School of Pharmacy

Suyesha Bhandari B C

I am a 2nd year Master student in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. I completed my Bachelors in Pharmacy from Tribuhuvan University, Nepal. My current research is on "Microglial Evaluation of Sigma-1/2 agonist for the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease" under the direction of Dr. Ken Witt. Microglia activation is one of the key factors in progression of neurodegeneration in AD. Sigma-receptors has been studied to modulate various factors leading to microglial activation. I am studying the effect of Sigma-1/2 agonist on microglial activation under inflammatory condition using various in-vitro approaches. My hope is this research, will help me to better understand the molecular mechanism and role of sigma receptors in microglial activation. Research interests are sigma-receptors, microglial activation and nueorinflammation.

Prapanna Bhattarai

Olmesartan medoxomil is an Angiotensin (II) receptor blocker commonly used as antihypertensive agent. It is in the USP's priority list of required compunded monographs. I will be working with Dr. Bill Kolling, on a project studying the stability of Olmesartan medoxomil in suspension. We expect to be able to develop a method for analysis of the drug and its degradation products in the suspension.

Jahnavi Polina

Alzheimer's disease is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that is the number one cause of dementia among the elderly. The expression of amyloid-beta plaques is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. Microglial cells, the resident macrophages of the CNS, are invovled in the phagocytosis and thought to release enzymes, such as neprilysin and insulin-degrading enzyme that break down amyloid-beta plaques. As the disease progresses, microglia age and begin to lose their protective ability. I am currently working on modulating microglial cell activity using NNC 26-9100, a somatostatin subtype 4 selective agonist, under the direction of Dr. Joe Schober. 

Ashok Silwal

Alheimer's disease (AD), an irreversible neurodegenerative disorder, currently affects 5.7 million Americas, out of which more than 90% are aged 65 and older. As the number of older Americans growing rapidly, so will the numbers of cases of Alzheimer's in the near future. Currently, there is no remedy for Ad and definitive cause(s) of AD have yet to be identified. So, any thereapy capable of delaying or preventing AD progression wuld be of great benefit to Alheimer's patients and their families. Continuous basic research aiming to udnerstand the fundamental biology of cells affected by AD is the best approach in fighting this significant public health problem. 

There is intriguing data to suggest that Somatostatin receptor play a critical role in memory and cognition, and reduced somatostatin level is found in a patient with AD. Thus, the major focus of my reserach is the evaluation of novel selective somatostatin receptor subtype agonist drug candidate (sst4). To address this issue, I am using BV2 cells as an alternative model system for primary microglia cultures to demonstrate somatostatin related actions on microglia-induced inflammatory events. I am working under the direction of Dr. Ken Witt, Ph.D., Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Elizabeth Denn

I am a first year Pharmaceutical Sciences Master's student. I received my Bacehlor's degree from Truman State University, where I majored in Biology and minored in Chemistry. While at Truman, I used electron microscopes and learned EM sample preparation, and took a confocal microscopy short course at the Danforth Plant Science Center to gain further experience.

University: University of Ilorin, Nigeria
Area of Concentration:  Pharmacology

Rafael Frare

I am a first year Master student in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

I completed my Pharmacy degree in 2015 at Universidad de Los Andes, Venezuela. Prior to obtaining my degree, I had the opportunity as a visiting student, and interned in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at SIUE, under the direction of Dr. William Kolling. I experienced other academics and research as well, during my internship.  I have worked as Head of Quality Control Department of VALMOR, C.A. Laboratories at Merida, Venezuela. 

I am highly interested in research regarding the three main fields of pharmacy, and I am looking forward to starting my own soon. 

Sagar Gilda

I am a first year Pharmaceutical Science graduate student. I completed my Bachelors in Pharmacy from Shivaji University Kolhapur, India. After I completed my undergraduate studies, I went on to join Biocon Academy and completed training in clinical development. Before joining this program, I worked as a pharmacist in hospital pharmacy.

My reserach interest is in formulation and development of dosage forms. I am looking forward to working under the direction of Dr. Tim McPherson, and developing stability data for a formulated liquid dosage form.

Austin House

I completed my Bachelor's degree in Chemisty with a specialization in biochemistry at SIUE. My area of focus is pharmacology, under the direction of Dr. Ken Witt. My current research involves looking into the use of somatostatin receptor 4 (SSTR4) selective agonists, as possible treatment for Alzheimer's disease. It was previously shown that the SSTR4 selective agonist NNC-26-9100 lead to increased learning and reduction of amyloid beta oligomers in mice. So, I am using NNC-26-9100 to better understand their mechanism of action in microglia, and by doing so, possibly determining how these compounds lead to increased learning and a reduction of amyloid beta oligomers.

Hannah Lupton

I am a first year Master's student in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. I completed my undergraduate degree in May 2018 in Chemistry with a specialization in Biochemistry at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. While in this program, I plan to do my thesis work in Medicinal Chemistry with a projected graduation of May 2020.

Christopher Reeb

I am a first year graduate student in the Deparment of Pharmaceutical Sciences, MS Program. I attended SIUE and graduated in May 2018, receiving my Bachelors of Science degree in Chemistry, with a specialization in ACS certified Biochemistry. 

My research interests are focused in the discipline of Pharmacology, working under the direction of Dr. Ken Witt. I am currently working on a project studying the effects of dietary factors, which may have an impact on the expression of specific tight junctional proteins in the blood brain barrier (BBB), the vascular network of the brain. Tight junctional proteins are essential in maintaining the structural integrity and BBB functionality, and may be targeted for drug treatment.

Olivia Slater

I have worked on Somatostatin-4 (sst4) Receptor agonism, a key protein, under the direction of Dr. Maria Kontoyianni.  Because there is no known crystal structure of sst4, I created a homology model, using the most recent available information. Exploration of the sst4 binding pocket, and ligand interactions (both ligands made in our department, as well as recently patented ligants). Tabulation of ligand properties to see if the ligands were able to pass through the blood brain barrier, a key characteristic of all central nervous system drugs. Developed a quantitative structure-activty relationship (QSAR) model. The ultimate goal was to study ligand-induced conformation changes that catalyze signaling pathway mechanisms in the sst4 receptor. 

Khush Nahar Srabony

Khush holds a BS and MS in Microbiology from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Her Masters dissertation research involved characterization and determination of cytotoxicity of the V. fluvialis exotoxin, an emerging water borne pathogen, for which she was awarded the National Science & Technology Fellowship. She has received training on cell culture techniques and statistical data analysis for biological sciences (R programming). Khush has always been passionate about advancing her career in Biomedical Science and Technology. 

Before enrolling in a PhD program, Khush decided to earn a Masters degree in pharmaceutical sciences in order to strengthen her academic foundation. Being intrigued by the advanced research works at the School of Pharmacy, SIUE, she has enrolled for the Fall 2018 program.

Konstantina Stavroulaki

I am a first year Masters student in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. I earned my Bachelors degree in Chemistry at Lindenwood University, Missouri. Prior to starting this program, I worked as a quality control laboratory analyst, testing various hygiene products at Reckitt Benckiser. My research interest is in Pharmacology.