U of U student researches more efficient methods for testing drugs

By Fiona Marcelino

 Gaukler  researchs on wild mice in her lab at the University of Utah

Few people realize that prescription drugs have become the leading cause of death, disease and disability in the United States. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported in 2010 more than 1,742 drug recalls. This surge has raised questions about the quality of drug manufacturing in the United States.

In order to assess the safety of pharmaceutical drugs, University of Utah graduate student Shannon Gaukler, is investigating a new method of testing pharmaceutical drugs.

Before pharmaceutical drugs can be made available to the public they must first undergo several forms of testing which the FDA review in order to assess their safety.

This is where Gaukler’s research comes in. She explains that while many pharmaceutical drugs have been approved for clinical use, they later have been found to cause detrimental health problems. Additionally, current methods used to evaluate health affects of pharmaceuticals are organ or organ-system specific and overlook the interactions between physiological systems. 

Since drugs undergo animal pharmacology and toxicology studies in order to assess the safety for initial testing in humans, Gaukler is exploring a unique method of testing pharmaceutical drugs.

Gaukler uses wild mice in a semi-natural environment and compares organismal performances between a controlled group of mice and a drug-exposed group. By measuring the mice’s performance, Gaukler observes their survivorship, territoriality and reproductive success in order to predict how pending drugs could potentially affect humans.

“The organismal performance assay (OPA) has previously and successfully demonstrated health consequences from a variety of different treatments,” said Gaukler. “We thought that if we utilized the OPA to assess pharmaceutical safety, we could prevent harmful drugs from reaching the market.”

Gaukler notes the importance in her research is the social interaction between mice that is not usually present in low-population density testing labs, such as cages. Mice competing in this environment require high performance from most physiological systems to be successful individuals and establish social dominance.

“Wild mice are an appropriate model because they live in close association with humans so man-made environments are natural for them,” said Gaukler.

Her alternate form of research is capable of detecting fitness declines on a smaller scale as opposed to other approaches of safety testing in which they assess mortality and/or gross birth defects.

“Our research has the potential to suggest safer levels of exposure of these treatments,” she said.

With instances stretching from the Thalidomide controversy in the 1960s to Johnson & Johnson recalling their products eight times in 2010, consumers are growing wary of the safety of pharmaceuticals.

“Our research is important because this is a unique way of assessing health consequences from pharmaceuticals, environmental pollutants, nutritional supplements and many other treatments that have the potential to degrade health,” said Gaukler.

Mice in controlled environment at U

Mice in controlled environment at U

Mice in controlled environment at U