2022
Dr. Jaenisch - 2022 Dr. G. Lombard Kelly lecturer
Dr. Rudolf Jaenisch, Professor of Biology at the Whitehead Institute, Institute of Medicine, Department of Biology, MIT, Cambridge, MA delivered the 5th Dr. G. Lombard Kelly Lecture in the Department of Cellular Biology on Thursday, November 3, 2023. Dr. Janeisch’s seminar was titled “Genomic integration of SARS-CoV-2 in humans and bats". Dr. Jaenisch’s laboratory is renowned for its expertise in cloning mice and in studying the myriad factors contributing to the success and failure of cellular reprogramming. Recently, his lab has been using the iPS cell system to study diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and autism. Dr. Jaenisch is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the International Society for Stem Cell Research. He was honored with the Boehringer Mannheim Molecular Bioanalytics Prize in 1996, received the first ever Gruber Foundation Genetics Prize in 2001, won the Robert Koch Prize for Excellence in Scientific Achievement in 2002, and the March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology in 2015. He was the recipient of the U.S. National Medal of Science in 2011. In 2014 he served as president of the International Society for Stem Cell Research.
We were most honored to have Dr. Jaenisch as our 2022 Dr. G. Lombard Kelly lecturer. The credit for this highly successful visit is due to our CBA graduate students, led by Frederick Baker and Husam Benzreti. They organized the visit of Dr. Jaenisch, ensuring that he had time to meet with students as well as several faculty members on campus. Frederick, who is in the lab of Dr. Graydon Gonsalvez and Husam from Dr. Meghan McGee-Lawrence’s lab, were guided in their efforts by Dr. Xingjun Fan, Director of the CBA seminar series and by Dr. Yutao Liu, Director of the CBA PhD program. The administrative details were ably overseen by Mrs. Heide Andrews.
Dr. Graydon Gonsalvez
Dr. Mitchell Watsky
Dr. Thomas Gale
Dr. Graydon Gonsalvez, Dr. Mitchell Watsky and Dr. Thomas Gale have been selected to receive an Exemplary Teaching Award for the 2021/2022 academic year!
The award is given to recognize faculty (and residents) who have made a significant contribution in either undergraduate or graduate medical education at MCG in the past year. Selection is based on learner evaluations, number of learners or teaching activities, and input from course directors and academic leadership. Faculty awardees include campus and community faculty from all of MCG’s campuses and from the clinical and basic sciences.
Congratulations to our colleagues for this recognition of commitment to teaching quality and curriculum advancement.
Graduate student, Anik Tuladhar (McGee-Lawrence’s lab) received a 2022 (ASBMR) American Society for Bone and Mineral Research Young Investigator Award for his presentation “Prkd1 (PKC-mu) regulates the formation and repair of plasma membrane disruptions (PMD) in osteocytes”. Congratulations Anik!
Dr. Ariel VanLeuven, Assistant Professor of Cellular Biology and Anatomy at the AU/UGA medical partnership, has been selected by the Office for Faculty Success and her peers as an “AU/MCG Woman Who Inspires" for the 2022 Women In Medicine Month Campaign.
Congratulations Dr. VanLeuven!!
The program project (PO1) grant entitled, “Age Induced Impairment of Nutrient Signaling Results in Bone Loss” has been renewed for 5 years of additional funding from the National Institute on Aging.
Dr. Carlos Isales (Neuroscience/Regenerative Medicine) is the PI of this award, which includes CBA faculty members Dr. Mark Hamrick and Dr. Meghan McGee-Lawrence. Other MCG faculty colleagues who are participating include Dr. Sadanand Fuzele, Dr. Wendy Bollag, Dr. Xingming Shi.
The program project is a model of collaboration and interactive projects/investigators. So glad that the extraordinary efforts of so many have been fruitful!!!
Congratulations to our CBA colleagues Dr. Hamrick (Head of Project 3) and Dr. McGee-Lawrence (Head of Project 4 & Core B) and to their teams!!
Dr. Ellen LeMosy has been invited to serve as a member of the Inclusion and Outreach Committee (IOC) for the Society for Developmental Biology. Dr. LeMosy has accepted this invitation and will serve a 3-year term. The IOC oversees special symposia that address topics related to recruitment and retention of a widely diverse community of developmental biologists across the country and across academic levels.
Congratulations Dr. LeMosy!
Dr. Xingjun Fan has received a notice of grant award from NIH to support his pioneering studies of the ocular lens. The five-year R01 is supported by NEI and is entitled “Mechanisms of lens epithelium fibrosis and its relevance to posterior capsule opacification.”
Congratulations to Dr. Fan and his team! We are proud of your success.
Dr. Shannon Barwick, Assistant Professor has been selected to participate in the Anatomical Society’s Anatomy Training Programme co-sponsored by the American Association for Anatomy (AAA). Part of the program is independent study conducted at the participant’s home institution and complemented by an intensive residential school conducted at Cambridge University, UK in July. The AAA selected Shannon for this program and will provide the support for her participation.
Congratulations Shannon!
CBA is delighted to share fantastic news that Hannah Youngblood, has successfully defended her thesis entitled “Effects of estrogen on trabecular meshwork regulation of intraocular pressure” and her committee voted unanimously to award the PhD “with distinction.” This is a wonderful achievement and we are very proud of Hannah’s accomplishments! Hannah’s next career move is to pursue a post-doctoral fellowship at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA.
Please join me in recognizing and thanking the members of Hannah’s committee for their commitment to our educational mission: Dr. Yutao Liu (major advisor), committee members: Dr. Mark Hamrick, Dr. Kathryn Bollinger, Dr. Xingjun Fan, Dr. Patricia Schoenlein and thesis reader: Dr. Ming Zhang.
Congrats to Hannah for all of her accomplishments and to her thesis advisor and committee members as well!
I am very pleased to announce that effective July 1, 2022, Dr. Patricia Schoenlein
will be promoted to the rank of Professor. Dr. Schoenlein is a major contributor to
the educational mission of MCG and is actively engaged as the director of Histology-Pathology
component of the Pre-clinical curriculum. She also leads CBL groups, contributes to
medical gross anatomy, and mentors students in her laboratory. Her contributions to
MCG and CBA are highly valued.
Please join me in congratulating Dr. Schoenlein on her well-deserved promotion!
I am delighted to share with you the great news that Emily Parker, has successfully
defended her thesis entitled “The role of fibro-adipogenic progenitor cells (FAPS)
in muscle disuse atrophy” and her committee voted unanimously to award the PhD “with
distinction.” This is a wonderful achievement and we are very proud of Emily’s accomplishments!
Emily has accepted a faculty position at Augusta University and will be close by at
the Summerville Campus!
Please join me in recognizing and thanking the members of Emily’s committee for their commitment to our educational mission: Dr. Mark Hamrick (major advisor), committee members: Dr. Carlos Isales, Dr. Meghan McGee-Lawrence, Dr. Sadanand Fulzele, Dr. Yao-Liang Tang and thesis reader: Dr. Yutao Liu.
Congrats to all!
Please welcome our newest faculty member, Dr. Shannon Barwick, Assistant Professor
of Cellular Biology and Anatomy. Shannon is a 2022 graduate of our program (PhD Biomedical
Sciences, Cellular Biology and Anatomy). She joined our faculty June 2, 2022. Shannon
will be actively involved in the education mission of the department including teaching
medical students and allied health students in the anatomical sciences.
Welcome aboard Shannon!
Dr. Shaoyong Su (GPI) and Dr. Yutao Liu have been informed that their proposal submitted to the Intramural Grants Program (IGP) titled: “Plasma neuron-derived exosome protein profile and cognitive impairment in middle age” has been approved for funding.
Please join me in congratulating Dr. Su and Dr. Liu!
Dr. Graydon Gonsalvez has received a Notice of Grant Award from NIH for his studies “Molecular mechanisms underlying the establishment of cell polarity”. The award funded by NIGMS (National Institute of General Medical Sciences is for 5 years and falls under the funding mechanism known as a MIRA (maximizing investigator’s research award) – or R35. It is equivalent in support funding to an R01, but provides research support for an investigator’s laboratory, not just a specific project.
This is a wonderful tribute to the excellent science ongoing in Dr. Gonsalvez’ laboratory.
Congratulations to Graydon and his team!
Dr. Zheng Dong’s NIH R01 studying “Acute Kidney Injury in Diabetes” has been approved for continued funding by NIDDK. Dr. Dong’s grant actually started in 2001 and with the funding continued through this award cycle, it will be supported for more than 25 year! Congratulations to Dr. Dong and his highly engaged research group.
In addition, Dr. Dong has been notified that an instrumentation grant will be awarded through the Veteran Administration. The grant is a shared instrumentation grant that will allow purchase of a Single-Cell Sequencing system.
Great work Dr. Dong and congratulations to your team!
Dear CBA colleagues,
The MCG Faculty awards ceremony was held Thursday, May 26, 2022 in the Lee Auditorium. It was truly a great day of recognition of the teaching contributions of our department!
Our colleague Dr. Gaddy was selected for the MCG Basic Science Teaching Award! Two colleagues (Dr. Manuel and Dr. Guillot) were honored with Educator of the Year Awards! And our Department received the Outstanding Basic Science Teaching Award from the class of 2024!!! Congratulations to all CBA faculty for your contributions to the educational mission!
All of these great achievements signal that it is time to have an ice cream social! One is being planned for the near future – stay tuned!
Please read about our colleagues below!
Dr. Thom Gaddy was selected to receive the MCG Distinguished Faculty Award for Basic Science Teaching! Thom is associate professor in the Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy and medical educator at the AU/UGA Medical Partnership in Athens, GA. His teaching responsibilities include facilitating CBL and teaching cell biology and histology in the large group setting. His scholarship activities revolve around undergraduate medical education curriculum design, developing effective learning materials and studying pedagogies that promote self-directed learning. Thom is an outstanding teacher and we are very proud of his accomplishments and recognition! Congratulations Dr. Gaddy!
Dr. Morganne Manuel was selected by the Class of 2024 for Educator of the Year for the Augusta Campus. Morganne is an assistant professor and teaches medical gross anatomy, serves as module co-director for two modules, oversees CBL and is involved in teaching allied health students gross anatomy as well. Dr. Gerard Guillot was selected by the Class of 2025 for Educator of the Year for the Augusta Campus. Jerry is associate professor and a very talented anatomist and lecturer. He has been a CBL leader and played a key role in the 4th year selectives that are being developed. We have been fortunate to have Dr. Guillot as a colleague and wish him the best in his future endeavors. Congratulations Dr. Manuel and Dr. Guillot!
Dear CBA colleagues,
I am very pleased to announce that CBA graduate student Shannon Barwick, who defended her thesis on April 21, 2022, has been notified by the Graduate School Dean that her dissertation has been accepted by the Graduate School and that she has successfully completed all of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree.
Shannon’s dissertation was entitled: “Activation of a molecular chaperone (sigma 1 receptor) in a murine model of autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa.” The faculty members who served on Shannon’s thesis committee were Drs. Liu, Hamrick, Gonsalvez, Saul and Smith. Dr. M. Zhang served as the reader.
Congratulations Shannon and many thanks to your committee members!
Sylvia
The awards ceremony for The Graduate School was held April 19, 2022 at the Summerville campus amphitheater. Two CBA faculty members were recognized for their contributions. Dr. Meghan McGee-Lawrence received the Inaugural Mentoring Award and Dr. Sylvia Smith received the Distinguished Research Award. Congratulations to our CBA colleagues for this recognition!
The awards ceremony for The Graduate School was held at the Summerville campus amphitheater. I am delighted to share that two of our CBA graduate students, Theresa Akoto and Frederick Baker received awards.
Theresa, who is mentored by Dr. Yutao Liu, received the Ji Cheng memorial award for excellence in research.
Frederick, who is mentored by Dr. Graydon Gonsalvez, received the CBA/Excellence in Research Award!
Husam Bensreti and Dima Alhamad (PhD students Meghan McGee-Lawrence lab) were just selected for the 2022 ASBMR Student Cohort program.
This selective program will feature a year-long series of mentoring, networking, and educational opportunities promoting career development, along with free society membership for a year.
We are excited for the opportunity this will provide to Husam and Dima!
