Members & Alumni

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Ana Lopez Medina, PharmD/PhD student 2019-Present

• Project: "Genomics of Drug-Induced QT Prolongation"
• Winner: 2024 3-Minute Thesis Competition held by the Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research
• NIH T32 Fellowship from the Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research
• Selected as a Scholar for the American Heart Association's National Hispanic Latino Cardiovascular Collaborative (NHLCC)
• Publication: "The genetics of drug-induced QT prolongation: evaluating the evidence for pharmacodynamic variants"
• Publication: "QT prolongation with hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin for the treatment of COVID-19: The need for pharmacogenetic insights

Shana Littleton, PhD student 2021-Present

• Project: "How social determinants of health affect pharmacogenetic associations in black and white patients with heart failure"
• Selected for the Bouchet Honor Society
• Winner: 2024 Martin Luther King, Jr. Spirit Award
• NIH F31 Funded Fellowship: Addressing the Racial Disparity of Angiotensin Inhibitor Benefit in HFrEF Hospitalizations: Distinguishing Genomic and Social Factors 
• Travel Award for the 2024 ASCPT Annual Meeting

Jenny Shang, PharmD Class of 2024

• PharmD Investigation (PDI) Project: "Compare the reduction in the risk for hospitalizations associated with beta-blockers in self-identified Black and White patients with HFrEF"

Jessica Orizu, PharmD Class of 2025

• PharmD Investigation (PDI) Project: "Comparison of Survival Benefit from Angiotensin Inhibitors in Black and White Patients with Heart Failure and Ejection Fraction <50%"

Wesley Wright, PharmD Class of 2025

• PharmD Investigation (PDI) Project: "Comparison of Survival Benefit from Angiotensin Inhibitors in Black and White Patients with Heart Failure and Ejection Fraction <50%"

Vy Lam, PharmD Class of 2026

• PharmD Investigation (PDI) Project: "Polygenic Risk Score for Predicting Statin-Induced Myopathy"

Noel Yiadom, PharmD Class of 2026

• PharmD Investigation (PDI) Project: "Polygenic Risk Score for Predicting Statin-Induced Myopathy in Underrepresented Individuals"

Lauren Aragones, University of Michigan, Class of 2026

• Project: "Polygenic Risk Score for Predicting Statin-Induced Myopathy"

Isabella Volkers, University of Michigan, Class of 2025

• Project: "Genetics of Drug-Induced Arrythmias"
• Project: "Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing"

Juliet Jacoby, University of Michigan, Class of 2023

• Project: "Bleeding Risk on DOACs: Identification of Genetic Risk Factors and Polygenic Predictive Score in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation"
• Project: "Polygenic CAD score in predicting ASCVD"

Alessandra M. Campos-Staffico, RPh, PhD Post-Doctoral Fellow 2020-2023

• Funded NIH Grant F32HL162231 "Bleeding on Direct Oral Anticoagulants: Identification of Genetic Risk Factors and a Polygenic Predictive Score in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation"
• Publication "Eight pharmacokinetic genetic variants are not associated with the risk of bleeding from direct oral anticoagulants in non-valvular atrial fibrillation patients"
• Top Trainee Poster Award at the Pharmacogenomics Global Research Network (PGRN) 2021 Annual Meeting
• Publication "Fewer patients receive recommendations for pharmacotherapy in primary prevention using the 2018 atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk estimator"
• Publication "Comparative performance of the two pooled cohort equations for predicting atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease"
• Funded MICHR Postdoctoral Translational Scholar Award for "Bleeding Risk on DOACs: Identification of Genetic Risk Factors and Polygenic Predictive Score in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation" 
• Publication: "QT prolongation with hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin for the treatment of COVID-19: The need for pharmacogenetic insights"
• Abstract accepted for poster presentation at the 2020 ACCP meeting: "Fewer Patients Receive Recommendations for Primary Drug Prevention Using the 2018 Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk Estimator"

Tk Nguyen, PharmD Class of 2023

• PharmD Investigation (PDI) Project: "Factors Associated with Recovery in Anthracycline-Induced Cardiomyopathy”
• Selected for the 2023 Kristen L. McGlone Research Award for Excellence in PharmD Research

Jared Shinners, PharmD Class of 2023

• PharmD Investigation (PDI) Project: "Proportion of patients with statin-associated muscle symptoms that are able to continue statin therapy"

Andrew Barbish, PharmD Class of 2022

• ​PharmD Seminar Topic: "Race vs Ancestry in Cardiovascular Drug Response"

Jonathan Kim, MPH student, Class of 2021

• Capstone Project: "Association of CYP3A5*3 with Bleeding Risk in Patients on DOACs"

Joseph English, PharmD Class of 2021

• PharmD Investigation (PDI) Project: "Machine Learning to Discover Novel Drug-Drug-Gene Interactions Associated With Discontinuation of Atorvastatin Due to Muscle Symptoms"
• Publication: "Association of SLCO1B1 c.521T>C (rs4149056) with discontinuation of atorvastatin due to statin-associated muscle symptoms"
• Publication: "Association of Valproic Acid Use With Post-Myocardial Infarction Heart Failure Development: A Meta-Analysis of Two Retrospective Case-Control Studies"
• Accepted for MICHR Summer Immersion Program in 2018
• Publication: "Association of Genetic Polymorphisms in the Beta-1 Adrenergic Receptor with Recovery of Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction in Patients with Heart Failure"

