Jean Terrier has an MD-PhD training (Swiss National Foundation Federal grant) with a strong background in basic research. He is now working as a junior consultant in internal medicine and clinical pharmacology at Geneva University Hospitals. Of importance, he also holds a degree in Pharmacy. His current area of interest is drug optimization using physiologically-based pharmacokinetic modeling.Inaugural IUPHAR Early Career (EC) Researchers Subcommittee was selected by the IUPHAR Executive Committee from nominations received from IUPHAR member societies.
| Current Members of Early Career Researchers Subcommittee | ||
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Dr. Vanessa Minervini – Chair – (American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics) |
Dr. Minervini currently is an Assistant Professor in the department of Psychological Science at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. Dr. Minervini earned her PhD in psychology at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, USA and then completed a postdoctoral fellowship in pharmacology at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas, USA. Her research evaluates therapeutic (analgesic) and adverse effects of opioid drugs alone and in mixtures. In her free time Dr. Minervini enjoys hiking, traveling, and training her Australian Shepard. |
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Dr. Pravin Prasad – Committee Member – |
Dr. Pravin Prasad is a young medical doctor who received his medical degree (MBBS) in 2013 and Doctor in Medicine (MD) in Clinical Pharmacology in 2018 from Tribhuvan University, Nepal. He is presently working as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Maharajgunj Medical Campus, Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University. He is presently involved in two funded research projects related to liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry as principal investigator. He is also involved in two international vaccine trials developed for COVID-19 under Vaccine Trial Project, Institute of Medicine Tribhuvan University. He has authored ten papers in peer-reviewed journals. He is involved as a reviewer in different medical journals and is also a proposal reviewer for the ethical review board of the Nepal Health Research Council. |
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Dr. Marc Labriffe – Committee Member – |
Dr. Marc Labriffe is a medical doctor in Clinical Pharmacology at the University of Limoges. Prior to this, he completed his residency in clinical biology at Limoges and received a Master degree in Clinical Pharmacology and Epidemiology at Nantes. His research focuses in Therapeutic Drug Monitoring, especially the field of Transplantation and Antimicrobials. He has a special interest in Machine Learning methods to improve follow-up of patients. He currently is an Assistant Professor in the department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmacovigilance at the University Hospital of Limoges. |
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Dr. Belkis Palacio – Committee Member – |
Dr. Belkis Palacio is an epidemiologist with master’s degree in toxicology and candidate to pharmacology doctorate in environmental toxicology at the University of Cartagena, Colombia. She is currently the coordinator of an research center where clinical trials are carried out. Participates as a guest teacher of the Master of Toxicology and Pharmacology at the University of Cartagena. Actively takes part of the Colombian Pharmacology Association ASOCOLFARMA. She has special interest in drugs toxicity and other xenobiotics and the use of predictive models of in-vitro toxicity. |
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Dr. Xiaocong Pang – Committee Member – |
Xiaocong Pang obtained her PhD in Pharmacology from Peking Union Medical College in 2018. She currently works as an assistant professor in Institute of Clinical Pharmacology and Department of Pharmacy, Peking University First Hospital. Her research interests are the mechanism study of anti-tumor drug resistance and tumor metastasis, and discovery of new anti-tumor drugs for unmeet medical needs. She also has a research interest in integrin-related function and signaling pathways. She was granted Science Award for Young Talents of China Association for Science and Technology. She hopes to work with young pharmacologists around the world and contribute to fostering pharmacology together. |
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Dr. Liz Johnstone – Committee Member – |
Liz Johnstone obtained her PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Western Australia (UWA) in 2016. Since then she has been working as a researcher at the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research/UWA Centre for Medical Research where she studies the molecular pharmacology of receptors. In 2017, she spent a year working part time as Senior Project Officer for Accelerating Australia, a consortium dedicated to promoting biomedical innovation and entrepreneurship. In 2021 she was appointed as a Pharmacology Lecturer in the UWA School of Biomedical Sciences, while she continues her research at the Harry Perkins Institute. |
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Dr. Scarpa – Committee Member – |
Dr. Scarpa is a Postdoctoral fellow at Karolinska Institutet (Sweden), investigating novel PET tracers for the detection of biomarkers of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, progressive supranuclear palsy and corticobasal degeneration. She completed her PhD in Translational Pharmacology in 2022 at the University of Glasgow (U.K.), where her research focused on understanding the disease-modifying potential of the M1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor for the treatment of neurodegeneration, employing a mouse model of prion disease. Dr Scarpa has been an active member of the British Pharmacological Society (BPS) since 2017, where she has served as ECR of the Honours & Fellows Panel since 2019. In 2022, Dr Scarpa was awarded the Vogt Prize by BPS for outstanding achievement during postgraduate studies, and the “Italy made me” award by the Embassy of Italy in London and the Association of Italian Scientists in the United Kingdom (AISUK) that recognizes the work of Italian scientists in the U.K. |
