January 5, 2015

It is the College’s pleasure to announce that Dr. Haojie Zhu has been selected to receive a 2015 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) New Investigator Award.

The AACP New Investigator Award Program provides start-up funding for new pharmacy faculty’s research programs. Each grant is awarded to individual faculty starting their academic careers at U.S. colleges and schools of pharmacy that are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and whose institution is a regular institutional member of AACP.

“Haojie is one of our terrific new faculty and we are thrilled by this recognition of his research. Obtaining peer-reviewed funding is a hallmark of excellence,” states Karen Farris, Charles R. Walgreen III Professor of Pharmacy Administration and Associate Chair for Professional and Graduate Education, Department of Clinical Pharmacy.

Dr. Zhu is currently Assistant Professor of Pharmacy in the Clinical Pharmacy Department at the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy.

Dr. Zhu graduated from the China Pharmaceutical University with a major in Pharmacy, and further received his MS and PhD in Pharmacology from there as well. He holds an MBA from Nanjing University. Dr. Zhu also completed his post-doctoral training in Pharmacogenomics, Pharmacokinetics, and Neuropsychopharmacology at the Medical University of South Carolina.

Dr. Zhu’s research focuses on identifying both genetic variations and environmental factors that impact pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of various therapeutic agents. He is also interested in studying genetic regulation of drug-metabolizing enzymes and transporters utilizing a novel proteomics method recently developed in his Lab. His work will help us better understand interindividual variability in pharmacotherapy, and develop a more personalized approach to maximize efficacy while minimizing the risk of adverse effects of drug therapy.  

Prior to joining the U-M College of Pharmacy in July 2013, Dr. Zhu was a Research Assistant Professor in the Center for Pharmacogenomics and the Department of Pharmacotherapy and Translational Research in the University of Florida College of Pharmacy.

The 2015 AACP New Investigator Award will be presented to Dr. Zhu at the AACP Annual Meeting from July 23-27, 2016.

“I am delighted to receive this AACP New Investigator Award. This award will help us understand how genetic variations may affect therapeutic outcomes of many medications metabolized by the primary hepatic hydrolase carboxylesterase 1, such as clopidogrel and methylphenidate,” adds Dr. Zhu.

More information about this award can be found at the AACP website.

Learn more: Haojie Zhu’s Lab Website