Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Associate Professors
Ali Habashi, PharmD, PhD
Associate Professor
Pharmaceutical Sciences, Pharmacokinetics
Office: Eames Complex
I am interested in exploring the concept of drug-disease interaction, and studying the effect of inflammation, in particular, on the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) at enzyme, peptide, and receptor levels in order to fully understand the underlying mechanisms. In different inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, diabetes, mental disorders, and Alzheimer disease, patient’s quality of life has been be affected by the deleterious impact of inflammation. Due to extensive involvement of the RAS in the systemic and local regulatory function of different organs and the significant impact of inflammation on the activation of the RAS, the association of the RAS in different pathological conditions has been reported. The RAS consists of two counteracting arms: tissue protective and tissue toxic. Manipulation of the RAS through augmentation of its tissue protective arm by delivering of its peptide homologs seems promising. Peptides have gained increased interest as biological therapeutics during recent years. However, the clinical application of these agents is still limited due to drug delivery challenges. As a pharmaceutical formulation scientist, I have set focuses of my lab on exploring innovative targeted drug delivery systems for effective, safe, and noninvasive delivery of these therapeutic agents for aiming at several serious inflammatory conditions that RAS involved in their pathology.
My interests include: Basic Pharmacokinetics and Pharmaceutical calculations, Pharmacotherapy, Current Topics in Pharmaceutics and Drug delivery, Principles of Biopharmaceutical Analysis, Responsible Conduct in Research, Physiochemical Basis of Drug Action, Critical Literature Evaluation
Dong Xu, PhD
Associate Professor, Director of BPSCI Graduate Programs and Admissions
Drug Discovery, Drug Toxicity, Pharmacology, Biomedical Informatics
Office: M 752
Xu Research Lab Website: http://www.dxulab.org/
The overarching goal of Xu Drug Discovery Lab is to address unmet medical and health science needs using state-of-the-art computational and experimental technologies.
Specific research areas are:
- Drug Discovery (Computer-Accelerated Drug Repurposing and Screening);
- Drug-Induced Toxicity Prediction and Prevention;
- Web-Based and Cloud BioComputing Software Development.
Assistant Professors
Jesse Jones, PharmD, PhD
Assistant Professor
Biological Chemistry, Biomedical Engineering, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Protein Biochemistry, Synthetic Biology
Dr. Jones earned a B.S. degree from Boise State University (Boise, ID), a Pharm.D. from Idaho State University (Meridian, ID), and a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from University of Tennessee Health Science Center (Memphis, TN). He completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at University of Michigan School of Medicine (Ann Arbor, MI) in Biomedical Engineering and Biological Chemistry.
Dr. Jones’ research program focuses on the development of targeted therapeutics and includes an interdisciplinary approach spanning biological chemistry, drug discovery, molecular pharmaceutics, and synthetic biology. Dr. Jones employs a multi-faceted approach, using classical drug discovery methods to characterize and validate specific enzymes, such as bacterial topoisomerase I, as well as structural proteins, such as herpes virus capsid proteins, to develop targeted, narrow-spectrum antimicrobial therapeutics. Dr. Jones also employs advanced synthetic biology methods including the discovery, characterization, and advanced engineering of protein nanocompartments, such as bacterial encapsulins and viral capsids, to develop targeted drug, nanoreactor, and living therapeutic delivery platforms.
Srinath Pashikanti, PhD
Assistant Professor
Synthetic Medicinal Chemistry, Protein Biochemistry, Bioanalytical Chemistry
Office: Eames Complex
Dr. Pashikanti has an MS degree in Chemistry & Biochemistry from South Dakota State University, an MS and Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry from The University of Kansas. Pashikanti Lab utilizes organic chemistry towards synthesis of cell permeable medicinally active analogs. Our current efforts are aimed to develop, synthesize and screen small molecules in targeting ceramide metabolizing enzymes. Ceramide is a bioactive sphingolipid that exhibits anticancer properties in cancer cells. Strategies aimed at increasing the cellular ceramide induce apoptosis in cancer cells. To complement our synthetic efforts, we utilize tools for protein biochemistry to perform in vitro experiments and cell-based assays in determining the biological activity of these analogs in a structure-activity relationship model.
