Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Seminar

Jared Bagley

Assistant Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences

Binghamton University School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences

Jared R. Bagley joined the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Binghamton University in 2024 as an assistant professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

He uses his training in behavioral neuroscience/pharmacology and genomics to research the genetics and neurobiology of substance use disorders. In recognition of the fact that risk for substance use disorders is substantially influenced by genetics, he aims to integrate behavioral, neuroscience, genetic and genomic levels of analyses to uncover these regulatory mechanisms and their impact on the brain. Bagley received training in genetics and neuroscience in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of California, Santa Barbara where he pursued addiction genetics research and obtained a doctorate. He continued to pursue addiction neurogenetics research as a post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Psychology at Binghamton University and cultivated numerous techniques to make progress in the field.

The Bagley lab, in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Binghamton University, utilizes an eclectic variety of techniques, including behavioral pharmacology, behavioral neuroscience, advanced mouse genetics populations, pharmacogenomics, whole-transcriptome gene expression, and cutting-edge physiological neuroscience techniques. These approaches reveal genetic factors that drive changes in key behaviors, including self-administration of addictive drugs. From this knowledge, we can further delve into the impact of these genetic factors on brain function. Currently, the lab is focused on understanding how polygenic factors and candidate genes that impact cocaine self-administration may impact dopamine transmission in the nucleus accumbens (funded by NIH-NIDA K99/R00). We are employing cutting-edge techniques in fiber photometry and optogenetic fast-scan cyclic voltammetry in combination with polygenic and single-gene mouse models to address these questions.

In addition to research, Jared has extensive experience in teaching and mentorship and greatly enjoys working with members of the scientific community. He aims to consider the holistic needs of students and early-career scientists and hopes to cultivate an environment of learning, curiosity, creativity, inclusion, and respect for all individuals.



Research Interests: 

-Behavioral pharmacology

-Addiction neurogenetics

-Genomics and transcriptomics

Tracy Brooks

Chair and Associate Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences

Binghamton University School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences

Prior to joining Binghamton, Tracy Brooks was assistant professor of pharmacology in the Department of BioMolecular Sciences at the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy, research assistant professor at its Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and associate member of the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Prior to that, she was an assistant research scientist and post-doctoral fellow in both the Department of Drug Discovery and Design and the Department of Medical Pharmacology at the University of Arizona School of Pharmacy and School of Medicine, respectively. Her research has centered on oncology, anti-cancer therapeutics and development of new targets for drugs through a focus on DNA and the proteins that it controls. Brooks, who joined the Binghamton faculty in April 2017, is the inaugural Menner Family Endowed Faculty Fellow in Pharmacy, an endowment established to support faculty of promise early in their careers.



Research Interests:

-Oncology

-Anti-cancer therapeutics

​​​​​​​-Drug target development

Yuanjun "Steven" Shen

Assistant Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences

Binghamton University School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences

Dr. Yuanjun “Steve” Shen joined the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Binghamton University in 2025. During his master’s research in Dr. Cesar A. Lau-Cam’s laboratory at St. John’s University, he focused on the effects of taurine and antioxidants derived from plants and animals in the prevention and treatment of fatty liver disease and Type 2 diabetes. He then joined Dr. Bingfang Yan’s laboratory at the University of Rhode Island for his doctoral research, where he published his research of drug-drug interactions between sofosbuvir (an anti-hepatitis C drug) and tenofovir disoproxil (an anti-HIV drug), caused by sofosbuvir-induced human carboxylesterase-2 inhibition. After he received his PhD degree, Dr. Shen joined Dr. Elena Goncharova’s laboratory to study the mechanisms of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in Vascular Medicine Institute at the University of Pittsburgh in 2018 and then followed the Laboratory move to the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep in the Department of Medicine at the University of California, Davis in 2020. To obtain the training in organ-in-chip in vitro model design and the microfluidic technology, Dr, Shen joined Dr. Jason Gleghorn’s laboratory in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Delaware in 2023.

In 2019, Dr. Shen received an internal grant to support his research in PAH. In 2021, Dr. Shen was awarded for the American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellowship to investigate the mechanisms of pulmonary arterial endothelial cell and pulmonary arterial smooth muscles cell interaction in PAH pathogenesis.

His current research, funded by the NIH NHLBI K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award, mainly focuses on the status, function and the mechanism of regulation of Vacuolar Protein Sorting 34 in PAH. He has developed a new interest in mechanisms research of pediatric PAH induced by congenital diaphragmatic hernia.



Research Interests:

-Pulmonary hypertension

-Vascular biology

-Congenital diaphragmatic hernia

-Cell signaling

-Mouse genetic models

Nathan Tumey

Assistant Graduate Director; Vice Chair and Associate Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences

Binghamton University School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences

L. Nathan Tumey joined Binghamton University in 2017, following 15 years of medicinal chemistry experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. His research focuses on the design of antibody-drug-conjugates (ADCs) for the treatment of cancer, auto-immune disorders and rare diseases. Specific research projects include immune-stimulating antibody conjugates, glucocorticoid-antibody conjugates, legumain-cleavable linkers, and site-specific conjugation technology. Tumey is a leading expert in ADC technology, particularly as it applies to bioconjugation, linker design and immune-modulating payloads. He is a frequent consultant at various biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies and serves on the scientific advisory board of multiple ADC-related organizations.

Tumey received his PhD in chemistry from Duke University in 2001, under the supervision of Michael Pirrung. During his years in the pharmaceutical industry, Tumey was a key leader in multiple drug-discovery programs including the development of 5HT2c agonists for obesity, PKC-theta inhibitors for asthma, IRAK4 inhibitors for rheumatoid arthritis and antibody-drug-conjugates (ADCs) for the treatment of cancer.



Research Interests: 

-Medicinal Chemistry

-Targeted drug delivery

-Antibody-drug conjugates

-Auto-immune disease / inflammation