Past News
2023
Congratulations to Hamid Ghandehari for receiving an Ascender Grant from the PIVOT Center. This program helps inventors bridge the funding gap between research and commercialization by providing support for technology development, proof of concept, and preparing the innovation for additional investment by entrepreneurs, investors, and potential licensees. The project focuses on a bioengineered liquid embolic for treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
Congratulations to PI Abby Pulsipher (Molecular Pharmaceutics and Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery) and her Co-Is, Justin Savage (GlycoMira Therapeutics), FokVun Chan (Echelon Biosciences), Jeremiah Alt, Kristine Smith, and Bryan McRae (Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery), for receiving an R41 grant award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases!
This Small Business Technology Transfer grant, “Development of a Diagnostic Test for Eosinophilic Chronic Rhinosinusitis,” represents a collaboration between GlycoMira Therapeutics and the University of Utah. Their work will focus on optimizing and clinically validating a minimally invasive, rapid point-of-care test that can provide accurate diagnostic information to healthcare providers and patients with eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis, a disease with an under-recognized burden on patient quality of life, clinical resources, and the healthcare economy. The investigators envision that this test might also have prognostic value to serve as an objective clinical tool for monitoring patient response to medical and surgical treatments
At the CRS meeting Nitish Khurana and Bhuvanesh Yathavan were both recognized as winners of best poster award category and Hamid Ghandehari received the Distinguished Service Award and participated as a panelist for the “Young Scientist Chat with A Luminary” session.
After the CRS meeting our team had a retreat at Bryce Canyon in Southern Utah.
Congratulations to Biomedical Engineering undergraduate students Oliver Hubbard and Andy Yu who were selected for Fall 2023 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) Award!
Their applications were selected from a competitive pool of fellow students.
The UROP provides undergraduate students and mentors the opportunity to work together on research or creative projects.
Congratulations to Bhuvan Yathavan for his defense “Controlled Drug Delivery in Chronic Rhinosinusitis”
Congratulations to Drs. Hamid Ghandehari (PI), Nitish Khurana (First-time Co-I!; Molecular Pharmaceutics), Abby Pulsipher (Molecular Pharmaceutics and Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery), and Richard Cannon (Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery) for receiving funding from the Huntsman Cancer Institute Experimental Therapeutics program!
Their project, “Targeting vascular dysregulation pathways in HPV+ oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma,” will focus on new nanoscale platforms that effectively deliver indocyanine green in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma models to ultimately improve transoral robotic surgical outcomes using fluorescence-image guidance.
Congratulations to Molecular Pharmaceutics Ph.D student Tanya Chhibber for winning the Fox Award, nominated by her fellow students!
Each year, the Department honors the memory of Dr. Jeffrey Fox with this award. The award is intended to recognize an outstanding graduate student based on the recommendation of his or her peers. As described by Dr. James Herron, Dr. Fox was a “good scientist and a wonderful human being. He had a particular rapport with both his own students, as well as the department’s student body and became a strong advocate for students — which is one of the reasons the Fox award was created.” Award recipients are selected based not only on academic merit, but also on service to the Department, the University, and to fellow students.
Dr. Abby Pulsipher (Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery and Molecular Pharmaceutics) and investigative team, Drs. Nitish Khurana (Molecular Pharmaceutics), Hamid Ghandehari (Molecular Pharmaceutics), Richard Cannon (Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery), and Jeremiah Alt (Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery), have been awarded the Head & Neck Cancers Center pilot grant award.
Their proposal seeks to validate new nanoscale platforms that effectively deliver indocyanine green in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma models to ultimately improve transoral robotic surgical outcomes using fluorescence-image guidance.
Congratulations to the collaborative team of Drs. Nitish Khurana (Molecular Pharmaceutics), Eric Babajanian (Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery), Hilary McCrary (Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery), Abigail Pulsipher (Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, Molecular Pharmaceutics), Hamid Ghandehari (Molecular Pharmaceutics), Jeremiah Alt (Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery), and Richard Cannon (Corresponding author, Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery) for their recent publication “Vascular permeability in HPV+ oropharyngeal cancers aids in fluorescent image-guided transoral robotic surgery using indocyanine green” in Head & Neck.
