Michigan Pharmacology

05/28/2026

Check out this interesting article featuring Michigan Pharmacology Professor Jorge Ruas:

Health Lab talks to Jorge Ruas, Ph.D., of the U-M Department of Pharmacology, about peptides, how they work and whether supplementing them lends any benefit.

05/27/2026

Congratulations to our ASPET awardees!

Ryan Pauly (Levitt lab): 1st place, Neuropharmacology Division Graduate Student Poster Competition

Ben Clements (Traynor lab): 2nd place, Neuropharmacology Division Postdoctoral Poster Competition

Simon Tangen (Collins lab): 2nd place, Behavioral Pharmacology Division Graduate Student Poster Competition

Dawn Jessup (Traynor lab): 3rd place, Behavioral Pharmacology Division Postdoctoral Poster Competition

Shawn Flynn (Traynor/Levitt lab): 3rd place, Molecular Pharmacology Division Postdoctoral Oral Competition

05/27/2026

A new paper (co-authored by Dr. Jessica Anand and more) was recently published in The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. The paper, “Enhanced antinociception of mixed efficacy opioid peptidomimetics through P-glycoprotein modulation” can be found here:

μ-Opioid receptor agonists are widely used in the treatment of pain, but produce many adverse effects. Studies suggest that co-administration of a μ-opioid receptor agonist with a δ-opioid receptor antagonist relieves pain with reduced adverse effects. We evaluated the antinociceptive effects of ...

05/27/2026

A new paper (co-authored by Jacob Ormes, Dr. Alan Smrcka, and Dr. Emily Jutkiewicz) was recently published in Molecular Pharmacology. The paper, “Mechanisms for enhancement of μ-opioid receptor-mediated antinociception in the central nervous system through gallein-dependent modulation of downstream G protein βγ subunit signaling” can be found here:

The clinical utility of μ-opioid receptor (MOR) agonists is limited by side effects and tolerance. G protein βγ subunits (Gβγ) are critical mediators of MOR signaling that not only drive anticonception but also regulate phospholipase C and G protein-coupled receptor kinase pathways that feedbac...

05/27/2026

We'd like to invite you to the inaugural lecture of Pharmacology for Everyone, a new initiative aimed at engaging the broader community with educational content beyond the walls of the university. Our goal is simple: make expert knowledge accessible to anyone curious enough to attend. We're focused on pharmacology because most people, regardless of background, will encounter medications throughout their lives, and yet how those medicines actually work is rarely explained in plain language.

Our first speaker is Dr. George Mashour, who will give an introduction to anesthetic agents. Dr. Mashour will walk through what these drugs are, how they work and are used in medicine, and the questions they raise about the brain and consciousness itself.

We'd love your support in making this a strong start for the series. Please consider joining us:

Saturday, June 6th, 1:00 PM
Ann Arbor District Library Downtown Branch (343 South Fifth Ave. Ann Arbor, MI 48104)

Flyer attached with full details. We're providing free lunch for the first 150 attendees and free t-shirts for the first 25, both available on a first-come basis at the door.

Please register here: https://umich.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0U87WBgQtPQx7uu

Looking forward to seeing you there!

05/27/2026

Please join us in congratulating our faculty colleagues who, with approval of the Medical School, the Provost, and the Regents of the University of Michigan, have been promoted to new faculty ranks, officially effective September 1, 2026:

• Dr. Matthew Brody: Promotion to Associate Professor of Pharmacology, with tenure and Associate Professor of Internal Medicine, without tenure
• Dr. Eric Jimenez Vazquez : Promotion to Research Assistant Professor of Pharmacology
• Dr. Frank Kwarcinski : Promotion to Research Assistant Professor of Pharmacology

In addition, Dr. Michael Holinstat was appointed Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, without tenure, in the College of Engineering, effective August 25, 2026 (he is also professor of pharmacology, with tenure, professor of internal medicine, without tenure, and professor of surgery, without tenure, Medical School).

Congratulations to all!

05/27/2026

Please join us in congratulating this year's class of Department of Pharmacology Fellows supported by generous endowments from our donors. The application for this year's award was extremely competitive, highlighting the excellent work going on within our Department and the outstanding people performing that work. We are grateful to have these awards within the Department to support our fantastic trainees. This year's fellows are as follows:

Predoctoral Donor Awardees (alphabetical order):

Cat Demery

Kaitlyn Digsby

Kalynn Harvey

Alex Powell

Erika Ruskie

Postdoctoral Awardees (alphabetical order):

Dr. Elizaveta Mangutov

Dr. Maria Ortego Dominguez



Congratulations to all on this well-deserved honor!

05/21/2026

The Stanley and Judith Frankel Institute for Heart and Brain Health (Frankel IHBH) is proud to announce Aurel B. Leuchtmann, Ph.D., as the inaugural Frankel IHBH Postdoctoral Fellow. Awarded annually to an outstanding postdoctoral researcher pursuing innovative work in heart or brain health, this fellowship supports his research conducted under the mentorship of Jorge L. Ruas, Pharm.D., Ph.D., Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Michigan.

Dr. Leuchtmann is a molecular biologist whose research focuses on understanding how tissues adapt to physiological and pathological stress, directly aligned with the Frankel IHBH’s approach to advance heart and brain health. He completed his training in Switzerland at ETH Zurich (B.S., M.S.) and the Biozentrum, University of Basel (Ph.D.), where he investigated molecular mediators of exercise-training adaptations in young and aged musculoskeletal tissues. This work built his expertise in molecular exercise physiology, tissue-specific and systemic aging, muscle proteomics, and in vivo mouse models.

In the Ruas lab at UM, Dr. Leuchtmann studies the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying cardiac dysfunction, with a focus on identifying early biomarkers and defining key drivers of disease progression. His research aims to inform both pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches to prevent, halt, or reverse pathological remodeling of the heart.

05/13/2026

A new paper (co-authored by Dr. Paula Goforth and more) was recently published in Molecular Metabolism. The paper, “Increased leptin signaling drives the response of hypothalamic LepRb neurons to diet-induced obesity” can be found here:

The failure of hyperleptinemia to decrease adiposity in common forms of obesity has led to the notion that impaired leptin receptor (LepRb) signaling ("leptin resistance") might cause obesity. Because LepRb transcriptional signaling plays a central role in leptin action, we defined the control of ge...

05/10/2026

Happy Mother’s Day to all our Wolverine moms! 💙