E-NEWSLETTER OF THE

NATIONALLY RANKED

UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO

COLLEGE OF PHARMACY AND

PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES

By Aparna Raghavan, Medicinal Chemistry graduate student

The 47th Annual Mid-Atlantic Graduate Student Symposium in Medicinal Chemistry

About a year ago at the 46th Annual Mid-

Atlantic Graduate Student Symposium

(MAGSS) held at Ohio State University,

medicinal chemistry graduate student from

The University of Toledo agreed to host the

47th symposium. Admittedly, we did so

without entirely comprehending the magnitude

of effort that goes into producing a symposium.

Fortunately for us, our enthusiasm carried us

through. We had our times of inaction, our

share of uncertainties, and slivers of

exhilaration amidst all that. In the end, we

pulled together a show that in the words of

many attendees was “excellently organized”.

Take a bow, MAGSS 2014 organizing

committee!

MAGSS 2014 was held at the cusp of some

momentous occasions for the College of

Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences—it was

preceded by the 20th anniversary celebration

of the Center for Drug Design & Development

(CD3) championed by Distinguished

University Professor Dr. Paul Erhardt,

followed by the 110th anniversary of the

inception of our college.

The CD3 celebration transitioned to the

MAGSS 2014 kickoff, which featured attendee

registration and a light dinner. The enthusiasm

among the attendees was palpable as you saw

them strutting in their electric blue MAGSS t-

shirts all across campus.

On the first full day of the symposium, we

began early in the morning with breakfast and

opening remarks. It was heartening to see close

to a hundred fresh faces in the morning, eager

to take in the science marathon that was about

to unfold. We heard some inspiring and

eloquent thoughts shared by Dean Early, Dr.

Marcia McInerney, and Dr. Viranga

Tillekeratne, which set the tone for the event.

Next, our keynote speaker, Dr. Gordon Cragg,

Former Chief of the National Cancer Institute

(NCI) at the NIH, enthralled us all with a

bird’s-eye view of the massive contribution of

natural products towards drug discovery. He

spoke of how the scientific method could be

improved to yield better drugs and appealed to

every one of us to get the word out to the

masses. After an exciting round of questions,

(Continued on page 2)

this issue

Students at ISPOR Meeting P.3

Chinese Scholars Visit UT P.4

Student Research P.5

Staff Development P.6

J U L Y 2 0 1 4

07

110 years of

excellence

On June 27, 2014, the College

of Pharmacy and

Pharmaceutical Sciences

celebrated its 110-year

anniversary. The college, the

first to be established at The

University of Toledo, has

been housed in several

buildings throughout its

history and has thrived under

the leadership of excellent

deans, all of whom have

contributed to the ongoing

success and recognition of

our students, faculty, alumni

and academic programs.

Significant in the history of

the college are the leaders,

interim deans, chairs and

faculty members, who have

guided the college through

both bountiful and difficult

times. The college continues

to attract exceptional

students who are

transformed through

education into exemplary

practitioners and scientists .

They return as alumni who

contribute generously to the

college through service and

giving. The College of

Pharmacy and

Pharmaceutical Sciences is a

true beacon of success, and

many deserve thanks for

making our light shine ever

brighter.

47th Annual MAGSS

each of which Dr. Cragg answered

with diligence and élan, we began our

student oral presentations. When they

concluded, judges were at their wits’

end trying to decide the best among

them. That they ended up awarding

two first prizes is proof enough of the

sheer quality of research and the

wealth of ideas these talks generated.

An afternoon session featured arrays

of poster presentations and the

frenzied buzz of discussion around

them. Our very own Ayad Al-

Hamashi, a graduate student in the

Department of Medicinal and

Biological Chemistry, won second

prize in this poster session, which was

judged by the mechanism of peer-

review. An entertaining panel

discussion session featured the who’s

who of drug discovery from the

trifecta of academia, industry and the

government. At once we witnessed

how diverse yet concerted their ideas

are, as they need to be to innovatively

address discovery today. It realigned

(Continued from page 1)

our perspective of what the market

might look like once we graduate. We

were fortunate to have Dr.

Christopher Lipinski and Dr. Gunda

Georg, who were guests at the CD3

event, kindly agree to partake in this

discussion as well as the symposium.

The institutional talk given by Dr.

Donald Ronning, Associate Professor

in the Department of Chemistry and

Biochemistry at UT, introduced

participants to the impressive research

on anti-tubercular agents, and his

captivating speaking-style drove away

any signs of fatigue we might have had.

The final day of MAGSS 2014 began

with some interesting information

about the history of our college and

our accomplishments given by Dr.

Katherine Wall, Chair of the

Department of Medicinal and

Biological Chemistry. We began the

morning session with a guest lecture

by the effervescent Dr. Wendy

Young, Director of Discovery

Chemistry at Genentech. She spoke

passionately about the research being

undertaken in her company and

shared with us the colorful work

culture at Genentech. This was

followed by the second round of oral

presentations, followed by the closing

ceremony and prize distribution. We

said goodbye and thanked profusely

the speakers who made this event

what it was and the attendees who

were such active participants.

