Joshua Deppas, M.S. (PHARM '20), was selected as a recipient of the NIH-funded TL1 pre-doctoral fellowship, awarded through the Institute for Clinical Research and Education (ICRE) and Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) at the University of Pittsburgh.
Deppas' work focuses on preclinical investigation of ATR inhibitors (ATRi), a class of anticancer agents known to block DNA damage response. His research aims to identify key differences in pharmacokinetic behavior, toxicity profiles and anti-tumor immune responses between ATRi currently in clinical development, ultimately leading to the development of a whole-body physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model that scales up to humans.
The long-term goal of his research is to utilize this model to predict human doses associated with toxicity and identify doses required for optimal anticancer immune responses, therefore optimizing clinical utility in cancer patients.
Deppas is a second year Pitt Pharmacy graduate student in the Clinical Pharmaceutical Sciences track under the mentorship of Professor Jan Beumer, PharmD, PhD, DABT.
