News Archive
2018
December 20th, 2018 - Rob Cassell will present a poster on "plant-derived biased show utility in the reduction of drinking behaviour in C57BL/6 mice" from 1-2pm at the British Pharmacological Society meeting. (P194).
December 16th, 2018 - Our paper describing our discovery that rubiscolins are naturally occurring G-protein-biased delta opioid receptor peptides has been accepted for publication in the journal European. Neuropsychopharmacology.
December 7th, 2018 - Congratulations to Robert Cassell for being selected to participate in the 2019 ASPET Washington Fellows program. The mission of the ASPET Washington Fellows Program is to enable developing and early career scientists interested in science policy to learn about and become more engaged in public policy issues. The program will also provide a travel grant to Rob to attend the 2019 Experimental Biology meeting in Orlando.
November 15th, 2018 - A paper led by The Flaherty lab on which we collaborated titled "optimization of a 1,3,4-oxadiazole series for inhibition of Ca2+/calmodulin-stimulated activity of adenylyl cyclases 1 and 8 for the treatment of chronic pain" was accepted in European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.
November 10th, 2018 - MeeJung Ko is giving an oral presentation at the annual Sensory biology Sensorium symposium on "developing a preclinical model of pain in zebrafish".
November 8th, 2018 - Congratulations to BSPS undergraduate/PharmD student Kendall Mores for her first, first author paper getting accepted into Neuropharmacology. Kendall wrote a review on "arrestin recruitment and signaling by G protein-coupled receptor heteromers for a a special issue of Neuropharmacology on "Brain heteroreceptor complexes in health and disease".
October 11th, 2018 - Rob Cassell provided an hour long continued education credit session for Purdue Pharmacy Alumni in Evansville, IN. The session was aimed at providing an update on current prescription practices of opioids, new developments in treating opioid use disorder and the rise of fentanyl and kratom use.
September 20th, 2018 - Rob Cassell was interviewed by local TV station WLFI about the new drugs he has synthesized that may help reduce alcohol use and prevent relapse.
September 10th, 2018 - Arbaaz Mukadam, previous undergraduate assistant in the lab, has joined the Van Rijn lab as a research technician aiding in our in vivo and ex vivo work.
September 6th, 2018 - A proposal by the Van Rijn lab in collaboration with the Brewster, Lill and Flathery labs to investigate beta-arrestin1 as a novel target to treat epilepsy was funded by the Purdue Institute for Drug Discovery (PIDD) in the amount of $75,000/year for up to 2 years. Thanks for the support!
September 6th, 2018 - In collaboration with Co-PI Dr. Mike Wendt, the Van Rijn lab received a 2-year R21 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to study the influence of alcohol on metastatic dormancy of breast cancer. Thanks for the support!
August 1st, 2018 - The Van Rijn lab received an 2-year R21 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to study the ability of kratom and kratom alkaloids to reduce alcohol consumption. For this proposal we collaborate with Dr. Susruta Majumdar at the St. Louis College of Pharmacy. Thanks for the support.
June 18th, 2018 - Robert Cassell is presenting a poster (#318) at the 2018 conference for the Research Society on Alcoholism. His poster title is "Preclinical characterization of Mitragyna speciosa alkaloids for the treatment of alcohol use disorder".
June 13-15th, 2018 - Anna Gutridge and Mee Jung Ko presented posters at the 2018 International Narcotics Research Conference. Their posters are titled "Preclinical characterization of Mitragyna speciosa alkaloids for the treatment of alcohol use disorder" and "Beta-arrestin-biased delta opioid receptor signaling as a novel therapeutic target for anxiety disorders", respectively.
May 23rd, 2018 - Drs. van Rijn and Robins were recently interviewed by WBAA, the local NPR station to provide our viewpoints on the treatment of chronic pain, the opioid epidemic and our search for better painkillers and drugs to treat addiction.
May 18th, 2018 - Mee Jung Ko presented a poster at the International Behavioural and Neural Genetics Society conference in Rochester, Minnesota on the characterization of beta-arrestin 1 knockout mice.
May 18th, 2018 - Dr. van Rijn was invited by Dr. Anna Lee to give a seminar in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Minnesota entitled "Should the 2nd generation of opioids be completely G-protein biased for optimal efficacy?"
May 3rd, 2018 - Congratulations to Anna Gutridge and Mee Jung Ko for receiving INRC travel awards to attend the annual International Narcotics Research Conference in San Diego.
May 1st, 2018 - Congratulations to Arbaaz Mukadam for graduating from the Purdue University Bachelor in Pharmaceutical Sciences (BSPS) program and receiving a research recognition award at the graduation banquet. It was a pleasure having you work in the lab and teaching you in MCMP544 Arbaaz!
April 30th, 2018 - We are pleased to announce Arryn Blaine, a 1st year student in the Purdue University Life Science graduate program will join the Van Rijn lab. Welcome Arryn!
April 30th, 2018 - Dr. van Rijn was interviewed by W Radio Colombia to discuss the risks associated with mixing energy drinks and alcohol in a conversation with Vicky Davila and Rafael Manzano.
April 25th, 2018 - Robert Cassell received a student merit travel grant from the Research Society on Alcoholism to attend the annual conference in San Diego this June. Congratulations Rob.
April 23rd, 2018 - Mee Jung Ko presented her research on TRPA1 channels in the poster competition at Experimental Biology 2018 with a poster titled "A pharmacological model of TRPA1-mediated nociception in the zebrafish for therapeutic discovery".
April 10th, 2018 - Kendall Mores was selected to present her undergraduate research at the Office of Undergraduate Research Conference and won 3rd best oral presentation out of 28 participants from across the Purdue campus. Great job Kendall!
April 9th, 2018 - The Van Rijn lab received a $10,000 research enhancement grant from the Purdue Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology to characterize potential biased delta opioid receptor agonists identified in an in silico screen. Thanks for the support!
