News
Reading School of Pharmacy Annual News Letter 2011-12
Spring Term 2012
Autumn Term 2011
October 2011
Pharmacy Post-Graduate Research Day 2011
Reading School of Pharmacy (RSOP) hosted the Sixth Annual Post-Graduate Research Day on 5th October 2011. The programme included 9 oral presentations from Years 2 & 3 and 20 posters from Year 1 post-graduate students. Prizes were awarded to Julia Bauer for Best Year 2 oral presentation on "Synthesis of derivatives of biologically important carbohydrates and their incorporation into microarrays" and Stephen Swioklo for Best Year 3 oral presentation on "Identification of dietary polyphenols that promote osteogenic differentiation". The Best Poster prize was awarded to Camille Soubrane, who presented a poster "Functional effects of the novel CNS protein CACHD1" The Research Day was sponsored by TA Instruments and Capsugel, who also exhibited during the poster session.
Dr Vitaliy Khutoryanskiy (Director of RSOP Postgraduate Studies), Stephen Swioklo, Julia Bauer, Camille Soubrane, Professor Helen Osborn (Head of RSOP), Russell Beeching (Capsugel) and Jasvinder Mahey (TA Instruments).
Summer 2011
Media Publicity
Researchers from the University of Reading have developed the first fully tissue-engineered fetal membrane from human stem cells that could significantly reduce the number of premature births.
The leading cause of perinatal and neonatal mortality is pre-term birth,
of which 40% is attributed to the pre-term premature rupture of fetal membranes (pPROM). Interventions during pregnancy, such as amniocentesis and fetoscopy (testing for birth defects), are associated with a high incidence of pPROM due to damage to the fetal amniotic membrane (AM).
The study was supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and led by Dr Che Connon from the Reading School of Pharmacy in conjunction with University College London Hospital (UCLH).
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/272001/Patch-will-prevent-premature-births
Staff News
We extend a warm welcome back to Dr. Katrina Bicknell following her maternity leave.
We are also please to announce the return of Mrs Sue Slade, in September 2011, who covered Dr. Wing Man Lau's recent maternity leave and also to bid a fond farewell to Melissa Law
Research Update:
Dr. Vitaliy Khutoranskiy has had the following papers accepted for publication:
- Khutoryanskiy V.V. Advances in mucoadhesion and mucoadhesive polymers, Macromol. Biosci., DOI: 10.1002/mabi.201000388 (2011
- Cook M., Tzortzis G., Charalampopoulos D., Khutoryanskiy V. Production and Evaluation of Dry Alginate - Chitosan Microcapsules as an Enteric Delivery Vehicle for Probiotic Bacteria, Biomacromolecules, DOI: 10.1021/bm200576h (2011)
Overseas Visits
The recently held 44th International School of Crystallography, 
"The Power of Powder Diffraction", was directed by Dr. Kenneth Shankland (Reader and Director of Pharmaceutics) and Prof. Bill David (STFC, ISIS Facility). Held in Erice, Sicily, the School brought together experts in all aspects of modern powder diffraction to teach some eighty students over the course of ten days. The School ran in parallel with a closely-related one on the subject of Electron Crystallography.
Undergraduate Success
Sara Ogwapit, one of our MPharm graduates from 2010, has recently had her final year research project published in BioscienceHorizons Advance Access. Her project, titled "Analysis of Ge-132 and development of a simple oral anticancer formulation" was supervised by Dr. Katja Strohfeldt-Venables and Dr. Clare Rawlinson Malone.
Old Friends
Dr. Sara Broad, Lecturer in the Institute of Education, has won an evening at Nirvana Spa for inventive new name for the University's new peer support group. From the many suggestions that were received, the winning name that Sara devised is HARC - Health, Advocacy, Respect, Care. You can read more about Sara, her award and the new peer support group at:
http://www.reading.ac.uk/internal/staffportal/news/articles/spsn-378143.aspx
Sara was previously PA to the very first Head of Reading School of Pharmacy, Prof. Gavin Brooks who was himself recently appointed as the new Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning).
Awards, Prizes and Other News
Dr. Rachel Howard (on behalf of the PINCER trial team) received the UKCPA awar
d for patient safety at the UKCPA/GHP conference on 20th May 2011, in Nottingham, UK. This award recognises the contribution that she and her colleagues have made to patient safety in the UK through their work over the past 10 years, exploring the underlying causes of medication error in primary care, and developing and evaluating a successful pharmacist-led IT-based intervention to reduce hazardous prescribing and monitoring of medicines in general practice. Dr Howard plans to use the award of £1500 to further develop her research in the area of medication safety.