Dr. Ellen LeMosy has been selected to serve as a mentor for two CURS students for the summer of 2022. The students will work with Dr. LeMosy on a project entitled “Learning how extracellular matrix functions in face and neck development.” The CURS program provides stipends for students and covers some of the reagents needed to perform the proposed study.
Congratulations Dr. LeMosy!
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Mark Hamrick along with CAHS assistant professor Dr. Deborah Jehu on their new grant supported by the Intramural Grants Program (IGP) titled: “The effects of exercise on executive function in older adults living with dementia.”
This is terrific news and a great collaboration between MCG and CAHS!
Added 1/26/2022
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Ming Zhang who has been notified that his application titled “The roles of RIP kinase 3 in the development of AMD-like pathologies during cytomegalovirus ocular latency” will be funded by the Retina Research Foundation.
Congratulations Dr. Zhang!
Added 1/14/2022
We are delighted to announce that four CBA faculty have been selected by the medical students for the MCG exemplary teaching awards for AY2020/21! Please join me in congratulating Drs. Jerry Guillot, Morganne Manuel, Meghan McGee-Lawrence and Carol Nichols for this distinction. They epitomize excellence and commitment to medical education and we are very proud of them.
Dr. Jerry Guillot
Dr. Morganne Manuel
Dr. Meghan McGee-Lawrence
Dr. Carol Nichols
Congratulations and thanks to these dedicated colleagues for a great start to 2022!
Added 1/07/2022
2021
Please join me in congratulating Dr. Jerry Guillot and colleagues for their recent notification that the American Association for Anatomy will fund a program entitled “Portfolios of People: Advancing Anatomical Representation Together – POP AART”. POP AArt aims to address a lack of anatomy teaching visual supplements that are representative of human diversity. Dr. Guillot will work with colleagues in Washington DC, Virginia, and California on this exciting project, which launches in January 2022.
Added 1/31/2021
CBA is delighted to announce that Dr. Yutao Liu has been notified by the Associate for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology that he has been approved for the honor of ARVO Silver Fellow for his exemplary contributions and dedication to ARVO! This distinction recognizes enthusiasm and commitment to the values and goals of the association!
Congrats to our newest ARVO fellow (FARVO)!!!
Added 12/15/2021
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Jerry Guillot and colleagues for their recent notification that the American Association for Anatomy will fund a program entitled “Portfolios of People: Advancing Anatomical Representation Together – POP AART”. POP AArt aims to address a lack of anatomy teaching visual supplements that are representative of human diversity. Dr. Guillot will work with colleagues in Washington DC, Virginia, and California on this exciting project, which launches in January 2022.
Added 12/7/2021
Congratulations to Shannon Barwick, graduate student in Dr. Sylvia Smith's lab. Shannon presented her 3 minute thesis (3MT) entitled "Saving Vision: Enabling patients too clearly see their dreams" to the USG Board of Regents on November 9, 2021 in Atlanta. This is great recognition for our graduate program and our department.
Learn more about the presentation here.
Added 11/10/2021
Photo: From left: Teresa MacCartney, acting chancellor of the USG; Shannon Barwick, PhD student at Augusta University; Brooks A. Keel, PhD, president of Augusta University; and Sachin Shailendra, chair of the Board of Regents, pictured at the board meeting Nov. 9. [Rod Reilly/Georgia Gwinnett College]
On Monday, Nov. 1, there was a Research Retreat at the Cyber Center. The gathering was to analyze where we were with NIH funding and how to achieve greater success in securing NIH grants. Many sessions were conducted, one of which was a session about cores and their critical role for our mission. Dr. Joe Miano sent a survey to users to learn their opinions about the cores. He wanted to learn what worked well and cores that needed improvement. I am delighted to share news that our two CBA cores have garnered “TOP” marks for customer satisfaction and quality. The EM/Histology core and the Cell/Tissue Imaging core were singled out for amazing contributions to the research mission on our campus. Please join me in acknowledging the terrific members of our “CORE” giver teams: Donna Kumiski, Libby Perry, Brendan Marshall, Tania Green and Kristen Carver in our EM/Histo core and Rachel Cui, Michael Yu, Hannah Neiswender and Dr. Graydon Gonsalvez (director) Cell/Tissue Imaging
Thank you for a job well done!
Added 11/5/2021
Congratulations to Dr. Xingjun Fan for his $750K award entitled "The Pathogenic role of disrupted glutathione homeostasis in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)” which is supported by the James Fickel Alzheimer’s Disease Research Fund. This funding will lead to new discoveries and we are very pleased to celebrate Dr. Fan’s success!
Added 11/4/2021
Dr. Morganne Manuel, Assistant Professor, has been selected as a fellow of the 2022 MCG Teaching Development Seminar Series (formerly the Teaching Scholars Fellowship). Congratulations on this well-deserved recognition of your commitment to medical Education!
Added 10/18/2021
Dr. Carol Nichols has been elected to the position of Secretary for the International Association of Medical Science Educators (IAMSE)! Congratulations on this international recognition for our deserving colleague and our institution!
Added 10/18/2021
The 2021 Kelly lecture was presented on October 14, 2021 by Dr. Krzysztof Palczewski,
Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine and Irving H. Leopold
Chair of Ophthalmology, Professor of Physiology and Biophysics, University of California,
Irvine California. Dr. Palczewski, a member of the National Academy of Medicine is
best known for his discovery of the crystal structure of rhodopsin. His lecture was
entitled “Treatment of an inherited retinal disease in a mouse model by in vivo base
editing.”
The Kelly lecture, established in 2017, honors the legacy of former Anatomy professor
and department chair, Dr. G. Lombard Kelly. The lecture is organized annually by graduate
students in the Cellular Biology and Anatomy PhD program. The students select and
invite the speaker and oversee all aspects of the visit. This year, Shannon Barwick
and Hannah Youngblood were the coordinators of Dr. Palczewski’s visit. All CBA graduate
students had the opportunity to meet with this outstanding scientist. Through this
endeavor our students demonstrate eagerness to learn and to conduct meaningful research,
continuing the tradition and legacy of Dr. Kelly. Dr. Xingjun Fan is the faculty coordinator
of the CBA seminar series and guided the students in organizing the visit.
Added 10/14/2021
Dr. Carol Nichols has been selected as an “MCG Woman Who Inspires" for the 2021 Women In Medicine Month Campaign. She is honored for her thoughtful leadership and mentorship in the evolution of the MCG curriculum, vastly improving the educational experience of our students and junior educators! The Women in Medicine Month campaign is sponsored by the MCG office for faculty success.
Added 9/7/2021
CBA graduate student Hannah Youngblood, Dr. Yutao Liu’s lab, has received a Travel Award for the ISER/BrightFocus Glaucoma Symposium, Oct 6-9 at the Emory Conference Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Hannah will present her research “Estrogen Signaling in Intraocular Pressure Regulation.
Good luck at the meeting Hannah!
Added 8/16/2021
CBA graduate student Anik Tuladhar, Dr. Meghan McGee-Lawrence’s lab, has been selected to receive a Travel Fellowship to attend the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) Meeting in San Diego in October 2021. Anik will present his abstract: Tuladhar A., McGee W.A., Yu K., Hamrick M.W., McGee-Lawrence M.E. Prkd1 is critical for repair of plasma membrane disruptions (PMD) in osteocytes. ASBMR 2021 Annual Meeting, Abstract ID #A21023817. San Diego, CA; American Society for Bone and Mineral Research; 2021.
Good luck at the meeting Anik!
Added 8/16/2021
CBA graduate student Shannon Barwick, from Dr. Sylvia Smith's lab, has been selected to receive a Travel Fellowship to attend the XIXth International Symposium on Retinal Degenerations (RD2021) and the BrightFocus Macular Fast TrackSM, which will be in Nashville, Tennessee from September 27, 2021 to October 2, 2021. Shannon will present her research “Activation of Sigma 1 Receptor attenuates degeneration in the Rho P23H/+ mouse model of autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa.”
Good luck at the meeting Shannon!
Added 8/16/2021
Effective 1 July 2021, Dr. Anna Edmondson, Professor of Cellular Biology and Anatomy, has been named Director of Curriculum Operations for MCG. In this new role, Dr. Edmondson will work closely with leadership of the Office of Academic Affairs to oversee the redesigned, complex, integrated pre-clerkship curriculum. Dr. Edmondson was selected for her new role owing to her excellent organizational skills and strong commitment to our medical students. In addition to her new duties, Anna will continue to oversee medical gross anatomy and to direct the skin-musculoskeletal module.
Added 7/8/2021
Dr. Jing Wang has been promoted to Research Scientist effective July 1, 2021. Dr.
Wang is a long standing member in Dr. Sylvia Smith's lab.
Congratulations on your promotion Dr. Wang!
Added 7/1/2021
Dr. Barbara Mysona has been promoted to Research Scientist effective July 1, 2021.
Dr. Mysona is a long standing member in Dr. Kathryn Bollinger's lab.
Congratulations on your promotion Dr. Mysona!
Added 7/1/2021
Dr. Eve Gallman, Associate Professor of Cellular Biology and Anatomy at our Athens
partnership campus, has been notified that she has been nominated for the 2021 Outstanding
Reviewer Award for the journal Medical Science Educatore.
Congratulations on this award Dr. Gallman!
Added 6/9/2021
Dr. Yutao Liu, vision scientist and human geneticist in our Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy, is the Basic Science Research Distinguished Faculty Award recipient. This expert in dissecting diseases like the progressive, double vision inducing keratoconus, and glaucoma, is a prolific, inspired and extremely well-funded scientist and generally great citizen of MCG and internationally.
To read more about Dr. Liu's achievement, visit the Deans Diary
Added 6/1/2021
Congratulations to our CBA colleague Dr. Gerard "Jerry" Guillot! Dr. Guillot was selected
to receive one of the Educator of the Year awards. The excellent educator award honoree
was nominated by the students from the MCG class of 2024.
To read more about this wonderful achievement, visit the Deans Diary
Added 6/1/2021
Congratulations to our CBA colleague at the AU/UGA partnership campus, Dr. Robert
Mackin.
Dr. Mackin was selected to receive one of the Educator of the Year awards. The excellent
educator award honoree was nominated by the MCG AU/UGA partnership students, class
of 2024.
To read more about this wonderful achievement, visit the Deans Diary
Added 6/1/2021
Congratulations to Ms. Linda James, our assistant dean for student diversity and inclusion, who has received the inaugural Champion of Diversity Award! She is director of the now 50 + year-old SEEP pipeline program for high school and college students and director of the Igniting the Dream of Medicine Conference. Most recently, Ms. James helped start and is co-advisor of Black Men of the Medical College of Georgia. She is a member of the Faculty Senate Ad Hoc Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, a voting member of our Admissions Committee and co-advisor to the Student National Medical Association. She first joined us as a research assistant in 1986, we lost her (their win) to Paine College for about 16 years, then she came back in 2004 as director of SEEP and Diversity Outreach. Class of 2023 student Gina Dominguez Castillo says it well: “All my interactions with her are always ones of support and encouragement.” For these reasons and about a million more Ms. James is the inaugural recipient of our Champion of Diversity Award.
Added 6/1/2021
Congratulations to Dr. Ellen LeMosy! She was nominated by her student Brooklyn Zwinklis
for the High Five My Faculty Award. This
award goes to a faculty member who has mentored one or more undergraduate students
in research or scholarship. This is a way
for students to recognize and give thanks to undergraduate research mentors who have
positively impacted their lives.
Added 5/5/2021
We are delighted to share the good news that graduate student Mackenzie L. Hagan successfully defended her PhD thesis entitled “The role of Sptbn1 in osteocyte mechanosensation and downstream bone adaptation” on April 22, 2021. Her work was mentored by Dr. Meghan McGee-Lawrence and her committee members were Drs. Graydon Gonsalvez, Mark Hamrick, William Hill and Mitchell Watsky. Dr. Yutao Liu served as a reader for the thesis. We are very proud of Mackenzie’s accomplishments and wish her the best in her future endeavors.
Added 5/5/2021
Congratulations to Dr. Meghan McGee-Lawrence! She was nominated by her student Victor Piedra for the High Five My Faculty Award. This award goes to a faculty member who has mentored one or more undergraduate students in research or scholarship. This is a way for students to recognize and give thanks to undergraduate research mentors who have positively impacted their lives.
