Graduate Student Highlights
ASUKA OTA AWARDED FELLOWSHIP FROM THE NIH
Asuka Ota has been selected for a competitive, Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award from National Institute of Aging at the NIH. Asuka's project, entitled "A Novel Mechanism in p38 Stress Kinase Regulation," is conducted under the mentorship of Dr. Yibin Wang in Molecular, Cellular & Integrative Physiology.
BRIAN DUISTERMARS RECEIVES PRESTIGIOUS AWARD
Brian Duistemars has been selected as the 2008-2009 Hannelore and Michael J Gresser Graduate Doctorate Fellow in the Life Sciences. This fellowship recognizes Brian's impressive research achievements in elucidating important aspects of multi-sensory signal processing for controlling flight pattern in Drosophila. Brian was guest of honor at a University banquet honoring his achievement. Brian's research is performed under the guidance of his mentor, Dr. Mark Frye, in Molecular, Cellular & Integrative Physiology.
ARMANDO VILLALTA AWARDED COMPETITIVE FELLOWSHIP FROM THE NIH
Armando Villalta, a Ph.D. candidate in Molecular, Cellular & Integrative Physiology, has been selected for a predoctoral research fellowship from the National Institutes of Health. The funding of Armando's research proposal, entitled "Immune and muscle cell interactions that modulate dystrophinopathy," will enable Armando to continue his studies of the pathology of muscular dystrophy. Armando's investigation is conducted in the lab of Professor Jim Tidball.
GLEN YOUNG ACKNOWLEDGED FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE BY THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION
Glen Young, an MCIP Ph.D. student in the laboratory of Dr. Peipei Ping, has been selected for the 2008 Joel Drillings Award for Academic Excellence by the American Heart Association. This award was made in recognition of Glen's academic and research accomplishments and his promise for further, significant research in cardiovascular biology.
CINDY ZER RECEIVES GRADUATE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FROM ACR
Cindy Zer, a Ph.D. student in the MCIP program, has been selected by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) to receive a 2007 Medical and Graduate Student Achievement Award. Cindy's research, performed in the laboratory of Professor George Sachs, is directed toward identifying p38 MAPK gene targets in TNFalpha signaling in synoviocytes. Cindy's goal is to identify a more suitable downstream effector as drug target for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. She will present her findings at the annual meeting of the ACR.
NATALI MINASSIAN AWARDED FELLOWSHIP IN NEURAL REPAIR
Natali Minassian, a Ph.D. student in the MCIP program, was awarded an NIH funded fellowship through the Neural Repair Training Grant at UCLA. Natali's research is conducted in the laboratory of Professor Diane Papazian and concerns characterization of the firing properties of cerebellar neurons. She is also examining disruptions in those firing properties that are caused by mutations of SCA13. Natali has already completed her studies of the functional effects of these mutations in Xenopus oocytes and HEK cells.
GANG LU AWARDED AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION FELLOWSHIP
Gang Lu, a Ph.D. student in Molecular, Cellular & Integrative Physiology, has been awarded a fellowship from the American Heart Association to pursue his studies of the regulation of mitochondrial function in the heart. The main objectives of the project are to elucidate the potential roles of a novel, mitochondrial matrix phosphatase in cardioprotection under stresses and to unravel the molecular mechanisms of regulation of apoptosis and metabolism in mitochondria. Gang's productive Ph.D. research in the laboratory of Dr. Yibin Wang has already led to publications in "Genes and Development," "Journal of Biological Chemistry" and "Circulation."
GLEN YOUNG RECEIVES FELLOWSHIP FROM THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION
Glen Young, a Ph.D. student in MCIP, has been awarded a competitive fellowship from the American Heart Association to support his continuing work that is directed toward understanding regulatory processes in the heart. Glen's investigation entitled "Role of associating proteins in the regulation of cardiac 20S proteasome function" is conducted under the guidance of Dr. Peipei Ping. In his study, Glen is using proteomic and biochemical approaches to identify associating members of the cardiac 20S proteasomes, and in particular, to characterize the serine/threonine phosphatase PP1 in its function as a regulatory associating partner of the cardiac proteasomes. The fellowship provides support from July 2007 through June 2009.
FOUR MCIP STUDENTS RECEIVE FELLOWSHIPS FROM NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
Four MCIP students were selected for support by prestigious training fellowships from the NIH. Dawnis Chow, Anna Konstorum, DeAnna Steiger, and Diana Tran will begin their fellowships on October 1, 2007.
Dawnis will pursue his research in the laboratory of Dr. Mark Frye, where he will use the tools of molecular genetics, engineering and computational analyses to explore the mechanisms through which sensory data are integrated to control locomotion.
DeAnna will continue her dissertation work under the tutelage of Dr. Yibin Wang. DeAnna will investigate the possible function of a newly-discovered protein in the stress regulatory mechanism of hearts.
Diana will continue her research with Dr. Alan Garfinkel in which she is using mathematical modeling to characterize defects in cardiac function that can lead to heart disease and death. In particular, Diana is focussing on events called "early after depolarizations" that can trigger cardiac arrhythmias.
Anna, a first year student in the MCIP, will perform laboratory rotations during her initial period of support by the NIH fellowship, while she selects a laboratory for her thesis work.