Thank you, Dr. Bhalla, for your generosity!
Dr. Vinod Bhalla was a Physiology and Endocrinology faculty member under former Chair
Dr. Virendra B. Mahesh and generously donated to three departments at Augusta University,
the departments of Physiology, Oncology, and Obstetrics & Gynecology.
The Department of Physiology was granted a $50,000 endowment titled “The Mr. Sohrab
Modi and Mr. and Mrs. Lal C. Bhalla (Shanti) Endowment Fund” from Dr. Bhalla. This
donation was made in honor of Dr. Bhalla’s mentor and parents. The fund will supplement
research expenses and support graduate, MD, and PhD students.
2020
December 2020
Ellie Mannon, a graduate student in Dr. O'Connor's lab, received the Department of Physiology Chair’s Predoctoral and Postdoctoral Fellowships to attend the American Physiological
Society (APS) Professional Skills course.
November 2020
Volunteers from our department came together to assist the SPCA Albrecht Center in Aiken, South Carolina through the Augusta University Virtual Days of Service and made 94 sewn cat nip toys and 166 puzzle treat boxes from paper rolls. Our team collected over 19 pounds of cat food and more than 29 ounces of treat donations for the 200 cats currently at the city shelter and within their foster network.
October 2020
The Physiology Department raised over $320 for the Month of Miracle's to support the Children's Hospital of Georgia!
Dr. Brands received the Institutional Service Award from the Medical College of Georgia Faculty Senate.
Dr. Stepp received the Outstanding Faculty Award from the Medical College of Georgia Faculty
Senate.
September 2020
Drs. Abais-Battad, Bollag, and Wang each received an Intramural Grants Program award.
August 2020
Dr. Yoon received an R21 grant from the National Eye Institute entitled "A novel neuroprotective role of optic atrophy 1 protein."
John Henry Dasinger, a senior post-doctoral fellow in Dr. Mattson’s lab received a Top Trainee Advocacy Award.
July 2020
Kasey Belanger, a graduate student in Dr. Jennifer Sullivan's lab, received a Hypertension New Investigator Travel Award.
Dr. Ellen Gillis, a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Jennifer Sullivan's lab, received a Kidney Council New Investigator Travel Award.
Lindsey Ramirez, a graduate student in Dr. Jennifer Sullivan's lab, received the American Foundation for Hypertension Research and Education Travel Grant for Support of Underrepresented Minorities along with an invited oral presentation.
June 2020
Dr. Brands received a R01 grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney
Diseases entitled "Pathophysiology of insulin-regulated renal blood flow and sodium
excretion."
May 2020
Drs. Bollag and Isales received a NRSA Short Term Training T35 grant from the National Institute on Aging entitled "Program for Aging Research in the Summer (PARIS)."
Casey Derella, a graduate student mentored by Dr. Ryan Harris, won first place and People’s Choice in the 2020 Augusta University Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition.
Elinor Mannon, a graduate student in Dr. O'Connor's lab, was selected as a co-editor for the Renal Fellows Network.
April 2020
Lindsey Ramirez, a graduate student in Dr. Sullivan’s lab, received a Porter Physiology Fellowship.
March 2020
Thank you, Dr. David Hoadley Ellison, for serving as our Mahesh Lectureship speaker and presenting “Potassium Signals Kidney Cells via Voltage, Chloride, and WNK Kinases.” Thank you to graduate students Casey Derella (Dr. Ryan Harris's lab) and Kasey Belanger (Dr. Sullivan's lab) for organizing the seventeenth lectureship to honor Dr. Virendra Mahesh.
Dr. Ellen Gillis, a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Sullivan's lab, was awarded a National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute K99 entitled "Role of regulatory T cells in adverse pregnancy outcomes after ischemia reperfusion injury."
February 2020
Dr. O'Connor was awarded a National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases R21 entitled Novel anti-inflammatory mesothelial signaling to the spleen.
January 2020
Dr. Yoon was awarded with a NIH/NHLBI multi-PI R01 entitled Ca2+ and ROS Crosstalk Signaling in Cardiac Mitochondria.
