Research News
- Pharmacy Administration Students to Present at ISPOR Meeting in Toronto May 3-7
- Abstract for Recent Grant Received by Assistant Professor of Psychology Philip Gehrman, PhD
- Abstract for Recent Grant Received by Assistant Professor of Biology Daniel Marenda, PhD
- Join the Partners of the University KIZ to Learn More About Tech Transfer Best Practices, May 14th
- NSF Approves Atomic Force Microscope Grant
- USP Graduate Students Defend Dissertations
- USP Graduate Students presented posters at the AAPS meeting in San Diego, CA
- USP Student Designs Computer Program to Track Spread of Biological Disease Agents
Pharmacy Administration Students to Present at ISPOR Meeting in Toronto May 3-7
The following students in USP's Master of Science in Pharmacy Administration program will be presenting posters at the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research meeting, taking place in Toronto from May 3-7...
COST–EFFECTIVENESS ANALYSIS OF PEGAPTANIB (MACUGEN®) AS COMPARED WITH
RANIBIZUMAB (LUCENTIS®) FOR TREATING IN AGE–RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION (AMD)
Lu L.Y. and McGhan W
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, PA, USA
COST-EFFECTIVENESS MODEL FOR SMOKING CESSATION THERAPY USING VARENICLINE
Viswanathan S, Neville W, Patel E, Raparla S, and McGhan WF
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA
COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF TNF-ALPHA INHIBITORS IN
COMPARISON TO OTHER STRATEGIES IN THE TREATMENT OF MODERATE-TO-SEVERE
PSORIASIS: A DECISION ANALYSIS MODEL
Viswanathan S and McGhan WF
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA
COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF DIFFERENT STRATEGIES FOR DIAGNOSIS OF DEEP VEIN THROMBOSIS.
Patel V. and McGhan WF
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Abstract for Recent Social Sciences Grant Received, March 2008
Recipient: Philip Gehrman, PhD
Title: Stress Reactivity in Insomnia
ABSTRACT: Insomnia is the most prevalent sleep disorder, affecting 6-10% of the U.S. population, and is associated with a number of daytime sequelae. However, little is known about the underlying neurobiological mechanisms that might lead to insomnia. There is preliminary evidence that the stress system may play a major role in the etiology of insomnia. The goal of the present study is to examine whether individuals with insomnia are more reactive to stress than healthy sleepers. We hypothesize that insomniacs will show heightened reactivity to the anticipation of a stressor.
The proposed project will include 20 individuals with primary insomnia and 20 age- and gender-matched healthy sleeping controls. After collection of background measures and an adaptation night in the sleep laboratory, subjects will undergo a baseline and stress night. At 30 minutes before their habitual bedtime, upon awakening in the morning, and 30 minutes after waking up, subjects will provide a saliva sample and complete ratings of their current level of stress. On the adaptation and baseline nights no additional procedures will take place. On the stress night a mild electric shock will be administered to the subject after it is first demonstrated on the research personnel. They will then be told that they may receive up to 3 additional electric shocks during the night, although they will not actually receive any more shocks. The primary outcome measure is reactivity of sleep latency on the stress night compared to the baseline night. Secondary outcome measures are: subjective ratings of stress, salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase, sleep quantity and quality, high frequency EEG power, and heart rate variability.