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Dr. Samuel Arnold – Committee Member – |
Dr. Samuel Arnold received a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from the University of Colorado in 2009 and obtained a PhD from the University of Washington in 2015. He trained with Dr. Wesley Van Voorhis in the Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the University of Washington, and Dr. Arnold joined the Department of Medicine as an Acting Assistant Professor in 2019. Dr. Arnold currently is an Assistant Professor in the department of Pharmaceutics at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. Dr. Arnold’s research applies principles from drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK) and pharmacology to preclinical and clinical drug development for enteric infectious diseases. |
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Dr. Thomas Velenosi – Committee Member – |
Dr. Velenosi received his PhD in pharmacology and toxicology from Western University, Canada. He is currently an Assistant Professor in the University of British Columbia Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences. His research is focused at the intersection of pharmacology and metabolomics, using pharmacometabolomics to deepen our understanding of drug treatment response and toxicity during cancer therapy. Dr. Velenosi is also the chair of the Canadian Society of Pharmacology and Therapeutics Scientific Programming Committee. |
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Dr. Iftekhar Hossain Chowdhury – Committee Member – |
Dr. Iftekhar Hossain Chowdhury is a medical doctor who received his medical degree (MBBS) in 2009 and Doctor of Medicine (MD) in Pharmacology in 2023 from Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Bangladesh.He is presently working as an medical officer at Director General of Heath Service, Bangladesh. He has special interest in drug repurposing and its toxicological implications in cancer anorexia cachexia patients.Iftekhar is currently a member of Bangladesh Society of Pharmacology. |
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Dr. Celia MJ Matayanga – Committee Member – |
Celia MJ Matyanga is a pharmacist, completed her MSc Clinical Pharmacology at the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) in 2012. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Clinical Pharmacokinetics, investigating the interactions between antiretrovirals and traditional medicines in people living with HIV/ AIDS. She works as a lecturer in the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, UZ. Her research interests are in pharmacokinetics and traditional medicines. As a pharmacist, she is passionate about improving the practice of pharmacy to optimize drug therapy. She is an awardee of the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science and various awards stated here: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9799-136X She hopes to collaborate with and mentor young pharmacologists from around the world to enhance pharmaceutical care. |
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Dr. Hong Yong – Committee Member – |
Hong Yong received his PhD in Medicine (immuno-pharmacology) from National University of Singapore in 2017. He completed his Postdoctoral Fellowship at Harvard Medical School in 2022, and is currently an Instructor at Harvard Medical School and Investigator at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (USA). He has a co-appointment as a Senior Tutor in the Department of Pharmacology at Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (Singapore). His research interests are developing pre-clinical animal models, the resolution of inflammation, and investigating the use of specialized pro-resolving mediators, vitamin E tocotrienols, and natural products as potential therapies in asthma, COPD, lung injury and wound healing on the skin. Pharmacology is a critical field required in tackling current medical needs, and he wishes to inspire young pharmacologists, as well as promoting the field of pharmacology. |
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Dr. Ahmet Altun – Committee Member – |
Ahmet Altun received his medical degree in 2005 and started his Pharmacology residency at the Sivas Cumhuriyet University Medical School, Turkey. He received his medical specialty degree in Pharmacology in 2010. He is currently a full professor in the Department of the Sivas Cumhuriyet University Medical School and runs a cancer research laboratory. He is also Vice Dean of the Medical Faculty. He has authored 54 papers in peer-reviewed international journals, along with 17 articles published in national peer-reviewed journals. He is currently an active member of the executive committee of the Turkish Pharmacological Society. |
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Dr. Andrea Kliewer – Committee Member – |
Dr. Andrea Kliewer is a biologist/pharmacologist and a young research group leader in neuropharmacology at the University Hospital Jena in Germany. In her group she is focusing on opioids and cannabinoids on the molecular and behavior level. Furthermore, she holds a Master’s degree in Personal, Business and Research Coaching and Consulting. Since 2016 she is active as consultant on issues of good scientific practice and research integrity. |
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Dr. Gilda Angela Neves – Committee Member – |
