Dr. Shirley M. Tsunoda

Dr. Tsunoda’s research focuses on factors influencing the variability and activity of intestinal and hepatic metabolism of drugs and the pharmacokinetics/metabolism and clinical use of immunosuppressive agents. Previous work has included using probe compounds such as midazolam and cyclosporine to predict activity of CYP3A4, the major drug metabolizing enzyme in the intestine and liver and the effect of red wine on cyclosporine pharmacokinetics. She is also interested in studying the increasingly complex interplay of the metabolic enzymes and transporter proteins in the intestine and how they contribute to the overall bioavailability of immunosuppressive drugs; as well as investigating the role of the microbiome on intestinal and hepatic drug metabolism.

Dr. Tsunoda has several ongoing research projects in: 1) investigating the effect of the microbiome on drug metabolism; 2) analyzing skin swab metabolomics for drug exposure; 3) investigating the clinical utility of pharmacogenomics in transplant patients; and 4) studies with immunosuppressive drugs in transplant patients.