Our Interdisciplinary Laboratory is entirely dedicated to Clinical and Translational Drug Development to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance. My internally leading team is focused PK/PD approaches to optimize antimicrobial dosing. With the recent emergence of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria, our laboratory has been continuously funded by NIH for nearly two decades as we were one of the first to define and refine new exposure response relationships for the ‘last line’ polymyxin antibiotics (polymyxin B and colistin) and carbapenems and pioneer key PK/PD relationships for a number of antibiotics that were crucial to guide dose selection in Phase 1, 2, and 3 clinical trials which were instrumental in bringing these drugs to patients.

I have been very fortunate to be the Principal Investigator of R01AI165997 and R01AI148560 and other large NIH grants which seeks to investigate novel combinations and strategies, new antimicrobials, and mechanistic insights into antimicrobial resistance. Through team science, together with a global team, we have published a series original manuscripts which have allowed our team to push the boundaries of knowledge in antimicrobial pharmacology. It is our clinical focus which allows us to provide insights into translating these scientific findings toward the care of critically ill patients who are infected with resistant Gram-negatives.

I have been fortunate to be the mentor of 12 post-doctoral fellows who have gone on to successful careers. I also embrace my role as Associate Dean of Clinical and Translational Sciences in developing new and exciting programs and collaborations across the University for our faculty and students. A Past-President of the International Society of Anti-Infective Pharmacology, a member of the Antimicrobial Resistance Leadership Group and the Co-Chair of the International Consensus Guidelines for Optimal Polymyxin Use in collaboration with 6 international infectious diseases societies and organizations, I will leverage these experiences for our faculty and students at UB.

As Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Sciences, I was honored to lead the Schools and UB‘s submission to build a New Masters of Science in Clinical and Therapeutics, to build teams in the PharmD Clinical Research Program, to foster NIH funded translational research, and to develop innovative experiences to train of the next generation of pharmacists and scientists.