Departments Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences

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

How do we secure global information networks? Carla Brodley, dean of the College of Computer and Information Science, addressed that question at the opening of the Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Collaboration: ‘Where the magic starts happening’

Innovative minds and collaborative spirits came together for two featured events at the opening of Northeastern’s Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex: “NU Talks: Innovating Across Disciplines” and the panel discussion “The Future of Interdisciplinary Research.” ISEC, the speakers agreed, represents both.

by Thea Singer April 4, 2017

Faculty Expert

Craig Ferris

Professor of Psychology and Pharmaceutical Science

10/19/16 - BOSTON, MA. - Alexandros Makriyannis
Professor, George D. Behrakis Endowed Chair, and Director of the Center for Drug Discovery poses for a portrait on Oct. 19, 2016. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Structure of the brain’s ‘marijuana receptor’ revealed

New research by an interdisciplinary team, including Northeastern’s Alexandros Makriyannis, reveals how THC—the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana—gets into brain cells. The findings open the door to the development of new medications, free from side effects, for conditions from pain and obesity to neurological diseases and addiction.

by Thea Singer October 20, 2016

Faculty Expert

Diomedes Logothetis

Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Advancing Northeastern’s leadership in drug discovery

Diomedes Logothetis, the new chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, has a vision: To advance Northeastern’s standing as a go-to institution for academic researchers interested in drug discovery. “We can be the engine driving the understanding of how new drugs act,” he says.

by Thea Singer September 28, 2016