2019
New target found for disease of the heart's smallest blood vessels (ScienceDaily)
New target found for disease of the heart's smallest blood vessels (EurekAlert!)
Medical College of Georgia scientist explores blood flow in brain (Augusta Chronicle)
Peptide shows promise for protecting kidneys from nephritis (EurekAlert!)
On The Move (Augusta Chronicle)
More than 200 MCG faculty recognized for teaching efforts (JagWire)
High-fat diets appear bad for blood pressure in younger males and females (ScienceDaily)
Research shows high-fat diets are bad for blood pressure, even in young people (WJBF News Channel 6)
December 2019
Graduate students Mahmoud Abdelbary from Dr. Sullivan's lab and Yanna Tian from Dr. Bagi's lab were awarded American Heart Association pre-doctoral fellowships.
November 2019
Congratulations to the recipients of the Chair’s Predoctoral and Postdoctoral Fellowships to attend the American Physiological Society (APS) Professional Skills course – Sarah Ray from Dr. O'Connor's lab and Dr. Riyaz Mohamed from Dr. Sullivan's lab!
Read our 2019 Physiology Insider.
Dr. Wendy Bollag received a Distinguished Researcher award from Augusta University Research Institute.
October 2019
The Department of Physiology won the competition between departments for The Graduate School BioMedical Student Association Blood Drive!
Dr. Wendy Bollag was invited to be the 2020 Raniyah Ramadan Distinguished Lecturer for the Dean McGee Eye Institute at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.
Dr. Yisang Yoon received an Intramural Grants Program Award for his project titled "A Novel Regulatory Mechanism of Mitochondrial Permeability Transition."
Congratulations to Dr. Yue (Penny) Pan, a graduate student in Dr. Xiaoling Wang's lab, on her successful defense!
Dr. Ellen Gillis, a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Jennifer Sullivan's lab, received the first R. Clinton Webb Postdoctoral Fellow Travel Award.
September 2019
Dr. Wendy Bollag was awarded a National Institutes of Health R01 as a Co-Principal Investigator with Dr. Mitchell Watsky for their research project "Phosphatidylglycerol as a Therapy for Corneal Injury."
Dr. David Stepp received a grant from the National Institutes of Health to further parse how obesity drives cardiovascular disease.
August 2019
Dr. Jessica Filosa was awarded an Administrative Supplement to study Alzheimer’s disease on her National Institutes of Health R01 grant.
July 2019
Welcome to our new Department Chair, Dr. David Mattson and his lab personnel!
Drs. Zsolt Bagi and Jessica Filosa have been promoted to Professor.
June 2019
Congratulations to Ladonya Jackson, a graduate student from Dr. Adviye Ergul's lab, who successfully defended!
Shinjini Chowdhury, a first year graduate student in Dr. Wendy Bollag's lab, won first prize in the graduate student poster competition during VA Research Week.
Dr. Clinton Webb received Fellow status with the American Physiological Society (APS).
Drs. Jennifer Sullivan and Wendy Bollag's Intramural Grant Program application titled "The Role of Aldosterone in High Fat Diet-Induced Hypertension in Males and Females" was awarded.
May 2019
Congratulations to Alec Davila, a graduate student in Dr. Zsolt Bagi's lab, who successfully defended!
Thank you to Dr. Karen Reue from the University of California Los Angeles for being our Greenblatt Lectureship speaker!
April 2019
Dr. Paul O'Connor received the Medical College of Georgia Distinguished Faculty Award for Basic Science Teaching.
Graduate students with 2019 Mahesh Lecturer, Dr. Anil K. Bidani
Congratulations to Patricia Martinez-Quinones, a graduate student in Dr. Clinton Webb's lab, who successfully defended!
Dr. O'Herron has been awarded a two year R21 grant: "The Physiological Mechanisms and Role in Neural Coding of Functional Hyperemia" from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).
Visiting PhD student Vanessa Dela Justina, guided by Dr. Priviero in Dr. Webb's lab, was awarded the Robert Gunn Student Travel Award from the American Society of Physiology at the Experimental Biology Meeting.