Their article underscores the importance of vascular dysregulation and angiogenesis in HPV+ oropharyngeal cancers that allows for improved visualization of tumors during fluorescent image guided transoral robotic surgery of patients.
Congratulations to Dr. Hamid Ghandehari for receiving funding for an NIH R01 subcontract titled “The Function of MS4A3 in Normal and Malignant Hematopoiesis”!
This grant focuses on the study of harnessing membrane-spanning four A (MS4A3) for therapy of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). The Principal Investigator is Dr. Michael Deininger, Versiti Blood Research Institute.
Major congratulations to Dr. Abby Pulsipher (Research Assistant Professor, Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery and Molecular Pharmaceutics)! Dr. Pulsipher was recently named a University of Utah Clinical and Translational Science Institute K12 Scholar for two years beginning on July 1, 2023.
The CTSI K12 Scholar Program offers training for mentored research and career development in support of junior investigators whose research endeavors are focused on clinical and translational research using the principles of translational science to advance health. Dr. Pulsipher’s proposal seeks to evaluate a point-of-care test for sinonasal eosinophil peroxidase and its association with eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis disease diagnosis, severity, treatment response, and patient outcomes.
Congratulations to Biomedical Engineering undergraduate student Oliver Hubbard working in the Ghandehari Lab under mentorship of Drs. Hamid Ghandehari and Nitish Khurana! Oliver was selected as a 2023 Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Awardee by the Office of Undergraduate Research.
Oliver researches the design and development of drug modification strategies to reduce drug adsorption to the Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation systems, which is a collaborative project with Drs. Kevin Watt and Venkata Yellepeddi in the Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Pediatrics. His mentor Dr. Hamid Ghandehari noted that Oliver’s “enthusiasm, quick learning of laboratory skills, commitment and productivity, citizenship, and communication skills are exemplary.”
Congratulations to Dr. Hamid Ghandehari on being selected for the Controlled Release Society (CRS) Distinguished Service Award.
The Distinguished Service Award is presented to a CRS member who has exhibited exceptional commitment and service to the society. This award will be presented at the annual meeting of CRS to be held in Las Vegas in July 2023. Congratulations Dr. Ghandehari on this international distinction!
Congratulations to Biomedical Engineering Ph.D student Ethan Griswold for receiving the 2023-24 University of Utah Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF). Ethan’s work involves the use of silk-elastinlike protein polymers for the delivery of anti-inflammatory drugs to alleviate off-target radiation damage and as bioinks for generating drug delivery models for breast cancer.
Congratulations to Jason Grunberger as he received a second-year fellowship from the American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education
Congratulations to Molecular Pharmaceutics Ph.D student Tanya Chhibber for receiving the 2023-24 University of Utah Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF). Tanya’s work involves developing a dual-targeted transdermal delivery system as a chemopreventive therapy for melanoma
Congratulations to Nithya Subrahmanyam who successfully defended her PhD thesis
Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Research Student Oliver Hubbard presented his poster “Optimal Drug Dosing In Children on Artificial Life Support” at the Utah State Capitol, as part of their annual Research on Capitol Hill event! This event gives students the opportunity to present their research to their state legislators. Oliver learned about this opportunity through the Office of Undergraduate Research at the University of Utah, with the help of the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program. After working on research at the Ghandehari Lab, he submitted an abstract and was accepted to present. Great job Oliver!
Department of Molecular Pharmaceutics Research Associate Dr. Nitish Khurana has been selected as a Summer Program for Undergraduate Research (SPUR) Mentor through the Office of Undergrad Research! SPUR is a nationally competitive opportunity that provides undergraduate students with an intensive 10-week summer research experience under the mentorship of a University of Utah faculty member. The program provides opportunities to gain research experience in a variety of disciplines. Dr. Khurana will be mentoring one undergraduate student on his project adsorption reduction of hydrophobic drugs in Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) circuits.
