Chair
Elmer J. Gentry, Ph.D. is the Associate Dean of Pharmacy Academic Affairs and Chair, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences for the Chicago State University College of Pharmacy (CSU-COP). Dr. Gentry received his B.S. from Missouri Western State College (1993 in Chemistry) and M.S. (1996) and Ph.D. (1999) in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Kansas. He served on the faculty at Midwestern University, College of Pharmacy-Glendale from 1999-2007.
He was named the 2007 Teacher of the Year for both the first and second year pharmacy classes at the College of Pharmacy-Glendale. Additionally he has received the Edgar C. Little Outstanding Chemistry Graduate Award from Missouri Western State College, the Pharmacy Graduate Student Honors Symposium Award from the University of Kansas, and an American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education Pre-doctoral fellowship from 1997-1999. He was honored as the National Advisor of the Year runner-up by the Phi Delta Chi pharmacy fraternity.
Dr. Gentry is a member of numerous scientific and professional organizations and has served as the Chair of the Section of Teachers of Chemistry of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. His research interests include: synthetic manipulation of antimicrobial agents to modulate potency and spectrum of activity, use of combinatorial chemistry for drug discovery and development, and improving delivery of science courses for professional and pre-professional students.
Faculty
Ehab A. Abourashed, M.S., Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Chicago State University College of Pharmacy (CSU-COP) and is a graduate of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Egypt. He has a Master's Degree in Organic Chemistry from the University of Tennessee, and a Ph.D. in Pharmacognosy from the University of Mississippi. Before joining CSU, Dr. Abourashed was a Lecturing Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy; a Senior Research Scientist at GlaxoSmithKline, New Jersey; Associate Professor of Pharmacognosy at King Saud University, Riyadh; and Director of Quality Assurance at ElSohly Labs, Inc. in Mississippi. Dr. Abourashed is also an Adjunct Research Associate Professor at the University of Mississippi’s National Center for Natural Products Research (NCNPR).
Dr. Abourashed's research interests include isolation, structure elucidation and microbial transformation of biologically active natural products; phyto/bioanalytical method development; and phytopharmacology of medicinal plants and herbal dietary supplements. Dr. Abourashed is currently investigating the psychopharmacology of nutmeg, the biological activities of milk thistle, and the antitubercular potentiating properties of selected natural phenolics and sesquiterpenes.
Dr. Abourashed is a member of the American Society of Pharmacognosy, The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, the Rho Chi Pharmacy Honor Society and the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. His name is also included in Who’s Who in the World 2006. Dr. Abourashed has published more than 30 research papers in peer reviewed journals and is a regular reviewer for the Journal of Natural Products, Planta Medica, Chromatographia and many others. He is also the coauthor of the 3rd edition of ‘Leung’s Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients Used in Food, Drugs, and Cosmetics’. Additional information at http://www.linkedin.com/in/abourashed.
Adesuyi A Leslie Ajayi, M.D., Ph.D., is a Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, at Chicago State University College of Pharmacy (CSU-COP). He was Professor of Biomedical Science, in the Department Health Studies, College of Health Sciences at Chicago State University (2007-2008). Dr Ajayi is also currently an adjunct Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston Texas. He obtained his MD at the University of Ife in Nigeria in 1980, and his PhD from the Glasgow University, Scotland, United Kingdom in 1985.
Dr Ajayi is a trained internist and cardiologist and Fellow of the West African College of Physicians. He was Professor and Chair of Medicine at the Obafemi Awolowo University (previously University of Ife, ile-ife, Nigeria) from 1992-1999. Dr Ajayi was a Wellcome Trust Fellow at the University of Nottingham, Queen’s Medical Center, England ( 1991-2) and a Merck international Fellow in clinical pharmacology at the Department of Medicine, Medical university of South Carolina, Charleston SC (1992-94). He also was a Visiting professor and Senior Scientist at the NIH funded Center for Cardiovascular Diseases at Texas Southern University (1999-2004), and Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology at Ross University School of Medicine at the Common Wealth of Dominica.
Dr Ajayi’s research interest is in cardiovascular pharmacology& pathophysiology, thrombosis, and endocrine regulation of the endothelium upon which he has published many peer- reviewed journal articles. He is an elected Fellow of the British Pharmacological Society (FBPharmacolS), and Editorial board member of the journals Current Diabetes Review and the Open Journal of Heart Failure. Dr Ajayi has authored 4 books including Diaspora Medicine (2001) and Immigration and Health (2008).
Duc P. Do, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Chicago State University College of Pharmacy (CSU-COP). Prior to joining CSU-COP, Dr. Do was Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM), School of Pharmacy. He received his B.S. from the University of Georgia and his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences (Pharamceutics) from Mercer University, College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences. His research interests are in the areas of drug delivery systems, dosage form formulation, and microencapsulation technology. Dr. Do has published several peer-reviewed journal articles in these areas. He is copy editor for the journal European Journal of Chemistry and has served as a reviewer for several scientific journals.
Dr. Do is a member of several scientific and professional organizations, including the Rho Chi Pharmacy Honor Society, the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS), and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).
Abir El-Alfy, B. Pharm., M.S., Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Chicago State University College of Pharmacy (CSU-COP) and is a graduate of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Egypt. She has a Master's Degree in Microbiology from the University of Mississippi, and a Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the University of Mississippi. Before joining CSU, Dr. El-Alfy was an Assistant Professor of Pharmacology, as well as the Director of the Behavioral Neuroscience Core-NPN at the School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi.
