Dr. Reza Mehvar

Dr. Mehvar is Professor and Chair of the Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Chapman University School of Pharmacy. Previously, he held faculty positions at Drake University and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. At Texas Tech, he also held leadership positions as the Interim Co-Chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Director of the Pharmacokinetics Core of the Clinical Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics Center. His teaching and research focus on pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, hepatobiliary disposition of xenobiotics, and targeted drug delivery, supported by funding from NIH and other organizations. Dr. Mehvar has received multiple awards for innovation and excellence in teaching and research from AACP and Texas Tech, was inducted into the ASPET Academy of Pharmacology Educators, and received the inaugural AACP Distinguished Teaching Scholar Award. He is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Research Interests

Dr. Mehvar’s research focuses on the liver’s role in drug disposition and treatments for liver diseases. His work includes studying inflammatory mediators’ effects on cytochrome P450 drug metabolism and strategies to reduce liver transplant rejection and ischemia-reperfusion injury. This led to the development of a dextran prodrug of methylprednisolone that targets the liver and mitigates injury and rejection in animal models. His laboratory also examines how liver diseases affect hepatobiliary and brain drug disposition, with an emphasis on blood-brain barrier permeability and transport. Dr. Mehvar also investigates educational strategies in ability-based learning, online pharmacokinetic tools, and curricular assessment.