Wilson Chen, PharmD Class of 2021

• PharmD Invesitgation (PDI) Project: "Does Supplementation With Coenzyme Q10 Resolve Statin-Associated Muscle Symptoms?"
• Publication: "Coenzyme Q10 supplementation for the treatment of statin-associated muscle symptoms"
• Poster presented at ASHP Midyear 2020

Derek Linskey, PharmD Class of 2021

• Published PharmD Investigation (PDI) Project: "Association of SLCO1B1 T521C (rs4149056) with Discontinuation of Atorvastatin Therapy Due to Muscle Symptoms" 
• Publication: "The need to shift pharmacogenetic research from candidate gene to genome-wide association studies"
• Won Honorable Mention for poster presentation at the 2020 Pharmacogenomics Research Network "How often do pharmacogenomic GWAS discover novel variants and genes versus confirm previously known candidates?"
• Selected to give Early Career Research in Progress seminar for the Pharmacogenomics Research Network 

Anthony Mack, PharmD Class of 2022

• ​PharmD Seminar Topic: "Polygenic Risk Scores in Pharmacogenomics"

Ozioma Edokobi, PharmD/PhD Class of 2026

• Project: "Racial Disparity in ACE inhibitor/ARB Response in Patients with Heart Failure and Reduced Ejection Fraction"
• Publication: "Survival Association of Angiotensin Inhibitors in Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction: Comparisons Using Self-Identified Race and Genomic Ancestry"
• Accepted for 2020 MICHR Summer Immersion Program

Rebekah Mahoney, PharmD Class of 2020

• PharmD Invesitgation (PDI) Project: "Machine Learning to Discover Novel Drug-Drug Interactions Associated With Statin Associated Muscle Symptoms"
• Abstract accepted for podium presentation at the 2019 American Pharmacists Association Annual Meeting and published in the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association
• Featured in article "Student Researchers Shine in Seattle" 

Melinda Cook, PharmD Class of 2020

• PharmD Invesitgation (PDI) Project: "The Relationship Between Beta Blocker Dose and the rs11196454 Genetic Variant and Survival in African American Patients with Heart Failure"
• Poster presented at the 2019 ASHP Midyear Meeting

Alexander Smith, PharmD Class of 2020

• PharmD Seminar Topic: "Pharmacogenomics GWAS: Where Are We Now?"

Tyler Shugg, PharmD, PhD, Post-Doctoral Fellow 2018-2019

• Publication: "Comparison of clinical pharmacogenetic recommendations across therapeutic areas"
• Abstract presented as a poster at the American College of Cardiology 2019 Meeting: "Genome-Wide Association Study of Mortality Benefit from Beta-Blockers in Patients With Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction"
• Abstract accepted for poster presentation, oral presentation, travel award, and continuing education at the American College of Clinical Pharmacy 2019 Meeting: "Discrepancies in Clinical Guidance to Manage Drug-Gene Interactions: Analysis of Recommendations from Prominent U.S. Guidance Sources"
• Publication: "Association of Cardiac-Specific Regulatory Genetic Variants for Protein Kinase C α with Mortality in Patients with Heart Failure"
• Publication: "Prevalence and Types of Inconsistencies in Clinical Pharmacogenetic Recommendations Among Major U.S. Sources"

Daniel Perry, MD, Residency Research Project 2018-2019

• Abstract accepted for podium presentation at the Michigan Medicine Department of Internal Medicine Research Symposium: "Atorvastatin may be Associated with a Lower Risk of Discontinuation due to Muscle Pain and/or Weakness Compared with Other Statins"
• Publication: "Association of SLCO1B1 c.521T>C (rs4149056) with discontinuation of atorvastatin due to statin-associated muscle symptoms"
• Project: "Precision Medicine for the Recovery of Anthracycline-Induced Cardiotoxicity: A Pharmacogenetic Investigation of Carvedilol" (manuscript in preparation)

Christopher Ting, MD, Residency Research Project 2018-2019

• Publication: "Association of Cardiac-Specific Regulatory Genetic Variants for Protein Kinase C α with Mortality in Patients with Heart Failure"
• Abstract accepted for podium presentation at the Heart Failure Society of America 2018 Meeting: "A Cardiac-Specific Regulatory Genetic Variant for Protein Kinase C α is Significantly Associated with Mortality in Patients with Heart Failure"

Bradley Kay, MD, Residency Research Project 2018-2019

• Project: "Precision Medicine for the Recovery of Anthracycline-Induced Cardiotoxicity: A Pharmacogenetic Investigation of Carvedilol" (manuscript in preparation)  

Bianca London, PharmD Class of 2019

• Publication: "Prevalence and Types of Inconsistencies in Clinical Pharmacogenetic Recommendations Among Major U.S. Sources"

Ming-Hei Tai, PharmD Class of 2019

• PharmD Seminar Topic: "The Heart of War: HFpEF vs HFrEF"

Jason Cheung, PharmD Class of 2018

• Published PharmD Seminar Topic: "Does cardiology hold pharmacogenetics to an inconsistent standard? A comparison of evidence among recommendations"

Pauline Kim, PharmD Class of 2018

• PharmD Seminar Topic: "Clinical Controversy: Are Pharmacogenetic Tests Held to a Higher Standard than Other Genetic Tests?"