By Drew Adams
Murray, KY –
A one-million dollar gift to the University of Kentucky will help the College of Pharmacy conduct research in the area of personalized medicine; also known as Pharmacogenetics. That involves mapping patients' genetic codes to determine possible reactions to medications even before they take them. UK College of Pharmacy Dean Tim Tracy says Pharmacogenetics may be the next step in pharmacological research:
"For generations, pharmacists have known that different patients require different doses of the same drug. The only tool they had to discover the correct dose, to date, was trial and error. Now with the advent of more accessible genetic testing, related to drug therapy, scientists are learning some of the reasons for these differences among patients. This knowledge will help pharmacists provide the right medicine and the right dose to each, individual patient."
The gift, from Kentucky community pharmacist and philanthropist Larry H. Spears, will help the College of Pharmacy create its first-ever endowed chair.