Swetha Kaul

Email: swetha@ku.edu

Education:

University of Missouri-Kansas City, BA: Biology, BA: Chemistry, Minor: Business Administration

Swetha Kaul

Area of Study:

The project I am working on deals with alcohol and cocaine addiction. Disulfiram is a drug that has been used for almost 50 years for the treatment of alcohol abuse and most recently found to be effective in cocaine dependence. Inhibition of liver aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2), the pharmacological basis for its use in alcohol dependence, does not explain disulfiram’s efficacy in cocaine use. Carbamathione, a glutathione adduct and one of the metabolites of disulfiram has been proposed as the substance responsible for the efficacy of disulfiram in cocaine addiction. Thus, the main aims of this project are:

1. To test the hypothesis that carbamathione, formed from disulfiram, is either transported to the brain or is formed in the brain

2. To investigate the effect of carbamathione and/or disulfiram on various neurotransmitter levels particularly glutamate and NMDA

Microdialysis techniques will be used along with HPLC-MS/MS as an analytical tool. A separate HPLC-fluorescence method will also be developed for studying the neurotransmitter and carbamathione levels simultaneously.

The significance of this research is that carbamathione can be used as a pharmacological tool to either develop new treatments for cocaine addiction, or improve the effectiveness of disulfiram therapy in cocaine addiction by using carbamathione directly.

Personal Interests:

My parents are originally from India but I grew up in Nigeria, so I consider myself pretty lucky to have two countries I call home. I came to Kansas City in 2000 to do my undergraduate studies. It was my first time in America. So why KC? Well it was simply because of a scholarship that meant no debt when I graduated. With that said, I have actually grown quite fond of Kansas City since then. It was in KC I saw my first snowfall, drove my first car and of course watched my first Chiefs game. I graduated in 2003 and worked for a year a lab tech. I was not sure of a lot of things but I knew I didn’t want to be a lab tech for the rest of my life. I applied to graduate school and came to KU in 2004. I chose KU because it had a well-reputed pharmacy school and it was close to KC. Lawrence is a fun college town and the school spirit really draws you in. I love watching KU basketball and football. I also enjoy barbequing, which is another great KC tradition, especially while drinking Boulevard and watching a game.