Added 5/5/2021
Dr. Meghan McGee-Lawrence has been named as one of the recipients to receive the Center for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship’s 2021 Mentor Excellence Award! Considerable effort is expended in mentoring talented undergraduate students and we are very proud of the work of our colleagues in this important endeavor.
Added 5/5/2021
Congratulating Shannon Barwick, PhD student in Dr. Sylvia Smith's lab, won first prize
in the “3MT” competition on Thursday, April 22, 2021! The “3MT” refers to a three-minute
thesis presentation. The Graduate School launched this five years ago and graduate
students have the opportunity to compete. The idea of being able to present your (80,000+
word) thesis work in only 3 minutes started at Queensland University (Australia) and
has been adopted by more than 900 universities. We are very proud that two CBA students
were in the top five 3MT finalists: Hannah Youngblood & Shannon Barwick.
Thank you for representing our department so well!
Added 4/26/2021
Dr. Meghan McGee-Lawrence was recognized with the Distinguished Teaching Award from the Graduate School. Dr. McGee-Lawrence oversees a robust research laboratory, mentors several students, has directed/participated in several graduate school courses. She is the Director of the Molecular Cell Biology Core course, which has consistently been very highly evaluated by first year students and offers an excellent foundation for studies in biological sciences.
Congratulations Dr. McGee-Lawrence!
Added 4/21/2021
We are delighted to share with you the recognition for several students at today’s graduate research day awards ceremony: Frederick Baker (Gonsalvez lab) was the recipient of the Cellular Biology/Anatomy Excellence in Research Award; Hannah Youngblood (Liu lab) was the recipient of the James and Jean Culver Excellence in Vision Research Award; Shannon Barwick (Smith lab) was the recipient of the Graduate School Excellence in Research Award. Congratulations to these awardees and to all of our students for participating in Graduate Research Day and for the high quality of the work you are conducting.
We are very proud of you!
Added 4/21/2021
Dr. Mark Hamrick's newly announced cluster hire in inflamm-aging and brain aging research has been recognized by the Augusta Chronicle.
Read more about this exciting research here.
Congratulations Dr. Hamrick!
Added 4/21/2021
Dr. Meghan McGee-Lawrence has been appointed as a standing member of the NIH Skeletal Biology Development and Disease (SBDD) study section for a 4 year term.
Congrats Dr. McGee-Lawrence!
Added 4/13/2021
Dr. Ellen LeMosy has been named as one of the recipients to receive the Center for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship’s 2021 Mentor Excellence Award! Dr. LeMosy is pictured here with CURS students Brooklyn Zwinklis (far left) and Helena Blackburn (far right). Considerable effort is expended in mentoring talented undergraduate students and we are very proud of the contributions Dr. LeMosy has provided to this important endeavor.
Congratulations Dr. LeMosy!
Added 4/13/2021
Dr. Jing Wang, Assistant Research Scientist (Smith lab), has been notified that her competing renewal of her Knights Templar Eye Foundation application (Sigma 1 Receptor and Retinopathy of Prematurity) will be funded beginning July 2021!
Great work Jing!
Added 4/13/2021
Dr. Meghan McGee-Lawrence has been named as one of the recipients to receive the Center for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship’s 2021 Mentor Excellence Award! Considerable effort is expended in mentoring talented undergraduate students and we are very proud of the contributions Dr. McGee-Lawrence has provided to this important endeavor.
Congratulations Dr. McGee-Lawrence!
Added 4/13/2021
Terrific recognition for Dr. Wanling Xuan, stem cell biologist in the Vascular Biology Center, for her new RO1. Dr. Mark Hamrick, bone and muscle biologist in the MCG Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy and Senior Associate Dean for Research, is Co-Investigator. Both were recognized for their research on stem cell therapy on the Augusta University Jag home page. Read more about this exciting research here.
Congratulations Drs. Xuan and Hamrick!
Added 3/17/2021
Hannah Youngblood, PhD candidate in the laboratory of Dr. Yutao Liu, was invited to attend Augusta University’s Virtual Research University Day at the Capitol. This event, which was held virtually on March 16th, 2021, featured institutional leaders (Dr. Keel and Dr. MacKinnon) as well as several Georgia legislatures.
Congratulations Hannah on being selected for this honor!
Added 3/17/2021
CBA is pleased to announce that Dr. Meghan McGee-Lawrence's amazing research is being
featured in the Augusta Chronicle!
NASA grant aids AU professor's research on bone loss, potential repair
Tom Corwin
Augusta Chronicle
As the NASA Rover Perseverance approaches Mars for a touchdown later this month, Dr. Meghan McGee-Lawrence of Augusta University is studying ways to make the same flight easier for humans one day. But her research might also apply to aging and perhaps even make exercise more productive. McGee-Lawrence has a $750,000 grant from NASA to study a basic problem that would plague astronauts during such a long mission: the lack of gravity would lead to bone loss. Humans form and reshape their bones constantly in response to gravity and other forces and one of the key cells for doing that are osteocytes, long cells nestled into the matrix of bone, she said. "The osteocytes are the managing cell population in the skeleton," said McGee-Lawrence, an associate professor in Cellular Biology and Anatomy. "They do a great job of sensing what is around them and telling everyone else what to do. The osteocyte population senses what is going on and then they tell the osteoblasts how much bone to build and the osteoclasts how much bone they should break down so that the tissue has the ability to adapt and has the best possible structure to withstand the loading it experiences on a routine basis. Basically, it tells everyone what to do so that the tissue is the right shape and size to do the job it needs to do." Adapting bone is important as a response to the environment so that the skeleton has just the right amount of bone needed, she said. "Bone is a very metabolically expensive tissue," McGee-Lawrence said. "It’s heavy and it takes a lot of work to maintain it." One of the ways, and there are many, that bone responds to forces like gravity is possibly through small tears in the osteocytes, known as plasma membrane disruptions. McGee-Lawrence has early work in mice that shows these form routinely in response to gravity and normal activity. Normal cells can easily heal these tears in about 10-30 seconds but they appear to be a signal to the other cells to do the necessary work. The NASA grant is to explore if the opposite will prove true, that the lack of gravity or force causes fewer of these disruptions or interferes with their repair. "We think of repair rate almost like a thermostat where you can speed it up or slow it down and in doing so control the magnitude of the downstream response of that cell," McGee-Lawrence said. A previous study shows that repair rate is out of tune in older osteocytes, which may contribute to bone loss in aging, she said. Her work is building on what is already known to happen in skeletal muscle, that these tears happen in muscle cells and the lack of gravity appears to impair their repair rate, McGee-Lawrence said. "That then is our jumping off point for this project: does bone behave in the same way as muscle?" she said. "And if so, can some of the therapeutic approaches that have been applied to muscle apply to the skeleton?" That would be important to NASA, McGee-Lawrence said. "Both bone and muscle are lost during space flight," she said. "Trying to find ways to prevent that bone and muscle loss or recover it once it has occurred is pretty important in the context of long-term space flights. If you send an astronaut to Mars, you want them to maintain their bone and muscle mass during space flight so when they land you don’t want them to all of a sudden start suffering a lot of fractures and muscle injuries. You want to be able to help them recover whatever they may have lost on that journey, whether they are returning to Earth or maybe some day landing on Mars." Those insights could also help with what happens to people during disuse, such as prolonged bed rest or spinal cord injury and thus could be relevant long before those space flights become possible, McGee-Lawrence said. "NASA gives you interesting problems to pursue that not only advance space travel but come up with novel solutions to problems we face every day here on Earth," she said. "If we can find ways to make bone and also muscle more sensitive to mechanical loading, one goal is maybe you could get some of the same benefits of exercise with a less strenuous exercise program. You can see how that would also be greatly applicable to life here on Earth. Who wouldn’t want to get stronger bone and muscle with less exercise than you would need to otherwise?"
Congratulations Dr. McGee-Lawrence on this fascinating venture!
Added 2/10/2021
Heartfelt congratulations to Drs. Graydon Gonsalvez, Carol Nichols, and Patricia Schoenlein in addition to our AU/UGA Medical Partnership, Drs. Thom Gaddy, DeLoris Wenzel and Brett Szymik. All have been selected to receive the MCG Exemplary Teaching Award for their teaching efforts in academic year 2019/2020. The award is given to recognize faculty who have made a significant contribution in either undergraduate or graduate medical education at MCG in the past year.
Congratulations to all!
Added 2/9/2021
Dr. Ellen LeMosy will be hosting two students this year through the Summer Scholars Program. They will be working with Dr. LeMosy on a project titled "Extracellular Matrix Tinagl1 in Craniofacial Development and Wnt Signaling." Dr. LeMosy has been mentoring undergraduate student researchers for a number of years and just this past year, one of her trainees (Ms. Brooklyn Zwinklis) was awarded funds from the Provost/Student Research Program. Ms. Zwinklis was one of only two undergraduate students receiving this competitive program vetted through the Department of Medicine's Translational Research Program.
Congrats Dr. LeMosy!
Added 1/21/2021
Dr. Barbara Mysona, Assistant Research Scientist, has been notified that she will receive an IGP (intramural grants program) award for her project entitled: “Role of astrocyte-endothelial interactions in von Hippel-Lindau disease.”
Congratulations Barbara and best wishes for a fruitful project!
Added 1/21/2021
2020
CBA is pleased to announce that Dr. Yutao Liu, Associate Professor, has been selected to receive one of three grants awarded in the Pilot Grant Program in Aging Research. His project investigates the role of arginase 1 and 2 in age-related eye pressure regulation.
Congratulations Dr. Liu! Another terrific start to the New Year!
Added 12/16/2020
CBA is pleased to announce that Dr. Yuqing Huo, Professor of Cellular Biology and Anatomy and member of VBC, has been selected for a pilot grant to conduct metabolic analyses of aortic vascular cells of aged mice with aortic aneurysm via scRNSseq approach.
Congratulations Dr. Huo!
Added 12/16/2020
CBA is pleased to announce that Dr. Qingqing Wei, Assistant Professor of Cellular Biology and Anatomy, has been awarded an NIH R01 from the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive & Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). Her project entitled "The regulation and function of long non coding RNA in ischemic AKI: Role of GSTM3P1."
Congratulations Dr. Wei! A terrific start to the New Year!
Added 12/15/2020
Please join us in congratulating the recipients of the 2020 Augusta University Research Institute (AURI) research awards!
Congratulations to everyone on these exceptional achievements!
Added 10/29/2020
Dr. Mark Hamrick, George G. Weiss Research Professor and Regents' Professor, has been appointed Senior Associate Dean for Research at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University. In his new position, Hamrick will work closely with MCG Dean Dr. David Hess and other MCG research leaders to develop a plan to move MCG toward the top 50 in National Institutes of Health funding. Among the nation’s medical schools, MCG currently is ranked 73rd by the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, with nearly $48 million in funding. However, research funding grew to over $65 million last fiscal year, which should move that ranking to somewhere in the 60s. He will work with MCG department chairs and center and institute directors to recruit and retain new federally funded research faculty and identify and develop new research collaborations across MCG departments, other AU colleges and with university and industry partners across Georgia and beyond.
Congratulations Dr. Hamrick!
Added 10/20/2020
CBA is pleased to announce that Dr. Patricia Schoenlein was selected by the MCG Class of 2023 as the recipient of the Educator of the Year Award! This is truly an honor – to have our student learners select one of our faculty for this distinction. Please join me in congratulating Dr. Schoenlein for her accomplishment!
Congratulations Dr. Schoenlein!
Added 10/20/2020
CBA is pleased to announce that Dr. Anna Edmondson, Professor of Cellular Biology and Anatomy, was presented the Award for Mentoring Excellence during the MCG Faculty Awards Ceremony October 15, 2020. Dr. Edmondson is a fantastic mentor to both students and faculty and is most deserving of this honor.
Congratulations Dr. Edmondson!
Added 10/15/2020
Dr. Zheng Dong, Regents' and Leon H. Charbonnier Endowed Chair of Cellular Biology and Anatomy, has been highlighted in the MCG Deans Diary for his recently published JCI paper regarding the kidney and autophagy.
