News
June 2025
New DoD-Funded Grant Supports TRaCES Core Team in Brain-Metastatic Melanoma Research (PI: Josh Jackson, PhD)
The TRaCES Core team has been awarded a prestigious Department of Defense (DoD) grant to advance research on brain-metastatic melanoma. The study, led by Dr. Jackson and titled “Human Organotypic Brain Slice Cultures to Study Brain-Metastatic Melanoma and Immune Infiltration,” will utilize innovative human brain slice cultures to model the tumor microenvironment and evaluate therapeutic responses. Key contributors to the project include Drs. Hartsough, Klase, VanDuyne, Sarkar, Fatatis as well as Dr. Meucci (TRaCES founder and Executive Director). This marks the second extramural grant for the TRaCES Core team, building upon their previous success in securing NIH funding for other parallel research initiatives in neuroHIV and immune disorders.
May 2025
Department Faculty Recognition
The university recently honored several department faculty members for their longstanding commitment to elevate Drexel’s scientific research, educational offerings, and trainee mentorship.
- Dr. Joanne Mathiasen, professor and co-director of our Drug Discovery and Development program, was granted tenure in recognition of her outstanding contributions to our curricula and educational mission.
- The university also granted emeritus appointments to Dr. Michael White, professor and thread director of Medical Physiology, and Dr. Kenny Simansky, professor and senior vice dean for research.
College of Medicine Faculty Day Awards
Two Pharmacology & Physiology faculty members were recognized for their outstanding contributions to research and mentorship at this year’s Faculty Day event. Dr. Zachary Klase earned the 2025 Mid-Career Basic Science Investigator Award in recognition of his outstanding research contributions and scientific leadership, and Dr. Peter Gaskill earned the 2025 Early Career Mentoring Award for Basic Science Faculty in honor of his mentoring of graduate students, postdoctoral trainees and faculty colleagues.
Graduations and Faculty Awards
Our graduates were recognized at the 2025 Drexel College of Medicine commencement ceremony, held on May 16, 2025 at the Kimmel Center for Performing Arts. In addition, several of our faculty members received awards for their outstanding mentorship and student advocacy.
Department Awardees
Best Advisor/Mentor, Division of Biomedical Sciences
Jacqueline Barker, PhD
Associate Professor, Pharmacology & Physiology
Best Student Advocate, Division of Biomedical Sciences
Peter Gaskill, PhD
Associate Professor, Pharmacology & Physiology
Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmacology & Physiology
Breana Channer-Ellis
“Evaluating TLR4 and Dopamine Mediated Inflammatory Responses in Human Macrophages Across Distinct Culture and Serum Conditions”
Mentor: Peter Gaskill, PhD
Neha Mohan
“Unraveling Gain-of-Toxicity and Haploinsufficiency Mechanisms in Spastic Paraplegia 4: Advances Through Isogenic Cortical Organoids and Transgenic Mouse Models”
Mentor: Liang Oscar Qiang, MD, PhD
Julia Farnan
“Investigating the role of astrocyte reactivity in Melanoma Brain Metastasis”
Mentor: Joshua Jackson, PhD
Katelyn Reeb
“Determination of Preclinical Potential and Molecular Mechanisms for Allosteric Modulators of Glutamate Transporters”
Mentor: Andréia C.K. (Fontana) Mortensen, PhD
Rhea Temmermand
“Positive Allosteric Modulation of Glutamate Transporter GLT-1 Provides Antinociception in Rodent Models of Neuropathic Pain”
Mentor: Andréia C.K. (Fontana) Mortensen, PhD
Jason Wickman
“From Biomarkers to Bench: Identification of a Therapeutically Targetable Resident Memory T Cell Population in a Mouse Model of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome”
Mentor: Seena Ajit, PhD
Yibin Xu
“Dopamine Transporter Allosteric Modulator Inhibits Cocaine-Induced Behaviors”
Mentor: Ole Mortensen, PhD
Doctor of Philosophy (other programs)
Camille Cunanan
“BAP1 Loss Affords Lipotoxicity Resistance in Uveal Melanoma”
Mentor: Edward J. Hartsough, PhD
Master of Science in Drug Discovery and Development
Matthew Tekle Yohannes * Johnson & Johnson 4D Fellow
Paramita Biswas
Tejaswi Bobburi
Austin Bydalek
Ryan Cheng
Alekhya Rani Chunduri
Emma Xu Civetta
Katelyn Dalphon
Nicholas Edouard
Henok Ermias
Felicia M. Haines
Otrina A. Hughes
Amanda Rae Hunerdosse
Kiara Lynette Kemp
Austin F. Kooker
Anna May Lebron
Kaleigh Kessler Link
Misty Lynn Marlowe
Radouane Mataich
George M. Oliarnyk Jr.
