level using various spectroscopic and molecular biological methods.
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Dr. LaPlante
Research expertise is in infectious diseases, specifically in the treatment, virulence inhibition (toxin and biofilm), colonization and control of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). She also investigates activity of catheter lock solutions against biofilm producing bacteria.
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Dr. Parang
Research emphasis lies at the interface between chemistry and biology with specific proposals being focused in the fields of organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, chemical toxicology, biochemistry, and drug delivery.
Goal is to integrate diverse research background to address biological questions related to cellular signal transduction using above fields. Our research can be appropriately described as "the application of synthetic organic chemistry to problems in biology".
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PK / PD Modeling and Simulation Group
Dr. Sara Rosenbaum, Ph.D.
This group uses a variety of techniques in modeling and simulation to better understand the dose-response relationship. The activities are broadly directed to two main areas: teaching and research.
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Dr. Yan
Drug-drug/herb interaction, drug-genetic interaction, signaling of nuclear receptors, transcriptional regulation, and oncogenesis.
The primary focus of my research is on the understanding of how genetic and environmental factors coordinately regulate the expression of genes involved in drug response and oncogenic switch. More specifically, the research activities are designed to answer such questions as: how does genetic or environmental factor contributes to differences in drug-response? How does transcriptional regulation switch from physiological (e.g., drug-metabolism) to pathological response (oncogenesis)? And how do drugs, hormones and herbs alter respective therapeutic activity when used together?
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Neurodegeneration Lab
Dr. Nasser H. Zawia, Ph.D.
Working on the neurotoxicology of environmental agents, with a special emphasis on the developmental basis of Alzheimer’s Disease. Under the direction of Principal Investigator, Dr. Nasser H. Zawia, the lab has identified novel drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease as well developed diagnostic biomarkers for the disease.
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Facilities |
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This facility is the only one of its kind in the State and has significantly enhanced the competitiveness of biomedical researchers at Rhode Island’s academic institutions.
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The garden and greenhouse were established in 1958 and dedicated to Heber W. Youngken, Jr. Dean Emeritus of the College of Pharmacy in 1994. The Garden functions as an educational display of medicinal plants herbs and spices and also as a conservatiory source of standard specimens.
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