Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Archives

UNT System honors scientist who conducts drug studiesBy Jan Jarvis One drug treats hospital-acquired bacterial pneumonia. Another treats complicated intra-abdominal infections. And a third treats skin infections. These are among the many drugs that Jerry Simecka, PhD, has evaluated as part of the discovery process since establishing the Pre-Clinical Services group at UNT Health Science Center a decade ago. The successful Read More »

Sep 12, 2018

For seniors, the growing opioids menaceBy Jan Jarvis One week – that’s how long it can take for a prescription pain killer to turn into an addiction to opioids. Patients believe opioids – a class of pain-killing drugs that can produce morphine-like effects – are safe and effective because their physician prescribed them, said Annesha White, PharmD, PhD, Associate Read More »

Aug 23, 2018

Fighting a deadly side effect of heart failureByJan Jarvis For many of the 6.5 million people who live with heart failure, developing water retention related to their disease will decrease their chances of survival. Although many patients with water retention are treated with diuretics, it is not known why they develop the condition, said Tom Cunningham, PhD, Regents Professor of Physiology Read More »

Jun 11, 2018

Less calories, longer livesBy Jan Jarvis Since 2000, Dr. Rozalyn Anderson has studied aging and how calorie restriction helps monkeys live longer, healthier lives. What she has found is monkeys who eat less than their peers get fewer diseases of aging, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. “A smaller body means a longer life and greater health,” Read More »

May 10, 2018

‘All I needed was a chance’By Raul Vintimilla, Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience I had earned my medical degree and finished a three-year hospital residency in Cuenca, Ecuador when I decided to move my family to the United States. I had discovered during my training that clinical care was not my passion — research was. And the United States Read More »

Apr 11, 2018

Creating a more diverse research communityBy Jan Jarvis Students from underrepresented backgrounds could soon be getting a big boost from a training program aimed at increasing diversity at UNT Health Science Center – and ultimately the biomedical workforce. A $1.4 million grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences will fund stipends and tuition for students who are Read More »

Mar 6, 2018

Research aims to optimize brain’s defense mechanisms to combat TBIBy Jan Jarvis A traumatic brain injury, or TBI, can happen to anyone at any age, in any place and under all manner of circumstances. An estimated 1.7 million people in the United States experience loss of cognitive and sensorimotor functions following TBI annually. Those who survive the initial injury often cope with enormous Read More »

Jan 4, 2018

Taking aim at metastatic prostate cancerBy Jan Jarvis When prostate cancer spreads to the bone it can be challenging to treat and often results in pain, fractures and limited survival. But an approach that delivers chemotherapy directly to the cancerous bone lesions shows promise as a new treatment that reduces tumor size and relieves pain for men with advanced prostate Read More »

Dec 4, 2017

Making the path to a PhD more efficientBy Cari Hyden How can we increase diversity among researchers, decrease the average number of years to get a PhD and help graduates get jobs in the field they studied for? Just ask Meharvan “Sonny” Singh, PhD. He’s already doing it. Through his Neurobiology of Aging training grant from the National Institutes of Health, Read More »

Oct 26, 2017

From personal trainer to PhD candidateBy Justin Sprick, GSBS student I was working as a personal trainer in my hometown of Odessa when an article caught my eye in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. It was about using blood flow restriction exercise, which uses inflatable cuffs to reduce blood to the working muscles, as a novel strategy Read More »

Oct 13, 2017