Ke-He Ruan, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor of Medicinal Chemistry & Pharmacology
Director of the Center for
Experimental Therapeutics and Pharmacoinformatics (CETP)

Department of Pharmacological and Pharmaceutical Sciences
521 Science and Research Building 2
Houston, TX 77204-5037
713-743-1771
713-743-1229 (fax)
khruan@uh.edu

Education

M.D in Medicine, Fujian Medical University
Ph.D in Biomedical Science, Biochemistry,
Medical College of Miyazaki
Post Doc in Biochemistry, Baylor College of Medicine

Academic/Research Interests

Signaling Molecules and Drugs: Eicosanoids, Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), targeting eicosanoid-biosynthesizing drugs, targeting eicosanoid-signaling drugs.
Therapeutics Development for Diseases: Using small compounds/peptide/protein/gene/cells to develop novel approaches targeting Vascular Diseases (such as stroke and heart diseases), cancers and tissue regenerations.
Drug targets: G Protein coupling receptors, P450 enzymes, eicosanoid-synthesizing enzymes, eicosanoid receptors
Molecular Mechanisms: Eicosanoid Biosynthesis and Signaling in thrombosis, ischemia, cancers and stem cells.
Biomedical field: Protein engineering, peptide synthesis, drug designs, membrane proteins, NMR structural biology.
Approaches: Molecular cloning, protein/cell engineering, cell engineering, animal models, NMR spectroscopy, high throughput screening, virtual screening, computational chemistry.
Assay Development: Automation robotic system for High throughput drug screening, virtual drug designs and screening, integration of experimental and virtual approaches in drug designs and screening.

Courses

University of Houston:
PHAR5302 Medicinal Chemistry
PCOL7333 Molecular Pharmacology
PHAR5289 Herbal Medicine Drug Design
PHAR5389 Herbal Medicine Research

• Director of Center of Experimental Therapeutics and Pharmacoinformatics(CETP), University of Houston
• Adjunct Professor, University of Texas Graduate School at Houston
• Adjunct Professor, Fujian Medical University
• Faculty Member of Texas Heart Institute
• Member of Houston Area Molecular Biophysics Program (HAMBP).
• Advisory Committee Member of NMR Structural Biology Center in University Houston.
• Member of Gulf Coast Consortium in Magnetic Resonance (MGCCMR).
• Member of American Chemistry Society (ACS).
• Member of American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB).
• Member of American Protein Society.
• Member of Society of Chinese Biosciences in America

Honors, Awards and Grants

• News feature by American Chemical Society News Press on Nov. 27, 2006, Engineering the "Super Enzyme" -- a potential new weapon against heart disease’.
• News feature by Worldjournal.com on Nov. 29, 2006 for Innovative Engineering of a “Super Enzyme”.
• News Feature by University of Texas Health Science center at Houston News Room “Super Enzyme and Potential heart treatment emerge from Vioxx Research”
• News Feature by Science Daily, Nov 28 2006, ‘Engineering The 'Super Enzyme' -- A Potential New Weapon Against Heart Disease’
• News Feature by FirstScience.com, Nov 22 2006, ‘Engineering the "Super Enzyme" -- a potential new weapon against heart disease’
• News Feature by Mooshee.com, , ‘Engineering the "Super Enzyme" -- a potential new weapon against heart disease’
• News Feature by Spectroscopy.com, ‘Assembled Receptor Spectra’
• News Feature by NMR Knowledge Base, ‘Assembled Receptor Spectra’
• National Institute of Health RO1 supplement Award, 2006.
• Interviewed by Sciencebase.com (Cambridge UK) and featured by NMR Base Knowledge News in recognition of the major findings of the structure/function relationship studies for prostanoid receptor in July, 2004.
• National Institute of Health RO1 Award, Dec. 2004.
• National Institute of Health RO1 Award, NIH, Aug. 2004.
• National Institute of Health RO1 Award, NIH, 2000.
• National Institute of Health PPG project Award, 2000.
• National Institute of Health FIRST AWARD (R29), 1996.
• Honor from American Heart Association, Texas Affiliate: Certificate
  of Appreciation for dedicated service in advancing the fight
  against Heart disease and stroke from American Heart Association, Texas Affiliate, 1996.
• Grant-in-aid, American Heart Association Award, Texas Affiliate,
  1995.
• Grant-in-aid, American Heart Association Award, Texas Affiliate,
  1993.
• The First National Young Scientist Award from National Science
  and Technology Commission, P.R. of China, 1989.
• Interviewed and Featured by Japanese NHK TV station, and 5 major news papers between Feb., - March, 1986 as an outstanding scientist in developing the breaking record sensitive method measuring hormone insulin.
• Interviewed and Featured by Chinese central TV station, Radio station and Multiple Chinese News papers, between 1986 and 1988, as an ‘outstanding young scientist in biomedical sciences’.
• Award (First place) of Science and Technology Development from Fujian Province Science and Technology Commission, P.R. China, 1987.
• Award (First place) of Medical Science from Fujian Province Medical
  Council, P.R of China, 1987.
• Governor Award of Fujian Province, P.R of China, 1986.

Editorial Board Positions and Journal Reviews

• 2007 – present. Associate editor of the African Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology (AJPP).
• 2006 – Present: Editorial Board member for “Recent Patents on CNS Drug Discovery” Journal (Bentham Science Publishers).
• 2004 – Present: Editorial Board member for BMC Biochemistry.
• Co-Guest Editor for Current Pharmaceutics Design (impact factor: 5.0, in 2004) for a special issue of the hot topic "Latest Developments in Pharmaceutical Design of Arachidonic Acid Metabolites: Prostaglandins, Thromboxanes, Hepoxilins and Isoprostanes".
• 2003 – Present: Editorial Board member for Spectroscopy Journal (An International Biomedical Journal. Editor, Partic Haris, England).
• 2002 – Present: Member of International Reviewers Panel for Medical Science Monitor Journal (An international medical journal for experimental and clinic research, Editor, Mark R. Graczynski)
• Reviewer for
  o Journal Biological Chemistry (J.B.C., U.S.A.)
  o Biochemical Pharmacology Journal (U.S.A)
  o Trends in Pharmacological Sciences (TIPS, U.S.A.)
  o Life Sciences (U.S.A.)
  o Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics (U.S.A.)
  o Carcinogenesis (U.S.A.)
  o Journal of Medicinal Chemistry (American Chemical Society
  o Journal)
  o Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental
  o Therapeutics (ASPET) Journal)
  o Cancer Investigation

Service on Grant Review Panels, Study Sections, Committees

• NIH, NIDDK Special emphasis review panel member.
• NIH, NHLB Special emphasis review panel member.
• American Heart Association Grant Review Panel
• UH GEAR review panel
• Reviewer for grant peer review committee of National Health Research Institutes, Taiwan, Republic China (2001).
• Grant reviewer for the Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong (2007).
• Grant Review Committee Member of Fujian Medical University, P.R.
  China (2004)