Breakthrough Translational Research Funding Sarah Hamm-Alvarez, PI .................... 3

USC Center for Drug Discovery and Development Clay Wang will co-lead ....................... 6

NNEEWW RREESSEEAARRCCHH EEQQUUIIPPMMEENNTT FFUUNNDDIINNGG OpenArray Gene Analyzer Liqin Zhao, PI  ...................................... 8

SYMPOSIUM: “Drug Design and Molecular Pharmacology” Organizer, Nouri Neamati  ................ 5

Student Awards Rachmiel Levine Scientific Achievement      Award: Jennifer Bayan .......................... 11   Travel Award‐Seahorse Biosciences:     Melissa Millard ..................................... 11   Oakley Fellowship: Divya Pathania ........... 11   AFPE Fellowship: Martha Pastuszka,                                 Megan Yardley .............. 13   PCT Program Award: Erik Serrao .............. 13 

 IN THE FOLLOWING PAGES: Statement by the Chair ................................ 2 Acknowledgement ....................................... 2 Faculty Updates:   Adam, Alkana, Hamm‐Alvarez,      Shen, Shih ............................................... 3   Brinton, Bortolato ..................................... 4   Camarero, Neamati, Olenyuk ................... 5   Cadenas, Wang, Wolf ............................... 6 Baby News   Rylie Shen, Charlotte Victoria Hale,   William & Isabella Bayramyan .................. 7   Sophia Aracely Medina ............................. 9 Department Seminar Series ......................... 9 Alumnus Update:  Adam Widera ................. 10 Students News   Modi, Galicia ............................................. 11   Sanchez, Wyatt, GPSS meeting ................. 12   Student Seminars...................................... 13 Publications .................................................. 15 New Faces: Aboye, Aggarwal ....................... 16 Graduation Day ............................................ 17 

Breast Cancer Research Program Idea Award

Nouri Neamati has recently been awarded a two-year $607,500 Idea Award from DOD Congressionally Directed Breast Cancer Research Program (BCRP) for his grant entitled ”Design of GRP78 inhibitors as novel therapeutics for breast cancer." Co-Investigator to the grant is the GRP78 cloner, Amy Lee. (cont’d p.5)

SCHOOLS OF PHARMACY AND DENTISTRY JOINT MINI RETREAT “Membranes, Fat, Bone, Development and Signals” To initiate a research interaction between the two schools, Bangyan Stiles co-organized with Malcolm Snead, Professor from the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry, a mini retreat last March 7, 2011 at the Center for Craniofacial Facial Biology, Clinical Sciences Center building. The focus of this meeting was on lipid metabolism and membrane structures. Several participating faculty gave ten-minute presentations each highlighting their current research work. The retreat was aimed at stimulating collaborations between the two schools. Several potential collaborations are underway after the sub-retreats. The organizers also hope to expand such a platform to forge research alliances in other schools in USC. Participants from PPSI were Enrique Cadenas (mitochondria), Sarah Hamm-Alvarez (membrane flow), Nouri Neamati (mitochondria), Curtis Okamoto (membrane flow), Stan Louie (endoplasmic reticulum and some lysosomes), Andrew MacKay (bioresponsive drug carriers), Wei-Chiang Shen (liposomes) and Bangyan Stiles (lipogenesis and tumors).

From the Ostrow School of Dentistry were Yang Chai (TGF signalling), Anh Le (wound healing and stem cells), Amy Merrill (skeletal development), Michael Paine (solute receptor), Songtao Shi (immunology and stem cells), and Yan Zhou (Wnt signaling).

VVoolluummee 66,, NNuummbbeerr 22 MMaayy 22001111

The research team (l‐r): Hiroyuki Otake, Bikash Debnath, Kavya Ramkumar and Nouri Neamati. 

A trimester publication for the faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of the Department

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First, on the heels of Commencement 2011, the department would like to congratulate our Ph.D. and M.S. graduates. We celebrate their contributions to our department in research and teaching, and wish them luck in their future endeavors. We hope that you will stay connected to your friends and colleagues in the department, and we look forward to hearing about your future successes. We are also pleased to announce that once again our Ph.D. students have represented our school and department well in the annual national pre-doctoral graduate fellowship competition sponsored by the American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education, by having two awardees, Martha Pastuszka and Megan Yardley.

In our efforts to build stronger ties between academia and industry, we had the unique and exciting opportunity to host here on campus the April 28th meeting of SoCalBio, where industry and academia are provided a forum in which to meet and exchange ideas. The theme of this particular meeting was drug discovery, and it featured presentations by several faculty from our department, including Nouri Neamati, Clay Wang, Julio Camarero, and Bogdan Olenyuk.

As chronicled throughout the year in our newsletter, we celebrate another successful year, and wish you a very relaxing and/or productive summer. We look forward to reporting back to you as the summer wanes and we begin another academic year. ■

Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, USC School of Pharmacy Newsletter Vol. 6, No. 2 May 2011

3

FFAACCUULLTTYY UUPPDDAATTEESS

JJaammeess DD.. AAddaammss

Interviewed by Fox News’ Sacramento affiliate KTXL-TV about the progression of opiate addictions, such as the one portrayed on the TV series “Nurse Jackie,” April 11, 2011.

Quoted in the LA Times about opioid pain killer addiction in relation to the television show “Nurse Jackie,” April 5, 2011.

Ran his 15th marathon for Child SHARE, his 20th at the LA Marathon on a rainy, March 20, 2011.

SSaarraahh HHaammmm--AAllvvaarreezz Breakthrough Translational Research

Funding.

Sarah Hamm-Alvarez, principal investigator in the development of a groundbreaking diagnostic tool for the autoimmune disease, Sjögren’s syndrome, has received funding from the USC Stevens Institute to enter the innovation to a clinical study before taking it to market.

Co-investigators are John Irvine from the Keck School of Medicine and Doheny Eye Institute and William Stohl, chief of the Division of Rheumatology, Keck School of Medicine. (For more story, click here).

Gordon Research Conference, Salivary, Glands & Exocrine Biology, Galveston TX, February 6-8, 201.

CRS Drug Delivery Symposium, Salt Lake City UT, February 14-16, 2011.

HERS Administrative Leadership Session, Boston MA, March 9-12, 2011.

RRoonnaalldd LL.. AAllkkaannaa Part of a research team with a patent pending for a novel

treatment strategy for alcohol abuse and/or alcoholism, using Ivermectin to antagonize ethanol inhibition in P2X4 receptors.

Participated in the USC School of Pharmacy Alumni Student Professional Mixer, April 11.

Attended and served as poster judge at the annual meeting of the American Pharmacists in Seattle WA, March 25-29.

Participated in a panel discussing "On Track to Tenure Track: What to do now to get an academic job later" as part of the HSC Governing Council Professional Development Week, March 7-10.

