Dean's Predoctoral Fellowship Awardees
Congratulations to the awardees of the
2023 Dean's Predoctoral Fellowship Program!

The University of South Alabama Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine awards up to three one-year fellowships to eligible students in the Basic Medical Sciences (BMS) Graduate Program. The current award period is 05/1/23-04/30/24.
Edward Fiedler
Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sponsor,
Dr. Wito Richter

PDE4B at the intersection of inflammation and metabolic syndromes
Amanda Tuckey
Department of Microbiology & Immunology
Sponsor,
Dr. Jon Audia

A novel role for Amyloid-Beta in innate immunity
Rachel Rodenberg
Department of Microbiology & Immunology
Sponsor,
Dr. Robert Barrington

IL-17a Producing γδ T Cells are Necessary for Initiating the Cytotoxic Response Against Ocular HSV-1
Recent Awards
Dr. Simon Grelet
Mitchell Cancer Institute, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Three-Dimensional Models of Breast Cancer Neurogenesis and Progression In Vitro and Ex Vivo

$60,000, CCTS Pilot
(Total funding, one year award)
Dr. Johnathan Rayner
Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Laboratory of Infectious Diseases
Mosquito-borne infectious disease surveillance

$210,876, MCHD renewal,
(Total funding per year,
three year award)
Dr. Jane Messemer
Department of Pediatrics
Section on Pediatrics Trainees Health Equity Grant Program

$3,300, pediatric training grant,
(Total funding, one year award)
Abigail Boyd
BMS Graduate Student
Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Pseudomonas aeruginosa-derived noncanonical cyclic nucleotides as biomarkers and virulence factors in CF

$151,000, additional years funding,
(Total funding per year,
two year award)
Dr. Richard Honkanen
Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

PPP2R5D Variants

$349,900, additional research funding, (Total funding per year,
three year award)
Dr. Robert Barrington
Department of Microbiology & Immunology
Equipment to Assess Immunotherapy Strategies for Ocular Diseases by Vision Scientists with the Lions/USA Eye Research Institute

$245,784, equipment grant,
(Total funding)
*Dr. Barrington's award funded the purchase of the Agilent NovoCyte Quanteon 4025 Flow Cytometer for the Flow Cytometry Shared Resources Laboratory and training for COM faculty*
Ph.D. Defense of Dissertation
Flow Cytometry Training Session
The USA Flow Cytometry Shared Resources Laboratory (FCSRL) within the Medical Sciences Building (MSB 2264) is hosting a training session for the latest addition, the Agilent NovoCyte Quanteon 4025 Flow Cytometer.
The training session will be held Tuesday, May 16, 2023 from 9am – 3pm. This flow cytometer will eventually replace the FACSCanto II analyzer, so current users are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the system software. Staining panels that are currently being used should be compatible with the new instrument. If you would like to bring samples to a training session, please contact Omar Alvarado omar.alvarado@agilent.com in advance.
Grants Development for MCI Researchers


Attention Mitchell Cancer Institute researchers: Helen Moore, a Research Specialist in the Health System Grants Administration and Development (HSGAD office), is now working in the MCI building to support grants development and post-award administration for MCI researchers. Her office is 3027.
Recent Publications from COM Researchers
Kakkat S, Pramanik P, Singh S, Singh AP, Sarkar C, Chakroborty D. Cardiovascular Complications in Patients with Prostate Cancer: Potential Molecular Connections. Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Apr 10;24(8):6984. doi: 10.3390/ijms24086984. PMID: 37108147; PMCID: PMC10138415.

Ibodeng GO, Uche IN, Mokua R, Galo M, Odigwe B, Galeas JN, Dasgupta S.
A snapshot of lung cancer: where are we now?-a narrative review. Ann Transl Med. 2023 Mar 31;11(6):261. doi: 10.21037/atm-22-4479. Epub 2023 Feb 6. PMID: 37082671; PMCID: PMC10113107.

Galappaththi SL, Katz B, Howze PH 4th, Hoover G, Grelet S. A CRISPR/Cas9-Based Assay for High-Throughput Studies of Cancer-Induced Innervation. Cancers (Basel). 2023 Mar 29;15(7):2026. doi: 10.3390/cancers15072026. PMID: 37046688; PMCID: PMC10093009.

