Research interests of Croyle lab:
- Development of methods that hide/mask recombinant viral vectors
from the
immune system and to predict how patients will react to a new gene
medicine.
- Assess the mechanism by which viral infection alters hepatic and
renal drug
metabolism. (This is a collaborative project with Dr. Lane Brunner).
- Development of large-scale production methods of viral vectors for
vaccines
and gene therapy
- Development of Formulations to Enhance the Physical Stability of
Viral Vectors
- In vitro/In vivo testing of novel formulations/delivery methods
to enhance gene
expression in the lung, intestine, and muscle.
Dr. Croyle's Background and Training
Dr. Croyle graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1992 with
a B.S. in pharmacy and is a licensed pharmacist in Pennsylvania and
Michigan. After receiving her Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics under the direction
of Dr. Gordon Amidon at the University of Michigan in 1997, she received
a National Research Service Award from the NIH for training in gene
therapy for cystic fibrosis and accepted a postdoctoral position with
Dr. James Wilson at the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute
for Human Gene Therapy. Prior to her graduate training, Dr. Croyle worked
at several pharmaceutical companies and developed novel formulations
for various protein and peptide-based compounds. She is a member of
several scientific societies including the Controlled Release Society,
American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, American Society
for Microbiology, American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, American
Society for Gene Therapy and the International Society of Lyophilization.
She has published 19 papers on her work in the area of gene therapy.
Dr. Croyle is currently an Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutics at The
University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy. Her research interests
lie in the areas of the physical stability, large-scale production and
formulation of recombinant adeno-, adeno-associated and lenti- viruses
in the context of using them as medicinal products. Other areas of interest
are masking and predicting the immune response of these gene delivery
vectors in healthy individuals as well as in different models of disease
and studying the effect of viral infection on the expression and function
of key enzymes involved in drug metabolism located in the liver and
kidney.
Teaching Interests
PHR342C Physical and Chemical Principles of
Drugs
Many significant advances made in the pharmaceutical sciences in recent
years are in large part attributable to the accelerated development
of knowledge of the molecular structure and physicochemical properties
of drugs. The correlation of this knowledge with that of the nature
of biological reactions of drugs is paramount to the practice of modern
pharmacy in retail, clinical, and industrial settings. This course will
review certain topics presented in various general and physical chemistry
courses taken in the pre-pharmacy curriculum and address how these topics
influence the safety, effectiveness and reliability of medicinal products.
This knowledge will assist the pharmacy student in the critical evaluation
and preparation of dosage forms prior to dispensing them to a patient
and will form a basis for understanding concepts in biopharmaceutics
and pharmacokinetics introduced later in the curriculum.
PHR142P Physical and Chemical Principles of Drugs
Laboratory
The laboratory section of this course is designed to provide the pharmacy
student with a forum in which they can apply theoretical principles
described in the lecture portion of the course to situations they will
encounter as a pharmacist and/or pharmaceutical scientist. Upon completion
of the laboratory assignments, students will develop superior problem
solving skills and understand the role that physical pharmacy plays
in the daily practice of pharmacy.
PHR 382V Pharmaceutical
Biotechnology
With the completion of the Human Genome project just in the horizon,
the entire face of medicine as we now know it will change considerably.
Treatment strategies will involve the use of the traditional chemical
entities (i.e. drugs) as well as recombinant proteins and genetic material
(RNA, DNA). This course is designed to provide pharmaceutics graduate
students with a survey of the current technology used in basic science
and the pharmaceutical industry to develop new medicines for the 21st
century. After completing this course students should be able to:
• select and evaluate appropriate in vitro and in vivo models
by which to test novel formulations or delivery methods
• understand the rationale and theory behind common techniques
in the biotechnology field and use them to solve problems routinely
encountered in the biotech industry.
• understand how the immune system works and how this influences
the development of recombinant DNA therapeutics
• appreciate that modern therapeutics derived from the application
of
genetic techniques are often difficult to produce and handle
but are highly specific for their biological sites of activity.
• understand the concept of gene therapy, where the field is currently,
and how the pharmaceutical scientist can play a significant role in
development of a product to treat a genetic disease.
• effectively interface with scientists involved in large scale
production and processing of biological products with respect to formulation
development and final product characterization.
Laboratory Problems Course in Pharmaceutics
Problems courses are available for graduate and undergraduate students
interested in gaining first hand experience in pharmaceutical research.
Dr. Croyle is currently offering Laboratory Problems courses in research
pertaining to the immunology of recombinant viral vectors for gene therapy.
Trainees will be exposed to cutting edge, interdisciplinary research relevant
to the fields of cell biology, virology and immunology, while sharpening
basic skills in pharmaceutics and drug delivery. Hypothesis development
and open-ended problem solving skills will be emphasized. Contact Dr.
Croyle for further information about participation in this course.
• Other Affiliations in the UT System
Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology
http://www.icmb.utexas.edu/
W. M. Keck Center For Cancer Gene Therapy, M. D. Anderson
Cancer Center
http://www.mdanderson.org/departments/genetherapy/
• Other Links
American Society of Gene Therapy
http://www.asgt.org/
American Society of Microbiology
http://www.asm.org/
American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists
http://www.aaps.org/
Controlled Release Society
http://www.controlledrelease.org/
International Society of Lyophilization
http://www.islyophilization.org/
Williamsburg Bioprocessing Foundation
http://www.wilbio.com/
International Society for the Study of Xenobiotics
http://ww.issx.org/