Graduate student Lindsey Ramirez and postdoc Ellen Gillis, both from Dr. Sullivan's lab, received Research Distinction Awards from the Water & Electrolyte Homeostasis Section of American Physiological Society at the Experimental Biology Meeting.
March 2019
Dr. O’Connor’s manuscript Oral NaHCO3 Activates a Splenic Anti-Inflammatory Pathway: Evidence That Cholinergic Signals Are Transmitted via Mesothelial Cells was The Journal of Immunology’s (The JI’s) most-downloaded article in 2018.
Patricia Martinez-Quinones, a graduate student in Dr. Webb's lab, was a Second-Place Winner, for Basic Laboratory Research Scientific Papers on Trauma Resident Paper Competition at the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma Annual Meeting.
The Mahesh Lectureship with Dr. Anil K. Bidani was a success. Thank you to our Graduate Students Sarah Ray and Elinor Mannon for organizing this event to honor Dr. Mahesh.
Amel Komic, a medical resident in Dr. Webb's lab, won a FASEB travel award to attend the SHOCK Society meeting in June.
Patricia Martinez-Quinones, a graduate student in Dr. Webb's lab, received first place from the Resident Basic Science Paper Competition at the annual Moretz Surgical Society meeting.
February 2019
Patricia Martinez-Quinones, a graduate student in Dr. Webb's lab, was selected as an American Physiological Society Cardiovascular Section Research Recognition Awardee.
Thank you to Dr. Donald Kohan from the University of Utah for being our twentieth Thomas Muldoon Lectureship speaker!
Dr. Bollag’s paper “Obesity, hypertension, and aldosterone: Is leptin the link?” was one of the top-cited articles in the Journal of Endocrinology for the year 2018.
January 2019
Congratulations to Dr. Bollag, who is now serving as the Research Director to the newly opened Adrenal Center!
Drs. O'Connor and Stepp were selected as recipients of the Intramural Grants Program.
Dr. Bollag was awarded a second VA Merit award.
Lindsey Ramirez, a graduate student in Dr. Sullivan's lab, was selected to receive a Martin Frank Diversity Travel Award to attend the Experimental Biology Meeting.
Riyaz Mohamed, a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Sullivan's lab, received a research recognition award from the American Physiological Society (APS) Renal section.
Mahmoud Abdelbary and Lindsey Ramirez, graduate students in Dr. Sullivan's lab, received 2019 tum Suden awards.
2018
2018 News Articles:
Doctors work to find new ways to treat Psoriasis (WJBF News Channel 6)
Lipid that aids normal skin turnover may help psoriasis (EurekAlert)
'Danger' molecules may increase cardiovascular risk from early life stress (MedicalXpress)
Webb receives top honor from AHA Council on Hypertension (EurekAlert!)
High oxidative stress hampers males' production of powerful blood vessel dilator (EurekAlert!)
National Institutes of Health grant to help Augusta University study on how blood
pressure impacts cognition (Augusta Chronicle)
Could a Daily Dose of Baking Soda Combat Autoimmune Disease? (ReachMD)
Drug may quell deadly immune response when trauma spills the contents of our cells’
powerhouses (ScienMag)
Baking Soda Could Help Prevent Autoimmune Diseases (KCBS Radio)
Drinking baking soda could be an inexpensive, safe way to combat autoimmune disease
(EurekAlert!)
Compound improves stroke outcome by reducing lingering inflammation (Science Daily)
Baking soda could help fight autoimmune disease (WRDW)
Researchers using grant to study premature aging of blood vessels (Augusta Chronicle)
The vicious cycle of hypertension and cell death (Research Features)
December 2018
Dr. Bhalla was a Physiology and Endocrinology faculty member under former Chair Dr. Virendra B. Mahesh and generously donated to three departments at Augusta University, the departments of Physiology, Oncology, and Obstetrics & Gynecology.