Dr. Neves is an Associated Professor of Pharmacology at the Institute of Biomedical Sciences of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and a Master’s and Ph.D. advisor in the Graduate Program of Pharmacology and Medicinal Chemistry at the same University in Brazil. Dr. Neves is a pharmacist with a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. She completed a two-year post-doctoral period in Neurosciences and Neuropharmacology at the University of Pittsburgh, USA. Her research studies risk factors for developing neuropsychiatric disorders (Schizophrenia and Depression) in animal models, searching for novel therapeutical targets. In her free time, Dr. Neves plays the flute in a group of Brazilian Popular Music (Choro), enjoys running, reading science fiction novels, and traveling. |
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Dr. Jean Terrier – Committee Member – |
Jean Terrier has an MD-PhD training (Swiss National Foundation Federal grant) with a strong background in basic research. He is now working as a junior consultant in internal medicine and clinical pharmacology at Geneva University Hospitals. Of importance, he also holds a degree in Pharmacy. His current area of interest is drug optimization using physiologically-based pharmacokinetic modeling. |
| Previous Members of Early Career Researchers Subcommittee | ||
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Dr. Aisah Aubdool – Chair – (British Pharmacological Society) |
Aisah Aubdool is a postdoctoral research fellow at the William Harvey Research Institute, where she studies the role of C-type natriuretic peptide in angiogenesis and vascular remodelling in the lab of Prof. Adrian Hobbs. Prior to this, she graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Pharmacology and completed her PhD in Cardiovascular Medical Research under the mentorship of Prof. Susan Brain at King’s College London. Aisah is currently the Chair of the IUPHAR EC Researchers Committee, BPS’ Public Engagement & Policy Committee member, Pharmacology Matters Editor and the BPS Ambassador Coordinator. |
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Dr. Raffaele Coppini – Committee Member – (Italian Pharmacological Society) |
Raffaele Coppini received his medical degree in 2007 and his PhD in Pharmacology and Toxicology in 2011 at the University of Florence, Italy. He received medical specialty degree in Clinical Pharmacology in 2016. He is currently a staff scientist in the Department NeuroFarBa of the University of Florence and runs a laboratory of cardiac cell electrophysiology. He has authored over 40 papers in peer-reviewed international journals. He is a long-term member of the European Society of Cardiology, the Italian Cardiology Society and the Italian Pharmacological Society. |
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Dr. Sanseray da Silveira Cruz-Machado – Committee Member – (Brazilian Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics) |
Sanseray da Silveira Cruz-Machado received his bachelor´s degree in Physical Therapy from the Centro Universitário de Itajubá (Brazil) and earned his Ph.D in Physiology at the University of Sao Paulo (Brazil). He serves on the Board of the Brazilian Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (SBFTE) (2016-2021). His research was pioneer to disclose how inflammatory molecules switches the sources of melatonin production during the activation of the Immune-Pineal Axis. His research now focusses in chronopharmacological approaches for modulating energy metabolism and the role of melatonin receptors in the regulation of immunometabolic responses along with the gain of body weight in both rodent and human models |
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Dr ‘Makhotso Lekhooa – Committee Member – Subcommittee engagement officer (South African Society of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology) |
Dr Lekhooa is a senior lecturer in pharmacology at the North West University, Potchefstroom campus. She is involved in teaching and research Ethnopharmacology and neuropsychiatric. She serves as a reviewer on the complementary medicines sub-committee of South African Health products regulatory agency of the National departmental of health. Dr Lekhooa is also active on pharmacological forums at national (Secretary General of South African society of basic and clinical pharmacology), continental (Liaison of Pharmacology for Africa initiative). |
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Assoc. Prof. Volker Lauschke – Committee Member – (Swedish Society for Pharmacology, Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics) |
Obtained his Ph.D. from the EMBL and the Combined Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics of the University of Heidelberg for work on tissue patterning based on phase gradient-encoding using molecular oscillators. In 2014, he moved to Karolinska Institutet (KI) as a MarieCurie fellow and became Associate Professor of Personalized Medicine and Drug Development in 2018. His research group uses 3D cell culture systems of primary human cells, microfluidics and integrative bioinformatics approaches to develop better model systems for prediction of drug toxicity and to identify novel therapeutic strategies for complex metabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes. In addition, his lab develops pharmacogenomic algorithms to improve personalized pharmacological therapy. |
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Dr Udeme Owunari Georgewill MBBCh, Ph.D. Pharmacology – Committee Member – (West African Society for Pharmacology) |
Is a medical doctor, Senior Lecturer and acting Head of the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. She has special interest in drug repurposing and its toxicological implications. She was nominated to the committee on the platform of the West African Society of Pharmacology. She is married with children. | |
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Dr Ye Htut Linn – Committee Member – (Myanmar Pharmacology Society) |
Is an Assistant Lecturer at the Department of Pharmacology, University of Medicine 1, Yangon, Myanmar. He was trained as a medical doctor (2012) and received his Masters degree in 2017. His areas of interest are probiotics, bioequivalence, therapeutic drug monitoring and drug utilization. |