Participated in the APSA Pharmacy Career Round-table on March 9.

WWeeii--CChhiiaanngg SShheenn Invited Speaker, “Production, Pharmacokinetics and

Oral Delivery of Bifunctional Transferrin Fusion Proteins,” Fudan University School of Pharmacy, Shanghai, China, March 28, 2011.

Keynote Speaker, “Cell-penetrating peptides for cytosolic or nuclear transport,” PepCon2011 Protein & Peptide Conference, March 23–25, 2011, Beijing, China.

Invited Speaker, “Production, Pharmacokinetics and Oral Delivery of Bifunctional Transferrin Fusion Proteins,” Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts, Amherst MA, March 3, 2011.

JJeeaann CC.. SShhiihh Panelist, NIH Director’s Pioneer Award, Bethesda MA,

May 1-4, 2011.

An invited distinguished visiting professor at Duke-National University of Singapore, April 3-9, 2011.

Presented “Transcriptional regulation of MAO A and B” as distinguished lecturer at Neuroscience Research Center, Duke-National University of Singapore, Graduate Medical School, April 4, 2011.

Presented “Multiple functions of MAOs” as distinguished lecturer, Department of Physiology, National University of Singapore, April 5, 2011.

(Next page please)

With James D. Adams (2nd from left) are the casts of House MD (l‐r): Olivia Wilde (13), Peter Jacobson (Taub) and Jesse Spencer (Chase).  Dr. Adams is one of the medical editors for the TV show. 

A trimester publication for the faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of the Department

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RRoobbeerrttaa DD.. BBrriinnttoonn Invited Speaker, Estrogen Receptor Beta Regulation of

Mitochondrial Function. Estrogen Receptor Beta Symposium. KaroBio of Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden, May 15–17, 2011.

Invited Plenary Speaker, Neurosteroids as Regenerative Agents in Brain: Therapeutic Implications for Cognition and Neurodegenerative Disease. 13th European Congress of Endocrinology, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, May 3, 2011.

Invited Seminar, Aging of the Female Brain: Phenotypes of Vulnerability and Targets of Opportunity to Prevent Neurodegenerative Disease. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson AZ, April 18, 2011.

Invited Seminar, Estrogen Regulation of Neural Function: Therapeutic Targets for Prevention of Neurodegenerative Disease. University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health Spring 2011 Neuroscience Lecture Series, Madison WI, March 31, 2011.

Invited Speaker, Bioenergetics of the Peri and Menopausal Brain: Implications for Cognition and Depression American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry 2011 Annual Meeting, San Antonio TX, March 18, 2011.

Invited Seminar, Frontiers in Women’s Health: The Role of Hormones in Aging and Disease University of California Hastings College of the Law WHI, Hormone Therapy, San Francisco CA, February 25, 2011.

Invited Plenary Speaker, Estrogen-induced plasticity from cells to circuits: predictions for cognitive function. 6th International Meeting on Steroids and Nervous System, Torino Italy, February 19-23, 2011.

Invited Speaker, Nation-wide NIA STEM Education Network. National Institute on Aging: Winter Retreat, Bethesda MD, December 16, 2010.

Invited Seminar, Bioenergetic Aging of the Female Brain: Implications for Neurodegenerative Disease Risk. University of Maryland, Baltimore MD, December 9, 2010.

Invited Speaker, Your Neuroscience Legacy is our Future. Society for Neuroscience Annual Brain Awareness Campaign Event, San Diego CA, November 13, 2010

Invited Speaker, Estrogen Regulation of Brain Metabolism and Function. National Academy of Neuropsychology Annual Meeting, Vancouver BC, October 14, 2010.

MMaarrccoo BBoorrttoollaattoo Received US$16,300 within the frame of an

international collaboration with the University of Cagliari, Italy, to evaluate the therapeutic potential of sigma-1 receptor ligands and neurosteroids in animal models of Tourette syndrome.

Awarded, with Daryl Davies, a grant for $10,000 from the USC Undergraduate Research Associates Program to fund USC undergraduates during the upcoming summer and additional students during the 2011-12 academic year for the project entitled, “P2X4 Receptors Play an Important Role in Regulating the Intake and Behavioral Properties of Alcohol”.

Gave a talk entitled, "Tourette syndrome: novel therapeutic perspectives" at the 51st Italian Society for Neurologists, Cagliari, Italy, on May 20.

Gave a talk entitled, "Effects of social isolation and sleep deprivation on neurosteroid regulation: relevance to schizophrenia modeling" at the University of Sofia, Bulgaria, on May 16.

Presented “Neurosteroid-related therapies for neuropsychiatric disorders: from bench to bedside” at State University of New York Albany, Albany, New York, on March 2.

Gave a talk entitled, "Therapeutic properties of steroid 5-alpha reductase inhibitors in neuropsychiatric disorders," at the 6th International Meeting on Steroids and Nervous System, Turin, Italy, on February 22, 2011.

Invited Speaker, Women in Leadership. National

Academy of Neuropsychology: It's all about you. Vancouver BC, October 13, 2010.

Invited Speaker, The North American Menopause Society: Do soy and/or soy isofavones have beneficial effect on cognitive function of peri and postmenopausal women? Chicago IL, October 10, 2010.

Invited Speaker, Cognitive Aging Summit II: Cognitive Aging and Translational Research: Strategies to Sustain Neurological Function While Aging, Washington DC, October 5, 2010.

Invited Speaker, Rockefeller Population Council: International Committee for Contraception Research: Nestorone regulation of the regenerative system of the brain New York NY, October 1, 2010.

(more next page)

Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, USC School of Pharmacy Newsletter Vol. 6, No. 2 May 2011

5

NNoouurrii NNeeaammaattii

“Drug Design and Molecular Pharmacology” Nouri Neamati organized the USC-hosted symposium

last February 9 at the School of Pharmacy. Honored speakers and experts of the field included

(L-R above) Ruiwen Zhang (Texas Tech University), Doris Benbrook (University of Oklahoma), C. Patrick Reynolds (Texas Tech University), Nouri Neamati, Julian Simon (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Dale Mierke (Darmouth College, Seattle WA), and Shaomeng Wang (University of Michigan). (For more story click here).

DOD Breast Cancer Research Program Idea Award (cont’d from p.1)

Overexpression of GRP78, found in several cancers, promotes the growth of tumor cells resulting in enhanced cancer cell proliferation and renders cancer cells resistant to chemotherapy. Because inherent or acquired drug resistance to systemic therapy is a major cause for treatment failure in cancer, any approach that would decrease drug resistance is highly significant and would likely have a major impact on the eradication of cancer. The project, spearheaded by graduate student Kavya Ramkumar and postdoctoral fellows Drs. Bikash Debnath and Hiroyuki Otake, plans to elucidate the mechanism of GRP78-induced drug resistance and to design novel therapeutic agents to overcome it. The team will use two approaches to counteract GRP78’s protective effects on breast cancer – (1) decrease GRP78 expression, and (2) inhibit its enzymatic activity. It is expected that by blocking the survival effects of GRP78, cancer cells will become more susceptible to chemotherapy.