Congratulations Dr. Hamrick!
Added 10/15/2020
Dr. Meghan McGee-Lawrence, Associate Professor, has been notified that her project "Osteocyte plasma membrane disruptions in skeletal adaption to loading and unloading" has been approved for funding by the Nationa Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and will be awarded effective October 1, 2020. Dr. Mark Hamrick is Co-I on the project for 5% FTE, as is Ms. Maribeth Johnson. Terrific Work!
Added 9/21/2020
CBA is pleased to recognize Dr. Anna Edmondson, Professor of Cellular Biology and Anatomy, who has been invited by the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) to join the USMLE Gross Anatomy and Embryology Test Material Development Committee. The NMBE is the group that assesses medical student preparedness and develops a uniform examination for students across the US (the United States Medical Licensing Examination). The test was formerly known as Step I of the USMLE. It is most prestigious that a member of our faculty has been invited to serve on this committee.
Congratulations on this appointment!
Added 9/18/2020
September is Women in Medicine Month. Celebrate with us by sharing the women at AU/MCG in medicine who inspire. Today, professor, educator and mentor extraordinaire, Dr. Anna Edmondson, has been recognized by the MCG Office of Faculty Success.
Congratulations to someone who inspires us during Women in Medicine month and everyday!
Added 9/15/2020
Dr. Meghan McGee-Lawrence and colleagues have been awarded an R13 grant to support an upcoming conference entitled: Marrow Adiposity: Bone, Aging, and Beyond – The 6th International Conference of Bone Marrow Adiposity Society.
Congratulations!
Added 8/25/2020
We are delighted to share great news that our CBA graduate student, Chandler Goldman, successfully defended his PhD thesis entitled: “Determining the Mechanism of Egali1arian-mediacted mRNA transport in Drosophila” on July 20, 2020. His work was mentored by Dr. Graydon Gonsalvez and his committee members were Drs. Jian-Kang Chen, Yutao Liu, Meghan McGee-Lawrence, and Sylvia Smith. Dr. Mark Hamrick served as a reader for the thesis. We are very proud of Chandler’s accomplishment and wish him the best in his future endeavors. Chandler is pursuing a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Georgia.
Congratulations Dr. Goldman!
Added 8/10/2020
The vision research group on campus (which includes several of our CBA colleagues:
Drs. Liu, Fan, Watsky, Zhang, Caldwell, Smith – and all of their hardworking lab members)
have learned that the P30 (Core Grant for Vision Research) will be awarded. This is
a 5 year award from NIH/NEI (National Eye Institute) to provide resources and support
for vision research.
Congratulations to all!
Added 8/4/2020
Dr. Anna Edmondson, Professor of Cellular Biology and Anatomy, has been selected as the 2020 recipient of the Medical College of Georgia Mentoring Award! This honor is well deserved. Dr. Edmondson has mentored 35 medical students for educational research projects and more in the 90 medical student teaching assistants. She has also helped establish the Pedagogy Interest Workgroup with graduate students interested in a career in medical Education.
Congratulations Dr. Edmondson!
Added 7/31/2020
Dr. Zheng Dong's VA merit renewal award entitled “Ischemic Kidney Injury and Kidney Repair” has received notice that it will be funded! This award will continue Dr. Dong’s VA research project through 2025!
Congratulations Dr. Dong!
Added 7/20/2020
We are delighted to share with you great news! Dr. Meghan McGee-Lawrence has been notified that her multi-PI R01 grant titled “Age-Related Kynurenine Accumulation Impairs miRNA and Hdac Epigenetic Regulation of the SDF-1 Axis Resulting in Bone Loss” has been awarded by the National Institute on Aging. The project is a collaborative effort with Dr. William David Hill.
Added 7/15/2020
We are delighted to welcome Dr. Jerry Guillot, Associate Professor and Dr. Morganne
Manuel, Assistant Professor as our newest colleagues in the Department of Cellular
Biology and Anatomy. Dr. Guillot joins us from Indiana University and Dr. Manuel recently
completed her PhD training at Louisiana State University. Both of our new colleagues
will be heavily involved in the teaching of medical students and will play key roles
as the new curriculum is implemented.
Congratulations and welcome!
Added 7/6/2020
Dr. Anna Edmondson has been promoted to Professor and Dr. Ming Zhang has been promoted
to Associate Professor. Dr. Edmondson plays a key role in the academic mission for
the university and Dr. Zhang is a retinal virologist whose studies are supported by
the National Eye Institute, NIH.
Congratulations on this exemplary accomplishment!
Added 7/6/2020
Dr. Carol Nichols, Professor of Cellular Biology and Anatomy has also assumed the
role of Assistant Dean for Curriculum: Foundations of Medicine. This duty, which is
conducted through the Office of Academic Affairs, MCG, reflects Dr. Nichols considerable
efforts in the design of the medical curriculum that is well underway. Congratulations
Dr. Nichols, we look forward to your continued leadership of our medical education
mission!
Added 7/6/2020
Effective July 1, 2020, two associate professors in our department, Dr. Yutao Liu
and Dr. Meghan McGee-Lawrence have been tenured. Dr. Liu is a geneticist whose work
is supported by NEI, NIH. Dr. McGee-Lawrence is a bone biologist whose research is
funded by National Institute on Aging, NIH. Both of these colleagues play key roles
in the education of our graduate students as well.
Congratulations on this outstanding accomplishment!
Added 7/6/2020
The International Society of Medical Educators has just named Dr. Anna Edmondson as
Chair of the IAMSE Nominating Committee. Dr. Edmondson is a long-time, active member
of this society and we thank her for enhancing MCG’s reputation in medical education
through her excellent leadership!
Added 6/25/2020
Dr. Zheng Dong and his laboratory have been notified that their manuscript entitled:
p53/microRNA-214/ULK1 axis impairs renal tubular autophagy in diabetic kidney disease
has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Dr. Zhengwei
Ma is first author.
Congrats to all!
Added 6/24/2020
Hannah Youngblood has been notified that her F31 pre-doctoral grant will be funded by the NEI! Hannah is a graduate student in the laboratory of Dr. Yutao Liu, Associate Professor, CBA. Hannah’s project is entitled "Effects of estrogen on trabecular meshwork regulation of intraocular pressure.”
Great job Hannah!
Added 6/18/2020
Dr. Graydon Gonsalvez has received an Augusta University Intramural Grant (IGP) for his project “Using proximity ligation to identify the components of a localization complex.”
Well done Dr. Gonsalvez!
Added 5/20/2020
Dr. Mark Hamrick has received a notice of grant award from NIH for his NIH R43 award titled “Novel small molecules for the treatment of sarcopenia.” This grant is an SBIR phase 1 award that seeks to commercialize discoveries that Dr. Hamrick and his collaborator Dr. Isales have made in aging research. Congratulations Dr. Hamrick!
Added 5/19/2020
Dr. Carol Nichols is the recipient of this year's Distinguished Career Award for Excellence
in Teaching and Educational Scholarship awarded by the International Association of
Medical Science Educators (IAMSE). This is an outstanding achievement and well-deserved
recognition of the tireless efforts Dr. Nichols has made toward medical education
at our institution and beyond.
Congratulations Dr. Nichols!
Added 5/14/2020
Ting Liu successfully defended her PhD thesis entitled: “Role of class III phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase in the renal proximal tubule” on April 17, 2020. Ting has been a fine member of the department and secured a pre-doctoral award from AHA to support her studies. Her thesis work was mentored by Dr. Jian-Kang Chen and her committee members were Drs. Zheng Dong, Adviye Ergul, Graydon Gonsalvez and Patricia Schoenlein and Dr. Sang-Ho Kwon served as the reader for the thesis.
Added 5/6/2020
Helen Kaiser successfully defended her PhD thesis entitled: “The role of kynurenine, a tryptophan metabolite that increases with age, in muscle atrophy” on April 16, 2020. Helen has been a great ambassador for the department and the university. Her thesis work was mentored by Dr. Mark Hamrick and her committee members were Drs. Carlos Isales, Yutao Liu and Meghan McGee-Lawrence and Dr. Graydon Gonsalvez served as the reader for the thesis.
Added 5/6/2020
Dr. Ellen LeMosy has mentored an undergraduate student Ms. Brooklyn Zwinklis, including
serving as a mentor for the AU CURS program. Just this past week, Dr. LeMosy received
the “High Five” Faculty Award for her exemplary guidance over the past year.
Congratulations Dr. LeMosy!
Added 4/23/2020
Several CBA colleagues have been notified of their receipt of an Exemplary Teaching
Award during the 2018-19 academic year: Dr. Carol Nichols, Dr. Patricia Schoenlein
and Dr. Graydon Gonsalvez as well as Dr. Thom Gaddy, Dr. Brett Szymik and Dr. DeLoris
Hesse from our MCG-UGA Athens partnership have been recognized for teaching excellence.
Congratulations to all. We appreciate all that you do for our medical education mission!
Congratulations Colleagues!
Added 4/23/2020
Dr. Jing Wang, Assistant Research Scientist in the laboratory of Dr. Sylvia Smith,
has been notified by Knights Templar Eye Foundation, Inc. of their intent to support
her research proposal: “Sigma 1 Receptor: a novel therapy for Retinopathy of Prematurity.”
ROP is a blinding disease of early childhood that damages the vasculature and neurons
of the retina. Thanks to collaboration and guidance from Dr. Ruth Caldwell, Dr. Wang
established a model of ROP in the lab. For her grant proposal Dr. Wang will be testing
whether activation of a unique protein, Sigma 1 Receptor, can rescue the vascular
disruption and loss of retinal neurons that characterize this devastating disease.
Her preliminary data are quite promising and with this new grant support she will
be able to continue these important studies.
Congratulations Dr. Wang!
Added 4/20/2020
Devi Boggupalli successfully defended his thesis entitled “Defining the Role of Tropomyosin1C
in Cargo Transport in Drosophila.” He completed this in the midst of our ramp down
and so only his thesis committee members were permitted to attend in late March. We
are very proud of Devi’s accomplishment and wish him the best in his future endeavors.
Devi’s thesis advisor is Dr. Graydon Gonsalvez. Congratulations to Devi and thanks
to his thesis committee members and Dr. Gonsalvez!
Added 4/6/2020
Dr. Zheng Dong has been notified that his NIH/NIDDK Ro1 grant "Kidney Injury by Cisplatin and Renoprotective Strategies" has been renewed. This grant originated in 2010 and will be funded through 2024!
Congratulations on this terrific accomplishment!
Added 2/27/2020
Dr. Zheng Dong has been notified that his VA Senior Research Career Scientist award has been renewed for seven years.
Added 2/3/2020
Great News! Dr. Zheng Dong has been appointed Associate Editor for the American Journal of Physiology – Renal Physiology. His appointment is effective January 1, 2020.
Congratulations Dr. Dong on this notable achievement!
Added 1/8/2020
Congratulations to Graduate Research Assistant Helen Kaiser (Dr. Mark Hamrick’s lab) who presented her 3 Minute Thesis today in Atlanta at the Board of Regents meeting. Helen’s presentation was well received by the Regents and others in the audience. She is an excellent representative of Augusta University and the Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy.
Added 1/8/2020
2019
Two of our graduate students successfully defended their thesis and received their
diploma for the PhD degree at the Augusta University graduation ceremony on December
13, 2019.
Jingwen Cai presented a seminar describing her project “The Role of Glaucoma-Related
Genes in Schlemm’s Canal Endothelial Cells” on August 27, 2019. Jingwen was mentored
by Dr. Yutao Liu. She successfully defended her research project to her thesis committee,
which included, Dr. Mitchell Watsky, Dr. Sylvia Smith, Dr. Mark Hamrick, and Dr. Kathryn
Bollinger, Dr. Xingjun Fan served as a reader for the thesis.
Jessica Pierce presented a seminar describing her project “"Investigating the Role
of the Hdac3 Co-Repressor Complex in Glucocorticoid Signaling-Mediated Bone Marrow
Lipid Storage with Age" on October 24, 2019. Jessica was mentored by Dr. Meghan McGee-Lawrence.
