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Cell Biology & Physiology NEWSLETTER | VOLUME 2 ISSUE 3
Leaves are beginning to change color, the smell of roasting chile fills the air and nights are feeling chilly here in the Land of Enchantment. These harbingers of fall also mean that the annual Balloon Fiesta is happening. In addition to all of these local events, our department is celebrating several academic and research milestones. Several faculty have been awarded new grants, there are several important new publications, and several of our faculty and students have been recognized with awards. Finally, we are looking forward to welcoming a new faculty member in the spring. Read the highlights of these Cell Biology and Physiology department achievements as well as a short bio for Dr. Arun Ganesan below. The faculty will be meeting together for a half day retreat in November to discuss our mutual goals and to plan for ongoing initiatives in teaching and research. We are also making plans for a departmental fall celebration either for Halloween or Thanksgiving. Watch your email for more information on this one! Other highlights this fall include ongoing education efforts by several of our faculty who are leading Biomedical Sciences courses and participating in the Phase I medical curriculum. On the facilities side, there is a planned remodels of two of our laboratory modules which will be completed by next summer. We will propose several other modules for remodeling in the next year or two to continue to keep our research facilities updated. Please feel free to share this newsletter with friends and alumni of the Cell Biology and Physiology department and let us know if there are other items you would like to see featured in the winter newsletter. - Nancy
Alumni News
Dr. Arun Ganesan will be joining the department in Spring 2023 and we look forward to welcoming him to the faculty.
Dr. Elani F. Weist was promoted from post-doctoral fellow to Sr. Biomanufacturing Specialist in the Human Cell Therapy Lab at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. Her primary function is to take projects from the basic research lab and develop it for clinical applications. The lab's current focus is manufacturing current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP)-grade mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) to support clinical trials at Mayo Clinic. These clinical applications include chronic kidney disease, degenerative disk disease, stroke, and COPD. She is currently working on developing a platform to manufacture cGMP-grade extracellular vesicles (EVs). Her day-to-day duties include preparing cell therapies for patient infusions, manufacturing MSCs and EVs for clinical trials, writing protocols and batch records, validating instruments, and meeting with study teams (and preparing lots of paperwork to be cGMP compliant!). In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her two children and her husband Ned (a UNM MD/PhD alumnus) at the beach. She also advocates and lobbies for food allergy legislature and educates the local community on being more inclusive to children with food allergies.
Dr. Arun Kumar Ganesan received his bachelor's in Biochemistry from Tiruvalluvar University, and a master's degree in Biomedical Genetics from the University of Madras, India. He continued his PhD in Biomedical Genetics at the same university to study the role of oncogenic and epithelial-mesenchymal transition/stemness promoting microRNAs and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in oral squamous cell carcinoma. Dr. Ganesan identified several differentially expressed non-coding RNAs associated with tumor progression, recurrence, and therapeutic resistance in oral, cervical, and gastric cancers. As a postdoctoral fellow at the National Cancer Institute/NIH, Bethesda, Dr. Ganesan studied the role of oncogenic lncRNAs in mislocalizing centromere-specific protein A (CENP-A) to ectopic sites in cancers. His primary focus was understanding how lncRNAs involved in epigenetic control and chromosome integrity. With a specific emphasis on chromosome 8q24/cMYC locus, a common breakpoint in several cancers, he discovered that oncogenic lncRNAs could alter the epigenetic memory of this fragile chromosome locus and increase its susceptibility to break in cancer cells. As an incoming Assistant Professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Physiology at The University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Dr. Ganesan's lab aspiration is to study the lncRNA-chromatin interactions, chromosome instability, and extra-chromosomal circular DNAs in cancers. The long-term goal of his lab is to translate basic science discoveries into the clinical setup toward improved targeted cancer therapy and personalized medicine. Further, Dr. Ganesan is unequivocally committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion; therefore, his lab's primary mission is to promote EDI in STEM. He looks forward to working with fellow researchers at UNM with its outstanding diverse community and cooperative environment. Besides lab life, Dr. Ganesan is curious to try some famous hot and spicy New Mexico chile-based foods and explore the outdoors in the 'Land of Enchantment.'
