Dr. Kabirullah Lutfy is an Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences. He uses a combination of behavioral (conditioned place preference (CPP) and behavioral sensitization that mimic some aspects of drug seeking and craving in humans), molecular and neurochemical approaches to determine the role of endogenous neuropeptides, in particular orphanin FQ/nociceptin (OFQ/N) and endogenous opioid peptides, in the reinforcing and addictive actions of cocaine and morphine. He is also interested in the role of (1) the OFQ/N/ORL-1 receptor system in the analgesic and reinforcing actions of buprenorphine and morphine and (2) the endogenous opioid peptides in stress-mediated analgesia and in cross-sensitization between stress and cocaine.
Dr. Stephen O'Barr is an Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Dr. O'Barr is funded by the Alzheimer's Association to study novel drug treatments in the battle against Alzheimer's disease (AD). Current studies place a small protein called Amyloid-beta (A-beta) in areas most affected in AD, leading to inflammation, neuron dystrophy and memory loss. Along with collaborators from the VA and the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, he can slow down the production of A-beta and speed up its removal from the brain. He also has funded collaborative projects with clinical faculty studying changes in immune function caused by medications used to treat heart failure and HIV infection.>
Dr. Ying Huang joined the department of pharmaceutical sciences as an assistant professor from Ohio State University,. The overall goal of her research is to elucidate the genetic mechanisms by which tumors show differential response to anticancer drugs with the aim of developing strategies for preventing or overcoming resistance. Her current area of research focuses on the pharmacogenomics of membrane transporters, which are responsible for drug absorption, distribution and targeting to tumor cells, and identifying their potential relevance to cancer chemotherapy. Another research goal is to identify the gender differences in the membrane transport of drugs and their contribution to inter-individual variation in drug actions using mRNA and protein profiling of transporters in human liver. See more at: Dr. Ying Huang