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The Birnbaum Lab is a translational research program that focuses on the relationship between drug exposure as measured by plasma drug levels and drug response. The ability to reliably and accurately measure drug levels is critical, and methods in this lab are optimized to decrease assay variability
Principal Investigator
Principal Investigator
Angela K. Birnbaum, Ph.D., MLS(ASCP), FAES, FCP
Angela K. Birnbaum, Ph.D., MLS(ASCP), FAES, FCP
Professor, Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology
Interim Department Head, Medical Laboratory Sciences
Yvonne Chenoweth Cooke Endowed Professor
Distinguished University Teaching Professor
Executive Member and Co-founder, Center for Clinical and Cognitive Neuropharmacology
Phone: (612) 624-3158, Fax: (612) 626-0148
Email: birnb002@umn.edu
Angela Birnbaum has a broad background that includes both basic sciences and clinical research. She has a BS in Medical Technology (chemistry minor) and a BS in Biology at OhioNorthern University. She worked as a laboratory scientist in hospital laboratories measuring routine chemistry, hematology samples, and arterial blood gases (Charleston Area Medical Center, WVA, Duke University, NC) followed by work in a drug reference laboratory (MedTox Laboratories). She then completed a Ph.D. in pharmacology (neuroscience minor) at the University of Minnesota, Medical School where she studied the expression of a2-adrenergic and d-opioid receptors in the Xenopus oocytes to examine spinal neurotransmission of pain.
She completed training in clinical research as a 2-year post-doctoral trainee in clinical neuropharmacology in the College of Pharmacy where she established and directed the first formal working research laboratory for the Epilepsy Research and Education Program. Her clinical research experience includes development of stable labeled compounds for investigational pharmacokinetic studies in humans and involved the filing of ten IND’s as well as stability testing of experimental compounds with one compound (intravenous carbamazepine) being developed for commercial use (NDA filed).
Lab Faculty
Lab Faculty
Jennifer Brown, Ph.D., MLS (ASCP)cm, SCcm
Jennifer Brown, Ph.D., MLS (ASCP)cm, SCcm
Assistant Professor, Medical Laboratory Science
Phone: (612) 625-6964
Email: brown200@umn.edu
Jennifer Brown is an Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota Medical Laboratory Sciences Program. She has a Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology, and Genetics, with 30 years of experience in research and medical laboratories. Dr. Brown’s primary focus is clinical toxicology and chemistry, particularly utilizing mass spectrometry for drug analysis, medication monitoring, and automated chemistry workflows. Special interests include using technology to work more efficiently, health informatics, and promoting the value of the medical laboratory profession.
Ilo Leppik, M.D.
Ilo Leppik, M.D.
Professor, Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology
Adjunct Professor, Department of Neurology
Email: leppi001@umn.edu
Dr. Ilo E. Leppik is an epilepsy specialist at UMP Epilepsy Care Minneapolis and Professor of Pharmacy and Neurology at the University of Minnesota. He has been practicing in the area for 40 years. He has done extensive research regarding epilepsy in the elderly funded by the NIH. This has included studying how epilepsy medicines change as one gets older. Research has also involved studying epilepsy in nursing homes.
Dr. Leppik is the past President of the American Epilepsy Society was on the Board of Directors of the Epilepsy Foundation of America and chaired its professional advisory board. He has given many lectures in the USA and internationally. Dr. Leppik’s research is widely published with over 240 peer reviewed articles and more than 250 abstracts. He has coauthored numerous books and authored Contemporary Diagnosis and Management of the Patient with Epilepsy which has 650,000 copies in print and Epilepsy: A Guide to Balance Your Life, sponsored by the American Academy of Neurology as part of their educational series for patients and families.
Current research includes using naturally occurring canine status epilepticus as a translational platform for new drugs and Minnesota cannabis for epilepsy.
Rory Remmel, Ph.D.
Rory Remmel, Ph.D.
Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus, Department of Medicinal Chemistry
Email: remme001@umn.edu
Rory Remmel is well known as a collaborative investigator in drug metabolism research, with an emphasis on glucuronidation. His research has included studies in basic enzymology, work with hepatocytes, animal studies, and clinical studies in AIDS patients, in patients with epilepsy, and in patients with tuberculosis.
He has received multiple teaching awards (including highest teaching award given at the University of Minnesota), especially for teaching antimicrobial agents to pharmacy students.
Susan Marino, Ph.D.
Susan Marino, Ph.D.
Professor Emerita, Department of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology
Director, Center for Clinical and Cognitive Neuropharmacology
Email: marin007@umn.edu
Dr. Susan Marino received her PhD in neurobiology and behavior at the University of Pennsylvania. She is an associate professor in the Department of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology and director of the Center for Clinical and Cognitive Neuropharmacology at the University of Minnesota. Using an interdisciplinary approach, her research focuses on the effects of drugs on cognition.
Research Associate
Research Associate
Sílvia M. Illamola, PharmD, PhD
Adjunct Associate Faculty, Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology
Email: sillamol@umn.edu
After completing a Fellowship in the Division of Clinical Pharmacology at the University of Utah, Dr. Illamola joined the Department of Experimental & Clinical Pharmacology at the University of Minnesota as Research Associate. Her research is focused on the clinical pharmacology and pharmacometrics in special populations. Of special interest is the influence of growth and development in often used medication on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in newborns, children and infants, and the clinical pharmacology of medications during pregnancy and lactation.
Lab Members
Lab Members
Sandy Bowers
Study Coordinator/Project Manager
Sandy graduated from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities with a BA in Economics. She has worked in many different capacities with this team of researchers over the years. She is cureently involved in several projects as the Study Coordinator/Project Manager. She focuses mainly on subject recruitment, data collection and management, and regulatory requirements. Away from work, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, camping and traveling the country, or playing with her 3 dogs.
Cade Lizotte
Lab Technician/Research Scientist
Cade graduated from the University of Minnesota -Twin Cities with a B.S. in Chemistry and minors in mathematics and integrated neuroscience. He is currently a researcher at Angela Birnbaum’s Lab and is involved in data collection for different projects through LC-MS instrumentation and general lab technician duties. Cade’s research and learning interests include all aspects of neuroscience and mathematics, and their overlap into other fields. While having aspirations to go to neuroscience grad school, Cade simply wants a career in learning. Outside of work, you’ll see Cade somewhere in nature with a sketch book, looking at the stars, enjoying the rain, or just playing video games. He loves human connection and his cats, and appreciates the little things in life.
Current Students
Current Students
Yuhan Long
Experimental & Clinical Pharmacology Ph.D. Student
Yuhan is a PhD graduate student pursuing a degree in Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology with a minor in Statistics. He received a BS in Mathematics summa cum laude and a BSChE in Chemical Engineering (Computer Science minor) summa cum laude from University of Kentucky in 2020. While there, he worked with research in computer vision and drug solubility/crystallizability. His current research interests include pharmacometric methodology and mathematics. What especially intrigues him are the mechanistic modeling of nonlinear systems and the assumptions used in their simplification. Regardless of practicality, he aims to bring more mathematics to pharmacology and more pharmacology to mathematics.
His interest in models expands to physical models with respect to his hobby of scale model building. Other reclusive joys of his include computers, video games, and fountain pens. If you want to be inundated with information, feel free to ask him about any of his interests. In conclusion, by proof through counting, this is sentence number a.
Xintian Lyu
Experimental & Clinical Pharmacology Ph.D. Student
Xintian received her bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota in 2020, majored in Chemistry, and minored in Statistics. Currently, she is a Ph.D. student in Dr. Birnbaum's lab. Her research interests are pharmacometrics, PBPK modeling, and clinical pharmacology. So far, her projects are mainly about medical cannabis, including data analysis and bioanalysis. In her free time, she likes playing the piano, dancing, and playing with her two cute cats and her dog named Cookie.