April 8th, 2018 - Congratulations to Kendall Mores for being a top rank pharmacy student worthy of induction into the Rho Chi society. The Van Rijn lab is fortunate to have already witnessed Kendall's intelligence and hard work over the last 2+ years. Outstanding accomplishment Kendall!
March 29th, 2018 - Grace Mulia, a 3rd year BSPS student has received a Dean's summer fellowship to work in the Van Rijn lab in the summer investigating ERK activation in several brain regions in male and female mice following a range of stimuli. Congratulations Grace!
March 23rd, 2018 - Dr. van Rijn was one of the invited regional speakers for the Greater Indiana Society for Neuroscience annual meeting, with a presentation entitled "The yellow brick road map to developing new alcohol use disorder treatments".
March 18th, 2018 - Congratulations to Meridith Robins and co-authors for the acceptance of the latest Van Rijn Lab manuscript in Frontiers in Psychiatry describing her findings for a role for Gi-protein activity in the dorsal striatum in reducing voluntary alcohol intake in mice. Meridith used pharmacological and pharmacogenetic (DREADD) approaches to find that activation of Gi-coupled delta opioid receptors and muscarinic M4 receptors in the dorsal striatum causes mice to drink less alcohol.
March 12th, 2018 - Congratulations to Mee Jung Ko for receiving a IBANGS Young Investigator Travel Award to attend the Genes, Brain and Behavior meeting in Rochester, Minnesota.
March 10th, 2018 - The Van Rijn lab received a 2-year $100,000 R03 grant from the National Institute for Drug Abuse to "develop G-protein biased delta opioid receptor agonist with analgesic potency". Thanks for the support.
March 6th, 2018 - Dr. van Rijn was invited to the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology by Dr. Patrick Sheets at Indiana University School of Medicine to give a seminar entitled "Self administration of kratom to treat alcohol addiction - Why it may work"
March 5th, 2018 - Meridith Robins successfully defended her PhD Thesis "Behavioral pharmacology of alcohol and legal pscyhostimulants". Congratulations Dr. Robins!!
March 1st, 2018 - Congratulations to Meridith and co-authors for the latest publication by the Van Rijn lab in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience. In the paper Meridith characterized the role of beta-arrestin 1 in several neurological behaviors using genetic knockout animal models. Merditih's data suggests that beta-arrestin 1 may have a protective role again alcohol use in females.
February 26th, 2018 - Congratulations to Maria Shelley, a P1 pharmacy student, for receiving a Dean's Summer Fellowship to start characterizing biased signaling pathways in human and mouse neuronal cell lines in our lab.
February 19th, 2018 - Congratulations to Meridith Robins for being a recipient of a Teaching Academy Graduate Teaching Award, by the Center for Instructional Excellence. Great job Meridith!
February 6th, 2018 - Congratulations to Mee Jung Ko for being awarded an ASPET Travel Award to attend the Experimental Biology Conference in San Diego in 2018.
January 3rd, 2018 - Congratulations to Mee Jung Ko for being awarded A Travel Award from the Purdue Institute of Integrative Neuroscience to attend the International Narcotics Research Conference in San Diego in 2018.
January 3rd, 2018 - Congratulations to Mee Jung Ko for being awarded A Chaney Travel Award to attend the Experimental Biology Conference in San Diego in 2018.
December 16th, 2018 - Our paper describing our discovery that rubiscolins are naturally occurring G-protein-biased delta opioid receptor peptides has been accepted for publication in the journal European. Neuropsychopharmacology.
December 7th, 2018 - Congratulations to Robert Cassell for being selected to participate in the 2019 ASPET Washington Fellows program. The mission of the ASPET Washington Fellows Program is to enable developing and early career scientists interested in science policy to learn about and become more engaged in public policy issues. The program will also provide a travel grant to Rob to attend the 2019 Experimental Biology meeting in Orlando.
November 15th, 2018 - A paper led by The Flaherty lab on which we collaborated titled "optimization of a 1,3,4-oxadiazole series for inhibition of Ca2+/calmodulin-stimulated activity of adenylyl cyclases 1 and 8 for the treatment of chronic pain" was accepted in European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.
November 10th, 2018 - MeeJung Ko is giving an oral presentation at the annual Sensory biology Sensorium symposium on "developing a preclinical model of pain in zebrafish".
November 8th, 2018 - Congratulations to BSPS undergraduate/PharmD student Kendall Mores for her first, first author paper getting accepted into Neuropharmacology. Kendall wrote a review on "arrestin recruitment and signaling by G protein-coupled receptor heteromers for a a special issue of Neuropharmacology on "Brain heteroreceptor complexes in health and disease".
October 11th, 2018 - Rob Cassell provided an hour long continued education credit session for Purdue Pharmacy Alumni in Evansville, IN. The session was aimed at providing an update on current prescription practices of opioids, new developments in treating opioid use disorder and the rise of fentanyl and kratom use.
September 20th, 2018 - Rob Cassell was interviewed by local TV station WLFI about the new drugs he has synthesized that may help reduce alcohol use and prevent relapse.
September 10th, 2018 - Arbaaz Mukadam, previous undergraduate assistant in the lab, has joined the Van Rijn lab as a research technician aiding in our in vivo and ex vivo work.
September 6th, 2018 - A proposal by the Van Rijn lab in collaboration with the Brewster, Lill and Flathery labs to investigate beta-arrestin1 as a novel target to treat epilepsy was funded by the Purdue Institute for Drug Discovery (PIDD) in the amount of $75,000/year for up to 2 years. Thanks for the support!
September 6th, 2018 - In collaboration with Co-PI Dr. Mike Wendt, the Van Rijn lab received a 2-year R21 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to study the influence of alcohol on metastatic dormancy of breast cancer. Thanks for the support!