We extend our warm congratulations to Dr. Olga Khutoryanskaya (Teaching and Research Technician) who has received a University award for supporting project students and the thermal analysis equipment within the Chemical Analysis Facility (CAF).
Charitable Events
One of our undergraduate students, Ryan Martin, undertook the Three Peaks Challenge in June. This involved climbing and descending Ben Nevis (Scotland), S
caffell Pike (Cumbria) and Snowdon (Wales in just over 26 hours, raising £465 in the process. He would like to thank all those who sponsored him. Well done, Ryan!
You may also remember that Prof. George Marston, Head of SCFP (School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy) ran the Reading Half Marathon back in March. We are delighted to announce that he raised an amazing £1,196.78 for the Berkshire Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre.
We would also like to take this opportunity to wish Prof. Marston well in his new appointment as Dean of the Faculty of Science as of 1 October 2011. We thank him for his dedication and support during the five years he has served as Head of SCFP.
April 2011
Staff News
We extend a warm welcome back to Dr Wing Man Lau who has returned in April after her maternity leave.
We are pleased to welcome a new staff member, Mrs Catherine Langran, Senior Teaching Fellow, who will join the Pharmacy Practice team on 3 May 2011.
Research Update
Professor Elizabeth Williamson, Director of Pharmacy Practice, has recently published the following:
- Recently accepted paper:
Cross-cultural comparison of three medicinal flora and implications for bioprospecting strategies. C Saslis-Lagoudakis, EM Williamson, J Hawkins. J. Ethnopharmacol. In press.
- Recently published book:
Microscopic characterization of botanical medicines. American Herbal Pharmacopoeia. Eds Upton R, Graff A, Joliffe G, Länger R, Williamson E. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Fla. 2011.
Undergraduate Success
Third year MPharm student, Dalvir Chander, has had a poster presentation accepted for the International Pharmaceutical Federation Congress, which takes place this year on 3rd-8th September in Hyderabad, India. The poster is entitled 'Factors which lead to increased outpatient waiting times in a hospital pharmacy dispensary: a clinical audit' and is based on work she undertook with pharmacist Geeta Hitch during a summer placement at Moorfields Eye Hospital. This is a fantastic achievement and we extend our congratulations to Dalvir.
Media Publicity
Dr Ben Whalley and Dr Gary Stephens (both Reading School of Pharmacy) and Dr Claire Williams (Dept. of Psychology), have recently featured in 'The Telegraph' and the 'Reading Post' as well as being interviewed on Radio Berkshire as a result of their research into the use of cannabis to treat epilepsy. 
Successful results from recent studies have shown that three different non-psychoactive extracts of the drug can significantly reduce seizures. Dr Whalley, whose team will be completing pre-clinical work during the next few months which could enable the start of human trials, said: "The University of Reading is leading the search for therapeutic components of phytocannabinoids (cannabinoids extracted from the C. sativa plant) that limit or abolish [epileptic] seizures. We hope that these findings will lead to new, better-tolerated and more effective treatments for epilepsy, reducing the number and severity of seizure episodes."
Awards, Prizes and Other News
Professor Elizabeth Williamson, Director of Pharmacy Practice, has recently been appointed Chair of the new Expert Advisory Group (EAG) on Veterinary Medicines to the British Pharmacopoeia.
She already chairs the EAG for Herbal and Complementary Medicines, is vice-chair for the EAG for Medicinal Chemicals, and is a member of the British Pharmacopoeia (BP) Commission. The BP Commission is part of the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, a division of the Department of Health, and publishes the British Pharmacopoeia, a reference standard for the quality of all drugs and medical devices used in the UK and many other countries throughout the world.
We extend our proud congratulations to Professor Williamson in securing another high profile appointment of great importance to both the Pharmacy profession and Reading School of Pharmacy.
