"Frontiers in Graduate Pharmacology Research" Symposium features student research.

June 11, 2009

On May 29, graduate students in the Molecular and Systems Pharmacology program held their second annual symposium featuring graduate student research as well as an invited keynote presentation.

Graduate students from the program presented eight research talks and 21 posters.  The presentations were juried, and the winners in each category were:

• Best research talk: Tonya N. Taylor, "Non-motor symptoms of PD revealed in mice with reduced vesicular storage"  Ms. Taylor's talk discussed research on mice which suggests that the symptoms of Parkinson's disease may be partly caused by dysfunctions in the monoamine system in certain parts of the brain, and that restoring this function may be a beneficial treatment. 
  Ms. Taylor's PowerPoint presentation
• Best poster: Chris Vellano, "The Role of Ric8A as a Potential Novel Regulator of RGS14 Signaling"  Regulator of G protein Signaling (RGS) 14 is a complex signaling protein.  Unlike other RGS proteins, it appears to be regulated by the guanine nucleotide exchange factor Ric8A in a G protein-coupled receptor independent manner.  This may be the primary mechanism by which RGS14 acts in hippocampal-based spatial learning and memory.
  Mr. Vellano's poster
• Second place for research talk went to Jonathan J. Havel, "The Role of PRAS40 in Integrating Cell Growth and Stress Response Signaling,' and third prize went to Heather A. Mitchell, "Behavioral characterization of a mouse model for Lesch-Nyhan Disease."
• Second place for poster went to Alicia N. Lyle,  "NoxR1, a novel regulator of Nox4 and cytoskeletal integrity in vascular smooth muscle cells," and third place was shared by E. Danielle Dean, "Sexual dimorphic impaired glucose tolerance after exposure to polychlorinated biphenyl mixture in mice" and Anthony G. Lau, "Role of FMRP in controlling MAP1B translation and neuronal network development."

The day also included a keynote presentation by Professor P. Jeffrey Conn of Vanderbilt University -- and formerly a professor at Emory.  Professor Conn spoke about developing new treatment strategies for schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease, and other brain disorders, in a talk entitled "Allosteric Modulators of GPCRs as a Novel Approach to Treatment of CNS Disorders."