She successfully defended her research project to her thesis committee, which included,
Dr. Wendy Bollag, Dr. William Hill, Dr. Mark Hamrick, and Dr. Xing-Ming Shi, Dr. Graydon
Gonsalvez served as a reader for the thesis.
Congratulations Drs. Cai and Pierce!
Added 12/16/2019
Graduate Research Assistant and Graduate SGA President Mackenzie Hagan (Dr. Meghan McGee-Lawrence lab) received an ASBMR Fund for Research and Education Young Investigator Award at the ASBMR 2019 Annual Meeting for the abstract, "Impaired pericellular matrix production and selection for enhanced cell membrane repair with aging may impair responses to mechanical loading in the aging skeleton." Mackenzie Hagan is pictured here receiving the award with the ASBMR 2019 President Bart Clarke, M.D. Congratulations Mackenzie!
Added 12/3/2019
Dr. Sang-Ho Kwon has received a $1.7 million dollar grant from the National Institute
of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) to study the role of exosomes
in kidney damage. Dr. Kwon is researching the role that exosomes play to repair damage
and restore function in acute kidney injury.
Congratulations on this wonderful achievement!
Added 11/5/2019
CBA graduate student Jessica Pierce, successfully defended her thesis today and received a unanimous vote from her committee to graduate "With Distinction." The title of her dissertation is "Investigating the Role of the Hdac3 Co-Repressor Complex in Glucocorticoid Signaling-Mediated Bone Marrow Lipid Storage with Age." Jessica is a member of Dr. Meghan McGee-Lawrences lab.
Congratulations Jessica on this wonderful accomplishment!
Added 10/25/2019
Dr. Mark Hamrick was presented the 2019 Augusta University Research Institutes (AURI)
Distinguished Researcher Award at the research celebration held at Fat Man's Mill
on Friday, October 18th, 2019.
Congratulations on this very prestigious honor!
Added 10/21/2019
Congratulations to Drs. Mitchell Watsky and Wendy Bollag as they have received notice
of award for their RO1 grant from National Institutes of Health, “Phosphatidylglycerol
as a Therapy for Corneal Injury.”
This is a marvelous accomplishment!
Added 9/16/2019
Congratulations to Dr. Sang-Ho Kwon as he has received notice of award for his R21
grant. This notice is from the National Cancer Institute for “A novel approach to
detect exosome-localized proteins and its application in breast cancer detection.”
This is a fantastic accomplishment!
Added 9/10/2019
Congratulations to Jingwen Cai (laboratory of Dr. Yutao Liu) who successfully defended
her thesis yesterday, August 27, 2019. The title of her dissertation is “The Role
of Glaucoma-Related Genes in Schlemm’s Canal Endothelial Cells.”
Special thanks to her advisor, committee members and to all members of our department
for their support of our student!
Congratulations Jingwen!
Added 8/28/2019
On Tuesday August 15th, Dr. Bruce Beutler was our keynote speaker at the third Dr. G. Lombard Kelly Lectureship Series.
Dr. Bruce Beutler, Regental Professor and Director for the Genetics of Host Defense,
UT Southwestern Medical Center, was the honored guest selected by our CBA Graduate
Students. In 2011, Dr. Beutler was awarded the Nobel Prize in Immunology. He was a superb keynote speaker and the Lectureship a huge success! We are so very
proud of the leadership of the graduate students in planning the visit and appreciate
the faculty that participated in his visit and all those that attended the seminar.
Thanks to everyone for your efforts and for representing the department so positively!
Added 8/15/2019
Dr. Bruce A. Beutler is an American immunologist and geneticist. Together with Jules A. Hoffmann, he received on-half of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, for "their discoveries concerning the activation of innate immunity." This research was conducted at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, The Scripps Research Institute La Jolla, CA. Dr. Beutler was invited to present by the graduate students of the Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy. Dr. Beutler presented "Discovery of gene function using random germline mutagenesis in mice."
The Dr. G. Lombard Kelly Lectureship is named after Dr. G. Lombard Kelly who was an
Augusta native and 1924 MCG graduate. He was a faculty member in the Department of
Anatomy, the first department of MCG. He rose though the ranks to become the chair
of the department, then the dean of the medical school and eventually president of
MCG, the nation's 13th oldest and 8th largest medical school. We are honored to have
Dr. Beutler as the third G. Lombard
Kelly lecturer and applaud the students for selecting such a deserving candidate.
We would like to thank our graduate students, faculty and staff for their considerable efforts in ensuring the success of the Kelly Lectureship. Special thanks are due also to Mrs. Heide Andrews and Mrs. Sharon Lever for their assistance.
Added 8/15/2019
Exciting News! Dr. Kenneth Sang Ho Kwon has received notification of an R01 from the NIDDK (National Institutes of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases) effective July 1. This five year award will allow Dr. Kwon to understand the regulation of exosome release and its role in acute kidney injury.
Congratulations Dr. Kwon!
Added 7/8/2019
Dr. David Hess acknowledged Dr. Yutao Liu's fantastic accomplishment in the Medical College of Georgia Deans Diary on June 14, 2019. Dr. Liu brings a $2.1 million dollar NIH grant to fight keratoconus.
Dr. Liu, vision scientist and human geneticist in the Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy, just received a $2.1 million grant from the National Eye Institute to better understand what the disease and the gene mutations associated with it do to the cornea, which lets most of the light into our eyes so we can ultimately see. Like most of you, his long-term goals include finding better ways to treat or even prevent keratoconus and avoid results like extreme nearsightedness and double vision. He has even developed the first keratoconus mouse model to enable these studies that will also examine human corneal tissue. Like Steph Curry, Dr. Liu has great teammates like cornea specialist Dr. Amy Estes and collaborators at Duke University. Congratulations and thanks Dr. Liu and team – David Hess.
Added 6/18/2019
Great News! Dr. Yutao Liu, Associate Professor of CBA, has been awarded an NIH 5
year R01
entitled: Cellular and Molecular Genetics of Keratoconus. Drs. Mitch Watsky, Sylvia
Smith,
Amy Estes (Ophthalmology), and Hongyan Xu (Biostatistics) are co-investigators on
this award.
Congratulations to all!
Added 4/25/2019
During the MCG Faculty Awards Ceremony on April 25, 2019, two members of our faculty were honored with Educator of the Year Awards. Dr. William (Bill) Pearson, Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy, was presented by Christian Cullen, President, Class of 2022. Dr. Brett Szymik, AU/UGA Medical Partnership, was presented by Miller Singleton, President, Class of 2020 on behalf of Taylor Tabb, President, Class of 2022.
Congratulations on this well-deserved honor!
Added 4/25/2019
Several CBA graduate students were recognized for EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH at last night’s GRD dinner:
Chandler Goldman (Cellular Biology and Anatomy Excellence in Research Award)
Mackenzie Hagan (Graduate School Excellence in Research Award)
Shannon Barwick (Culver Vision Discovery Institute Excellence in Vision Research Award)
Jessica Pierce (Fisher Scientific/Phi Kappa Phi Award for Excellence in Biomedical
Research)
We acknowledge two students who were excellent ambassadors for CBA in the 3MT competition:
Helen Kaiser and Soumya Navneet
Congratulations to these students!
Added 4/25/2019
CBA is celebrating the recent achievements of two students. Congratulations to Mariam Lofty Khaled, from Dr. Yutao Liu's lab, for successfully defending her thesis April 22, 2019. The title of her thesis, In Search of Genetic Mutations for Familial Keratoconus. Additionally, Congratulations are in order for Soumya Navneet, from Dr. Sylvia Smith's lab, for successfully defending her thesis April 24, 2019. The title of her thesis, Neuron-Glia Interaction and Role of NRF2 in Hyperhomocysteinemic Retina.
Best wishes and congratulations on a job well done!
Added 4/24/2019
Dr. Meghan McGee-Lawrence’s 2nd year medical student (Medical Scholars Program participant, Summer 2018), Brooke Vinson, was awarded 1st place in the 2019 Langman Graduate Student Platform Presentation Award competition at the AAA meeting at the Experimental Biology meeting. Brooke’s presentation was titled, “Estrogen deficiency from ovariectomy enhances the formation of osteocyte plasma membrane disruptions from treadmill exercise in vivo.” Special thanks to Dr. Anna Edmondson and Dr. David Kozlowski for their feedback to shape Brooke’s presentation into its winning form!
Congratulations to all!
Added 4/15/2019
Congratulations to the CBA graduate students for their participation in the Graduate
Research Day poster session. Anuj Sharma, Mackenzie Hagan, and Jessica Pierce from
Dr. McGee-Lawrence’s lab, Ting Liu from Dr. Chen’s lab, Mariam Khaled and Jingwen
Cai from Dr. Liu’s lab, Devi Boggupalli and Chandler Goldman from Dr. Gonsalvez lab,
Helen Kaiser from Dr. Hamrick’s lab and Shannon Barwick from the Smith lab represented
CBA very well. Congratulations to our students and their mentors for their contributions
to science!!!
In addition to mentors who served as judges, there are several other CBA faculty members
who participated in judging including Drs. Ming Zhang, Ellen LeMosy, Sangho Kwon,
Xingjun Fan, Barbara Mysona, and Jing Wang. Thank you!
Finally, Dr. Hamrick, our CBA PhD program director served on the planning committee
for GRD and also judged post-doctoral oral presentations and Dr. Watsky, Dean of the
Graduate school is responsible for the success of this day. We thank him for his dedication
to the Graduate School. Great effort by many! Bravo!
Added 4/2/2019
Great News! Dr. Ming Zhang has been awarded a BrightFocus Foundation Macular Degeneration
Research award “The role of cytomegalovirus in the development of neovascular age-related
macular degeneration (AMD)” beginning July 1, 2019.
Congratulations to Dr. Zhang on this fantastic news!
Added 3/26/2019
Dr. Sylvia Smith received supplemental equipment funding on her NIH RO1 grant entitled, "Sigma 1 Receptor: a novel therapeutic target for retinal degeneration."
Congratulations Dr. Smith!
Added 2/12/2019
2018
Great News! Dr. Yutao Liu, Associate Professor of CBA, has been notified by his program officer at the National Eye Institute that the competing renewal of his R01: Cellular and Molecular Genetics of Keratoconus will be funded for 5 years! This is great news for Dr. Liu and for our department!
Congratulations Dr. Liu and all of the lab members and colleagues who contributed to this important project!
Added 12/4/2018
We are pleased to announce that several CBA faculty members have been recognized for their outstanding contribution to medical education. Individuals that have been selected to receive the MCG 2018 Exemplary teaching awards include Dr. Anna Edmondson, Dr. Graydon Gonsalvez, Dr. Alexa Hryniuk, Dr. Ellen LeMosy, Dr. Carol Nichols, and Dr. Bill Pearson
Our CBA colleagues at the Athens campus were also recognized including Dr. Thom Gaddy, Dr. Deloris Hesse and Dr. Brett Szymik.
Congratulations to all for this well-deserved recognition and thanks for the outstanding effort in educating the next generation of physicians!
Added 11/26/2018
Dr. Mark Hamrick, Regents' Professor and long-time member of our faculty, was honored in the MCG Investiture Ceremony with the George G. Weiss Research Professorship. Mr. George Weiss was an Augusta newsman and entrepreneur. He was responsible for a number of broadcasting stations in our area, including WBBQ. He was a philanthropist who clearly valued basic science research. Dr. Hamrick acknowledged the generosity of Mr. Weiss in his remarks at the ceremony and also shared a very amusing story about his first microscope and his creative approach to using it! Indeed, that story captures Dr. Hamrick’s spirit . . . he is intrigued by the skeletal system and has a keen interest in improving bone strength, especially as impacted by aging. His work is funded by the NIH and the DOD. Dr. Hamrick is committed to research, but also to mentoring and advancing our educational mission. He brings his enthusiasm for research to his duties as the PhD graduate program director for CBA. CBA now has two endowed chairs (Drs. Zheng Dong and Mark Hamrick). Truly outstanding!
Congratulations on this exceptional distinction!
Added October 31, 2018
The Medical Scholars Research Day was held on Monday, October 29, 2018. The Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy was well represented with 8 freshman medical students completing basic science and medical education projects that spanned over the course of the summer. Mentors and co-mentors for these students included Drs. Edmondson, Hamrick, Hryniuk, McGee-Lawrence, Nichols, Smith and Watsky
Thanks to all for contributing to the success of this summer research experience!
