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Romina Gonzalez-Pons successfully defends her dissertation

Her research last summer studying how the proteins BAFF and Granzyme A impact the liver and kidneys in humanized mice was a breakthrough for her both personally and academically. "I’m very glad that I took that risk in the end,” she said.

With the assistance of the 2024 MSU Owen/Willard Student Entrepreneur Scholarship and a master's degree, the long-time gamer and engineer has a vision for the future. "I might as well be the one start it,” she said. “Being there at the right moment is the key.”

Times has changed and so has the responsibility of mentors in their relationships with mentees. Dr. Anne Dorrance has been a mentor trainer for 12 years and stresses a key point. "If we want to train new scientists who can inspire the generation that comes after them, we need to be better mentors.”

Brianna Finn and Sera Sermet want to take what worked last year and add their own touches to an organization that continues to grow. "With the sequel, we're really excited to get more of the word out and rally more people to events," Finn said.

Rachel Bauer defends her dissertation

Originally interested in teaching and doing research at a small college, Dr. Alan has found her home at MSU, studying a myriad of topics from cancer biology to the issues of aging, gender-affirming health care and neurodegenerative diseases. "I'm happy as a clam," she says.

Learning from "experts" in the field of pharmacogenomics.has helped him chart his course at MSU, where his research concentrates on multiple myeloma progression and the development of drug resistance.

He has spent years studying the impact of alcohol on the liver and how to help those in need. Now at MSU, he is hopeful to take that research in new directions. “We’re trying to make new therapies, and that’s the other arm of pharmacology and toxicology," he said.

Jess Moerland successfully defended her dissertation Jan. 30. Her topic was “Pharmacological Nrf2 Activation Reprograms the Immune Microenvironment and Decreases Tumor Burden in KRAS-Driven Lung Cancer." Congratulations Dr. Moerland on a job well done.

Thanks to MSU's Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training program, she has found a role in the pharmacology and toxicology field that has allowed her to excel. "I got a good range of different options for my career," she said.

Kristin Kerstens, Michael Spiering and Lesley Stolp have used the science they learned from the online program to determine water chemical risk assessment. "There's never the same answer twice," Spiering said.

For Sheketta Mister, illness and the vagaries of life made her goal of earning a master's degree seem almost unreachable. But determination, and an assist from MSU, allowed her to complete her quest. "I wanted to finish what I started," she said.

Annual semester-ending stress reliever allows researchers to present their work in an abbreviated, but informative, fashion. Just watch out for flying beach balls.

Her work in precision medicine is helping set the course for new and better ways in cancer treatment. "The reason each person has cancer is different. Why shouldn’t the treatment?” she says.

After earning her Ph.D. at MSU, she is now doing her post-doctoral work at the NIH Center for Advancing Translational Sciences and was recently highlighted for her research in an NIH publication.

Giving Tuesday is Dec. 3 and the event, created in 2012, is now a worldwide event that unleashes the power of generosity.

With the retirement of founder Professor Emeritus Richard Neubig, and with the support of MSU's Global Impact Initiative, the search is on for a new Drug Discovery Program director

Dr. Barbara Kaplan, a 2001 graduate of the Pharmacology and Toxicology program, revels in the memories after receiving the Kenneth E. Moore Distinguished Alumna Award. She calls her MSU experience "a perfect fit for me."

Looking for entrance into medical school, Daryl Traylor decided to enroll at MSU for an online Master's degree in Pharmacology. He's now in his second year of medical school and knows MSU played a key role.