Nusaiba Ahmed, a PhD candidate in the Biochemistry of Health and Disease program, received first place for Best Trainee Presentation at the Translational & Cellular Oncology Program Retreat at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Yash Agarwal, an MD/PhD student in the Pharmacology and Physiology program, was awarded an F30 research fellowship from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to support his project “Dopamine D1-Like Receptor Stimulation Promotes HIV Neuroimmune Pathogenesis in iPSC-Derived Human Cortical Assembloids.”
Ben Hur Hill Aguilar, MD, assistant professor of medicine, was interviewed by the American Medical Association about his commitment to mentorship, teaching and quality improvement.
Jacqueline Barker, PhD, associate professor of pharmacology and physiology, was named a 2026 Emerging Scholar by The EDU Ledger, a higher education news website. Barker was interviewed by the site for a profile, “Dr. Jacqueline Barker: Championing Next-Generation Addiction Researchers.” She was also selected for a College of Medicine Professional Enrichment and Growth Grant. The grant will support her efforts to increase engagement in biomedical research through the project “SURF-BOARD – Expanding Participation in DUCOM Research Through Community College Connections.”
Barker and Peter Gaskill, PhD, associate professor of pharmacology and physiology, earned a new multi-PI R01 award from the NIH National Institute on Drug Abuse. The award will support a collaboration between the Gaskill and Barker Labs on their new project, “Cross-Model Investigation on the Role of Inflammasomes in the Neurobehavioral and Transcriptomic Effects of Cocaine Exposure and HIV Infection.”
Alison Bashford, Neuroscience PhD student, was selected for the Society for Neuroscience’s Early Career Policy Ambassador program, which is designed to create an extensive network of neuroscience advocates.
Christina Besada, MS pharmacology and physiology ’26, and Ole V. Mortensen, PhD, professor of pharmacology and physiology, authored a book chapter, “Regulation of Dopamine Transporter Surface Expression,” for the book Advances in Neurobiology. Yibin Xu, PhD pharmacology and physiology ’25, Hanming Zeng, MS drug discovery and development ’21, Shaili Aggarwal, PhD, former postdoctoral researcher, and Mortensen authored a chapter for the same book on “Novel Ways of Targeting the Dopamine Transporter.”
Charles B. Cairns, MD, the Walter H. and Leonore Annenberg Dean of the College of Medicine, and senior vice president of medical affairs and Drexel Health Operations at Drexel University, receive the 2026 UNC School of Medicine Distinguished Medical Alumni Award. The award is the highest honor given to alumni and is presented to individuals whose professional service and achievements exemplify the UNC School of Medicine’s commitment to the highest levels of public service, clinical care, education and research.
Bridie Eckel, Neuroscience PhD candidate, was awarded the COMPASS Outreach grant for “Science Is for All!” from the American Society for Cell Biology. The grant supports the efforts of the organization Scientists for Outreach and Research.
Richard Hamilton, MD, professor and chair of emergency medicine, was quoted in a Philadelphia Inquirer article about the surge in cases of cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, a condition that causes cannabis users to experience extreme nausea, vomiting and stomach pain.
Martin Herman, MD, professor and interim academic vice chair of orthopedic surgery, received the Distinguished Service Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Section on Orthopaedics. The award, which is the section’s highest honor, recognizes an individual in the field of pediatric orthopedics for their contributions to the AAP’s mission of excellence in patient care, research and teaching.
Hangjun Ke, PhD, associate professor of microbiology and immunology, and Wei Xu, former research scientist, were among the authors of “An Essential Adaptor for Apicoplast Fission and Inheritance in Malaria Parasites,” which was published in Nature Communications on November 27, 2025. Ikechukwu Nwankwo, PhD microbiology and immunology ’26, and Ke published “Pyrophosphate Homeostasis in Multiple Subcellular Compartments Is Essential in Plasmodium falciparum” in mBio on April 22, 2026.
Sandhya Kortagere, PhD, professor of microbiology and immunology, and vice dean of research and innovation, received the 2026 Scientific Achievement Award in Drug Discovery and Development from the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. The award recognizes outstanding investigators who have made significant contributions in drug discovery, translational research or drug development science.
