Accountant I

Fiscal Officer for the R. Ken Coit College of Pharmacy:

Professor Emeritus

Active professionally, John Elliott Murphy III, PharmD, FASHP, FCCP served as president of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP) and of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP).

The prolific author of hundreds of original research, other papers, and several books and has received grants and awards from a variety of organizations.

Research Areas
Clinical Pharmacy
Pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics
Medication safety
Clinical decision-making
Pharmacy education
 

Poison Control Specialist

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Professor, Pharmacy Practice and Science
Residency Program Director
Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases

Dr. Nix is a professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science. He received his BS Pharmacy in 1982 and PharmD in 1984 from the University of Georgia. From 1984-1986, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship in infectious disease pharmacotherapy and pharmacokinetics at the State University of New York at Buffalo.  From 1986 to 1996, he served as program director, antimicrobial research, assistant director, and associate director of the Clinical Pharmacokinetics Laboratory, Millard Fillmore Hospital. Dr.

Computing Sciences Researcher I

Jose F. Oviedo develops AI-driven and HPC-enabled solutions for genomics and epigenetics research. He leads the data team in the Lemos Lab at the University of Arizona, where he builds and manages high-performance computing pipelines, machine learning models, and bioinformatics workflows to support large-scale toxicology, epigenetics, and aging studies. He also frequently collaborates with other researchers and academic institutions worldwide to advance genomic, epigenomic, and aging research.

Assistant Professor, Pharmacology & Toxicology

Diana Pacyga, PhD, MS, is a population health scientist who studies modifiable risk factors that influence health during important stages of life, from pregnancy and early childhood to midlife. Her expertise lies at the intersection of environmental and molecular epidemiology, where she integrates biomarkers of exposure and health to better understand how chemicals affect the body and contribute to differences in health in human populations. Her current research focuses on two areas. The first investigates opportunities to reduce exposure to potentially harmful chemicals through diet.

Assistant Clinical Professor, Pharmacy Practice-Science

Puja Patel, PharmD, is a Board-Certified Oncology Pharmacist and Assistant Professor with expertise in clinical oncology, pharmacy education, and research. She completed PGY1 and PGY2 oncology residency training. She has practiced in the ambulatory oncology setting, with a focus on oral anticancer medications, including patient education and monitoring for adherence and toxicity associated with therapy.

Coordinator, Experiential Education Program

Loretta has a BA in Interpersonal Communication and an MBA both from The University of Arizona in sunny Tucson. She previously worked in the College of Pharmacy from 2013 – 2018 and is excited to return and be a part of the Experiential Education team. As an avid backpacker, Loretta enjoys being outdoors year-round in the southwest and continually finds new and exciting places to explore. She is a long-time member of the Embroiderer's Guild of America and enjoys doing hand embroidery and beadwork in her free time.

Assistant Professor

Kenry joined the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Arizona as an Assistant Professor in Pharmaceutical Sciences in June 2023. Prior to that, he conducted his postdoctoral work at Harvard University, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the University of British Columbia, and the National University of Singapore. Kenry received his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the National University of Singapore and BEng (Electrical and Electronic Engineering) with First Class Honors from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Professor, Pharmacology and Toxicology
BIO5 Institute Professor
Adjunct Faculty, Pharmaceutics & Pharmacokinetics

Dr. Polt is interested in the synthesis of lipids, glycolipids and glycopeptides, and studying their interaction with biological membranes and GPCRs. Applications include Sphingosine Phosphate receptor agonists and antagonists, as well as sphingosine analogues that interfere with the processing and expression of Glycosphingolipids.

Professional Organizations
American Chemical Society

Learning Specialist

Dr. Cyndi Porter Fraser has served in academic pharmacy for over 15 years as an instructor and in various leadership roles focused on student success and academic growth. Throughout her career she has worked in close partnership with faculty, administrators, and students to establish several student-centered initiatives dedicated to enhancing overall academic and personal development by empowering students to achieve life-long goals. Prior to arriving at University of Arizona, Dr.

Professor Emeritus, Pharmacology and Toxicology

G-protein coupled receptors (GPCR) are integral membrane proteins that transduce extracellular hormonal signals from the plasma membrane to the interior of the cell. This large family of receptors is related both structurally and functionally. Structurally, GPCRs share a characteristic "seven transmembrane motif" which means that there are seven regions of the receptor that cross the plasma membrane. Functionally, GPCRs share the ability to interact with so-called ‘G-proteins’ following stimulation of the receptor by a hormonal signal.

Poison Control Specialist, Instructor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assistant Professor, Pharmacology & Toxicology
Member, Coit Center for Longevity & Neurotherapeutics
Member, Bio5 Institute

Kevin Rhine, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology. His lab researches how aging – which is one of the most prevalent risk factors for disease – contributes to the onset of neurodegenerative disorders like ALS, dementia, and Alzheimer’s. The lab also focuses on how RNA and RNA-binding proteins change throughout neuronal aging, leading to runaway protein aggregation, loss-of-function in key RNA pathways, and the accumulation of aberrant RNA molecules.

