Michigan Pharmacology

09/08/2025

https://medschool.umich.edu/departments/pharmacology/education

09/08/2025

Jessica Whitaker-Fornek, Ph.D. (Postdoctoral Fellow, Levitt Lab) was awarded a Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. This award will support her in learning research skills and gaining career development training to reach her goal of being an independent investigator. Jessica's research focuses on endogenous opioids and breathing development.

Congratulations, Jessica!

09/04/2025

A new paper (co-authored by Dr. Chad Brenner and more) was recently published in Clinical Cancer Research: An official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. The paper, “Toward a Next-Generation Liquid Biopsy for HPV+ HNSCC: Opportunities, Challenges, and the Road Ahead” can be found here:

Human papillomavirus (HPV) whole-genome sequencing-based plasma ctDNA analysis has demonstrated high diagnostic accuracy in identifying HPV-positive head and neck cancer, supporting the potential for future clinical validation through biomarker advancement paradigms. In this issue, we discuss how th...

09/04/2025

A new paper (co-authored by Dr. Frank Kwarcinski and more) was recently published in Molecular Pharmacology. The paper, “The thiazolidinedione drug troglitazone inhibits Gq signaling through direct binding to the Gq alpha subunit through inhibition of GDP release” can be found here:

The cycle of GTP binding and hydrolysis controls heterotrimeric G proteins, and mutations reducing GTPase activity result in constitutive G protein signaling. In Gαq (gene: GNAQ) such mutations cause uveal melanoma and Sturge-Weber syndrome. Finding pharmacological agents that inhibit Gαq will be ...

09/03/2025

A new paper (co-authored by Dr. Paul Jenkins and more) was recently published in Neuropharmacology. The paper, “Lithium restores inhibitory function and neuronal excitability through GSK-3β inhibition in a bipolar disorder-associated Ank3 variant mouse model” can be found here:

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a prevalent psychiatric condition characterized by mood dysregulation, psychosocial impairment, and an increased risk of su***de. The gene ANK3 has been identified as a risk locus for BD through multiple genome-wide association studies (GWAS). However, the mechanisms by whic...

09/03/2025

A new paper (co-authored by Dr. Hiroyuki Arakawa and more) was recently published in Open Biology. The paper, “Functional disruption of oxytocin projections participates atypical social and anxiety-like behaviours in BTBR mouse model of autism” can be found here:

Oxytocin (OXT) neurons in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN), which send projections to the medial amygdala (MeA) and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BnST), are implicated in regulation of prosocial-emotional behaviours and abnormalities resembling autism spectrum disorde...

08/25/2025

A new paper (co-authored by Dr. Carole Parent and more) was recently published in Molecular Biology of the Cell. The paper, “TGFβ1-TNFα regulated secretion of neutrophil chemokines is independent of epithelial-mesenchymal transition in breast tumor cells” can be found here:

Neutrophils exert tumor-promoting roles in breast cancer and are particularly prominent in aggressive breast tumors. The pro-inflammatory signals TGF-β1 and TNF-α are upregulated in breast tumors and induce epithelial-to-mesenchymal transitions (EMT), a process linked to cancer cell aggressiveness...

08/20/2025

Congratulations to our Pharmacology MS students who recently completed their degrees. The culmination of their degree included a written thesis and a series of engaging oral presentations about their research. Congratulations to Arnaz Bharucha, Yiyi Cao, Yena Jin, Sonal Ghodke, Siri Sampagaonkar, An-Yun Teng, Beiyun Wang, Esther Won, Tuozhan Wu, Sam Wu, and Yice Zhang.

08/19/2025

Go Blue!

In the latest QS World University Rankings, the University of Michigan is the #2 public university in the U.S. Learn more: myumi.ch/8qyQZ

08/19/2025

Welcome to Michigan!

08/18/2025

A new paper (co-authored by Dr. George Mashour and more) was recently published in Anesthesiology. The paper, “Clinical and Genetic Factors Associated with Intraoperative Minimum Alveolar Concentration Ratio: A Single-center Retrospective Cohort and Genome-wide Association Study” can be found here:

The hypothesis was verified that MAP was associated with clinical delivery of MAC ratio. The authors also characterized practice patterns of inhalational anesthetic management and identified numerous covariates that need to be accounted for when modeling anesthetic requirements. Female patients rece...