Laboratory of Drug Disposition and Pharmacogenetics Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Medical University of South Carolina This multi-disciplinary and multi-departmental group of investigators is dedicated to studying genetic and environmental factors that influence the outcome of treatment with psychoactive drugs. Current studies focus on the mechanisms and clinical effects of drug-drug interactions, herb-drug interactions, and the effects of age and disease states on drug and metabolite disposition. Analytical laboratory methods for drugs of interest are typically developed using high performance liquid chromatography to support pharmacokinetic studies of drug disposition (drug absorption, distribution, metabolism and elimination) in humans and animals. Pharmacogenetic studies (the effects of inheritance on drug disposition) are conducted to characterize the genotype and/or phenotype of individual’s plasma drug binding proteins and drug metabolizing enzymes. Investigations are conducted in healthy human volunteers, psychiatric patients, and with the use of animal models and in vitro laboratory methods. The Laboratory is currently funded by the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), the National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), and the pharmaceutical industry. Faculty: C. Lindsay DeVane, Pharm.D., Professor and Director John S. Markowitz, Pharm.D., Associate Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences; Co-Director Philippe Arnaud, M.D., Ph.D., Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology Heidi L. Liston, Pharm.D., Postdoctoral Fellow Jennifer Donovan, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow Telephone: 843-792-5448 FAX: 843-792-6318 E-mail: devaneL@musc.edu |