Chemistry World: More Than a Mirror-Image: Left-Handed Nucleic Acids

Two double helixes of DNA, one appears normal and the other appears jagged and damaged.
February 20, 2024
The Division of Pharmacology & Toxicology's Karen Vasquez, Ph.D. talked to Chemistry World's Rachel Brazil on genetic instability in disease and evolution of course related to Z-DNA. Dr. Vasquez's research focuses on genome instability, DNA damage and mechanisms of repair.

Vasquez Writes in Nature Reviews Genetics on Alternative DNA Structures

"Nature Reviews Genetics" written inside of a circle.
November 1, 2022
Division Head and Professor of Pharmacology & Toxicology Karen Vasquez, Ph.D. published in the latest issues of Nature Reviews Genetics regarding repetitive elements in the human genome. Once considered "junk DNA," they are now known to adopt more than a dozen alternative DNA structures. These dynamic conformations can act as functional genomic elements involved in DNA replication and transcription, chromatin organization and genome stability.

Faculty Earn State Grants for Cancer Research

A person in a lab.
September 21, 2022
The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) has released its grant research funding awards for the upcoming year. All three awarded research projects at The University of Texas at Austin involve College of Pharmacy faculty.

Vasquez Appears on BBC World Service to Discuss Z-DNA

DNA.
June 16, 2021
Division Head and Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology Karen Vasquez, Ph.D. appeared on BBC World Service's Science in Action to talk about Z-DNA. Dr. Vasquez's research focuses on DNA damage and repair, genomic instability, gene targeting, DNA structure and cancer therapeutics.

Texas Pharmacy Rises to #8 Nationally for Total Research Funding

#8 Total Research Funding Rank for UT Pharmacy.
June 15, 2021
The University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy moved up in several research funding categories, as reported in the newly-released rankings from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP). The college rose to #8 nationally in total research funding during the 2019-2020 fiscal year, compared to #9 in 2018-2019.

Kompella Receives Fulbright Award for Postdoctoral Research

A woman smiling.
March 16, 2021
Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology researcher Pallavi Kompella, Ph.D. has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award to research at the Biomedical Research Institute of Málaga in Spain.

Vasquez collaborates on paper published in Nature

Karen Vasquez headshot
August 3, 2018
College of Pharmacy Professor Karen M. Vasquez, Ph.D. recently collaborated on a research paper exploring the mechanisms involved in DNA structure-induced genetic instability in human disease. “Mechanisms of genetic instability caused by (CGG)n repeats in an experimental mammalian system” recently published in Nature, and includes co-authors Artem V. Kononenko, Thomas Ebersole, and Sergei M. Mirkin from Tufts University.