Clinical & Pre-Clinical Pharmacology

Dr. Baker’s cancer-relevant research interests broadly cover translational and clinical pharmacology of anti-cancer agents. Recently, her laboratory has focused on the preclinical development of anti-cancer agents for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), with an emphasis on tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) drug combinations. Dr. Baker’s research interests include developmental therapeutics for AML, clinical pharmacology of tyrosine kinase inhibitors, variability in anti-cancer drug disposition and investigational anti-cancer drug development.

Dr. Coss' research focuses on endocrine disease mechanisms and developing novel therapies for advanced prostate cancer. He also has an interest in chemoprevention of prostate and hepatocellular carcinomas using novel hormonal approaches.

My current research focuses on determining how targeted and cytotoxic chemotherapy impact the brain and how drug transporters contribute to these effects. Consistent with this research, I am interested in the translational pharmacology of anticancer therapeutics, especially the characterization of preclinical and clinical pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.

Our research team members are engaged in pre-clinical target identification for pharmacologic treatment of neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders. We use in vivo and in vitro high-resolution fluorescence microscopy and high-content analysis of live neurons to reveal complex interactions between signaling pathways that regulate cell survival/function and circadian clock signaling. This work is designed to identify new avenues of chronotherapeutic target development for CNS disorders. Current work focuses on two related themes: (1) Alzheimer’s Disease and desynchronization of cortico-limbic circadian rhythms and (2) MAPK signaling: gates, oscillators and circadian timing.

The overall goal of Dr. Hu’s research is to evaluate the contribution of uptake transporters, in particular OCT and the OATP1B-type transporters, in the disposition and toxicity of anticancer drugs, with particular emphasis on peripheral neurotoxicity. Her laboratory utilizes multi-level approaches including in vitro, in vivo models, aims to understand the underlying mechanisms that drive the extensive inter-individual pharmacokinetic variability, drug transporter regulation, antitumor efficacy, and drug-drug interaction in response to drug therapy in cancer patients. Another area of research interest is to design of preclinical and clinical studies to evaluate pharmaceutical agents as modulators of side effects associated with tubulin poisons, such as paclitaxel and vincristine.

Dr. Johnson’s research is focused on understanding genetic and other sources of variability in drug response, building evidence to support translation of research to clinical practice, implementing genomic medicine in practice and documenting clinical outcomes associated with use of genomic medicine in practice. Her discovery research focuses primarily on cardiovascular drugs used in the treatment of hypertension and heart failure and used to prevent blood clots. Her pharmacogenetics implementation work is across a range of therapeutic areas and explores clinical trial approaches for documenting its impact on clinical outcomes. She’s also deeply committed to training the next generation of clinical and translational scientists.

The overarching goal of the Kroetz laboratory is to understand the molecular basis of interindividual variability in drug response and toxicity. Genomic association studies are used to identify genes and pathways involved in common toxicities associated with cancer therapy, including taxane-induced peripheral neuropathy and bevacizumab-induced hypertension. Functional genomic studies are then used to define the role of these genes and pathways in the dose-limiting toxicities. A second area of research is on the role of ABC transporters in drug resistance and physiologic function. Ongoing efforts include cryo-EM studies of MRP4 and investigation of MRP4 in resistance to immunotherapy.

Dr. Phelps’ lab is involved in both pre-clinical and clinical development of numerous small molecule anti-cancer and immuno-modulatory agents under development. Their work aims to understand the mechanisms involved in the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (i.e. pharmacokinetics, PK) of these agents, and how both the PK and pharmacodynamic (PD) effects of these agents are altered by genetic differences (polymorphisms) among individuals (i.e. pharmacogenetics, PG).

Professor Jennifer (Jen) Plahovinsak is the Director of the Master of Science in Translational Pharmacology program. Jen’ s research focuses on the design and development of technology-enhanced learning environments for science education, graphic and instructional design to support learning, key learner characteristics for graduate students, curricular development for online toxicology courses, and quality strategies for online program success. Additionally, her interests include the development of relevant preclinical models to support medical countermeasure research programs. Jen has been certified as a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology since 2015.

Dr. Sparreboom's research studies the contribution of solute carriers to chemotherapy-induced toxicity profiles, identifies chemical inhibitors of critical transporters, translates the findings to clinical trials in collaboration with scientists and oncologists, and ultimately improves the long-term outcome of patients with cancer by modulating the therapeutic window of widely-used chemotherapeutics. His research is currently focused on the development of transport modulators that could be used in conjunction with platinum-based drugs and tyrosine-kinase inhibitors, with emphasis on the development of innovative preclinical model systems.