Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences Archives

How do COVID-19 vaccines keep us out of the hospital?

The latest wave of the coronavirus crisis has been dubbed a pandemic of the unvaccinated. Despite breakthrough infections occurring in vaccinated people, the majority of COVID-19 patients in the hospital are unvaccinated. Northeastern pharmaceutical experts explain why.

by Eva Botkin-Kowacki September 24, 2021

Here’s how to make sense of the new guidance on booster shots. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

Why the Biden administration now says we need booster shots for COVID-19

New research reveals that COVID-19 vaccine protections began to decline in the middle of the summer when the delta variant was sweeping through the nation. “As we get new information, as the data provides new clues and a new direction in terms of what we need to do, we have to then respond accordingly,” says Neil Maniar, professor of public health practice at Northeastern.

by Eva Botkin-Kowacki August 18, 2021

Large crowds of people with and without masks fill Times Square in New York City.

It could be too late to stop the Delta variant–and to achieve ‘herd immunity’; Here’s why

Now that cases are rising across the country again because of the high transmissibility of the Delta variant, even with more than half of the U.S. population fully vaccinated, it’s time that health authorities rethink the pandemic “endgame,” says Neil Maniar, professor of the practice and director of the Master of Public Health in Urban Health program at Northeastern.

by Tanner Stening August 13, 2021

This image shows SARS-CoV-2 (round blue objects) emerging from the surface of cells cultured in the lab. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID-19. The virus shown was isolated from a patient in the U.S. Photo by: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

How afraid of variants should we be?

The global death toll of the COVID-19 pandemic has surpassed 4 million, largely accelerated by dangerous variants of the coronavirus. Northeastern experts explain what you need to know about the risk of variants.

by Eva Botkin-Kowacki July 8, 2021

Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Johnson & Johnson's 1-shot COVID-19 vaccine could spark fewer side effects

Compared to vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer, the newly approved Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine could trigger fewer allergic reactions, headaches, sore muscles, and other adverse effects, says Brandon Dionne, a pharmacy professor at Northeastern.

by Hillary Chabot March 1, 2021

Faculty Expert

Brandon Dionne

Assistant Clinical Professor

Medical personnel prepare to test hundreds of people lined up in vehicles in Phoenix, Arizona. The state has issued a new shutdown order after a sharp increase in coronavirus infections. AP Photo/Matt York

COVID cases are on the rise in the US. Is this the second wave, or are we still in the first?

Frankly, it doesn’t really matter, says Brandon Dionne, an assistant clinical professor in Northeastern’s school of pharmacy. What does matter is that we continue wearing masks, practicing physical distancing, and knowing where the number of cases is surging. “That’s how you’re going to best protect yourself and those around you,” Dionne says.

by Laura Castañón June 30, 2020

Northeastern student Vidhan Bhaiya got the idea for orthopedic shoes for people with diabetes who have walking impairments while watching his uncle at a family wedding in India. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Easy on the eyes. Easier on the feet.

Northeastern students Vidhan Bhaiya and Danny Jooyoung Kim founded Dr. Brinsley, a footwear company for people who have trouble walking because of diabetes, because they found the existing choices on the market “ineffective, unsophisticated, and expensive.”

by Khalida Sarwari January 10, 2020

Associate Professor Ganesh Thakur conducts research with Sumanta Garai, left, and Peter Schaffer in 140 The Fenway Center on Oct. 2, 2018. Thakur is developing pain medications that are safe and effective alternatives to opioids. These potential medications are a new class of compounds, harnessing cannabis-like effects without the cognitive or mood changes of marijuana. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

In search of a drug to stop the opioid epidemic

Ganesh Thakur, an associate professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, has created a chemical compound that could enhance the body’s own ability to relieve pain well enough to replace opioids, without putting patients at risk of becoming addicted.

by Laura Castañón and Lia Petronio December 5, 2018

Pharmacy students led by Angela Sung, BHS’18, PharmD’19, are developing new drugs without side effects to help those who are dependent on alcohol. Photo by Adam Glanzman/Northeastern University

Discovering drug treatments for alcohol addiction

Common treatments for alcohol addiction range from 12-step programs advocating abstinence to use of medications including disulfiram, sold as Antabuse, which produces an acute sensitivity…

by Thea Singer April 13, 2017