Research interests

Oxidative stress and inflammation are implicated in the pathogenesis of chronic illnesses. The research focus is to study the therapeutic potential of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents in neurodegenerative diseases. Of particular interest is the elucidation of neuroprotective potential of dietary polyphenols such as anthocyanins from berries, catechins from green tea, and curcumin present in turmeric. The therapeutic and pharmacological effects of herbal medication is an area of interest.

The complex receptor pharmacology of typical, atypical, and novel antipsychotic agents is a major research interest. In particular the contribution of dopaminergic and serotonergic receptors in the therapeutic and adverse effects of antipsychotic agents used for the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Research interests also include scholarship of pharmacy pedagogy. Specific interests include the development, implementation, and evaluation of the effectiveness of pharmaceutical sciences courses.

Teaching interests

Teaching pharmacology-related topics such as principles of drug action, receptor pharmacology, neuropharmacology, chemotherapy, toxicology, herbals, and alternative medicine.

Project one

Curcuminoids, obtained from turmeric, possesses significant antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. This project aims to investigate the therapeutic properties of turmeric compounds in major chronic illnesses such as cancer, metabolic, and neurodegenerative diseases.

Structure of Curcumin

Turmeric Root

Project two

Clozapine, the first atypical antipsychotic medication, blocks multiple receptors, and exhibits considerable therapeutic effects in the treatment of positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms in schizophrenia. However, clozapine produces significant adverse effects such as obesity and increased risk for diabetes. This project aims to investigate the contribution of primarily serotonergic receptors for the aforementioned pharmacological effects.

Select publications

Darvesh AS. Turmeric – the golden herb! J Med Sci NEOMED, 2024, 2.
Robinson GT, Darvesh AS. Lumateperone in the treatment of schizophrenia: A Review. J Med Sci NEOMED, 2024, 2.

Geldenhuys WJ, Benkovic SA, Lin L, Yonutas HM, Crish SD, Sullivan PG, Darvesh AS, Brown CM, Richardson JR. Mitoneet (CISD1) Knockout Mice Show Signs of Striatal Mitochondrial Dysfunction and a Parkinson’s Disease Phenotype. ACS Chem Neurosci, 2017, 8: 2759-2765.

Bergstrom HC, Darvesh AS, Berger SP. Inducible nitric oxide inhibitors block NMDA antagonist-stimulated motoric behaviors and medial prefrontal cortical glutamate efflux. Front Pharmacol, 2015, 6: 292.

Geldenhuys WJ, Cudnik ML, Krinsky DL, Darvesh AS. Evolution of a natural products and nutraceuticals course in the pharmacy curriculum. Am J Pharm Ed, 2015, 79: 6.

Stanton RJ II, Paxos C, Geldenhuys WJ, Boss JL, Munetz M, Darvesh AS. Clozapine underutilization in treatment-resistant schizophrenia. Ment Health Clin, 2015, 5: 63-67.

Geldenhuys WJ, Darvesh AS. Pharmacotherapy of Alzheimer’s disease: current and future trends. Expert Rev Neurother, 2015, 15: 3-5.