VCU news

Lawrence Schwartz, M.D., Ph.D., Charles and Evelyn Thomas Professor of Medicine and chair of the Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology , School of Medicine

Schwartz was honored by the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology with its Distinguished Scientist Award. The AAAAI board of directors unanimously selected Schwartz for the award, which was bestowed at the AAAAI annual meeting in Houston on Feb. 21.

The AAAAI award recognized the ways Schwartz has advanced the treatment of allergic disease through his groundbreaking contributions to understanding the mechanisms and significance of mast cells.

As a result of his research, physicians are now able to test a patient’s blood for tryptase, a protease enzyme, preferentially expressed by mast cells. His assay for tryptase is now used throughout the world to facilitate the diagnosis of systemic mastocytosis (a World Health Organization criterion and Food and Drug Administration-approved for this purpose), uncovering this disorder in many patients for whom this problem might otherwise have remained undiagnosed.

The assay is also used to help diagnose mast cell-dependent systemic anaphylaxis; to monitor mast cell cytoreductive therapy; and to assess anaphylactic risk in patients who are sensitive to insect venom. Until Schwartz identified tryptase, there was no reliable and robust method to screen for mastocytosis with a blood test or to identify mast cell activation in allergic reactions.

Schwartz’s research had been funded continuously by the National Institutes of Health for more than 30 years, including a MERIT award in 1990 and as principal investigator of NIH’s Asthma and Allergic Diseases Cooperative Research Center at VCU in 2008. Author of more than 350 publications, Schwartz, who has been on the medical school’s faculty since 1983, is one of the most highly cited researchers in his field. He has been recognized by VCU with awards for research and innovation; election to honorary societies, i.e., the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians; and to leadership positions, including chair of the American Board of Allergy and Immunology, of the Clinical Immunology Society and of NIH study sections.

 

Jamie Sturgill, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Health Nursing, and director of biobehavioral laboratory services, School of Nursing

Sturgill identified a new receptor in the immune system that controls allergies and asthma when blocked. She was awarded a U.S. patent for her research, which is titled “Treatment of Immune Disorders using Kainate Receptor Antagonists.”

 

 

 

 

 

Tara Albrecht, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Adult Health and Nursing Systems, School of Nursing

Albrecht received a $50,000 grant from the Massey Cancer Center Cancer Prevention and Control Pilot Project Program for a yearlong study titled “Physical Activity as a Self-Management Approach to Improve Health Outcomes in Acute Myeloid Leukemia.” 

Albrecht will work with an interdisciplinary team that includes School of Nursing co-investigators R.K. Elswick, Ph.D., director of biostatistics and data services; Jamie Sturgill, Ph.D., director of biobehavioral lab services; and Michelle Wright, Ph.D., post-doctoral fellow. Others collaborating on the study include Danielle Shafer, D.O., assistant professor, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine; and Tim York, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, VCU Medical Center. Angela Starkweather, Ph.D, associate professor and chair of the Department of Adult Health and Nursing Systems, is the project’s scientific adviser.

 

Tawnya Pettiford-Wates, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Theatre VCU, School of the Arts

Pettiford-Wates, playwright, director, actor, poet, writer, scholar, activist and teacher, was honored as a recipient of Style Weekly’s 2015 Women in The Arts Award.

The award recognizes dynamic female artists who show vision and dedication to their craft and women who move the arts forward in Richmond and beyond. It honors women who are forward-thinking leaders in the fine and performing arts and who make a positive impact on Richmond’s cultural community.

In addition to her theater work, Pettiford-Wates founded the Conciliation Project, which uses theater performances to explore social issues. The nonprofit has created and performed works with an impressive prolificacy, taking on such topics as bullying in schools, equal access to fair housing, homelessness, the history of the American Indian, Japanese-American internment during World War II, the prison industrial complex, ethnic and racial stereotypes in mass media, immigration and border control and America’s racial history.

The company increasingly is forming partnerships with community groups, such as The Daily Planet, The Healing Place, the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities and Housing Opportunities Made Equal. It also produces workshops, training sessions and other programs for local schools, businesses and organizations.

 

Sharon Gatewood, Pharm.D., associate professor, Department of Pharmacotherapy and Outcomes Science, School of Pharmacy

Gatewood has been selected a fellow by the American Pharmacists Association Academy of Pharmacy Practice and Management (APhA-APPM). She is one of 10 pharmacists nationwide to be chosen for exemplary professional achievements and service to the profession via APhA-APPM and other professional organizations.

