Midwestern University Faculty Member Awarded Federal Biomedical Research Grant
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July 29, 2022 | Downers Grove, IL
N. Jim Rhodes, Pharm.D., M.S., BCPS, Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice at Midwestern University, received a research grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Midwestern University is pleased to announce that N. Jim Rhodes, Pharm.D., M.S., BCPS, Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice, is among those researchers who received federal funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Announced by U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), the funding is part of nearly $12.2 million in grants earmarked for research programs across Illinois that support medical advancement in various fields.
Dr. Rhodes' five-year project will investigate the relationships between antibiotic concentrations in the lungs and clinical outcomes among patients with severe pneumonia treated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. "Our study will provide clinically validated tools which will facilitate the precision dosing of antibiotics for patients with severe pneumonia. Our team of researchers will utilize the infrastructure, samples, and data collected as part of the Successful Clinical Response In Pneumonia Therapy (SCRIPT) research program to develop medication dosing models specifically for use in critically ill patients with severe pneumonia," Dr. Rhodes said.
Dr. Rhodes' research will advance the National Institutes of Health (NIH) mission to protect and improve patient health by addressing the urgent need for new and effective treatment strategies that restore antibiotic activity against serious pathogens. Antibiotic-resistant infections caused by bacteria-based pathogens were responsible for approximately $2 billion in attributable healthcare costs and more than 12,000 deaths in 2017 alone. Nearly half of all patients who develop severe pneumonia caused by these types of pathogens will experience antibiotic treatment failure and up to 30% will not survive.
"As the principal investigator, I am pleased to be working with a multidisciplinary team of field leaders including the Midwestern University Pharmacometrics Center of Excellence, Northwestern University, the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, and Optimal Data Analysis, LLC," Dr. Rhodes said. His research team received a $726,426 grant to support this project during the first year with total funding expected to exceed $3.4 million.
"By increasing support for biomedical research, we can help deliver real public health results for Illinois families," Senator Duckworth said. "I will keep working with Senator Durbin to make sure organizations and researchers have the federal support they need to improve research, provide accessible care and help save lives."
The Pharmacometrics Center of Excellence at Midwestern University aims to design innovative strategies that maximize safe and effective pharmacy-based therapy for patients and to develop the next generation of translational clinicians and scientists. In addition to teaching students in Midwestern University's pharmacy program, Dr. Rhodes is a member of the Pharmacometrics Center of Excellence and currently practices as an Infectious Diseases and Antimicrobial Stewardship pharmacist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.