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Highlights: 2023 New Faculty Research Forum

Published on: December 14, 2023 By: Staff Reports

Each fall, recently appointed Assistant Professors are introduced to the UT Southwestern community at the New Faculty Research Forum. At this year’s event, 18 new faculty members representing 11 departments spoke about their research at the unique forum that aims to foster interdisciplinary collaborations and cultivate an environment in which innovative biomedical discovery flourishes. Learn more about presentations at the Oct. 30 event in the photo gallery below.

Additional details about the faculty members’ innovative research can be found by visiting the New Faculty Research Forum website, 10-minute presentations, and short preview videos.

Select an image to begin the slideshow.

Joan Conaway, Ph.D., Vice Provost and Dean of Basic Research, opens the event by welcoming the audience to the New Faculty Research Forum at which 18 Assistant Professors presented their research.

Nobel Laureate Joseph L. Goldstein, M.D., Chairman and Professor of Molecular Genetics, provides opening remarks on “How to become a successful scientist,” emphasizing the importance of choosing the right mentors, an environment conducive for innovation and embracing technical courage as essential elements for success.

At the podium are Program Co-Chairs Lee Kraus, Ph.D., Director of the Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology, and Rueyling Lin, Ph.D., Associate Dean of Biomedical Research Recruitment & Advancement.

At the podium, David Tsen, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, talks about his work to develop surface-scanning visible and near-infrared ultrashort pulsated (USP) laser devices that can inactivate viruses, bacteria, fungi, and mycoplasma while limiting damage to cells, blood proteins, and vaccine antigens. This effort could lead to potential application of USP laser devices in prevention and therapy of infectious diseases and production of new vaccines.

Anila D’Mello, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, uses neuroimaging, neuromodulation, and behavioral experimentation to study the brain circuits that support language and cognition, particularly as they relate to differences in neurodevelopmental conditions, such as autism.

Seungwon “Sebastian” Choi, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, seeks to understand the process by which somatosensory stimuli, conveyed through sensory neurons that shape the sensations of touch and pain, send signals to the brain. His research aims to determine the developmental logic, functional organization, and potential dysfunction of these neurons.

Hume Stroud, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Neuroscience, speaks about his research to understand the epigenic mechanisms that are unique to the brain, uncover the regulatory systems for these mechanisms, and determine how environmental cues interact with those pathways. His goal is to provide insights for development of therapeutic strategies to alleviate neurologic symptoms in patients.

Edward Grow, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences, is working to understand gene regulation during the developmental stages that transition a fertilized egg to an implanted embryo. His research will lay key groundwork for female fertility preservation strategies in humans.

Haiqi Chen, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences, studies how the genetics and epigenic information of parents is passed on to children. This includes single cell and spatial omics technologies to understand the molecular mechanisms of gamete production and the role of gametes as vehicles for transgenerational inheritance.

Daniel Kober, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biochemistry, talks about how proteins embedded in membranes are degraded by E3 ubiquitin ligases in response to specific lipid changes. His research seeks to unravel the mechanisms through which these E3 ligases discern and respond to subtle shifts in lipid composition.

The research audience absorbs the innovative investigation ideas of the new Assistant Professors.

Siqi Liu, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Pharmacology, studies tissue injury repair using biochemistry and mouse genetics. Her aim is to uncover the molecular and cellular mechanisms governing tissue repair while also investigating its potential dysfunction in inflammatory diseases, infection, and cancer.

Javier Garcia-Bermudez, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern, is investigating how oxidative stress within tumor cells hinders cancer progression. His research focuses on identifying novel pathways or mechanisms that cancer cells use to combat oxidative stress and continue to thrive.

Dr. Conaway takes notes as she is inspired by the ideas of the junior faculty and their innovative research presentations.

Shang Ma, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Children’s Medical Research Institute at UT Southwestern, shares about how cells sense and process mechanical stimuli in health and disease. Through this work, his research team hopes to identify novel pathways as drug targets for conditions dependent on cells responding to physical cues.

Qing Zou, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Radiology, talks about new cardiopulmonary MRI techniques are advancing care for pediatric patients with congenital heart diseases. He is particularly interested in investigating unsupervised deep learning for cardiopulmonary MRI processing, novel pulse sequences development for cardiopulmonary MRI, and theoretical machine learning for MRI.

Chien-Ting Wu, Ph.D., shares with the audience about mechanisms of viral infection, metabolism, and carcinogenesis. His lab has engineered an in vitro nasal mucosa model that replicates the normal functions of the human nasal mucosa. Using this model, the group investigates the mechanisms of respiratory viral infections in the nasal mucosa, the impact of high blood glucose, like that found in patients with diabetes on nasal mucosa’s innate immunity, and the course of HPV infection in the nasal cavity and its role in cancer development.

Josephine Ni, M.D., Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine, speaks about her research to examine how biofilm forms in the intestine, the roles of the extracellular matrix, and how iron impacts gut health. Her goal is to possibly use this information to regulate composition of gut microbiota with engineered strains and communities to treat gastrointestinal diseases.

A forum attendee asks a question about one of the faculty member’s presentations.

Xiao-Fei Kong, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine, talks about his research that aims to test whether individuals with rare, severe, and early-onset gastrointestinal conditions might have a genetic culprit that disturbs immune response, harming their health. He believes the immune system plays an essential role in gastrointestinal health and that abnormal immune reactions can contribute to gastrointestinal inflammation and infection.

Raiyan Zaman, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, talks about her effort to design novel imaging system tools for earlier detection of coronary plaque structures that contribute to coronary artery disease, reducing the incidence of death from this type of heart disease.

During a break in the forum, audience members network and mingle to share ideas and further efforts for collaborative research.

Huocong Huang, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Surgery, studies the origin and immune-regulating function of fibroblasts in cancer, inflammatory disease, and aging. His research aims to reveal how these cells are regulated in the immune system and identify novel molecules and signaling pathways that determine cell fate and function of fibroblasts.

Tao Yue, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Surgery, speaks about how the molecular and cellular mechanisms regulate the immune response in musculoskeletal regeneration and tumor development. His hope is to develop more effective immunotherapeutic treatments with fewer side effects to repair tissue damage or eradicate tumors.

Isaac Pence, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, talks about development of translational biophotonics tools. His aim is to design biomedical devices and analysis methods that use light to noninvasively observe tissues for signs of disease. The research is targeting identification of markers for cardiovascular calcification risk, kidney disease, and pelvic prolapse.