Added 10/30/2018
Dr. Zheng Dong and his lab members have been notified by the Journal of Clinical Investigation that their recently submitted paper has been accepted for publication. The title of the paper is "microRNA-668 represses MTP18 to preserve mitochondrial dynamics in ischemic acute kidney injury." This study builds upon the lab’s previous work published in 2007 (PNAS) and 2009 (JCI).
Congratulations for this important contribution to the field of kidney research!
Added 10/16/2018
Dr. Mark Hamrick, Regents' Professor and long-time member of our faculty, has been selected to receive the endowed George G. Weiss Research Professorship. This wonderful news was announced at the State of the School address on September 21, 2018.
Congratulations on this exceptional distinction!
Added September 25, 2018
Two of our CBA faculty received supplemental equipment funding on their grants. Dr. Yutao Liu on his NEI R21 entitled, "Long Noncoding RNA IncLOXL1 and Exfoliation Syndrome" and Dr. Graydon Gonsavlez on his NIH Ro1 entitled, " A Molecular Examination of mRNA Localization and Cell Polarization."
Congratulations Drs. Gonsalvez and Liu!
Added 9/20/2018
The Graduate School recently held a "Welcome Back" reception for new students, returning students and faculty. Dr. Meghan McGee-Lawrence was voted by the students to receive the Students Choice Award for Excellence in Teaching as the top lecturer in Cellular Biology and Anatomy.
Congratulations Dr. McGee-Lawrence and thank you for your commitment to TGS!
Added 8/27/2018
Jessica Pierce has been selected to receive an ASBMR 2018 Annual Meeting Young Investigator Travel Grant for the abstract presentation “Conditional Deletion of the Glucocorticoid Receptor in Osteoprogenitors Reveals Complex Roles for Glucocorticoid Signaling in Caloric Restriction-Induced Bone Marrow Fat Accumulation”. The Young Investigator Travel Grant is given to the top young investigators who will present at the annual meeting. The annual meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research will be held in September in Montreal, Canada. We are delighted that CBA will be well-represented at this conference! Jessica Pierce is one of our Graduate School students serving in Dr. Meghan McGee-Lawerences lab.
Congratulations Jessica!
Added 8/2/2018
Our recent CBA graduate student, Dr. Khaled Elmasry, who defended his thesis this spring has accepted a post-doctoral position in the laboratory of Dr. Patricia D’Amore at Schepens Eye Research Institute, Mass. Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School at Boston, MA. Dr. Elmasry completed his thesis in the laboratory of Dr. Mohamed Al-Shabrawey, who holds a joint appointment in our department and is Professor of Oral Biology in the Dental College.
Congratulations Dr. El-Masry!
Added 7/30/2018
Dr. Ellen LeMosy was selected by the students for the Pre-matriculation Faculty Choice Award for Teaching Excellence at the SEEP/Pre-matriculation banquet. The presenting student offered the following comments "Dr. LeMosy introduced us to the world of medicine, both in its challenges and wonder," the students greatly appreciate her efforts during the summer pre-matriculation program.
Congratulations and great work Dr. LeMosy!
Added July 23, 2018
Dr. Yutao Liu has been featured in the news for his work on LOXL1 and Exfoliation Glaucoma! More information regarding the recent press release "Gene Regulator May Contribute to Protein Pileup in Exfoliation Glaucoma", may be found at the link here.
Congratulations to Dr. Liu and his team!
Added July 19, 2018
Ting Liu has received the summer 2018 American Heart Association Pre-doctorial Fellowship Award entitled "Role of Class III Phosphatidylinositol-3 Kinase in Compensatory Nephron Hypertrophy." Ting Liu is one of our Graduate School students serving in Dr. Jiankang Chen's lab.
Congratulations Ting!
Added 7/19/2018
Dr. Carol Nichols was recently promoted to Professor.
Congratulations Dr. Nichols!
Added 7/2/2018
Dr. Jian-Kang Chen was recently awarded tenure.
Congratulations Dr. Chen!
Added 7/2/2018
Dr. Meghan McGee-Lawrence was recently promoted to Associate Professor. Congratulations Dr. McGee-Lawrence!
Added 7/2/2018
Dr. Brett Szymik, Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy AU/MCG Athens partnership campus was recently promoted to Associate Professor. Congratulations Dr. Szymik!
Added 7/2/2018
Congratulations to Dr. William David Hill on his retirement from MCG at Augusta University following 26 years of service! Dr. Hill retired as professor of cellular biology and anatomy. Dr. Hill has been heavily involved in the research and education missions of our institution since he joined the faculty in 1992. Dr. Hill had strong research ties with several groups including the regenerative medicine group, orthopedics and neurology. Dr. Hill is joining the faculty of the Medical University of South Carolina and we wish him and his family the very best!
Congratulations to Dr. Hill!
Added 6/29/2018
Dr. Graydon Gonsalvez has been awarded a National Institute of General Medicine Sciences/NIH/DHHS RO1 award entitled, "A Molecular Examination on mRNA Localization and Cell Polarization."
Congratulations to Dr. Gonsalvez!
Added 6/12/2018
Dr. Mark Hamrick has been awarded a three year grant from the Department of Defense entitled "Exosome Therapy for Stabilization of Extremity Injury" beginning June 1, 2018.
Congratulations to Dr. Hamrick on this fantastic news!
Added 5/18/2018
Dr. Mark Hamrick was selected to be the guest speaker at the Eighth Dr. Paul McDonough Lectureship & Symposium held on Friday, May 18th. Dr. Hamrick presented, "Extracellular Veiscles in the Pathogenesis of Human Disease."
Congratulations to Dr. Hamrick on this prestigious invitation!
Added 5/18/2018
Khaled El-Masry presented a seminar describing his project “Mechanism of 12/15 Lipoxygenase-Induced Retinal Microvascular Dysfunction in Diabetic Retinopathy” on April 26th, 2018. Khaled was mentored by Dr. Mohamed Al-Shabrawey, Professor of Oral Biology and Professor of Cellular Biology/Anatomy. He successfully defended his project to his thesis committee, which included Dr. Ruth Caldwell, Dr. Amany Tawfik, Dr. Manuela Bartoli, Dr. David Fulton; Dr. Yutao Liu served as a reader for the thesis.
Congratulations Dr. El-Masry!
Added 5/3/2018
Lawrence Hicks, better known as Larry, presented a seminar describing his project “In vitro and in vivostudies demonstrate a role for Sh3px1 in lamellipodia formation” on April 19th, 2018. Larry was mentored by Dr. Graydon Gonsalvez. He successfully defended his research project to his thesis committee, which included Dr. Paul McNeil, Dr. Wendy Bollag, Dr. Albert Pan, Dr. Ellen LeMosy; Dr. William Hill served as a reader for the thesis.
Congratulations Dr. Hicks!
Added 5/3/2018
Dr. Ellen LeMosy, Associate Professor, has been awarded a 3-year Re-Entry into Biomedical Research Careers Supplement to collaborate with the Princeton University Laboratory of Dr. Rebecca Burdine on their NIAMS RO1 titled, "Cilia Function in Spine Development and Disease." Dr. LeMosey will address relationships of ECM and Wnt signaling to ciclia function in zebrafish models of juvenile idiopathic scoliosis. For more detailed information about Dr. Burdine's research, please visit the featured NIH Directors Blog here.
Congratulations on a job well done!
Added April 30, 2018
Dr. Brett Szymik, Assistant Professor of Anatomy with the MCG/UGA Medical Partnership Campus, was awarded the Outstanding Educator Award presented by the MCG/UGA Class of 2021. The award was presented on April 19, 2018 at the MCG Faculty Awards Ceremony.
Congratulations on this praiseworthy achievement!
Added April 19, 2018
Dr. Paul McNeil, Professor and Director of the Cell Imaging Core, was presented with the Outstanding Educator Award by the MCG Class of 2021 on April 19, 2018 during the MCG Faculty Awards Ceremony.
Congratulations on this laudable achievement!
Added April 19, 2018
Dr. Meghan McGee-Lawrence, Assistant Professor, received the Outstanding Young Faculty Award - Basic Science at the most recent MCG Faculty Awards Ceremony held on April 19, 2018.
Congratulations on this most notable accomplishment!
Added April 19, 2018
Dr. Mark Hamrick, Regents' Professor and Department Director of Graduate Studies, received the Outstanding Research Award at the MCG Faculty Awards Ceremony held on April 19, 2018.
Congratulations on this most distinguished award!
Added April 19, 2018
Shawna McCafferty, MD Student Class of 2018, has been selected to co-lead a workshop, "Practice Makes Perfect: How to Engage Medical Students in Professionalism Discussions," at the 2018 International Association of Medical Science Educators meeting (IAMSE) to be held this June in Las Vegas, NV. Shawna also has received a travel award to present her work at the meeting. Her co-presenters are Matt Rivera-Bloodworth, MD Student Class of 2018 and Carol Nichols, PhD.
Congratulations on this wonderful accomplishment!
Added April 18, 2018
Khaled El Masry, PhD Student in Dr. Mohamed Al-Shabrawey's lab, was recently honored at the 3 Minute Thesis and Research Day Award's Banquet (3MT). Developed by the University of Queensland, the 3 minute Thesis competition celebrates the exciting research conducted by Doctor of Philosophy students. The competition is driven by a students abilities to effectively explain their research in 3 minutes in a language appropriate to a non-specialists audience. Khaled El Masry was selected as the Peoples Choice Award winner and received $250.00 for his presentation, "New Target for Prevention of Diabetic Eye Complications." To read more about this exciting event, click here.
Congratulations on a job well done!
Added April 16, 2018
Jingwen Cai, PhD Student in Dr. Yutao Liu's lab, was a recent finalist at the 3 Minute Thesis and Research Day Award's Banquet (3MT). Developed by the University of Queensland, the 3 minute Thesis competition celebrates the exciting research conducted by Doctor of Philosophy students. The competition is driven by a students abilities to effectively explain their research in 3 minutes in a language appropriate to a non-specialists audience.
Congratulations on a wonderful presentation!
Added April 16, 2018
Devi Boggupalli, PhD Student in Dr. Graydon Gonasalvez's lab, received the Excellence
in Research Award at the 34th Annual Graduate Research Day event for his presentation
"Tropomyosin1c Levels are Regulated by Slmb-Mediated Degradation." The Excellence
in Research Award carried a prize worth $100.00.
Congratulations on this wonderful award!
Added April 16, 2018
On Tuesday, April 10th, Dr. Christiaan Leeuwenburgh was our keynote speaker at the second Dr. G. Lombard Kelly Lectureship Series. Dr. Christiaan Leeuwenburgh is the Vice-Chair of Research and Professor in the Department of Aging from the University of Florida and the honored guest selected by our CBA Graduate Students. He was a superb keynote speaker and the Lectureship a huge success! We are so very proud of the leadership of the graduate students in planning the visit and appreciate the faculty that participated in his visit and that attended the seminar.
Thanks to everyone for your efforts and for representing the department so positively!
Added April 11, 2018
The search is on for a treatment target for acute kidney injury. Dr. Zheng Dong, principal investigator on a new $2.2 million grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Diseases, is researching just how autophagy is hampered in diabetes and searching for targets to bolster autophagy in an effort to help patients and their kidneys better survive diabetes and to recover from an acute kidney injury. When you have diabetes then get an acute kidney injury, there is a multiplier effect that can worsen your prognosis and destroy your kidneys. To read more about this exciting research, click here.
Added April 10, 2018
Dr. Mark Hamrick received the Graduate School 2018 Award for Outstanding Research. The award was presented on April 9, 2018 at the Annual State of the Graduate School Address and Awards Ceremony. Dr. Hamrick is a Regents' Professor of Cellular Biology and Anatomy and Orthopedic Surgery. He also serves as the Director of the CBA PhD program and Co-director for the Center for Healthy Aging.
Congratulations!