He is an assistant professor in the Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences Department. He is actively involved in mentoring graduate and professional pharmacy students. His didactics include Principles of Drug Design and Drug Action, Physicochemical Basis of Drug Action, Principles of Biopharmaceutical Analysis, Advanced Organic Synthesis, Dissertation Research, Thesis Research, Independent Problems in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Pharmaceutical Science Research.
Kumari Kavita Sharma
Assistant Professor
Bioanalytical Chemistry, Natural Products, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Fundamentals of Pharmacology and Biological Assays
Office: Eames Complex
Kavita Sharma is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical
Sciences at the College of Pharmacy, Idaho State University. She earned her PhD in
Molecular Biotechnology from Konkuk University in South Korea.
An experienced researcher specializing in mass spectrometry, Dr. Sharma is deeply involved
in metabolomics and proteomics studies. She has pioneered methodologies and workflows for
analyzing complex metabolites and peptides from diverse matrices, including tissues, blood,
serum, plasma, drugs, medicinal plant extracts, and intracellular and extracellular microbial
cultures. She teaches PharmD and graduate students about Physicochemical Basis of Drug
Action, Musculoskeletal Module, Endocrine Module, Critical Literature Review, and
Principle of Biopharmaceutical Analysis. Dr. Sharma is an active advisor to the molecular
research and core facility at ISU. Her specific research interests include identifying, isolating,
and characterizing bioactive compounds from natural products. Additionally, Dr. Sharma is
interested in conducting molecular-level studies to identify the impact of GABA-producing
microbiota on healthy aging and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Specifically, her research focuses on identifying biomarker metabolites and proteins to gain
mechanistic insights into the underexplored role of probiotics in aging-associated risk factors.
Dr. Sharma's research involves using advanced mass spectrometry techniques to identify and
quantify metabolites and proteins that are associated with the beneficial effects of GABA-
producing probiotics. She is also investigating the molecular mechanisms by which these
probiotics exert their effects, such as by modulating inflammation, oxidative stress, and
neurotransmitter levels. By understanding these mechanisms, Dr. Sharma hopes to develop
novel probiotic therapies for the prevention and treatment of age-related diseases.
Solomon Tadesse Zeleke, BPharm, MSc, PhD
Assistant Professor
Medicinal Chemistry, Drug Discovery and Development, Ethnopharmacology
Office: Eames Complex 86C
Dr Solomon Zeleke is a graduate of the University of South Australia with a Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry. He
has offered mentorship and conducted research that spans multiple continents, including the USA, Australia,
Africa, and Europe. Dr Solomon’s medicinal chemistry research program investigates the discovery and
development of small-molecule inhibitors targeting cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs). He has identified novel
clinical stage CDK4-, CDK4/6-, and CDK12-selective inhibitors as candidate therapeutics for cancer. He is
particularly interested in understanding protein structural attributes that might lead to the design and synthesis
of selective inhibitors, and his current efforts are focused on discovering novel CDK-selective inhibitors and
degraders.
Research Assistant Professor
Sarah Hobdey, PhD
Research Assistant Professor
Office: M761
Dr. Hobdey earned her B.S. in Microbiology from Idaho State University, where she also competed on the Women’s Soccer team. She went on to obtain her Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Colorado State University and completed postdoctoral training at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory before returning home to Idaho. Dr. Hobdey's research is focused on the development of novel therapies and diagnostics for life-threatening necrotizing soft tissue infections (NSTIs). In progress towards that goal, she and her team have developed three patent-pending fully human monoclonal antibodies capable of neutralizing streptolysin O, a key toxin produced by Group A Streptococcus. In addition to her role at Idaho State University, Dr. Hobdey is an Associate Research Scientist at the Boise VA Medical Center, where she maintains an active research laboratory.