Jesty Patel
Paige Nicole Singletary
Rachel Slosman
Jill Beth Wallace
Danielle Witts
Master of Science (other programs)
Isabella Marie Bendorf
“Validating the Correlation Between Astrocytic Cytokine Expression and Dysregulation of Glutamate Uptake in HIV Infected Cerebral Organoids”
Mentor: Zachary Klase, PhD
April 2025
Dr. Hartsough Tapped for Collaborative Grant
Dr. Ed Hartsough will serve as a consultant along with Dr. Jennifer Hope (co-PI) and Dr. Hein Dang (co-PI, TJU) on a new pilot award from the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center. The award will fund thier collaborative project “Establishing pancreatic tumor slice cultures for translational immune research”.
2025 ASPET Meeting
Trainees Earn Awards at 2025 ASPET Meeting
Pharmacology & Physiology trainees attended the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) 2025 meeting in Portland, Oregon and earned various awards from the conference.
Several trainees earned ASPET Travel Awards, including Gaskill lab trainees Breana Channer and Marzieh Daniali, and A. Mortensen lab trainees Simran Gill and Katelyn Reeb. Daniel T. O’Connor Young Investigator Travel Awards were earned by Tofunmi Oteju of the Gaskill lab and Clara Xu of the O. Mortensen lab. Finally, Katelyn Reeb won the best graduate student poster presentation award in the neuropharmacology poster division.
Dr. Ajit Chosen as ELAM Fellow
Dr. Seena Ajit was accepted as a Fellow in the 2025-2026 Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine® (ELAM) Program. Dr. Ajit’s goal for ELAM is to foster synergistic research collaborations between clinicians and basic scientists.
Teaching Faculty Recognized with Golden Apple Awards
Drexel’s Medical students recognized two Pharmacology faculty with this year’s Golden Apple Awards. Dr. Brian Murphy was chosen to receive a Golden Apple Award, and Dr. Linda Console-Bram was nominated for another Golden Apple! The awards recognize our educator’s outstanding service to the college of medicine and the medical student body.
Marzieh Daniali Earns Research Fellowship
Congrats to Marzieh Daniali, graduate student in the Gaskill lab, for earning a 2025 Faculty for the Future Fellowship from the Schlumberger Foundation! Faculty for the Future fellowships support women pursuing advanced graduate study at top universities in their disciplines abroad.
Fatatis Lab News
Yetunde Oyende, graduate student in the Fatatis lab, was selected to present her research at two external meetings. She attended the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Annual Retreat of the Program in Translational and Cellular Oncology and presented a talk titled “Mechanistic insights for the transcriptional regulation of IL-1b by the AR in prostate cancer.” She was also invited to present her work at the Innovators of Tomorrow Symposium held at the Moffitt Comprehensive Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla.
Jaden Drumm, undergraduate student in the Fatatis lab, was selected for an Undergraduate Research Mini Grant by the Pennoni Honors College of Drexel University.
March 2025
Dr. Hartsough Gives Pilot Award Talk
Dr. Hartsough gave an invited seminar at the Melanoma Research Institute of Excellence 2025 Scientific Retreat at Thomas Jefferson University. The talk focused on his pilot award from the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center (H. Gregory Fairhurst Uveal Melanoma Pilot Award) that funded his project “Leveraging syngeneic uveal melanoma models to assay a novel immune checkpoint target.”
February 2025
Dr. Console-Bram and Dr. Ajit Elected to MAPS Leadership
Congratulations to Dr. Linda Console-Bram and Dr. Seena Ajit for being elected as the next president and vice president of the Mid-Atlantic Pharmacology Society. Dr. Console-Bram and Dr. Ajit will serve two-year terms to help the organization provide useful forums to discuss advances in pharmacology, support trainees in the pharmacological sciences, and honor local pharmacologists with significant contributions to the field.
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