Added April 10, 2018
On Friday, March 23rd, the Graduate School held its annual Graduate Research Day. The participation by Cellular Biology and Anatomy was excellent. A number of our students presented posters including Ahmed Elmansi (Hill lab), Mackenzie Hagan and Jessica Pierce (McGee-Lawrence lab), Chandler Goldman and Devi Boggupalli (Gonsalvez lab), Jingwen Cai and Mariam Khaled (Liu lab), Helen Kaiser (Hamrick lab), Ting Liu (Chen lab), Khaled Elmasry (Al-Shabrawey lab) and Soumya Navneet (Smith lab). We are very proud of each of these students and congratulate them on developing posters that captured the hard work dedicated to their ongoing research projects. Congratulations also to their mentors in guiding these students in this endeavor. The faculty members whose students participated also served as judges for the posters. Thanks also to Dr. Hamrick for his role on the organizing committee and to Dr. Mitchell Watsky, Graduate School Dean, for his leadership!
Thanks to all for their efforts…it was a great day for research in the department!
Added March 26, 2018
Dr. Zheng Dong's lab has been notified of acceptance of manuscript in the journal "Nature Communications." Dr. Shixuan Wang is the lead author of this contribution entitled, "The CPLANE Protein Intu Protects Kidneys from Ischemia-reperfusion Injury by Targeting STAT1 for Degradation."
Congratulations to all in the Dong Lab for this excellent achievement!
Added March 5, 2018
Great News! Dr. Yutao Liu has been awarded an NIH R21 on his project exfoliation glaucoma entitled "Long Noncoding RNA IncLOXL1 and Exfoliation Syndrome."
Congratulations to Dr. Liu on this outstanding accomplishment!
Added February 21, 2018
This year at the annual meeting of the American Association of Anatomists there will be six MCG students presenting Anatomy Education Research. They have garnered the awards for their work and their names and poster/paper titles are listed below. Additionally, two other MCG students will be leading a focus session at the International Association of Medical Science Educators meeting in June.
We congratulate these students for their outstanding work and appreciate the recognition they bring to MCG in these national forums. We recognize also the excellent mentorship of the students by the CBA faculty, Drs. Anna Edmondson, Carol Nichols, Alexa Hryniuk and from the Department of Pathology, Dr. Barbara Russell.
Harrison Houston - Effects of Exam Group Time on Academic Performance. He is a platform award finalist for an AAA Educational Research Platform Presentation Award. Faculty Mentors: Anna Edmondson and Carol Nichols
Tommy Ng - Identifying Learning and Study Strategies as Predictors for Academic Performance in Gross Anatomy. He is a platform award finalist for an AAA Educational Research Platform Presentation Award. Faculty Mentors: Anna Edmondson, Alexa Hryniuk, and Carol Nichols
Rachel Corbitt - Evaluation of Critical Thinking Skills in the Anatomy and Development Components of the First Year Medical School Curriculum. She is a poster award finalist for an AAA/ASE Student/Postdoctoral Education Research Poster Award. Rachel was also selected for an oral presentation in an Education Platform Session at the meeting Faculty Mentors: Anna Edmondson, Alexa Hryniuk, and Carol Nichols
Dalton Sherwood - Early Identification of Factors Contributing to Allied Health Students’ Academic Difficulties in Gross Anatomy. He is a poster award finalist for an AAA/ASE Student/Postdoctoral Education Research Poster Award. Faculty Mentors: Anna Edmondson, Alexa Hryniuk, and Carol Nichols
Katherine Jennings - The Effectiveness of a First Patient Discoveries Project in Promoting Observational Medicine and Diagnostic Decision-Making. She is a poster award finalist for an AAA/ASE Student/Postdoctoral Education Research Poster Award. Faculty Mentors: Anna Edmondson, Alexa Hryniuk, and Carol Nichols
Briana Bennett - Identifying Predictors for Academic Performance in the MCG Pre-Clinical Curriculum. She will be presenting a poster at the meeting. Faculty Mentors: Anna Edmondson, Carol Nichols, and Barbara Russell
IAMSE Meeting Information
Shawna McCafferty and Matt Rivera Bloodworth– Practice Makes Perfect: How to Engage Medical Students in Professionalism Discussions. They will be leading a 1.5 hour Focus Session at the International Association of Medical Science Educators meeting in June in Las Vegas, NV. Faculty Mentor: Carol Nichols
Congratulations to all!
Added February 14, 2018
Graduate student Helen Kaiser, from Dr. Mark Hamrick's lab, has been selected as a platform award finalist for the AAA Graduate Student Platform Presentation Award. Helen will be recognized at the AAA Annual Meeting at EB 2018 in San Diego, CA this April during the closing ceremonies where the winners will be announced. Helen was among the top 6 highest scores chosen by the American Association of Anatomists (AAA) and the Committee for Early Career Anatomists (CECA) in the graduate student scientific category to compete in this award.
Congratulations and best of luck to Helen Kaiser!
Added February 13, 2018
Our EM/Histology Core made the cover of the journal Cancer Prevention Research! The beautiful sectioning by Donna Kumiski was the cover art for "Cyclic-GMP-Elevating Agents Suppress Polyposis in ApcMin Mice by Targeting the Preneoplastic Epithelium." The EM/Histo Core Staff members, pictured left to right, include Libby Perry, Penny Roon, Donna Kumiski and Brendan Marshall.
Congratulations to Donna and the entire EM/Histology Core for their excellent work!
Added February 7, 2018
Dr. Carlos Isales, Regents' Professor in the MCG Department of Medicine, and Dr. Mark Hamrick, bone biologist in the MCG Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy, were recently named co-directors of MCG's new Center for Healthy Aging. The Center for Healthy Aging will work to provide a comprehensive approach to patient care and science that enables aging Americans to maintain or regain there independence. Congratulations on your appointment!
Added February 6, 2018
Good news! Dr. Meghan McGee-Lawrence has received notification from the American Diabetes Association that they will support a one-year Minority Undergraduate Internship allowing her to mentor Natasha Culpepper from the Summerville campus. Natasha's project is titled "Regulation of OPG by osteoblastic Hdac3 to control hepatic inflammation and systemic insulin sensitivity."
Added January 19, 2018
Several of our faculty members have been recognized for their outstanding contributions to medical education. Individuals who have received the MCG 2017 Exemplary Teaching Award include Drs. Anna Edmondson, Alexa Hryniuk, Carol Nichols, Tom Gale, William Pearson and Paul McNeil. Drs. Thom Gaddy, Greg Nagle, Deloris Hess and Brett Szymik, colleagues at the Athens campus, were also recognized. Congratulations to all for this well-deserved recognition and thanks for the outstanding effort in educating the next generation of physicians!
Added January 3, 2018
2017
Dr. Yutao Liu has been invited to be a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for
The Glaucoma Foundation. Dr. Liu has been funded by this organization several times
and this invitation is a clear indication of his contributions to the field of glaucoma
research.
Congratulations!
Added October 23, 2017
Congratulations to 
Dr. Paul McNeil for the Lifetime Achievement award and Dr. Meghan McGee-Lawrence
for the Emerging Scientist award presented by the AU Research Institute! Our colleagues
were honored at the AURI research happy hour on Friday evening, October 20th and what
a happy event it was for these distinguished colleagues.
This is fantastic news!
Added October 23, 2017
Dr. Zheng Dong, a cell biologist and Regents’ Professor at the Medical 
College of Georgia, was recognized as the Leon Henri Charbonnier Endowed Chair in
Cellular Biology and Anatomy at the 9th annual investiture ceremony.
This is the first endowed chair in our department and is very well deserved recognition for the manifold contributions to kidney research made by Dr. Dong! Dr. Dong received this honor in recognition for his outstanding contributions to research, his sustained extramural funding and his mentorship of post-doctoral fellows, research associates and students during the 15 years on our faculty.
Added October 6, 2017
Dr. Smith's lab has received a new R01 grant from the National Eye Institute (NIH) for the project entitled, "Sigma 1 Receptor: a novel therapeutic target for retinal degeneration." Drs. Jing Wang and Rachel Cui contributed significantly to the preliminary data for this award and will be actively engaged in the project. Co-investigators Drs. Graydon Gonsalvez, Alan Saul (Ophthalmology) and Bobby Thomas (Pharmacology/Toxicology) will be working collaboratively with the Smith group to execute this project.
Congratulations to all!
Added September 26, 2017
The 9th annual Medical Scholars Research Day was held in the Harrison Ed Commons building. It was a tremendous success and our department was very well represented! Special thanks to all faculty who mentored students and to the members of our terrific department who interacted with these students. Students were engaged in cell biological research, educational research and anatomical research. Included among CBA faculty who served as mentors were Drs. Anna Edmondson, Patricia Schoenlein, Meghan McGee-Lawrence, Hill, Nichols, Hamrick, Bill Pearson.
Great job! Thanks to all!
Added September 26, 2018
Dr. Jian-Kang Chen was awarded funding by the National Institutes of Health for his proposal, "Mechanisms Underlying the Susceptibility and Severity of Acute Kidney Injury". Congratulations Dr. Chen!
Added August 15, 2017
Dr. Mitchell Watsky, dean of The Graduate School, was recently recognized in an Augusta University News Release for his research "Too LIttle Vitamin D May Hinder Recovery of Injured Corneas". Congratulations Dr. Watsky!
READ MORE ABOUT DR. WATSKY'S RESEARCH
Added July 24, 2017
Congratulations to all StaR students and their mentors! This summer the CBA department had a total of SEVEN undergraduate students participate in this outstanding summer research experience. The STaR poster session this morning demonstrated the high degree of engagement of these students in exciting projects. There were a total of 21 students in the STaR program so CBA was very well represented!
Thanks to all mentors: Drs. LeMosy (Mr. A. Feather), Schoenlein (Ms. A. Liu), McGee-Lawrence (Mr. E. Stokes and Ms. N. Del Mazo), Liu (Ms. S. Yablonski, Hill (Mr. E. De Miranda) and Hamrick (Mr. L. Martinez).
Added July 20, 2017
Congratulations to Dr. Meghan E. McGee-Lawrence, biomedical engineer, in the Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy. Dr. Meghan McGee-Lawrence was asked to join the Editorial review board for the Journal of Orthopaedic Research. This is the official journal of the Orthopaedic Research Society and a well-respected journal in the field of Orthopaedics.
Added July 6, 2017
As part of the College of Graduate Studies, the Summer STAR (Student Training And Research) Program provides a biomedical research experience for undergraduate students interested in pursuing a graduate education in the biomedical sciences. On June 15th the Cellular Biology & Anatomy Department had an opportunity to lead one of the STAR research workshops highlighting research approaches in CB&A, with a focus on Bone Biology and Regenerative Medicine. Drs. Meghan McGee-Lawrence and Dave Hill led a discussion and laboratory tours with the able assistance of CB&A graduate students (Mackenzie Hagan, Jessica Pierce, & Ahmed Elmansi), Post-doctoral Fellow Dr. Khaled Hussein, and other lab staff. Students toured and experienced equipment/technique demonstrations in Dr. McGee-Lawrence’s lab (Digimus bone densitometry and body composition, exercise studies, bone histomorphometry), the CB&A Electron Microscopy & Histology Core with demonstrations by Donna Kumiski and Libby Perry (electron microscopy and histology techniques, including specialized bone techniques), as well as Core facilities that support their NIH P01 Grant Projects: Dr. Mohammed Elsalanty’s lab (3D bone imaging, biomechanical testing), and the Stem Cell Core run by Dr. Xingming Shi where Dr. Hill’s lab demonstrated culturing stem cells under normoxic and hypoxic conditions.
Added June 20, 2017
Major research initiative explores how our bones and muscles age, new ways to block their decline. Our investigators are dissecting just what happens to the stem cells that make the tissues, which help keep us upright, with an eye on improving healthspan. Congratulations to our investigators on their Program Project.
READ MORE ABOUT THE PROGRAM PROJECT
Added June 6, 2017
We are happy to announce that Dr. Sylvia Smith received the notice of award for the Foundation Fighting Blindness grant entitled: "Targeting Sigma 1 Receptor in Retinitis Pigmentosa". Congratulations Dr. Smith!
Added June 1, 2017
Congratulations to Drs. Yutao Liu, Mark Hamrick, William Hill and Meghan McGee-Lawrence received notice of award from the National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging for their research entitled: Age Induced Impairment of Nutrient Signaling Results in Bone Loss.