Learn more about his project information, the student role, and learning outcomes →
2022
Dr. Hamid Ghandehari, Dr. Nitish Khurana, and Graduate Student Jason Grunberger attended and presented at the 2022 Nanomedicine Drug Delivery Symposium (NanoDDS) in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Dr. Ghandehari was invited to give the talk “Recombinant Biomaterials for Localized Delivery and as Liquid Embolics.” Nitish’s poster presentation was entitled: “Vascular permeability in HPV+ oropharyngeal cancers aids in fluorescent image-guided transoral robotic surgery using indocyanine green” and Jason’s was: “Layer-by-Layer Hollow Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles with Controlled Degradation Profile.” Congratulations to all three!
Congratulations to Biomedical Engineering undergraduate student Oliver Hubbard who was selected for a Fall 2022 semester Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) Award! His application was selected from a competitive pool of fellow students. The UROP provides undergraduate students and mentors the opportunity to work together on research or creative projects. Oliver will work with his mentor Dr. Hamid Ghandehari on performing Propofol extraction from human blood using High Performance Liquid Chromatography for Drug Adsorption Evaluation in Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) circuits.
Congratulations to Jason Grunberger, Pharmaceutics graduate student in the Ghandehari Lab for receiving the 2022-2023 Kuramoto Graduate Research Fellowship Award. His research focuses on novel silica nanoparticles for controlled drug delivery. The Kuramoto Graduate Research Award was set up by Roy Kuramoto, who is a graduate from the inaugural class of 1950. He set up the endowment to help support the next generation of researchers and pharmacists, and received the 1989 Distinguished Alumni Award from the College of Pharmacy. Great job Jason!
Jason Grunberger, Winner of the Annual Fox Award 2022. Fox Award donations: Each year, we honor the memory of Dr. Jeffrey Fox with this award. The award is intended to recognize an outstanding graduate student based on the recommendation of his or her peers. Award recipients are selected based not only on academic merit, but also on service to the Department, the University, and to fellow students. We congratulate Jason Grunberger for the wonderful contributions he has and will continue to make for his fellow students and the department.
Dr. Hamid Ghandehari’s R01 project “Biological Fate and the Biocompatibility of Silica-Based Nanoconstructs” recently received funding from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. The research aims to address the detailed understanding of the immunotoxicity (function and fate) of silica nanoparticles as a function of their physiochemical properties in human monocytes and Th1 and Th2 in-vivo models. Dr. Ghandehari’s research team includes Research Associate Dr. Nitish Khurana, and is in collaboration with Dr. Jolanta Jedrzkiewicz (Pathology) and Dr. Marina Dobrovolskaia from the Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory of Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research.
The project “Micellar encapsulation of hydrophobic drugs to prevent their adsorption on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) circuits and to increase drug bioavailability” was recently funded by the Utah Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Center for Clinical and Translation Science. This interdisciplinary project is a collaboration between Drs. Kevin Watt and Venkata Yellepeddi in Pediatrics and Hamid Ghandehari and Nitish Khurana in Pharmaceutics. The research will focus on formulating poloxamer based micelles encapsulating propofol to prevent adsorption to ECMO circuits, which is currently a significant clinical challenge for critically ill patients on ECMO life support.
Congratulations to Dr. Hamid Ghandehari for being selected to receive the 2022 Outstanding Educator Award of Health Sciences Graduate Students! The Academy of Health Science Educators will recognize Dr. Ghandehari in an induction ceremony on April 6.
2021
Dr. Paris Jafari, in collaboration with the Huntsman Cancer Institute, has been named Co-Investigator on a newly awarded NIH R01 grant entitled “Transdermal miRNA Delivery Systems for Chemoprevention of Melanoma.” Prevention of melanoma is of very high clinical significance and the goal of this project is to apply gene expression regulatory agents to prevent the malignant transformation of melanocytic nevi to malignant melanoma. Congratulations to Dr. Jafari and her collaborators!
