Cell Biology & Physiology NEWSLETTER VOLUME 5, ISSUE 2 SUMMER 2025
Inside:
From the Chair
Welcome!
Congratulations!
Accomplishments, Announcements & Highlights
This will be my last message as the Chair of the Department of Cell Biology and Physiology since, as most or all of you know, I am retiring on June 30. And so far 2025 has been an unusual and auspicious year! First, our faculty and students have been both busy and successful with three students walking in the BSGP graduation celebration (Jacob Anderson, Marissa Westenskow and Megan Tuineau), Amy Gardiner awarded tenure and promoted to Associate Professor, and a new accountant (Jack Barry) joining the department this month. Congratulations to all of you! Other developments this spring have been much turmoil within national funding agencies. As efforts to reduce government spending have been put into practice, many funding opportunities have been canceled or modified. As a result, the program which has funded the long-held Cardiovascular T32 run by Dr. Tom Resta has been terminated and this grant will need to be submitted as a new application to a different program. The IMSD T32 run by myself, Judy Cannon and Bryce Chackerian was abruptly terminated in January at the end of yr 3 but the School of Medicine stepped in to bridge their funding through next year – thank you Dean Finn! Many study sections have been reorganized and grants have received notices of award late and often with decreased funding. So, this is a new season in Biomedical research. However, we have amazing faculty, trainees and administrators and UNM will get through this just as we have other changes in the funding landscape – with productivity and creativity. I have no doubt the department will continue to thrive under the leadership of the next Department Chair, Dr. Tom Resta. Look for his inaugural message in the Fall Newsletter. Another change within the department is the retirement of Yolanda Chacon-Aguilar, our long-serving departmental accountant. This year Yolanda celebrated over 30 years of service at UNM with the last 17 as the Cell Biology and Physiology accountant. As our accountant, Yolanda has given us expert advice and guidance on all things financial, prepared and monitored our budgets, kept us on track with spending grant funds, and always kept the department in the black and within our budgets! Her knowledge and oversight were tremendous assets to the department and the University. Everyone will miss her infectious laugh and guiding hand but we all wish her a fantastic retirement and “next chapter” with her family, friends and puppy. I hope this summer finds all of you enjoying the lovely weather of our state and the vibrant atmosphere of our department. Our Newsletter Editor, Audrea Winslow, has collected and organized many more details on the highlights of the department activities including all the achievements of our trainees, staff and faculty. So in parting, best wishes to you for success in all you do -- I will miss you all! Nancy
WELCOME!
We welcome Jack Barry, our new CB&P Accountant!
Congratulations, Dr. Amy S. Gardiner, on the official announcement of your approved promotion and tenure to Associate Professor. It is well-deserved and we are very proud of all you bring to the department and SOM!
Greetings! My name is Jack Barry. I was born and raised here in Albuquerque, NM. I graduated from UNM with a Bachelors in Economics and a Masters in Accounting. My professional background includes time working for USDA Forest Service as well as the Internal Revenue Service and KPMG. Outside of work I enjoy spending time with my 3 cats and 4 chickens. I also enjoy spending time in my garden and going to see new movies in theaters. I am excited to be part of the team here at UNM’s School of Medicine Cell Biology and Physiology Department and looking forward to working with all of you!
Dr. Julie Jordan is the inaugural recipient of the LEO Distinguished Teaching Award! This award honors individuals across the UNM Health Sciences Center who demonstrate exemplary teaching and foster supportive, respectful, and inclusive learning environments. It recognizes those who create a lasting impact on learners through their commitment, engagement, and passion for teaching. She was also recognized by the Occupation Therapy department, and awarded the Friend of OT Award at their 2025 graduation celebration.
Announcements & Highlights
Dr. Rebecca S Hartley won the Erwin W. Lewis Teaching Award in Basic Science, presented each year by the graduating medical students to educators well-versed in the art, science, and practice of medicine. They are awarded to two faculty members and a resident who best exemplify the professional qualities upon which the graduates will model their careers: competence, compassion, and humanitarian concern for patients. This award was established in 2005 in memory of Dr. Lewis, a 1997 UNM School of Medicine graduate and much-admired faculty member, who embodied these ideals and advocated for a diverse student body and a culturally competent curriculum.
Rio Grande Physiological Society Newly Elected - RGPS Vice President and Trainee Representative. Both from CB&P!
