16 Decades of Pharmacology: Evolution of an Academic Department

A compiled history of the department starting from its origin in 1859 as the Department of Materia Medica and Therapeutics, the book includes personal reflections from several past faculty members and highlights the further accomplishments of many faculty and former trainees.

The Channelopathy-Associated Epilepsy Research Center, led by Alfred George, Jr., MD, chair and Magerstadt Professor of Pharmacology, will focus on investigating sodium and potassium channel genes, the dominant class of genes responsible for early childhood-onset epilepsy.

“Ninety percent of people with solid tumors die from metastasis. Understanding how tumor cells spread will help us develop therapeutics to prevent and treat metastatic cancer — and therefore eventually reduce cancer mortality,” said Huiping Liu, MD, PhD, associate professor of Pharmacology and lead author of the study published in the journal Cancer Discovery.

A group of gene mutations seen only in African-Americans and people of African ancestry may contribute to an increased risk of serious bleeding while taking warfarin, a common anticoagulant drug, according to a study by Minoli Perera, PharmD, PhD, associate professor of Pharmacology. Listen to the Breakthroughs Podcast discussing this study.

Alfred George, Jr., MD, chair and Magerstadt Professor of Pharmacology will co-direct the George M. O’Brien Kidney Core Center (NU-GoKIDNEY), bringing together basic and clinical scientists to advance kidney disease discovery.