2016 News Archive
October 11, 2016
Congratulations to our MOME track postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Lance Stechschulte! His Postdoctoral Fellowship Award application, titled "Identifying the contribution of PP5 phosphatase to the pathogenesis of diabetes and osteoporosis," was approved for funding by the American Diabetes Association! His mentor is Dr. Beata Lecka-Czernik. Well done!
October 3, 2016
Congratulations to Sumeet Solanki, PhD Student (MOME Track) in Dr. Guillermo Vazquez lab for being selected as the 2016 recipient of the UT HSC Retirees Scholarship Fund for his exceptional research efforts and contributions to the local community.
August 26, 2016
Physiology and Pharmacology Department Retreat
At the department retreat members of the GradStairs Program, a graduate student leadership
group, pass the torch to the next set of leaders.
On the left, Sumeet Solanki and Sravan Kumar Perla (departing leaders) pass their torches to Mengie "Emma" Wang, Shermel Sherman, and Amit Chogule, Graduate Student Association (GSA) Representative for the MOME track.
August 20, 2016 - Department Orientation for MOME Graduate Students
The faculty, students and staff from the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology
welcomed the new MOME graduate students to our program during a luncheon held on Monday,
August 20th.
Dr. Bina Joe, Professor and Chair of Physiology and Pharmacology addressing the new
graduate students.
Following the luncheon the students were taken on a guided tour of the Interprofessional Immersive Simulation Center on the Health Science Campus.
August 18, 2016 - Lab Coat Ceremony
The sixth annual Lab Coat Ceremony for the new graduate students in the BMS program was held in the new Lloyd Jacobs Interprofessional Immersive Simulation Center at 1:00PM following a very popular welcome lunch. Each graduate student was presented a lab coat by Mr. Daniel Saevig, assisted by Marianne Pohlman. Students from the Molecular Medicine
(MOME) track, the Cancer Biology (CAB) Track, the Immunity and Infection and Transplantation
(IIT) track, the Neuroscience and Neurological Disorders (NND) track and the Bioinformatics
and Proteomics and Genomics (BIPG) track participated
MOME track PhD students, Amit Chougule, Usman Ashraf, Kelsey Fout, Chrysan Mohammed, Dr. Bina Joe, Professor and Chair, Physiology & Pharmacology, PhD Students, Shermel Sherman, Sudipta Baroi, MD-PhD Woojin Han and Dr. Kandace Williams, Associate Dean, College of Medicine and Life Sciences.
In the lunch line before the Lab Coat Ceremony
MOME PhD student Shermel Sherman, MD-PhD student Erin Semple (NND), Ahmed Al-Khudhair PhD student (MOME), and Amit Choudule, PhD student MOME track.
Dr. Kandace Williams, Associate Dean, College of Medicine and Life Sciences Graduate Programs, addressing the students and guests during the Lab Coat Ceremony
August 1, 2016: Harshal Waghulde successfully defends his dissertation.
Congratulations to Harshal Waghulde for successfully defending his dissertation.
The title of his project was Mapping and CRISPR/Cas9 Gene Editing for Identifying Novel Genomic Factors Influencing
Blood. Harshal's Major Advisor was Dr. Bina Joe.
Lucien McBeth successfully defended his thesis on June 22, 2016. 
Congratulations to Lucien McBeth for successfully defending his thesis. The title of his project was Glucocorticoid Receptor Beta Increases the Migration of Human Uroepithelial Carcinoma Cells. Lucien’s Major Advisor was Terry Hinds, PhD.
Lucien was also selected to receive a competitively awarded scholarship from the US Army that will cover his tuition, fees and living expenses while in medical school at the University of Toledo. Lucien was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant Lucien Reiter McBeth, US Army Medical Department - Medical Corp. He will complete his medical residency in a US Army residency program and practice as a physician in the US Army for 4 years. It will be his great honor to carry on a strong family history in the US army and serve his country.
May 23, 2016: Shermel Sherman successfully defends her thesis.
Congratulations to Shermel Sherman for successfully defending her thesis. The title of her project was Tibia Morphology & Bone Marrow Adipose Tissue Phenotype is Controlled by Sex Steroids. Shermel’s major advisor was Beata Lecka-Czernik, PhD.
April 14, 2016: Mariam Alakrawi successfully defends her dissertation.
Congratulations to Mariam Alakrawi for successfully defending her dissertation. The title of her dissertation was Transcriptional Regulation of the human Angiotensinogen Gene and her major advisor was Ashok Kumar, PhD.
February 12, 2016: Latrice Faulkner successfully defends her dissertation.
Congratulations to Latrice Faulkner for successfully defending her dissertation. The title of her dissertation was Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases Reproductive Consequences of Central POMC Insulin and Leptin Resistance in Male Rodents. Latrice’s major advisor was Jennifer Hill, PhD.
February 5, 2016: Saja S. Khuder successfully defends her dissertation
Congratulations to Saja Khuder for successfully defending her dissertation on February 5th. The title of her dissertation was Novel Regulation of Leptin Action by Endothelial Cell CEACUM 1. Saja’s major advisor was Sonia Najjar, PhD