Annual Research Day offers expanded program and welcomes NTU collaborators

This year, The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy’s 19th Annual Research Day saw a change of scenery. The full-day event, held on Nov. 13, at the Fawcett Center, celebrated the outstanding research efforts across the college.  

Three guest faculty from the National Taiwan University (NTU) joined this year’s event. The guests from NTU – Assistant Professor Annie Chi-An Cheng, PhD, MS; Professor and Dean of NTU School of Pharmacy, Chun-Jung Lin, PhD; and Professor Ching-Hua Kuo, PhD – served as this year’s keynote speakers. 

Undergraduate, graduate, post-doc, faculty and staff researchers presented their work during the poster presentation portion of Research Day. Throughout the day trainees and 2023 Dean’s Innovation Award recipients presented their research in seminars. The Dean’s Innovation Award provides funding to college-appointed faculty pursuing the submission or resubmission of extramural grant proposals. 

The trainee presenters included Post Doctoral Researcher Zoja Selimi, MD, PhD; Graduate Student Katie Starr, MS; and Graduate Student Arnav Joshi. The Dean’s Innovation Award Presentations included Research Scientist Ji Young Kim, PhD, and Associate Professor Liva Rakotondraibe, PhD.  

The program concluded with an awards presentation. 

Poster Awards

Residents, PharmD and Undergraduate Student Division

First Place $500
Presenter: Sydney Seeto
Title: "Chronic Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Modulates the Metabolic Function of B Cells"
Authors: Sydney Seeto; Brian Deng, PhD; Bei Liu, MD

Second Place $250
Presenter: Ligang Liu, PharmD
Title: "Impact of mental health and substance use disorders on treatment outcomes in adolescents and young adults with opioid use disorder"
Authors: Ligang Liu, PharmD; Andrea E. Bonny, MD; Heqing Tao; Pujing Zhao; Milap C. Nahata, PharmD, MS

Third Place $125
Presenter: Ashley Blackford, BSPS '24
Title: "Methodology of toolkit for building vaccine confidence in Ohio's rural communities"
Authors: Myriam Shaw Ojeda, PharmD; Daniel Remley, PhD, MSPH; Amelia Meehan, MPH; Harley Dawson; Hira Siddiqui, MPH, MBBS; Melanie Ruzga; Ashley Blackford; Adrianna Carillo Malpica

Post-Doctoral Researcher & Research Staff Division

First Place $500
Presenter: Mayu Fukuda
Title: "Androgen receptor degrader agents in hepatocellular carcinoma"
Authors: Mayu Fukuda, PhD; Emma J. Montgomery; Hanna Radomska, PhD; Lauren Granchie; Christopher C. Coss, PhD

Second Place $250
Presenter: Md. Mohaimenul Islam, PhD
Title: "Development of machine learning model to predict health-related social needs: a data-driven approach using electronic health records"
Authors: Md. Mohaimenul Islam, PhD; Young Chandler, PhD; Tadesse Abegaz, PhD; Ximena Oyarzun-Gonzalez, PhD; Macarius Donneyong, PhD

Third Place $125
Presenter: Yue Xu, PhD
Title: "Effect of OATP1B2/3 inhibitors on vincristine safety and efficacy"
Authors: Yue Xu, PhD; Jack Stromatt; Daelynn Buelow, PhD; Shelley Orwick; Mahesh Nepal, PhD; Thomas Drabison; Anika Chowdhury; Eric Eisenmann, PhD, PharmD; Alex Sparreboom, PhD; Sharyn Baker, PhD, PharmD; Shuiying Hu, PhD

Graduate Students

First Place $500
Presenter: Mehdi Gharghabi
Title: "Unravelling XPO1 mediated oncogenic inflammation in aggressive B-cell leukemia
Authors: Mehdi Gharghabi; Sanjay Kanna; Madilynn Yano; Ethan Whipp; Uxue Miranda Beitia; Alexander Marr; Katie Williams, MS; Bradley Blaser, MD, PhD; Rosa Lapalombella, PhD

Second Place $250
Presenter: Ade Adeluola
Title: "FCRN's function is retained in LLC-tumor bearing cachectic mice
Authors: Adeoluwa Adeluola; Justin Thomas; Lauren Granchie; Bryan Remaily, PhD; Min Hai; Gregory Young, MS; Kyeongmin Kim; Isaac Dickess; Zhiliang Xie, PhD; Samuel Kulp, PhD; Dwight Owen, MD, MS; Xiaokui Mo, PhD; Christopher Coss, PhD; Mitch Phelps, PhD
 

Third Place $125
Presenter: Jeff Lockwood
Title: "Synthetic development of functional handles within small molecule HIV integrase inhibitors for the attachment of diverse ligands:
Authors: Jeffrey R. Lockwood; Ross H. Bockbrader; Daniel Adu-Ampratwum, PhD; Arun S. Annamalai, PhD; Tung Dinh, PhD; Reed Haney; Mamuka Kvaratskhelia, PhD; James R. Fuchs, PhD

Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) Translational Science Award

$500
Presenter: Thomas Drabison
Title: "Inhibition of S100A9 as a strategy to protect against paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy"
Authors: Thomas Drabison; Yang Li, PhD; Daelynn R. Buelow, PhD; Yan Jin; Nathan Colasanti; Sergey Lopatin, PhD; Sharyn D. Baker, PhD, PharmD; Shuiying Hu, PhD; Alex Sparreboom, PhD; Eric D. Eisenmann, PhD, PharmD

2024 Laboratory Research Staff Award

$500
Serena Li Zhao, PhD

The nomination letter stated, “Dr. Zhao’s willingness to mentor others and her leadership in lab management have contributed to an environment where everyone feels empowered to succeed. These accomplishments are a testament to her scientific creativity and commitment to advancing multiple research projects that we are pursuing. She has consistently demonstrated an outstanding level of initiative and technical expertise. Her contributions go far beyond the expectations of her role, making her an ideal candidate for this award.”

Dean's Innovation Research Awards

$50,000
Researchers: Victoria Williams, PharmD; Jessica Elefritz, PharmD; Mitch A. Phelps, PhD
Title: "Maximizing safety and therapeutic efficacy of antibioitices in critically ill adults with renal failure receiving renal replacement therapy"

$50,000
Researchers: Keli Hu, MD, PhD; Alex Sparreboom, PhD
Title: "Transport-dependent mechanisms of cationic cardiotoxins"