Research trainees, faculty members and industry scientists took a deep dive into the latest findings in target identification and drug discovery, drug and biomarker development, clinical studies and health outcomes at the third annual Clinical and Translational Research Symposium May 22 at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy (UHCOP).
The program drew undergraduate, graduate and professional program students, postdoctoral fellows, and early-career and established investigators from multiple UH colleges alongside Baylor College of Medicine, UTHealth Houston, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, MD Anderson UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Texas Southern University, Texas A&M Health, and the Houston Methodist Research Institute.
Pamela Hill, M.S., senior director and global head of Open Innovation at AstraZeneca, delivered the morning keynote, drawing on more than two decades in biopharmaceutical research to examine how open innovation models between industry and academia are driving advances in early-stage drug discovery.
The afternoon keynote was presented by Christine Colvis, Ph.D., director of the Office of Drug Development Partnership Programs and acting director of the Office of Special Initiatives at the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health (NIH). Colvis highlighted her office’s work accelerating therapeutic discovery through partnerships spanning NIH, the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and NASA, and discussed AI-enabling initiatives such as the Biomedical Data Translator and LitCoin programs.
Four researchers were recognized with Best Abstract Awards across the symposium’s thematic sessions:
Target Identification & Drug Discovery – Guangrong Lu, M.D., MBA, chief executive officer of Lucier Pharmaceuticals Inc., for “A novel molecular mechanism for coronary arteriolar constriction to endothelin-1 guides drug development to classify and treat coronary microvascular dysfunction,” and Chia-Ling Wu, UHCOP Ph.D. candidate, for “Nebivolol exhibits cell growth inhibition in drug-resistant HR+/HER2- breast cancer and anti-tumoral synergism with abemaciclib in vitro”
Drug & Biomarker Development – Waseem Abdelrahim, Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions student, for “Prognostic Impact of CTNNB1 Mutations on Immunotherapy Outcomes in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Multi-Cohort Genomic Analysis”
Clinical Studies & Health Outcomes – Tiansheng Wang, Ph.D., Pharm.D., M.S., UHCOP assistant professor, for “Effect of GLP-1 receptor agonists on incident dementia with and without SGLT2 inhibitors”
Additionally, nine researchers were recognized for “Lightning Talks”:
Target Identification & Drug Discovery – Xin Li, M.D., Ph.D., M.S., Baylor assistant professor; Tetiana Kolodiazhna, M.S., UHCOP Ph.D. candidate; and Lu
Drug & Biomarker Development – Fanfei Meng, Ph.D., UHCOP assistant professor; Sadhna Aggarwal, Ph.D., MD Anderson postdoctoral fellow; and Esmail
Clinical Studies & Health Outcomes – Yongqi Xiao, Pharm.D., UHCOP Ph.D. student; Wang; and Javeria Khalid, Ph.D. (’26), Pharm.D., recent UHCOP graduate.
Organized by UHCOP Professor and Clinical and Translational Research Program Director Meghna Trivedi, Pharm.D. (’03), Ph.D. (’04), BCOP, the symposium was made possible through the support of gold sponsors Cytiva, Revvity, CT Cells, Vazyme, and the UH Division of Research, and bronze sponsors the UHCOP Institute for Drug Education & Research and SanarEntero.