Todd W Vanderah, PhD

Professor
Department Head and Professor, Pharmacology
Co-Director, MD/PhD Dual Degree Program
Director, Comprehensive Pain and Addiction Center
Professor, BIO5 Institute, Neurology, Neuroscience-GIDP
Professor, Physiological Sciences - GIDP
Professor, Anesthesiology

Contact:

1501 N Campbell Ave
Life Science North 647
Department of Pharmacology and Anesthesiology
Tucson, AZ 85724-5050
(520) 626-7801

Todd Vanderah, PhD, is Head and Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Arizona, with joint appointments in Neurology, Physiological Sciences, and Anesthesiology. He also serves as Co-Director of the MD/PhD Dual Degree Program. Dr. Vanderah’s research centers on understanding and addressing cancer pain mechanisms, neuronal integration in pain pathways, neurochemical changes in neuropathy, and neuronal plasticity. His work further explores opioid receptor pharmacology and the discovery of novel therapeutic targets.

A prolific researcher, Dr. Vanderah has authored over 135 original research articles. He is actively involved in academic leadership as a member of the Pharmacology Executive Committee and the Dean's Council on Faculty Affairs, and he directs the Medical Pharmacology Graduate Program. His expertise encompasses the pharmacology of both acute and chronic pain models, the functioning of endogenous opioid systems, sensory neural pathways, opioid tolerance, and the synergistic antinociceptive effects of cannabinoids and opioids in pain management.

Education

Degrees: 
PhD: University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Fellowship: 
Neuropharmacology, University of Colorado, Denver, Co

Selected Publications

  • Lee YS, Muthu D, Hall SM, Ramos-Colon C, Rankin D, Hu J, Sandweiss AJ, De Felice M, Xie JY, Vanderah TW, Porreca F, Lai J, Hruby VJ. Discovery of amphipathic dynorphin A analogues to inhibit the neuroexcitatory effects of dynorphin A through bradykinin receptors in the spinal cord. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2014;136:6608–6616.
  • Podolsky AT, Sandweiss A, Hu J, Bilsky EJ, Cain JP, Kumirov VK, Lee YS, Hruby VJ, Vardanyan RS, Vanderah TW. Novel fentanyl-based dual μ/δ-opioid agonists for the treatment of acute and chronic pain. Life Sci. 2013;93:1010–1016.
  • Lozano-Ondoua AN, Symons-Liguori AM, Vanderah TW. Cancer-induced bone pain: Mechanisms and models. Neurosci. Lett. 2013;557 Pt A:52–59.
  • Slosky LM, Thompson BJ, Sanchez-Covarrubias L, Zhang Y, Laracuente M-L, Vanderah TW, Ronaldson PT, Davis TP. Acetaminophen modulates P-glycoprotein functional expression at the blood-brain barrier by a constitutive androstane receptor-dependent mechanism. Mol. Pharmacol. 2013;84:774–786.
  • Largent-Milnes TM, Brookshire SW, Skinner DP, Hanlon KE, Giuvelis D, Yamamoto T, Davis P, Campos CR, Nair P, Deekonda S, Bilsky EJ, Porreca F, Hruby VJ, Vanderah TW. Building a better analgesic: multifunctional compounds that address injury-induced pathology to enhance analgesic efficacy while eliminating unwanted side effects. J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 2013;347:7–19.
  • Nair P, Yamamoto T, Largent-Milnes TM, Cowell S, Kulkarni V, Moye S, Navratilova E, Davis P, Ma S-W, Vanderah TW, Lai J, Porreca F, Hruby VJ. Truncation of the peptide sequence in bifunctional ligands with mu and delta opioid receptor agonist and neurokinin 1 receptor antagonist activities. Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 2013;23:4975–4978.
  • Petrov RR, Lee YS, Vardanyan RS, Liu L, Ma S, Davis P, Lai J, Porreca F, Vanderah TW, Hruby VJ. Effect of anchoring 4-anilidopiperidines to opioid peptides. Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 2013;23:3434–3437.
  • Lozano-Ondoua AN, Hanlon KE, Symons-Liguori AM, Largent-Milnes TM, Havelin JJ, Ferland HL, Chandramouli A, Owusu-Ankomah M, Nikolich-Zugich T, Bloom AP, Jimenez-Andrade JM, King T, Porreca F, Nelson MA, Mantyh PW, Vanderah TW. Disease modification of breast cancer-induced bone remodeling by cannabinoid 2 receptor agonists. J. Bone Miner. Res. Off. J. Am. Soc. Bone Miner. Res. 2013;28:92–107.
  • Edelmayer RM, Le LN, Yan J, Wei X, Nassini R, Materazzi S, Preti D, Appendino G, Geppetti P, Dodick DW, Vanderah TW, Porreca F, Dussor G. Activation of TRPA1 on dural afferents: a potential mechanism of headache pain. Pain. 2012;153:1949–1958.
  • De Felice M, Melchiorri P, Ossipov MH, Vanderah TW, Porreca F, Negri L. Mechanisms of Bv8-induced biphasic hyperalgesia: increased excitatory transmitter release and expression. Neurosci. Lett. 2012;521:40–45.