Drug Discovery, Development and Evaluation Hub Welcomes New Faculty to Fuel Innovation

Gary Pollack, PhD, UB SPPS Dean envisioned the construct of the DDDE Hub and was confident it was a key next step in advancing the school’s research trajectory and transdisciplinary collaborations. Pollack states “These new faculty bring a wealth of experience, creative leadership and novel approaches which will not only move the school’s research programs forward at an accelerated rate but will also create a highly unique environment to catalyze contemporary drug discovery and therapeutic research."

Professor, Pharmacy Practice
Division of Clinical and Translational Therapeutics
Start: March 2024

Dr. Zhao is an internationally recognized infectious disease and antimicrobial researcher leading high-impact federally funded research in drug discovery and development. 

Research Focus:
Development of preclinical antimicrobial drugs and the molecular diagnosis of various infectious diseases and drug resistance mechanisms including federally funded projects to develop antibody-drug conjugates to combat drug-resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections. Expertise in drug development, including compound synthesis, in vitro screening, in vivo PK/PD and efficacy evaluation, GLP tox screen, and pre-IND studies in non-human primates. 

Areas of Excellence:
A renowned expert in molecular diagnostics, Zhao developed rapid diagnostic tests for important drug-resistant bacterial and fungal infections, such as KPC-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae, azole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus, echinocandin-resistant C. glabrata and C. auris.

She invented an FDA-EUA approved diagnostic test, which at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, played a significant role in rapidly implementing clinical laboratory testing for over 10,000 patients. Zhao also created a high-throughput SARS-CoV-2 variant screening platform that was integrated into the NJDOH COVID surveillance program to facilitate local epidemiological monitoring and played a key role in the Metropolitan Antiviral Drug Accelerator program, a $65+M NIAID funded project to provide research and produce treatments for anti-viral threats.  

Professor, Pharmacy Practice
Division of Clinical and Translational Therapeutics
Start: March 2024

Dr. Chen is an internationally recognized infectious disease and antimicrobial researcher leading studies in bacterial genomics utilizing rapid molecular detection and complex genomic platforms. 

Research Focus: 
Bacterial genomics and genetics, with particular focus on Multi-Drug Resistant Gram-Negative Bacilli (MDRGNB), Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and multiresistant mycobacteria. He uses genomic sequencing together with informatics tools and clinical epidemiology to tackle the menace of emerging bacterial resistance.

Areas of Excellence:
Chen's research on carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae (CRKp) superbug led to the discovery of the epidemic CRKp ST258 being a hybrid strain that originated from a large chromosomal recombination and has also identified significant diversification in this superclone, primarily due to the recombination of the capsular polysaccharide synthesis (cps) region and plasmid acquisition.

In addition to uncovering the epidemiology of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, Chen also focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms behind emerging resistance to novel antimicrobials and its impact on clinical detection and therapy along with the inner workings of mobile genetic elements (MGEs) to uncover their role in antibiotic resistance and pathogenesis. 

He utilizes rapid molecular detection and genomic platforms to track and curb the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria using ‘plasmid epidemiology’ to gain a deeper understanding of the complexities between bacterial hosts and plasmids. His research group has established cutting-edge techniques, including comparative genomic analysis, RNAseq transcriptomics, transposon mutagenesis and sequencing (TnSeq), CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing and plasmid curing, CRISPR interference, and fluorescent tagging platforms.

"We are thrilled to welcome these exceptional individuals to our school and research hub," says Brian Tsuji, PharmD, associate dean, clinical and translational sciences. "Drs. Zhao and Chen, along with the other new hires, expertise and passion for innovative research and discovery will undoubtedly contribute to our mission of developing the future of novel therapeutics to address multiple health care needs."

Associate Professor of Empire Innovation, Pharmaceutical Sciences
Division of Drug Delivery and Biopharmaceutical Engineering
Start: June 2024

Dr. Wang is a preeminent expert in the development of neutrophil-based therapeutics to improve therapies for cancer and inflammatory diseases.

Research Focus:
Address fundamental questions in drug delivery pertaining to blood vessel barriers. Development of neutrophil-based therapeutics to improve the therapies for cancer and inflammatory diseases utilizing molecular biology, immunology, pharmaceutical sciences and bioengineering to understand and devise neutrophil-based therapeutics.

