Ryan Funk

The work in my laboratory focuses on understanding the basis for inter-individual variation in drug disposition and response in the pediatric patient population. In particular, my work has focused on factors affecting the response to disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), which are commonly used in the treatment of various pediatric autoimmune diseases. Previous and ongoing studies have focused on pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic measures of methotrexate activity as therapeutic biomarkers to guide the clinical use of methotrexate. This research has focused on understanding the basic biochemical pharmacology of methotrexate in the treatment of autoimmune disease, and has focused on the role of folates and inflammatory cytokines as biochemical markers of drug efficacy and toxicity. With the increased development and utilization of biologic DMARDs in the treatment of our patients, my group has become increasingly interested in understanding the mechanisms of disposition of these agents in the pediatric population and the utility of therapeutic approaches directed at enhancing exposure and response to this class of drugs. The use of clinical and pre-clinical approaches in my laboratory to address clinically relevant problems provides an ideal environment for students and scientists interested in the translational sciences.