Conferences happen. New ideas are

born. Science goes on. But what really

stayed with me from the 2014

MAGSS were the conversations—the

lunch-time sports talk with the

speakers, discussing world cultures,

and some ideas, albeit utopian, on

how to make medicine reach people

more effectively.

While science was the reason we

gathered for this meeting, we gained a

lot more from it.

I would like to thank the College of

Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical

Sciences for giving us the opportunity

to host this conference and to enjoy

this experience. I thank the

Department of Medicinal and

Biological Chemistry for their

generous support and the faculty

members for all their help. Thank

you, Dr. Tillekeratne (faculty advisor),

for guiding us with fervor throughout.

Thanks Charisse Montgomery

(communications director) and

Kwabena Kankam (senior business

manager) for your valuable input into

the organizing process.

Please visit the MAGSS website for

details on the sponsors and the

organizing committee.

Dr. Gordon Cragg, Former Chief of the

Natural Products Branch at NIH,

presented the Plenary Lecture on “Natural

Products: A History of Success and

Continuing Promise for Drug Discovery and

Development”.

Aparna Raghavan, a medicinal chemistry

graduate student and symposium chair ,

welcomed guests to the 47th annual

MAGSS.

The University of Toledo student chapter of International

Society of Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research

(ISPOR) recently attended the annual meeting of the

society in Montreal, Canada. ISPOR brings together

research groups, drug companies and academicians to

focus on issues such as usage and costs of drugs, medical

devices and interventions. The theme of the international

conference this year was “BIG DATA”, with a focus on how

collecting large amounts of data, measured in petabytes

(1,000,000 gigabytes), provides issues with statistical

analyses and storage.

A competition was held to design a t-shirt for the

conference, and designs were submitted by 41 U.S.

chapters as well as 20 international student chapters. The

University of Toledo student ISPOR chapter won the design

competition and had their design featured on the backs of

the official meeting t-shirts, which were distributed at the

conference. Students also participated in a Student

Research Competition. The Toledo team consisted solely of

first-year master’s students, who competed with teams that

included more experienced master’s and Ph.D. level

students. The Toledo team performed well, and while they

fell in the first round by a small margin, they are confident

that they will have a strong performance next year. The

president of the UT chapter, Tessa Conner, was also

selected as the chair of the planning committee for next

year’s conference in Philadelphia.

Students from The University of Toledo’s ISPOR student

chapter also presented research at the conference. Master’s

students Kevin Omerza and Tessa Conner, from the

Pharmaceutical Care and Outcomes Research (PCOR) Lab,

under the direction of Dr. Sharrel Pinto, presented a poster

entitled, “Determining patient satisfaction, perception of

value, and monetary worth associated with adherence

packaging and pharmacy services”.

Additionally, Nilesh Gangan, a recent graduate of the

master’s program in Health Outcomes and Socioeconomic

Sciences, presented on disparities in the use of inhaled

corticosteroids and the economic implications of these

disparities. Dr. Varun Vaidya also presented a poster

examining cardiovascular comorbidities in patients with

Type II Diabetes.

UT students stand out at Outcomes Research meeting

Six visiting scholars and one

graduate student from the

North Sichuan Medical

College (NSMC) visited the

College from February

through June. Their visit,

which follows a visit from a

faculty delegation in 2013,

demonstrates the thriving

learning, teaching and

research partnership between

North Sichuan Medical

College and The University of

Toledo College of Pharmacy

and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

NSMC is a government-run

college of medicine in Sichuan

Province and is located in the

second largest higher

education center of Sichuan

Province—Nanchong City,

the origin of the Three

Kingdoms Culture.

Visiting scholars were

mentored by faculty in the

College of Pharmacy and

Pharmaceutical Sciences, and

the College of Medicine and

Life Sciences.

Si Wang was mentored by Dr.

Jeff Blumer, professor and

chair of the Department of

Pediatrics in the College of

Medicine and Life Sciences.

Jiaxin Yan was mentored by

Dr. Amira Gohara, director of

the post-sophomore pathology

fellowship and sophomore

medical student pathology

course in the College of

Medicine and Life Sciences

and Dean Emerita of the

Medical University of Ohio,

and Dr. James Slama,

professor of medicinal

chemistry and director of the

B.S. in Pharmaceutical

Sciences program in the

College of Pharmacy and

Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Xue Mei was mentored by Dr.

Steven Peseckis, associate

professor of medicinal

chemistry in the College of

Pharmacy and

Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Qi Shi was mentored by Dr.

Kelly Manahan's group. Dr.

Manahan is a professor and

chair of the Department of

Obstetrics and Gynecology in

the College of Medicine and

Life Sciences College of

Medicine and Life Sciences.

