M. Ashley Spies
Promoted to the rank of Professor
Pharmaceutical Sciences and Experimental Therapeutics

Ashley Spies' research focuses on the application of cheminformatics to advance early lead identification, particularly against what are classified as ‘difficult’ or ‘undruggable’ targets. These targets are often enzymes, which are, in principle, excellent targets for small molecule drug design, but otherwise have numerous difficulties vis-à-vis classic medicinal chemistry approaches.

His lab's work often focuses on allosteric pockets, that are located some distance from the enzyme active site. His research team employs different types of molecular dynamics simulations to investigate binding energies of drug candidate molecules, especially focusing on compounds that would be challenging to simply test by screening. 

Research in Spies' lab is generously supported by several NIH R01 awards, which focus on allosteric drug discovery and action.

Korey Kennelty
Promoted to the rank of Associate Professor with Tenure
Pharmacy Practice and Science

Korey Kennelty’s research focuses on increasing effective medication management and optimizing safe medication use for patients living with multiple chronic conditions. In her current work, she is funded by the NIH to conduct a multi-site, pragmatic cluster randomized clinical trial to examine how to integrate and sustain cardiovascular telehealth pharmacy services into large, diverse primary care clinics across the U.S. Kennelty also has funding from the CDC for another multi-site, pragmatic cluster randomized clinical trial to examine how deprescribing high-risk medications (e.g., benzodiazepines) impacts falls in rural older adults.  

Kennelty uses her clinical practice to inform her research. She works clinically in University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics Geriatric Assessment Clinic, working with patients, their caregivers, and primary care providers to streamline medication regimens and provide recommendations to providers for enhancing patient care plans.  

Brett Faine
Promoted to the rank of Clinical Associate Professor
Pharmacy Practice and Science

Brett Faine’s research focuses on infectious related diseases, sedation in mechanical ventilation, and the care of emergency department patients requiring inter-hospital transfer. He is the co-founder of the Emergency Medicine Pharmacy Research Network (EMPHARM-NET)--a network of 15 emergency medicine pharmacists at geographically diverse Emergency Departments across the United States to evaluate pharmacotherapy practices in the Emergency Department.

Additionally, Faine is a co-investigator on two multi-center CDC-funded studies evaluating the impact of COVID-19 acquisition and vaccine effectiveness among healthcare workers.