University Of Southern Nevada

Dr. Swaffar received her BS in Pharmacy from Ohio Northern University and has practiced pharmacy for many years, including as a pharmacy owner/manager of two independent pharmacies.  Her practice experiences include chain pharmacy, independent community, and hospital pharmacy.  Dr. Swaffar received her PhD in pharmacology at the University of Utah, and she obtained tenure as a faculty member at the University of Louisiana – Monroe, where she served as mentor for several PhD students.  Her graduate students have received many awards for their pre-doctoral research on natural product anticancer drugs.  Prior to joining USN she taught pharmacology to medical and pharmacy students at Lake Erie College of  Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM), where she was Founding Dean and Professor of the LECOM School of Pharmacy.  Throughout her academic career she has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in toxicology, medicinal chemistry, and all areas of pharmacology.  Her teaching interests primarily encompass chemotherapeutic agents, endocrine agents, anti-inflammatory agents, neurodegenerative disorders, and drug resistance. 

Dr. Swaffar’s postdoctoral research at the University of Utah was conducted in the area of anticancer drug discovery of marine natural products.  Her research interests include molecular interactions of Taxol, anticancer potential of natural products, and topoisomerase II activity in sensitive and resistant cancer cells.  She has also conducted clinical research on hepatitis C patients.  Dr. Swaffar is a member of many scientific/professional organizations including American Association of Cancer Research, American Society of Pharmacognosy, American Chemical Society, American Botanical Council, Sigma Xi Research Society, American Pharmacists Association, and state pharmacy associations.  She is also a contract DUR consultant pharmacist.  Dr. Swaffar accepted a position as Professor at the South Jordan campus in 2006.