Jason Sriwijaya
Experimental & Clinical Pharmacology Ph.D. Student
Jason is a Ph.D. student in Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology (ECP) advised by Dr. Angela Birnbaum. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Medicine from Hasanuddin University Medical School and completed his Clinical Pharmacology residency training from University of Indonesia. During his residency training, his research focused on detection of cardiotoxicity effects of antimalarial drugs. After graduation, he served as a lecturer in pharmacology and therapeutics department at Hasanuddin University Medical School. He has a deep interest in pharmacokinetics-pharmacodynamics modeling and simulation as well as therapeutic drug monitoring. Therefore, he joined as a graduate student at ECP, University of Minnesota.
In his leisure time, he loves playing music, writing a song, and exploring cafés in Minneapolis and St. Paul area.
Jennifer Vigliaturo
Experimental & Clinical Pharmacology Ph.D. Student
Jenny is a Ph.D. student in Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology (ECP) advised by Dr. Angela Birnbaum. She earned a Bachelor's of Science in Microbiology from the University of Minnesota. After graduation, She worked in a molecular epidemiology lab of Dr. Ajay Israni performing SNP genotyping. Thereafter, she worked in the laboratory of Dr. Paul Pentel and carried out behavioral studies of vaccines for opioid addiction. She currently works with Dr. Michael Raleigh assisting with opioid vaccine clinical studies with a focus on LCMS/MS quantification.
In her free time, she likes to spend time with her family, garden, watch movies and walk her dogs.
Jeffrey Lam
Experimental & Clinical Pharmacology Ph.D. Student
Jeffrey received a Bioengineering undergraduate degree from UCLA and then an M.S. degree in Bioengineering from UC Irvine working on developing cell based high throughput screening methods. He is a Ph.D student in the Birnbaum lab, and is interested in pharmacometric modeling investigating new clinical approaches to treating depression and anxiety. In his free time, Jeffrey likes exploring the food scene in Minneapolis, gaming, playing tennis and pickleball, and petting your dogs.
Aditya Suvarna
Experimental & Clinical Pharmacology Ph.D. Student
Aditya earned his BPharm degree and later completed two master’s degrees: an MBA in India and an MS in Molecular Pharmacology and Toxicology from the University of Southern California. He is currently a PhD student in Dr. Angela Birnbaum’s lab. His research interests center on pharmacometrics, and he is especially motivated by the potential to integrate research, quantitative modeling, and business innovation. In the long term, he hopes to build an AI startup at the intersection of science and entrepreneurship. Outside of work, he enjoys training at the gym and meal prepping for the week.
Lucas Vacek
Chemistry, Undergraduate Student
Current Trainees
Current Trainees
Vrishali Salian, Ph.D.
Vrishali is a Postdoctoral Associate in Dr. Angela Birnbaum’s lab within the Department of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology. She completed both her M.S. (2020) and Ph.D. (2025) in Pharmaceutics at the University of Minnesota.
During her graduate studies, her research focused on the molecular mechanisms of cerebrovascular inflammation in Alzheimer’s disease. She used a combination of pharmacokinetic modeling and molecular biology techniques to study blood-brain barrier dysfunction.
In her current role, she performs population pharmacokinetic (PopPK) and PK/PD modeling of antiseizure medications in pregnant women. Her work involves analyzing maternal drug exposure and its relationship to pharmacodynamic (PD) outcomes, specifically neurodevelopmental scores in their children.
In her free time, Vrishali enjoys baking, cooking, painting, and attending creative craft workshops in the Twin Cities
Angela K. Birnbaum, Ph.D., Professor
Angela K. Birnbaum, Ph.D., Professor
University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy, Dept. of Experimental & Clinical Pharmacology
Room 463, 717 Delaware St., SE
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55414
Phone: (612) 624-3158, Fax: (612) 626-0148
E-mail: birnb002@umn.edu
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