Douglas H. Sweet, Ph.D., is the E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Professor and Chairman of the Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, Virginia Commonwealth University. He received his undergraduate (B.S., 1984) and graduate (M.S., 1987; Ph.D., 1993) education at the University of Michigan. He completed postdoctoral training at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1993-1995) and was an Intramural Research Training Award (IRTA) Fellow at the NIH/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (1995-2000). Prior to joining the faculty at VCU, Sweet held faculty appointments at the University of California, San Diego (2000-2002) and the Medical University of South Carolina (2002-2008).
Sweet’s long-term research encompasses investigations into the impact of organic solute transporters (SLC22 family) on the permeation of drugs and toxins across barrier epithelia, e.g., kidney, liver, testis, and choroid plexus. Understanding the mechanisms these transporters utilize to protect the body and brain from fluctuations in the composition of the blood and cerebrospinal fluid will provide unique insight into toxicity, drug-drug interaction, and human disease states. We use cell culture, intact tissue, knockout mice and in silico model systems to: (1) determine the energetics and specificity of the transporters, (2) define the roles of transporters in drug interactions and disease, and (3) identify the mechanisms involved in the modulation of transporter function and expression. Through newly established collaborations, Sweet is providing novel insight and support to research investigating transporter-mediated drug resistance, novel drug combinations, and the development of new nucleic acid (mRNA) formulations, in models of triple negative breast cancer and cystic fibrosis.
Ph.D. (Biology), University of Michigan, 1993
M.S. (Biology), University of Michigan, 1987
B.S. (Biology), University of Michigan, 1984
Postgraduate Training
Postdoctoral Fellow - DNA Repair Mechanisms (Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), 1993-95
Intramural Research Training Fellow - Renal Organic Solute Transport (Laboratory of Pharmacology and Chemistry, Renal Pharmacology Section, NIH/NIEHS), 1995-2000
