2024 UT Southwestern Medical School
New Faculty Research Forum
Join us in person
Sept. 24, 2024
10 a.m.–3:30 p.m.
T. Boone Pickens Conference Center, NG3.112
About the New Faculty Research Forum
Each year, we introduce recently appointed Assistant Professors to the UT Southwestern research community. This forum aims to foster interdisciplinary collaborations and cultivate an environment where innovation flourishes. With 14 speakers representing 11 departments and two schools, this year’s event promises to be a dynamic gathering. Join us to expand your network, exchange innovative ideas, and contribute to shaping the future of research at UT Southwestern. Don’t miss this opportunity to meet the newest members of our research community.
Lunch is provided for early registrants.
Tomorrow’s Scientific Leaders, Today
#NFRF2024
Organizers
Rueyling Lin, Ph.D.
Associate Dean of Biomedical Research Recruitment & Advancement
Program Co-Chair
Lee Kraus, Ph.D.
Director of the Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences
Program Co-Chair
Opening Remarks
Ralph DeBerardinis, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor and Director, Eugene McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development and Center for Human Genetics Professor, Children's Research Institute and Pediatrics
Director, Genetic and Metabolic Disease Program, Children’s Research Institute
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Topic: Launching a Career in Biomedical Research
Dr. DeBerardinis’ research investigates the role of altered metabolic states in human diseases, particularly pediatric inborn errors of metabolism and cancer. His leadership and collegiality at UT Southwestern have helped build bridges for 16 years between basic science researchers, clinicians, and patients impacted by genetic disease.
New Faculty Presenters
Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology; joined UT Southwestern in January 2023
Topic: Lactate as a Mitochondrial Signaling Molecule
Dr. Cai is an Assistant Professor and physician-scientist in the Department of Radiation Oncology. His lab studies metabolism and signal transduction with the goal of understanding metabolites as cellular signaling molecules. He also treats brain and spine tumor patients in the clinic.
Video: Meet Dr. Cai
Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery; joined UT Southwestern in June 2023
Topic: Neuron Mechanisms of Metacognition in Humans
Dr. Fu’s research investigates the computational and neural bases of cognitive control in learning, memory, and decision-making. His research aims to understand how cognitive control arises from neural processing at the cognitive, system, and neural circuit level to produce goal-directed behaviors. His lab has developed various computational models to describe human behaviors and neural activity in cognitive tasks.
Video: Meet Dr. Fu
Assistant Professor of Pathology and Immunology; joined UT Southwestern in August 2023
Topic: Lnc-ing RNA to Organelle Function and Cellular Homeostasis in the Tissue Microenvironment
Dr. Galia’s lab is focused on unraveling novel regulatory mechanisms that shape mucosal immunology in health and disease. Her research investigates the intricate roles of long noncoding RNA (lncRNAs), post-translational modifications, immunometabolism, and host-microbiota interactions in shaping the complex dynamics of the intestinal microenvironment.
Video: Meet Dr. Galia
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry; joined UT Southwestern in March 2023
Topic: Epigenetics and High Society: Control of Caste Identity in Ants
Dr. Gospocic’s research probes how early social interactions, especially negative ones, can result in long-lasting behavioral phenotypes. In his investigations, he uses a unique ant species, Harpegnathos saltator, as a model to study how epigenetic factors and gene regulation influence neuronal circuitry and social behaviors.
Video: Meet Dr. Gospocic
Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine; joined UT Southwestern in September 2023
Topic: Employing Cell-Type Specific Neuroepigenomic Profiles to Identify Novel Transcriptional Pathways Regulating Hunger
Dr. Heyward’s lab studies how neurotoxic insults caused by an obesogenic diet and aging contribute to epigenetically encoded impairments in brain cells that control appetite and body weight. His lab uses a combination of low-input, cell-type specific, and single-cell multiomic genome-wide assessments of gene expression, epigenetic modifications, chromatin accessibility, and transcription factor DNA binding dynamics, as well as mouse genetic and epigenome engineering tools, in vitro and in vivo assessments of transcription factor activation, and animal behavioral assessments.