Dr. Paris Jafari, Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutics, has recently been awarded a grant from the ALSAM Research Foundation to finance her research on 3D bioprinting of Organoid Cancer Models. Her work, the first of its kind at the University of Utah, combines two powerful methodologies (3D bioprinting and Organoid Cultures) to develop cancer models with maximum fidelity to in vivo human tumors. Congratulations to Dr. Jafari for this impressive award!
Congratulations to Pharmaceutics Ph.D candidate Jason Grunberger for receiving a 2021-2022 University of Utah Graduate Research Fellowship! The intent of the GRF is to provide the opportunity for full-time research during the fellow’s academic year. Jason’s research focuses on designing a novel silica nanoparticle system for controlled drug delivery.
Congratulations to Bhuvan Yathavan, Pharmaceutics graduate student in the Ghandehari and Alt labs, for receiving the 2021-2022 Skaggs Graduate Research Fellowship Award! His work involves the development of a nanocarrier drug delivery system to deliver anti-inflammatory drugs to treat chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS).
Ph. D Graduate Student Jason Grunberger received the 2021-2022 Dr. Paul B. Myrdal Memorial Pre-Doctoral Fellowship in Pharmaceutics from the American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education (AFPE)! This was awarded based on his academic performance, leadership, and description of his research project. Jason’s project is to design a novel silica nanoparticle system for controlled drug delivery in hepatocellular carcinoma. Congratulations Jason!
Each year the Office of Undergraduate Research recognizes one student from each of the University’s colleges as the recipient of the Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Award. Blair Armstrong was nominated by his mentor, Hamid Ghandehari, and selected by the College of Pharmacy for this prestigious award. Congratulations Blair!
Ph. D. student Douglas Steinhauff was awarded the second-place prize for his oral presentation “Radioprotection Provided by Combination of Silk-Elastinlike Protein Polymers and Semisynthetic Glycosaminoglycans in Mice” at the 2021 Utah Biomedical Conference. Steinhauff shared how he and his team use silk-elastinlike protein polymers to develop a thermoresponsive enema system to enhance the bioaccumulation of an antiinflammatory semi-synthetic glycosaminoglycan. This enhancement provides protection from radiation induced proctitis in mice after 7 days. Congratulations Doug!
Congratulations to Drs. Jeremiah Alt (Otolaryngology), Hamid Ghandehari and their collaborative team, who received a School of Medicine Seed Grant based on their research for targeted delivery of anti-inflammatory agents for treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). The goal of this project is to design liposomal delivery systems to target the inflamed sinonasal tissue in CRS.
2020
In collaboration with Dr. Robert Judson-Torres (Huntsman Cancer Institute), Drs. Hamid Ghandehari and Paris Jafari were granted a Research Award for their project “Development and preclinical assessment of local transdermal delivery systems for chemoprevention of nevus formation and melanoma initiation.” The one-year, $35,000 pilot grant from the HCI Melanoma Center intends to support collaborative research resulting in published manuscripts and melanoma-related grant submissions. Congratulations to all three collaborators for this exciting opportunity!
The Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research published an article on Dr. Raziye Mohammadpour’s research study in collaboration with Dr. Marina Dobrovolskaia, an immunologist and director of operations in the Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory. The study looked at the toxicity of Silica nanoparticles over the course of a year as a function of nanoparticles physicochemical characteristics. Results of this study can aid in establishing guidelines for safe and effective use of Silica nanoparticles in controlled delivery and other biomedical applications.
Nitish Khurana received the 2020-2021 Skaggs Graduate Research Fellowship Award. This award, supported by the Skaggs Family, is based on his academic performance, noting Nitish’s description of his research project as extremely impressive. Nitish’s project in collaboration with Dr. Jeremiah Alt is to design systems for localized drug delivery to the inflamed sinonasal tissue. Congratulations Nitish!