The laboratory has identified two novel compounds that reduce GRP78 expression and inhibit its enzymatic activity. The funding will be used to investigate the molecular mechanisms and anticancer effects of these

JJuulliioo CCaammaarreerroo Oral presentations/lectures on the use of cyclotides as a

new scaffold for drug discovery. Seventh Annual PEGS (Protein Engineering Summit)

Conference, Phage and Yeast Display of Antibodies and Proteins Session, May 9-13, 2011, Boston MA. 2011 Spring ACS National Meeting, Division of

Biological, Invited Lecture to the Ralph F. Hirschmann Award in Peptide Chemistry: Symposium in Honor of David J. Craik, Anaheim CA, March 28, 2011. University of Uppsala, Invited seminar to The

Svedberg Lecture Series, March 24, 2011, Uppsala, Sweden.

Travelled to Uppsala to be the Opponent for the Ph.D. thesis defense of Dr. Teshome L. Aboye (now in his lab as a postdoc). The thesis was entitled, "Engineering of the Ultra-stable Cystine Knot Framework of Micro-proteins Design, Chemical Synthesis and Structural Studies," and “Teshome did a great job,” Camarero said.

HONORED: As an honor to the Opponent, the flag of the opponent’s country of residency (i.e. US flag) was raised for the full day at the main gate of the University.

BBooggddaann OOlleennyyuukk Presented a talk at the Los Angeles County SoCalBio

Networking Forum on April 28, 2011. Presented a lecture entitled, “Designed Small Molecules

and Protein Secondary Structure Mimetics as Modulators of Transcription Factor-Coactivator Interactions,” at the Transcription Factor Meeting, USC Norris Cancer Center on April 14, 2011.

Visited and presented an invited talk at the Proteogenomic Institute for Systems Medicine (PRISM) in San Diego, CA on March 16, 2011.

Attended the Nanomedicine and Drug Delivery Research Conference at the Cedars Sinai Medical Center on March 4-6, 2011.

Presented a seminar titled, “Regulation of Transcription and Receptor Function with Rationally Designed Protein Ligands,” at the Chemistry Department, USC College on February 22, 2011.

compounds. Through these studies, the Neamati lab will validate the therapeutic utility of these GRP78 inhibitors as a novel approach to treat GRP78-overexpressing breast cancer. Successful completion of these studies will expedite the development of these drugs for use in cancer patients. For more of this story, click here.

A trimester publication for the faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of the Department

6

WWaalltteerr WWoollff Exploring the frontiers of Ethics in Cancer

Research Prof. Walter Wolf continues, in collaboration with Prof. Lowell Schnipper (Medical Oncology, Brigham-Young/Harvard University), to organize and chair annual sessions at the AACR (American Association for Cancer Research) devoted to exploring important ethical issues in clinical cancer research. Because most of cancer research deals with drugs – their effectiveness and their limitations – such annual reviews are of importance to basic, translational and clinical researchers in cancer – and by extension, to all diseases. Dr. Wolf said that “the basic principle: DO NO HARM, while part of the professional oath of both pharmacists and physicians, is equally applicable to all of us. All our actions can have consequences. We must be aware of them.” The topic discussed in 102nd AACR Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida on April 2-6, covered Ethical issues in performing randomized clinical trials. The summary for this session reads: Prospective randomized clinical trials are a critically important part of drug development since they are regarded as the strongest level of evidence that bears on the efficacy of a novel agent or regimen that is under study. Although often unimpeachable in design and implementation, at times unique ethical problems are brought to the fore. One widely used procedure is to test the potential new drug against a standard and widely accepted modality or an inert agent in the form of a placebo. An example of such an ethical problems is a recent debate that centered around a trial of a b-raf inhibitor in melanoma which was being compared against dacarbazine, an agent that has minimal activity against the

(more next page)

CCllaayy WWaanngg

USC Center for Drug Discovery and Development

Clay Wang will co-lead with Stan Louie, from the Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Economics & Policy, a team that will create the Center for Drug Discovery and Development, making the School of Pharmacy as the central hub within USC for expertise in drug discovery, design, delivery and all other aspects of translating any given molecular target into preclinical drug candidates.

The award is from the USC Research Collaboration Fund. The Center will also involve contributions from faculty members of USC Dornsife College and Keck School of Medicine.

EEnnrriiqquuee CCaaddeennaass

Lectured on Brain Aging, Mitochondrial Function, and Signaling Pathways at the International Symposium on Mitochondrial Biology and Medicine and Chinese-Mit’2011, Xi’an, China, April 7-10, 2011.

Co-organized the young investigator presentations and chaired the business meeting at the 2011 Gordon Research Conference on Oxidative Stress and Disease, Ventura CA, March 13-18, 2011.

Chair-Elect for the next Gordon Conference to take place in Il Ciocco, Italy in 2013.

Presented a lecture on Mitochondrial Function in a Neurodegeneration Model, International Symposium of Free Radical Research: Contributions to Medicine, Kyoto, Japan, January 20-22, 2011.

Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, USC School of Pharmacy Newsletter Vol. 6, No. 2 May 2011

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BBaabbyy NNeewwss ……

WOLF (cont’d from p.6) disease. Other examples are concerns about the conduct of placebo controlled trials in undeveloped parts of the world. This is especially relevant when a no-treatment control group is used in a clinical setting for which there is an effective but locally unaffordable treatment (which is available in the developed world). This session explored some of these issues from the viewpoints of some of the key stakeholders involved: patients, industry, regulatory agencies and academic researchers. The four speakers and their presentations included: Randomized Clinical Trials in Oncology: Investigational and Ethical Perspectives. Richard L. Schilsky, MD, Professor of Medicine, Chief, Hematology/Oncology University of Chicago Medical School, Chicago, IL.

Equipoise: an irrelevant concept in clinical trial design. Steve Joffe, MD, MPH Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Children’s Hospital Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.

Placebo Controls in Low Resource Countries Where Known Effective Therapy is Unavailable for Economic or Logistical Reasons; Ethical Considerations Robert J. Levine, MD, Senior Fellow, Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics, Director, Law, Policy and Ethics Core, Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS Professor of Medicine and Lecturer in Pharmacology, Yale University, New Haven, CT

Gold Standard or Fool’s Gold—Patient Perspectives on Randomized Clinical Trials. Gwen Darien ,Executive Director, Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation, New York, NY 10170.

Rylie Shen is the 3rd of Wei‐Chiang and Daisy Shen’s grandchildren; born on January 4, 2011, weighing 7 lbs, 6 oz and 20 inches long.  Proud Daddy and Mommy are Howie and Julianne Shen. 