Dr. Jay Naik received the Notice of Award from NHLBI for an R01 titled “Regulation of hydrogen sulfide signaling in vascular function.” This award from the National Institutes of Health is for “mature research projects that are hypothesis-driven with strong preliminary data that are expected to have a significant impact on the research field.” Publication: Jay Naik. Endothelial cell membrane cholesterol content regulates the contribution of TRPV4 channels in ACh-induced vasodilation in rat gracilis arteries. Microcirculation. 2022 Jul;29(4-5):e12774 He also received the Learning Environment Office Teaching Excellence Recognition Award.
Dr. Sara Piccirillo gave a talk entitled, "Dissecting cellular and molecular heterogeneity of human glioblastoma," at the Grand Rounds in the Department of Neurosurgery on August 25, 2022. She also presented at the 3rd Annual Neuro-Oncology Symposium (3ANOS) | September 9-11, 2022 organized by the Pakistan Society of Neuro-Oncology (PASNO) and Pakistan Academy of Neurological Surgery (PANS) in collaboration with the Department of Surgery, Aga Khan University Karachi Pakistan, Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Group Pakistan (PNO) and the Brain Tumor Foundation of Pakistan Additionally, Dr. Piccirillo joined the Edtorial Board of the journal, Biomedicines, in the Cancer Biology and Therapeutic's section.
Dr. Nancy Kanagy received a Notice of Award for a Commercialization Pilot Project from NHLBI.
Dr. Tom Resta received the Learning Environment Office Teaching Excellence Recognition Award.
Dr. Laura Gonzalez Bosc, received an American Heart Association Transformational Project Award for her project, “Disequilibrium in immune homeostasis in hypoxic pulmonary hypertension pathogenesis.” This is a three-year award “to support highly innovative, high-impact projects that build on work in progress that could ultimately lead to critical discoveries or major advancements that will accelerate the field of cardiovascular and/or cerebrovascular research”.
Dr. Amy Gardiner's lab received noticed that their manuscript was accepted for publication in "The Journal Alcoholism": Clinical and Experimental Research. A big congratulations is in order for my current trainees Marissa and Roxana who earned authorship on this manuscript (and of course Gabriela, the first author). Below is the reference: Perales G, Westenskow M, Gutierrez R, Caldwell KK, Allan AM, Gardiner AS. 2022. MicroRNA-150-5p is Upregulated in the Brain Microvasculature During Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and Inhibits the Angiogenic Factor Vezf1. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. In press.
Dr. Jay Naik will be teaching the following courses the Spring Semester: BIOM 510 Physiology This is a graduate level course designed to provide a fundamental understanding of the basic physiological functions of the cardiovascular, respiratory, renal and endocrine systems. You should consider each 3-week block a separate mini-course on the featured topic. It is important to note that the style and content of each mini-course will vary and be determined by the instructor for each course. Key information from anatomy, physiology, pathology, pharmacology and clinical medicine is integrated into the classroom sessions. BIOM 659 Cardiovascular Biology Journal Club The Cardiovascular Biology Seminar course is a trainee-centered course that allows graduate students and postdocs to read, interpret, and present scientific literature/ data to peers and faculty. This course helps students stay abreast of current knowledge in cardiovascular biology, develop presentation skills, plan experimental approaches that adequately test a hypothesis with appropriate controls, and evaluate scientific work critically.
Dr. Amy Gardiner is the Director for the following courses for the Fall Semester: BIOM 507 Advanced Molecular Biology This is a four credit-hour graduate level course that covers the structures and functions of nucleic acids and proteins, mechanisms and macromolecular synthesis. The course consists of lectures, homework assignments, and paper discussions. Each instructor will provide a detailed syllabus for their block. Homework assignments will be posted to Canvas and completed assignments should be uploaded to Canvas by the due date. All classes will be in person and all exams will be taken in person. BIOM 522 Experimental Design and Methods in Molecular and Cellular Biosciences: Molecular Block This is a three credit-hour graduate level course that focuses on experimental methods and practical issues of how to design, plan and conduct scientific studies through appropriate use of methods and data analysis. The course consists of lectures, homework assignments, and paper discussions. Each instructor will provide a detailed syllabus for their block. Homework assignments will be posted to Canvas and completed assignments should be uploaded to Canvas by the due date. All classes will be in person and all exams will be taken in person.
Native American Heritage Month
october More info here
Hispanic Heritage Month
Sept. 15 - Oct 15 More info here
NOVEMber More info here
Disability Heritage Month