Anees Ahmad Banday, Ph.D., UHCOP research assistant professor, has received a three-year, $308,000 grant from the American Heart Association for his work in identifying the molecular mechanisms of AT1 receptor signal transduction during oxidative stress. Conditions associated with oxidative stress – such as hypertension and diabetes - exhibit increased AT1 receptor density, which could be main contributor to high blood pressure. Although there is evidence that anti-oxidants reduce oxidative stress, lower blood pressure and normalize AT1 receptor signaling, the mechanisms responsible for AT1 receptor upregulation by oxidative stress or suppression by anti-oxidants are unknown. Before joining the UHCOP research faculty in 2006, Banday worked as a research associate and a post-doctoral fellow under Dean and Professor Mustafa F. Lokhandwala.

Russell E. Lewis, Pharm.D., BCPS, a UH College of Pharmacy Associate Professor and researcher, recently was elected 2008-09 At-Large Member on the Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists Board of Directors. A SIDP member since 1997 and chair of the SIDP's Research Committee, Lewis joins UHCOP alumnus John Mohr, Pharm.D. ('98), of Cubist Pharmaceuticals and UT Health Science Center-Houston, who also serves as an at-large member on the SIDP board.

UHCOP Pharmacy Administration graduate students and faculty members won two first-place and two second-place poster presentation awards at the 9th Annual Health Services and Outcomes Research Conference sponsored by Kelsey Research Foundation on Dec. 3 in Houston. UH student Debajyoti Bhovmik and Associate Professor Sujit S. Sansgiry, Ph.D., received the top award in the Effectiveness category, and Associate Professor Kevin W. Garey, Pharm.D., M.S., contributed to the winning poster presentation in the Timeliness of Care category.

Alumnus Johnnie Fadal Jr., R.Ph. ('60), now a relief pharmacist for the Pharmacy Plus chain of indepentent pharmacies in his native city of Waco, Texas, has established a scholarship endowment at the college. With two uncles who were pharmacists, Fadal was encouraged to pursue a career in the profession. Although he earned a contract to play professional baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Fadal decided to complete his education. "I have no regrets about this decision,” Fadal said. “Pharmacy has been very good to me." The Johnnie Fadal Jr. Endowed Scholarship will be open to students in any of the college's degree programs. 

The Mortar & Pedal Ride campaign, started by Professor Emeritus Thomas L. Lemke, has reached endowment level at UH College of Pharmacy. Lemke, a medicinal chemistry researcher and faculty member of the college for 35 years, retired in 2006. An avid cyclist, Lemke raised funds for student support during several cross-country biking trips. In addition to support from faculty, staff, alumni and friends, the Mortar & Pedal Ride scholarship campaign was funded with personal gifts from Lemke. College alumnus Linzay Kelly, R.Ph. ('91), completed funding of the endowment campaign in December 2008 through a personal gift, which was matched with a gift from Johnson & Johnson.The new scholarship will be open to students in any of the college's undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. 

In the spirit of supporting education at UH College of Pharmacy, past and present members of the Dean's Executive Council have joined to establish a scholarship endowment. Council members include the dean, associate/assistant deans, department chairs, division heads, directors, and other faculty/program representatives. The internal organization serves as a forum for addressing academic and administrative issues and providing progress reports on college activities and programs. The new scholarship is open to students in any of the college's undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs.  

Diana S-L. Chow, Ph.D., UHCOP associate professor and director of the Institute for Drug Education & Research, has been invited to collaborate on a multi-institutional clinical trial for patients with traumatic acute spinal cord injury (ASCI) sponsored by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation-North American Clinical Trials Network. Involving eight institutions around the U.S. and Canada, the clinical trial is examining the usefulness of riluzole (Rirutek®) - an FDA-approved drug for a progressive neurodegenerative disorder called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis - in ASCI patients. As a co-principal investigator, Chow will perform the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies on clinical samples of plasma and cerebrospinal fluid. Her work is being supported by a $66,137 grant from the Reeve Foundation.