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Event Calendar
News & Events
Guo-Chang Fan, PhD
has been chosen as a Center for Environmental Genetics (CEG) Next Generation Biomedical Investigator (NGBI). (award)
2nd Annual Student Research Retreat and Career Day (pdf flyer)
Co-sponsored by Department of Chemistry, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Department of Pharmacology and Cell Biophysics, and the James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy

Pre-registration required (by November 6, 2009 - click here)

Mark your calendars for the student retreat and career day to be held on Friday, November 13th, 2009*at the Genome Research Institute featuring oral and poster presentations by students and post-docs, a career panel discussion and a wine and cheese reception.

* This event will take place from 8am to 5pm. Read more (pdf flyer) ...
Keith J. Gaddie, Doctoral Defense (pdf flyer)
“Structural Elements that Regulate Interactions Between the Extracellular and Transmembrane Domains of Human NTPDase3”
November 10, 2009, 2:00 pm CVC 1919, Cardiovascular Center
Reception at 3:30 pm 5870 CARE/Crawley (5th floor)

Please note the date on your calendar for Keith Gaddie’s doctoral defense and plan to attend this important Department event.
Maria A. Brown, Doctoral Defense (pdf flyer)
"THE ROLE OF TNF-a AND NF-kB IN CARDIOMYOPATHIES"
November 4, 2009, 2:30 pm CVC 1919, Cardiovascular Center
Reception at 4:00 pm 5870 CARE/Crawley (5th floor)

Please note the date on your calendar for Maria Brown’s doctoral defense and plan to attend this important Department event.
October 2009
Capsaicin Use for Heart Attacks
UC E-HEALTH NEWS DAILY: Oct. 6, 2009 WXIX-TV, Channel 19 @ 10 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2009 Watch Channel 19 tonight at 10 p.m. to learn more about a study showing that a common pain salve may stop cell death in the heart during attack. This news report features Keith Jones, PhD, department of pharmacology and cell biophysics, and Neal Weintraub, MD, division of cardiovascular diseases.
September 2009
Professor Ron Millard was the keynote speaker at UC’s 2009 Convocation on September 20, 2009. His remarks highlighted the value of research experiences and scholarly works as integral parts of an undergraduate’s academic program at UC, a top 20 public research university with more than $350 million in extramural research support. This is the largest and most academically accomplished freshmen class ever to enter UC. Dr. Millard serves as director of undergraduate research training programs in pharmacology, toxicology and pharmaceutical sciences (ASPET and UC sponsored) and membrane applied science and technology (NSF sponsored), and is a founding member of the UC’s Undergraduate Research Council. Read more...
Keith Jones, PhD, from the University of Cincinnati who is a researcher in the department of pharmacology and cell biophysics, shows that a common, over-the-counter pain salve rubbed on the skin during a heart attack could serve as a cardiac-protectant, preventing or reducing damage to the heart while interventions are administered. Read more...
August 2009
Jay Slack, a 1996 graduate of UC’s pharmacology and cell biophysics program, is now using his degree to study bitter blocking molecules as a researcher at Givaudan Flavors Corporation in Cincinnati. Read more...

