News @ VCU School of Pharmacy

Summer? Research? Pizza? What’s not to like?

Every year, the Dean’s Office supports Summer Research Fellowships for several Pharm.D. students. The students receive a stipend for two months of work and are encouraged to discuss their research areas with faculty.

Susanna Wu-Pong, director of Pharmaceutical Sciences Graduate Programs, says Summer Research Pizza Lunches began about four years ago. It’s a series of hourlong programs that feature one or two 20-minute presentations by students.

This year, the Summer Research Pizza Lunches series takes place from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesdays. The first one, July 14, will be in Smith, Room 546, while the rest will be in Smith, Room 446. The dates, student researchers’ names, research topics and advisors (in parentheses) follow.

All are invited.

• July 14: Alex Lenhart, P2, on “Bivalent Ligands Targeting Amyloid-Beta-Peptide and Cell Membrane/Lipid Rafts” (Shijun Zhang, assistant professor of medicinal chemistry), and Che Chang, P2, on “In-vitro Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Physostigmine in Canine Whole Blood” (Jurgen Venitz, associate professor of pharmaceutics)
• July 21: Andrew Johnson, P2, on “Elucidating the Mechanism of Grifolin-Induced Apopotosis in Cancer Cells” (Keith Ellis, assistant professor of medicinal chemistry), and Melissa Rees, P2, on “Agonist-Directed Trafficking of 5-HT2 Agonist Hallucinogens” (Richard Glennon, chairman, Department of Medicinal Chemistry)
• July 28: Michael Snow, P2, on “Modification of a Compendial Cascade Impactor to Enable the Simultaneous Measurement of a Particle Size and Electrostatic Charge in Pharmaceutical Aerosols” (Joanne Peart, associate professor of pharmaceutics), and Jason Quarles, P2, on “Multicenter Investigation of the Relationship Between Vancomycin Use and Prevalence of Staph Aureus Isolates With Reduced Susceptibility to Vancomycin” (Ron Polk, professor of pharmacy)
• Aug. 4: Amber Smith, P3, on "Activated Recombinant Factor VII for the Treatment of Intracranial Hemorrhage" (Gretchen Brophy, associate professor of pharmacy) http://www.pharmacy.vcu.edu/sub/faculty/facdetail.aspx?id=49 and Lauren Cox, P2, topic TBA (Tish Moczygemba, assistant professor of pharmacy)
• Aug. 11: Tamara Davidson, P2, topic TBA (Jean-Venable “Kelly” Goode, associate professor of pharmacy)

Submitted By:
Cynthia McMullen
7/15/2009