The UF College of Pharmacy held its 28th research competition on Feb. 19, with graduate student presenters in the oral competition, and posters entered in three categories; graduate students, professional students, and postdoctoral fellows. This year’s showcase was coordinated by Hendrik Luesch, Ph.D., an associate professor and Debbie and Sylvia DeSantis Chair in Natural Products Drug Discovery and Development.
Keynote speaker, Frank Koehn, Ph.D., a research fellow – Natural Products/World Wide Medicinal Chemistry, Pfizer, Inc. presented his work entitled “Natural Products in Drug Discovery – Where to from Here?”
Sponsorship
The annual Research Showcase is made possible through funding from these dedicated supporters:
DENALI Biotechnologies, Inc. (Dr. Maureen A. McKenzie); Dr. Robert A. and Phyllis Levitt (class of 1961); Dr. Robert C. Crisafi (Class of 1956); Debbie Klapp Memorial Endowment; Dr. David W. Newton (class of 1976); Dr. April M. Barbour (class of 2009); PK-P’Dyne, Inc. (Dr. Kerry Estes); Dr. Stephan Schmidt (class of 2008); and Dr. James Sacco (class of 2006).
Poster Judges
Dr. Larisa H. Cavallari, Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacotherapy & Translational Research; Dr. Keith Choe, Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Liberal Arts and Sciences; Dr. Stacey Curtis, Assistant Director of Experiential Programs, Department of Pharmacotherapy & Translational Research; Dr. Michelle Farland, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacotherapy & Translational Research; Dr. John Gums, Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs, College of Pharmacy; Dr. Pamela Havre, Assistant Scientist, Department of Medicinal Chemistry; Dr. Denise Klinker, Clinical Assistant Professor, Director of Experiential Programs; Dr. Vishal Lamba, Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacotherapy & Translational Research; Dr. William Millard, Associate Dean for Research and Administrative Affairs, College of Pharmacy; Dr. John Neubert, Associate Professor, Department of Orthodontics Research, College of Dentistry; Dr. Ranjala Ratnayake, Assistant Scientist, Department of Medicinal Chemistry; Dr. Ben Staley, Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacotherapy & Translational Research.
Oral Competition Judges
Dr. Frank Koehn, Research Fellow, Natural Products/World Wide Medicinal Chemistry, Pfizer, Inc.; Dr. Jatinder Lamba, Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacotherapy & Translational Research; Dr. Steven Smith, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacotherapy & Translational Research; and Dr. Mirjam Trame, Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmaceutics.
Research Showcase Awards Ceremony
Oral Competition
Each participant receives a commemorative plaque and a cash award: winner $600; finalist $300.
Senior Division – winner
Mohamed Shahin, Pharmacotherapy & Translational Research
Title: “Genome-Wide Prioritization and Genomics-Transcriptomics Integration Reveal Novel Signatures Associated with Blood Pressure Response of Thiazide Diuretics”
Senior Division – finalists
- Michelle Bousquet, Medicinal Chemistry, Title: “Multidimensional Screening Platform Identifies Novel Modulators of Oxidative Stress for Chemoprevention and Chemotherapy”
- Dipanwita Pati, Pharmacodynamics, Title:“Tonic Modulation of Central Stress Circuits by Oxytocin in Response to Peripheral Salt Loading”
Junior Division – winner
Fatma Al-Awadhi, Medicinal Chemistry
Title: “Searching for Underwater Treasures: Isolation, Structure Elucidation, and Biological Evaluation of Novel Natural Products from Marine Cyanobacteria”
Junior Division – finalists
- Kaley MacFadyen, Pharmacodynamics, Title: “Oxytocin Receptor Expression on Dopamine, Glutamate and GABA Neurons of the VTA: A Point of Access for Regulating Ethanol Consumption?”
- Guo Zhong , Medicinal Chemistry, Title: “Age-Related Changes in Expression and Activity of Human Mitochondrial Glutathione Transferase Zeta1”
Levitt Division – winner
Nakyung Jeon, Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy
Title: “Evaluation of Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) Risk in Vancomycin and NSAIDs Concomitant users in Hospital using Electronic Health Record”
Levitt Division – finalist
- Xinyue Liu, Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, Title: “State-Level Variation of Psychotropic Drug Utilization in Children with ADHD”
Poster Competition
Winners of the poster presentations are listed below in three categories. Each winner receives a $300 cash prize.
Professional Student Division
Gena Burch, Professional Student/Gainesville Campus, Title: “Discovery of Halogenated Quinoline Small Molecules as Potent Biofilm Dispersal and Antibacterial Agents Against Staphylococcus epidermidis”
Lindsey Osterfeld, Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, Title: “Identifying Risk Factors Associated with Surgical Site Infections to Develop a Dynamic Risk Model”
Graduate Student Division
Neha Bhise, Pharmacotherapy & Translational Research, Title: “MicroRNA Expression Mediated Regulation of Ara-C Chemosensitivity and Candidate Gene Expression in AML Cell Lines”
Ghadeer Dawwas, Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, Title: “Type II Diabetes and Related Risk Factors: Analysis at the State Level in the United States”
Ahmed Samir Elshikha, Pharmaceutics, Title: “Alpha 1 Antitrypsin Inhibits Dendritic Cell Differentiation and Attenuates Nephritis in a Mouse Model of Lupus”
Oyunbileg Magvanjav, Pharmacotherapy & Translational Research, Title: “Reduced Cardiovascular Events after Percutaneous Coronary Intervention with Genotype-guided Antiplatelet Therapy: Results from the UF Health Personalized Medicine Program”
Anandharajan Rathinasabapathy, Pharmacodynamics, Title: “Paracrine Role of Adipose Stem Cells in Protecting Against Bleomycin Induced Pulmonary Fibrosis”
Lei Wang, Pharmacodynamics, Title: “Increasing Angiotensin converting Enzyme 2 Activity in the Brain is Anxiolytic and Dampens Activation of Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal Axis in Male Mice”
Post-doctoral Fellow Division
Stephan Jahn, Medicinal Chemistry, Title: “Chemoresistance through the Intratumoral Metabolism of Dichloroacetate”