July 22, 2022

Akua Donkor won the RCSB protein data bank poster prize at the American Crystallographic Association (ACA) meeting held July 29-Aug. 2, 2022. Donkor is a Medicinal Chemistry graduate student; Martin Safo, Ph.D., is her adviser. The ACA recognizes a graduate or undergraduate student with the best poster pertaining to macromolecular crystallography.

July 22, 2022

Our own Aaron May, Ph.D., has been awarded a grant from VCU’s Kenneth & Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research titled “Mechanistic and Functional Evaluation of Novel Fungicidals: First-in-Class Hsp110 Inhibitors.” May serves as the co-PI. The two-year grant started July 15, 2022, and covers a cost of $130,000. Congratulations!

July 22, 2022

Guizhi Zhu, Ph.D., an assistant professor with the Department of Pharmaceutics in the School of Pharmacy, won continued support for a technology that uses short single strands of synthetic DNA or RNA (oligonucleotide) immunotherapy for cancer and other infectious diseases.

Youzhong Guo, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the Department of Medicinal Chemistry in the School of Pharmacy, for a technology of a series of native cell membrane nanoparticle polymers that can be used for extraction of membrane proteins without the use of detergents. Currently, membrane protein research and related drug discovery rely heavily on detergents, which destabilize membrane proteins, leading to problems in the membrane protein structural biology.

June 23, 2022

Yan Zhang, Ph.D., was awarded the VCU Breakthroughs Award for his project “Novel MOR antagonists to treat fentanyl overdose.” The project began July 1, 2022, and ends Dec. 31, 2023, and provides $200,000 to carry out the breakthrough work. Congratulations, Dr. Zhang.

June 6, 2022

We are excited to announce that our very own, Connor O’Hara, has been chosen by St. Jude National Graduate Student Symposium to participate in St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital’s 2022 Future Fellowship Research Conference (FRCC). Connor is one of the 30 out of 2400 applicants selected to participate. Congratulations Connor!

April 29, 2022

The School of Pharmacy celebrated students in the Pharm.D., and graduate programs with the 2022 Excellence in Professionalism Award. Our very own Tamim Chiba was the winner for the graduate students. The nominees were evaluated by a team of faculty and students. The Professionalism Committee is chaired by Ericka Crouse. Congratulations Tamim! We are proud of you.

April 8, 2022

May Abdelaziz, Ph.D. (Ph.D. '13/P is Assistant Professor and founding faculty at the Maytee Fisch College of Pharmacy, University of Texas at Tyler. Dr. Abdelaziz "strives to make her pharmacy students advocates for their patients, which requires respect for different backgrounds, attitudes and perspectives." She worked alongside her mentor Dr. Umesh Desai at the Institute for Structural Biology Discovery and Development. For more information about Dr. Abdelaziz's work and accomplishments click the link below.
https://alumnimag.vcu.edu/fall-winter-2021/10-under-10/#mayAbdelaziz