Tielong Tang was mentored

by Dr. Ajay Singla, professor

and vice chairman of the

Department of Urology in the

College of Medicine and Life

Sciences and director of

Female Pelvic Medicine and

Reconstructive Surgery.

Huang Xuezhu was mentored

by Dr. John McSweeny,

Professor Emeritus of

psychiatry and neurology in

the College of Medicine and

Life Sciences, Dr. Yueh-Ting

Chinese scholars learn and share knowledge at UT

NSMC scholars demonstrate a traditional Chinese tea ceremony at the home of

Dean Early.

Arriving during the latter part of the long winter, the scholars from NSMC began their stay with a hearty breakfast with Dean Early

(far left), his executive secretary Cynthia Soncrant (second from right), and her husband, Mike (second from left).

Students share

research at

national

meetings

Cosmetic Science

students attended the

meeting of the New York

Society of Cosmetic

Chemistry (NYSCC). At

the meeting, students

learned about new

technologies and

ingredients that are

making their way into the

cosmetic science industry.

They were able to

network and find out what

companies are looking for

in their new hires, priming

the students for the job

market that awaits them

upon graduation.

Medicinal Chemistry

graduate students Ramadan

Ali and Yining Jin, along with

Drs. James Slama, Katherine

Wall, and Hermann von

Grafenstein,

attended Experimental

Biology 2014, the annual

meeting of the American (Continued on page 6)

Lee, professor of psychology in

the College of Languages,

Literature and Social Sciences,

and Dr. Zahoor Shah, assistant

professor of medicinal chemistry

in the College of Pharmacy and

Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Graduate student Lijun Luo

studied in the laboratory of Dr.

Ming-Cheh Liu, professor of

pharmacology in the College of

Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical

Sciences.

NSMC faculty members attended

classes and laboratory sessions

and observed the instructional

methods used in the College of

Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical

Sciences and in the College of

Medicine and Life Sciences as

well as the University of Toledo

Medical Center and Clinics. In

addition, the faculty members

and graduate student were

exposed to broad academic and

social settings in which they

expanded their cultural

knowledge and practiced their

language skills.

Learning included language skills

developed through the American

Language Institute and teaching

methods enhanced through

classroom observation, in

addition to observation of clinical

practices and participation in

cultural and college

engagements.

The faculty members and student

from NSMC also shared aspects

of their home culture with the UT

community. They presented a

lecture about Chinese tea

ceremonies and conducted a tea

ceremony for UT faculty and

students as well as staff members

and prospective students at the

home of Dean Early. The

experience was enriching for all

who participated.

NSMC scholars demonstrate a traditional Chinese tea ceremony at the home of

Dean Early.

Faculty visitors marched in with the faculty of the College of Pharmacy and

Pharmaceutical Sciences at spring Commencement.

Yining Jin (left) with Dr. Hermann

von Grafenstein

Staff development retreat

PROMOTES TEAMBUILDING

In June, members of the college’s staff

participated in a half-day staff development

retreat, the first event of its type, designed

to promote a team atmosphere and provide

staff members with new skills. The retreat

engaged other units at The University of

Toledo, including the Counseling Center

and Rocket Wellness Center, as well as a

workshop by an external consulting agency.

Topics included Coping with stress in the

workplace, Developing personal wellness

and Teambuilding, and staff members

received information on improving their

communication skills and health habits.

The college’s Staff Development

Committee planned the event, which will

recur annually.

“This event reflects the college’s long-term

commitment to improving the satisfaction,

skill and service of the college’s staff, which

ultimately benefits students, faculty and the

UT community,” said Dr. Richard

Montgomery, chair of the Staff

Development Committee.

Dr. Kathy Wall (left) with

Ramadan Ali

Society for Biochemistry

and Molecular Biology

(ASBMB).

Ramadan Ali received a

travel grant from the

ASBMB to present his

poster entitled "NAADP

evokes calcium signals and

plays a critical role in

downstream physiological

responses in naive T cells”.

Yining Jin's poster was

entitled "Geometric factors

influencing hydrogen-

deuterium exchange:

Detection of mobile water

molecules in the peptide-

MHC I binding interface”.

(Continued from page 5)

Student

research

Audience

This activity is designed for physicians. It may also meet the educational needs of pharmacists, nurses, physician assistants, laboratorians and other healthcare providers practicing in institutional and ambulatory settings who work with infectious diseases and treatments.

ProMedica’s Continuing Medical Education Department and

ProMedica Toledo Hospital Department of Pharmacy present

A Grosh Medical Education Conference

Conference brochures will be mailed late summer. For more information contact ProMedica’s Continuing Medical Education Department, 419-291-4170.

For future continuing medical education opportunities and to view the calendars and conference brochures, visit http://www.promedica.org/continuingmedicaleducation.

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Registration 7:30 a.m.

Conference 8:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Holiday Inn French Quarter

17th Annual

Infectious Disease Update