The Department of Physiology was granted a $50,000 endowment titled “The Mr. Sohrab Modi and Mr. and Mrs. Lal C. Bhalla (Shanti) Endowment Fund” from Dr. Vinod Bhalla. This donation was made in honor of Dr. Bhalla’s mentor and parents. The fund will supplement research expenses and support graduate, MD, and PhD students.
Dr. O’Connor's press release was the second most visited and shared news releases in 2018 on EurekAlert, the news site for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
November 2018
Drs. Bollag, O'Connor, Stepp, and Wang have been recognized for their contribution to teaching during the 2017-2018 academic year and are recipients of the Medical College of Georgia 2018 Exemplary Teaching Award.
Congratulations to Lia Taylor, a graduate student in Dr. Sullivan's lab, who successfully defended!
The Physiology Department kept our Champion title for the JagMag competition to help the Augusta University Medical Center and Children's Hospital of Georgia!
Patricia Martinez-Quinones, a MD/PhD graduate student in Dr. Webb's lab, received First Place in the Basic Science category at the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Committee on Trauma (COT) Region IV Annual Resident Trauma Paper Competition.
October 2018
Dr. Bollag received an Augusta University Intramural Grant.
Dr. Sullivan received the Augusta University "Caught in the Act of Great Teaching" Award.
Welcomes Dr. Philip O'Herron to the team!
Congratulations to our six trainees that received travel awards and presented at the APS Sex and Gender conference.
We wish Dr. Ergul the best as she joins the faculty of Medical University of South Carolina.
September 2018
Patricia Martinez-Quinones, a MD/PhD graduate student in Dr. Webb's lab, received a Trainee Advocacy Committee Onsite Poster Award from the American Heart
Association Council on Hypertension, Joint Hypertension Scientific Sessions 2018.
Dr. Webb was honored at the 2018 American Heart Association Hypertension Council for receiving their highest award, the 2018 Excellence Award for Hypertension Research (formerly the Novartis Award for Hypertension Research).
August 2018
Read our 2018 Physiology Insider.
Dr. Webb was highlighted in the Dean's Diary for receiving the American Heart Association's highest award, the 2018 Excellence Award for Hypertension Research (formerly the Novartis Award for Hypertension Research) from the AHA's Council for High Blood Pressure Research.
Department of Physiology's ranking jumped to 26th in the National Institutes of Health's ranking, 13 places higher than last year.
Patricia Martinez-Quinones, a MD/PhD graduate student in Dr. Webb's lab, received first place for the M. Gage Ochsner Resident Paper Competition from
the Committee on Trauma Georgia Chapter of the American College of Surgeons.
Alec Davila, a MD/PhD graduate student in Dr. Bagi's lab, received a F31 Fellowship from the National Institutes of Health.
Dr. O'Connor was quoted in the Men's Journal, September 2018, Vol. 27, No. 9, on page 11 - "The Key to Recovery in your Fridge".
July 2018
LaDonya Jackson, a graduate student in Dr. Ergul's lab, received the Minority Travel Fellowship Award to attend the 2018 APS Conference: Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolic Diseases: Sex-Specific Implications for Physiology as well as the Georgia Clinical and Translation Science Alliance TL1 Predoctoral Fellowship.
Congratulations to Drs. Chen and Sullivan who were promoted to Associate Professor and Professor, respectively.
June 2018
Drs. Filosa, Sullivan, and Patricia Martinez-Quinones, a medical resident in Dr. Webb's lab, were featured in the Dean's Diary.
Dr. Ergul is the second Augusta University faculty member to receive a Senior Research Career Scientist Award.
Patricia Martinez-Quinones, a medical resident in Dr. Webb's lab, is being honored with the Diversity Enhancement Award at the 2018 Shock Conference.
Dr. Webb has been honored with the American Heart Association's highest award, the 2018 Excellence Award for Hypertension Research (formerly the Novartis Award for Hypertension Research) from the AHA's Council for High Blood Pressure Research.
May 2018
Dr. Sullivan was selected as the Mid-Career Awardee for the Hypertension Council.
Dr. Virendra Mahesh, professor and chair emeritus of the former Department of Endocrinology at the Medical
College of Georgia, was recently awarded the President’s Award, the highest award
given by the university to its friends and supporters.
