Daniel and Gayle Brazeau's new book provides an introduction to the principles of pharmacogenomics for pharmacy students and practitioners

The application of genetic or genomic principles to our understanding of human health will continue to revolutionize the nature of healthcare and the standards of practice for healthcare providers at all levels and professional settings, as well as future generation of clinical, biomedical and pharmaceutical scientists.    

Daniel Brazeau, Ph.D., director of the new genomics facility at the University of New England's College of Pharmacy, and Gayle Brazeau, Ph.D., dean and professor in the UNE College of Pharmacy, have co-authored a new book, Principles of the Human Genome and Pharmacogenomics, that introduces students and practitioners to important principles of human genetics and genomics that they can apply in managing their patients' medication therapy.

The book is published by the American Pharmacists Association.

Daniel Brazeau explains that "it will become increasingly difficult to practice contemporary pharmacy and provide satisfactory  pharmacist care in the future without a fundamental knowledge in genetics and genomics because most important interactions with patients and other health care professionals will assume pharmacists have a working comprehension of the human genome and pharmacogenomics."

Book's Focus

The purpose of this book is to provide the reader, both students and practitioners, with an introduction to the fundamental principles of human genetics and genomics such that they can then apply and integrate this knowledge base to challenges in optimizing drug therapy and medication therapy management in the provision of care for their patients.

"It is not our intent to provide the reader with a synopsis of known pharmacogenetic genes and their drugs," the authors note. "Rather, we hope to provide pharmacists and student pharmacists with a concise source of the critical science underlying the basics of pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics."

A strong scientific foundation is essential so pharmacists and student pharmacists can take a leadership role in the interprofessional care of patients, enabling them to serve as key members of the health care team.

"An understanding of genomic science will be essential to those who wish to stay current with the genetic contributions to their discipline as the field continues to advance in the years to come," Gayle Brazeau says.

She adds that the challenges will be enormous, but those health care professionals who have a strong scientific foundation have always been the ones to meet these challenges and realize the opportunities in a changing world.  Pharmacists in all settings are well situated to take these key leadership roles in ensuring the best care of patients with advances in pharmacogenomics and pharmacogenetics.

Among the text's key features are: (1) Learning outcomes, at the start of each chapter, that summarize important concepts for the learner to master; (2) Review questions, at the end of each chapter, that point to important principles to remember; (3) Boxes throughout that define key terminology, and a full glossary at the end of the book.

Daniel Brazeau

Daniel Brazeau is the director of the Pharmacogenomics Genomics Laboratory housed in the UNE's College of Pharmacy and a research associate professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences.  

The UNE Pharmacogenomics Genomics Laboratory provides training and research support for a wide array of molecular genetics and bioinformatics to assist researchers and students in the area of gene expression, genomics, genotyping and molecular genetics. 

Dr.  Brazeau's research interests involve the areas of population molecular genetics and pharmcogenomics.  He teaches courses in molecular genetics techniques and a required course in pharmacogenomics for pharmacy professional students. 

He was the recipient of the University at Buffalo‚Äôs Exceptional Scholar Teaching Innovation Award in 2010.  Dr. Brazeau is also a participating scientist in the Nation Science Foundation's Geneticist-Educator Network Alliances (GENA) working with high school science teachers to incorporate genetics into the classroom.  He has served as chair of the Biological Sciences section in 2008 and is one of the founding chairs of the new Pharmacogenomics Special Interest Group.

Gayle Brazeau

Gayle A. Brazeau is currently dean and professor in the College of Pharmacy at the University of New England.

Dr. Brazeau is an associate editor for the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education and serves on several editorial advisory boards for other scientific journals. She has served as an elected officer, committee member and committee chair for numerous scientific and professional organizations including the chair of the Council of Faculties for AACP and the chair of the Student and Post-Doc Outreach and Development Committee for AAPS.

She has been the recipient of teaching and student recognition awards at the University at Buffalo, University of Florida and the University of Houston. She served on FDA, USP and SBIR/STTR NIH panels and committees

She is the author or co-author on more than 45 peer-reviewed papers, chapters, books and other types of publications. She is a recipient of the State University of New York Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Faculty Service. She was a member of the 2005-2006 AACP Academic Leadership Fellows Program and is a member of the Community Health Foundation of Western and Central New York Fellows Action Network.