Download The Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy Honors Program

The Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy
Honors Program
Established in 1952, the Honors Program of the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy of Rutgers, The
State University of New Jersey is a research-oriented program that provides pharmacy students of
exceptional merit the opportunity to extend their professional education. The Honors Program is a
challenging learning experience that becomes an integral component of an Honor Student’s professional
program in pharmacy.
Designed for a small group of well-qualified students, the School of Pharmacy Honors Program
offers students the opportunity to pursue special research interests with a high degree of individual
attention by faculty advisors. A priority of the Honors Program is to further develop basic skills such as
motivation, independence, and creative problem solving. Hands-on experience in using contemporary
scientific methodologies also develops advanced skills in experimental design and modern research
techniques.
Students in the Honors Program experience an early introduction to pharmacy subject matter,
greater access to faculty and personalized counseling about courses, academic programs, and potential
career options. Students considering graduate school find that training in the Honors Program allows them
to compete more successfully for admission into top graduate programs.
Admissions Requirements
Pharmacy students having a GPA rounding to 3.5 or
greater in their first year of study are invited to apply
for admission into the Honors Program during their
second academic year. .
Students accepted into the program are selected a
faculty advisor who will guide each student in
selecting a research advisor. The relationship
between an honors student and a research advisor is a
unique one as the student receives one-on-one
mentoring for about four years. Working together
with research advisors, honors students will
formulate and complete an Honors Research Project
which culminates in a Research Thesis.
Upon completing the required course work and
research thesis, students are considered graduates of
the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy Honors
Program, and a notation to this effect is recorded on
the student’s transcript of study and is officially held
on file at the Rutgers University registrar’s office. In
addition, matriculation through the Honors Program
is-considered a high honor which is duly recognized
by the presentation of a special Honors Certificate
along with individual recognition in the graduation
program and ceremony.
Research Fellowships
Honors Program students may have the option of
performing research during the summer in the
laboratory of the student’s Research Advisor.
Although optional, many students take advantage of
this opportunity to gain additional expertise in
advanced laboratory techniques and to further their
research project. Stipends are available on a
competitive basis to students as arranged through
either the Research Advisor or the Honors Program.
Research Diversity
Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy Honors Program
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Honors Program students have available a diverse
selection of research projects from which to select and
develop an Honors Research Project. These options
allow each student the ability to select an area of
research of interest to him/her. Diversity is provided
by participating School of Pharmacy faculty who has
ongoing research programs in the Pharmaceutical
Science Graduate Program, the Medicinal Chemistry
Graduate Program, the Joint Graduate Program in
Toxicology, the Doctor of Pharmacy Program and the
graduate programs in Biochemistry and Molecular
Biology, and Microbiology.
Research Facilities
Principal research facilities for honors research
projects are made available through faculty research
laboratories primarily located in the School of
Pharmacy building (William Levine Hall) on the
Busch campus, with additional state-of-the-art
research facilities located at the Gordon Road
Research Complex, the Susan Lehman Cullman
Laboratory for Cancer Research and the
Environmental, Occupational and Health Sciences
Institute (EOHSI). As members of research teams,
honors students have access to state-of-the-art
instrumentation usually only available for senior
investigators, postdoctoral fellows or graduate
students. Honors students have the opportunity to
gain considerable hands-on experience in
pharmaceutics, pharmacology and toxicology,
medicinal chemistry, molecular and cellular biology
and biochemistry along with experience in using
research instrumentation and techniques such as
electron microscopy, gas chromatography, highperformance liquid chromatography, enzyme
isolation
and
assays,
centrifugation,
gel
electrophoresis, NMR, integrated compaction
research system, small animal surgery, computerized
data analysis, DNA cloning and sequencing, genetic
engineering, tissue culture, and the production of
monoclonal antibodies.
that reserves time to perform advanced work toward
the completion of their Honors Research Project.
These courses carry semester credits that may be used
for degree credits as outlined to the right. Students
are required to maintain an overall GPA of 3.5 or
better throughout their studies. In addition to the
GPA requirement and research work, all Honors
Students are required to attend informal meetings held
in a seminar format. These meetings are used to
initiate discussions on research topics of current
interest.