Abstract for Recent Bioloical Sciences Grant Received, February 2008
Recipient: Daniel Marenda, PhD
Title: “Retina: Lilliputian And The Control Of Retinal Neurogenesis”
ABSTRACT: A fundamental question in developmental biology is the control of neurogenesis. Proper neural development underlies the basic cellular processes required within all cells of the mature nervous system. Neurophysiology, and even broader processes such as consciousness or intelligence intimately depend upon proper developmental control of cells within the nervous system. The long term goal of this project is a deeper understanding of retinal neurogenesis, with the hope that the research proposed will ultimately lead to new diagnostic tools and/or therapeutic targets for retinal regeneration in patients with retinal degeneration or damage. The developing eye of the fruit-fly Drosophila melanogaster serves as an excellent system to model how neurogenesis is controlled within a developing nervous tissue. Proper retinal neurogenesis in Drosophila begins with the induction of the founding neural cell type through the precise expression of the proneural transcription factor atonal (ato) in flies (Atonal homolog 5, Ath5 in vertebrates) [1, 2]. This expression is critical for proper retinal development. Therefore, we have used an ato eye phenotype as the basis for a genetic screen in the fly eye. This proposal centers on one of the mutants isolated in this screen: mutations in the lilliputian (lilli) gene. lilli encodes the Drosophila homolog of the FMR2 protein, and is the only member of the FMR2/AF4 gene family of transcription factors found in flies [3, 4]. Mutation in members of the AF4/FMR2 gene family in humans are involved in both acute lymphoblastic leukemia and mental retardation, though little is known about the specific roles these proteins have in disease etiology, or which cellular processes they regulate [5, 6]. This proposal attempts to study how lilli functions during the specification of retinal founder cell development through one specific aim: 1) Analysis of atonal transcriptional activation/maintenance by Lilli. Our preliminary data show that proper lilli function is required for ato transcription in the developing fly eye. Our working hypothesis is that Lilli mediates atonal transcription through a direct interaction with atonal regulatory sequences and Atonal binding partners. To begin to test this hypothesis, we will examine whether Lilli binds to specific atonal regulatory sequences and transcriptional cofactors, and determine which signals regulate this Lilli-mediated atonal transcription in the developing Drosophila retina.The process of initiating retinal development is very well conserved throughout species. As Lilliputian is the only member of the AF4/FMR2 family of proteins in Drosophila, a deeper understanding of how Drosophila Lilliputian is involved in initiating retinal development will likely be of very broad relevance to our understanding of the process of mammalian retinal development, and may lead to novel diagnostic tools and/or therapeutic targets for patients with inherited retinal degeneration or damage. Further, our preliminary data suggests that our results obtained so far from our studies involving Drosophila retinal development and Lilliputian function are not solely limited to developing retinal cells, and may be broadly applicable to a variety of Drosophila nervous tissues, thus expanding our understanding of how mutations in the lilliputian homolog FMR2 are involved in the clinical symptoms of FRAXE mental retardation syndrome, and again may lead to novel diagnostic tools and/or therapeutic targets for these patients as well.
Building Connections Between University City Keystone Innovation Zone
This event is free, but you must register to attend For more information call 267-295-3295 or Click Here.
NSF Approves Atomic Force Microscope Grant |
|
8/29/2007 - The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently announced the funding of a Major Research Instrumentation proposal submitted by Dr. Eschenazi, Chair and Professor of the Department of Mathematics, Physics and Statistics, and PI of the grant, for the acquisition of a $ 233,000 Atomic Force Microscope facility at USP. The proposal involved a collaborative effort of faculty of various Departments including Dr. Baumstark (Biology), Dr. Bentzley (Chemistry), Dr. Li (Pharmaceutical Sciences) and Dr. Tchao (Pharmaceutical Sciences). Dr. Eschenazi, these faculty and their students will use the new instrumentation for cutting edge cross-disciplinary research. Other faculty may consider the use of the instrumentation for their projects. The AFM facility will be located in the Physics Research Laboratory in the McNeil STC building. The AFM facility will also be instrumental for the future development of a new USP program in Physics with biophysics and materials science tracks. (read more) |
|
Contact: |
Dr. Eschenazi (215-596-8707) |
USP Graduate Students Defend Dissertations
John P. Borneman - Use and Prevalence of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) by Populations with Specific Needs: Patients with Cancer, Breast Cancer, Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia, and Asthma
Tina Chen - Opening the Gate to Cell Division: Phosphorylation of Wee1 by Cdk2
Rachel Graves Forcino - Characterization of Blended PLGA:PEG Scaffolds for Bone Regeneration Applications
Rebecca Ann Hardin - Cognitive and Executive Functioning in Children After Posterior Fossa Tumor Resectioning
Grant Wayne Heinicke - Investigating Drug Release from Cationic Polymethacrylate-Coated Diltiazem Particles
Jena Yuk-Ying Lau - Cell-Substrate Interaction and Cell Membrane Destabilization
Saltanat Najmi - Effect of Para-Aminophenol on Cytochrome c Release
Sarah D. Reeser - A Fundamental Mechanistic Study of the MALDI Desorption/Ionization Process Via the Analysis of DNA-Anthracycline Complexes
Kevin E. Renahan - Prevelance of Specific Cognitive and Psychiatric Comorbidities Among Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Observed in Two U.S. Healthcare Claims Databases: The Significance of Analytical Rigor
Shengguo Sun - Part A: Syntheses of Non-Competitive NMDA Receptor Antagonists; Part B: Drug-Polymer Conjugates for Colon-Specific Drug Delivery
Diansong Zhou - Using Computational Modeling Techniques to Rationalize/Predict Metabolism and Inhibition Involved in CYP3A4