Congratulations to Drs. Trevor Hardigan and Becca Ward on their recent graduation!
As of May 8th, Dr. O’Connor’s research on the relationship between baking soda and autoimmune diseases has been covered in news articles from ten different countries across five different continents, reaching a combined readership of over 40 million.
Thank to you to everyone who participated in our 2018 Mini Symposium. It was an inspirational event!
Marissa Seamon, a graduate student in Dr. Harris' lab, received the New Investigator Travel Award from the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior.
April 2018
Dr. Hongyi Zhou, a Research Associate in Dr. Chen's lab, received an American Heart Association (AHA) Career Development Award.
Cameron McCarthy, a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Webb's lab, received the APS Cardiovascular Section Research Recognition Award at Experimental Biology 2018.
Alec Davila, a MD/PhD student in Dr. Bagi's lab, received a Predoctoral Fellowship from AHA.
Cameron McCarthy and Ellen Gillis, postdoctoral fellows in Dr. Webb's and Sullivan's lab respectively, received American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellowships.
Congratulations to Dr. Harris for being promoted to Regents' Professor!
Congratulations to Becca Ward, a graduate student in Dr. Ergul's lab, who successfully defended!
Dr. Bollag received the Medical College of Georgia Institutional Service Award.
Mahmoud Abdelbary, a graduate student in Dr. Sullivan's lab, was a Graduate Research Day Award winner.
The Mahesh Lectureship with Dr. Lisa Cassis was a success. Thank you to our Graduate Students for organizing this event to honor Dr. Mahesh.
March 2018
Dr. Bollag was honored as a World Famous Visiting Scientist to Jianghan University in China, 3/31/2018 to 4/13/2018.
Patricia Martinez-Quinones, a medical resident in Dr. Webb's lab, won a travel award and had her abstract selected to be part of the "Oral Presentation by Young Investigators" at the Shock Society 2018 Annual Meeting.
Patricia Martinez-Quinones, a medical resident in Dr. Webb's lab, received first place from the William H. Moretz Surgical Society, Douglas A. Rives, MD, Resident Research Awards.
February 2018
Dr. Sullivan received the American Journal of Hypertension's John Laragh Research Award.
Patricia Martinez-Quinones, a medical resident in Dr. Webb's lab, received the National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA) Resident of the Year Award.
Alec Davila, a MD/PhD student in Dr. Bagi's lab, received an APS Minority Travel Fellowship Award to attend the Experimental Biology (EB) 2018.
Stephanie Christianson, a graduate student in Dr. Bagi's lab,received the Microcirculatory Society 2018 Zweifach Student Travel Award.
Welcomes Dr. Bagi to our team!
Cameron McCarthy a postdoctoral fellow and Amel Komic a medical resident in Dr. Webb's lab, received 2018 American Physiological Society-Cardiovascular Section Research Recognition Awards.
January 2018
Patricia Martinez Quinones, a medical resident in Dr. Webb’s laboratory, received the FASEB (Federation for American Societies for Experimental Biology) MARC DREAM Trainee Travel Award for APS Professional Skills Course (Scientific Writing Workshop).
The Department of Physiology donated the most magazines to the Office of Volunteer Services for the first JagMag Magazine Challenge!
2017
2017 News Articles:
The vicious cycle of hypertension and cell death (Research Features)
New study of brains of football players finds high percentage of chronic damage (Augusta Chronicle)
Cancer drug might help with skin disease (Augusta Chronicle)
Augusta University researcher: Drinking sweetened beverages is a fast train to obesity (Augusta Chronicle)
Augusta University gets $9.4 million to study cell death from high blood pressure (Biz Journals)
Grant funding Augusta University researchers’ work on blood pressure (Augusta Chronicle)
Augusta University researcher studying blood pressure issues regarding women (Augusta Chronicle)
December 2017
Under Dr. Webb's leadership, the Department of Physiology has donated toys to the Children’s Hospital of Georgia for eighteen years in a row. This year, our department donated over thirty toys to the Children's hospital. Dr. Webb used to don a Santa cap and a member of his lab would dress up as an elf and bring the toys down to the Children’s Hospital. The garb may have changed over the years, however the generosity of his team has not. Thank you to everyone who contributed!