August 1st, 2018 - The Van Rijn lab received an 2-year R21 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to study the ability of kratom and kratom alkaloids to reduce alcohol consumption. For this proposal we collaborate with Dr. Susruta Majumdar at the St. Louis College of Pharmacy. Thanks for the support.
June 18th, 2018 - Robert Cassell is presenting a poster (#318) at the 2018 conference for the Research Society on Alcoholism. His poster title is "Preclinical characterization of Mitragyna speciosa alkaloids for the treatment of alcohol use disorder".
June 13-15th, 2018 - Anna Gutridge and Mee Jung Ko presented posters at the 2018 International Narcotics Research Conference. Their posters are titled "Preclinical characterization of Mitragyna speciosa alkaloids for the treatment of alcohol use disorder" and "Beta-arrestin-biased delta opioid receptor signaling as a novel therapeutic target for anxiety disorders", respectively.
May 23rd, 2018 - Drs. van Rijn and Robins were recently interviewed by WBAA, the local NPR station to provide our viewpoints on the treatment of chronic pain, the opioid epidemic and our search for better painkillers and drugs to treat addiction.
May 18th, 2018 - Mee Jung Ko presented a poster at the International Behavioural and Neural Genetics Society conference in Rochester, Minnesota on the characterization of beta-arrestin 1 knockout mice.
May 18th, 2018 - Dr. van Rijn was invited by Dr. Anna Lee to give a seminar in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Minnesota entitled "Should the 2nd generation of opioids be completely G-protein biased for optimal efficacy?"
May 3rd, 2018 - Congratulations to Anna Gutridge and Mee Jung Ko for receiving INRC travel awards to attend the annual International Narcotics Research Conference in San Diego.
May 1st, 2018 - Congratulations to Arbaaz Mukadam for graduating from the Purdue University Bachelor in Pharmaceutical Sciences (BSPS) program and receiving a research recognition award at the graduation banquet. It was a pleasure having you work in the lab and teaching you in MCMP544 Arbaaz!
April 30th, 2018 - We are pleased to announce Arryn Blaine, a 1st year student in the Purdue University Life Science graduate program will join the Van Rijn lab. Welcome Arryn!
April 30th, 2018 - Dr. van Rijn was interviewed by W Radio Colombia to discuss the risks associated with mixing energy drinks and alcohol in a conversation with Vicky Davila and Rafael Manzano.
April 25th, 2018 - Robert Cassell received a student merit travel grant from the Research Society on Alcoholism to attend the annual conference in San Diego this June. Congratulations Rob.
April 23rd, 2018 - Mee Jung Ko presented her research on TRPA1 channels in the poster competition at Experimental Biology 2018 with a poster titled "A pharmacological model of TRPA1-mediated nociception in the zebrafish for therapeutic discovery".
April 10th, 2018 - Kendall Mores was selected to present her undergraduate research at the Office of Undergraduate Research Conference and won 3rd best oral presentation out of 28 participants from across the Purdue campus. Great job Kendall!
April 9th, 2018 - The Van Rijn lab received a $10,000 research enhancement grant from the Purdue Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology to characterize potential biased delta opioid receptor agonists identified in an in silico screen. Thanks for the support!
April 8th, 2018 - Congratulations to Kendall Mores for being a top rank pharmacy student worthy of induction into the Rho Chi society. The Van Rijn lab is fortunate to have already witnessed Kendall's intelligence and hard work over the last 2+ years. Outstanding accomplishment Kendall!
March 29th, 2018 - Grace Mulia, a 3rd year BSPS student has received a Dean's summer fellowship to work in the Van Rijn lab in the summer investigating ERK activation in several brain regions in male and female mice following a range of stimuli. Congratulations Grace!
March 23rd, 2018 - Dr. van Rijn was one of the invited regional speakers for the Greater Indiana Society for Neuroscience annual meeting, with a presentation entitled "The yellow brick road map to developing new alcohol use disorder treatments".
March 18th, 2018 - Congratulations to Meridith Robins and co-authors for the acceptance of the latest Van Rijn Lab manuscript in Frontiers in Psychiatry describing her findings for a role for Gi-protein activity in the dorsal striatum in reducing voluntary alcohol intake in mice. Meridith used pharmacological and pharmacogenetic (DREADD) approaches to find that activation of Gi-coupled delta opioid receptors and muscarinic M4 receptors in the dorsal striatum causes mice to drink less alcohol.
March 12th, 2018 - Congratulations to Mee Jung Ko for receiving a IBANGS Young Investigator Travel Award to attend the Genes, Brain and Behavior meeting in Rochester, Minnesota.
March 10th, 2018 - The Van Rijn lab received a 2-year $100,000 R03 grant from the National Institute for Drug Abuse to "develop G-protein biased delta opioid receptor agonist with analgesic potency". Thanks for the support.
March 6th, 2018 - Dr. van Rijn was invited to the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology by Dr. Patrick Sheets at Indiana University School of Medicine to give a seminar entitled "Self administration of kratom to treat alcohol addiction - Why it may work"
March 5th, 2018 - Meridith Robins successfully defended her PhD Thesis "Behavioral pharmacology of alcohol and legal pscyhostimulants". Congratulations Dr. Robins!!
March 1st, 2018 - Congratulations to Meridith and co-authors for the latest publication by the Van Rijn lab in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience. In the paper Meridith characterized the role of beta-arrestin 1 in several neurological behaviors using genetic knockout animal models. Merditih's data suggests that beta-arrestin 1 may have a protective role again alcohol use in females.
February 26th, 2018 - Congratulations to Maria Shelley, a P1 pharmacy student, for receiving a Dean's Summer Fellowship to start characterizing biased signaling pathways in human and mouse neuronal cell lines in our lab.
February 19th, 2018 - Congratulations to Meridith Robins for being a recipient of a Teaching Academy Graduate Teaching Award, by the Center for Instructional Excellence. Great job Meridith!
