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Bin Zhao

St. John’s University, New York

Mentor: Sue M. Ford

"Development of a Human Kidney Cell Line Model for the Assessment of Antiviral Drug Transport."

This project will determine if and how antiviral drugs can be transported in cultured human cells. This project will eliminate the use of animal cells for transport studies and potentially replace monkeys in pre-clinical studies of kidney toxicity.

This project will give Ms. Bin Zhao, MS candidate, experience in characterizing a new human kidney cell culture model for pre-clinical assessment of therapeutic agents. As a pharmacology student she will learn cell culture techniques applicable to her discipline, rather than whole animal or ex vivo methods. The human kidney cell line will be grown on filters and examined for transport characteristics. Initially validation will be done with prototype compounds followed by testing with antivirals. The model she helps develop will be valuable to pharmaceutical companies in reducing and replacing animals in the pre-clinical testing of antiviral drugs.