From recombinant biochemistry to molecular cloning and from computational chemistry to novel drug design of therapeutics, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia will showcase the diversity and growth of research pursuits on campus during its 6th Annual Research Day starting at 11 a.m. on Thursday, April 24, 2008 (43rd St. and Woodland Ave.).
Research Day recognizes undergraduate and graduate student research efforts, and highlights aspects of faculty scholarly activity in order to encourage and promote communication and collaboration among investigators at USP. USP is distinctive because most undergraduate students conduct research with faculty early in their academic careers.
The diverse research activity on display spans several aspects of USP’s scholarly pursuits, including:
• Pharmaceutical Sciences: PhD candidate Irene Yaroslavsky (Langhorne, Pa.) is studying the mechanism of alcohol self medication in an animal model of depressive behavior.
• Bioinformatics: Samantha Slaff (Toms River, N.J.) is developing microarrays from the genome of the horseshoe crab.
• Biological Sciences: Sarah Dobreniecki (Clarks Summit, Pa.) is studying retinal production in E. Coli.
• Chemistry: Jessica Geer (Philadelphia, Pa.) is investigating the torsional profile of aromatic oligoamide and their folding patterns in solution.
• Pharmacognosy: Carrie Waterman (Philadelphia, Pa.) is developing a bioassay to study the activity of African anthelmintics.
The full day of activity commences with four podium research presentations at 11 a.m. at USP’s Athletic/Recreation Center (ARC). Poster presentations representing 105 research abstracts will be on display from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the ARC. The day concludes with the 21st Annual John C. Krantz, Jr., Distinguished Lecture by alumnus Dr. William Charles Sessa, Jr., P’84, a Professor of Pharmacology at Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Sessa will speak on “Insights into New Vascular Therapeutics” from 5–7:30 p.m. in the AstraZeneca Auditorium of the McNeil Science and Technology Center. In addition, an Alumni panel will discuss career opportunities in academia and industry between 3:30-4:30 p.m. in the ARC.