Graduate students Nithya Subrahmanyam and Nitish Khurana (both Ghandehari lab members) were selected as winners of the 2020 Fox Award from the Department of Molecular Pharmaceutics. This award has been given annually to peer-nominated grad students from the department since 2000, honoring former faculty member Dr. Jeffrey Fox in memory of his dedication and service to the department. It recognizes students for their service to the department and their fellow students, in addition to academic merit. Some of the glowing feedback Nithya and Nitish received in their nominations include: “Nithya always finds time to be involved in departmental events. She has also been a part of Student Advisory Committee and continuously gives ideas to the new SAC members to make the event better. She always tries to make everyone feel equal and always finds time to help other lab members. Whenever I need help in synthesis, she has always been there, and she behaves the same with anyone who needs help.” “In addition to holding a high standard in academics, [Nitish] also has a good character and is always confident to face any problem head-on. He takes active part in the administrative activities of our department and School of Pharmacy.” Congratulations Nitish and Nithya!
The University of Utah has selected the collaborative research project between Dr. Kelly (Department of Chemical Engineering), Dr. Hamid Ghandehari (Department of Molecular Pharmaceutics) and Dr. Jeremiah Alt (Department of Surgery) for the 1U4U pilot grant. This study entitled “Understanding the Role of Combustion Particle Pollution in Chronic Rhinosinusitis” will investigate how combustion particles stimulate/exacerbate Chronic Rhinosinusitis (CRS). CRS is a debilitating inflammation of the nasal and sinus mucosa. It affects approximately 31 million people in the United States and costs approximately $8.6 billion in direct health care costs. Dr. Kelly (ChE), Dr. Ghandehari (PHCEU) and Dr. Alt (MPI) are joined by co-investigators Dr. Raziye Mohammadpour (Nano Institute) and Dr. Abby Pulsipher (Surgery) to carry out this project.
The University of Utah NIH funded Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) has selected the collaborative research project between Dr. Ghandehari (Department of Molecular Pharmaceutics) and Dr. Alt (Department of Surgery) as a top funding prospect for the institutional pilot program.The goal of this study entitled: “Injectable Antibacterial Dressings for the Treatment of Chronic Rhinosinusitis,” is to develop topical antibacterial dressings for controlled delivery of therapeutic compounds to the sinonasal cavity of patients suffering from Chronic Rhinosinusitis (CRS). CRS is a highly prevalent disease that causes chronic inflammation of the sinonasal mucosa leading to substantial damage and breakdown of the mucosal barrier and recurrent infections. Dr. Hamid Ghandehari (PHCEU) and Dr. Jeremiah Alt (MPI) are joined by co-investigators Dr. Paris Jafari (PHCEU) and Dr. Abby Pulsipher (Surgery) to carry out this project.
2019
Congratulations to M. Martin Jensen (@mmjensen3) who was awarded the ACS Biomaterial Science and Engineering Best Poster award at the 17th International Nanomedicine and Drug Delivery Symposium at MIT in Cambridge, MA.
M. Martin Jensen received a second National Science Foundation Non-Academic Research Internships for Graduate Students (INTERN) Supplemental Funding Award, National Science Foundation award to continue working with TheraTarget, Inc. and learned about translating university inventions to commercial products.
Raziye Mohammadpour, Mostafa Yazdimamaghani, Darwin L. Cheney, Jolanta Jedrzkiewicz and Hamidreza Ghandehari were honored to have their article entitled “Subchronic Toxicity of Silica Nanoparticles as a Function of Size and Porosity” featured on the cover of Journal of Controlled Release July issue (volume 304). Despite the promise of inorganic nanomaterials for use in delivery, diagnosis, and therapy, there is a gap in understanding the potential long-term toxicity of these particles. This study explored the acute and subchronic toxicity of silica nanoparticles as a function of size and porosity in male and female mice. Results demonstrate that acute studies, while useful, do not provide a detailed projection of potential long term effects and that the sex of the species can play a role in the biological fate of inorganic nanoparticles. For details of this study click here. For a recent review article on the need for chronic toxicity evaluation of inorganic nanoparticles, click here.