Congratulations on this fantastic accomplishment!
Added May 1, 2017
The MCG Faculty Senate recognized Dr. Zheng Dong for his exceptional accomplishments by awarding him with the Basic Science Research Award. Congratulations for this well-deserved recognition at the recent MCG Faculty Awards Ceremony!
Added April 21, 2017
Congratulations to Dr. Mark Hamrick, Regents' Professor in the Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy and Drs. Meghan McGee-Lawrence, William Hill, Yutao Liu for their Notice of Award for their Research Program Project beginning May 1, 2017 from The National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging entitled: Age Induced Impairment of Nutrient Signaling Results in Bone Loss.
Added April 12, 2017
Congratulations to Dr. Dave Hill, Professor in the Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy and Drs. Meghan McGee-Lawrence, Mark Hamrick, Yutao Liu for their Notice of Award for their Research Program Project beginning May 1, 2017 from The National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging entitled: Age Induced Impairment of Nutrient Signaling Results in Bone Loss.
Added April 12, 2017
Congratulations to Dr. Yutao Liu, Associate Professor in the Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy and Drs. Meghan McGee-Lawrence, Mark Hamrick, William Hill for their Notice of Award for their Research Program Project beginning May 1, 2017 from The National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging entitled: Age Induced Impairment of Nutrient Signaling Results in Bone Loss.
Added April 12, 2017
Congratulations to Dr. Meghan E. McGee-Lawrence, biomedical engineer in the Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy and Drs. Yutao Liu, Mark Hamrick, William Hill for their Notice of Award for their Research Program Project beginning May 1, 2017 from The National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging entitled: Age Induced Impairment of Nutrient Signaling Results in Bone Loss.
Added April 12, 2017
Congratulations to Dr. Meghan E. McGee-Lawrence, biomedical engineer in the Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy and Dr. Alexis M. Stranahan, neuroscientist from Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine for their paper describing benefit of whole body vibration in the face of obesity and diabetes. This is a terrific demonstration of research collaboration as these two scientists from different fields examined a model whereby whole body movement could improve problems like insulin resistance and weaker muscle and bone. (These benefits were similar to 20 minutes daily on a treadmill.) Their work garnered great international interest from TIME and Forbes as well as science and media sites internationally.
Added March 28, 2017
Dr. Watsky received the notice of award from the National Institute of Health/NEI for hs R01 grant entitled “Vitamin D Metabolism and Function in the Cornea and Anterior Segment.” Congratulations to Dr. Watsky!
Added March 21, 2017
The Department of Cellular Biology & Anatomy hosted its inaugural Dr. G. Lombard Kelly
Lectureship on March 16, 2017.
Dr. Andrew Fire, shared the Nobel prize for Physiology or Medicine in 2006 with Dr. Craig Mello for
their work in RNA interference. Dr. Fire was invited to be the inaugural Kelly lecturer
by the graduate students of the Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy.
The Dr. G. Lombard Kelly Lectureship is named after Dr. G. Lombard Kelly who was an
Augusta native and 1924 MCG graduate. He was a faculty member in the Department of
Anatomy, the first department of MCG. He rose through the ranks to become chair of
the department, then dean of the medical school and eventually president of MCG. His
passion for education and clinical care were exception and he played a key role in
the foundation and future of MCG, the nation’s 13th oldest and 8th largest medical school. We are honored to have had Dr. Fire as the inaugural G. Lombard
Kelly lecturer and applaud the students for selecting such a deserving candidate for
this honor.
We would like to thank our graduate students, Dr. Jiankang Chen, and Dr. Mark Hamrick for their considerable efforts in ensuring the success of this first Kelly Lectureship. Special thanks are due also to Mrs. Heide Andrews and Mrs. Sharon Lever for their assistance.
Added March 17, 2017
Dr. Brendan Marshall and Libby Perry have co-authored an article published in Science Advances! The article outlines the interaction between two proteins, steroidogenic acute regulatory
protein and glucose regulatory protein 78. Brendan and Libby contributed by doing
a series of co-localization experiments of both proteins. Congratulations to Dr. Brendan
Marshall and Libby Perry!
Added March 1, 2017
Dr Zheng Dong has been successful in renewing his Veterans Administration grant entitled "Ischemic Kidney Injury and Kidney Repair." Congratulations!
Added February 3, 2017
Dr. Anna Edmondson, Carol Nichols, Paul McNeil,Bill Pearson, and Brett Szymik have all been recognized with the 2016 Exemplary Teach Award! Congratulations and thanks to each of these faculty members for their efforts!
Added February 3, 2017
Dr. Meghan McGee-Lawrence's recent proposal titled "Effects of osteoblastic Hdac3 expression in hepatic inflammation and insulin sensitivity via OPG," submitted to the Minority Undergraduate Internship Award through the American Diabetes Association's Research Program has been approved for funding. Congratulations Dr. McGee-Lawrence!
Added January 3, 2017
2016 & Previous Years
Dr. Graydon Gonsalvez has published a paper in the Journal of Cell Science elucidating the flexibility of the protein Tropomyosin. His research was also highlighted on the JagWire News page.
Added December 8, 2016
Samuel Herberg, a former student of Dr. Hill's lab, has been selected to receive one
of the two WFIRM young investigator awards that will be presented at the Tissue Engineering
and Regenerative Medicine International Society - Americas (TERMIS-AM) meeting in
San Diego in December. "The award is designed to recognize outstanding achievements
by members of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society
(TERMIS) who are in the early stages of a career in regenerative medicine."
Congratulations Dr. Herberg!
Added November 14, 2016
Dr. Jing Wang (Assistant Research Scientist - Sylvia Smith’s lab) presented research at the Neuroscience Retreat hosted by the Department of Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine. Her presentation “Sigma 1 receptor: rescue of retinal photo-receptor cells” won the best intramural presentation award. Congratulations Dr. Wang!
Congratulations Dr. Wang!
Dr. Yao-Liang Tang and Dr. Mark Hamrick received a $2.6 million grant for research to combat the muscle-wasting disease Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Congratulations Dr. Hamrick!
READ MORE ABOUT THEIR RESEARCH
Dr. Mark Hamrick will represent Augusta University and present research at the National
Institute on Aging workshop on Advances and Gaps in Musculoskeletal Biology Meeting
in Bethesda, MD.
Great job Dr. Hamrick!
"Dr. Zheng Dong, a cell biologist and Regents’ Professor in Department of Cellular
Biology and Anatomy at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, has been named the first Leon Henri Charbonnier
Endowed Chair in Cellular Biology and Anatomy.
Dong, whose research focuses on the molecular mechanism of cell injury and death, protection and subsequent regeneration, particularly in the kidneys, joined the faculty at MCG in 2002. He also serves as a senior research career scientist and director of research development for the Charlie Norwood Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Augusta."
READ MORE ABOUT DR. ZHENG DONG
Dr. Yutao Liu was recognized this week in an article titled "High Expression of short gene appears to contribute to destructive eye pressures in glaucoma". We would like to congratulate Dr. Yutao Liu for his hard work!
READ MORE ABOUT HIS RECOGNITION
Dr. Ming Zhang received the notice of award from The National Institutes of Health/NEI for his R01 grant entitled “Mechanism of death of bystander retinal cells during MCMV infection.” Congratulations Dr. Zhang on the important discoveries you have made and for garnering support to continue this work!
Dr. Mark Hamrick was awarded an Augusta University - UGA Seed Grant. This program was jointly created to stimulate new collaborative research projects between AU and UGA that subsequently will lead to new external grants. Applications were received from a broad range of disciplines as well as from interdisciplinary and translational research. Dr. Hamrick will collaborate with Dr. John Peroni from the Department of Large Animal Medicine. Title: “Large Animal Model of Acute Arthritis for Stem Cell-Based Regenerative Medicine.”
Very recently Dr. Zheng Dong, Leon Henri Charbonnier Endowed Chair for Cellular Biology and Anatomy, was featured in a story published by the Augusta Chronicle. Congratulations Dr. Dong and your research team on the important discoveries you have made related to cisplatin-induced kidney injury and garnering support to continue this work!
The Board of Regents of the University of Georgia has appointed Dr. Mark Hamrick to Regent's Professor at Augusta University effective May 10, 2016. Dr, Hamrick contributes substantively to all three missions of the department, the college and the university. Congratulations Dr. Hamrick on this well-deserved honor.
Dr. Smith has been appointed to the National Advisory Eye Council where she will serve a four-year term as one of the 12 voting council members appointed by the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to advise the secretary, Sylvia M. Burwell, and Dr. Paul A. Sieving, director of the National Eye Institute.
READ MORE ABOUT DR. SMITH'S APPOINTMENT
The Augusta University Graduate School Student Government Association honored Ph.D.
student Jasmine Fuller (Dr. Zheng Dong’s Lab) with its award for compassion. The criteria
for the award is reflected in caring, empathy, and social responsibility. Congratulations
Jasmine for this wonderful honor for your volunteer work and the compassion towards
your fellow classmates.
Congratulations!
Dr. Yutao Liu just received notice from The Brightfocus Foundation that his Glaucoma grant application entitled "miR-182 and TM Dysfunction in High Tension Glaucoma" has been approved for funding. This is terrific news and we are delighted that his exciting project will move forward.
The Office of Faculty Development and Teaching Excellence recognized Dr. Paul McNeil this morning with the “Caught in the Act of Great Teaching” award where faculty members are nominated, by students, for their acts of great teaching. Congratulations to Dr. McNeil for this well-deserved recognition!
Congratulations to all of our students and post-doctoral fellows who presented their research at Graduate
Research Day. This was a terrific showing for the department. One aspect that is a
particular point of pride is that several of the students are very early in their
training, yet have already completed sufficient work on their projects to have a story
to present. That is fantastic! Thanks to our mentors for their manifold efforts in
guiding these cell biologists-in-training! Thanks also to all who gave their time
in judging posters.
Recognition is due for Jingwen Cai, Mariam Khaled, Inas Helwa (Liu Lab), Khaled El-Masry
(Al-Shabrawey Lab), Jasmine Fuller, Chunyuan Guo (Dong Lab), Ting Liu (Chen Lab),
Soumya Navneet (Smith Lab), Jessica Pierce (McGee-Lawrence Lab), Alexendra Aguilar
(Hill Lab), Lawrence Hicks (Gonsalvez Lab). Thanks to judges Jing Wang, Z. Dong, D.
Hill, P. Schoenlein, J. Brittain, J-K Chen, G. Gonsalvez, Y. Liu, M. McGee-Lawrence,
P. Schoenlein, M. Hamrick.
Congratulations to Dr. Zheng Dong, Leon Henri Charbonnier Endowed Chair for Cellular Biology and Anatomy! He has just received notice of his grant award from NIH. The competing renewal of his grant entitled "Acute kidney injury by cisplatin and renoprotective strategies" will be funded for four years! This is terrific news and we are very proud of Dr. Dong and his terrific research team!
Dr. Anna Edmondson was recognized with the Distinguished Basic Science Teaching Award
from MCG. Anna works very diligently and consistently at being an outstanding educator,
this is a well-deserved honor!
Congratulations!
Dr. Zheng Dong, Leon Henri Charbonnier Endowed Chair for Cellular Biology and Anatomy,
has received a Carlos and Marguerite Mason Trust Grant award for $1,000,000 for Innovative
Approaches to Prevent Transplant Rejection and Prolong Allograft Survival. The project
titled “Developing Cutting Edge Research and Personalized Medicine for Transplant
Patients” is a collaborative effort with Drs. Michael Madaio and Stanley Nahman.
This is fantastic news!
Congratulations Dr. Dong!
Dr. William Hill whose patent application entitled “Compositions and Methods for Treating Musculoskeletal Diseases and Disorders” was approved by the Patent Office. The application focuses on methods to inhibit the age related anti-osteogenic miRNA, which Dr. Hill’s laboratory identified as a novel miRNA target in mesenchymal stem cells to improve bone formation in osteoporosis and bone defects.
Congratulations to Dr. Meghan McGee-Lawrence on the intent to fund her Junior Faculty
Development Award from the American Diabetes Association entitled "Role of osteoblastic
Hdac3 in the regulation of systemic energy metabolism."
Fantastic news!
