Department of Pharmacology Seminar Schedule

 Fall 2025

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All talks occur Wednesdays 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm CST
Date	Guest Speaker and Organization	Contact	Seminar Title	Visit/Zoom	Host
8/27/25	Candidate interview Dr. Fernanda Cardoso,  The University of Queensland	f.cardoso@uq.edu.au Faculty Profile	Sodium channels at the intersection of pathophysiology and novel therapies in neurological diseases		Chen
9/24/25	Dr. Marisa Roberto, Prof., Scripps Research	mroberto@scripps.edu Faculty Profile	Neuropeptides & cytokines in Alcohol Use Disorder: A View from the Synapse	Visit	Bukiya
10/08/25	Dr. Yumei Feng Earley,  Prof., University of Rochester	Yumei_Earley@URMC.Rochester.edu Faculty Profile	Hypothalamic (pro)renin receptor signaling in blood pressure, blood glucose, and metabolic regulation	Visit	Malik
10/22/25	Dr. William C. Cushman,  Prof. UTHSC	wcushman@uthsc.edu Faculty Profile	Breaking Barriers: How Should Hypertension be Managed in 2025?	Local	Malik
10/29/25	Dr. Wallace B. Thoreson, Prof. Univ of Nebraska	wbthores@unmc.edu Faculty Profile	Glutamate release at ribbon synapses of rod photoreceptor cells	Visit	Vaithianathan
11/5/25	Dr. Anna Klintsova, Prof. Univ of Delaware	klintsov@udel.edu Faculty Profile	Behavioral Interventions to Mitigate the Effects of Developmental Alcohol Exposure on Brain Grey and White Matter	Visit	Bukiya / Dopico
12/3/25	Dr. Christopher M Norris,  Prof., Univ of Kentucky	cnorr2@uky.edu Faculty Profile	Reactive Astrocyte Signaling in Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias	Visit	Liao

 

Spring 2025

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All talks occur Wednesdays 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm CST
Date	Guest Speaker and Organization	Contact	Seminar Title	Visit/Zoom	Host
3/5/25	Dr. Karen Derefinko,  Assoc. Prof., UTHSC, Memphis	KDEREFIN@tennessee.edu Faculty Profile	Initial Results from a Sequential, Multiple Assignment Randomized Trial of BuprenoDrphine-Naloxone for Opioid Use Disorder	Intramural	Tunstall
3/19/25	Dr. Qian Cai, Assoc. Prof., Rutgers University	qc29@rutgers.edu Faculty Profile	Autophagy in Alzheimer's Disease	Visit	Liao
3/26/25	Dr. Todd W. Vanderah, Prof., University of Arizona	vanderah@arizona.edu Faculty Profile	Cannabis – What do We Really Know?	Visit	Jones
4/30/25	Dr. Fang Zheng, Professor, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences	zhengfang@uams.edu Faculty Profile	Canonical transient receptor potential channel 3 in the central nervous system	Visit	Liao
5/7/25	Dr. Henrique Von Gersdorff, Prof., Oregon Health & Science University	vongersd@ohsu.edu Dr. von Gersdorff 's research at the Vollum Institute	Ultrafast vesicle recycling in a retinal inhibitory synapse	Visit	Vaithianathan
5/21/25	Dr. Luca Della Santina, Assistant Professor, University of Houston	ldellasantina@uh.edu Faculty Profile	Early synaptic rearrangements of the inner retina following retinal neurodegeneration	Visit	Vaithianathan
5/28/25	Dr. Fernanda Laezza,  Prof., The University of Texas Medical Branch	felaezza@utmb.edu Faculty Profile	Targeting Voltage_Gated Na Channels for Neurotherapeutic Development	Visit	Dopico
6/4/25	Dr. Lia Zallar, Post-doctoral Fellow, Columbia University	ljz2116@cumc.columbia.edu	The reciprocal relationship between estrogen, alcohol, and the p450 enzyme aromatase	Zoom	Tunstall
6/11/25	Dr. Brendan Walker,  Prof., University of South Florida	bwalker@usf.edu Faculty Profile	Dynorphin/kappa-opioid receptor dysregulation in alcohol dependence & trauma-related co-morbidities	Visit	Dopico

 

Date	Guest Speaker and Organization	Seminar Title	Sponsor
2/7/24	Dr. Brij Singh, Professor, Department of Periodontics; Associate Dean for Research, UT Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX.	Calcium channels and neuronal function	Liao
3/13/24	Dr. Lynn Dobrunz, Professor and Chair of Anatomy and Neurobiology, UTHSC.	Role of the Anti-Anxiety factor Neuropeptide Y in Synaptic Plasticity and Traumatic Stress	Dopico
4/3/24	Dr. Declan W. Ali, Professor and Chair, Faculty of Science - Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.	TBD	Bukiya/Dopico
4/24/24	Dr. Daniele Caprioli, Associate Professor, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.	TBD	Tunstall
5/29/24	Dr. Richard Roman, Billy Guyton Distinguished Professor, Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, MS.	TBA	Malik

 

Date	Guest Speaker and Organization	Seminar Title	Sponsor
8/30/23	Dr. Srinivas Sriramula, Assistant Professor, East Carolina State University, Greenville, NC.	Kinin B1 Receptor: Emerging Target for Neuroinflammation in COVID-19	Singh
9/13/23	Dr. Luke J Mortensen, Associate Professor, University of Georgia, GA.	Nonlinear microscopy for the evaluation of musculoskeletal health and regeneration	Vaithianathan
9/27/23	Dr. Jennifer Honeycutt, Assistant Professor, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME.	Ultrasonic vocalization playback: A window into the rat emotional brain?	Kirson
10/4/23	Dr. Timothy Huang, Assistant Professor, Sanford Burnham Prebys, La Jolla, CA.	Exploring how an Alzheimer’s risk factor (TREM2) affects tau spreading	Liao
10/18/23	Dr. Jill Bettinger, Professor, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA.	Alcohol induced memory deficits: State-dependent learning in C. elegans	Jee
11/1/23	Dr. Tinatin Brelidze, Associate Professor, Georgetown University, Washington, DC.	TBD	Bukiya
11/8/23	Dr. Seetharaman Jayaraman, Res. Associate Professor, UTHSC, Memphis, TN.	TBD	Dopico
11/29/23	Dr. Hui (Iris) Zhang, Associate Professor, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA.	TBD	Zhou
12/6/23	Dr. Brij Singh, Professor, UT Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX.	TBD	Liao
12/13/23	Dr. Randall Peterson, Professor, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City UT.	TBD	Chen