News
Discovery Day 2024
Riley Young, PhD candidate, MCBG graduate program was awarded Honorable Mention for Outstanding Senior Graduate Student Poster presentation. Madhu Karuppiah, Drexel bioengineering undergraduate student, was awarded Second Place for Outstanding Undergraduate Student Poster presentation.
Mechanism & Models of Cancer Conference
PhD student Riley Young was selected to present her research as a short talk at Cold Spring Harbor Labs: Mechanism & Models of Cancer Conference, August 2024.
2024 Research Excellence Award
PhD student Emily Esquea received the 2024 Research Excellence Award - Expanding The Impact of Research from the Graduate College.
2024 Bondi Award
Giang Le Minh, PhD, BHAD ‘23 received the 2024 Amedeo Bondi, PhD, Endowed Graduate Award for excellence in research performance during the training experience, the highest recognition given to students in Biomedical Graduate Studies programs.
2024 Translational Cellular Oncology Program Retreat
Congratulations to Riley Young for receiving 1st Place for Best Trainee Talk at the 2024 Translational Cellular Oncology Program Retreat at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Advancing Cancer Research Through Innovation: Dr. Emily Esquea’s Journey From Lab To Real-world Impact - Stories Of Impact Series
As the second installment of the Stories of Impact series, Drexel Applied Innovation spoke with Emily Esquea, Drexel University College of Medicine double Drexel alumni, with a MS and PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology and Genetics. She is the first recipient of Drexel Applied Innovation's inaugural Excellence in Expanding the Impact of Research Award at the Graduate Student Excellence Day 2024, nominated by faculty mentor, Dr. Mauricio Reginato, Professor and Chair and Director of the Graduate Program in Cancer Biology and Program Director, Translational and Cellular Oncology Program at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center (SKCC) Research Consortium at Thomas Jefferson University. Read more. (July 2024)
2023 Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center Trainee Retreat
Congratulations to Emily Esquea for receiving First Place for Outstanding Graduate Student short talk presentation at 2023 Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center Trainee Retreat held at Thomas Jefferson University.
Mauricio J. Reginato, PhD, Named Chair of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mauricio J. Reginato, PhD, professor, has been appointed chair of the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology effective February 2, 2024. Dr. Reginato was appointed interim chair of biochemistry and molecular biology in the summer of 2021, and has been a faculty member of the College of Medicine since 2004. Read more.
2023 STAR Scholars Poster Presentations
Congratulations to Drexel undergraduate student Madhu Karuppiah for receiving 2nd Place for Best Quick-Pitch Competition on her summer research as a STAR Scholar. Dr. Reginato received the 2022-2023 STAR Scholar Outstanding Mentor of the year award.
Madhu Karuppiah
Dr. Reginato pictured with STAR Students Anna Ramesh and Madhu Karuppiah at 2023 STAR Scholars Poster Presentations.
Reginato Lab Receives 2023 PA Breast Cancer Coalition Grant
The Reginato lab received a grant to study breast cancer that has spread or metastasized to the brain. This grant will focus on examining new pathways that regulate how cancers survive in the brain and testing new drugs to see if they will kill the breast cancer brain metastatic cells. View video at vimeo.com/830329086.
Please see related article, “2023 PA Breast Cancer Coalition Awards Dr. Reginato $100,000 Grant ”, College of Medicine Newsroom (May 2, 2023).
2022-2023 Jane Clifford, PhD, Award
Lorela Ciraku received the 2022-2023 Jane Clifford, PhD, Award for Outstanding PhD Dissertation in Biochemistry, Drexel University College of Medicine.
STAR Scholar Scales Real-World Learning Curve in Cancer Research
Nina Haracz spent last summer doing what she called “true experimenting.” The then-first-year Drexel University biomedical engineering student was quickly launched from biomedical engineering lab work into biochemical lab work when she conducted research through the STAR (Students Tackling Advanced Research) Scholars Program. Last summer, she worked in the lab of Mauricio Reginato, PhD, professor and interim chair in the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and director of the Graduate Program in Cancer Biology at Drexel University College of Medicine.
Read more. (Drexel News, February 23, 2023)
2022 Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center Trainee Retreat
Giang Le Minh was selected for a short talk to present his research at the 2022 Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center Trainee Retreat held at Thomas Jefferson University.
Emily Esquea received First Place for Outstanding Graduate Student Poster presentation at 2022 Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center Trainee Retreat held at Thomas Jefferson University.
Giang Le Minh
Emily Esquea
Emily Esquea
Emily was awarded a NIH NCI Pre-Doctoral Minority Supplemental Fellowship (6/22-5/25). Emily also received the 2021 Excellence in Research Thesis Master’s Award, DUCOM and the 2021 Jane Clifford, PhD, Best Master’s Thesis Award DUCOM.
Giang Le Minh
Giang was awarded the 2022 Dean’s Fellowship for Excellence in Collaborative or Themed Research, Drexel University College of Medicine.
2021 Faculty Awards
Congratulations to Dr. Reginato, recipient of the 2021 Julian Marsh Faculty Scholar Award.
Lorela Ciraku
Lorela was selected for short talk at the 2021 AACR Annual Meeting Minisymposium on Metabolic Pathways in Cancer titled “O-GlcNAc transferase regulates glioblastoma acetate metabolism via regulation of CDK5-dependent ACSS2 phosphorylation."