March 2011
Staff News
The following appointments have been made this month:
- Dr Wieland Peschel - Visiting Research Fellow
- Mrs Claire-Louise Cartwright - Visiting Fellow
Teaching Matters
The Centre for Inter-Professional Postgraduate Education and Training (CIPPET) have 
purchased SAM, a student auscultation manikin. He is being used on the School of Pharmacy prescribing course to enhance the diagnostic skills of practitioners. SAM has a range of 27 heart sounds, 21 breath sounds, 20 bowel sounds and 4 carotid bruits, all of which can be heard at the correct anatomical locations. He has already proved to be a great success with the students
Research Update
DADD summer student
DADD, the German Academic Exchange Service, has awarded Ms Lida-Maria Lottko a summer student scholarship to carry out a research project entitled "Analysis of stem cell conditioned medium of corneal epithelial cell growth." DADD is the German version of The 
Royal Society. The 2011 DADD RISE worldwide scheme attracted 650 projects from Academic institutions around the world, 400 students applied from which 250 were selected. Lida-Maria is a 3rd year student at Jacobs University Bremen, Germany, studying Biochemistry and Cell Biology. She will be joining the School of Pharmacy, from mid-June to mid-August, 2011.
Eye research to develop human corneal transplants
A new grant worth £815,000 has been awarded to the Reading School of Pharmacy for research that could restore sight to patients whose cornea has been damaged, without needing a donor. This work represents a significant step forward in the development of biomaterials. Instead of applying a traditional approach to the design and use of biocompatible polymers for tissue replacement, this approach will involve the cells themselves in the production of the actual biomaterial. This technique represents the ultimate in biocompatibility as it results in a biomaterial comprised wholly of human proteins, possibly even derived from cells taken from the patient's own body.
New patent filed "Transport of Cells"
A patent has been filed based upon research from a current Reading School of Pharmacy, MRC (Medicines Research Council) grant. The patent application details the use of hydrogels to encapsulate a variety of cell types so that they can be stored or transported at ambient temperature for up to a week and then easily recovered for clinical or research purposes. Co-inventors are Drs Vitaliy Khutoryanskiy, Richard Cave and Bernice Wright.
Visiting and Invited Speakers
Dr Vitaliy Khutoryanskiy gave an invited lecture entitled "Drug delivery to the eye: From ocular barriers to the approaches to enhance drug bioavailability" at SMi's 7th Conference on Controlled Release held in London on 30th March 2011.
Awards, Prizes and Other News
Congratulations to Dr Katja Strohfeldt-Venables who has been awarded an Early Career Teaching Fellowship.
Dr Alister McNeish from the pharmacology group has been elected as a member for the editorial board for the British Journal of Pharmacology (BJP). The BJP is the flagship journal for the British Pharmacological Society and is the highest impact general pharmacology journal (impact factor 5.2), it is ranked 19th out of the 236 Journals in the Pharmacy and Pharmacology subject area.
Dr Dan Calladine was awarded best poster at The American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery in San Diego last week for his work with PEG and trabeculectomy. Dr Calladine is an ophthalmic surgeon undertaking a PhD in ocular drug delivery, supervised by Dr Che Connon and Dr Vitaliy Khutoryanskiy.
February 2011
News and Events
Pharmacy Careers Fair
The School of Pharmacy held its annual Careers Fair in February. We 
were pleased to welcome some familiar faces from previous events as well as some new exhibitors, such as Capt. Sally Mullen from British Army Careers.
All students were invited to attend exhibitions from the following employers: Paydens, Boots UK, Superdrug, Lloyds Pharmacy, Morrisons plc, Day Lewis plc and McParland Ltd. Students were also able to speak to hospital pharmacy representatives from South Central North Pre-registration Course and the Pharmaceutical Press (who donated many books to our student raffle).
Many of our students also attended a seminar about assessment during the pre-registration year delivered by a representative from the General Pharmaceutical Council, our new professional regulatory body.
Annual Pharmacy Ball
The 3rd Pharmacy Ball was held in February at the Hilton Hotel, Reading. It was a fantastic evening enjoyed by both students and staff. Two members of staff successfully defended their titles as 'Favourite Lecturer - Dr Francesca Greco' and 'Best Dressed - Dr Kenneth Shankland'!