February 6th, 2018 - Congratulations to Mee Jung Ko for being awarded an ASPET Travel Award to attend the Experimental Biology Conference in San Diego in 2018.
January 3rd, 2018 - Congratulations to Mee Jung Ko for being awarded A Travel Award from the Purdue Institute of Integrative Neuroscience to attend the International Narcotics Research Conference in San Diego in 2018.
January 3rd, 2018 - Congratulations to Mee Jung Ko for being awarded A Chaney Travel Award to attend the Experimental Biology Conference in San Diego in 2018.
2017
December 21st, 2017 - Congratulations to Mee Jung Ko for being awarded a competitive A.H. Ismail Interdisciplinary Program Doctoral Research Travel Award to attend the International Narcotics Reseach Conference in San Diego in 2018.
December 14th, 2017 - Dr. Van Rijn presented a seminar titled "new ways to treat addiction - bias can be good" at the National Health Research Institute (NHRI) in Taiwan.
December 13th, 2017 - Kendall Mores received an OUR scholar award from the Purdue Office of Undergraduate Research to perform an independent research project in the Van Rijn lab. Congratulations Kendall!
December 11th, 2017 - Anna Gutridge, a new graduate student in the MCMP department has accepted a position in the Van Rijn lab. Welcome Anna!
November 30th, 2017 - A collaborative manuscript by visiting scientist Ricardo Marquez-Gomez describing evidence for the existence of heteromers between adenosine A2a and histamine H3 receptors has been accepted in the journal Pharmacological Research.
November 20th, 2017 - Congratulations to Doungkamol "Dr. Nook" Alongkronrusmee for successfully presenting and defending her thesis entitled "Identification of novel therapeutic targets for chronic pain"!
November 15th, 2017 - Meridith Robins and Mee Jung Ko presented their research at the poster session at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in Washington DC. Meridith presented research detailing her study of the synthetic stimulant ethylphenidate (794.10/RR15). Mee Jung presented her work studying the role of delta opioid receptors in anxiety-like behavior (792.05/PP27).
November 14th, 2017 - Dr. Van Rijn presented a seminar in the Brain and Spinal Cord Injury series of the Purdue Institute for Integrative Neuroscience (PIIN) titled "Alcohol-induced pain - role of aldehydes and TRPA1"
November 11th, 2017 - Congratulations to Mee Jung Ko for successfully defending her original research proposal and becoming an official PhD candidate within the Purdue University Life Sciences program. Way to go Mee Jung!!
October 2nd, 2017 - Congratulations to Meridith Robins for receiving a Kienly Award for Excellence in Teaching, for contributing as a teaching assistant to the success of the MCMP544 course on "Drug Classes and Mechanisms".
September 12th, 2017 - Dr. van Rijn received a $1,700,000 5-year R01 grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to study "G-protein, beta-arrestin and ERK signaling in alcohol use and anxiety disorders".
July 28th, 2017 - Dr. van Rijn has become a member of the executive committee of the Purdue University Interdisciplinary Life Sciences program (PULSe) and the new head of the Integrative Neuroscience training group, representing over 50 neuroscience faculty at Purdue University . He takes over the position from Dr. Cannon who now serves as the director of the PULSe program.
July 11th, 2017 - The Van Rijn lab is out in force at the annual International Narcotics Research Conference in Chicago, with Meridith Robins, Doungkamol Alongkronrusmee and Robert Cassell all presenting posters and Dr. van Rijn giving a talk in a symposium he organized on the role of opioid receptors in alcohol use disorders.
June 28th, 2017 - Meridith Robins won a very competitive and prestigious Enoch Gordis Research Recognition Award at the 2017 Research Society on Alcoholism conference for her presentation entitled "Critical role of Gi-protein signaling in the dorsal striatum in the reduction of voluntary alcohol intake in C57BL/6 mice". Great accomplishment Meridith!
June 22nd, 2017 - Dove Medical Press released a press statement highlighting our recent perspective on the etiology and treatment of neuropathic pain. The press release was covered by several news sites.
June 16th, 2017 - Congratulations to Robert Cassell for successfully defending his original proposal to become a PhD candidate!
May 30th, 2017 - Congratulations to Robert Cassell, Doungkamol Alongkronrusmee and Meredith Robins for receiving travel grants to attend the 2017 International Narcotics Research Conference (INRC) in Chicago.
May 25th, 2017 - Our 2016 Plos One article on caffeine mixed alcohol was in the top 1% most downloaded articles of the year (out of 22,000 total).
May 25th, 2017 - We are 2 for 2: Meridith Robins also received the Bilsland Dissertation fellowship for her thesis research focused on stimulant and alcohol use disorders. Congratulations Meridith!
May 18th, 2017 - Doungkamol Alongkronrusmee received a Certificate of Excellence for her poster presentation at the Office of Interdisciplinary Graduate Students spring symposium on May 3rd. Well done Nook!
May 12th, 2017 - Meridith Robins received a Paget Travel award to attend the annual Society for Neuroscience Conference in Washington DC to present a poster on the "Behavioral and neurochemical analysis of novel psychoactive substance ethylphenidate exposure in adolescent male and female mice". Congrats Meridith!
May 9th, 2017 - George Takei created a video highlighting our research paper on the risks of adolescents consumption of caffeine-mixed alcohol on his facebook page. The video has already been viewed one million times. Meridith's Plos One paper has been viewed over 23,000 times within 1 year of publication.
May 9th, 2017 - Mee Jung Ko received a travel grant from the Purdue Graduate Student Government (PGSG) to attend the annual Society for Neuroscience Conference in Washington DC to present her work on delta opioid receptors and anxiety-like behavior. Congratulations Mee Jung!
May 9th, 2017 - Dr. van Rijn gave a talk entitled "Strong beta-arrestin signaling may cause unwanted effects for drug treatments of alcohol use disorders" that was well received at the Alcoholism and Stress Conference in Volterra, Italy.
