Western University of Health Sciences College of Optometry faculty, students and alumni volunteered at the Anaheim Health Fair, held Sept. 20, 2025, at the Anaheim Convention Center. At this event, many health care providers and students came together to assist the community by providing dental, vision, women’s primary and other health care services.

Since 2021, the College of Optometry has partnered with Lestonnac Free Clinic to provide eye care services and spectacle correction for the community at this event. The College had one pre-testing station, five areas for entrance testing, and five lanes for refraction/ocular health assessments. The stations were all supported by students from WesternU and the Southern California School of Optometry at Marshall B. Ketchum University. They provided eye care services to 81 patients, with two patients being identified for specialty eye care (retina/glaucoma specialist).

Read the full story: WesternU College of Optometry students and faculty volunteers at Anaheim Health Fair | WesternU News

WesternU Recruitment recently welcomed student advisors from UC Riverside’s Health Professions Advising Center (HPAC) for a full-day, hands-on experience on campus. The visiting HPAC students explored all of WesternU’s health professions programs, engaged in workshops, and connected directly with our student ambassadors to hear about their academic and professional journeys.



HPAC provides advising, resources, and support for UCR students aspiring to graduate and professional programs in the health sciences. By hosting this group, WesternU positioned itself at the forefront of their pre-health journeys—building early connections with students who are preparing to take their next steps toward careers in the health professions.

CGN Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs and Associate Professor, Dr. Dawn Stone presented a research poster titled, "Evaluating Compositions and Dynamics among Palliative Care Teams: A Cross-Sectional Survey" at the Center to Advance Palliative Care national seminar in Philadelphia, PA on September 15-17, 2025. Collaborators included the PIH Health Palliative Care team. Dr. Stone is a Nurse Scientist and serves as an academic partner at PIH Health.  

The research abstracts of COMP students Andrew Abou Jaoude, Niayesh Najafi, Chisom Ovuegbe, Hina Patel, Angelie Pathak, Alexander Postajian, and Edgmin Rostomian were accepted for presentation at the 12^th Annual meeting of the International Academy of Cardiovascular Sciences – North American Section held at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Hotel, Las Vegas, Nev. Sept. 18-20, 2025.

Hina Patel’s research abstract titled “Galectin-3, Transforming Growth Factor Beta 1, and Brain Natriuretic Peptide in Cardiac Remodeling Under Hyperlipidemic and Hyperglycemic Stress” (Research Advisor: Devendra K. Agrawal, PhD) was ranked in the top 4 submitted abstracts for oral presentation in the Gary Lopaschuk Graduate Student Award session. Hina Patel was funded by the WesternU Summer Research program.

Angelie Pathak won a best poster award for her research work titled “Stress Granule Dysregulation Drives NLRP3 Activation in Carotid Artery Inflammation Under Metabolic Stress” (Research Advisor: Dr. Agrawal)

Chisom Ovuegbe also won a best poster award for his research work titled “Immune-like Stem Cell Sub-Phenotypes from Epicardial Adipose Tissue as Determinants of Adverse Cardiac Repair Response” (Research Advisor: Finosh G. Thankam, PhD). Chisom Ovuegbe was funded by the NIH-NIAID R25 Summer Research Education Program.

The poster of Edgmin Rostomian and Alexander Postajian was titled “Ischemia-Induced Metabolites Drive Repair-Associated Genes in Cardiac Stromal Cells” (Research Advisor: Dr. Thankam). 

The poster of Niayesh Najafi and Andrew Abou Jaoude, was titled “Methacrylated biopolymer-based hydrogels as template for cardiac regeneration” (Research Advisor: Dr. Thankam). 

Several postdoctoral fellows and faculty in the COMP Department of Translational Research presented their research work at the 12^th Annual meeting of the International Academy of Cardiovascular Sciences – North American Section.

Dr. Marija Stojanovic presented a poster presentation titled “Expression of Oxysterols-Responsive Genes in the Carotid Arteries of Hyperglycemic and Hyperlipidemic Swine” (Research Advisor: Dr. Agrawal)

Dr. Resmi Rajalekshmi presented her oral presentation titled “Stress Granule-Driven Regenerative Signaling in Myocardial Infarction and Metabolic Comorbidities” in the Roberto Bolli Young Investigator Award session (Research Advisor: Dr. Agrawal)

Dr. Yssel Mendoza-Mari presented her poster presentation titled "Interleukin-13 Receptor A2 in the Left Ventricle of Hyperglycemic Pigs: Potential Role in Cardiomyopathies” (Research Advisor: Dr. Agrawal)

Dr. Finosh G. Thankam, Assistant Professor, presented as an invited speaker on his research work titled "Injectable Hydrogels for the Intra-Pericardial Delivery of Stem Cells." 

Dr. Devendra K. Agrawal was invited to deliver a lecture titled "Is PCSK9 Inhibition a Stand-Alone Therapy for Reducing Atherosclerotic Burden and Stabilizing Plaque?"