More than 50 podium and e-poster presentations by senior and early-stage investigators as well as graduate and professional students from across the University of Houston and fellow Texas Medical Center institutions were showcased during the inaugural Clinical and Translational Research Symposium hosted by the UH College of Pharmacy April 26 in the college's Health 2 building.
The symposium included 16 podium presentations and 40 e-poster presentations, spanning many topics in clinical and translational research projects, including mechanistic studies of human diseases, development of new drugs, devices and biomarkers, retrospective health outcomes studies, and innovative outreach and workforce development programs.
The event drew attendees and presenters from Baylor College of Medicine, The University of Texas-MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston Methodist Hospital, the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas Southern University, the University of St. Thomas, multiple UH colleges, and industry/biotech partners.
"The objectives of the symposium were to allow a platform for showcasing breakthrough research and providing networking opportunities to advance clinical and translational research," said symposium chair Meghna Trivedi, Pharm.D., Ph.D., BCOP, UHCOP professor of pharmacy and pharmacology and director of clinical and translational research programs. "The breadth of the topics and the depth of science represented the wide-ranging expertise of our researchers and the caliber of research conducted at UH College of Pharmacy and our partnering institutions within the Texas Medical Center."
The symposium also featured a keynote presentation by Deanna L. Kroetz, Ph.D., dean and professor of pharmaceutics and pharmacology at The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy. Kroetz's keynote, titled "Reverse Translational Studies to Understand the Molecular Mechanisms of Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy," highlighted the work being done by her lab and how data from clinical trials and patient experiences serve as the starting point for further investigation to define disease mechanisms and refine therapeutic interventions as a gateway to personalized medicine.
The top e-poster presentations recognized at the event were:
First place – Elizabeth Eversole, medical student at UH's Tillman J. Fertitta College of Medicine, for "Assessing the Cardioprotective Effects of Exogenous Hormone Administration in a Post-Myocardial Infarction Female Rat Model."
Second place – Wangjia Cao, Pharmaceutical Sciences-Pharmacology Concentration doctoral program student at UHCOP, for "Investigating nebivolol, an anti-hypertensive drug, for treating triple negative breast cancer."
Third place – Jun Hyoung Park, instructor in Baylor College of Medicine's Department of Molecular & Human Genetics, for "Antihypertensive drug nebivolol regulates mitochondrial fatty acid β-oxidation driven c-Src pathway in triple-negative breast cancer."
Trivedi credited the students, faculty and staff serving on symposium's planning committee for a successful first event, which included representatives from all three departments within the college.
"In the future, we aim to increase the participation from more members of the UH and TMC community and to continue building new and strengthen existing partnerships to promote clinical and translational research," Trivedi said.
