Amidst the rows of poster boards filling the atrium of the Health Professions, Nursing and Pharmacy Building in Gainesville stand promising researchers like Emma Ellis, who have stepped into the spotlight to share their findings at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy’s 37th Annual Research Showcase, Feb. 5-6.

A second-year medicinal chemistry graduate student, Ellis presented her research on the isolation of three metabolites from a group of natural products discovered from marine cyanobacteria. It’s an invaluable opportunity to share her work with peers and faculty in the college.
“Research Showcase helps me refine my presentation skills and explain my research to those who may not be familiar with marine drugs and marine metabolites,” Ellis said. “The judges in this competition give really good feedback, which will help me move my research forward.”
Ellis joined a cohort of more than 110 graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and Pharm.D. students in presenting research posters at the Annual Research Showcase. Among the total were a record 74 posters submitted by graduate students. Additionally, 12 students and trainees participated in the event’s oral competition and the college hosted 20 top Ph.D. student recruits. The forum has a long-standing tradition of nurturing newcomers to the research community, providing them with a platform to publicly share their work.
Brian Molina Diaz, a first-year graduate student in the department of pharmaceutics, seized the opportunity to enter the poster competition. Encouraged by his faculty advisor, Mei He, Ph.D., an associate professor, Diaz embarked on a study exploring the application of magnetic actuation systems in mimicking lung tumor microenvironments using cell cultures.
“It’s great to be surrounded by my peers and see interdisciplinary research in action,” Molina Diaz said. “The dynamic environment and diverse opportunities for collaboration are what make this college special and a great fit for me.”
The Annual Research Showcase highlights the wide spectrum of research projects taking place across the college’s three campuses. Ermano Menos, a Pharm.D. student from the Orlando campus, undertook a comprehensive literature review on the implications of CYP2C19 phenoconversion on drug metabolism.
“It is a pretty big honor to present at Research Showcase in our first year,” said Menos, who presented his poster along with a team of Pharm.D. students from Orlando. “This is a fantastic way to get our foot in the door. It is a fun experience to interact with the upperclassmen and Ph.D. students and see all the research happening in the college.”

Angela Kashuba, B.Sc.Phm., Pharm.D., DABCP, FCP, the John A. and Margaret P. McNeill, Sr. Distinguished Professor and the dean of the University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy, delivered the keynote address. Her presentation explored mass spectroscopy imaging and offered insights into its application in HIV treatment, prevention and care.
Following Kashuba’s keynote address, the 37th Annual Research Showcase concluded with an award ceremony and reception. The UF College of Pharmacy extends congratulations to this year’s award-winning students and trainees in the poster and oral competitions.
Poster Competition Winners
PharmD/Undergrad (A)
Hanna Schultz, dept of Pharmacotherapy and Translational Research, Dr. Anthony Casapao
Defining Clinical Success: MRSA Bacteremia Patients Treated with Daptomycin and Ceftaroline
PharmD/Undergrad (B)
Kayleigh Ballas, dept of Medicinal Chemistry, Dr. Chris Xing
The Effect of NNK-Induced Changes in STING Expression on Lung Cancer Tumorigenesis
Postdoctoral Trainee (A)
Vivek Shastri, dept of Pharmacotherapy and Translational Research, Dr. Jatinder Lamba
Novel Anti-CD33-IgC/CD3 Bispecific Antibody Mediates Potent T Cell Killing of AML Cells
Postdoctoral Trainee (B)
Amit Mondal, dept of Medicinal Chemistry, Dr. Yousong Ding
Biosynthetic Characterization of Antibacterial Pyrrolomycins
Graduate Student Research: Basic and Translational Science: Cancer
Richard Marrero, dept of Pharmacotherapy and Translational Research, Dr. Jatinder Lamba
GWAS Identifies Variants Associated with Measurable Residual Disease Response in Pediatric AML
Graduate Student Research: Basic and Translational Science: CNS Disorders
Todd Sahagian, dept of Pharmacodynamics, Dr. Jason Frazier
Aging Increases CCh Induced Currents Supporting Persistent Firing in BLA Principal Neurons
Graduate Student Research: Basic Science: Innovative new techniques
Nina Erwin, dept of Pharmaceutics, Dr. Mei He
Enhanced Proteolysis Targeting Chimeras Loading and Delivery Through Extracellular Vesicles
Graduate Student Research: Clinical and Translational Science: Drug Metabolism
Philip Melchert, dept of Pharmacotherapy and Translational Research, Dr. John Markowitz
An In Vitro Evaluation of Botanical Extracts on CES1 Catalytic Activity
Graduate Student Research: Clinical Science: Drug Outcomes and Utilization
Celeste Ewig, dept of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, Dr. Almut Winterstein
Secular Trends and Determinants of Hepatitis C Virus Testing during Pregnancy: 2010-2021
Graduate Student Research: Clinical Science: Outcomes in Chronic Diseases
Shyam Ramesh, dept of Pharmaceutics, Dr. Sarah Kim
Time to Event Modeling to Predict Age of End-Stage Renal Disease for Patients with ADTKD
Oral Competition Winners and Finalists
Postdoctoral Scholar Research
Winner: Xiaoshu Pan, dept of Pharmaceutics, Dr. Mei He
Developing Extracellular Vesicles for Genome Editing Treatment of Progressive Dominant Hearing Loss
Finalists:
Mona Alshahawey, dept of Pharmacotherapy & Translational Research, Dr. Caitrin McDonough
Sanghoon Kang, dept of Pharmaceutics, Dr. Sarah Kim
Maureen Keller-Wood Junior Graduate Student Research
Winner: Yehua Wang, dept of Pharmaceutical Outcomes & Policy, Dr. Almut WintersteinAssessing the Real-World Effectiveness of Hormonal Contraceptives in Commercial Claims Database
Finalists:
Haylee R. Hammond, dept of Pharmacodynamics, Dr. Jay McLaughlin
Cameron Humerickhouse, dept of Pharmaceutics, Dr. Stephan Schmidt
William J. Millard Senior Graduate Basic Science Student Research
Winner: Yuzhao Zhang, dept of Medicinal Chemistry, Dr. Lina CuiLead Optimization via Gatorator: A Case Study on Heparanase Inhibitor
Finalists:
Saikat Poddar, dept of Medicinal Chemistry, Dr. Guangrong Zheng
Bo Sortman, dept of Pharmacodynamics, Dr. Brandon Warren
Julie A. Johnson Senior Graduate Student Clinical Science Research
Winner: Nicole Smolinski, dept of Pharmaceutical Outcomes & Policy, Dr. Almut Winterstein
Management of Pediatric Acute Otitis Media and Consequences in the United States
Finalists:
Noor Nahid, dept of Pharmacotherapy & Translational Research, Dr. Julie Johnson
Nam Nguyen, dept of Pharmacotherapy & Translational Research, Dr. Jatinder Lamba
A special thanks to the Office of Graduate Education for organizing and hosting the event:
- Kim Mahoney, assistant director
- Katie McFarland, student support
- Rafael Gonzalez, admissions and recruitment