May 1st, 2017 - Dr. van Rijn received a summer faculty grant ($8,000) from the Purdue Research Foundation to investigate to what extent beta-arrestin signaling impacts drug-induced seizure activity. Thanks for the support!
April 18th, 2017 - Meridith Robins received a Student Merit travel award from the Research Society on Alcoholism to attend their annual meeting in Denver. Congratulations!
April 17th, 2017 - Doungkamol 'Nook' Alongkronrusmee received the Bilsland Dissertation fellowship for her thesis research focused on the identification and characterization of novel targets for (chronic) pain. Congratulations Nook!
April 14th, 2017 - Mee Jung Ko received a travel grant from the College of Science/PULSe 'Women in Science Program' to attend the Society for Neuroscience conference in Washington DC. Congratulations!
April 7th, 2017 - Dr. van Rijn is a co-investigator on an MCMP research enhancement award ($48,000) on a team including Drs. Watts, Lill and Flaherty to develop and characterize novel adenyly cyclase type 1 selective inhibitors for chronic pain. Thanks for the support!
March 24th, 2017 - Even when she is not feeling 100% Doungkamol Alongkronrusmee shows up to present her poster and walks away with 3rd prize at the Health and Disease poster session. Great job.
March 22nd, 2017 - Meridith Robins has been selected as one of the finalists for the Enoch Gordis graduate research recognition awards at the upcoming conference of the Research Society on Alcoholism in Denver from June 24th-28th. As a finalist, Meridith will present a poster and give an oral presentation on her research studying the effect of biased signaling in the dorsal striatum on alcohol intake. Congratulations!
March 17th, 2017 - Dr. van Rijn was interviewed in the Kelly Cutrara Show for Toronto Talk Radio AM640 to discuss policy under consideration by the Toronto Board of Health restricting marketing and sale of energy drinks to teenagers.
March 3rd, 2017 - Kendall Mores and Ji Won 'Ellen' Ha received Dean Summer Fellowships from the College of Pharmacy to perform research over the summer break. Congrats!
February 28th, 2017 - Doungkamol Alongkronrusmee won the first prize in the Sigma Xi Poster symposium in the Life Sciences category with a poster describing her project on disruption of delta-mu opioid heteromers. Congrats Nook!
February 27th, 2017 - Our recent collaborative publication with Dr. Watts in Science Signaling detailing the discovery of a novel AC1 selective inhibitor was featured in Science magazine.
February 15th, 2017 - MeeJung Ko and Logan Ganzen (Yuk Fai Leung lab - Biological Sciences) have been awarded a $2,000 collaborative research grant from the Purdue Institute for Integrative Neuroscience to develop a "Pharmacological Model of TRPA1-mediated Nociception in the Zebrafish for Therapeutic Discovery". Congratulations MeeJung and Logan!.
January 31st, 2017 - A manuscript, for which we contributed behavioral expertise to the Watts lab, detailing a novel inhibitor of adenylyl cyclase 1 that has analgesic properties has been accepted in Science Signaling.
January 24th, 2017 - The van Rijn lab was awarded a $15,000 HTS screening grant from the Chemical Genomics Screening Facility of the Purdue Institute for Drug Discovery to discover signaling biased delta opioid receptor drugs as novel therapy for stroke.
January 5th, 2017 - Doungkamol Alongkronrusmee has won a Chaney Graduate Student Travel award to attend the 48th International Narcotics Research Conference and present her research on delta-mu opioid heteromers. Congratulations!
December 14th, 2017 - Dr. Van Rijn presented a seminar titled "new ways to treat addiction - bias can be good" at the National Health Research Institute (NHRI) in Taiwan.
December 13th, 2017 - Kendall Mores received an OUR scholar award from the Purdue Office of Undergraduate Research to perform an independent research project in the Van Rijn lab. Congratulations Kendall!
December 11th, 2017 - Anna Gutridge, a new graduate student in the MCMP department has accepted a position in the Van Rijn lab. Welcome Anna!
November 30th, 2017 - A collaborative manuscript by visiting scientist Ricardo Marquez-Gomez describing evidence for the existence of heteromers between adenosine A2a and histamine H3 receptors has been accepted in the journal Pharmacological Research.
November 20th, 2017 - Congratulations to Doungkamol "Dr. Nook" Alongkronrusmee for successfully presenting and defending her thesis entitled "Identification of novel therapeutic targets for chronic pain"!
November 15th, 2017 - Meridith Robins and Mee Jung Ko presented their research at the poster session at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in Washington DC. Meridith presented research detailing her study of the synthetic stimulant ethylphenidate (794.10/RR15). Mee Jung presented her work studying the role of delta opioid receptors in anxiety-like behavior (792.05/PP27).
November 14th, 2017 - Dr. Van Rijn presented a seminar in the Brain and Spinal Cord Injury series of the Purdue Institute for Integrative Neuroscience (PIIN) titled "Alcohol-induced pain - role of aldehydes and TRPA1"
November 11th, 2017 - Congratulations to Mee Jung Ko for successfully defending her original research proposal and becoming an official PhD candidate within the Purdue University Life Sciences program. Way to go Mee Jung!!
October 2nd, 2017 - Congratulations to Meridith Robins for receiving a Kienly Award for Excellence in Teaching, for contributing as a teaching assistant to the success of the MCMP544 course on "Drug Classes and Mechanisms".
September 12th, 2017 - Dr. van Rijn received a $1,700,000 5-year R01 grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to study "G-protein, beta-arrestin and ERK signaling in alcohol use and anxiety disorders".
July 28th, 2017 - Dr. van Rijn has become a member of the executive committee of the Purdue University Interdisciplinary Life Sciences program (PULSe) and the new head of the Integrative Neuroscience training group, representing over 50 neuroscience faculty at Purdue University . He takes over the position from Dr. Cannon who now serves as the director of the PULSe program.
