Research interests

Dr. Edward Bilsky received his B.S. (physics) in 1989 and M.S. (Behavioral Neuroscience) in 1991 from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the University of Arizona Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy in 1996. After completing a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Arizona, he joined the faculty at the University of Northern Colorado in 1997. In 2001, he joined the faculty at the University of New England where he is currently a tenured Professor of Pharmacology. He lectures on a variety of topics to students in the colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, Health Professions and Arts and Sciences. Dr. Bilsky’s laboratory conducts translational research in the areas of pain, addiction and other neurological disorders. He has received over 2 million dollars in extramural funding through a variety of federal, state and private grants and contracts including the National Institutes of Health, the Office of Naval Research and biotechnology/pharmaceutical companies. He has published over 50 peer-reviewed publications in leading pharmacology journals, and has presented nationally and internationally in a variety of different venues. Dr. Bilsky is a co-founder of a small biotechnology company (Aiko Pharmaceuticals) that is developing a unique class of opioid antagonists for the management of opioid-mediated side effects. He also serves as a consultant for several pharmaceutical companies developing CNS-based therapeutics. He recently served as the chair of the University of New England Faculty Assembly and is an Associate Editor for the Life Sciences, a journal publishing research in the biomedical sciences.

Publications

• Moorman, J., Yao, Z.Q., Bilsky, E.J., and Yin, D. Opioid Receptor Antagonists-Mediated Signaling in Immune System. In: Opioid Receptors and Antagonists: From Bench to Clinic (volume in the Contemporary Neuroscience series), R.L. Dean, S.S. Negus, and E.J. Bilsky (Eds.), Human Press, Totawa, NJ, pp. 137-151, 2009.
• Rothman, R.B., Ananthan, S. and Bilsky, E.J. Novel Opioid Antagonists with Mixed/Dual Selectivity. In: Opioid Receptors and Antagonists: From Bench to Clinic (volume in the Contemporary Neuroscience series), R.L. Dean, S.S. Negus, and E.J. Bilsky (Eds.), Human Press, Totawa, NJ, pp. 67-80, 2009.
• Pereira Do Carmo, G., Polt, R., Bilsky, E.J., Rice, K. and Negus, S.S. Behavioral Pharmacology of the Mu/Delta Opioid Glycopeptide MMP2200 in Rhesus Monkeys. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 326: 939-948, 2008.

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• Cheng, K., Kim, I.J., Lee, M-J, Adah, S.A., Raymond, T.J., Bilsky, E.J., Aceto, M.D., May, E.L., Harris, L.S., Coop, A, Dersch, C.M., Rothman, R.B., Jacobson, A.E. and Rice, K.C. Opioid ligands with mixed properties from substituted enantiomeric N-phenethyl-5-phenylmorphans. Synthesis of a ?-agonist ??antagonist and ?-inverse agonists. Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry, 5 (8): 1177-1190, 2007.

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• Hiebel, A-C., Lee, Y.S., Bilsky, E.J., Giuvelis, D., Deschamps, J.R., Aceto, M.D., May, E.L., Harris, L.S., Coop, A., Dersch, C.M., Rothman, R.B., Jacobson, A.E. and Rice, K.C. Probes for Narcotic Receptor Mediated Phenomena. 34. Synthesis and Structure-Activity Relationships of a Potent ?-Agonist ?-Antagonist and an Exceedingly Potent Antinociceptive in the Enantiomeric 9-Substituted 5-(3-Hydroxyphenyl)-N-phenylethylmorphan Series. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 50(16): 3765-3776, 2007.

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• Lowery, J.J., Yeomans, L., Keyari, C.M., Davis, P., Porreca, F., Knapp, B.I., Bidlack, J.M., Bilsky, E.J. and Polt, R. Glycosylation Improves the Central Effects of DAMGO. Chemical Biology & Drug Design, 69:41-47, 2007.

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Community/University Service

• 2005 to 2012 — Community Service — Associate Editor, Life Sciences
• 2007 to 2010 — Community Service — • Board of Directors, Maine Center For Innovation in Biotechnology
• 2009 to 2010 — Community Service — • Editorial Advisory Board, The Open Drug Discovery Journal
• 2009 to 2010 — Community Service — • Clinical Research Oversight Committee, Maine Medical Center Research Institue
• 2006 to 2008 — University Service — • Chair, Faculty Assembly at the University of New England
• 2009 to 2010 — University Service — • University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine Research Committee
• 2009 to 2010 — University Service — • Co-Chair, Research and Scholarship Standards, UNECOM Self-Study Committee

Grants

• 2005 to 2010 — 212000.00 — Novel Non-Peptide Ligands for the Opioid Receptors from NIH/NIDA
• 2007 to 2012 — 686000.00 — Biousian Glycopeptides from NIH/NINDS
• 2008 to 2009 — 21620.00 — Development of a Mouse Model of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder from Maine Neurogenetics Consortium Seed Grant
• 2008 to 2009 — 81995.00 — Role of Delta Opioid Receptors in Bone Cancer Pain from Maine Cancer Foundation