SPPS receives $1M to recruit high impact faculty in the field of systems pharmacology

This strategic initiative will further enhance the school’s international reputation as a leader in the development of diverse computational approaches to address the many factors affecting drug responses.

The funding is comprised of three grants totaling $4.5M the University at Buffalo received from the State University of New York’s Empire Innovation Program, which helps institutions recruit senior faculty members with track records of significant scholarly achievement and externally-funded research projects. 

“Building our systems pharmacology program will greatly enhance UB’s clinical and translational research capabilities,” said James M. O’Donnell, dean of the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. “Ultimately, this grant will improve our efforts to advance personalized medicine, including turning discoveries into new and improved therapeutics — endeavors that will improve the quality of life for countless people.” 

Using computational and mathematical models, systems pharmacology seeks to understand how medicine affects highly complex systems of the body. The field, which builds upon the school’s existing strengths in analyzing and modeling disease progression and drug effects upon diseases, is key to accelerating drug development and personalized medicine.

“This strategic hire will enable us to develop a next-generation platform for translational medicine, by predicting drug action at the individual level based on patient characteristics and improving clinical outcomes and avoiding toxicities,” said Marilyn Morris, SUNY Distinguished Professor and chair, pharmaceutical sciences.