Drs. Bollag, Brands, Payne, and Wang were selected for 2017 Medical College of Georgia Exemplary Teaching Awards.
Congratulations Dr. Amy Banes-Berceli, an alum of the Department of Physiology, on your promotion to Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Oakland University!
Congratulations to, Dr. Brett Mitchell, a former graduate student of Dr. Webb's lab, was selected as the 2018 Distinguished Alumnus for the Graduate School!
November 2017
Dr. Webb was featured on WBJF Channel 6's the Jennie Show.
Happy Thanksgiving, from our team to yours!
The Physiology Postdoctoral Fellows did a great job coordinating the seventh annual Lois Ellison Lectureship with guest speaker Dr. Kathryn Sandberg.
October 2017
Congratulations to Dr. Ryan Crislip, one of our Graduate Students, who successfully defended.
Pictured from left to right, Drs. Paul O'Connor, Ryan Crislip, and Jennifer Sullivan.
A rare sighting! A former postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Johanna Hannan, with all three of her mentors at the 18th Annual Fall Scientific Meeting of Sexual Medicine Society of North America (SMSNA) reception.
Pictured from left to right, Drs. Mike Adams at Queen's U (thesis mentor), Trinity
Bivalacqua at Johns Hopkins (second postdoc), Johanna Hannan and Clinton Webb (first
postdoc).
Dr. Harris received the Augusta University Research Institute 2017 Distinguished Research Award.
Patricia Martinez-Quinones, a medical resident in Dr. Webb's lab, won third place for her abstract at the Association of Women Surgeons.
Yasir Abdul, a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Ergul’s laboratory, was awarded second place in the post-doctoral category for his poster entitled Ischemic stroke causes vascular regression in type II diabetic male rats: Potential role of regulated cell death mechanisms at the STaR Conference.
Rebecca Ward, a graduate student in Dr. Ergul’s laboratory, received the Young Investigator Travel Award for an oral abstract presentation. She participated in the 15th International Endothelin Conference.
Dr. Weiguo Li received funding for a DiaComp Pilot & Feasibility Project.
Thank you to Dr. Murray Esler for being our Greenblatt Lecture guest speaker.
September 2017
Dr. Rawipan Uaratanawong, a visiting scholar in Dr. Bollag’s laboratory, won a travel award to the Southern Translational Education and Research Conference in Augusta.
Dr. Bollag received a Pilot Study Research Program grant from the Intramural Grants Program.
Dr. Harris' research was featured on Georgia Public Broadcasting's Medical Minute.
Ellen Gillis, a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Sullivan's lab, received an American Heart Association Council on Hypertension Onsite Trainee Poster Award and was the Best Poster Presentation for the Postdocs award at the 8th Annual Southern Translational Education and Research Conference.
Nicole Klee, a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Webb's lab, won a travel award to attend the Diabetes and Diabetic Uropathy Symposium at the American Urological Association.
Dr. Webb served as the keynote speaker at the Sibley W. Hoobler, M.D., Inaugural Lectureship in Hypertension at the University of Michigan Samuel and Jean Frankel Cardiovascular Center, which was held on September 8, 2017.
August 2017
We wish Dr. Stern the best as the director to a newly established institute center and Professor of
the Neuroscience Institute at Georgia State University.
Patricia Martinez Quinones, a medical resident in Dr. Webb's lab, received first place in the Georgia Society American College of Surgeons Annual Meeting's Resident Paper Competition.
July 2017
Dr. Harris was elected president-elect of the International Ingestive Behavior Society.
Drs. Webb, Sullivan, O'Connor, Brands and Ergul were featured in MCG Medicine for their Research Program Project Grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).
June 2017
Dr. Wang received a Grant in Aid from American Heart Association (AHA).
Becca Ward, a graduate student in Dr. Ergul's lab, received a Predoctoral Fellowship from AHA.
