Congratulations to Dr. Alexandra Arenas on a Successful Defense! Dr. Arenas successfully defended her PhD thesis on July 9, 2020.
Also, congratulations to her mentor, Dr. Haining Zhu, and her other committee members. A special thanks to the outside examiner, Dr. Henry LeVine.
Dr. Jeremy Johnson has successfully defended his Ph.D. dissertation, "Examination of the Role of AMP-Activated Protein Kinase as a Therapeutic Modality for Triple Negative Breast Cancer." Congratulations to him, Dr. Mark Evers (mentor), committee members, and outside examiner. Also, thank you all who attended the seminar via Zoom during these unusual circumstances.
Lung cancer is a complex and devastating disease, especially in the Commonwealth. In fact, Kentuckians are twice as likely as the rest of U.S. citizens to develop squamous cell carcinoma and small-cell lung cancer, both of which are very serious cancers that typically have low survival rates.
We are pleased to announce that we are still accepting applications for our Master's of Forensics Toxicology & Analytical Genetics program. The Master’s in Forensic Toxicology & Analytical Genetics program is a professional degree program, which educates and prepares students to enter the workforce as working professionals. The program curriculum contains two internships, which provides our students with hand-on experiences necessary to exit the program and be competitive in the job market.
Congratulations to Dr. Diane Begemann on successfully defending her PhD thesis on March 25, 2020. We could also like to thank and congratulate her mentor, Dr. Natasha Kyprianou, her committee members, and outside examiner.
Dr. Daret St. Clair was nominated and selected as the recipient of the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine Distinguished Alumna Award for Achievement for her pioneering work in molecular biology and free radical biology, and for her efforts as a mentor and role model to the next generation of cancer biologists.
As the oldest girl of nine children, Jazmyne Barney always knew she served an important role in her family. She was the “mom of the sibling group,” as she calls it, and because of this, she felt she had the responsibility to succeed so her siblings could have someone to look up to.
Congratulations to Dr. Peter Van Wie on successfully defending his dissertation, "The role of neural precursor cell expressed developmentally down-regulated protein 9 in enhanced aggressiveness of hexavalent chromium transformed bronchial epithelial cells." Thank you to all of the faculty that have supported and advised him during his PhD program.
Congratulations to Martina Lin (Mentor: Dr. Chengfeng Yang), Stephanie Bryant Rock (Mentor: Dr. Mark Evers), Chaohao Li (Mentor: Dr. Xiaoqi Liu), Nick Howard (Mentor: Dr. Isabel Mellon) and Tanner DuCote (Mentor: Dr. Christine Brainson) for successfully passing their qualifying exam. Thank you to all of the faculty who served on the committees and for their continued support.
We are pleased to announce that Ms. Aria Byrd is the recipient of the 2019 Rising Star Award from the Women in Medicine and Science (WIMS). Each year, WIMS recognizes faculty and trainees who encourage and support women in their academic and professional endeavors in the UK College of Medicine. Congratulations, Aria!
Congratulations to Dr. Daret St. Clair on being the recipient of the 2019 Leadership Award from the Women in Medicine and Science (WIMS). Each year, WIMS recognizes faculty and trainees who encourage and support women in their academic and professional endeavors in the UK College of Medicine.
Our Toxicology & Cancer Biology program is interdisciplinary, whose faculty are leaders in their fields and use cutting edge approaches to investigate oxidative stress, genetic instability, metabolism and epigenetics and their relationships to cancer and other human diseases. Students can choose to be trained in areas that have an emphasis on either Toxicology or Cancer Biology, or identify projects that integrate the two areas.
The University of Kentucky provides the only Master's of Forensic Toxicology and Analytical Genetics (or degree of comparable nature) in the state, and it is only the fifth such professional master’s degree in the field of forensics in the nation. Students are provided with access to state of the art educational resources, instrumentation and facilities that support advanced professional education in Forensic Chemistry and Forensic DNA analysis.
We am pleased to congratulate Kara Chan who successfully defended her Ph.D. dissertation on 7/15/19. Congratulations Dr. Chan and congratulations to Dr. Guo-Min Li for his excellent mentorship and other committee members for their guidance throughout Kara’s training.
We are pleased to congratulate Jazmyne Barney who successfully defended her Ph.D. dissertation today. Congratulations Dr. Barney and congratulations to Dr. Bernhard Hennig for his excellent mentorship and the other committee members for their guidance throughout Jazmyne’s training.
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Christine Brainson, Assistant Professor, has been awarded a new American Cancer Society research grant. Titled "Methionine Metabolism and Lung Cancer Lineage Fate," this is a 4 year award, $792,000 award. Congratulations to Dr. Brainson and her team!
Thanks to the collaborative contributions of Markey Women Strong members, Dr. Eva Goellner will receive a $50,000 grant to further her research into "DNA Mismatch Repair in Chemotherapy Resistance."
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Christine Brainson, Assistant Professor, has been awarded a new R01 research grant by the National Cancer Institute. Titled "Targeting epigenetic heterogeneity to improve lung cancer immunotherapy response," this is a 5 year award, for a total expected award of $1,749,940 in total funding. Congratulations to Dr. Brainson and her team!
We are pleased to announce the that university will be charging a special tuition rate for the Master's in Forensics Toxicology & Analytical Genetics program, pending approval of the Board of Trustees in June 2019. The proposed rate will be $915 per credit hour in additional to the mandatory fees. This represents a significant reduction in the out-of-state tuition rate typically assessed and shows enormous support for our program by the university.
The Yulan Sun's Memorial Outstanding Graduate Student Award recognizes graduate students for overall outstanding achievement in the graduate program. The Department of Toxicology & Cancer Biology is honored to award the 1st Yulan Sun's Memorial Outstanding Graduate Student Award ($1,000) to Dr. Marisa Kamelgarn! Her achievements and involvement in the department's student activities embody and honor the award's namesake.
