College of Pharmacy Gets Big Boost in Research Funding

In a year of impressive research productivity at the URI College of Pharmacy, perhaps one metric stands out most for me. Last year, 31 of our researchers were credited with federal research funding. More than double that of the previous years. Other faculty and staff benefited from state, foundation and corporate support. Clearly, stakeholders beyond URI see the value of the scholarly work we all do.

In an effort to spread the word about the successes of our faculty scholars, the URI Research Committee compiles a description of research activities twice a year. The information that follows is their effort to update you on the various research endeavors in our College, encourage you to collaborate with others with complementary interests and to recognize the successful funded researchers in the College.

A special thanks to Dr. Bongsup Cho and Michael Cuqua for leading this effort.
Paul Larrat
Dean, College of Pharmacy
Researchers whose projects have been funded between July 1, 2017 and June 30, 2018 include:

Jeffrey Bratberg

EXTERNAL: IMPACT-C: Integrating a Methadone Program with A Clinical Pharmacist to Treat Hep C
(June 2018, National Institute of Drug Abuse, $76,630)
Our central hypotheses are that the MOON+ hybrid educational intervention will (1) increase naloxone distribution rates; (2) increase naloxone-related patient engagement in the pharmacy; and (3) improve pharmacist knowledge, attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and self-efficacy toward dispensing naloxone. To test these hypotheses we propose a stepped wedge, cluster randomized trial implemented over five waves within two chain community pharmacies across four states with varying pharmacy-based naloxone distribution laws.

Jeffrey Bratberg and Kelly Matson

Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Education and High School Students’ Awareness and Perceptions
(CVS Health, $67,000)

Ashley Buchanan

EXTERNAL: Causal Inference Methods for HIV Prevention Studies Among Networks of People Who Use Drugs
(July 2018 – May 2023, National Institutes of Health, $2,080,476)
Public health studies aimed at earlier HIV treatment have made progress towards reducing HIV incidence not only for those directly-treated drug users but also their risk networks; however, research-to-date has been impeded due to a lack of methods to estimate how interventions permeate a risk network. We propose to develop causal statistical inference methods combined in novel ways with network science applicable in settings with social influence.

EXTERNAL: A Comprehensive Translational Science Analytics Toolkit for the Global Health Agenda Today
(September 2016 – July 2018, Harvard University, $37,752)

Jeffrey Bratberg and Lynn Taylor

IMPACT-C: Integrating a Methadone Program with A Clinical Pharmacist to Treat Hep C
(CVS Health, $100,000)

Xinyuan Chen

EXTERNAL: A novel Adjuvant to Boost Influenza Vaccination
(May 2018-April 2019, National Institute of Health, $453,983)
This project develops a physical radiofrequency-based adjuvant with potent humoral and cellular adjuvant effects to boost influenza vaccination with minimal local, systemic or long-term side effects.

Ruitang Deng

EXTERNAL: Interplay of Bile Acid and Estrogen Signaling
(January 2018 – December 2018, National Institute of Health, $344,755)
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most common cancer worldwide and the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths. At present, there are limited options in treating HCC patients. This multi-year R01 grant is aimed at understanding the underlying mechanisms by which HCC develops through the dysregulation of the bile acids/ farnesoid X receptor (FXR) and estrogens/estrogen receptor alpha (ERa) signaling pathways.

Aisling Caffrey

Bongsup Cho

EXTERNAL: RHODE ISLAND IDeA NETWORK FOR BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH EXCELLENCE (RI-INBRE)
(May 2018 – April 2019, National Institute of Health, $3,611,407)
RI-INBRE is a NIH-sponsored state-wide program grant and its major objective is to support and develop talented individuals, committed to research careers in Rhode Island, and to build the biomedical research capacity of Rhode Island higher education institutions.

EXTERNAL: STEEP – Sources, Transport, Exposure and Effects of Perfluoroalkyl Substances
(September 2017 – March 2019, National Institute of Health, $140,750)
The major goal of the multi-million-dollar grant for NIEHS Superfund Research Program (P42) is to address the emerging and expanding problem of poly- and per-fluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs) contamination. Dr. Cho is the leader of Training Core.