The Huntsman Cancer Institute Head and Neck Disease Oriented Research Team awarded Drs. Richard Cannon and Jeremiah A. Alt (Otolaryngology) joined by co-investigator Dr. Hamid Ghandehari and Nitish Khurana, a PhD graduate student, a grant to examine: “The Feasibility of Fluorescent Image-Guided Transoral Robotic Surgery for HPV+ Oropharynx Cancer.” Dr. Cannon notes that the “prevalence of human papilloma virus positive (HPV+) oropharyngeal cancers have been rising at an astounding rate. Although surgical management with transoral robotic surgery has reduced our patients’ morbidity and overall outcomes are excellent, we continue to strive to reduce positive surgical margins and associated recurrences. Therefore, we are interested in the potential of near-infrared dye indocyanine green to localize HPV+ oropharynx cancers to improve visualization of tumors undergoing resection to help delineate intraoperative surgical margins.
Congratulations to M. Martin Jensen on winning the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition at the University of Utah. His presentation showcased how biologically inspired Silk-Elastinlike Protein Polymers (SELP) can be used to create innovative medical devices. Additionally, he will give his presentation at the University Research Communication Fair and be heading to compete at the Western Association of Graduate School Regional Grand Slam in Tucson, Arizona.
2018
Five years after introducing its crop fertility products with nanotechnology, Aqua-Yield is eyeing further product development while expanding its footprint. “Today, 75% of our revenue comes from our ag products, and the balance is from the turf business,” says Aqua-Yield Clark Bell. “We currently have 30 distributors in the U.S, but we are looking to double that by the end of 2019.” Bell says this includes expanding beyond its farmer network of distributors to include traditional ag retail and dealers, with that coming on-board in the first or second quarters of 2019. Another development for the company is forming a first of its kind collaboration between the company and University of Utah’s Center for Technology & Venture Commercialization. This university/corporate partnership is located at the university’s Nano Institute, which is overseen by co-director Dr. Hamid Ghandehari. Aqua-Yield Chief Science Officer Landon Bunderson will lead the company’s efforts “building”/inventing nano-particles that will specifically focus on agriculture and combine these new findings with the “nanogronomy” advancements already instituted and in practice at Aqua-Yield. “Nano isn’t the cure-all, but it does help a plant express its full genetic potential,” Bell says. “And we’ve made great waves with corn, soy, potatoes, wheat and cotton.” The company also recently reported trials with Utah State University in alfalfa. The trials were performed over the growing season (three cuttings) of 2018. Aqua-Yield liquid fertilizer enhancer, NanoStress, was added to the traditional dry fertilizer protocol. Tons per acre increased as well as relative feed value. The trial showed increased per acre returns on overall product investment by more than $107. Bell also says the company is looking to expand beyond fertilizer products and is pursuing partners for a pesticide product in the next 18 to 24 months. While the company has product in 47 U.S. states, it’s also expanded internationally. For example, our export partners have realized the benefit of nanotechnology.
Congratulations to Kyle Isaacson on receiving a Graduate Student Travel Award from the University of Utah Graduate School to attend 15th International Nanomedicine & Drug Delivery Symposium (NanoDDS).
Martin Jensen received a National Science Foundation Non-Academic Research Internships for Graduate Students (INTERN) Supplemental Funding Award, National Science Foundation award work with TheraTarget, Inc. and learned about translating university inventions to commercial products.
Embolization is a minimally invasive therapy that provides stable and localized occlusion of arterial blood flow (transarterial embolization, TAE) with applications in rapidly growing markets of interventional radiology and cancer treatment. However, transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) treatments have severe shortcomings due to chemotherapeutic toxicity, off-target embolization, and non-degradability. University of Utah researchers have developed an innovative biopolymer, composed of silk-like elastin proteins that overcomes the above shortcomings by combining the best properties of both liquid and solid embolics for TACE. The SELP embolic polymer is liquid at room temperature permitting localized delivery through smaller diameter catheters that transitions in vivo to a solid providing stable occlusion. This liquid to solid embolic enables pinpoint embolization of tumor-feeding arteries and can also be used to deliver therapeutics.