Dr. Daniel Machin has been elected as the Vice President. Monica Long as the new Trainee Representative.
Congratulations to Dr. Machin and Ms. Long! We truly appreciate their willingness to step up and take on these important roles.
From left, Marissa R. Westenskow, Dr. Amy S. Gardiner, Jacob Anderson, Dr. Jay Naik, Megan N. Tuineau, Dr. Nikki Jernigan, and Department Chair, Dr. Nancy Kanagy.
CB&P BSGP GRADS!
Dr. Jane Phillips-Conroy will be teaching in the anatomy lab as a visiting scholar for Clinical Morphology. She is professor emeritus from Washington University where she taught anatomy to medical students for 32 years as a member of the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology at the School of Medicine and in the Department of Anthropology on the Wash U Danforth campus. The block begins with WISE week on July 28th.
Award 4th year medical student, Andrew Green, was awarded the LEO Distinguished Teaching Award for his role as a teaching assistant for the Clinical Morphology block. Outreach We completed the 2025 high school outreach program. Through this initiative, 150 high school students from across New Mexico visited our lab and facilities and had the opportunity to engage with students from the UNM School of Medicine. Twenty-one students from the MD, PA, and OT programs served as student panelists. New Course Dr. Jordan's study abroad in Italy proposal for a 4th year medical student elective was approved by the curriculum committee. Starting the week of June 16 she anticipates the first cohort of students to begin enrolling in the first iteration of the block in April of 2026. This course will explore the intersection of anatomy, art, and the history of medicine.
Dr. Amy Gardiner's Lab
Dr. Sara Piccirillo's Lab
Anatomy Lab
Dr. Piccirillo gave a presentation on May 23 2025 at the XIX Conference of Italian Researchers in the World. The title of her presentation was ‘Single-nucleus and spatial landscape of the sub-ventricular zone in human glioblastoma.' On June 12, 2025 she also presented at the CMO Program Meeting of the UNMCC. The title of my presentation was ‘Intra-tumor heterogeneity of human glioblastoma at single-cell and spatial resolution.'
Niko Candia
Dr. Tom Resta's Lab
Dr. Gurdeep Singh's Lab
Bodie Larson
Two new undergrad students, Niko Candia and Bodie Larson, have joined Singh lab. Niko Candia is one of the 2025 UPN students and is working on cancer epigenetics project. Bodie Larson is working on retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) reprogramming associated with age-related macular degeneration.
Rosstin Ahmadian, MD, PhD, has matched as a resident in Internal Medicine with a Physician Scientist Training Program at the University of Cincinnati. He is a former PhD student of Dr. Resta and completed his PhD in the spring 2023 semester.
We are excited to share some significant developments from Dr. Ganesan's lab! Our first manuscript, titled “Oncogenic lncRNA transgene transcription modulates epigenetic memory at a naïve chromosomal locus,” has been submitted for revision to the Nucleus Journal. The preprint version is available at https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40475649/. In addition, three collaborative manuscripts have been submitted and are currently under review in peer-reviewed journals. We are optimistic that these will be published soon. On June 5, 2025, Dr. Sharmila Govindaraj, a postdoctoral researcher in our lab, presented her poster titled “Hexavalent chromium induces chromosome instability through epigenetic changes” at the AIM Annual Symposium and Workshop held on campus. Her work highlights the critical intersection of environmental factors and epigenetic modifications. Building on this preliminary evidence, our scientist, Rebekah Gridley, has teamed up with Dr. Govindaraj to explore how specific RNA modifications can impact chromosome stability through non-canonical pathways. We are also pleased to welcome two new UPN project students, Vincent Vigil and Ketzia Fernandez, to Dr. Ganesan’s lab. They will be investigating the impact of chromium on heterochromatin organization and mitotic chromosome segregation. We look forward to seeing their contributions to our research and scientific growth. In addition to our research efforts, Dr. Ganesan is organizing fundraising for the UNMCCC’s Lobo Cancer Challenge 2025 event through his team fundraising campaign, “Team RNA Club.” We invite everyone to join the team in the fight against cancer. Your donations will save lives and support vital cancer research. To contribute, please use the following link: https://runsignup.com/Race/138672/Donate/sYWsraGcAqG7Mb3c.
Ketzia Fernandez
Vincent Vigil
Dr. Arun Ganesan's Lab