Jane Alcorn is Dean and Professor of the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, University of Saskatchewan. She has a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, and a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences (Pharmacokinetics) from the University of Kentucky. She is a member of the Pharmaceutical and Nutritional Sciences Research Group and her teaching responsibilities include Basic and Clinical Pharmacokinetics and Xenobiotic Metabolism in both the undergraduate and graduate Pharmacy programs.
Research
Jane’s expertise in pharmacokinetics has been applied to various research areas including an earlier focus on the determinants of neonatal exposure risk when breastfeeding mothers require medications. Specifically, her research emphasized the developmental maturation of xenobiotic elimination mechanisms as well as xenobiotic-nutrient transporter interactions at the lactating mammary epithelial barrier and the consequent outcomes of such interactions on breast milk nutrient composition. Today, Jane focuses on the therapeutic benefits of phytochemicals such as flaxseed lignans and the cannabinoids and their underlying mechanism(s) of action. Specifically, this laboratory evaluates lignan and cannabinoid pharmacokinetics and their application to specific chronic diseases as a therapeutic intervention. Pharmacokinetic principles have been applied to understand lignan mechanism of action in its positive effects on cholesterol homeostasis. Dr. Alcorn’s research utilizes a variety of pharmaceutical analysis, molecular biology, and biochemical methods as well as cell culture systems, animal models, and human clinical trials in attempts to generate new understandings in these areas of investigation. In addition to these independent areas of investigation, Jane provides pharmacokinetic expertise to a significant number of collaborative drug discovery and translational research projects.