Charlotte Victoria Hale is Mommy Anne Cecile’s 2

nd baby daughter; born on February 11, 2011, weighing 8 lbs, 7 oz and 20¼ inches long.  Anne Cecile graduated her Ph.D. at the lab of Rajindar S. Sohal.  She now lives in Maryland with husband, David Hale.

Pictured cuties on the right are William and Isabella Bayramyan, twins of Melina Z. Bayramyan, adjunct assistant professor ofthe department and a lecturer in the Therapeutics and Pharmaceutics courses.  Melina completed her Ph.D. degree in the lab

of Ian Haworth.  She’s now a Senior Manager of Medical Information, Inflammation in Scientific Affairs at Amgen Inc.Melina’s expertise lies in educating healthcare professionals and patients about psoriasis and its treatment options.

A trimester publication for the faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of the Department

TThhee NNeeww RReesseeaarrcchh EEqquuiippmmeenntt:: OOppeennAArrrraayy GGeennee AAnnaallyyzzeerr Liqin Zhao, director of the Translational Research Laboratory (TRLab), has recently been awarded a $150K USC Core Instrumentation Fund for acquisition of an ABI OpenArray Real-Time PCR system. This is the first time the School of Pharmacy has received such an award. The system will be installed in the 5th floor TRLab and shared by the entire USC research community. The installation is expected to take place in June.   

  

 

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Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, USC School of Pharmacy Newsletter Vol. 6, No. 2 May 2011

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DDEEPPAARRTTMMEENNTT SSEEMMIINNAARR SSEERRIIEESS FFOORR AACCAADDEEMMIICC YYEEAARR 22001100--22001111 Lei Wang, The Jack Skirball Center for Chemical Biology & Proteomics, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, “Genetically Encoding Unnatural Amino Acids for Biological Studies in Vivo,” May 27, 2011, Faculty Host:  Julio Camarero.   Hong Wu, Professor, Dept of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, UCLA School of Medicine, “PTEN and Tumorigenesis,” May 20, 2011, Faculty Host: Bangyan Stiles.  Alexander Shekhtman, Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, State University of New York at Albany, “Study of Protein‐Protein Interactions by Using In‐Cell NMR Spectroscopy,” May 6, 2011, Faculty Host: Julio Camarero.  Qunying Lei, Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University, “Acetylation Targets the M2 Isoform of Pyruvate Kinase for Degradation through Chaperone Mediated Autophagy and Promotes Tumor Growth,” April 15, 2011. Faculty Host: Bangyan Stiles.  Joseph John Barchi, Jr., National Cancer Institute at Frederick MD, “Nanoparticles as Cancer Therapies: Gold at the End of the Rainbow,” March 28, 2011, 3‐4pm, Faculty Host: Nouri Neamati.  Jeff Gildersleeve, National Cancer Institute at Frederick MD, “Glycan Arrays and Cancer Vaccines: Partners for Life,” March 28, 2011, 4‐5pm, Faculty Host: Nouri Neamati.  Peter Stang, Distinguished Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Utah, “Abiological Self‐Assembly: Predesigned Metallacycles and Metallacages via Coordination,” February 25, 2011. Faculty Host: Bogdan Olenyuk.  Keith Parker, Associate Professor, University of Montana College of Health Professions and Biomedical Sciences, “Peptide and Non‐Peptide Interactions at the Human 5HT1a Receptor,” February 18, 2011, Faculty Host:  James D. Adams.  John K. Buolamwini, Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN , “Design and Discovery of Small Molecule Antitumor or Cancer Chemoprevention Agents,” November 10, 2010, Faculty Host:  Nouri Neamati. 

 

OOnnee mmoorree bbaabbyy iinn tthhee nneewwss ……                    

 Clemens W.G.M. Lowik, Professor in Molecular Endocrinology and Molecular Imaging Leiden University Medical Center, The Netherlands , “New whole body optical imaging based tools and animal models for cancer and regenerative medicine and their translation into the clinic,” October 26, 2010.  Faculty Host:  Walter Wolf.  Xuan Liu, Professor of Biochemistry, University of California, Riverside, “The ups and downs of p53 regulation:  implications in cancer and metabolism,” October 22, 2010.  Faculty Host: Bangyan Stiles.  Lars Karlsson, Senior Research Fellow, Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C. San Diego CA, “H4 receptor antagonists ‐ the new antihistamines?” October 20, 2010, Host:  Ara Moses, Ph.D. candidate, USC School of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences.  Aykut Uren, Associate Professor, Georgetown University Medical CenterLombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Department of Oncology, Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular & Cellular Biology, Washington DC, “Discovery and Development of Small‐Molecules Targeting Ezrin Protein as Antimetastatic Agents," October 6, 2010 10:00 A.M., Faculty Host:  Nouri Neamati.  Raymond C. Stevens, Professor, Dept of Molecular Biology and Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, “Structure, Function, and Drug Discovery in the G‐protein Coupled Receptor Superfamily,” September 10, 2010, Faculty Host:  Nouri Neamati.  

Here is Sophia Aracely Medina, born on May 3, 2011 at 8:53 pm, weighing 7 lbs, 7 oz, and 20 inches long at the Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena.  Proud Mommy and Daddy are Vivian Galicia and Milton Medina. 

A trimester publication for the faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of the Department

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WWhheerree iiss hhee nnooww?? UUPPDDAATTEE    FFRROOMM    AANN    AALLUUMMNNUUSS

AADDAAMM WWIIDDEERRAA I am grateful for the opportunity to share experiences that I had at the USC School of Pharmacy and to provide an update into my career path since leaving USC. I did my graduate studies at USC in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences from1998 through 2003, and obtained a Ph.D. for my work in Dr. Wei-Chiang Shen’s lab. My dissertation centered around exploring the opportunities for non-invasive delivery of protein-based therapeutics. My research project involved use of transferrin and transferrin-protein conjugates as a model to study the carrier-mediated absorption of large peptide based therapeutics via endocytic transport across the gastro-intestinal and lung epithelium. After obtaining my Ph.D., during most of 2004, I worked as a post-doctoral fellow in Dr. Kwang-Jin Kim’s lab in the USC School of Medicine where I investigated novel antibody fragment (Fc)- protein conjugates in transcellular transport across primary-cultured alveolar monolayers. One of the most valuable things that I found present at USC was the significant opportunities that were made available for collaboration between research labs and different departments within the Health Sciences Campus. For example, Drs. Kwang-Jin Kim and Edward Crandall of the USC Department of Medicine contributed significantly in providing scientific consultation and resources during my dissertation work. It was also very beneficial to attend a graduate school with the national recognition and respect that USC elicits. For example, I was awarded the AFPE Pre-Doctoral Fellowship, which I’m sure was due in part to the excellent reputation of USC and the School of Pharmacy. I also have fond memories of the students and faculty at USC, including various trips to scientific meetings. The highlight for me was a podium presentation that I made in Seoul, Korea in 2002 at the Controlled Released Society meeting. At the end of 2004, I was offered and accepted a position at Grifols Biologicals, whose Los Angeles location is located very close to the USC Health Sciences Campus. The Grifols group of companies serves healthcare professionals and patients in over 90 countries around the world. We research, develop, manufacture and market plasma derivatives, IV therapy, diagnostic systems and medical materials. I began at Grifols in the Analytical Methods Development group where my previous experience researching and analyzing protein-based