Nicole Tepe, who graduated in 2000 from UC with a degree in molecular, cellular and biochemical pharmacology, is now a patent attorney for Procter & Gamble. Read more...
July 2009
Litsa Kranias, PhD, chair and professor of pharmacology and cell biophysics and director of cardiovascular biology, has been named a Distinguished Scientist of the American Heart Association (AHA) for 2009. She joins an elite group of just 47 scientists, including just three women, nationwide to garner the honor. The AHA's Distinguished Scientist designation honors scientists who have made extraordinary contributions to cardiovascular and stroke research. Read more...
June 2009
"Pharmacology and Cell Biophysics? What can you do with a degree from a department like that?" Ronald Millard, professor and head of undergraduate research training in the department of pharmacology and cell biophysics at UC, says "a lot." Many people are confused about what the doctoral degree means and the variety of ways it can be applied in the workforce.
"Many people think it is a pharmacy degree, which isn't true," he says. "It's the integration of basic biomedical sciences, offering training in molecular biology, cell biology, systems physiology and genetics, among other areas. And just because you have earned the degree doesn't mean you'll find yourself at a research bench for the rest of your career.
"UC and its molecular, cellular and biochemical pharmacology doctoral degree program are important in shaping and sustaining the biotechnology and pharmaceutical enterprise in southwest Ohio." This is the first in a three-part series, exploring how students with degrees in molecular, cellular and biochemical pharmacology from UC have contributed to the field and succeeded locally but have also used their expertise in very different ways. Read more...
BPA May Cause Heart Disease in Women, Research Shows
CINCINNATI-New research by a team of scientists at the University of Cincinnati shows that bisphenol A (BPA) may be harmful for the heart, particularly in women. Results of several studies are being presented in Washington, D.C., at ENDO 09, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting, June 10-13. A research team lead by Scott Belcher, PhD, Hong Sheng Wang, PhD, and Jo El Schultz, PhD, in the department of pharmacology and cell biophysics, found that exposure to BPA and/or estrogen causes abnormal activity in hearts of female rats and mice. In addition, these researchers found that estrogen receptors are responsible for this affect in heart muscle cells. Read more...
March 2009
Litsa Kranias, PhD, Chair and Professor of Pharmacology and Cell Biophysics, was presented with an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Athens in Greece during a special ceremony held March 5. Kranias presented the highlights of her research during the event. She was formally recognized by the university president and dean of the Medical School at the Aula of the University of Athens. The ceremony was broadcasted on the Greek national news.
November 2008
Please plan on attending our upcoming Doctoral Defenses by Persoulla Nicolalou (Kranias Lab) on November 14 and Craig Bolte (Schultz Lab) on November 17. A reception will be held in the afternoon following the defense to honor each of our graduating students. Details are provided on the flyers.

Both receptions will take place in 5870 CARE/Crawley (the large conference room on the 5th floor of the CARE/Crawley Bldg). Walk straight out in MSB on the fifth floor and across the sky bridge in the CARE building. You will walk past the elevators on your left. The conference room is straight ahead. If you are coming in from the CARE/Crawley building, you can just take the elevator to the fifth floor. The conference room will on your left. Room numbers have not been posted yet but we have been advised that the room number is 5870 CARE.
May 2008
Litsa Kranias, PhD, Hanna Professor of Cardiology and Chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Cell Biophysics, received a Daniel Drake Medal—the College’s highest honor awarded to distinguished living faculty and alumni who have made outstanding or unique contributions to medical education, scholarship or research. For more information, visit healthnews.uc.edu.
The Department of Pharmacology & Cell Biophysics will co-host John H. Nilson as the 2008 Biomedical Sciences Distinguished Lecturer. Professor Nilson is the Director, School of Molecular Biosciences, Washington Sate University. He will visit the University of Cincinnati on May 8-9, 2008 where he will deliver 2 lectures.
Basic Science Lecture: 4pm May 8, 2008 - Kehoe Auditorium, Kettering Laboratory Building (UC East Campus)

Currently, the Nilson laboratory is addressing how GnRH signals through a complex transcriptional network to regulate expression of four genes that establish the functional character of gonadotropes. This presentation will focus on new evidence indicating that GnRH acts through ß-catenin, a member of the canonical WNT signaling pathway, to regulate expression of immediate early genes that confer hormonal responsiveness to the four downstream genes that provide the signature of a functional gonadotrope. These studies utilize gonadotrope cell lines, transgenic mice, and a variety of molecular tools including transfection, transduction, and RNAi paradigms. The long term goal is to elucidate the complete transcriptional network required for ensuring that gonadotropes function efficiently and effectively.
Biomedical Sciences Distinguished Lecture: 11am, May 9, 2008 - Auditorium, Vontz Center for Molecular Sciences (UC East Campus)

Normal reproductive function in mammals requires precise control of LH synthesis and secretion by gonadotropes of the anterior pituitary. Synthesis of LH requires expression of two genes located on different chromosomes. Hormones from the hypothalamus and gonads modulate transcription of both genes as well as secretion of the biologically active LH heterodimer. Disruption of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis causes dire pathological consequences that range from infertility to cancer. This presentation will explore how trans genic mice can be used to illustrate the principal that control of LH synthesis and secretion and its impact on the reproductive axis follows the Goldilocks Principle—not too little, not too much, just the right amount.
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