Ninth Annual AAPS NDSU Pharmaceutical Research Symposium

The American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) NDSU student chapter hosted its Ninth Annual Pharmaceutical Science Research Symposium on April 17, 2025, at the NDSU Memorial Union. The event celebrated pharmaceutical innovation and fostered collaboration among researchers. The day began with inspiring research presentations by esteemed academic and industry professionals, followed by a student poster session showcasing research and scientific communication skills. The symposium concluded with awards for top student presenters to boost their confidence.

The event opened with a welcome address by Teresa Conner, Dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences, who highlighted the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences’ contributions and outstanding research performance. Dr. Jagdish Singh, Chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, delivered an introductory address, warmly welcoming participants and acknowledging the speakers.

Dr. Casim A. Sarkar, Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Minnesota, presented his research on designing and engineering antibodies for therapeutic purposes in a talk titled “Analysis and Engineering of Multivalent Protein Interactions.” Dr. Viera Lukacova, an NDSU alumna and Chief Scientist (PBPK/Cheminformatics Solutions) at Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ: SLP), shared her expertise in physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling in a presentation titled “Utility of PBPK in Drug and Drug Product Development.”

During the poster session, 44 high-impact pharmaceutical research projects were presented by undergraduate and graduate students, reflecting a vibrant and enthusiastic research environment. Volunteer evaluators assessed the research and presentation skills, selecting the top three presenters. Awards were presented during a ceremony at the end of the day.

The AAPS-NDSU student chapter, part of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS), is a professional scientific organization with approximately 7,000 individual members and over 10,000 actively participating stakeholders from academia, industry, government, and other pharmaceutical science-related research institutes worldwide.

Poster Awards

First Place: Seyedsaber Mirabdali

  • Project: "Cardiac E-C Coupling Protein Junctophilin-2 as a Double-Stranded RNA Sensor: A Novel Role in Cardiomyocyte Innate Immunity"
  • Mentor: Ang Guo, Ph.D.

Second Place: Jacob Tesch

  • Project: "Kisspeptin Reduces Inflammatory Cytokine Exacerbation of Airway Smooth Muscle Contractility and Calcium Signaling"
  • Mentor: Sathish Venkatachalem, Ph.D.

Third Place: Anupom Deb Nath

  • Project: "Identifying Ligand-Specific RAGE Antagonists Based on Monoclonal Antibodies"
  • Mentor: Stefan Vetter, Ph.D.
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