Video: Meet Dr. Heyward
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine; joined UT Southwestern in April 2023
Topic: Dynamic EEG Biomarkers in Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy
Dr. Kota's research aims to develop quantitative electroencephalogram (EEG) biomarkers for early identification of the severity of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy in newborns. This early detection could help identify infants who would benefit from additional neuroprotective therapies to improve their long-term outcomes.
Video: Meet Dr. Kota
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics; joined UT Southwestern in February 2023
Topic: Immune Recognition of Intestinal Fungi in Inflammatory Diseases
Dr. Li’s lab studies the fundamental mechanisms of how commensal fungi survive and persist within a host niche filled with a multitude of innate and adaptive immune effectors, under both homeostatic and inflammatory conditions. His research provides unique insights into human diseases, such as asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, and cancer, and provides the foundation for novel immunotherapeutic approaches.
Video: Meet Dr. Li
Assistant Professor in the Center for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases; joined UT Southwestern in December 2023
Topic: Engineering Solutions for Protein Aggregation Disorders by Decoding Features Driving Amyloid Assembly
Dr. Louros' research uses a hybrid approach that combines computational engineering with molecular biophysics and cellular and structural biology to study amyloid assembly mechanisms and polymorphism, with emphasis in neurodegenerative diseases. He also investigates strategies to develop novel diagnostics and therapeutics.
Video: Meet Dr. Louros
Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology; joined UT Southwestern in September 2023
Topic: Vitamin K: An Old Topic with New Insights
Dr. Qi's lab specializes in investigating the structure and function of cell membrane proteins involved in human diseases using cryo-EM, cell-based assays, and mouse models.
Video: Meet Dr. Qi
Kartik Rajagopalan, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine; joined UT Southwestern in September 2023
Topic: Leptin Signaling Maintains Autonomic Stability During Severe Influenza Infection
Dr. Rajagopalan’s lab studies the role of adipose tissue during infection to critically evaluate its function in the response to infection on a systems level.
Video: Meet Dr. Rajagopalan
Assistant Professor in the Center for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases; joined UT Southwestern in October 2023
Topic: Disentangling Molecular Networks in Health and Diseases of Aging
The Sanders Lab seeks to understand how molecular networks control cellular states and how related pathways are hijacked by diseases of aging. Collectively, the lab’s research has informed how physiological liquids and pathological solids form according to the molecular interactions of their components. Current studies aim to identify new functions for vertebrate-specific liquid compartments in RNA homeostasis; provide a mechanistic basis for how pathological solids form in neuromuscular and neurodegenerative diseases; and discover therapeutic ligands to reverse pathology by dissecting underlying molecular networks.
Video: Meet Dr. Sanders
Assistant Professor in the Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences; joined UT Southwestern in September 2023
Topic: Metabolic Mechanisms Supporting Fetal and Placental Development
Dr. Solmonson’s research focus is developmental metabolism and placental biology. Her lab aims to understand the metabolic changes associated with pregnancy and how the placenta balances the metabolic demands of fetal development with its own metabolic needs.
Video: Meet Dr. Solmonson
Assistant Professor of Biochemistry; joined UT Southwestern in September 2023
Topic: Dynamics of Eukaryotic mRNA Translation
Dr. Wang’s lab integrates quantitative biochemical, single-molecule biophysical, structural, and genetics approaches to understand the mechanisms of cytosolic and mitochondrial protein synthesis.
Video: Meet Dr. Wang
Assistant Professor in the Peter O’Donnell Jr. School of Public Health; joined UT Southwestern in January 2023
Topic: Where Does It Hurt? Mapping and Public Health
Dr. Young’s research uses geospatial analysis and mapping to investigate human-environment interactions as they relate to public health. Through the incorporation of population, behavior, and environmental characteristics, his work extends across a number of diseases and health topics such as COVID-19, influenza, various cancers and screening programs, the opioid epidemic, environmental exposures, and spatial accessibility modeling.
Video: Meet Dr. Young