Kucera CW, Tian C, Tarney CM, Presti C, Jokajtys S, Winkler SS, Casablanca Y, Bateman NW, Mhawech-Fauceglia P, Wenzel L, Hamilton CA, Chan JK, Jones NL, Rocconi RP, O'Connor TD, Farley JH, Shriver CD, Conrads TP, Phippen NT, Maxwell GL, Darcy KM. Factors Associated With Survival Disparities Between Non-Hispanic Black and White Patients With Uterine Cancer. JAMA Netw Open. 2023 Apr 3;6(4):e238437. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.8437. PMID: 37067801; PMCID: PMC10111180.

Fonseca AL, Heslin MJ. Pancreatic operative experience for residents: How much is enough? Am J Surg. 2023 Apr 27:S0002-9610(23)00180-0. doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2023.04.017. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37142516.

Wu CG, Balakrishnan VK, Parihar PS, Konovolov K, Chen YC, Merrill RA, Wei H, Carragher B, Sundaresan R, Cui Q, Wadzinski BE, Swingle MR, Musiyenko A, Honkanen R, Chung WK, Suzuki A, Strack S, Huang X, Xing Y. Extended regulation interface coupled to the allosteric network and disease mutations in the PP2A-B56δ holoenzyme. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2023 Apr 5:2023.03.09.530109. doi: 10.1101/2023.03.09.530109. PMID: 37066309; PMCID: PMC10103954.

Herrera GA, Teng J, Zeng C, Pozo-Yauner LD, Liu B, Turbat-Herrera EA. AL(light chain)-amyloidogenesis by mesangial cells involves active participation of lysosomes: An ultrastructural study. Heliyon. 2023 Apr 7;9(4):e15190. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15190. PMID: 37095940; PMCID: PMC10122028.

Herrera-López EE, Guerrero-Escalera D, Aguirre-Maldonado I, López-Hernández A, Montero H, Gutiérrez-Nava MA, Del Pozo-Yauner L, Arellanes-Robledo J, Camacho J, Pérez-Carreón JI. Annexins A2 and A5 are potential early biomarkers of hepatocarcinogenesis. Sci Rep. 2023 Apr 28;13(1):6948. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-34117-8. PMID: 37117324; PMCID: PMC10147597.

Naaz S, Sakib N, Houserova D, Badve R, Crucello A, Borchert GM. Characterization of a novel sRNA contributing to biofilm formation in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. MicroPubl Biol. 2023 Apr 20;2023:10.17912/micropub.biology.000796. doi: 10.17912/micropub.biology.000796. PMID: 37151214; PMCID: PMC10160853.

Leavesley SJ, Johnson S, Paudel SS, Knighten J, Tambe DT, Francis M, Gong N, Taylor MS, Rich TC. Combined hyperspectral imaging, monolayer stress microscopy, and S8 image analysis approaches for simultaneously interrogating cellular signals and biomechanics. Proc SPIE Int Soc Opt Eng. 2023 Jan-Feb;12383:123830D. doi: 10.1117/12.2650653. Epub 2023 Mar 15. PMID: 37051186; PMCID: PMC10084657.

Blackley SK, Smith WC, Lee YL, Kinnard C, Williams AY, Butts CC, Mbaka MI, Haiflich A, Bright A, Simmons JD, Polite NM. Identifying Radiographic and Clinical Indicators to Reduce the Occurrence of Nontherapeutic Laparotomy for Blunt Bowel and Mesenteric Injury. Am Surg. 2023 Apr 28:31348231174009. doi: 10.1177/00031348231174009. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37115715.

Sheppard K, Roberts ME, Bernard J, Wood B, Lee YL, Williams AY, Capasso T, Butts CC, Polite N, Simmons JD, Bright A, Kinnard C, Mbaka M. A Multidisciplinary Approach for the Management of Portal Vein Thrombosis. Am Surg. 2023 May 2:31348231173964. doi: 10.1177/00031348231173964. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37132031.

Michael JA, Roberts ME, Haiflich AN, Boyer E, Capasso TJ, Butts CC, Bright AC, Kinnard CM, Simmons JD, Williams AY, Lee YL, Polite NM, Mbaka MI. Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Trauma Population in a Level 1 Trauma Center. Am Surg. 2023 May 5:31348231174005. doi: 10.1177/00031348231174005. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37144279; PMCID: PMC10160817.