Gatewood is an alumna of the School of Pharmacy, having earned her Pharm.D. in 2002. She received her B.S. in chemistry at VCU in 1997. A faculty member since 2006, her focus area is community pharmacy practice, including immunizations, travel health, over-the-counter medications and colds and allergies. As a clinical pharmacist and preceptor at Martin’s Pharmacy, she works in areas ranging from immunizations and pre-travel health to medication therapy management and diabetes. Gatewood also serves as a primary care pharmacist at The Daily Planet.

Her professional activities and service include membership in APhA-APPM’s executive committee and the Journal of the American Pharmacist Association’s editorial advisory board.

Gatewood will be recognized as a 2015 APhA-APPM fellow during the APhA 2015 annual meeting and exposition in March in San Diego, Calif.

 

Dave Dixon, Pharm.D., assistant professor, Department of Pharmacotherapy and Outcomes Science, School of Pharmacy

Dixon was named a 2015 recipient of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy’s (AACP) new investigator award for a $10,000-funded research proposal titled “Nighttime Dosing of Amlodipine Versus Lisinopril in Non-Dipping African Americans.”

Dixon is one of 15 pharmacy faculty nationwide who will receive start-up funding to complete his research, which he will present at AACP’s annual meeting in July 2016 in Anaheim, Calif. He is the first VCU recipient since the award was initiated in 2011. Co-investigators on the study are School of Pharmacy associate professor Even Sisson and ambulatory pharmacy practice resident Michael Kelly.

In reference to the study, Dixon notes that blood pressure is normally higher first thing in the morning and lower at night. The absence of a nighttime dip in blood pressure increases risk for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.

“Non-dipping” is more prevalent in African-Americans, which might explain why they are at a greater risk for target organ damage. The study’s primary objective is to evaluate the efficacy of nighttime administration of two blood pressure medications in non-dipping African-Americans.

 

Patricia Slattum, Pharm.D., Ph.D., professor, Department of Pharmacotherapy and Outcomes Science and Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy

Slattum has received the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics’ (ASCPT) 2015 Henry W. Elliott Distinguished Service Award in recognition for her exemplary service and generosity of time, leadership and expertise. The award was presented during ASCPT’s 116th annual meeting in March in New Orleans.

A faculty member since 1996, she is also a multiple School of Pharmacy alumna: B.S. '85, Certificate in Aging Studies '91 and Pharm.D./Ph.D. '92. In addition to her joint departmental appointment, she is director of the School of Pharmacy’s Geriatric Pharmacotherapy Program.

Earlier this year, Slattum was an invited speaker at the First International Conference of Clinical Pharmacy in Saudi Arabia. Her topics were “Preventing Medication-Related Problems Among Older Adults” and “Alzheimer’s Disease: Treatment Update.”  

 

Charol Shakeshaft, professor, Department of Educational Leadership, School of Education

Shakeshaft will be recognized as the 2015 recipient of the Distinguished Contributions to Gender Equity in Education Research award at the American Educational Research Association’s annual meeting April 18.

Established in 2006, the Distinguished Contributions to Gender Equity in Education Research Award recognizes individuals within AERA for distinguished research, professional practice and activities that advance public understanding of gender and sexuality at any level in the education community.

 

 

Brent C. Smith, Ph.D., Kornblau Professor of Real Estate, Department of Finance, Insurance and Real Estate, School of Business

Smith’s "Early Termination of Small Loans in the Multifamily Mortgage Market" received the American Real Estate Society’s best paper award.

Smith presented the paper, co-authored by Anthony Pennington-Cross of Marquette University, at the society’s conference in the spring, and he recently received formal notice of the award.

"Early Termination” provides analysis and evaluation on early mortgage termination in the Fannie Mae multifamily loan pool. The paper identifies those factors that uniquely explain prepayment and default in the “small loan” subset of mortgages in the Fannie Mae portfolio from 2005 through 2011.

 

 

 

 

Stephanie Kite, program manager, Kornblau Real Estate Program, School of Business

Kite has been elected to membership in Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW), where she will take an active role on the media relations committee.

Since 1989, CREW has advanced the success of the commercial real estate industry by advancing the achievements of women in commercial real estate. The network’s four key initiatives are business development, leadership development, industry research and career outreach. Stephanie is taking an active role in CREW, including serving on the media relations committee. Her membership will help further elevate the profile of the Kornblau Real Estate Program.