News
Jun 06, 2025
Jared Alvarado has been recognized by the American Association for Anatomy (AAA) in its 2025 summer awards cycle. With over a decade and a half of experience as a licensed funeral director specializing in anatomical embalming, he spearheads donor- and student-facing efforts through the University of Arizona Willed Body Program. This award supports his efforts to teach anatomy through hands-on dissection, preparing future professionals for medical practice. Click for links.
Jun 03, 2025
Dr. Paul Gignac’s new paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals that PAX6 gene expression helps sensory organs compensate for eye loss in cave-dwelling salamanders, offering valuable insights into the regulartory networks of complex organ systems. Click to read more.
Jun 02, 2025
The UA American Heart Association Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship kicked off on June 2nd. We’re thrilled to welcome our new fellows and look forward to supporting their growth as scientists! L to R: Cole Bauer, Yash Rohilla, Adriana Frost, Elaine Kang, Bella Tran
May 21, 2025
CMM would like to congratulate recent (and soon-to-be) graduates from our MS program, along with their faculty advisors. We are proud of your hard work, dedication, and accomplishments! Also, many thanks to the faculty mentors! Click for the list of graduates.
Apr 29, 2025
CMM researchers Paul Gignac, PhD, and Haley O'Brien, PhD, are part of a team that is creating 3D-printed models of human brains to help medical students better understand healthy vs unhealthy anatomy. Click to read more and view video.
Mar 04, 2025
Associate Professor Noel Warfel in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and colleagues have been awarded a $1.7M to study mechanisms of chemoresistance in bone metastatic prostate cancer and develop new treatment strategies. Dr. Warfel developed the first PROTAC targeting PIM kinases and this research will test its efficacy in translational models of prostate cancer.
Feb 17, 2025
Sakthivel Sadayappan, PhD, MBA, Professor and Head of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, celebrated his investiture as the Czarina M. and Humberto S. Lopez Endowed Chair for Excellence in Cardiovascular Research. Click to read more.
Feb 07, 2025
Members of the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Sarver Heart Center, and the Molecular Cardiovascular Research Program participated in National Wear Red Day to bring attention to cardiovascular disease in women. Click for more.
Jan 09, 2025
Congratulations to Catherine Vasquez for being awarded an American Heart Association fellowship! Catherine is a Molecular Medicine PhD student training under Dr. Jil Tardiff, Professor of Biomedical Engineering.
Oct 24, 2024
Dr. Ghassan (Gus) Mouneimne, Associate Professor of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, is working with researchers at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centers to improve diagnostic tools and treatment for breast cancer. Click to read more.
Sep 05, 2024
Dr. Julie Ledford has been awarded $600,000 per year for the next four years - a successful renewal of her NIH/NHLBI R01 grant: "Defining mechanisms of CC16 on epithelial-driven host responses to pathogens." Congratulations to Dr. Ledford and her Co-Investigators Dr. Stefano Guerra, Dr. Joseph Vagner, and Dr. Darren Cusanovich.
Aug 20, 2024
The Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine is thrilled to announce the appointment of Dr. Sakthivel Sadayappan, PhD, MBA, as our new department head! Click to read more.
Aug 19, 2024
Curtis Thorne, PhD, brings a deeply personal perspective to his research, having battled cancer himself while his two brothers also faced their own fights with the disease. Click to read more.
Aug 12, 2024
Congratulations to Anna Golebiewski for being awarded an American Heart Association fellowship. Anna is a Molecular Medicine PhD student training under Dr. Casey Romanoski, Associate Professor of Cellular and Molecular Medicine.
Jul 24, 2024
Henk Granzier, PhD, has been selected as the honoree of the 2024 College of Medicine- Tucson Founders Day Lecture. Founders Day was established to honor faculty for their scientific accomplishments and commemorate the founding of COM-T. Click for more.
May 29, 2024
College of Medicine, Tucson, Associate Professor Paul Gignac is the lead on an extensive, 75-author manuscript detailing an international effort to bring together the science of computed tomography with policies and practices that ensure publicly funded data collection can be made widely available and understandable by diverse communities. Click to read more.
Apr 15, 2024
CMM Associate Professor Dr. Paul Gignac and colleagues integrate histological and diffusible iodine-based contrast-enhanced computed tomography (diceCT) to bring new insights into the anatomical and physiological organization of avian visual systems. Click to read more.
Apr 02, 2024
Associate Professor Paul Gignac in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and colleagues have been awarded a $2 Million NSF Cyberinfrastructure grant to develop a cloud-based, open-source platform for 3D digital anatomy research and education. The project marks a significant step towards enhancing collaborative scientific research and educational practices in the digital age. Click to read more.
Mar 28, 2024
The lab of Dr. Curtis Thorne focuses on finding a cure for colorectal cancer. Dr. Thorne's lab was featured in a UArizona Cancer Center article and video. Click to read more.
Mar 28, 2024
PhD student Tania Larrinaga, under the mentorship of Drs. Carol Gregorio and Chris Pappas, was first author on a paper which explains the role of Lmod2, a critical actin filament length regulator, in muscle contraction. These findings have important implications for human health, suggesting that muscle function should be monitored in people with Lmod2 mutations. Click to read more.