On the CUSP: November 2022

That’s a wrap on November 2022! Chapman Pharmacy had an exceptionally busy month, including receiving the NIH R03 Grant and extensive participation in the California Society of Health-System Pharmacists (CSHP) 2022 Seminar.

Grants

Dr. Sherif Elshahawi became the recipient of the NIH R03 Grant (Award # 1R03AI168826-01A1) with a total amount of $138,000 from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). His proposal, “Mechanisms and In Vivo Activity of a Next Generation Daptomycin Antibiotic.”, discusses research in enhancing “last resort” drugs with enzymes found in remote areas of the world. The grant will provide continuing opportunities to combat resistant antibiotics and further allow student research involvement. Dr. Elshahawi will serve as a PI, and Dr. Rachita Sumbria and Dr. Innokentiy “Inno” Maslennikov are co-investigators.

Awards and Recognitions

• Kathleen Besinque passed the North American Menopause Society Menopause Practitioner Certification examination and is officially a Certified Menopause Practitioner.

• Kamaljit Kaur was the Discussion Leader for the Session: Peptides in Oncology at the Gordon Research Conference (Chemistry and Biology of Peptides) which took place in Oxnard, California between late October and early November.

• Jeff Goad has been named President-Elect of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases for the organization’s 2022-2024 term.

• Rakesh Tiwari has been hand-selected to serve on the Editorial Advisory Board of Molecular Pharmaceutics (ACS Publications) for both 2023 and 2024.

• Sherry Wang continues to serve on both the Editorial Board of Clinical Research and on the Editorial Board for the section “Health Economics” in the publication Current Oncology.

Publications

• Dr. Jelena Lewis, Dr. Michael Kelly, Dr. Hindu Rao, Dr. Richard Beuttler, Ivan Portillo, and Pharm.D. candidate Jessica Carter produced a study using meta-analysis to create new research-based off of completed trials regarding cardiovascular-related outcomes in patients with chronic kidney disease and type 2 diabetes.
• Dr. Keykavous Parang, Dr. Rakesh Tiwari, Dr. Sandeep Lohan, Ph.D. candidate Khalid Zoghebi, Ph.D. candidate Jonathan Moreno, and M.S. candidate Lois Kim produced a study where peptides (chemical structures containing multiple amino acids) were used to carry silencing RNA into cancer cells.
• Dr. Shilpi Gupta, Dr. Keykavous Parang, Dr. Rakesh Tiwari, Dr. Sandeep Lohan, Dr. Eman H. M. Mohammed, and Tara Ghaffari found that cyclic peptides that have both hydrophilic and hydrophobic elements have notable antibiotic activity alone and when tested in combination with antibiotics.
• Dr. Marc Fleming worked alongside other talented researchers to run a study involving treatment for people with addiction and concluded that patient access to buprenorphine (uses to treat Opioid Use Disorder) may be expanded with support from the greater healthcare systems.
• Dr. Sherry Wang determined with a team the optimal measurement for general practitioner encounters after a patient experienced a stroke.
• Dr. Ajay Sharma, Pharm.D. candidates Rachel Lee and Judy Weng, Rana Metwale, and Steven Trinh tested the effects of high glucose levels on cells related to the eye and found evidence that the high levels of exposure may be a factor in decreased barrier functions and beneficial to patients with diabetes.
• Dr. Richard Beuttler participated in a study observing how hippotherapy (equine-assisted therapy) affects children with cognitive and/or physical disabilities in clinical settings as an assessment tool.
• Dr. Richard Beuttler also contributed to an article describing how pharmacist-led benzodiazepine (commonly used to treat severe insomnia or severe anxiety) tapering clinics can be used to engage patients who wish to reduce their dosage in a successful and effective way.