Office of Postdoctoral Affairs

12th Annual San Antonio Postdoctoral Research Forum

Keynote Speaker

Jennifer M. Heemstra, PhD

Charles Allen Thomas Professor and Chair

Department of Chemistry

Washington University, St Louis

Co-Founder, #MentorFirst

"Leadership: How To Be Great At The Job That You (Likely) Weren’t Trained For"

Jennifer Heemstra

2024 Winners

UT Health San Antonio

Rosemary Soeun Lee, PhD
Mentor: Anna Malkova, PhD
Department: Biochemistry & Structural Biology
1st place: NEW SEPARATION-OF-FUNCTION OF MUTATIONS OF PIF1 IN YEAST

Michael Wedemeyer, PhD
Mentors: William P. Clarke, PhD and Kelly A. Berg, PhD 
Department: Biochemistry 
2nd place: LONG-TERM KAPPA OPIOID RECEPTOR INHIBITION BY NORBINALTORPHIMINE AND 14-3-3γ 

Sijia He, PhD
Mentor: Xianlin Han, PhD
Department: Medicine
3rd place: SINGLE-NUCLEUS TRANSCRIPTOMICS ANALYSIS REVEALS MYELIN LIPID DISRUPTION-ASSOCIATED CELL POPULATION AND CELL TYPE-SPECIFIC GENE EXPRESSION ALTERATIONS

Lindsey K. Galbo-Thomma, PhD
Mentor: Charles France, PhD
Department: Pharmacology
Best Oral Presentation: CHARACTERIZING A MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY FOR THE REVERSAL AND PREVENTION OF FENTANYL-INDUCED HYPOVENTILATION IN RHESUS MONKEYS

Joy Zeynoun, MD
Mentor: Sudha Seshadri, MD, DM
Department: Neurology
Best Data Blitz Presentation: THE IMPACT OF BDNF ON THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN SLEEP TIME AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION


Texas Biomedical Research Institute

Jake Lehle, PhD
Mentor: Diako Ebrahimi, PhD
Department: Host-Pathogen Interaction Program
1st place: CUTTING THROUGH THE CROWD: MAPPING APOBEC PROFILES HIDDEN WITHIN THE MICROENVIRONMENT OF BULK RNA-SEQ CANCER DATASETS WITH SINGLE-CELL RNA-SEQ

Dipanjan Chakraborty, PhD
Mentor: Ganusov Vitaly, PhD
Department: Host-Pathogen Interactions Program
2nd place: USING MATHEMATICAL MODELING TO ESTIMATE THE EFFICACY OF BCG VACCINATION ON MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS DYNAMICS AND DISSEMINATION IN ULTRA-LOW DOSE-INFECTED MICE  

Samira Mokhtari, PhD
Mentor: Diako Ebrahimi, PhD
Department: Host-Pathogen Interaction Program
3rd place: APOBEC3: DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD? UNRAVELING ITS IMPACT ON EVOLVING DRUG RESISTANCE IN HIV-1 APOBEC3: DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD? UNRAVELING ITS IMPACT ON EVOLVING DRUG RESISTANCE IN HIV-1

Dipanjan Chakraborty, PhD
Mentor: Ganusov Vitaly, PhD
Department: Host-Pathogen Interactions Program
Oral Presentation Recognition: USING MATHEMATICAL MODELING TO ESTIMATE THE EFFICACY OF BCG VACCINATION ON MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS DYNAMICS AND DISSEMINATION IN ULTRA-LOW DOSE-INFECTED MICE


United States Army Institute of Surgical Research 

Miryam Pando, PhD
Mentor: Carmen Hinojosa-Laborde, PhD
Department: CRT5, Pain & Sensory Trauma Care
1st place: KETAMINE SEDATION DECREASES SURVIVAL AFTER EXTREMITY TRAUMA AND HEMORRHAGE IN RATS

Frances Silva, PhD
Mentor: Nathan L. Davidson, MD, PhD
Department: CRT5, Pain & Sensory Trauma Care
2nd place: EPIDEMIOLOGY OF TRAUMATIC OCULAR INJURY AMONG SERVICE MEMBERS IN THEATER, 2001-2020

Tina M. Rodgers, PhD
Mentor: COL Kevin Gillespie, DMD, MBA
Department: CRT3, Organ Support & Automation Technologies
3rd place: ASSESSING DIFFERENT RESUSCITATION STRATEGIES WITH FRESH FROZEN PLASMA FOR SEVERE BURNS IN A SWINE  MODEL: A PILOT STUDY

George Plasko, PhD
Mentor: COL John Kragh, MD
Department: CRT2, Hemorrhage & Edema Control
Oral Presentation Recognition: LABORATORY EVALUATION OF HEMOSTATIC PRESSURE DRESSINGS UNDER SIMULATED EXTREME COLD CONDITIONS