RESEARCH
UMKC Researcher Addresses Critical Gaps in Depression Treatment
"My overarching goal as a scholar is to bridge the gap between research findings and clinical applications of psychiatry pharmacogenetics and contribute to advancing precision medicine in mental health."
SEENAE EUM, PHARM.D.
Seenae Eum's recent study could help patients with depression get more personalized treatment in the future.
A UMKC faculty member’s recent work could help change the way clinicians treat patients with depression. Seenae Eum, Pharm.D., joined the School of Pharmacy in 2023 as an assistant teaching professor. Her most recent work, “Combined Effect of CYP Gene Polymorphisms and Phenoconversion on Escitalopram Metabolism and Exposure,” addresses a critical gap in pharmacogenetics.
“My overarching goal as a scholar is to bridge the gap between research findings and clinical applications of psychiatry pharmacogenetics and contribute to advancing precision medicine in mental health,” Eum said.
The impact of antidepressants, like escitalopram, varies greatly from person to person. Nearly 30% of patients experience adverse effects or no response, which leads them to stop treatment. Eum’s study seeks to explore how both genetic factors and non-genetic factors, such as drug interactions, influence escitalopram metabolism. The research aims to offer a more comprehensive understanding of drug metabolism and response, which will hopefully lead to more personalized dosing recommendations.
The goal is to have clinicians incorporate both genetic and nongenetic data into patient care, optimizing antidepressant therapy for each individual.
Eum is working with Leigh Anne Nelson, Pharm.D., William Gutheil, Ph.D., Thomas Chaffee, M.D., and Carrie Kriz on the study. “Without them, I would not be able to conduct my research,” Eum said. “I feel grateful to have such great collaborators.”
Prior to joining UMKC, Eum worked at Shenandoah University in Fairfax, Virginia. While there, she received the prestigious American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy New Investigator Award for her research on the impact of genetic and drug-induced factors on the metabolism of riseperidone. Eum continues to advance this work in collaboration with her colleagues at UMKC.
Seenae Eum, Pharm.D. (center), is collaborating on her research project with (from left to right) William Gutheil, Ph.D., Carrie Kriz, Leigh Anne Nelson, Pharm.D., and Thomas Chaffee, M.D.
"My overarching goal as a scholar is to bridge the gap between research findings and clinical applications of psychiatry pharmacogenetics and contribute to advancing precision medicine in mental health."
SEENAE EUM, PHARM.D.
Pharmacy Internship Helps Young Learners Get Head Start in Lab
The next generation of healthcare workers is getting an earlier start than ever before thanks to a new internship program at the School of Pharmacy. This past summer, a cohort of high school and undergraduate students worked under Drinnan Sante, a Ph.D. candidate at the school, to experience hands-on learning each week. The program was designed to expose young learners to the pharmacy profession long before they have to make any career decisions.
Sante is researching the way medications are delivered to the body. More specifically, how to target drug treatment to only the affected areas of the brain or body. His goal is to work toward a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, which affects 6.9 million people in the United States alone.
The team of interns Sante assembled assisted him about 20 hours per week. The goal of the program was to give the students experience in a lab, which will give them a leg up in their future studies.
“This part of the medical field isn’t super obvious when you’re younger,” Sante said. “You think either doctor or dentist, but there’s a whole field where you can do research and actually try to help cure diseases that aren’t cured yet, and this project is a little window into that.”
St. Pius High School senior Meet Kaur was interested in pharmacy from an early age, and spending her summer doing hands-on work at UMKC was a step up from her earlier shadowing experiences.
“I’ll go volunteer at hospitals here and there, but it’s not the same as being in a lab and getting the experience,” Kaur said. “I’m learning before college even starts.”
The older the student, the more involved the role they play in assisting Sante’s research. For Jacob Suchman, a sophomore studying biology at Davidson College in North Carolina, the summer was a chance to keep his skills sharp.
Suchman worked with a nanopore, a tool commonly used in labs to determine DNA and RNA sequences.
“There’s all sorts of tools that I’ve learned how to use,” Suchman said. “It’s given me great insight on Drinnan’s day-to-day life as a Ph.D. student and the challenges he has to work with. I would like to do something similar to what he’s doing.”
The School of Pharmacy internship program gives high school and undergraduate students early exposure to the pharmacy profession.
BY THE NUMBERS
Research Activity
NUMBER OF RESEARCH PROPOSALS AWARDED IN 2024
Division of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Division of Pharmacy Practice and Administration
2024 GRANTS AND CONTRACTS
Division of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Division of Pharmacy Practice and Administration
Publication of Original Research
NUMBER OF MANUSCRIPTS PUBLISHED IN 2024
Division of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Division of Pharmacy Practice and Administration
AREAS OF EMPHASIS
Drug Discover/ Drug Delivery
Clinical Studies-Outcomes