Faculty & Staff

There are very few people in the world who can claim to turn missiles into medicine but John Zehner (BS ’91) is among them.

Zehner, a nuclear pharmacist, is partner and CEO of SpectronRx, a contract manufacturing and development organization that specializes in radiopharmaceuticals. In 2027, when Purdue’s new Nursing and Pharmacy Education Building opens, the nuclear pharmacy lab will be outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment because of Zehner’s generosity on Purdue Day of Giving.

The FOE—Friends of Emily, for those not yet in the know—refer to Dr. Emily Hancock (PharmD ’92) as the EOF: Epicurean of Fun.

It’s a title she happily embraces, but it’s also a title that’s far from telling the whole story of who she is. Emily, the widow of former Purdue University College of Pharmacy Professor Bruce Hancock (BS ’75, MS ’77), says she grew up with a mother who could make even the most mundane tasks feel like a good time—a perspective Emily has held tight to even in the depths of unimaginable adversity.

Purdue researchers develop fully off-the-shelf, stem cell-derived, natural killer cells against glioblastoma

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University researchers are developing and validating a patent-pending treatment for incurable glioblastoma brain tumors. Glioblastomas are almost always lethal with a median survival time of 14 months. Traditional methods used against other cancers, like chemotherapy and immunotherapy, are often ineffective on glioblastoma. 

Ryan Altman has been named the Steve and Lee Ann Taglienti Chair in Pharmacy.

The termed professorship recognizes high-achieving faculty who have demonstrated excellence in both research and teaching, while also engaging in meaningful research collaborations.

Purdue scientist stabilizes pharmaceuticals to improve storage, stability and extend shelf life

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Pharmaceuticals are an important foundation of modern health and society. Without vaccines, medications and therapeutics, civilization as we know it would break down. And without careful formulation and storage, the pharmaceuticals themselves can break down and decay into uselessness.

Understanding and preventing that decay is the focus of Purdue scientist Elizabeth Topp’s career. 

Tony Zhou, associate professor of industrial and molecular pharmaceutics, recently received a third National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to support his world-leading research program in developing novel inhalation therapeutics fighting antimicrobial resistance.

The $2.4 million grant was awarded to Zhou to lead a multi-national team of top antimicrobial experts from Australia, Thailand, and the US, to fight the issue.

Omolola Adeoye-Olatunde has been named the Darr-Chaney Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice.

Chip Rutledge knows the importance of flexible funds to support early career professors in establishing their research programs.

The former dean of the former College of Pharmacy, Nursing, and Health Sciences at Purdue, alongside his wife Jane, recently established the Chip and Jane Rutledge Early Career Professorship to support young professors as they develop their academic programs.