News
Nearly half of Americans set some sort of resolution by Jan. 1; the top resolution in 2017 was to “lose weight/eat healthier.” Looking forward, many adults will probably continue with weight loss goals, as obesity rates reached an all-time high in October, at nearly 40 percent of adult Americans. But, I challenge you to make a different type of resolution for the coming year: a resolution for your gut bugs.
By Vice President for Research Lisa Cassis
This summer 17 undergraduate students came to UK to participate in and learn about biomedical-related research. They took part in two 10-week programs: Summer Undergraduate Research in Environmental Sciences (SURES) and Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF).
SURES and SURF are directed by Hollie Swanson, a professor in the UK College of Medicine Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences.
Dr. Florin Despa was recently recognized at a reception honoring faculty promoted in UK’s College of Medicine. Dr. Despa is now a full Professor and among eleven other faculty achieving this rank in the college during the 2016-2017 academic year.
Congratulations to Dr. Sanda Despa who is the recipient of a new NIH R01 award entitled “Role of myocyte dysregulation in diabetic heart disease”. This ~$450K award from the National Institute of Heart, Lung and Blood Institute is funded through July 2021.
Dr. Shuxia Wang was recently appointed to UK’s Biological Sciences Area Advisory Committee. This appointment comes directly from President Capilouto and Dr. Wang will serve in an advisory capacity to both the Provost and the President on matters regarding the appointment, promotion and tenure of faculty. Congratulations, Dr. Wang, on this distinct recognition.
The department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences' student association (NSPS) participated Saturday May 13th 2017 in the 2017 Central KY Heart Walk
They helped raise more than $500 for the cause and motivated 11 team members.
Congratulations to all that participated!
Organized by Drs. Loria and Yiannikouris.
Sponsored by the Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences, SAHA Cardiovascular Research Center, and the Gill Heart Institute
Scheduled Speakers:
Dr. Jane F. Reckelhoff
An array of scientific evidence demonstrates a correlation between diets high in fat and cholesterol content and blockages in the arteries, which lead to cardiovascular disease (CVD).
Yasir Al-Siraj, a Ph.D. candidate in the University of Kentucky College of Medicine Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences, is the lead author of a paper published in Circulation, a leading journal on cardiovascular medicine.
The article, “Female Mice with an XY Sex Chromosome Complement Develop Severe Angiotensin II-Induced Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms,” was co-authored by UK colleagues Sean E. Thatcher, Richard Charnigo, Kuey Chen, Eric Blalock, Alan Daugherty and Lisa Cassis.
Wishing You a Safe and Happy Holiday Season!
Our Graduate Students recently participated in the "Cards for Hospitalized Kids" drive. They channeled their artistic sides and hand made close to 50 holiday cards for sick children spending the holidays in the hospital.
The department is proud of its students for their time and kind efforts!
From left to rigtht top row: Heather Norman, Yasir Al-Siraj, Marion Coe, David
Schnell, Jared Hoffman
From left to rignt bottom row: Kaia Hampton, Courtney Turpin, Kaiyuan Tan, Jessie Hoffman and Nika Larian
The recent publication of the manuscript entitled "Current and Emerging Uses of Statins in Clinical Therapeutics: A Review" with my co-authors (Jonathan T. Davies, Spencer F. Delfino, Chad E. Feinberg, Meghan F. Johnson, Veronica L. Nappi, Joshua T. Olinger and Anthony P. Schwab) represents a milestone of a year-long, collaborative endeavor.
Nika Larian, a PhD student in Lisa Cassis's lab at the UK Superfund Research Center, is studying the aryl hydrocarbon receptor, or AHR, a transcription factor with roles in drug metabolism and detoxification. She explains that if you knock out AHR in the fat tissue of mice, you can prevent the development of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)-induced diabetes. PCBs are toxins that are present in the environment and have been linked to type 2 diabetes.
When Lisa Cassis isn’t in her cardiovascular research lab, you’ll find her leading the research enterprise at the University of Kentucky.
How does the UK researcher balance her time in the lab and in the office? What motivates her each morning?
Watch the video below to find out what keeps Cassis motivated and why a special talent is her favorite way to relax after a long day of work.
The NIH Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) on Obesity and Cardiovascular Diseases, in collaboration with the Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences (CCTS) announce the availability of limited funds to support pilot projects focused on research examining obesity-associated diseases (cardiovascular, diabetes, others). These pilot grants are intended to assist investigators new to this area of research to generate sufficient data to be competitive for extramural funding.
Robin Shoemaker-Council on Hypertension Awardee. The American Heart Association held its annual Council on Hypertension session September 14-17th in Orlando, Florida. Our congratulations to Dr. Robin Shoemaker for winning an award in the Postdoctoral category entitled “Mas Receptor Deficiency Promotes Hypertension in Obese Female Mice and Cardiac Dysfunction in Obese Male Mice”. The Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences was well represented as Drs.
Congratulations to Dr. Florin Despa and colleagues for receiving TWO new grants to study the pathology of amylin dysregulation in neurodegenerative and/or vascular disease. His new NIH R01 is entitled “Role of Systemic Amylin Dyshomeostasis in Alzheimer’s Disease” and his AHA award is entitled “Amylin Vasculopathy, A Therapeutic Target to Reduce Stroke”.
Congratulations to all undergraduate student researchers and their mentors:
Miriam Hill (Xavier University, Louisianna) - Dr. Hollie Swanson
Amanda Hoskins (University of Kentucky) - Drs.Sanda and Florin Despa
Sydney Lammers (University of Kentucky) - Dr. Changcheng Zhou
John Pina (University of Kentucky) - Dr. Olivier Thibault
Meghan Turner (University of Kentucky) - Dr. Elizabeth Head
Over the last six months, videos of 22 biomedical researchers from the University of Kentucky, featured on the national website LabTV, have garnered 324,000 views.
LabTV.com features thousands of researchers working at dozens of leading universities, corporations, and the National Institutes of Health. In these videos medical researchers tell where they came from, how they chose their career, what they do each day in the lab, and why they love it.