Expert pharmacologists are available around-the-clock, thanks to xPharm, an interactive and user-friendly database of pharmacological information co-edited by UNMC’s David B. Bylund, Ph.D.
“The interlinked databases for reference work is very novel,” said Dr. Bylund, professor and former chairman, UNMC Department of Pharmacology. “It presents great advantages over traditional reference textbooks.”
Geared to scientists in academia, industry and government, xPharm contains nearly 4,000 records on drugs (agents), targets (where the drug acts), disorders and the principles that govern their interactions. Dr. Bylund co-edited the Elsevier product with S. J. Enna, Ph.D., of the University of Kansas School of Medicine.
The number of records — 4,000 — has nearly doubled since the Web-based product was launched one year ago, Dr. Bylund said. Each record is contributed and reviewed by recognized experts in pharmacology and life sciences. The integrated database features more than 500 contributors, including nearly 60 from UNMC. Information is continuously updated and new records added on a quarterly basis.
“xPharm is a valuable tool that would be especially useful to the research community at UNMC,” said Nancy Woelfl, Ph.D., director of UNMC’s McGoogan Library of Medicine. “It’s disappointing that the resources we have available make it difficult for the library to afford it at the present time. We’re hoping we can find a coalition of interested departments to help share the license cost.”
xPharm, which took nearly five years to develop, is the equivalent of an expert pharmacologist, on-call to supply researchers and students with detailed information to assist in planning research from experimental design to preparation of grant applications, and in solving pharmacological problems.
“xPharm is an exceptional resource– a one of a kind undertaking that is an encyclopedia of modern pharmacology,” said Howard Gendelman, M.D., chairman of UNMC’s Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience. “The work will surely benefit students, physicians, pharmacists, nurses and all health care providers and educators. A complete repository of drug mechanisms and their applications is available ‘simply’ on ones fingertip.”
Topics in the database, including bibliographic references, are linked hierarchically to allow researchers to obtain general overviews or detailed information depending on their needs or prior knowledge of a topic. Information is highly structured, indexed and interlinked so it is easy to navigate and to query for fast, succinct answers.
UNMC second-year medical student Nathan Sneddon says xPharm is an “invaluable resource” for first- and second-year medical students working through problem-based learning cases. “I particularly enjoyed the capability xPharm offers to research any medical disorder with comprehensive, detailed information concerning their various pharmacological therapies,” Sneddon said.
“For academic and corporate life scientists, xPharm is an invaluable resource during basic research and drug discovery and development,” said Tim Hoctor, Elsevier MDL senior product manager. “xPharm helps researchers and students understand the complex relationships between drug agents and biological systems, and puts these relationships in a therapeutic context.”