JoEllyn McMillan, PhD

Associate Professor

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Phone: 402-559-3074

Professional Summary

My primary role in the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience is in education. My focus in education is two-fold. The first is to develop novel educational methods to assist students in learning basic pharmacological concepts for students in Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions programs. The second is to help provide guided discussions for graduate students in Neuroscience to develop skills to critically evaluate and interpret scientific literature and to use these skills to formulate new approaches in their scientific investigations. I contribute to graduate teaching by providing topic lectures in courses in the Neuroscience and Pathology/Microbiology programs.

My research interests have been in the fields of toxicology and development of long-acting drugs for chronic infectious diseases such as human immunodeficiency virus. I have used primary liver cells and whole animal rodent models to study mechanisms of liver toxicity of drugs and environmental chemicals such as acetaminophen and trichloroethylene. I have also collaborated with department, UNMC and national investigators with the goal of developing nanoformulations of antiretroviral drugs to provide extended and targeted therapeutic drug concentrations. I have worked with cell culture and animal model systems to understand the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of long-acting prodrug nanoformulations of existing antiretroviral drugs.

In the College of Public Health, I serve as chair of the graduate program committee for the Environmental Health Occupational Health and Toxicology (EHOHT) program in the Department of Environmental, Agricultural and Occupational Health. I direct a basic toxicology course for both online and campus-based students in the Masters of Public Health (MPH) Program. I also direct advanced toxicology courses for students in the EHOHT program. I mentor MPH and doctoral students in environmental and occupational health and toxicology concentrations.

Committees

University Committees

• Graduate Studies Graduate Council: 2021–present
• Institutional Biosafety Committee (Member), 2011–present
• Internal Advisory Committee, Nebraska Nanomedicine Production Plant (Senior Advisor), 2015–2020
• Nebraska Nanomedicine Production Plant, Associate Director, 2014–2015

College Committees

• College of Public Health Curriculum Committee, 2018–present
• College of Public Health Masters of Public Health Steering Committee, 2021–present

Departmental Committees

• Environmental Health Occupational Health and Toxicology Graduate Committee (Chair)
• Department of Environmental, Agricultural and Occupational Health, College of Public Health, 2021–present
• Environmental Health Occupational Health and Toxicology Graduate Committee (member)
• Department of Environmental, Agricultural and Occupational Health, College of Public Health, 2011–2021