Apr 29, 2026 – PPN PhD graduates Felicia Gooden (Taylor lab), Drew Howard (Thompson lab), Immaculeta Osuji (Zimmermann lab), and Mark Verba (Lu lab) received with PhD degrees at UC's Spring Graduation.  Congratulations! 

Apr 27, 2026 – Dr. Tongli Zhang has been honored in the College of Medicine's Gallery of Awardees, which honors faculty for their successes in external funding.  Dr. Zhang has received funding from the U.S. Army Contracting Command for the project: 'Developing an Effective Protocol to Build Credential Biomedical Models'. The project period is 2/1/2026-1/31/2029. "This project aims to close a critical gap in biomedical modeling by developing a credible protocol for building and validating coagulation control models that reduce decision risk in military and civilian settings. Using a “learn by doing” approach, the work will integrate existing coagulation models with experimental data, Approximate Bayesian Computation, machine learning, and best practices in verification, validation, and uncertainty quantification. The resulting models and generalizable protocol will support informed decision‑making, advancing military readiness as well as personalized medicine, drug development, and biomedical research."

Apr 27, 2026 – Dr. Nina G. Steele, an Assistant Professor in the UC Department of Internal Medicine and a graduate of our PhD program, has been honored in the College of Medicine's Gallery of Awardees for her successes in external funding. She has received a National Cancer Institute Sub Award for the project: 'Investigating Cellular Communication in the Tumor Microenvironment in Pancreatic Cancer'. The project period is 7/26/2025-8/31/2026. "Summary of project: Pancreatic tumors rely on blood vessels for growth, yet anti‑angiogenic therapies benefit only a subset of patients. Emerging evidence shows that SLIT‑ROBO signaling—altered in human pancreatic cancer—originates from fibroblasts and pericytes and targets the tumor vasculature. This research highlights SLIT‑ROBO signaling as a promising, patient‑specific pathway for improving vascular‑targeted therapies in pancreatic cancer."

Apr 27, 2026 – Dr. Diego Perez-Tilve has been honored in the College of Medicine's Gallery of Awardees, which honors faculty for their successes in external funding. He has received a Indiana Biosciences Research Institute Award for the project 'Development of Multi Receptor Agonists from the Treatment of Metabolic Diseases'. The project period is 11/10/2025-5/9/2026. "The goal of this project is to evaluate in preclinical rodent models the feasibility of applying recent advances in medicinal chemistry and structural biology to the development of molecules exhibiting agonist activity on different G-protein coupled receptors, and their suitability for the treatment of obesity and related co-morbidities."

Apr 8, 2026 – Distinguished Lecturer Douglas Lewandowski, PhD, FAHA, FISHR, FAAAS (Jack M. George Chair in Medicine;  Director, Translational Research; Dorothy M. Davis Heart & Lung Research Institute; Professor, Department of Internal Medicine;  Professor, Department of Biological Chemistry and Pharmacology;  The Ohio State University College of Medicine) presented "Adaptative and maladaptive metabolic remodeling in failing hearts" in the PPN Distinguished Lecture in Pharmacology, Physiology, and Neurobiology series.

Apr 2026 - Congratulations to first-year PhD student Erjola Rapushi for her first-author review ‘Mitochondria-Derived Vesicles and Mitochondrial Extracellular Vesicles in Health and Cardiovascular Disease’ published in "Circulation Research" with colleagues in the Fan Lab!

April 6, 2026 Congratulations to the following winners of the PPN NCAA March Madness Competition: Valerie Plesha (upper right) won the Men's Bracket; Eric Wohleb (lower right) won the Women's Bracket; Alex Kuhn (lower left) won the Best Men's Bracket Name (Gas_Station_Roller_Dog); David Dadosky (upper left) won the Best Women's Bracket Name (Beat_This_Nancy)

Apr 1, 2026 – In the student-organized seminar series, Valerie Plesha (Thompson lab) discussed "Divergent prodomain of Anti-Mullerian Hormone: structural pursuits into reproductive health".

Apr 7, 2026 – Joyce Sorrell (Perez-Tilve lab) is celebrating 25 years of service with the University. Congratulations and thank you!