Lorela received the 2022 Research Excellence for Original & Creative Work Award, DUCOM and the 2022 Graduate College Research Excellence Award for Most Original & Creative Work, Drexel University.
Lorela recently defended her thesis, "OGT/CDK5/ACSS2 axis regulates metabolic adaptation of tumors in the brain." She will be starting a postdoctoral fellowship at Lausanne University, Ludwig Cancer Center in Lausanne, Switzerland this fall.
Discovery Day 2020
Lorela Ciraku, PhD Candidate, MCBG Program was selected for Platform Presentation Speaker. Her talk was titled “OGT/CDK5/ACSS2 axis regulates breast cancer brain metastatic growth”
Giang Le Minh, PhD Candidate, Biochemistry Graduate Program was awarded Honorable Mention for Outstanding Senior Graduate Student Poster presentation. His poster was titled “KLF8 is a required downstream effector of OGT/O-GlcNAcylation in regulating breast cancer stem-like cells”
Emily Esquea, MS Candidate, MCBG Program was awarded Third Place for Outstanding Junior Graduate Student Poster presentation. Her poster was titled “Role of CDK5 in breast cancer brain metastatic growth”
Lorela Ciraku
PhD Candidate, Molecular & Cell Biology & Genetics Program
Lorela was chosen for a short talk to present her research at the Drexel Emerging Graduate Scholars 2020 Conference. Her talk was titled “O-GlcNAc Transferase Regulates Glioblastoma Acetate Metabolism via Regulation of CDK5-dependent ACSS2 phosphorylation.”
Lorela received the 2019-2020 Dean’s Fellowship for Excellence in Collaborative or Themed Research, Drexel University College of Medicine, for her research titled “Targeting CDK5/ACSS2 Axis Using Novel Glioblastoma Ex Vivo Model.”
Lorela was also chosen for a short talk at the September 2019 Biology of Cancer: Microenvironment & Metastasis Conference in Cold Spring Harbor, New York, to present part of her thesis research, "O-GlcNAc Transferase Regulates Glioblastoma Acetate Metabolism via Regulation of CDK5-dependent ACSS2 phosphorylation.”
Neha Akella, PhD
Biochemistry Graduate Program, 2013-2019
Neha recently defended her thesis, "The Role of O-GlcNAc Transferase and O-GlcNAcylation in Regulation of Breast Cancer Stemness and Tumor Initiation."
Jing Ju, MS
Cancer Biology Graduate Program, 2017-2019
Jing recently defended his thesis, "Role of ACSS2-Ser267 Phosphorylation in Glioblastoma Cells."
Neha Akella
PhD candidate, Biochemistry Program
Neha Akella received first prize for Best Poster at the Sydney Kimmel Cancer Center Breast Cancer Symposium in November 2018. Neha’s poster was entitled "O-GlcNAc transferase regulates breast cancer tumor-initiating cells." Neha received a Chromebook for first prize.
Dr. Reginato Speaks in Chile
Dr. Reginato gave a talk entitled “Breast Cancer: Current Status and Future Promise” at 2nd Seminar on Cancer Update at University of Antofagasta, Antofagasta, Chile in October 2018.
Lorela Ciraku
PhD Candidate, Molecular & Cell Biology & Genetics Program
Lorela received 3rd Prize for Best Senior Graduate Student Poster presentation at Drexel's Discovery Day 2018. Lorela's poster was entitled "The essential role of O-GlcNAc transferase in intestinal homeostasis."
Kelly Whelan, PhD
Molecular & Cell Biology & Genetics Program (2011)
Kelly, a former Reginato Lab PhD student, was a Discovery Day 2018 Platform Presentation Judge and was recently profiled by the the Graduate School.
Neha Akella
PhD candidate, Biochemistry Program
Neha was chosen for a short talk platform presentation at Biology of Cancer: Microenvironment & Metastasis meeting at Cold Spring Harbor Labs, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, October 2017, to present her thesis research entitled "O-GlcNAc transferase regulates breast cancer tumor-initiating cells."
Zachary Bacigalupa, PhD
Molecular & Cell Biology & Genetics Program (2013-2018)
Zach recently defended his thesis titled: Role of O-GlcNAc transferase in glioblastoma growth and acetate metabolism and in tissue homeostasis. Zach is starting a Post-doctoral Fellowship in the laboratory of Dr. Jeffrey Rathmell, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee.
Rusia Lee, MS
Cancer Biology Program (2016-2018)
Rusia recently defended her thesis and will be starting in fall of 2018 as PhD Candidate, Program in Biology, City College of New York, New York.
Tong Lu, MS
Cancer Biology Program (2014-2016)
Tong will be starting in Fall 2018 as PhD candidate, Biomedical Sciences program, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania.
Dimpi Mukhopadhyay, MS
Cancer Biology Program (2015-2017)
Dimpi will be starting in fall of 2018 as PhD Candidate in the Molecular Medicine & Molecular, Cell and Cancer Biology Program at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts.
Kelly Whelan, PhD
Molecular & Cell Biology & Genetics Program (2011)
Kelly, former Reginato Lab PhD student, recently became an assistant professor (tenure-track) in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in the Fels Institute of Cancer Research and Molecular Biology, Temple University Lewis Katz School of Medicine.
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