Areas of Excellence:
The Wang Lab is a pioneer in developing neutrophil-based drug delivery systems to overcome blood vessel barriers in nanomedicines and designed nanoparticles that can selectively target neutrophils in vivo, thus neutrophils transport nanoparticles across blood vessel barriers for improved drug delivery efficiency. Development of seminal scholarship regarding the translational potential of nanoparticle formulations to treat cancer and inflammatory diseases and the development of a wide range of in vivo imaging tools to address basic questions in nanomedicines.  

Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences
Head, Division of Quantitative Molecular Biosciences
Start: June 2024

Dr. Lazarus is recognized as an expert authority in how individual genetic variants play a role in cancer risk and drug toxicity and effectiveness. 

Research Focus:
The Lazarus lab was one of the first to study gene-environment interactions and their role in head and neck as well as lung cancer risk. He has performed numerous studies on nicotine metabolism and addiction and has performed seminal studies focusing on the role of cannabinoids and marijuana in drug-drug interactions and drug metabolism. In addition, his laboratory has studied the pharmacogenetics of breast cancer agents including serum estrogen receptor modulators and aromatase inhibitors.

Areas of Excellence:
Lazarus is a leader in studies of the UDP-glucuronosyltransferase family of phase II metabolizing enzymes and has numerous papers studying their regulation and their role in cancer risk and drug addiction along with federal funding to study the body’s ability to keep tobacco smoke components from causing cancer. 

Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences
Head, Division of Drug and Biotherapeutic Discovery
Start: July 2024

Dr. Das is a leading expert in the development of new therapeutic and diagnostic agents focused on brain development and diseases.

Research Focus:
Boron based small molecules design and synthesis and the use of these compounds as potential therapeutic and diagnostic agents for various diseases. These new reactions are used globally to synthesize different organic compounds and new compounds are utilized as potential therapeutic and diagnostic agents for different diseases areas. Das also collaborates with academic and industry colleagues in their drug discovery programs to design and synthesize novel pharmacological agents.

Areas of Excellence:
Das’ research focuses on new methodologies for carbon-boron bond formation to synthesize boron-containing unnatural amino acids for use in cancer therapy and synthesis of chemical libraries of boron-containing agents to treat brain cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. His work also focuses on development of chemical libraries of PET and SPECT imaging agents for non-invasive diagnoses of Alzheimer's disease and brain cancer along with development of new therapeutic and diagnostic agents for brain cancer, prostate cancer, obesity and cardiovascular diseases. 

Research Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences
Division of Drug and Biotherapeutic Discovery
Start: July 2024

Dr. Das is a classically trained organic chemist with extensive experience in drug and diagnostic discovery.

Research Focus:
Das focuses on the development of novel technologies, utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), to support drug discovery and development for obesity and obesity related diseases (neuropathy and retinopathy), focusing on the design and synthesis of small-molecular and natural product-based probes. These probes are used to identify new biomarkers and develop new therapeutic and diagnostic agents, targeting mitochondrial oxidative stress and metabolic pathways.

Assistant Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences
Division of Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics, and Systems Pharmacology
Start: January 2025

Dr. Talkington is currently completing a National Research Council Fellowship at the National Institute of Standards and Technology focusing on pharmacokinetics, applied mathematics and mathematical modeling. 

Research Focus:
Her research focuses on leveraging modeling and simulation to improve drug design and delivery strategies along with opportunities to integrate techniques from model learning and optimization with innovative developments in therapeutic design.

“The Drug Discovery Research Hub is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of translational, biotherapeutic and pharmacologic research forward to accelerate the discovery and development of novel therapeutics," states Donald Mager, PharmD, PhD, chair, department of pharmaceutical sciences. "With the addition of these new hires, the Hub aims to strengthen its position as a global leader in drug discovery research and experimental therapeutics.“

The initiation of the DDDE Hub is predicated on UB SPPS decades long research leadership in pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and systems pharmacology. This long history, along with recent significant school-wide research growth [26% growth in year-to-date research funding per American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy FY 2023 research data], will provide a strong foundation for the school and faculty to continue pioneering research in drug discovery, development and evaluative science.