September 10, 2015
Four graduate students in the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s Division of Molecular Pharmaceutics have been awarded fellowships by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
- Karen Bulaklak received an NIH F31 Fellowship from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.
- Carla Coste Sanchez, Christina Parker and Tojan Rahhal have all been awarded fellowships from the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program.
“Securing an external fellowship of any kind is a tremendous accomplishment as they are very competitive in nature and bring prestige to the student researcher, their faculty and the School,” says Aaron Todd, M.S., assistant director of student affairs.
Karen Bulaklak
Bulaklak is a fourth-year graduate student working with Xiao Xiao, Ph.D. Her NIH F31 award supports predoctoral students completing their dissertation in health-related fields.
Her research focuses on developing a treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy by genetically engineering the naturally occurring adeno-associated virus to deliver therapeutic genes.
“The support of the NIH will enhance my training at UNC, allowing me to further my understanding of muscular dystrophy, as well as contribute to efforts to create effective therapies,” Bulaklak says.
For her dissertation research, she is using a genetically-engineered AAV to treat the mdx mouse, a small-animal model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Bulaklak says she hopes her treatment will improve muscle integrity and alleviate motor deficits associated with the disease.
Bulaklak is also a member of UNC Women in Science.
Carla Coste Sanchez
Coste-Sanchez is a second-year graduate student. Her adviser is Michael Jay, Ph.D.
Coste Sanchez’s research focuses on the retention of the toxic metal gadolinium in patients who receive MRI scans. Gadolinium-based chemicals are sometimes used as contrasting agents for patients receiving MRIs.
“These contrasting agents usually have a rapid clearance rate from the body, but the population that would be affected by this retention are those who have kidney problems because they can’t properly excrete the gadolinium from the body,” Coste Sanchez says. “Patients that have to take several MRIs could potentially be sick from the gadolinium, even if just a really, really small amount of gadolinium is retained.”
Christina Parker
Parker is a third-year graduate student in the School’s pharmaceutical sciences program under her adviser, Sam Lai, Ph.D.
Parker’s research uses protein engineering for drug delivery applications
“One of the many challenges of cancer therapy is getting the treatment specifically to the cancer cells while avoiding the healthy cells,” Parker says. “I am interested in designing bispecific fusion proteins that will recognize both cancer cells and nanoparticles to better facilitate delivery of therapeutic nanoparticles to cancer cells.”
Tojan Rahhal
Rahhal is a fourth-year graduate student in the School’s pharmaceutical sciences program. Working with her adviser Joseph DeSimone, Ph.D., Rahhal creates nanoparticles using PRINT technology. The focus of her research has been the creation of nanoparticles that can counter nerve gas exposure.
“To date, there is no efficient antidote for civilians or soldiers who are exposed to nerve gas,” Rahhal says. “Nerve gas contains organophosphates, which are deadly due to their rapid disruption of the signaling process to major organs. Recently it was discovered that butyrylcholinesterase, a naturally occurring biologic produced in the liver, has the ability to neutralize some nerve agents and provide protection against nerve damage. We believe that by formulating BuChE particles for pulmonary delivery, we can develop a self-administered nerve gas antidote.”
Rahhal is currently chair of UNC Women in Science, a group that supports the involvement of women in the graduate-school level. She is also a member of the UNC translational medicine program.
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