Third Year
Fall
30:720:394 Honors Seminar/Tutorial I (1 credit)
30:720:395 Honors Independent Research I
(1 credit)
Spring
30:720:396 Honors Seminar/Tutorial II (1 credit)
30:720:397 Honors Independent Research II
(1 credit)
Fourth Year*
Fall
30:720:494 Honors Independent Research III
(2 credits)
Spring
30:720:495 Honors Independent Research IV
(3 credits)
Fifth Year
Fall
31:720:594
Spring
31:720:596
*
Honors Thesis Preparation (2 credits)
Honors Thesis Presentation (2 credits)
Credits may be used as fourth year
professional electives.
Sequence of Courses
Honors Program students enroll in a core of courses
Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy Honors Program
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Departmental Research Profiles
Pharmacy Practice and
Administration
Research in this department is oriented towards
expanding
current
concepts
in
basic
pharmacotherapeutics with emphasis on addressing
clinically-oriented problems encountered in patient
care. Research programs in this department focus on
the use of drugs in various diseases states. Research
involves reviewing patient records, interviewing
patients, and assessing physical and patient outcomes.
Pharmaceutics
Research in this department focuses on drug
transport, drug delivery, drug absorption,
pharmacokinetics,
pharmacodynamics,
and
pharmacogenomics. The overall objective is to offer
students the research environments where cutting
edge research utilizing the latest technology to study
the biopharmaceutical and pharmacological properties
of drugs.
Medicinal Chemistry
Chemical Biology
Research in this department places particular
emphasis on the areas of (a) mechanisms of
carcinogenesis and mutagenesis, (b) cancer
chemoprevention, and (c) metabolism of drugs,
steroid hormones, and carcinogens. Examples of
specific research projects in which honors students
could become involved include: studies of
mechanisms of chemoprevention of cancer by
naturally-occurring dietary substances, mechanisms
of cancer causation by major constituents of tobacco
smoke, regulation and function of major enzymes
involved in drug and carcinogen metabolism,
mechanisms of differentiation, a transgenic mouse
model of melanoma, factors influencing the
development of the central nervous system and
neurological diseases and mechanisms of DNA repair.
Research in this department emphasizes the area of
pharmaceutical analysis and medicinal chemistry.
Examples of research in the area of pharmaceutical
analysis include fundamental investigations of
analytical methods, drug analysis and analytical
methods, drug analysis and quality control, and
biochemical analysis. In the area of medicinal
chemistry programs are investigating novel
approaches to the synthesis of new medicinal agents,
mechanisms associated with biological activity,
synthesis and structural elucidation of novel
antineoplastic agents.
Pharmacology and Toxicology
Research in this department is directed toward
understanding the mechanisms of chemically-induced
toxicity, drug metabolism, neuropharmacology and
cancer biology. Specific research programs are
investigating enhanced sensitivity of newborns and
the elderly to drugs and toxic chemicals, alcohol
hepatotoxicity, influence of nutrients on the
metabolism and release of injurious chemicals from
the liver, immunotoxicity, and mechanisms of
toxicant-induced neural damage and repair.
Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy Honors Program
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Faculty Research Profiles
See:
•
•
•
•
•
Chemical Biology
Medicinal Chemistry
Pharmaceutics
Pharmacy Practice and Administration
Pharmacology & Toxicology
or the Faculty Directory http://pharm.rutgers.edu/content/facultystaff_directory
for information on faculty research.
Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy Honors Program
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Recently Completed Honors Theses
Class of 2003
Melissa Pao
“Characterization of mdr1 and cMOAT Gene
Expression in Human and Rat Intestine”
Advisor: Professor Patrick Sinko
Patrick T. Wong
“Synthesis of Peptide Substrate and
Intermediates of Peptide-Linked Analogues
of Cyclophosphamide for Site Specific
Activation in the Treatment of Prostate
Cancer”
Advisor: Professor Longqin Hu
Class of 2004
Nesreen S Eltoukhy
“Preliminary Molecular and Functional
Characterization of Human Peptide/Histidine
Transporters”
Advisor: Professor Gregory T. Knipp
Lucy X Jiang
“Synthesis of Topoisomerase I Inhibitors for the
Treatment of Cancer”
Advior: Professor Edmond J. La Voie
Jillian L. Maciejewski
“In Vitro Metabolism of 7H-Benzo[c]fluorine”
Advisor: Professor Eric H. Weynd
Mark T. McIntyre
A“PSA-NCAM Expression and Autistic Symptoms
in Adult Mice Treated with Valproate” Advisor:
Professor Kenneth Reuhl
Felice I. Peng
“Molecular and Functional Characterization of
Fatty Acid Translocase/CD36”
Advisor: Professor Gregory T. Knipp
Sonal S. Shah
“Role of Ubiquitin Proteolysis in Neurotoxic
Injury”
Advisor: Professor Dr. Kenneth Reuhl
Staci Siconolfi
“Utility of Levofloxacin for Empiric Management of
Suspected Respiratory Infections in Renal
Transplant Recipients”
Advisor: Professor A. Scott Mathis
“Deepa Trivedi
S-A-R of Benzimidazoles and Related
Heterocycles as Top-I inhibitors”
Advisor: Professor Edmond J. Lavoie
Class of 2005
C. Andrew Kistler
“Altered Collagen Fibril Architecture in Fetal
Growth Restriction”
Advisor: Professor Dr. Marion K. Gordon
Sabrina Lee
“Effect of 1 2-O-tetradecanoylphorbol- 13acetate (TPA) alone or in combination with alltrans retinoic acid on the growth of prostate
Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy Honors Program
cancer LNCaP cells.”
Advisor: Professors Allan Conney and Xi Zheng
Melinda A. O’Shanughnessy
“Effect
of
2-methoxyestradiol
and
2hydroxyestradiol on Estradiol-induced Mammary
Cancer in ACI rsts”
Advisor: Professor Paul E. Thomas
5
Suzanne Rzuczek
“Synthesis of the Topoisomerase I Inhibitor
Bulgarein”
Advisor: Professor Joseph E. Rice
Michelle Sander
“EGCG May Prevent Parkinson’s Disease by
Inhibiting COMT and Prolonging the Half-Lives
of Catecholamines.”
Advisor: Professor Chung S. Yang
Class of 2006
Peter Chang
“3-Morpholinopropyl isothiocyanate is a novel,
strong inducer of phase II enzymes”
Advisor: Ah Ng Tony Kong
James Gugger
“Percutaneous Coronary Intervention-Related
Bleeding Risk Factors in Current Practice”
Advisor: A. Scott Mathis
Eugenia Levi
“Effects of Cyclosporine and Tacrolimus on
Atherosclerosis”
Advisor: A. Scott Mathis
Lemuel Liou
“Preparation and Characterization of MultiComponent Biodegradable Poly(anhydride
ester) Microspheres”
Advisor: Thomas J. Cook
Yvonne Tsao
“Effect of Sulforaphane on Gene Expression in
the Rat Intestine”
Advisor: Thomas J. Cook
William R. Vincent
“Perinatal Changes in the Collagen Fibril
Structure of the Cervix”
Advisor: Marion K. Gordon
Dorothy Surowiec
“The effects of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13acetate (TPA) and other compounds on the
growth of A549 and H1299 lung cancer cell
lines”
Advisor: Allan Conney
Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy Honors Program
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Thesis Guidelines
Research accomplishments and educational experiences of Pharmacy Honors Program students
culminate in the preparation of a Honors Program Thesis. Material presented in the Thesis is at the
discretion of the student and Research Advisor. The format of a Thesis should include the following:
Title Page, Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, References, Tables and
Figures
Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy Honors Program
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Title Page Format
“Thesis Title”
By
“Student Name”
This thesis is submitted in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for graduating from the
ERNEST MARIO SCHOOL OF PHARMACY HONORS PROGRAM
May __, 2005
APPROVED:
Faculty Advisor, “name”
Members of the Honors Program Committee
“name”
“name”
“name”
“name”
“name”, Chairman
Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy Honors Program
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