About the Office of the Senior Vice Dean for Research
The Office of the Senior Vice Dean for Research serves to support clinical and basic research activities, works with departments and interdisciplinary programs to develop and implement research, facilitates translational research and promotes mentoring to advance the training of physicians/scientists.
The senior vice dean for research steers and supports faculty research efforts, influencing opportunities for discovery by our medical and biomedical graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, medical residents and medical fellows. Noreen Robertson, DMD, associate vice dean for research, and Richard Huneke, DVM, MPH, executive director of University Laboratory Animal Resources, serve complementary missions within the Office of the Vice Dean to foster pre-clinical and clinical research within the institution. We are committed to bridging the superb clinical expertise and world-class research and educational capabilities of the medical school to enhance our progressive, high-quality medical education, scientific research and patient care.
The purpose of these web pages is to serve as a focal point for research at Drexel University College of Medicine. We are dedicated to providing research support to investigators. The links to the left will provide you with information and resources. Note that Drexel University's Office of Research provides certain administrative services for the Drexel University College of Medicine research program.
Q&A: Kenny Simansky, PhD, Senior Vice Dean for Research, Professor, Department of Pharmacology & Physiology
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Information for NIH Applicants and Recipients of NIH Funding
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COVID-19 Research Funding Opportunities
COVID-19 Research Funding Opportunities and Funding-Related Information. The Office of Research & Innovation has compiled a list of COVID-19 research funding opportunities, guidance and funding-related information. We encourage you to review and stay abreast of federal funding updates and funding opportunities through sponsor websites and listservs.
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Research News & Announcements
The Future of MRNA Therapeutics
On Wednesday, May 4, 2022, Franklin Institute Award laureates Katalin Karikó, PhD and Drew Weissman, MD, PhD presented a special lecture titled "The Future of MRNA Therapeutics." Drs Karikó and Weissman are recipients of the 2022 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science. Katalin Karikó, PhD, is a senior vice president at BioNTech, and an adjunct professor of neurosurgery at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. Drew Weissman, MD, PhD, is the Roberts Family Professor of Vaccine Research at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. View presentation. (Drexel credentials required to access.)
Drexel Sustains Prestigious R1 Research Classification
We are proud to share the exciting news that Drexel University has again achieved national recognition in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, retaining its designation as an “R1 Doctoral University: Very High Research Activity.” Drexel is one of 146 institutions out of approximately 3,900 to receive this prestigious classification, indicating the highest level of research activity. Notably, we are one of only 39 private universities to earn the distinction.
Members of the College of Medicine community came together this week for Discovery Day 2021, gathering at the Philadelphia Convention Center to discuss original research. The Thursday, October 21 event showcased a variety of biomedical science and clinical research topics. Read more.
Two Drexel researchers received prestigious Individual Biomedical Research Awards from The Hartwell Foundation to support their work aimed at benefitting the health of children of the United States. Each award includes $100,000 in research funding per year for three years. Read more.
For the second consecutive year, the Medical Student Summer Research Fellowship (MSSRF) Program will support 50 first-year medical students in full-time summer research. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, MSSRF had capacity to provide opportunities to 20 students each year. Read more.
After receiving approval by the Pennsylvania Department of Health to conduct research on medical cannabis grown by a clinical registrant, and then signing an eight-year, $15.5 million contract with the clinical registrant, the Chester-based Agronomed Biologics LLC, Drexel University has now opened a new Medical Cannabis Research Center (MCRC) to begin conducting evidenced-based research on effects medical cannabis has on patients with specific medical and behavioral maladies. Read more. (DrexelNow)
Fighting a global pandemic requires innovation and urgency, and Drexel’s researchers have heeded the call. Vaccine adjuvants, infection blockers and protein targeting to inactivate the virus are among the 17 COVID-19 projects currently supported by the $100,000 Rapid Response Research and Development Fund, created by University trustees. More than half the awarded projects involve College of Medicine faculty. (Pulse Fall 2020) Read more.
Featured Student Research
Andrew Matamoros
Molecular & Cell Biology & Genetics Program Alum
"My thesis work attempted to add labile microtubule mass to the regenerating axon by protecting the labile regions of the microtubules. This approach would mimic a state of axonal growth when labile microtubule mass is abundant. To accomplish this, I knocked-down a microtubule severing protein called fidgetin. You can think of fidgetin as gardening sheers that are used to prune plant growth; knocking-down fidgetin results in a notable boost in the microtubule mass of the axon via preservation of the labile mass from fidgetin’s severing activity. As a result, axons grow faster, even on unfavorable substrates associated with spinal cord injury (SCI) as well as in vivo following a nerve-crush injury." Read more about Andrew's research in The Hillock newsletter.
"I looked at the role of hypoxia and hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) in mammary oncogenesis and morphogenesis. Mauricio had noticed that in the mammary gland, when you have tumors, they express markers of hypoxia, or low oxygen levels. That makes sense because, as a tumor grows and grows, it outstrips the existing resources, so then you might not have enough blood there, which creates a hypoxic area. The question became: 'Is that hypoxia a byproduct of that uncontrolled growth, or is it actually promoting tumor formation?'" Read more about Kelly.