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Rustem S. Medora
Professor Emeritus

Phone: (406) 243-4943

Email: rustem.medora@umontana.edu

After completing undergraduate and masters work in Pharmacy at the University of Gujarat, India, Rustem Medora received his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences, with specialty in pharmacognosy, from the University of Rhode Island. Upon completing his graduate studies, he pursued a postdoctoral fellowship in Biology at McGill University, Canada. His first faculty position was at Idaho State University, followed by his appointment at The University of Montana in 1967.

RESEARCH STATEMENT

Previously, Medora’s research interest focused on the production and distribution of crude plant drugs across the world. Currently, his research projects have changed from the production of natural products by plant tissue culture techniques to studying the effect of plant derived substances on serotonin receptors. In order to pursue the later, he has collected plant samples from North and South America and India. Once extracted, these samples are being tested for in-vitro serotonin receptor binding activity in the laboratory of Dr. Keith Parker and in further collaboration with Dr. Charles Thompson, a medicinal chemist, and Dr. Ethan Russo, an ethnopharmacologist. These studies are aimed at development of superior drugs for treatment of disorders such as migraine headache and depression.

The universal interest in conservation, environmental issues, and ethnopharmacology has created added demand for Medora’s course on "Medicinal Plants." In addition, Medora teaches a campus-wide class on the "Use and Abuse of Drugs," which meets the general education requirements for science courses.

Medora’s interests also encompass the social sciences and humanities. In that regard, he has been successful in obtaining grants to offer workshops in gerontology, ethics, and in recent years has received training grants for the recruitment of disadvantaged students in the health professions. He is the director of the Native American Center of Excellence and Health Careers Opportunity Program for the School of Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences (SPAHS). This project has made a dramatic impact on the number of minority and disadvantaged students attending SPAHS at The University of Montana.  Medora is a member of the Governor’s Task Force on Wild Medicinal Plants and honorary member of the Academy of Ayurveda Development and Research.
KEY PUBLICATIONS

Weber J.T., O’Connor M.-F., Hayataka K., Colson N., Medora R., Russo E.B., and Parker K.K. Activity of parthenolide at 5HT2a receptors. J. Nat. Prods. 60:651-653, 1997.

Russo E.B., Medora R., Parker K., and Thompson C. Schedule I Research protocol: An investigation of psychedelic plants and compounds for activity in serotonin receptor assays for headache treatment and prophylaxis. Bull. Multidiscipl. Assoc. Psyched. Studies 70 (1):408-410, 1996.

Medora R.S. The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994. Montana Pharmacist, October: 8-10, 1996.

Medora R.S. Instructor’s Manual and Test Bank, to accompany the 7th Edition of Ray, O., and Ksir, C., Drugs, Society, and Human Behavior, Mosby Year Book, St. Louis, MO, 1996. 

Medora R.S. Impaired Health Care Professionals—An Overview, p. 285-292. In P.J. Venturelli (Ed.) Drug Use in America: Social, Cultural, and Political Perspectives, Jones & Bartlett, Boston, MA, 1994.

Medora R.S., Mell G.P., and Bilderback D.E. Effect of various media on growth and protease production in Carica papaya L. Callus cultures. Z. fur Pflanzenphysiologie 114: 179-185, 1984.

Russo E.B., Macarah C.M., Thiagaraj H.V., Medora R.S., and Parker K.K. Pharmacology of the essential oil of hemp at 5HT1A and 5HT2A receptors.  The 41st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Pharmocognosy. 2000, Seattle, WA.