May 2017
2017 Mini-Symposium Guest Speakers Drs. Coleman, Abel, and Walsh with host Dr. Chen
Physiology Graduate Students hosted the 14th Mahesh Lectureship featuring Mary Woolley from Research!America.
April 2017
Dr. Sullivan was awarded the 2017 Outstanding Faculty Member Award from The Graduate School.
Dr. Chen was awarded the 2017 Outstanding Young Basic Science Faculty Award from the MCG Faculty Senate.
Dr. Webb was awarded the Distinguished Research Faculty Award from The Graduate School.
Welcomes Dr. Mamenko to our faculty!
Camilla Wenceslau, a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Webb's lab, was the New Investigator Network Member April Spotlight for the International Society of Hypertension.
Ryan Crislip, a graduate student in Dr. Sullivan’s lab, received the Augusta University Graduate School Excellence of Research in Physiology Award.
March 2017
Patricia Martinez Quinones, a research fellow in Dr. Webb's lab, was selected for the NIH/NHMA Travel Award for the NIH Career Development Workshop.
Congratulations to Dr. Ergul for being promoted to Regents' Professor!
Drs. Bollag and Brands received Exemplary Teaching Awards from the Medical College of Georgia.
February 2017
Dr. Filosa was awarded the 2017 Hamilton Scholar in Physiology in recognition of her outstanding
scholarship and service to the Department of Physiology and Medical College of Georgia.
Dr. Filosa has been awarded a 5 year R01 grant: "Clinically unscreened vasculo-glial-neuronal coupling is critical for physiological brain function" from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).
Dr. Harris has been awarded a 5 year R01 grant: "Hexosamine biosynthetic pathway activation and leptin resistance" from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).
Dr. Stern was awarded a subaward on a NIH R01 grant with the University of Iowa entitled "Brain ERK1/2 Signaling and Sympathetic Excitation in Heart Failure".
Dr. Sullivan was featured on the JENNIE Show on ABC News Channel 6.
Dr. Bollag's paper, “Role of phospholipases in adrenal steroidogenesis”, was a top download in Journal of Endocrinology in 2016.
Drs. Webb, Sullivan, O’Connor, Ergul and Brands were featured in the MCG Dean's Diary about their Program Project Grant.
Theodora Szasz, a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Webb's lab, was also featured.
January 2017
Ellen Gillis and Lia Taylor, a postdoctoral fellow and graduate student in Dr. Sullivan’s lab respectively, received Caroline tum Suden/Frances Hellebrandt Professional Opportunity Awards for the 2017 Experimental Biology meeting.
Drs. O'Connor, Sullivan, and Webb were featured in the Augusta Chronicle.
Cameron McCarthy, a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Webb's lab, was awarded the Caroline tum Suden/Frances Hellebrandt Professional Opportunity Award.
Dr. Sullivan's research was featured in the Augusta Chronicle article "AU Researcher Studying Blood Pressure Issues Regarding Women".
Dr. Webb was awarded a Research Program Project Grant from NHLBI. Drs. O'Connor, Sullivan, and Webb are Project Leaders and Drs. Brands and Ergul are Core Directors for this grant.
From left to right: Drs. Sullivan, O'Connor, Webb, Ergul, Brands
Students, postdocs and faculty participated in the American Physiological Society's Physiology Understanding (PhUn) initiative at Stallings Island Middle School. Seventh graders were taught about physiology and related career possibilities through hands on activities.
2016
2016 News Articles:
Molecular 'brake' might be key to burning fat (Augusta Chronicle)
Augusta University research looks at cellular debris in trauma cases (Augusta Chronicle)
Hormones and fat could put women at risk (Augusta Chronicle)
Football hits could lead to hypertension, worsening concussions (Augusta Chronicle)
December 2016
Dr. Sullivan was awarded an American Heart Association (AHA) Established Investigator Award.
Nicole Klee, a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Webb's lab, won the Best Podium Competition Models and Methods in Pelvic Research at the Association of Chairs of Departments of Physiology.
November 2016
Happy Thanksgiving from the Department of Physiology!