Aisling Caffrey, Lisa Cohen, Kelly Orr and Xuerong Wen

Predictors and Outcomes of Pharmacy-based Immunization
(CVS Health, $100,000)

Lisa Cohen

EXTERNAL: Pharmacy Program Oversight/Utilization Review
(RI Department of Corrections, $40,820)

Stephen Kogut

EXTERNAL: Institutional Development Award (IDeA) Program Infrastructure for Clinical and Translational Research
(Brown University IDeA-CTR, $372,751)
This program is a statewide consortium of universities, hospital systems and non-profit agencies that provides the infrastructure to support, train and educate investigators conducting clinical and translational research. Dr. Kogut is directing the team responsible for the tracking and evaluation aspects of the initiative.

Empowering the Safe, Effective and Efficient (S-E-E) Use of Medication in Older Adults
(CVS Foundation Grant, $100,000)

Lisa Cohen, Noemi Desimone-Ramos and Rita Marcoux

Providing Medication Therapy Management (MTM) Services and Diabetes Education to Hispanic Older Adults at Adult Day Health
(CVS Health, $100,000)

Paula Grammas

EXTERNAL: Cerebrovascular dysfunction in AD: targeting the mechanisms of vascular activation
(March 2018 – February 2019, Cure Alzheimer’s Fund, $150,000)

EXTERNAL: Next Phase of Development of In Vivo Imaging and Behavioral Pharmacology Support for Alzheimer’s Disease Drug Development
(May 2018 – April 2019, RI Commerce Corporation, $50,00)

Kerry LaPlante

EXTERNAL: Utilization and Treatment Outcomes with Ceftolozane/tazobactam in the National Veterans Affairs Healthcare System
(March 2018 – March 2019, Ocean State Research Institute, Inc, $48,199)
To describe utilization of ceftolozane/tazobactam in the national VA Healthcare System, to enumerate cohorts with similar microbiological findings and identify antibiotic exposures in these groups through exposure mapping.

EXTERNAL: Improving Antimicrobial Stewardship in Veterans Affairs (VA) Community Living Centers
(May 2018 – April 2020, Providence VA Medical Center, $19,580)
To determine the scope of antimicrobial resistance among VA CLCs, to compare that information with antimicrobial utilization patterns in CLCs and their affiliated VAMCs, and to develop effective antimicrobial stewardship strategies for VA CLCs.

Dennis Hilliard

FU 2017 Cover dell Crime Laboratory Improvement Program
(January 2018 – December 2018, RI Department of Public Safety, $24,375)

Lynn Taylor

EXTERNAL: Patient Centered Models of Hepatitis C Care for People Who Inject Drugs
(February 2018 – January 2019, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, $233,260)
The purpose of this randomized, 8-site, national study is to determine the optimal approaches for treating HCV in people who inject drugs (PWID) at methadone programs and community health centers, and to develop the structure for future research of HCV among people who inject drugs.

Jyothi Menon

EXTERNAL: Novel Biomimetic Inhalable Nanoparticles for Sustained Lung Cancer Drug Delivery
(RI-Medical Foundation, $25,000)
Novel In Vitro Three-dimensional Tumor Models for Anti-cancer Drug Screening
(RI-INBRE, $112,721)

Navindra Seeram

EXTERNAL: Quality, Shelf-Life Stability, and Authenticity of Commercial Maple Water Products
(March 2018 – February 2019, US Department of Agriculture, $150,000)
Maple sap, collected from the endemic eastern North American sugar and red maple species, has primarily been utilized to produce maple syrup. However, over recent years, maple sap is being packaged and sold commercially as a ‘functional beverage’ for human consumption. This grant will focus on the quality, shelf-life stability, and standards of identity/ authentication of commercial maple water products which have not yet been established.

EXTERNAL: Routine Analyses of Samples to Identify Factors which Contribute to Variability of Maple Syrup (URI coded project E)
(July 2010 – December 2022, Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Produce, $40,000)
This is a continuation of a grant focused on evaluating the chemical composition of maple syrup samples produced in different geographical locations in Quebec, Canada.

Rita Marcoux

EXTERNAL: Pharmacy Program Oversight/Utilization Review
(January 2017 – December 2018, RI Department of Corrections, $40,820)

Jie Shen

EXTERNAL: IPEC Emerging Researcher Award
(IPEC, $40,000)
The proposal research aims to investigate the effect of excipients on the solubilization and taste-masking of poorly soluble and unpalatable drugs, and to develop novel orodispersible drug delivery systems for pediatric patients.

