Grants

Dr. Ajay Sharma has received a grant from the National Eye Institute for his project, “Targeting the multicellular process of corneal regeneration and vascularization to enhance outcome of cornea transplantation”. He, alongside other investigators, will test the effect of topical application of a recombinant protein Mitsugumin 53 (MG53) on enhancing the success of corneal transplants in patients with high risk of rejection.

Dr. Rachita Sumbria has been awarded an NIH R01 grant from the National Institute of Aging, receiving $1.71 million over the next 5 years for research on Alzheimer’s disease (AD) therapeutics. This project is founded on data from her lab’s earlier successes in modifying erythropoietin (EPO) to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) with promising results in treating AD.

Publications

Dr. Sherry Wang, Dr. Marc Fleming, Dr. Enrique Seoane-Vazquez, Dr. Lawrence “LB” Brown, and PhD alumni Dr. Olajide Adekunle worked with others to publish “Perceptions of metabolic syndrome management utilization in relation to patient experience and health-related quality of life” in Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy. 

 Dr. Jason Yamaki, Dr. Keykavous Parang, and researchers at other institutions published “Mechanistic study of antimicrobial effectiveness of cyclic amphipathic peptide [R4W4] against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) clinical isolates” in Antibiotics.

Dr. Jerika Lam collaborated to publish “A mixed methods evaluation of pharmacists’ readiness to provide long-acting injectable HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis in California” in Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.

Dr. Moom Roosan, Dr. Rachita Sumbria, Dr. Kamaljit Kaur, Dr. Devaraj Chandreshekar, Dr. Nataraj Jagadeesan, PhD candidate Adenike Oyegbesan, MSPS candidate Urvashi Panchal, and undergraduate Chuli “GraceAnne” Roules, worked with other institutions to publish “Hepatic LRP-1 plays an important role in amyloidosis in Alzheimer’s disease mice: Potential role in chronic heavy alcohol feeding” in Neurobiology of Disease.

Dr. Amy Kang and PharmD alumna Dr. Mary Elkomos worked with others to publish “Effectiveness of empiric carbapenem versus non-carbapenem therapy for extended-spectrum β-lactamase producing Enterobacterales infections in non-intensive care unit patients: a real-world investigation in a hospital with high-prevalence of extended-spectrum β-lactamase producing Enterobacterales“.

Presentations

Oral (e.g., Platform Presentations, Symposiums, Plenaries, Keynotes)

Dr. Cintia Citterio presented “Thyroid Hormone Synthesis in Thyroglobulin: Physiology and Disease” at the ENDO 2024 Conference in Boston, MA.

Dr. Mary Gutierrez presented “Nutritional Psychiatry” at the American Psychiatric Nursing Association 22nd Annual Clinical Psychopharmacology Institute Conference in Rockville, Maryland on June 8th 2024.

Posters

Dr. Ajay Sharma, MSPS candidate Wonsuk Choi, and others presented “Diabetes mellitus causes neutrophil and macrophage influx to the ocular surface and lacrimal gland” at the Annual Conference of Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology in Seattle, WA.

Dr. Cintia Citterio presented “In Vivo Hormongenic Potential of the Thyroglobulin Cholinesterase-like (ChEL) Domain” with others at the ENDO 2024 Conference, in Boston, MA, 2024. The abstract has been accepted for publication in the Journal of the Endocrine Society.

Dr. Ajay Sharma, MSPS candidate Wonsuk Choi, and others presented “Recombinant extracellular domain Klotho-α attenuates senescence in human corneal epithelial cells” at the Annual Conference of Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology in Seattle, WA.