The 12th International Symposium Mechanisms of Vasodilatation was another successful event, co-chaired by Dr. Webb and Dr. Virginia Miller. Thank you to everyone who participated!
The Lois Taylor Ellison, MD, Lectureship in Physiology was featured in the MCG Dean's Diary.
October 2016
A paper published by Drs. McCarthy, Goulopoulou, Wenceslau, Spitler, Matsumoto and Webb was the third most cited article from 2014 according to the American Journal of Physiology - Heart and Circulatory Physiology.
Dr. Sullivan was accepted into Augusta University's 2016 Authentic Women Leaders Pilot Pipeline Program.
September 2016
Dr. Bollag received an Augusta University Pilot Study Research Program (PSRP). There were forty-one applications, only eight were awarded.
August 2016
Ellen Gillis, a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Sullivan’s lab, received an Abstract Travel Award to attend the 2016 American Physiological Society (APS) Conference.
Lia Taylor, a graduate student in Dr. Sullivan’s lab, received a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Diversity Supplement to Dr. Sullivan's R01 award as well as a Minority Travel Fellowship Award to attend the 2016 APS Conference.
Camilla Wenceslau, a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Webb's lab, had her research featured on Georgia Public Broadcasting.
Dr. Stern received a NIH R01 award.
Lia Taylor, a graduate student in Dr. Sullivan’s lab, received an NIH Diversity Supplement to Dr. Sullivan's R01 award.
July 2016
John Paul Valenzuela, a graduate student in Dr. Ergul's lab, was awarded an AHA Predoctoral Fellowship.
Dr. Bollag received an Augusta University and the University of Georgia Seed Grant Award.
Congratulations to Dr. O'Connor for being promoted to Associate Professor!
June 2016
Ryan Crislip (a graduate student in Dr. Sullivan’s lab), Debra Irsik (a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Brands' lab), and Ellen Gillis (a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Sullivan’s lab) all received Travel Awards to attend the FASEB Summer Research Conference
on Renal Hemodynamics and Cardiovascular Function in Health and Disease.
May 2016
Congratulations to Dr. Brands for being promoted to Regents' Professor!
Camilla Wenceslau, a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Webb's lab, received a National Institutes of Health (NIH) K99 award.
Drs. Chen and Yoon received an American Heart Association (AHA) Grant-in-Aid.
Congratulations to Cameron McCarthy, a graduate student in Dr. Webb's lab, on his graduation!
Mohammed Abdelsaid, a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Ergul's lab, received an AHA Scientist Development Grant.
Dr. Stepp has been appointed chair of the Vascular Cell and Molecular Biology Study Section of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Lia Taylor, a graduate student in Dr. Sullivan’s lab, was announced as a 2016-2017 Porter Physiology Fellowship awardee by The American Physiological Society, on behalf of the Porter Physiology Development and Minority Affairs Committee.
April 2016
Drs. Goulopoulou, Wenceslau, McCarthy, Matsumoto, and Webb's research was featured in a American Physiological Society podcast.
John Paul Valenzuela, a graduate student in Dr. Ergul's lab, was one of two recipients to be selected as a 2016 recipient of the Darrell Brann Alumni Scholarship.
Lia Taylor, a graduate student in Dr. Sullivan’s lab, was named as a finalist for the 2016 Water & Electrolyte Homeostasis Section Predoctoral Research Recognition Award.
March 2016
Dr. Belin de Chantemele received the Virendra B. Mahesh Distinguished Research Award.
February 2016
Dr. Payne received the 2016 Medical College of Georgia Faculty Award for Educator of the Year Award.
Dr. Belin de Chantemele received the 2016 Medical College of Georgia Faculty Award for Outstanding Young Basic Science Award.
January 2016
Dr. Belin de Chantemele has been awarded a 5 year R01 grant: "Aldosterone Contribution to Leptin-mediated Hypertension in Obese Females” from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).
Dr. Chen has been awarded a 5 year R01 grant: "Novel Role of Bscl2 in Cardiac Substrate Metabolism and Function" from the from the NHLBI.