therapeutics in graduate school provided invaluable experience. In late 2005, I was promoted to Manager of Quality Control Chemistry at Grifols Biologicals, with approximately 20-25 direct reporting personnel. I continued in this position until the beginning of 2010 when I was promoted to my current position at Grifols Biologicals, Associate Director of Quality Control. In my current position I oversee three separate departments, Quality Control Chemistry, Analytical Methods Development and Validation, and Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS), with approximately 35-40 personnel in total, including 6 Ph.D. Scientists and Managers. In my current position I spend much of my time overseeing the day-to-day analytical operations in the company and take a lead roll in decisions regarding implementing new technologies. I spend significant amounts of time working with the Regulatory Affairs group, interacting with various regulatory agencies across the world with respect to regulatory submissions. In addition, I take a lead role in interacting with regulatory auditors (such as the FDA) during on-site audits. On a personal level, I’m currently living in Lakewood, CA. My wife Jennifer and I were married in 2008 and have a three-year-old boy named Caleb. I also have three step-children. My older son, Ethan, is 10 years old and is doing well in school and is heavily involved in sports. He currently plays on a competitive-level club soccer team for FC Long Beach. I am always interested in meeting with current and former members of the PPSI family from USC, and look forward to keeping in contact with alumni. Best wishes.

With Adam in the picture are his sons, Caleb (3 years old) and Ethan (10 years old). 

Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, USC School of Pharmacy Newsletter Vol. 6, No. 2 May 2011

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SSTTUUDDEENNTT NNEEWWSS

JJeennnniiffeerr--AAnnnn BBaayyaann Won the Rachmiel Levine

Scientific Achievement Award at the 11th Rachmiel Levine Diabetes and Obesity Symposium held in Pasadena on March 20 to 23, 2011. Nobody has won the award more than once in the history of the symposium, but

Jennifer bagged the award for the 3rd time, winning the other two on 2008 and 2009. She was honored by orally presenting her work entitled, “PTEN regulates beta-cell regeneration intrinsically and independently of development.” Jennifer’s mentor is Bangyan Stiles.

DDiimmppllee MMooddii

Chairperson of the pharmacy education for the Inter-national Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation – the leading advocacy organization for pharmacy students from around the world. She has attended two international meetings in the Netherlands

where she learned ways to improve pharmacy education, curriculum development and professional conduct. Click here for more. Dimple is from the labs of Ronald Alkana and Daryl Davies. She just finished her master’s degree in molecular pharmacology and toxicology, and will be joining the University of Illinois at Chicago for the Ph.D. program in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology beginning from Fall 2011.

VViivviiaann GGaalliicciiaa

Successfully defended her dissertation entitled, “Pten Deletion Induced Cancer Stem Cells: Adapted Strategies to Accelerate the Disease Progression of Liver Cancer,” last March 18, 2011 (mentor is Bangyan Stiles), and

She is a new mom to Baby Sophia Aracely Medina. (featured in p.9).

MMeelliissssaa MMiillllaarrdd

Recipient of a generous travel award from Seahorse Biosciences. The award supported her attendance at the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) held on April 2 to 6, 2011 in Orlando, Florida. She presented a poster at the meeting entitled, “Preclinical evaluation of novel tri-phenylphosphonium salts with broad-spectrum activity” in the Chemotherapeutic Agents section of the Experimental and Molecular Therapeutics poster session. Her co-authors for the poster are Divya Pathania, Yumna Shabaik, Laleh Taheri, Jinxia Deng and Nouri Neamati. A pdf version of the poster is cur- rently featured on the Seahorse Biosciences webpage.

DDiivvyyaa PPaatthhaanniiaa

Awarded the Oakley Fellowship for the academic year 2011-2012. She was chosen based on, among others, the compelling description of her research entitled, “Design and discovery of novel small molecules as modulators of ROS-mediated cell signaling.” She receives $20,000 monetary award that will contribute towards her stipend.

Attended the 102nd Annual AACR meeting in Orlando, Florida last April 2-6 and presented a poster entitled, “Design and Discovery of Novel Small Molecule Modulators of Reactive Oxygen Species-Mediated Cell Signaling.” Divya’s mentor is Nouri Neamati.

A trimester publication for the faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of the Department

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TTiinnoo SSaanncchheezz

VDM Verlag Dr Müller published on paperback the master’s thesis of Tino Sanchez entitled, “Discovery of HIV-1 Integrase Inhibitors: Furan and Sulfonamide-based Integrase Inhibitors,” and is now available in Amazon. Below is the cover page. Tino’s mentor is Nouri

Neamati.

GGrraadduuaattee aanndd PPrrooffeessssiioonnaall SScchhooooll SSeennaattee ((GGPPSSSS))

Siti Mohd Janib (Andrew Mackay Lab), Martha 

Pastuszka (Nouri Neamati Lab) and Megan Yardley (Ronald L. Alkana Lab) attended the 3rd Annual GPSS Poster Symposium on April 6, 2011, a whole day event at the VKC Courtyard of the University Campus.

Pictured are (L‐R) Siti, Martha and Megan in front of Martha’s poster entitled, "Development of a Rapid Reversible Protein Switch in Eukaryotes." 

Siti entertaining a question about her poster entitled, "Cancer 

Nanotechnology with Elastin‐like Polypeptides." 

Megan Yardley’s poster presentation is entitled, “Preclinical Assessment of Ivermectin in Reducing Alcohol Consumption.”

LLeettiisshhaa WWyyaatttt

Engaged last November 26, 2010 to Jake Staniels whom she met when they were in college in 2004; Letisha was at University of California at Davis and Jake at San Francisco State University. Letisha is in the early stages of planning for the wedding set for Spring 2012.

Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, USC School of Pharmacy Newsletter Vol. 6, No. 2 May 2011

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AFPE Fellowship

  As the messages from the American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education (AFPE) stated, Martha 

Pastuszka (on the left), from the lab of Andrew Mackay, and Megan Yardley (right) from the labs of Ronald Alkana and Daryl Davies, are now members of “a very distinguished group of men and women who have received AFPE Pre-Doctoral Fellowships in national competition since 1942.” Martha’s project that won her the fellowship is entitled, “Development of a rapid, reversible protein switch for studying cellular biology in eukaryotes.” Megan’s project is entitled, “Development of Ivermectin (IVM) as a therapeutic agent for alcohol-related disorders.”  