Dr. El-Alfy's research interest fall in two categories: 1) establishing the molecular mechanisms underlying the neurotoxicity of acrylamide in both young and adult animal models and 2) understanding the role of the endocannabinoid system in neuropsychiatric disorders as depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic disorder. The ultimate goal of his research is to develop novel drugs that prevent/treat the acrylamide-induced neurotoxicity as well as develop new therapeutic targets for the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders.
Dr. El-Alfy has been teaching in Pharmacy Schools for over 10 years. Her teaching experiences span basic physiology and biochemistry to pharmacology and toxicity, clinical pharmacology and toxicology, as well as advance graduate courses.
Dr. El-Alfy's is a member of The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, The American Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, the American Society of Pharmacognosy, the Rho Chi Pharmacy Honor Society, and the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. Dr. El-Alfy has published more than 20 research papers in peer reviewed journals and is a regular reviewer for the Journal of Diabetes Complications, Planta Medica, Journal of Advanced Research, and many others. She holds one patent on developing indole compounds as antidepressant medication, and another patent is currently under review. Dr. El-Alfy has presented her research extensively in regional, national, as well as international meetings. She has won several awads including a small NIH grant to examine the neurotoxic effects of acrylamide as well as an NIH COBRE junior investigator grant to examine the mechanism of antidepressant action of cannabinoids.
Nadeem Fazal, M.D, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Chicago State University College of Pharmacy (CSU-COP). He received his MD (1987) from King Edward Medical University, Lahore, and PhD (1994) in Immunology from The University of Birmingham, England. He completed his Post-doctoral training (1996-98), Fellowship (1999-2000) and later served as Faculty (2001-04) at Burn and Shock Trauma Institute Loyola University Chicago.
Dr. Fazal began his teaching career on the faculty (1987-96) at the Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Rawalpindi Medical College, Rawalpindi. He also served as faculty (2005-07) at Department of Biological Sciences at Chicago State University. His latest teaching assignment was as Professor, Department of Microbiology at King Faisal University, Dammam, KSA.
Dr. Fazal is a member of numerous scientific and professional organizations. He has received President’s and Young Scientist Award from Societies of General Microbiology (SGM), American Society for Microbiology (ASM) and British Society for Immunology (BSI). He was also a recipient of Rowtham Bequest Award from The University of Birmingham. His research interests include investigating mechanisms of cellular immune responses to acute injury/infection and drugs modulating such host responses. He has published more than 30 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Dr. Fazal’s outstanding achievements have led to his inclusion in Marquis Who’s Who® in America in the forthcoming 2009 Edition.
Mohammad Newaz MD, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Chicago State University College of Pharmacy (CSU-COP). Before joining CSU Dr. Newaz was Associate Professor / senior Scientist and Head of Hypertension Unit in the Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Texas Southern University, Houston, Texas. Dr. Newaz received his MD from University of Chittagong, Bangladesh (1992) and PhD from the National University of Malaysia (1998). He has held faculty positions at the University of Science and Technology Chittagong, Bangladesh, National University of Malaysia and International Islamic University Malaysia before joining the Center for Cardiovascular Diseases in 2000. His research focus is primarily on hypertension and vascular physiology using integrated investigative approach with special emphasis on understanding molecular events contributing to the pathogenesis of hypertension and its complications.
Dr. Newaz is a member of many professional societies, including the American Heart Association, American Physiological Society. He has received numerous honors and awards, including the Young Investigator Award from High Blood Pressure Council of American Heart Association, Young Investigator Award from the renal section of The American Physiological Society, Caroline Tun Suden professional opportunity award from The American Physiological Society, Young Investigator Award from The International Society of Hypertension, FASEB MARC fellowship and Grant-in-Aid from American Heart Association. He has published more than 30 peer reviewed research paper in high impact journals, book chapters and invited reviews in the field of hypertension and vascular biology. Dr. Newaz presented his research works extensively at conferences locally and internationally and was also an invited speaker in several Universities in the US.
Melany P. Puglisi, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Chicago State University College of Pharmacy (CSU-COP). She received her B.A. in chemistry from Southampton College, now part of Long Island University, in 1991. Her graduate studies were carried out at University of Guam where she received her M.S. in Biology in 1995 and the University of Mississippi, School of Pharmacy where she received her Ph.D. in pharmacognosy. She received grants from the American Museum of Natural History and the Australian Museum of Natural History to conduct her research on Guam and the Great Barrier Reef (Lizard Island).
Prior to joining CSU she conducted post-doctoral research at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California at San Diego, the Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, and Shannon Point Marine Station at Western Washington University. Dr. Puglisi’s research interests include marine natural products and chemical ecology of algae and marine invertebrates. She has participated in numerous research expeditions in the tropical Atlantic and Pacific including the 2005 NOAA Florida Coast Deep Corals research cruise.
Dr. Puglisi is a member of several scientific and professional organizations including the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) and the American Society of Pharmacognosy. She has served as chair of the Younger Members Committee of the ASP. Dr. Puglisi has received awards throughout her academic career that not only recognize her research achievements but also highlight her service to the community.
Staff
Vera Lynn Hilliard is the Pharmacy Laboratory Support Specialist for Chicago State University College of Pharmacy (CSU-COP). Ms. Hilliard received her Bachelors Degree in Chemistry from Southeast Missouri State University (2006). Joining the staff of CSU in 2008, Ms. Hilliard is responsible for the daily maintenance and operations of the Student Practice Lab.
Prior to joining Chicago State University, Ms. Hilliard was a science teacher for the Ferguson Florissant School District in Missouri. With over ten years of healthcare and higher education experience, she has been a PTCB Certified Pharmacy Technician for four years.
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