Michigan Pharmacology

12/19/2025

Video includes several Pharmacology PhD candidates!

Behind every PhD is someone who helped them get there!This video was created by UMSocial, a unit of the Office of the Vice President for Communications.

12/17/2025

PhRMA Foundation Awards $3.6M in Fellowships and Grants - Congratulations to Kate Bowman (Sebag Lab)!

Investing in today’s scientists for tomorrow’s breakthroughs Our vision is a healthier world where all people have access to innovative, life-changing medicines. About the PhRMA Foundation Join Our Email List Subscribe Foundation Awards $3.6M in 2026 Fellowships and Grants The PhRMA Foundation a...

12/12/2025

Twenty-Nine U-M College of Pharmacy Faculty Among the World’s Top 2% of Scientists - Congratulations to Dr. Traynor, Dr. Scott, Dr. Wang, and Dr. Chen!

Media Contact: Lindsay Groth, Executive Director of Marketing and Communications, cop.communications@umich.edu [Ann Arbor, Michigan] – Twenty-nine faculty members from the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy have been named to the 2025 World’s Top 2% Scientists Network, an internationally...

12/02/2025

A new paper (co-authored by Drs. Gwendolyn Burgess, Emily Jutkiewicz, and more) was recently published in The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Theraputics. The paper, “Effects of δ opioid receptor stimulation via SNC80 on conditioned reinforcing properties of a remifentanil-associated stimulus” can be found here:

Substance use disorder is associated with a high rate of relapse driven by the rewarding and motivational properties of drug-associated stimuli. We examined the extent to which the δ opioid receptor (DOR) mediated the conditioned reinforcing properties of drug-associated stimuli across 4 experiment...

12/02/2025

A new paper (co-authored by Drs. Mengchu Li, Kelsey Kochan, Manoj Puthenveedu, John Traynor, and more) was recently published in Molecular Pharmacology. The paper, “Effects of two structurally diverse positive allosteric modulators on signaling bias at the μ-opioid receptor” can be found here:

The μ-opioid receptor (MOR) is responsible for the analgesic actions of opioid drugs as well as their unwanted actions, including respiratory depression and addiction liability. Following agonist occupancy, MOR can signal via G-protein and/or β-arrestin. However, MOR agonists may show an imbalance...

12/02/2025

A new paper (co-authored by Drs. Anthony Rosenzweig, Jorge Ruas, and more) was recently published in Cell Reports. The paper, “Sensory-neuron-derived CGRPα controls white adipocyte differentiation and tissue plasticity” can be found here:

Communication between the brain and adipose tissue is mediated in part by the peripheral nervous system. The sympathetic branch transmits lipolytic and thermogenic signals toward adipose tissue, while sensory nerves relay information to the central nervous system. Importantly, sensory nerve activati...

12/02/2025

A new paper (co-authored by Dr. Peter Scott and more) was recently published in Chemical Communications. The paper, “Synthesis of 11C-epoxides, aziridines, and cyclopropanes from structurally modified 11C-sulfur ylides” can be found here:

A method for the radiosynthesis of 11C-epoxides, aziridines, and cyclopropanes is described. Through generating 11C-methyl sulfonium salts and corresponding sulfur ylides, the formation of 11C-epoxides is possible in moderate-to-high radiochemical conversions. This m...

11/25/2025

New study from The Ruas Lab discovers a role for sensory neuropeptides in adipose tissue plasticity.

Our bodies rely on a constant conversation between the brain and fat tissue to regulate energy balance. Part of this dialogue happens through nerves that run into adipose tissue: Sensory nerves send information to the brain and sympathetic nerves tell fat cells when to burn energy or release stored lipids. However, when activated, sensory nerves also release signaling molecules locally in the fat tissue. In this study, we discovered that one of these sensory neuropeptides, CGRPα, plays a surprising role in shaping how white fat cells (adipocytes) differentiate. CGRPα prevents white preadipocytes from maturing, without affecting brown fat cells, which are specialized in heat production.

In mice exposed to cold, when fat normally forms many small cells to boost thermogenic capacity, CGRPα instead pushes the tissue toward larger fat cells. Even more striking, people taking anti-CGRPα migraine medications show weight loss and improved blood glucose, while matched individuals not on these drugs tend to gain weight during the examined period. Together, these findings reveal a previously unknown communication pathway in which sensory nerves influence how white fat grows and functions—offering new insights into how the nervous system shapes metabolism and potentially pointing toward new strategies for treating obesity and metabolic disease.

https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(25)01385-3

11/25/2025

Friendsgiving 2025

11/21/2025

Halloween Donut Day 2025

11/18/2025

A new paper (co-authored by Dr. Michelle Hastings and more) was recently published in Nucleic Acids Research. The paper, “Modulating NLRP3 splicing with antisense oligonucleotides to control pathological inflammation” can be found here:

Inflammation has an essential role in healing. However, over-active inflammation disrupts normal cellular functions and can be life-threatening when not resolved. The NLR family pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome, a component of the innate immune system, is an intracellular multiprotein....

11/18/2025

A new paper (co-authored by Dr. Lauren Rysztak, Dr. Emily Jutkiewicz, and more) was recently published in The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. The paper, “Delta opioid receptor activation influences responding to earn cocaine-associated cues in the New Response Acquisition procedure” can be found here:

Environmental cues that have been associated with drug-taking can evoke drug-craving and drug-seeking and drive relapse. Using the New Response Acquisition procedure, we evaluated the extent to which activation of delta opioid receptors (DORs) changes responding for cocaine-associated stimuli. We hy...