SSTTUUDDEENNTT SSEEMMIINNAARRSS FFOORR TTHHEE AACCAADDEEMMIICC YYEEAARR 22001100--22001111

Suhaas Aluri Faculty Mentor:  ANDREW MACKAY “Liposome stabilization using elastin like peptide amphiphiles” May 25, 2011, Student Host:  Yang Li 

PCT Program Award

Erik Serrao has just been accepted into the Pre-doctoral Clinical & Translational Training (PCT) Program by the Center for Education, Training and Career Development (CETCD) under the Southern California Clinical and Translational Science Institute (SC CTSI). The PCT training award is a very prestigious and competitive award that supports the research career development of promising doctoral students with an emphasis on clinical and/or translational research. The project for which Erik has secured funding is entitled, “Analysis of Alterations in Human Gene Expression in Response to HIV-1 Infection.” Erik will establish a collaboration between Nouri Neamati’s lab (Erik’s mentor) and that of Andrea Kovacs, from the Keck School of Medicine and Principal Investigator of the USC IMPAACT Clinical Trials Unit. “What we have found is that HIV-1 acutely alters the expression of certain human genes during its replication cycle,” Erik said. “In this proposal we will go further to probe the specific immune cell type harboring these changes in host gene expression, as well as the effect of various commonly prescribed HAART treatment regimes in reversing these HIV-induced changes.” This is Erik’s third funding award in three years, for three different projects. Interestingly, he had to interview for this award via conference call while on vacation in an Incan village in Peru. “It made the trip more memorable,” Erik said.

Jennifer Ann Bayan Faculty Mentor:  BANGYAN STILES “PTEN regulates beta‐cell regeneration intrinsically and independently of development” December 15, 2010, Student Host:  Helen Ha  Janette Contreras Faculty Mentor:  SARAH HAMM‐ALVAREZ “Analysis of Trafficking Pathways and Application to Drug Delivery” October 20, 2010, Student Host:  Vivian Galicia  Fan Ding Faculty Mentor:  ROBERTA D. BRINTON “17β‐estradiol Prevents OVX‐induced Bioenergetic Fuel Shift in the Triple Transgenic Alzheimerʼs Disease Mouse Brain” March 2, 2011, Student Host:  Divya Pathania    

 Likun (Paul) Fei Faculty Mentor:  WEI‐CHIANG SHEN “pH‐sensitive MAP‐based targeted drug delivery systems for cellular and nuclear delivery” June 8, 2011, Student Host:  Hsien‐Chun Lo  Helen Ha Faculty Mentor:  NOURI NEAMATI “Discovery of CXCR2 inhibitors for cancer treatment” December 8, 2010, Student Host:  Fei Yin  Siti Mohd Janib Faculty Mentor:  ANDREW MACKAY “Thermo‐sensitive nanoparticles from elastin‐like polypeptides” November 17, 2010, Student Host:  Ni Zeng  

(more next page)

A trimester publication for the faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of the Department

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 Randall Kenien Faculty Mentor:  WEI‐CHIANG SHEN “Cell penetrating properties and therapeutic potential of cytochrome c and cpp‐cytochrome c conjugates” September 15, Student Host:  Kavya Ramkumar  

Chen Li Faculty Mentor:  ENRIQUE CADENAS “PI3K/Akt Signaling and the Regulation of the Mitochondrial Energy‐Redox Axis” March 9, 2010, Student Host:  Fan Ding  

Yang Li Faculty Mentor:  BANGYAN STILES “PTEN regulates mitochondrial biogenesis and function” May 18, 2011, Student Host:  Michelle Ren  Yiyu Li Faculty Mentor:  IAN HAWORTH “Computational Modeling of the Fibril Structure of Human Islet Amyloid Polypeptide (hIAPP)” April 13, 2010, Student Host:  Shili Xu  Hsien‐Chun Lo Faculty Mentor:  CLAY WANG “Identification and Characterization of Secondary Metabolite Gene Cluster of Aspergillus nidulans” February 2, 2011, Student Host:  Melissa Millard  Melissa Millard Faculty Mentor:  NOURI NEAMATI “Novel Phosphonium Salts Targeting Cancer Cell Mitochondria” January 26, 2011, Student Host:  Flora Han  Robert Mo Faculty Mentor:  WEI‐CHIANG SHEN “Design of siRNA Polyplex for Enhanced Cellular Uptake” October 6, 2010, Student Host:  Maya Popova  Nick Mordwinkin Faculty Mentor:  STAN LOUIE “The role of angiotensin‐(1‐7) in diabetes‐induced oxidative stress” January 5, 2011, Student Host:  Jennifer Ann Bayan  Martha Pastuszka Faculty Mentor:  ANDREW MACKAY “Development of a rapid, reversible protein switch in eukaryotes” April 27, 2011, Student Host:  Natasha Sharma  Divya Pathania Faculty Mentor:  NOURI NEAMATI “Design and discovery of quinazolinediones as modulators of ROS‐mediated cell signaling” February 23, 2011, Student Host:  Letisha Wyatt  Maya Popova Faculty Mentor:  RONALD L. ALKANA/DARYL DAVIES “Sites for Ethanol Action in P2X4 receptors” September 29, 2010, Student Host:  Randall Kenien  Kavya Ramkumar Faculty Mentor:  NOURI NEAMATI “Design of GRP78 inhibitors as novel therapeutics for breast cancer” September 8, 2011, Host:  GAC 

 Jared Russell Faculty Mentor:  STAN LOUIE “The Impact of Drug‐Drug Interactions within HAART: Efficacy vs. Toxicity” March 30, 2011, Student Host: Tino Sanchez  Tino Sanchez Faculty Mentor:  NOURI NEAMATI "Design and Discovery of Novel Small Molecules inhibiting HIV‐1 Integrase and Cellular Cofactor LEDGF/p75 Protein‐Protein Interaction" March 16, 2011, Student Host:  Chen Li  Yumna Shabaik Faculty Mentor:  NOURI NEAMATI “In vitro mechanistic studies of AS421 for the treatment of pancreatic cancer” November 3, 2010, Student Host:  Shi (Ben) Xu  Natasha Sharma Faculty Mentor:  STAN LOUIE “Evaluating the anticancer effects of QC 001” April 20, 2011, Student Host:  Yiyu Li  Yan Wang Faculty Mentor:  WEI‐CHIANG SHEN “Conversion of proinsulin to insulin as a transferrin fusion protein via transferrin receptor‐mediated endocytosis” January 12, 2011, Student Host:  Nick Mordwinkin  Letisha Wyatt Faculty Mentor:  RONALD L. ALKANA/DARYL DAVIES "Ethanol Modulation of Neuronal P2X4 Receptors” February 16, Student Host:  Likun (Paul) Fei  Shi (Ben) Xu Faculty Mentor:  SARAH HAMM‐ALVAREZ “Rab11a in Lacrimal Gland Acinar Cells (LGACs)” October 27, 2010, Student Host:  Janette Contreras  Shili Xu Faculty Mentor:  NOURI NEAMATI “Targeting gp130 for Ovarian Cancer Therapy” April 6, 2011, Student Host:  Jason Yamaki  Jason Yamaki Faculty Mentor:  ANNIE WONG‐BERINGER “Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) virulence mechanisms: clinical significance and potential novel therapeutics” March 30, 2011, Student Host:  Jared Russell  Fei Yin Faculty Mentor:  ENRIQUE CADENAS “The Mitochondrial Energy–Redox Axis in Aging and Caloric Restriction: Potential Role of Nicotinamide Nucleotide Transhydrogenase” December 1, 2010, Student Host:  Siti Mohd Janib  Ni Zeng Faculty Mentor:  BANGYAN STILES “PTEN Controls Beta‐Cell Aging through p16‐regulated Cell Senescence” November 10, 2010, Student Host:  Yumna Shabaik  

