Spanning health threats ranging from cancer to cardiovascular disease, the 2026 PPS Research Symposium featured more than 60 podium talks and posters presented by undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral research trainees at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy (UHCOP) Department of Pharmacological and Pharmaceutical Sciences' 2026 PPS Research Symposium Aug. 13-14.
Held at the Rockwell Pavilion in the UH MD Anderson Library, the symposium offered trainees an opportunity to showcase their latest findings in the laboratory under the guidance of UHCOP and other UH faculty members as well as hone their presentation skills. The 37 poster and 26 podium presentations represented the diverse range of research programs within the college, including projects delving into the mechanisms of and therapeutics for brain, breast, lung, pancreatic, stomach and colorectal cancers; cardiovascular diseases, dysfunctions and defects, such as hypertension, left ventricular noncompaction and hypoplastic left heart syndrome; neurodegenerative diseases; and infectious diseases.
Among the highlights of the symposium were scientific and professional development talks by Scholar-in-Residence Juliane Nguyen, Ph.D., professor and vice chair of the Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Eshelman School of Pharmacy. Nguyen leads an interdisciplinary research program integrating molecular engineering, pharmaceutical sciences, and bioinformatics to develop next-generation, patient-specific biotherapeutics for diseases such as cancer, myocardial infarction, and inflammatory disorders, including colitis. She has been elected a Fellow of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and the Controlled Release Society, for which she also serves as director at-large
Among those earning recognition for their research were:
- Thesis Award in Pharmaceutics – Fatima Dagher, Ph.D. ('26)
- Thesis Award in Pharmacology – Anika Nusrat, Ph.D. ('25)
- Graduate Oral Presentation – Urmila Kafle (1st place) and Honyan Guo (2nd place)
- Graduate Poster Presentation – Netra Neupane (1st place) and Jenny Hu (2nd place)
- Undergraduate Presentation – Oscar Garza
- Postdoctoral Presentation – Xinghao Xu
For more coverage of the event, visit our Flickr photo album.
