Welcome Week is always a bustling, boisterous time for students, faculty and staff. Students form bonds with their classmates that will resonate throughout their careers and their lives. Faculty and staff provide support and reassurance to students eager to learn but possibly nervous about what lies ahead.

WesternU held Welcome Week in Pomona, California for more than 900 students Aug. 4-8, 2025, culminating with white coat ceremonies Aug. 8-9 for all eight colleges. WesternU students shared their Welcome Week experiences, expectations for the academic challenges ahead, and goals for the future as they received their white coats and equipment.

First-year College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific student Hannah Vu said she was nervous before Welcome Week and was pleasantly surprised by how welcoming and encouraging the staff and students have been.

“Typically in medical school I think you expect more of an edge and competition, but that wasn’t the case at all,” Vu said. “They encourage us to lean on each other, support each other, and foster relationships with each other.”

Read more: WesternU welcomes more than 900 students to the health professions | WesternU News

College of Graduate Nursing Associate Professor Dr. Gryan Garcia recently published his theory for mental health nursing.

Garcia G. (2025). Garcia Adaptive Equilibrium Theory (GAET): A new nursing theory for mental health nursing. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 46(6), 511–520. https://doi.org/10.1080/01612840.2025.2488323

WesternU COMP students Alexander Abdou, Shreyas Melanahalli, Michael Mouawad, Leena Nabipur, Clement Ng, Amber Petersen, Eli Spector, Sonum Sidhu and Tommy Tran collaborated with Dr. Devendra K. Agrawal and Dr. Marcel P. Fraix, contributed to science, and recently published the following peer-reviewed Pubmed indexed research articles.

We congratulate our COMP students for their dedication, motivation, and accomplishments in research and scholarly activities advancing science and disseminating clinically relevant knowledge directly applicable to better diagnosis and management of patients. Many additional articles of our COMP students are currently pending review and publication.

Abdou A, Spector E, Sidhu S, Agrawal DK. Lower Extremity Musculoskeletal Complications of Spastic Cerebral Palsy. J Orthop Sports Med. 2025;7(2):199-209. doi: 10.26502/josm.511500196. Epub 2025 Apr 21.PMID: 40800574 

Free PMC article.

Peterson A, Fraix MP, Agrawal DK. Preventing pressure injuries in individuals with impaired mobility: Best practices and future directions. J Surg Res (Houst). 2025;8(3):319-334. doi: 10.26502/jsr.10020455. Epub 2025 Jul 8.PMID: 40778001 Free PMC article.

Melanahalli S, Tran T, Ng C, Agrawal DK. Atrial fibrillation in Retinal Artery Occlusions. Cardiol Cardiovasc Med. 2025;9(4):234-247. Epub 2025 Jul 7.PMID: 40761687 Free PMC article.

Nabipur L, Mouawad M, Agrawal DK. Bioaerosols and Airway Diseases: Mechanisms of Epithelial Dysfunction, Immune Activation, and Strategies for Exposure Mitigation. Arch Intern Med Res. 2025;8(3):178-191. doi: 10.26502/aimr.0210. Epub 2025 Jul 3.PMID: 40718587 Free PMC article.

Dr. Agrawal in collaboration with his postdoctoral fellow, research trainees and technician, and internal research collaborators, Dr. Dan Miulli and Dr. Vikrant Rai, and external research collaborators contributed to science with recent publication of the following original research articles.

Mendoza-Mari Y, Stojanovic M, Miulli DE, Agrawal DK. Modulation of inflammatory response by electromagnetic field in Neuronal and Microglial cells. J Surg Res (Houst). 2025;8(3):305-312. doi: 10.26502/jsr.10020453. Epub 2025 Jul 2.PMID: 40778000 Free PMC article.

Aggarwal A, Mendoza-Mari Y, Aggarwal A, Agrawal DK. Isolation of Primary Brain Cells: Challenges and Solutions. Arch Clin Biomed Res. 2025;9(4):286-296. doi: 10.26502/acbr.50170464. Epub 2025 Jul 14.PMID: 40761884 Free PMC article.

Xia F, Smith J, Rai V, Agrawal DK. Interaction between Perivascular and Luminal Factors in Arteriovenous Fistula in Yucatan Miniswine. Cardiol Cardiovasc Med. 2025;9(2):82-88. Epub 2025 Mar 11.PMID: 40606544 Free PMC article.

To elucidate the molecular mechanism of pre-mRNA polyadenylation on gene expression regulation, CDM Professor Dr. Q. Quinn Li and collaborators recently published a paper in Advanced Science (impact factor 14.1) reveals the functions of a group of protein factors (CFII complex) in defining the end of the transcripts in a eukaryotic model system. A GA-rich downstream cis-elements emerge as key regulator of mRNA 3′ end formation. The RNA-binding protein FPA directs CFII to this element, ensuring precise polyadenylation and safeguarding transcript integrity. Polyadenylation Complex CFII Recognizes Downstream Cis-element for Pre-mRNA Polyadenylation through Interaction with an RNA-binding Protein in Arabidopsis. Advanced Science, 2025: e04562.

You have been awarded a grant or a contract, now what?

You will meet your post-award accounting team. We will provide you an overview of post-award processes. This lunch and learn from Sponsored Programs and Contract Management will benefit all personnel involved with sponsored programs and will ignite your grant/contract success.

Noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. Virtual via Teams. Email nriker@westernu.edu for the invitation.

Blood Donation Drive for City of Hope patients, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025 on the

WesternU California Health Education Center Esplanade.

All donors will receive a City of Hope gift as a thank you for their generosity.

We are excited to announce a vital opportunity to make a difference in our community!

Western University of Health Sciences, in collaboration with City of Hope, will be hosting a blood drive on our Pomona campus.

As a health sciences university, we understand the critical importance of blood donations in saving lives and supporting patient care. Donating blood is an essential part of patient care, and it's truly "in your blood" to give hope. Your participation directly contributes to the well-being of patients in need, including those at City of Hope.

Appointments are recommended to help us manage flow and minimize wait times.

How to Schedule Your Donation: Please visit idonateblood4hope.org and enter sponsor code WUP or call 626-218-7171 to secure your spot.

Thank you for considering this opportunity to make a profound impact - your single donation can save lives.

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Public Affairs and Marketing is holding an open studio portrait day in Pomona:

9 a.m. to 2:50 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 9

Please sign up for a timeslot that works for your schedule if you would like a new studio portrait.

We will schedule additional portrait days for those who cannot come to the studio on this day.