Teresa (Teri) A. Beam, Ph.D.
Chair, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacogenomics
Manchester University
Dr. Teresa Beam has over 22 years of academic experience in teaching, research, faculty leadership, and administration. Dr. Beam earned her B.S in Biology/Chemistry from Saint Francis College (1991) and her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Notre Dame (1996). Much of her published research has focused on the genetic elements involved in DNA transposition and recombination, two important processes for transgenic engineering technology.
Recently, her research passion has shifted into understanding the complex genotypes that underlie an individual’s response to drugs. Dr. Beam advocates for the adoption of pharmacogenomics (PGx) as a necessary “vital sign” to be used in optimizing drug therapy and improving clinical decision-making. As a teacher-scholar, she lectures primarily in the areas of medical genetics, PGx, biomedical sciences, and molecular biology.
AREAS OF INTEREST/EXPERTISE
Medical genetics
Pharmacogenomics
Biomedical sciences
Molecular biology
Diane Calinski, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences (Pharmacology) and Pharmacogenomics
Manchester University
Dr. Calinski is responsible for developing and teaching pharmacology courses at Manchester University. She has a strong dedication to education and has experience as a graduate student instructor of pharmacology courses and tutoring fellow students in pharmacology, math and calculus. She earned a Ph.D. in pharmacology at the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry and molecular biology at Pennsylvania State University. She is a recipient of a 2018 New Investigator Award from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. Her research involves synthetic cathinone metabolism, considering genetic influence on pharmacogenes.
Dr. Calinski serves as the Director for Pharmacogenomics Operations.
AREAS OF INTEREST/EXPERTISE
Carrie Hoefer, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacogenomics
Manchester University
Dr. Hoefer joined the Pharmacogenomics Program at Manchester University in March 2016, and is responsible for developing and teaching pharmacogenomics courses. She is passionate about education and has experience as a graduate student instructor of genetic courses at both the undergraduate and graduate level. Dr. Hoefer earned a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Buffalo in 2015.
Dr. Hoefer recently led an effort to document pharmacogene allele frequencies in a population of Burmese individuals who had immigrated to northeast Indiana.
AREAS OF INTEREST/EXPERTISE
Sandra Hrometz, Ph.D, BS Pharm., BCGP
Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences (Pharmacology) and Pharmacogenomics
Manchester University
Dr. Hrometz has been teaching in pharmacy programs since 2000. Prior to joining the Manchester University faculty in in 2015, she held previous positions at Ohio Northern University and the University of Findlay. She received her BSPharm from Ohio Northern University in 1994 and obtained her Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Kentucky in 1998. In addition to teaching, Dr. Hrometz has practiced as a part-time pharmacist in retail, hospital and long-term care settings. She has been certified in geriatrics through the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists ASCP since 2012.
PERSONAL STATEMENT
"I have an interest in geriatric pharmacotherapy. The geriatric population can be a complicated group in that they are likely to have multiple disease states and take multiple medications. It is well documented that geriatric patients are also more susceptible to experiencing drug interactions, adverse drug reactions and to be prescribed medications that they either do not need or that will not be able to offer worthwhile therapeutic benefit. Lastly, our physiology is modified as we age which means that elderly individuals may not even react to medications the same way they did as young or even middle-aged adults. As such, a therapy that controlled a disease state for decades can become ineffective or dangerous in an older individual.
With all of these complicating factors associated with aging, the elderly population can benefit tremendously by determining which medications will offer the most benefit with the minimal risk through pharmacogenomic testing. By avoiding medications that will not be helpful, or even worse harmful, knowledge gained through pharmacogenomics can help decrease the pill burden and health care costs for patients. At the same time, physicians will be able to purposefully select the most therapeutically effective therapy for their elderly patients."
AREAS OF INTEREST/EXPERTISE
David F. Kisor, Pharm.D., FCP
Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Director of Pharmacogenomics Education
Manchester University
Dr. David Kisor is Professor and Director of Pharmacogenomics Education at Manchester University in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Previously, he was Chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences at the Raabe College of Pharmacy at Ohio Northern University.Kisor received his Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy from the University of Toledo and his PharmD from The Ohio State University. He completed a fellowship in Therapeutic Drug Monitoring and Pharmacokinetics at Ohio State.
Beyond Kisor’s academic experience, he worked in the pharmaceutical industry at Burroughs Wellcome Co., now GlaxoSmithKline, where he was a research scientist in Pharmacokinetics and Drug Metabolism, working mostly on the development of purine analogs, including the drug nelarabine, a derivative of guanine, one of the “building blocks of life,” that was marketed in the United States in 2005.
His focus at Manchester has been teaching pharmacogenomics and pharmacokinetics and relating genetics to pharmacokinetics. He has integrated pharmacogenomics into pharmacokinetic subject matter since 1998. He is a member of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), the Personalized Medicine Coalition (PMC) and the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP). He is a Fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacology. Kisor is a former national chair of the pharmacogenomics special interest group of AACP.
AREAS OF INTEREST/EXPERTISE
Pharmacogenetics/Pharmacogenomics Education and Implementation
Pharmacogenetics/Pharmacogenomics of cathinones
Pharmacokinetics of cathinones
Noha A. Mourad, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacogenomics
Manchester University
Dr. Mourad joined the pharmacy program in August 2018, and is responsible for developing and teaching didactic, laboratory, and online courses in the pharmacogenomics program. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from Cairo University. She also attended Purdue University where she earned both her Master of Science and Doctoral degrees. Dr. Mourad is passionate about pharmacy education and has experience teaching pharmacy students at the undergraduate and graduate level. Dr. Mourad's research interests include the molecular mechanisms and risk factors underlying drug-induced arrhythmias, with a focus on drug-induced QT-prolongation and torsades de pointes. She is also interested in cardiovascular pharmacogenomics.
AREAS OF INTEREST/EXPERTISE
Thomas Smith, Pharm.D., RPh, BCPP
Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice (psychiatry) and Pharmacogenomics
Manchester University
Dr. Thomas Smith joined the Manchester University faculty in August 2012. He completed a specialized residency in psychiatry and neurology at the University Medical Center at Princeton and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Jersey. In addition to his core faculty responsibilities, he provides clinical services and practices pharmacy at Parkview Behavioral Health. Dr. Smith earned his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Rutgers University.
AREAS OF INTEREST/EXPERTISE