Dr. Wang is an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, University of Arizona. He works in the field of cancer biology, molecular biology, toxicology, pharmacology and drug discovery. He is interested in RNA binding proteins under physiological and pathological conditions.

Areas of Research:

RNA binding proteins and RNA metabolism
RNA binding proteins in cancer
Environmental factor related carcinogenesis

Dr. Wang received his doctorate in organic chemistry from North Carolina State University in Raleigh and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in chemistry at the UA. Before joining the UA, he was a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Dr. Wang is in the top 5 percent of authors cited in the field of chemistry with an h-index of 70, an indicator of his productivity and influence in research.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most prevalent form of dementia characterized by neuronal loss in the neocortex and hippocampus. Parkinson's disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's disease due to the progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. Frontotemporal dementia is the second most common form of early-onset dementia caused by neuronal loss in the frontal and temporal cortex. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is the most common motor disease characterized by progressive motor neuron degeneration in brain stem and spinal cord.

Dr. Watts is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, and managing Co-Director of the Genomics lab within the SWEHSC Omics Facility Core. Dr. Watts facilitates genomics research by SWEHSC members through consultation on experimental design and technology choice. He has over 20 years of experience in research on the environmental effects of epigenetics, genomics, and the microbiome. Dr. Watts has been collaborating with SWEHSC investigators for over 20 years on genomics projects resulting in over 20 collaborative authorships.

Dr. Wheeler has over 25 years of experience in research in designing algorithms, statistical models, and software for problems motivated by biological data. Projects in his research group range from statistical modeling of biological sequence families, to text indexing and bounded search algorithms, to low-level software optimization, to Deep Neural Networks and Natural Language Processing and related Machine Learning methods, to development of databases and accompanying web services.

Georg Wondrak, PhD, is a professor of pharmacology and toxicology within the R. Ken Coit College of Pharmacy. 

Awards:

• R Ken Coit College of Pharmacy Basic Sciences Teacher of the Year 2023
  • Spring 2023
• 2020 University of Arizona College of Pharmacy Dr. James R. Halpert Faculty Research Award
  • COP, Fall 2020

Redox Drug Discovery Targeting Skin Cancer and Solar Photodamage

The Xiong lab is focused on the structure-based design of bioactive molecules to modulate disease-causing proteins or genes. We use modern molecular biology tools to develop biochemical, biophysical, and cellular assays to screen and optimize molecules for various therapeutic targets. Our projects also heavily utilize X-ray crystallography and computational modeling to guide molecule design. Two novel molecules developed from this pipeline successfully entered human clinical trials for treating advanced breast cancer (NCT03201913: Xiong R., et al., J Med Chem.

Samuel Yalkowsky, PhD, serves as professor of pharmaceutical sciences, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology. His current work involves basic research about the relationships between chemical structure and physical phenomena, such as solubility, partitioning, and melting.

Degree: PhD Candidate
rogram: Pharmacology and Toxicology
Track: Pharmacology and Toxicology
Faculty Mentor: Patrick T Ronaldson, PhD
Year Enrolled: 2017
Training Grant: T32 Pre-doctoral Trainee

Beth Zerr, PharmD, BCACP, is an assistant clinical professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice at the R. Ken Coit College of Pharmacy. At the Coit College of Pharmacy, she co-coordinates Self Care, Pharmacotherapeutics, and Pharmacotherapeutics courses. She practices as an ambulatory care provider with BANNER HEALTH, PHOENIX, as part of the Centralized Services team. Her practices focuses on managing patients with diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular risk factors.

Qing-Yu Zhang, PhD and professor, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology—studies the function of intestinal P450 enzymes in drug metabolism and safety. Her research investigates the effects of physiological, pathological and environmental factors on drug bioavailability and chemical toxicity, providing strategies to improve therapeutics and prevent diseases. She is a member of the Southwest Envirnomental Health Sciences Center.