Cheikh Cambel Dieng, PhD, postdoctoral researcher, Canelle Kipayko, BS biological sciences ’25, Regan Schroeder, Microbiology and Immunology PhD student, Nontokozo Mdluli-Berndt, Microbiology and Immunology PhD student, and Eugenia Lo, PhD, associate professor of microbiology and immunology, published “Epidemiological Insights and Duffy Binding Protein Evolution of Plasmodium vivax in Duffy Negative Populations of Central Africa” in the June 4, 2026, issue of PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.
Tassew Tefera Shenkutie, Microbiology and Immunology PhD student, and Lo are among the authors of “Genetic Variation in Duffy Blood Group Among Plasmodium vivax Malaria Patients and Its Impact on Disease Susceptibility,” which was published in Malaria Journal on April 2, 2026.
Jessica Merzy, BS biological sciences ’24, Molecular and Cell Biology and Genetics PhD student, participated in community outreach work at Congreso de Latinos Unidos in North Philadelphia as part of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center Community Outreach Program to inform the Latin American Community about breast cancer screening. Merzy is participating in the Community Engaged Research Training for Emerging Scientists (CERTES) Program at the center.
Alyssa Monteleone-Haught, PhD candidate in the Molecular and Cell Biology and Genetics program, received second place for Best Trainee Presentation at the Translational & Cellular Oncology Program Retreat at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Tofunmi Oteju, a Pharmacology PhD student, was awarded an F31 research fellowship from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to support her project “Uncovering Mechanisms Contributing to Enhanced NeuroHIV With Cocaine Use.”
Emanuela Piermarini, PhD, research instructor of neurobiology and anatomy, delivered a platform presentation on May 26, 2026, on “Preclinical Evaluation of SPAST Gene Replacement in SPG4 Mouse Models,” at the 2026 Scientific Symposium on SPG4 in Boston, Massachusetts. Piermarini also gave a Zoom presentation on May 29, 2026, on “Gene Therapy for HSP: Current Progress and Future Directions” for HSP Italy.
Mauricio Reginato, PhD, professor and chair of biochemistry and molecular biology, and a colleague at Thomas Jefferson University, were recently awarded a $100,000 Working Group Pilot Grant from the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center for the proposal “Role of ACSS2 as an Immune Modulator in Breast Cancer Brain Metastasis.” He also served on the NIH-NCI Special Emphasis Panel: Mammalian Models for Translational Research Review in April 2026. This panel reviews mammalian models for translational cancer research.
Julie Schaub, Neuroscience PhD candidate, was awarded an NIH F31 Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Individual Predoctoral Fellowship for her project “Splice Variants of Microtubule-Associated Protein 4 Regulate the Efficiency of Organelle Transport in Dendrites.”
Daniel Taylor, DO, associate professor of pediatrics, wrote an opinion column, “Utility Shutoffs Pose Dire Risks to Families Unable to Afford Energy Bills,” in the April 30, 2026, issue of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Mark Woodland, MS, MD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology, and associate dean of advocacy and policy, is the next chair elect of the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB). Woodland was one of the authors of a poster, “Nutrition Education: Mandatory Medical Education,” which was presented at the FSMB Annual Meeting, held April 29-May 2, 2026, in Baltimore, Maryland. Sarah Dabre, MD ’27, and Emily Schultz, MD ’27, were among the co-authors of the poster.
Riley Young, a PhD candidate in the Molecular and Cell Biology and Genetics program; Molecular and Cell Biology and Genetics program students and alumni Emily Esquea, PhD ’24, Lorela Ciraku, PhD ’22, and Jessica Merzy, PhD student; Nusaiba Ahmed, a PhD candidate in the Biochemistry of Health and Disease program; Drexel undergraduate students and alumni Alexandra Talarico, BS biological sciences ’25, Madhu Karuppiah, BS biomedical engineering ’26, Sophia Medori, BS biological sciences ’27, Rujula Warade, BS biological sciences ’27; Wiktoria Gocal, MD ’23; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology faculty members Alexej Dick, PhD, assistant professor, and Mauricio Reginato, PhD, professor and chair; and colleagues at Thomas Jefferson University are the co-authors of “ACSS2 Suppresses Ferroptosis to Drive Breast Cancer Brain Metastasis” which was published in the journal Cancer Research online on April 22, 2026. Ahmed, Young, Merzy and Reginato are also the authors of a recent invited review, “Sugar Storm: O-GlcNAc Signaling Amid the Clouds of Cancer Complexity,” which was published in Glycobiology in April 2026.