Congratulations to Pouya Hadipour for being selected for the Kumamoto Award for his excellence in research. He was one of only three chosen for the award. Pouya was selected for his clear focus, peer-reviewed publications, and high quality research. Great work!
Congratulations to Martin Jensen on receiving a Graduate Student Travel Award from the University of Utah Graduate School to attend the Controlled Release Society Annual Meeting to present his work on fluorescently loaded embolics for improving visualization during the minimally invasive resection of highly vascularized tumors in the head and neck.
Congratulations to Kyle Isaacson receiving the Kinam Park Student Travel Grant for traveling to the Controlled Release Society Annual Meeting to present his work on thermo-contractive nanogels with matrix metalloproteinase responsive behavior.
Congratulations to Nithya Subrahmanyam on receiving an NIH-NRSA fellowship to pursue her work in water-soluble polymers to target the tumor-associated extracellular matrix.
Congratulations to Kyllie Furukawa, a high school intern for the Ghandehari Lab during the summer of 2017, on her awards that were based on research done during her internship. She was awarded the following: 1) The In Vitro Biology award, presented by the Society for In Vitro Biology, awarded for “outstanding achievement for ability and creativity in in vitro biology.” 2) The Office of Naval Research (part of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps) awarded her the Naval Science Award + a $50 gift card for “producing and presenting quality science and engineering projects.” 3) The 3rd place award for the senior Materials and Biomedical Engineering Division (high school), which also came with a $45 cash prize.
Congratulations to Martin Jensen and our collaborator Dr. Siam Ootamasathein for the best poster award in the Bladder & Urethra: Anatomy, Physiology, & Pharmacology Session of the 113th Annual Meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA) in San Francisco, CA.
Congratulations to Zachary Bransom Barber on being the College of Pharmacy’s Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher for 2018! Zach is an undergraduate researcher in the Ghandehari Lab at the Center for Nanomedicine.
2017
Mostafa Yazdimamaghani was selected as the recipient of the American Society of Iranian Pharmaceutical Scientists (ASIPS) award for 2017 and will present his project in the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) annual meeting in San Diego.
Pouya Hadipour won the Best Poster Award in the 15th International Nanomedicine and Drug Delivery Symposium, NanoDDS 2017, held at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, September 22-24, 2017.
Darwin Cheney was awarded the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award for excellence in his field.
Martin Jensen was awarded an Allied Scientist Grant from the Society for Interventional Radiology Foundation in 2017. This $40K award supports his current research into the development of a radiopaque SELP Embolic for improving the treatment of cerebral aneurysms.
2016
Martin Jensen received a Student Research Award from the Society for Biomaterials, Drug Delivery Special Interest Group for his work on developing recombinant polymer-based systems for reducing radiation-induced damage and pain. This work was recognized at The 14th International Nanomedicine & Drug Delivery Symposium, NanoDDS at Johns Hopkins University.
Our students received several awards at the Institute of Biological Engineering Conference held in Salt Lake City this year. Kyle Isaacson received the 1st place award for graduate student poster competition sponsored by the Korean Society for Biotechnology and Bioengineering. M. Martin Jensen received 3rd place in the graduate student poster competition and the “Outstanding Student Presentation in Materials & Technology for Drug and Nucleic Acid Delivery” award for his oral presentation.
Martin Jensen received Best Oral Presentation at the 2016 UBEC 11th Annual Bioengineering Conference held in Salt Lake City, Utah, December 16, 2016.
Several researchers participated in the JDCHS internship program this summer to give high school students a real lab experience.