July 11th, 2017 - The Van Rijn lab is out in force at the annual International Narcotics Research Conference in Chicago, with Meridith Robins, Doungkamol Alongkronrusmee and Robert Cassell all presenting posters and Dr. van Rijn giving a talk in a symposium he organized on the role of opioid receptors in alcohol use disorders.
June 28th, 2017 - Meridith Robins won a very competitive and prestigious Enoch Gordis Research Recognition Award at the 2017 Research Society on Alcoholism conference for her presentation entitled "Critical role of Gi-protein signaling in the dorsal striatum in the reduction of voluntary alcohol intake in C57BL/6 mice". Great accomplishment Meridith!
June 22nd, 2017 - Dove Medical Press released a press statement highlighting our recent perspective on the etiology and treatment of neuropathic pain. The press release was covered by several news sites.
June 16th, 2017 - Congratulations to Robert Cassell for successfully defending his original proposal to become a PhD candidate!
May 30th, 2017 - Congratulations to Robert Cassell, Doungkamol Alongkronrusmee and Meredith Robins for receiving travel grants to attend the 2017 International Narcotics Research Conference (INRC) in Chicago.
May 25th, 2017 - Our 2016 Plos One article on caffeine mixed alcohol was in the top 1% most downloaded articles of the year (out of 22,000 total).
May 25th, 2017 - We are 2 for 2: Meridith Robins also received the Bilsland Dissertation fellowship for her thesis research focused on stimulant and alcohol use disorders. Congratulations Meridith!
May 18th, 2017 - Doungkamol Alongkronrusmee received a Certificate of Excellence for her poster presentation at the Office of Interdisciplinary Graduate Students spring symposium on May 3rd. Well done Nook!
May 12th, 2017 - Meridith Robins received a Paget Travel award to attend the annual Society for Neuroscience Conference in Washington DC to present a poster on the "Behavioral and neurochemical analysis of novel psychoactive substance ethylphenidate exposure in adolescent male and female mice". Congrats Meridith!
May 9th, 2017 - George Takei created a video highlighting our research paper on the risks of adolescents consumption of caffeine-mixed alcohol on his facebook page. The video has already been viewed one million times. Meridith's Plos One paper has been viewed over 23,000 times within 1 year of publication.
May 9th, 2017 - Mee Jung Ko received a travel grant from the Purdue Graduate Student Government (PGSG) to attend the annual Society for Neuroscience Conference in Washington DC to present her work on delta opioid receptors and anxiety-like behavior. Congratulations Mee Jung!
May 9th, 2017 - Dr. van Rijn gave a talk entitled "Strong beta-arrestin signaling may cause unwanted effects for drug treatments of alcohol use disorders" that was well received at the Alcoholism and Stress Conference in Volterra, Italy.
May 1st, 2017 - Dr. van Rijn received a summer faculty grant ($8,000) from the Purdue Research Foundation to investigate to what extent beta-arrestin signaling impacts drug-induced seizure activity. Thanks for the support!
April 18th, 2017 - Meridith Robins received a Student Merit travel award from the Research Society on Alcoholism to attend their annual meeting in Denver. Congratulations!
April 17th, 2017 - Doungkamol 'Nook' Alongkronrusmee received the Bilsland Dissertation fellowship for her thesis research focused on the identification and characterization of novel targets for (chronic) pain. Congratulations Nook!
April 14th, 2017 - Mee Jung Ko received a travel grant from the College of Science/PULSe 'Women in Science Program' to attend the Society for Neuroscience conference in Washington DC. Congratulations!
April 7th, 2017 - Dr. van Rijn is a co-investigator on an MCMP research enhancement award ($48,000) on a team including Drs. Watts, Lill and Flaherty to develop and characterize novel adenyly cyclase type 1 selective inhibitors for chronic pain. Thanks for the support!
March 24th, 2017 - Even when she is not feeling 100% Doungkamol Alongkronrusmee shows up to present her poster and walks away with 3rd prize at the Health and Disease poster session. Great job.
March 22nd, 2017 - Meridith Robins has been selected as one of the finalists for the Enoch Gordis graduate research recognition awards at the upcoming conference of the Research Society on Alcoholism in Denver from June 24th-28th. As a finalist, Meridith will present a poster and give an oral presentation on her research studying the effect of biased signaling in the dorsal striatum on alcohol intake. Congratulations!
March 17th, 2017 - Dr. van Rijn was interviewed in the Kelly Cutrara Show for Toronto Talk Radio AM640 to discuss policy under consideration by the Toronto Board of Health restricting marketing and sale of energy drinks to teenagers.
March 3rd, 2017 - Kendall Mores and Ji Won 'Ellen' Ha received Dean Summer Fellowships from the College of Pharmacy to perform research over the summer break. Congrats!
February 28th, 2017 - Doungkamol Alongkronrusmee won the first prize in the Sigma Xi Poster symposium in the Life Sciences category with a poster describing her project on disruption of delta-mu opioid heteromers. Congrats Nook!
February 27th, 2017 - Our recent collaborative publication with Dr. Watts in Science Signaling detailing the discovery of a novel AC1 selective inhibitor was featured in Science magazine.
February 15th, 2017 - MeeJung Ko and Logan Ganzen (Yuk Fai Leung lab - Biological Sciences) have been awarded a $2,000 collaborative research grant from the Purdue Institute for Integrative Neuroscience to develop a "Pharmacological Model of TRPA1-mediated Nociception in the Zebrafish for Therapeutic Discovery". Congratulations MeeJung and Logan!.
January 31st, 2017 - A manuscript, for which we contributed behavioral expertise to the Watts lab, detailing a novel inhibitor of adenylyl cyclase 1 that has analgesic properties has been accepted in Science Signaling.