 

Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, USC School of Pharmacy Newsletter Vol. 6, No. 2 May 2011

15

PPUUBBLLIICCAATTIIOONNSS

RRoonnaalldd LL.. AAllkkaannaa

Ostrovskaya O, Asatryan L, Wyatt L, Popova M, Li K, Peoples RW, Alkana RL, Davies DL.  Ethanol is a fast channel inhibitor of P2X4 receptors.  J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2011 Apr;337(1):171‐9. Epub 2011 Jan 6. PMID: 21212160     

MMaarrccoo BBoorrttoollaattoo

Paba S, Frau R, Godar SC, Devoto P, Marrosu F, Bortolato M.  Steroid 5α‐reductase as a novel therapeutic target for schizophrenia and other neuropsychiatric disorders.  Curr Pharm Des. 2011;17(2):151‐67. PMID: 21361868  

Bortolato M, Devoto P, Roncada P, Frau R, Flore G, Saba P, Pistritto G, Soggiu A, Pisanu S, Zappala A, Ristaldi MS, Tattoli M, Cuomo V, Marrosu F, Barbaccia ML.   Isolation rearing‐induced reduction of brain 5α‐reductase expression: Relevance to dopaminergic impairments. Neuropharmacology. 2011 Jun;60(7‐8):1301‐8. Epub 2011 Jan 20. PMID: 21256141    

RRoobbeerrttaa DD.. BBrriinnttoonn

Yao J, Irwin R, Chen S, Hamilton R, Cadenas E, Brinton RD.  Ovarian hormone loss induces bioenergetic deficits and mitochondrial β‐amyloid.  Neurobiol Aging. 2011 Apr 22. [Epub ahead of print] PMID:  21514693  

Hamilton RT, Rettberg JR, Mao Z, To J, Zhao L, Appt SE, Register TC, Kaplan JR, Brinton RD.  Hippocampal responsiveness to 17β‐estradiol and equol after long‐term ovariectomy: implication for a therapeutic window of opportunity.  Brain Res. 2011 Mar 16;1379:11‐22. Epub 2011 Jan 15.  PMID: 21241683  

Wu TW, Chen S, Brinton RD.  Membrane estrogen receptors mediate calcium signaling and MAP kinase activation in individual hippocampal neurons.  Brain Res. 2011 Mar 16;1379:34‐43. Epub 2011 Jan 15. PMID:  21241678  

Rettberg JR, Hamilton RT, Mao Z, To J, Zhao L, Appt SE, Register TC, Kaplan JR, Brinton RD.  The effect of dietary soy isoflavones before and after ovariectomy on hippocampal protein markers of mitochondrial bioenergetics and antioxidant activity in female monkeys.  Brain Res. 2011 Mar 16;1379:23‐33. Epub 2011 Jan 14.  PMID: 21238431  

Irwin RW, Yao J, Ahmed SS, Hamilton RT, Cadenas E, Brinton RD.  Medroxyprogesterone acetate antagonizes estrogen up‐regulation of brain mitochondrial function.  Endocrinology. 2011 Feb;152(2):556‐67. Epub 2010 Dec 15. PMID:  21159850  

Yao J, Chen S, Cadenas E, Brinton RD.  Estrogen protection against mitochondrial toxin‐induced cell death in hippocampal neurons: antagonism by progesterone. Brain Res. 2011 Mar 16;1379:2‐10. Epub 2010 Dec 4.PMID: 21134358    

EEnnrriiqquuee CCaaddeennaass

Yao J, Irwin R, Chen S, Hamilton R, Cadenas E, Brinton RD.  Ovarian hormone loss induces bioenergetic deficits and mitochondrial β‐amyloid.  Neurobiol Aging. 2011 Apr 22. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 21514693  

Iñarrea P, Casanova A, Alava MA, Iturralde M, Cadenas E.  Melatonin and steroid hormones activate intermembrane Cu,Zn‐superoxide dismutase by means of mitochondrial cytochrome P450.  Free Radic Biol Med. 2011 Mar 10. [Epub ahead of print]  PMID:  21397009  

Packer L, Cadenas E.  Lipoic acid: energy metabolism and redox regulation of transcription and cell signaling.  J Clin Biochem Nutr. 2011 Jan;48(1):26‐32. Epub 2010 Dec 29.  PMID:  21297908  

Galli F, Cadenas E.  Protein post‐translational modifications in cell signalling and disease.  Free Radic Res. 2011 Jan;45(1):1‐2. Epub 2010 Nov 3. No abstract available.  PMID:  21047170    

JJuulliioo CCaammaarreerroo Camarero JA, (2011) Legume cyclotides shed new light on the genetic origin of knotted circular proteins Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, accepted for publication. 

