Drug research team welcomes Queen’s scientist

Kingston, ON – Focuses on mitigating the serious side effects from using nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) the Personalized NSAID Therapeutics Consortium (PENTACON) is 39 investigators from 18 institutions and four countries. A Canadian researcher has recently joined this group.

Dr. Colin Funk from the Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences at Queen’s University will be working with this consortium to personalize chronic drug therapy while reducing the risk of heart attacks, heart failure and strokes. Dr. Funk’s research has previously revealed cardiovascular risks often associated with certain members of the NSAID class of drugs.

NSAIDs are used to relieve pain and inflammation and are among the most common medications consumed worldwide.

“I expect it will be very rewarding to work alongside a superb team of renowned scientists from diverse disciplines,” says Dr. Funk, the Canada Research Chair in Molecular, Cellular and Physiological Medicine. “I hope we realize the goal of personalized medicine, with respect to the most commonly prescribed drug class.”

The five-year project is funded by an $18.5 million grant from the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.