January 24th, 2017 - The van Rijn lab was awarded a $15,000 HTS screening grant from the Chemical Genomics Screening Facility of the Purdue Institute for Drug Discovery to discover signaling biased delta opioid receptor drugs as novel therapy for stroke.
January 5th, 2017 - Doungkamol Alongkronrusmee has won a Chaney Graduate Student Travel award to attend the 48th International Narcotics Research Conference and present her research on delta-mu opioid heteromers. Congratulations!
2016
December 8th, 2016 - Our review on neuropathic pain written together with Lily Zeng MD, resident in Internal Medicine at Vanderbilt University, was accepted in the Journal of Pain Research.
December 8th, 2016 - We contributed to a continued education perspective on heroin use disorder and the evolving role of the pharmacist for the Indiana Pharmacist Alliance
October 13th, 2016 - Meridith Robins won a Logan travel grant to attend the 2017 annual meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism in Denver. Congratulations!
October 12th, 2016 - Doungkamol Alongkronrusmee won the 2016 annual Jenkins/Knevel Excellence in Research Award. Congratulations Nook!
September 30th, 2016 - Robert Cassell won 1st prize in the poster competition at the 3rd Annual Purdue Drug Discovery Symposium. Congratulations!
August 16th, 2016 - Meridith Robins has received a MCMP endowment Graduate award. Congratulations!
August 15th, 2016 - Our paper detailing the role of the delta opioid receptor in alcohol withdrawal induced hyperalgesia has been accepted by the 'Drug and Alcohol Dependence' journal.
August 12th, 2016 - Meridith Robins received a travel grant from the Purdue Institute for Integrative Neuroscience.
July 21st, 2016 - The Van Rijn lab contributed to a paper in Cell Reports detailing cross-talk between dopamine D3 receptors and calcium Cav3 channels involving beta-arrestin 2.
July 5th, 2016 - Our exciting paper showing potential risks associated with consumption of caffeinated alcohol has been published in PLOS ONE
June 20th, 2016 - Terrance Chiang received a BRAVO award from the College of pharmacy for his tireless efforts to assist and train fellow scientists in animal behavioral assays.
May 23rd, 2016 - The Van Rijn lab was awarded a pilot grant ($9,800) from the Purdue Institute for Inflammation, Immunology and Infectious Diseases (PI4D) to investigate the role of selective inhibition of adenylyl cyclase I in (opioid tolerant) arthritic pain.
May 10th, 2016 - Our paper describing our investigation of adolescent energy drink consumption in mice entitled "Adolescent intake of caffeinated energy drinks does not affect adult alcohol consumption in C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice" has been accepted in the Alcohol journal.
May 2nd, 2016 - Meridith Robins won a Certificate of Excellence with her poster at the 2016 Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs spring symposium.
April 30th, 2016 - Shiqi Tang received a research recognition award at the BSPS graduation banquet. Congratulations Shiqi.
April 18th, 2016 - MeeJung showed off her presentation skills receiving a special recognition poster award for her first year poster at the annual PULSe spring symposium.
April 4th, 2016 - Doungkamol Alongkronrusmee was a finalist in the ASPET Molecular Pharmacology Division Best Poster Presentation Competition at the 2016 Experimental Biology conference with her poster entitled "Multipronged Approach to Investigate the Mu-Delta Opioid Receptor Heteromer Interface"!
April 4th, 2016 - MeeJung Ko, a first year graduate student in the Purdue Life Science (PULSe) program has joined the Van Rijn lab. Welcome MeeJung!
March 14th, 2016 - Doungkamol Alongkronrusmee was awarded a travel grant from the Purdue Graduate Student Government to attend the 2016 Experimental Biology conference in San Diego.
March 1st, 2016 - Kendall Mores received a Dean's summer undergraduate research fellowship from the College of Pharmacy.
February 1st, 2016 - Robert Cassell a first year graduate student in the Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology program, has joined the Van Rijn lab. Welcome Rob!
January 15th, 2016 - Shiqi Tang has been awarded a Frank Brown Jr travel award to attend the 2016 Experimental Biology conference in San Diego.
December 8th, 2016 - We contributed to a continued education perspective on heroin use disorder and the evolving role of the pharmacist for the Indiana Pharmacist Alliance
October 13th, 2016 - Meridith Robins won a Logan travel grant to attend the 2017 annual meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism in Denver. Congratulations!
October 12th, 2016 - Doungkamol Alongkronrusmee won the 2016 annual Jenkins/Knevel Excellence in Research Award. Congratulations Nook!
September 30th, 2016 - Robert Cassell won 1st prize in the poster competition at the 3rd Annual Purdue Drug Discovery Symposium. Congratulations!
August 16th, 2016 - Meridith Robins has received a MCMP endowment Graduate award. Congratulations!
August 15th, 2016 - Our paper detailing the role of the delta opioid receptor in alcohol withdrawal induced hyperalgesia has been accepted by the 'Drug and Alcohol Dependence' journal.
August 12th, 2016 - Meridith Robins received a travel grant from the Purdue Institute for Integrative Neuroscience.
July 21st, 2016 - The Van Rijn lab contributed to a paper in Cell Reports detailing cross-talk between dopamine D3 receptors and calcium Cav3 channels involving beta-arrestin 2.
July 5th, 2016 - Our exciting paper showing potential risks associated with consumption of caffeinated alcohol has been published in PLOS ONE
June 20th, 2016 - Terrance Chiang received a BRAVO award from the College of pharmacy for his tireless efforts to assist and train fellow scientists in animal behavioral assays.
May 23rd, 2016 - The Van Rijn lab was awarded a pilot grant ($9,800) from the Purdue Institute for Inflammation, Immunology and Infectious Diseases (PI4D) to investigate the role of selective inhibition of adenylyl cyclase I in (opioid tolerant) arthritic pain.
