Curriculum Vitae

I would describe myself as a very determined and highly motivated person. I do take my job seriously, but I can see things in perspective and believe I am quite easygoing to work with. I am an optimist rather than a pessimist - but I am also a realist and I cope well when the going gets tough; I am very good at finding solutions to problems. I would like to say I am a positive and enthusiastic, creative, hard worker, simple, fair, and social. My research is in Pharmaceutical and Medical Sciences. I have been in teaching and administration work since 1998. My basic teaching philosophy is to be enthusiastic about my subject, honest about potential confusion, and unambiguous in my explanations. I involve students in every lecture through a variety of mechanisms (call-and-response, intimate tutorials in which the students tell each other the answers using the chalkboard and I act as a facilitator, spot-the-trend checks, student papers/seminars, etc.). I try to make students feel that the lecture could not take place without them. I extensively use clear handouts so that the principles, not the details, are emphasized as being of importance. I de-emphasize memory work, and I stress the importance of integration of knowledge in the problem sets and exams (I tell the students this). Regurgitation is not part of my teaching philosophy. Disciplines: Medicinal Chemistry & Drug discovery, Endocrinology, Organic Chemistry, Pharmacology, Cancer Research, Clinical Trials, Oncology, Hematology, Pharmaceutical & medical sciences Research Programs: A) Identification of bitter taste antagonists and Elucidation of interactions between bitter taste receptors and their agonists B) Steroid-based enzyme inhibitors as novel therapeutic agents C) Drug Discovery from medicinal plants and Natural sources, Prodrugs, overcome the various problems of exciting drugs and for other research Fields D) Clinical Research (Clinical & Pharmacy Practice)