Sustained Intravitreal Drug Delivery Platform for the Treatment of Uveal Melanoma
(RI-INBRE, $72,922)
Method Development and In Vitro Release Testing of Odan Laboratories’ Ointments (RI-Research Foundation, $75,420)

Angela Slitt

EXTERNAL: STEEP – Sources, Transport, Exposure and Effects of Perfluoroalkyl Substances
(September 2017 – March 2019, National Institute of Health, $392,421)
The major goal of the multi-million-dollar grant for NIEHS Superfund Research Program (P42) is to address the emerging and expanding problem of poly- and per-fluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs) contamination. Dr. Slitt is the leader of Project 3 — evaluation of PFAS exposure as a risk for obesity-induced dysregulation of hepatic and adipose tissue function.

William Van Nostrand

EXTERNAL: Modeling Aerobic Exercise Regimens: Prevention and Amelioration of Amyloid Pathologies and Cognitive Impairment
(January 2018 – May 2019, National Institute of Health, $314,675)
Lifestyle factors, such as exercise, are thought to be beneficial towards delaying the onset or severity of AD. However, it is not known how much exercise could be beneficial. The major goal of this project is to investigate different dosing exercise regimens on amyloid pathology and cognitive impairment in transgenic mice with different AD-like pathologies.

EXTERNAL: Understanding the Origins of Amyloid Deposition in Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy
(October 2017 – March 2019, National Institute of Health, $383,750)
Recent work from our laboratory has indicated that the structure of amyloid fibrils that accumulate in cerebral blood vessels, a condition known as cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), is different than amyloid fibrils that accumulate in brain parenchymal plaques. The major goal of this project is to elucidate the novel structural features of amyloid deposition in CAA using in vitro and transgenic mouse approaches.

EXTERNAL: The Role of Copper in Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy
(October 2017 – April 2019, National Institute of Health, $383,750)
We have recently found that the amyloid deposits that accumulate in cerebral blood vessels harbor elevated amounts of copper. The major goal of this project is to determine whether there is a structural basis for the accumulation of copper in the vascular amyloid associated with cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) and how copper influences the formation of CAA and pathologies associated with this condition using transgenic rodent models.

EXTERNAL: Characterizing the Glymphatic Peri-vascular Connectome and its Disruption in AD
(July 2018 – June 2019, National Institute of Health, $173,951)
The glymphatic system has recently been identified as a pathway that the brain uses to clear waste products such as amyloid. How this system is impacted by accumulating AD pathology is not known. The major goal of this project is to investigate the glymphatic system in AD transgenic rodent models.

Ami Vyas

EXTERNAL: Appropriate Care and Associated Outcomes in Women with Metastatic Breast Cancer
(Rhode Island Foundation, $24,914)
We will utilize a nationally representative database to understand the impact of guideline-concordant appropriate care on clinical and economic outcomes in elderly women with metastatic excessive human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). Specifically, we will seek to further understand the relative expenditures and benefits of appropriate care in this vulnerable population. The goal of this research will be to guide health care providers in improving outcomes.

Xuerong Wen

EXTERNAL: Utilization and Adverse Perinatal Outcomes of P2Y12 Agents in Pregnant Women
(May 2018-December 2019, RI Medical Foundation, $12,000)

Long-Term Neurodevelopmental Outcomes of Prenatal Opioid Exposure
(RI-INBRE, $89,346)

Fatema Akhlaghi and Xuerong Wen

Personalized Warfarin Dosing in Patients with Diabetes and Fatty Liver Disease
(CVS Health, $50,000)

Matthew Bertin

Evaluating Linkages Between Pseudo-nitzschia Species Composition and the Contribution of Partner Bacteria to Domoic Acid Production in Narragansett Bay
(Rhode Island Sea Grant, $45,169)

Targeting Proteases to Reduce Neuroinflammation
(RI-INBRE, $100,553)

Kelly Orr and Xeurong Wen

URI Smoking Cessation Initiative: A Collaboration between Pharmacy Students and a Community in Need
(CVS Health, $66,000)

Yuan Zhang

Enhance Antitumor Immunity via Modulating Immunosuppressive Myeloid Cells
(Brown University IDeA-CTR, $57,562)

Britny Rogala

EXTERNAL: Identification of Extemporaneously Prepared Oral Anticancer Therapy Stabilities
(Rhode Island Foundation, $21,743)