Lab Expressions

Pharmacology & Pharmaceutics Student, Post-doctoral Researcher Projects Take Center Stage at PPS Research Symposium

UH College of Phamracy investigations into the development and progression of such diseases as Alzheimer's, cancer and hypertension as well as the current and promising agents and tools to diagnose and treat them were showcased at the 2nd Annual PPS Research Symposium Aug. 14-15.

PPS Department Chair Doug Eikenburg thanks Erin Schuetz, Ph.D., of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for serving as the symposium's Scholar-in-Residence.

The annual symposium is intended to not only showcase the cutting-edge research by students, post-docs and their faculty advisors/lab supervisors, but also provide an additional opportunity to gain experience presenting and defending their work among peers and future colleagues from across the university. 

The symposium featured oral and poster presentations by UHCOP Pharmacology and Pharmaceutics graduate students and post-doctoral research associates, as well as scientific and career-planning presentations by symposium Scholar-in-Residence Erin Schuetz, Ph.D., faculty member at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. Oral and poster presentation winners and finalists were announced by Dmitri Litinov, Ph.D., vice provost and dean of the UH Graduate School.  

The winner and top finalists of the graduate student presentations were: 

• Odochi Ohia, first-place oral, for "Preventative effects of chronic treadmill exercise on cognitive and non-cognitive behaviors in P301S tau transgenic mice";
• Sonal Singh, second-place oral, for "Gravin mutant mice show resistance to the development and progression of cardiac hypertrophy";
• Hironari Akasaka, first-place poster, for "Identification of the two-phase mechanism of endogenous arachidonic acid regulating inflammatory prostaglandin E2 biosynthesis by targeting COX-2 and mPGES-1"; and
• Pankajini Mallick, second-place poster, for "Drug-drug interaction between Irinotecan and Taxol: Implication for combination therapy."

The winner of the oral presentation competition among post-doctoral research associates was UHCOP alumnus Gaurav Patki, Ph.D. ('10), for "Tempol protects anxiogenic drug induced anxiety-like behavior in rats."