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Pastuszka MK, Mackay JA.  Biomolecular engineering of intracellular switches in eukaryotes. J Drug Deliv Sci Technol. 2010 May;20(3):163‐169.  PMID: 21209849    

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Kushal S, Wang H, László CF, Szábo LZ, Olenyuk BZ.  Inhibition of hypoxia‐inducible transcription factor complex with designed epipolythiodiketopiperazine.  Biopolymers. 2011 Jan;95(1):8‐16. PMID: 20882602    

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Chen X, Lee HF, Zaro JL, Shen WC. Effects of receptor binding on plasma half‐life of bifunctional transferrin fusion proteins.  Mol Pharm. 2011 Apr 4;8(2):457‐65. Epub 2011 Feb 22.  PMID: 21291258     

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Bonnin A, Goeden N, Chen K, Wilson ML, King J, Shih JC, Blakely RD, Deneris ES, Levitt P.  A transient placental source of serotonin for the fetal forebrain. Nature. 2011 Apr 21;472(7343):347‐50. PMID: 21512572   

Shih JC, Wu JB, Chen K.  Transcriptional regulation and multiple functions of MAO genes. J Neural Transm. 2011 Feb 27. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 21359973     

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A trimester publication for the faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of the Department

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NNoouurrii NNeeaammaattii

Yamada R, Cao X, Butkevich AN, Millard M, Odde S, Mordwinkin N, Gundla R, Zandi E, Louie SG, Petasis NA, Neamati N.  Discovery and Preclinical Evaluation of a Novel Class of Cytotoxic Propynoic Acid Carbamoyl Methyl Amides (PACMAs).  J Med Chem. 2011 Apr 28;54(8):2902‐14. Epub 2011 Mar 28.  PMID: 21443194  

Millard M, Pathania D, Grande F, Xu S, Neamati N.  Small‐Molecule Inhibitors of p53‐MDM2 Interaction: The 2006‐2010 Update.  Curr Pharm Des. 2011;17(6):536‐59. PMID: 21391905   

Sharma H, Patil S, Sanchez TW, Neamati N, Schinazi RF, Buolamwini JK.  Synthesis, biological evaluation and 3D‐QSAR studies of 3‐keto salicylic acid chalcones and related amides as novel HIV‐1 integrase inhibitors.  Bioorg Med Chem. 2011 Mar 15;19(6):2030‐45. Epub 2011 Mar 1.  PMID: 21371895  

Stanford SM, Krishnamurthy D, Falk MD, Messina R, Debnath B, Li S, Liu T, Kazemi R, Dahl R, He Y, Yu X, Chan AC, Zhang ZY, Barrios AM, Woods VL Jr, Neamati N, Bottini N.  Discovery of a novel series of inhibitors of lymphoid tyrosine phosphatase with activity in human T cells.  J Med Chem. 2011 Mar 24;54(6):1640‐54. Epub 2011 Feb 22. PMID:  21341673  

Bacchi A, Carcelli M, Compari C, Fisicaro E, Pala N, Rispoli G, Rogolino D, Sanchez TW, Sechi M, Neamati N.  HIV‐1 IN Strand Transfer Chelating Inhibitors: A Focus on Metal Binding.  Mol Pharm. 2011 Apr 4;8(2):507‐19. Epub 2011 Mar 8. PMID: 21323359  

Al‐Mawsawi LQ, Neamati N.  Allosteric inhibitor development targeting HIV‐1 integrase.  ChemMedChem. 2011 Feb 7;6(2):228‐41. doi: 10.1002/cmdc.201000443. Epub 2011 Jan 12. Review.  PMID:  21275045     

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Rebrin I, Forster MJ, Sohal RS.  Association between life‐span extension by caloric restriction and thiol redox state in two different strains of mice.  Free Radic Biol Med. 2011 Apr 13. [Epub ahead of print]  PMID: 21530646     

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Li AY, Lin HH, Kuo CY, Shih HM, Wang CC, Yen Y, Ann DK.  High Mobility Group A2 Protein Modulates hTERT Transcription to Promote Tumorigenesis.  Mol Cell Biol. 2011 May 2. [Epub ahead of print]  PMID: 21536653  

Giles SS, Soukup AA, Lauer C, Shaaban M, Lin A, Oakley BR, Wang CC, Keller NP.  Cryptic Aspergillus nidulans antimicrobials.  Appl Environ Microbiol. 2011 Apr 8. [Epub ahead of print]  PMID: 21478304  

NNEEWW FFAACCEESS Teshome L. Aboye was hired by Julio Camarero, his “Opponent” during his Ph.D. thesis defense at the University of Uppsala, Sweden on March 25, 2011. His educational journey for higher learning started in his native country, Ethiopia where he graduated with bachelor of pharmacy in 2000 from the School of Pharmacy, Addis Ababa University. Then in 2004, he received his MSc in medicinal chemistry from National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Mohali, India. His research at the lab of Julio Camarero focuses on the design, synthesis and pharmacological studies of microproteins. Richa Aggarwal joined USC in Fall 2010 to pursue her Ph.D degree in Genetic, Molecular and Cell Biology as a PIBBS student. She has chosen Dr. Julio Camarero’s lab after her rotations. She has a master’s degree in biological sciences at the California State University, Fullerton and a master’s of science degree in microbiology from the Bangalore University in Karnataka, India. She graduated with honors for her Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Delhi. As a student at CSU, Fullerton, Richa received an ASI (Associated students, CSUF Inc.) grant for her work on “Use of liposomes as delivery vehicles to deliver antisense oligonucleotides into bacterial cells” and also received a 2nd prize at CSU research competition May 2010 for the same project. At CSUF, She also worked on another project, “Development of antibiotic free selection system for the recombinant cells”. At the Camarero Lab, Richa started working on the use of cyclotide based molecular scaffold for rapid in cell screening and selection for specific protein-protein antagonists.

 

Sanchez JF, Entwistle R, Hung JH, Yaegashi J, Jain S, Chiang YM, Wang CC, Oakley BR.  Genome‐based deletion analysis reveals the prenyl xanthone biosynthesis pathway in Aspergillus nidulans.  J Am Chem Soc. 2011 Mar 23;133(11):4010‐7. Epub 2011 Feb 25.  PMID:  21351751   

Commencement Speaker, Lucinda Maine, Executive Vice President and CEO, AACP (American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy).

Jennifer‐Ann Bayan gave the Ph.D. graduates’ testament of all their experiences and challenges as Ph.D. 

candidates of the School.  Below she is hooded by mentor, Bangyan Stiles.

Fei Yin with Dean Pete Vanderveen and mentor, Enrique Cadenas.

Daryl Davies and Ronald Alkana hooding Maya Popova.

Sarah Hamm‐Alvarez ,   Janette Contreras

Clay Wang, James Sanchez

…. Yan Wang

Wei‐Chiang Shen … Robert Mo

Clay Wang, Sofina JainWei‐Chiang Shen hooding Yu‐Shen Chen

…. Randall Kenien.Sarah Hamm‐Alvarez,

Asma El‐Magboub

17

Yan Wang, Janette Contreras, Randall Kenien

Jared Russell, James Sanchez, Fei Yin

Randall Kenien, Robert Mo, Maya Popova

Doctor of Philosophy Degree

Master of Science Degree

L‐R: Dimple Modi, 

Yu‐Sheng Chen, Asma El‐

Magboub, Sofina Jain, Mihir Shah

Dimple with proud parents, Ashok & Jayshree Modi, and fiancée, Yash Jalundhwala

Maya Popova with joyful lab mates, Miriam Fine and Liana 

Asatryan

Jared Russell with mentor, Stan Louie

Mihir with mentor, Andrew MacKay

Fei Yin with  wife, Tian Wang

Asma with husband, Khaled Al Sherif18