M. Martin Jensen and Kyle Isaacson received a Best Poster Award at Mechanisms and Barriers in Nanomedicine conference in Breckenridge, CO on July 16, 2016 for their poster “Impact of Motif Organization on the Formation and Stability of Silk-Elastinlike Protein Polymer Nanogels.” Based on the quality of the poster presentation Martin received an invitation at the conference to give an oral presentation in the concluding session titled “Creation of Physically Crosslinked Nanogels from Silk-Elastinlike Protein Polymers.” The work represents the first reported creation of physically cross linked protein nanogels.
2015
Martin Jensen received a Student Research Award from the Society for Biomaterials, Drug Delivery Special Interest Group for his work on developing recombinant polymer-based systems. This work was recognized at The 14th International Nanomedicine & Drug Delivery Symposium, NanoDDSat Johns Hopkins University.
Mostafa Yazdimamaghani was awarded one of the inaugural Skaggs Graduate Research Fellowship awards from the University of Utah College of Pharmacy.
Nithya Subrahmanyam was awarded the fall 2015 Dr. Dinesh C. and Kalpana D. Patel Fellowship in the Department of Molecular Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy.
Dr. Ghandehari was selected to join the Controlled Release Society (CRS) College of Fellows. He was inducted at the 2015 annual meeting.
Pouya Hadipour was awarded a 2015 Nanotechnology Graduate Training Program Fellowship and will receive a certificate upon graduation from the Nanotechnology Training Program.
Martin Jensen, PhD Graduate Student, Bioengineering, has recently been selected to receive a 2015 National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) Fellowship.
2014
Azadeh Poursaid and Nick Frazier received 1st and 3rd student poster prizes, respectively, at nanoUtah 2014.
Azadeh Poursaid received an NIH-NRSA fellowship for her project focused on design and development of protein based polymers for localized drug delivery in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.
Pre-2013
Adam Gormley won the Best Poster Award at the 2012 International Polymer Therapeutics Symposium in Spain.
Heather Herd was the recipient of the NanoDDS Poster Award in the 2011 Nanomedicine and Drug Delivery Symposium.
Robert Price, Dallin Hubbard and Azadeh Poursaid were awarded the Nanotechnology Training Program Fellowship during the period of 2010-2011.
Shraddha Sadekar and Giridhar Thiagarajan were awarded the Research Fellowship from the University of Utah Graduate School in 2011.
Debra Goldberg was awarded first prize for her podium presentation at The Globalization of Pharmaceutics Education Network conference in 2010.
Three students from Ghandehari lab won poster awards at nanoUtah 2010, Utah’s 6th annual statewide nanotechnology conference. First, second and third prizes in the Nanomedicine Category went to Giridhar Thiagarajan, Shraddha Sadekar, and Adam Gormley respectively.
Heather Herd, PhD Graduate Student, Bioengineering, has recently been awarded two fellowships. The Institute of International Education has awarded Heather a Whitaker International Fellowship, which allows her to study at the University of Saarland, Saarbruecken, Germany, as a Visiting Scholar in Dr. Claus Michael-Lehr’s laboratory. Following her fellowship in Germany, Heather will return to the Ghandehari lab to begin a Department of Defense (DOD) Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP) titled Multimodal silica nanoparticles for the assessment of the role of tumor-associated macrophages in breast carcinoma and therapy. Herd will receive three years of funding from the DOD to continue her research in this area.
Adam Gormley, PhD Candidate, Bioengineering, received a Pre-doctoral fellowship from the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP) titled Targeted Prostate Tumor Ablation Using Engineering Gold Nanorods. Gormley will receive three years of funding from the DOD to continue his research in this area.
Giridhar Thiagarajan and Jordan Frandsen won 2nd and 3rd place respectively at the nanoUtah 2009 Conference Poster Session. Thiagarajan’s 2nd place winning poster was titled PAMAM-Camptothecin Conjugate Inhibits Proliferation and Induces Apoptosis in Colorectal Carcinoma Cells. Frandsen’s 3rd place winning poster was titled Silk-elastinlike Protein Polymers Improve the Efficacy of Gene Therapy of Head and Neck Tumors. Please see our Photo Gallery for photos from the award session.
Dr. Ghandehari was selected to become a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE).