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School of Pharmacy Department of Pharmacognosy

Research and other news

Research Grants Awarded, Special Honors Conferred, and other Departmental news

    Bigelow Laboratory and University of Mississippi Form Strategic Partnership

    Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences and the University of Mississippi have entered into a Strategic Inter-Institutional Partnership Agreement that creates a range of collaborative research and innovation commercialization initiatives, including marine biotechnology, pharmaceutical sciences, single cell genomics technology, aquatic optical flow cytometry and bioinformatics, among other emerging research fields. Check it out!

    Another Award Brought Home!

    The department happily congratulates Joonseok Oh on his award for the most outstanding presentation given at a conference for American Council for Medicinally Active Plants

    Joonseok's Award

     

    Way to go Amanda!

    The Department is excited to announce that Amanda Waters earned the award for "Best Poster" at the 39th annual MALTO meeting, which was hosted by the University of Louisiana at Monroe College of Pharmacy. Congratulations Amanda!

    Pharmacy Grads Score Perfection

    Last year's graduating class of pharmacists at the University of Mississippi was perfect - literally. Every one of the May 2011 Doctor of Pharmacy graduates passed the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination on their first attempt. The perfect score is part of a report posted on the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy website. The report, which includes pass rates for all accredited schools and colleges of pharmacy over the past five years, also reveals that UM School of Pharmacy graduates' cumulative pass rate is the nation's fifth-highest and the Southeastern Conference's second-highest.

    The entire story can be read at: http://zing.olemiss.edu/pharmacy-grads-score-perfection/

    Pharmacologist to Discuss How UM Scientists Use "HeLa" Cells

    A University of Mississippi pharmacologist will discuss how UM scientists use so-called "HeLa" cells to search for new cancer drugs during a public lecture Tuesday (Oct. 25) evening. Kristie Willett, an associate professor of pharmacology, in the UM School of Pharmacy, will present "Use of HeLa and Other Cancer Cell Lines on the Ole Miss Campus" at 6 p.m. in Bryant Hall, Room 209. The free event also will highlight the historical scientific advances that have been made using HeLa cells. A light reception sponsored by the Office of the Provost follows the talk.

    The entire story can be read at: http://zing.olemiss.edu/pharmacologist-to-discuss-how-um-scientists-use-hela-cells/

  • School of Pharmacy Recognizes Faculty for Research, Instructional Innovations and Service

    The University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy recognized four faculty members for research, instructional innovation and service during its annual fall faculty retreat. Mahmoud A. ElSohly, research professor in the Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, was presented with the Cumberland Pharmaceuticals Inc. Research Award, and Soumyajit Majumdar, associate professor of pharmaceutics, received the New Investigator Award. Daniel Riche, assistant professor of pharmacy practice and medicine, received the Faculty Instructional Innovations Award, and Robert Doerksen, associate professor of medicinal chemistry, received the pharmacy school's Faculty Service Award.

    The entire story can be read at: http://zing.olemiss.edu/school-of-pharmacy-recognizes-faculty-for-research-instructional-innovations-and-service-2/

  • UM-Led Research Team Awarded $20 Million to Study Long-Term Effects of Gulf Oil Spill

    A scientific consortium led by the University of Mississippi has been awarded $20 million over three years to study lingering environmental effects of the massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The funding is part of $112.5 million awarded to eight research teams by the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, or GRI, a group formed to help understand and mitigate the impacts of hydrocarbon pollution and stressors of the marine environment, with an emphasis on conditions found in the Gulf of Mexico. The GRI was established with a 10-year, $500 million commitment from BP.

    The entire story can be read at: http://zing.olemiss.edu/um-led-research-team-awarded-20-million-to-study-long-term-effects-of-gulf-oil-spill/

  • Recent News from Marc Slattery

     Marc Slattery and his crew are doing extensive research in Florida. He provided a link for stundents and those interested in his field of study can keep up with the excitment.

    http://aquarius.uncw.edu/

    There is a link to the live feeds on the left column, a press release on the right column, and more info about the mission and aquanauts if you go to the top menu bar under "2011 missions" "Coral Reef Landscape Responses to Ocean Acidification"

  • UM Contributing Critical Work for Multi-Institutional Study of Botanical Estrogens

    Sooner or later, most women deal to some extent with the discomforts of menopause: hot flashes, insomnia, weight gain, loss of libido, mood swings, irritability, memory and bone loss, and a host of others.Millions of women seeking relief are taking plant-based estrogens (aka phytoestrogens), soy and other products to replace the estrogen their ovaries stopped making.

    Although some phytoestrogens may have effects similar to hormone replacement therapy, their safety and effectiveness are not clear and haven't been adequately studied, said University of Mississippi researcher Ikhlas Khan.

    The entire story can be read at: http://zing.olemiss.edu/um-contributing-critical-work-for-multi-institutional-study-of-botanical-estrogens/

  • Students, Faculty Look Forward to New Pharmacy Practice Building at UMMC

    • For 38 years, pharmacy practice students and faculty have been learning and working at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson without a building of their own. That will change this fall, when the two-story structure going up on University Drive is complete.

    The entire story can be read at: http://www.ezing.net/students-faculty-look-forward-to-new-pharmacy-practice-building-at-ummc/

  • Congratualtions to Sandipan Datta who is one of the students named in Who's Who!

    • Pharmacy Students Named to Who's Who
    The pharmacy students for the 2010-11 class of UM's Who's Who Among Students has been selected.
    The entire story can be read at: http://www.pharmacy.olemiss.edu/whoswho2011.html

    • 1st Annual Department of Pharmcognosy Retreat


    The Department of Pharmacognosy will hold its 2010 Annual Retreat on December 16, 2010 from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm in the newly-renovated Butler Auditorium in Yerby Center. There will be a Poster Presentation contest with prizes. All non-faculty department members are eligible to participate. For information about applying to the Poster Contest, please send an e-mail to: pcog@olemiss.edu

  • Grants Awarded:


    • Dr. James Sims (P.I.-Pharmacognosy). Biosynthetic Routes to Drug Development for AIDS Ol Mtb – Year 2 (NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases), $47,606, September 11, 2010-September 1, 2011.

    Dr. Ikhlas Khan (P.I.- NCNPR). Science Based Authentication of Dietary Supplements FY10-11 (Food and Drug Administration), $500,000, July 1, 2010-June 30, 2011.

    Dr. Raymond Highsmith (P.I.-NIUST), Dr. Marc Slattery (Co-P.I.-Pharmacognosy), and Dr. Carol Lutken (Co-P.I.-Mississippi Mineral Resources Institute). NIUST Integrated Research and Technology Development: Year Four Science Plan and Budget FY 2010 (U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA), $4,873,000, October 1, 2010-September 30, 2011.

    Dr. Mark Hamann (P.I.-Pharmacognosy). Food Additives from Marine Bacteria, Algae and
    Invertebrates – Amendment 1 (Kraft Foods, Inc.), $50,000, September 1, 2009-March 31,
    2011.

    Dr. Alice Clark (P.I.-Pharmacognosy), and Dr. Ameeta Agarwal (Co-P.I.-NCNPR). New Drugs for Opportunistic Infections-FY10-11 (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases [NIAID]), $388,221, July 1, 2010-June 30, 2011.

    Dr. Alice Clark (P.I.-Pharmacognosy), and Dr. Xing-Cong Li (Co-P.I.-NCNPR). New Drugs for Opportunistic Infections-Diversity Supplement-FY10-11 (NIAID), $46,910, July 1, 2010-June 30, 2011.

    Dr. Daneel Ferreira (P.I. - Pharmacognosy). Oligomeric/Polymeric Procynanidins: Development of Synthetic and Analytical Protocols (Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc.), $175,000, December 1, 2009-February 28, 2012.

    Dr. Mark Hamann (P.I.-Pharmacognosy). The Isolation and Characterization of Antimalarial Agents with Marine Micro-Organisms-Year 5 (Medicines for Malaria Venture), $15,000, January 1, 2006-December 31, 2011.

    Dr. Mark Hamann (P.I.-Pharmacognosy). Vibrio Biotechnology: Anticancer Marine Natural Products from GOM Bacteria (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA]/ National Institute for Undersea Science and Technology [NIUST]), $96,172, October 1, 2009-September 30, 2010.

    Dr. Mark Hamann (P.I.-Pharmacognosy). Food Additives from Marine Bacteria (Kraft Foods, Inc.), $100,000, September 1, 2009-August 30, 2010.

    Dr. Raymond Highsmith (P.I.-NIUST), Dr. Marc Slattery (Co-P.I.-Pharmacognosy), and Dr. Carol Lutken (Co-P.I.-MS Mineral Resources Institute). NIUST Integrated Research and Technology Development: OAR Charter Fund Request (U.S. Dept. of Commerce/NOAA), $173,200, October 1, 2010-September 30, 2011.

    Dr. Gregory Easson (P.I.-Geology and Geological Engineering), and Dr. Marc Slattery (Co- P.I.-Pharmacognosy). Seagrass Health Modeling and Prediction with National Aeronautics and Space Administration Science Data (NASA), $295,608, December 1, 2009-November 30, 2010.

    Dr. Marc Slattery (P.I.-Pharmacognosy). Rapid Phase Shift to Algal Dominated Mesophotic Reef Communities in Response to Lionfish Invasion (University of New Hampshire/NSF) $28,980, December 1, 2009-November 30, 2010.

    Dr. Dale Nagle (P.I.-Pharmacognosy), and Dr. Yu-Dong Zhou (Co-P.I.-Pharmacognosy). Anticancer Drug Discovery that Targets Tumor Hypoxia-Year 6 (NIH/National Cancer Institute), $270,237, June 1, 2010-May 31, 2011.

    Dr. Yu-Dong Zhou (P.I.-Pharmacognosy), and Dr. Dale Nagle (Co-P.I.-Pharmacognosy). Methods to Examine Mitochondria-Targeted Marine Natural Products (NOAA/NIUST), $109,290, October 1, 2009-September 30, 2010.

    Dr. Jordan Zjawiony (P.I.-Pharmacognosy). Diterpenes as Selective Kappa Opioid Receptor Agents (The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill/NIDA), $68,129, February 15, 2010-January 31, 2011.

    Dr. Jordan Zjawiony (P.I.-Pharmacognosy), and Dr. Charles Burandt (Co-P.I.-NCNPR). Chemistry and Pharmacology of Newly Emerging Psychoactive Plants-Year 2 (NIH), $71,500, May 1, 2009-April 30, 2011.

  • Honors and Awards

    Dr. Daneel Ferreira received the International Tannin Award at the 7th Tannin Conference/GA Joint Meeting in Berlin. The award is in recognition of his life-long contributions to the chemistry of condensed tannins (proanthocyanidis).

    • Dr. Marc Slattery was selected as the recipient of the 2010 Cumberland Pharmaceuticals Inc. School of Pharmacy Faculty Research Award.

    Dr. Ikhlas Khan was selected as the recipient of the 2010 American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) Herbal Insight Award. This award is given to individuals or noncommercial organizations that have a significant impact on furthering knowledge and understanding of botanicals and their uses. Dr. Khan was also named as the recipient of the 2011Tyler Prize during the annual meeting of the American Society of Pharmacognosy. The Tyler Prize is awarded to recognize an individual who has made outstanding scientific contributions to the broad field of dietary supplements, with special emphasis on botanicals.