May 10th, 2016 - Our paper describing our investigation of adolescent energy drink consumption in mice entitled "Adolescent intake of caffeinated energy drinks does not affect adult alcohol consumption in C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice" has been accepted in the Alcohol journal.
May 2nd, 2016 - Meridith Robins won a Certificate of Excellence with her poster at the 2016 Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs spring symposium.
April 30th, 2016 - Shiqi Tang received a research recognition award at the BSPS graduation banquet. Congratulations Shiqi.
April 18th, 2016 - MeeJung showed off her presentation skills receiving a special recognition poster award for her first year poster at the annual PULSe spring symposium.
April 4th, 2016 - Doungkamol Alongkronrusmee was a finalist in the ASPET Molecular Pharmacology Division Best Poster Presentation Competition at the 2016 Experimental Biology conference with her poster entitled "Multipronged Approach to Investigate the Mu-Delta Opioid Receptor Heteromer Interface"!
April 4th, 2016 - MeeJung Ko, a first year graduate student in the Purdue Life Science (PULSe) program has joined the Van Rijn lab. Welcome MeeJung!
March 14th, 2016 - Doungkamol Alongkronrusmee was awarded a travel grant from the Purdue Graduate Student Government to attend the 2016 Experimental Biology conference in San Diego.
March 1st, 2016 - Kendall Mores received a Dean's summer undergraduate research fellowship from the College of Pharmacy.
February 1st, 2016 - Robert Cassell a first year graduate student in the Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology program, has joined the Van Rijn lab. Welcome Rob!
January 15th, 2016 - Shiqi Tang has been awarded a Frank Brown Jr travel award to attend the 2016 Experimental Biology conference in San Diego.
2015
October 17-19, 2015 - The Van Rijn lab will be presenting their research at the annual Society for Neuroscience meeting: Terrance Chiang and Meridith Robins will be presenting posters on Saturday October 17th from 1-5pm (posters 32.01/A62 and 50.08/F23). Doungkamol Alongkronrusmee will be presenting her poster on Monday October 19th from 8am-12pm (poster 313.13/I38).
October 12th, 2015 - Our latest paper investigating the delta opioid receptor for its potential use as therapeutic for alcohol use disorders entitled "Beta-arrestin 2 dependence of delta opioid receptor agonists is correlated with alcohol intake." has been accepted for publication in the British Journal of Pharmacology.
September 1st, 2015 - Ricardo Marquez-Gomez, a third year graduate student in the research group of Dr. Jose-Antonio Arias-Montano at Mexico City's CINVESTAV, is visiting the Van Rijn Lab for 6 months to use our heteromer selective signaling assay technology. Welcome Ricardo!
August 10th, 2015 - The Van Rijn lab was awarded a NARSAD young investigator award from the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation to "develop novel designer GPCRs to study beta-arrestin 2 biased signal transduction in anxiety disorders".
May 8th, 2015 - Doungkamol Alongkronrusmee was awarded with a travel award from the International Narcotics Research Conference to attend their annual meeting.
April 27th, 2015 - Congratulations to Doungkamol Alongkronrusmee and Meridith Robins for successfully defending their original proposals and officially becoming PhD candidates.
April 23rd, 2015 - Meridith Robins has been selected to receive a Student Merit Award from the Research Society on Alcoholism.
April 1st, 2015 - Meridith Robins won a Certificate of Excellence with her poster at the 2015 Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs spring symposium.
March 13th, 2015 - Shiqi Tang received a Dean's summer undergraduate research fellowship from the College of Pharmacy.
March 5th, 2015 - Meridith Robins won 3rd prize in the Health and Disease graduate student poster competition with her poster on "Effect of adolescent caffeine and alcohol consumption on adult behavior and brain adaptations"
October 12th, 2015 - Our latest paper investigating the delta opioid receptor for its potential use as therapeutic for alcohol use disorders entitled "Beta-arrestin 2 dependence of delta opioid receptor agonists is correlated with alcohol intake." has been accepted for publication in the British Journal of Pharmacology.
September 1st, 2015 - Ricardo Marquez-Gomez, a third year graduate student in the research group of Dr. Jose-Antonio Arias-Montano at Mexico City's CINVESTAV, is visiting the Van Rijn Lab for 6 months to use our heteromer selective signaling assay technology. Welcome Ricardo!
August 10th, 2015 - The Van Rijn lab was awarded a NARSAD young investigator award from the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation to "develop novel designer GPCRs to study beta-arrestin 2 biased signal transduction in anxiety disorders".
May 8th, 2015 - Doungkamol Alongkronrusmee was awarded with a travel award from the International Narcotics Research Conference to attend their annual meeting.
April 27th, 2015 - Congratulations to Doungkamol Alongkronrusmee and Meridith Robins for successfully defending their original proposals and officially becoming PhD candidates.
April 23rd, 2015 - Meridith Robins has been selected to receive a Student Merit Award from the Research Society on Alcoholism.
April 1st, 2015 - Meridith Robins won a Certificate of Excellence with her poster at the 2015 Interdisciplinary Graduate Programs spring symposium.
March 13th, 2015 - Shiqi Tang received a Dean's summer undergraduate research fellowship from the College of Pharmacy.
March 5th, 2015 - Meridith Robins won 3rd prize in the Health and Disease graduate student poster competition with her poster on "Effect of adolescent caffeine and alcohol consumption on adult behavior and brain adaptations"
2014
June 10th, 2014 - The Van Rijn lab was awarded $75,000 from the Ralph W & Grace M Showalter Research Trust Fund to investigate the role of delta-mu opioid receptor heteromers in pain disorders.
June 30th, 2014 - Dr. van Rijn's PhD supervisor, Dr. Rob Leurs, was listed as one of the world's most influential scientific minds in the area of pharmacology and toxicology.
June 30th, 2014 - Dr. van Rijn's PhD supervisor, Dr. Rob Leurs, was listed as one of the world's most influential scientific minds in the area of pharmacology and toxicology.