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Dr. Vanessa Minervini – Committee Member – (American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics) |
Dr. Minervini earned her masters and PhD in psychology at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL. She then completed a postdoctoral fellowship in pharmacology at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, TX. As a postdoctoral fellow she received NIH funding to evaluate therapeutic (analgesic) and adverse effects of opioid drugs alone and in mixtures and found that opioid mixtures could effectively treat pain in the absence of adverse effects. Dr. Minervini currently is an Assistant Professor in the department of Psychological Science at Creighton University in Omaha, NE. |
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Dr. Seunghoon Han – Committee Member – (Korean Society of Pharmacology) |
Seunghoon Han is an Assistant Professor at the Catholic University of Korea. The main area of research is drug development and pharmacotherapy optimization and is participating in the first and the only pharmacometrics institute in Korea as a faculty member. Prior to this, he completed PhD in Clinical Pharmacology under the supervision of Prof. Dong-Seok Yim at the Catholic University of Korea. Seunghoon is currently a member of the Korean Society of Pharmacology, the Korean Society of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. | |
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Dr. Gabriel Chin Kok-Yong – Committee Member – (Malaysian Society of Pharmacology and Physiology) |
Dr Kok-Yong Chin obtained his Biomedical Science degree in 2006 and PhD (Pharmacology) in 2015 from University Kebangsaan Malaysia. He currently serves as a senior lecturer in the Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University Kebangsaan Malaysia. He has a research interest in the actions of vitamin E on the musculoskeletal system and the epidemiology of bone health among the Malaysian population. He was awarded the Young Scientist Award by Malaysian Society of Pharmacology and Physiology in 2018. |
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Dr. Hong Yong Peh – Committee Member – (Pharmacology Society of Singapore) |
Hong Yong received his PhD in Medicine (immuno-pharmacology) from National University of Singapore in 2017. He is currently co-appointed as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital (USA), and a Senior Tutor in the Department of Pharmacology at Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (Singapore). His research interests are developing pre-clinical animal models, and the use of vitamin E tocotrienols and specialized pro-resolving mediators as potential therapies in asthma, COPD, lung injury and wound healing on the skin. Pharmacology is a critical field required in tackling current medical needs, and he wishes to inspire young pharmacologists, as well as promoting the field of pharmacology. |
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Dr. Christina Perez-Tornero – Committee Member – (Spanish Society of Pharmacology) |
Christina completed undergraduate studies on Pharmacy at the University of Seville (Spain) in 2011 and completed a PhD on the protective effects of rice bran diet supplementation on atherosclerosis development. Christina is now undertaking post-doctoral studies with Professor Adrian Hobbs’ investigating the role of CNP in cardiovascular related diseases. |
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Dr. Simon Foster – Committee Member – (Australiasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxicologists) |
Dr. Simon Foster is a Senior Research Officer at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute and is an Adjunct Research Fellow at Monash University and an Honorary Fellow at the University of Queensland. After receiving his PhD (University of Queensland) in 2014, Simon led a large project on orphan GPCRs at University of Copenhagen, where he was supported by consecutive Postdoctoral fellowships from the Lundbeck Foundation and the Danish Council for Independent Research. He returned to Australia in 2018 to Monash University, and then joined the Cardiac Bioengineering (Hudson) Group at QIMR Berghofer in late 2020. Simon is now combining his research interests in cardiovascular pharmacology, cell signalling and drug discovery with the powerful cardiac organoid platform pioneered in the Hudson lab. Simon has been an active member of ASCEPT since 2005 and currently serves on the board of ASCEPT as the IUPHAR EC Researchers Committee representative. |
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Dr. Maha Abdollah – Ex Committee Member – (Egyptian Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics) |
Dr Maha R.A. Abdollah graduated from the Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt in 2006. She received her Masters degree in Cancer (MSc Cancer) from University College London (UCL) in London, UK in 2011. She completed PhD in 2016, and is now a lecturer of pharmacology at the British University in Egypt (BUE) where she is also currently doing research involving hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and drug repositioning. | |
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Dr. Carl White – Ex Chair (2018-2020) – (Australasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxicologists)
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Dr. Carl White was awarded is PhD in Pharmacology from Monash University in 2013. He is currently an NHMRC CJ Martin early career research fellow based at the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, University of Western Australia and University of Nottingham. He is a molecular pharmacologist investigating the effect of GPCR dimerization using genome-editing and BRET based biophysical techniques. Carl has been an active member of ASCEPT since 2008 and currently serves on the executive boards of IUPHAR and ASCEPT as the young investigator member. |