Procurement Agent II

Purchasing agent for Pharmacology & Toxicology labs:

• Purchase research and teaching supplies, services, and equipment using requisitions, check requests, and purchasing card (PCard).
• Ensures proper coding and compliance with university policies and procedures.
• Assists with tagging and equipment inventory.

Associate Professor

Youssef Roman, PharmD, PhD, is a clinical pharmacist, educator, clinical pharmacologist, and regulatory scientist, dedicated to providing personalized patient care and addressing racial health disparities. Clinical research interests include drug adverse events, drug-drug interactions, population genetics, and genetic epidemiology, with a focus on cardiovascular disease risk factors. My expertise includes implementing pharmacogenomics to optimize the management of cardiometabolic diseases, conducting community-based genetic research, and designing and managing clinical trials.

Research Assistant Professor

Professor
Director, Undergraduate Studies

Dr. Schnellmann teaches medical, graduate, and undergraduate students across several courses at the University of Arizona. 


 

Howard J. Schaeffer Endowed Chair in Pharmaceutical Sciences
Professor, Pharmacology & Toxicology
National Advisory Board Member

Rick G. Schnellmann, PhD, is the Howard J Schaeffer in Pharmaceutical Sciences Endowed Chair. A leading pharmacologist, researcher and drug discovery entrepreneur, he joined the UA in August 2016 from the Medical University of South Carolina.

Assistant Research Professor

Director, Clinical Education

Associate Professor, Pharmacology and Toxicology
Track Director, Pharmacology & Toxicology Graduate Program
Member, BIO5 Institute

Dr. Smith's research is focused on epigenetic mechanisms of gene expression, particularly their regulation through signaling pathways and their modulation by anti-cancer drugs.

Assistant Dean, Finance and Administration

Nick joins the College of Pharmacy with over ten years of higher education financial experience in budgeting, management, and forecasting. He has extensive experience managing all types of funds from state tuition dollars to sponsored activities, as well as building connections across the University to further the mission of the College and the University.

Administration

Instructor, Pharmacy Practice and Science
IPPE Coordinator, Experiential Education

Jenene Spencer is an instructor in the Pharmacy Practice and Science department as well as the IPPE (Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences) coordinator in the Experiential Education department. She prepares first-year students for IPPEs, precepts first-year students during the SOAR (Student and Older Adult Relationship) program at long-term/assisted-living care facilities, trains students for health screening outreach events and coordinates/manages rotation assignments for first-, second- and third-year students.

Program Director, Genetic Counseling Graduate Program
Clinical Instructor, Pharmacy Practice-Science Chris Stallman is a board-certified genetic counselor with experience in cardiovascular and prenatal genetics, teratogen exposures, pre-implantation genetic screening, and pharmacogenetic counseling. She joined MotherToBaby Arizona in 2015 as a Teratogen Information Specialist, and teaches teratology to medical students, residents and other health professionals. In 2018, Ms. Stallman was appointed as Program Coordinator for MotherToBaby Arizona. She also serves as clinical instructor and clinical coordinator for the University of Arizona Genetic Counseling Graduate Program.

Accountant, Senior

Associate Professor, Pharmacology and Toxicology

Sun's research activities are directed toward discovering new agents that are more selective for cancer cells than normal cells with novel mechanisms of action, elucidating the mechanisms of action of novel natural products with antineoplastic activity, and understanding drug resistance mechanisms in human cancer cells to anticancer drugs.  His laboratory's research projects focus on three specific areas, as described below.

Assistant Professor

Assistant Research Professor

For over two decades, Parthasaradhireddy Tanguturi has been engaged in drug discovery and research- preclinical biology efforts towards developing new drugs in the area of pain and addiction, Central Nervous System disorders, Metabolic disorders, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-infectives. The targets of these NIH and Industrial-based projects include GPCRs (serotonin, Opioid, Dopamine), Nuclear hormone receptors, inhibitors of protein-protein interactions, Peptides, and Kinases.

Program Coordinator, Rural Health Professions Program

 

 

Professor, Pharmacology and Toxicology
R. Ken and Donna Coit Endowed Chair in Drug Discovery

Greg Thatcher, PhD, joined the University of Arizona in 2020 from the University of Illinois College of Pharmacy. In his career, he has graduated over 50 students with PhD’s and a dozen with MSc’s and mentored 40 undergraduate researchers, the majority while on faculty in the Chemistry Department at Queen's University in Canada from 1988 until 2002. These trainees have proceeded to positions in biotech, pharma, business, education, and academia in the USA, Canada, Europe, India, and China.

Instructor, Pharmacy Practice & Science
Regional Coordinator, Experiential Education

Dr. Thoi is an instructor in the Pharmacy Practice and Science department as well as the regional coordinator in the Experiential Education department. She co-coordinates the Perspectives in Aging course and serves as the preceptor for students during the S.O.A.R. (Student and Older Adult Relationship) program at long-term/assisted-living care facilities.