On Friday, April 21, 2023, Genentech presented the Temple University School of Pharmacy's 2023 Research Recognition Day. The event, which is the school's annual signature research celebration, was held in person for the first time since 2019. 

Two members of our Board of Visitors signed on as additional sponsors this year. Mr. and Mrs. Grady Grant sponsored the lunch sponsor, and Ms. Edith Rosato sponsored the snack break and abstract book. 

The event opened with remarks by Jayanth Panyam, PhD, Dean and Professor; Dan Castiglia, BSPharm ‘98 on behalf of Genentech; and Christina Rose, PharmD, BCCCP, FCCM, Associate Chair of Pharmacy Practice and Clinical Professor Director of the PGY2 Critical Care Residency on behalf of the event committee. Katherine Nathanson, MD, Pearl Basser Professor for BRCA-Related Research at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania, delivered the keynote lecture, “Hereditary cancer syndromes as a paradigm for developing cancer therapeutics.”

Attendees were welcome to interact with research presenters among their posters displayed in the school. Select students presented their research in the classroom.  

The following awards were announced:

Abstract Winners - Professional (PharmD)
• Jumar Etkins, Karen Gonzalez, and Gabriel Vivas with "Combinations of veterinary anesthetic xylazine with the opioid fentanyl produce synergistic effects on antinociception in mice" (Research mentor: Ellen Walker)
• Savanna LaFlamme, Abby Atwater, Erin Tanasy, and Jaicha Valerio with "Evaluation of appropriate use of ceftaroline at an academic teaching institution" (Research mentors: Jason Gallagher, and Christina Rose)

Abstract Winners - Graduate (PhD, MS)
• Mathia Sanchez for "Control of ligand exchange and stability on gold nanoparticle surface for targeted drug delivery" (Research mentor: Marc A. Ilies)
• Nader Afifi, Mark Abdelmalek, Emma Tigue, Simon Kerdukashvili, Dennis Colussi, and Magda L. Florez for "In Vitro Hepatotoxicity Evaluation using High Content Image Analysis" (Research mentor: Carlos A. Barrero)

First Place Poster - Professional 
• James Li, Sandra Arest, Bartlomiej Olszowy, Carlos A. Barrero, John Gordon, and Oscar Perez-Leal with "CRISPR-based identification of FDA-approved drugs that induce an antioxidant response"

Second Place Poster - Professional
• Jacqueline Quenzer, Mahbuba Choudhury, Christina Rose, Jason Gallagher, Kristin Feick, Kaitlyn Gaynor, Katelyn Kennedy, and Aaron Mishkin with "Safety and Efficacy of Tocilizumab and Baricitinib for Severe COVID-19"

First Place Poster - Graduate
• Leonard Hridoy, Wayne Childers, Mercy Ramanjulu, Swati Nagar, and Ken Korzekwa with "Novel Experimental Approaches to Investigate Drug Partitioning and Permeation"

Second Place Poster - Graduate
• Tashnuva Rifat and Marc A. Ilies with "Impact of different esterases against substrates of different lipophilicity"

Graduate Student Pre-Candidacy Academic Achievement Award
• Mohammed Yousuf, second-year PhD, Pharmaceutical Sciences student

Kallelis Outstanding Graduate Student Award Recipient
• Md. Abu Sufian, PhD Candidate, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences; Title of Dissertation: ‘Design and development of therapeutics against CA IX expressing carcinomas’ (Thesis Adviser: Marc Ilies)

Explore the research topics and more about the event in the Abstract Book.