Fundraising Activities
Professor George Marston, Head of the School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy will be running the Reading Half Marathon on Sunday 20th March. He is running in support of the Berkshire Multiple Sclerosis Centre and is matching the first £250 of sponsorship raised from his own wallet! It is not too late to add your support by visiting his web page: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/GeorgeMarston
We also extend our admiration and support to Ryan Martin, 3rd Pharmacy student, who will be attempting the Three Peaks Challenge in June. In a 24-hour period, Ryan will be climbing and descending Ben Nevis (Scotland), Scafell Pike (Cumbria) and Snowdon (Wales). We wish Ryan every success as the money he raises will be used to improve the quality of life of a child with cerebral palsy.
January 2011
New Arrivals
We are pleased to welcome Dr Alister McNeish, Lecturer in Pharmacology, who joined the Reading School of Pharmacy on 1 January 2011.
We also welcome three new PhD students who have started in January:
- Thomas Hill with Dr Ben Whalley and Dr Andy Hill
- Khaled Aldhwihi with Dr Parastou Donyai and Dr Rachel Howard
- Amy-Jayne Coleman with Dr Francesca Greco, Dr Ben Whalley and Dr Gary Stephens
Teaching Matters
We are pleased to announce that the University of Reading is now offering the Joint Programmes Board post-graduate diploma with the current cohort of five students having attended their first 'masterclass'. One student is a Reading School of Pharmacy graduate from the very first intake of our under-graduate MPharm degree.
Research News
Reading School of Pharmacy staff have had six papers accepted for publication in December 2010-January 2011:
Wang XW, Horswill J, Whalley BJ & Stephens GJ (2011; In Press) Effects of the allosteric antagonist PSNCBAM-1 on CB1 receptor ligand-mediated modulation of inhibitory synaptic transmission in the cerebellum Molecular Pharmacology
Jones NA, Hill AJ, Weston SE, Burnett DA, Stephens GJ, Whalley BJ & Williams CM (2011; In press) Cannabidiol exerts anti-convulsant effects in animal models of temporal lobe and partial seizures Seizure
Farrimond JA, Mercier MS, Whalley BJ & Williams CM (2010; Review; In press) Cannabis sativa and the endogenous cannabinoid system: therapeutic potential for appetite regulation. Phytotherapy Research
Farrimond JA, Whalley BJ & Williams CM (2010; In press) A low D9-tetrahydrocannabinol cannabis extract induces hyperphagia in rats Behavioural Pharmacology
Fern, S. E.; Heath, P.; Cobb, A. J. A. Aldol Additions into Butane-2,3-diacetal Methyl Glycerate Tetrahedron : Asymmetry 2011, in press
Nodes, W. J.; Shankland, K.; Rajkumar, S.; Cobb, A. J. A. Asymmetric Phase-Transfer Catalyzed Synthesis of Five-Membered Cyclic Gamma-Amino Acids Synlett 2010, 3011
One of these papers included an under-graduate student as an author, as part of his final year MPharm project. We extend our congratulations to Matthew Burnett who graduated in 2010.
We also have a third-year student, Ranveer Bassey, who had a letter published in the Pharmaceutical Journal, 15 January 2011. This clearly demonstrates the proactive attitude we encourage in our students as well as the ability to critique controversial issues in a manner of sufficiently high standard for publication in a professional journal.
Visiting Speakers
We were pleased to welcome the following outside speakers who taught final-year students on our Pharmacy Practice 4 module in the autumn term:
- William Riall from the National Clinical Assessment Service
- Alaster Rutherford and Anne Weist from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
- Mike Holden, Chief Officer of the Hampshire & IOW Pharmaceutical Committee.
Their talks and workshops were well received by our students and gave them a different perspective on topics as broad as patient safety, information retrieval and public health.
Our Part 2 Pharmacy Practice students benefited from the experience of Mr Paul Norley, formerly Police Chemist Inspector for Thames Valley Police, and now an NHS accountable officer for Controlled Drugs. He was able to give our second year students an extremely insightful perspective on how pharmacists can assist in the treatment programmes of drug misusers.
In addition, many of our own staff have been invited speakers, both nationally and internationally:
- Dr John Brazier, in the position of visiting lecturer, gave a series of lectures and workshops during January 2011 at Kyushu University, Japan.
- Dr Vitaliy Khutoryanskiy gave an invited lecture entitled "Mucoadhesives in Drug Delivery" at Visiongain's 6th Annual Drug Delivery Systems Conference held in London.
- Dr Ben Whalley gave an invited lecture entitled "Grabbing the attention of rat-brained robots!" at the ASE Conference in January (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-0eZytv6Qk for background information/links to earlier project publicity).