Department Faculty Recognized for Excellence in Teaching and Research

Heike Wulff and Manuel Navedo
Heike Wulff and Manuel Navedo

The Department is proud to announce that two of its faculty members have been recognized with prestigious awards from the UC Davis School of Medicine Faculty Senate, highlighting their exceptional contributions to teaching and research excellence.

Heike Wulff has been honored with the Kaiser Foundation Hospitals Award, which recognizes outstanding faculty who demonstrate excellence in clinical care, teaching, and service. This distinguished award acknowledges Professor Wulff's significant contributions to medical education and patient care, reflecting her commitment to advancing healthcare through innovative teaching methods and clinical expertise. Proceeding her Kaiser Foundation Award, Wulff was presented with the Outstanding Instructor in recognition of Excellence in Teaching of the Sciences Basic to Medicine from the class of 2025 as voted on solely by the students.

Manuel F. Navedo has received the School of Medicine Research Award, recognizing his exceptional contributions to biomedical research and scientific discovery. This award celebrates Navedo's groundbreaking research achievements and his dedication to advancing knowledge in his field through innovative scientific inquiry. Professor Navedo is the second Pharmacology Faculty to receive this important recognition.

"We are incredibly proud of Professors Wulff and Navedo for receiving these well-deserved recognitions," said Professor Don Bers, Chair of the Department of Pharmacology. "Their achievements exemplify the caliber of excellence that defines our department and demonstrate our faculty's commitment to advancing both education and research in service of improving human health."

For more information please visit the UC Davis School of Medicine Faculty Senate Awards page.

Pharmacology Undergrads Present at the 36th Annual Undergraduate Research Scholarship and Creative Activities Conference

The Department is proud to recognize our Undergraduate Students who recently presented at the 36th Annual Undergraduate Research Scholarship and Creative Activities Conference. The aim of this conference is to provide undergraduate students with the opportunity to present their work in a rigorous yet supportive scientific environment.

More on the annual conference can be found HERE.

The undergraduates presenting at this symposium performed their research in the laboratory of Professor Donals M. Bers, Chair of the Department. The students were:

Leah Scholss, who did work Mapping Differential Distribution of Sodium Channel Subtypes in Cardiomyocytes (postdoc Mentor: Eve (Paeworn) Angsutararux-not pictured)

and

Catherine (Yaoyuan) Fan, who worked on The Effect of GSNO on Left Ventricular Developed Pressure (LVDP) Recovery During Ischemia/ Reperfusion in Mouse Hearts (Postdoc Mentor: Esther Asamudo-not pictured)

Annual Undergraduate Research Scholarship and Creative Activities Conference

In the picture are (left to right)

Chris Ko, Ph.D. (Mentor), Leah Scholss (undergrad scholar), Catherine (Yaoyuan) Fan (undergrad scholar), and Bence Hegyi, Ph.D. (Mentor). Chris and Bence represented Professor Bers and the Department in this event.

Annual Undergraduate Research Scholarship and Creative Activities Conference

Sponsored by Professor Chao-Yin Chen (pictured left to right)

Tiya Sharma: Evaluating effects of traffic-related air pollution and stress on cardiac regulation and arrhythmia burden

Alyssa Yomogida: Effects of stress and traffic-related air pollution on cardiac function in rats

Malavika Vutukuru: Effects of traffic-related air pollution exposure on cardiovascular stress response

Harika Kovvuri: Baroreflex sensitivity measurement parameters

Ayaka Suganuma: Navigating data with multiple biological variables: statistical strategies for effective toxicologic research analysis

Annual Undergraduate Research Scholarship and Creative Activities Conference

Sponsored by Professor Elva Diaz (pictured on the left)

In the picture are (left to right)

Tanvi Pendurthi: Generation of Bai2 Adhesive Domain Variants for Epitope Mapping and Synaptic Development Assays

Sabrina Bakhtyari: Optimization of Acyl-PEGyl Exchange Gel Shift (APEGS) for Understanding SynDIG4 Palmitoylation

Annual Undergraduate Research Scholarship and Creative Activities Conference

Sponsored by Professor Heike Wulff (pictured left to right)

Hai Nguyen, Ph.D., mentor

Leah Elena Palmares and Kyan Huang: Gating Mechanism as Crucial Targets for Kv1.3 Channel Inhibition

Sponsored by Associate Professor Julie Bossuyt (pictures not available)

Ryan Jain: Calmodulin-Dependent Kinase II Regulation by Methylation - Role of the R9 Site

Aryan Sharma: Dimerization of Protein Kinase D1 in Vivo: Investigating the Role of the ULD Domain