TRAINING IN PHARMACOLOGY, TOXICOLOGY & PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES 2008 ASPET SUMMER UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITY at the UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI
The Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy is pleased to offer this research project as part of the 2008 summer ASPET SURF Training Program offered by the Department of Pharmacology & Cell Biophysics.  Students interested in this project are advised to contact Professor Pauletti to discover more about the project, learn what your responsibilities will be during the ten-week research training program.
2008 ASPET SURF Project #:  08 - 009 Faculty Supervisor/Mentor: Giovanni M. Pauletti, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Pharmaceutical Sciences College of Pharmacy, University of Cincinnati Email:  pauletgm@uc.edu
Project Title: Botanicals as Chemo-Preventive Agents of Inflammation-                         Associated Colon Cancer
Research Program Description:  The long-term objective of Pauletti’s research is to uncover molecular pathways by which oral administration of botanicals with anti-inflammatory properties alter the clinical course of inflammation-provoked colon tumorigenesis.  Pauletti’s research program includes design and evaluation of novel drug delivery systems to improve therapeutic applications of small molecules, biotechnology and anticancer drugs. Specifically, Pauletti’s research group uses combinatorial approaches such as phage display to develop targeted delivery systems facilitating efficient transfer of macromolecular therapeutic agents across biological barriers such as the placenta. In addition, we focus on biochemical and molecular regulation of membrane transporters relevant to drug absorption and distribution (e.g., P-glycoprotein and PEPT1). Through collaborative efforts, Pauletti’s laboratory is involved in cancer research (e.g., chemoprevention) and interdisciplinary nanotechnology projects (e.g., molecular biomimetics). Among the research approaches employed in the Pauletti laboratory are: biologics, natural products, prodrug strategies, drug targeting, membrane transporters, transmucosal drug delivery, proteomics, molecular biology, and nanotechnology. The research results are directed toward applications in women’s health, pregnancy, and cancer.
ASPET SURF Project Description:  The ASPET SURF student will engage in molecular screening of natural products to identify dietary constituents with significant ligand affinity for the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPAR-γ). The relevance of this interaction between the botanicals and PPAR-γ with respect to malignant transformation of colonocytes will be investigated using state of the art biochemical, molecular biology, and cell biology approaches. Our team of researchers from the UC College of Pharmacy, the UC College of Medicine, and Cincinnati’s Children’s Hospital Medial Center is looking forward to offer an exciting research experience to a qualified ASPET SURF student who is interested in uncovering molecular signaling mechanisms that underlie the successful use of traditional herbal medicines in human disease.