News

May 15, 2019
Congratulations to Samantha Harris, PhD for her promotion to full Professor, and to Julie Ledford, PhD for her promotion to Associate Professor!

May 01, 2019
Noel Warfel, PhD was awarded an Idea Development Award from the Department of Defense Prostate Cancer Research Program to study the role of PIM kinases in prostate cancer invasion and metastasis, as well as test new strategies to improve the treatment of patients with bone-metastatic prostate cancer.

Apr 30, 2019
New graduate program at the UA College of Medicine – Tucson will begin in fall Semester 2019. Genetic counseling one of nation’s fastest-growing careers.
Apr 16, 2019
Donata Vercelli, MD - Professor of Cellular and Molecular Medicine - was recently awarded the Henry and Phyllis Koffler Prize in Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity for her long-standing scientific expertise and research contributions towards preventing childhood asthma.
Apr 01, 2019
The Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine is delighted to welcome the following new Molecular Medicine PhD students to our department: Hao Zhang (Cusanovich Lab) and Yaeren Hernandez (Granzier Lab). We also extend a friendly welcome to the following PhD students who will be working in labs with CMM faculty: Selina Kindelay (Genetics GIDP - Maggert Lab) and Reeba Varghese (Cancer Bio GIDP - Thorne Lab).
Mar 21, 2019
3-day pre-symposium workshop beginning Wednesday May 15
Mar 04, 2019
CMM PhD student Austin Conklin (Romanoski Lab) and PhD Candidate Lauren Schultz (Gregorio Lab) are the recipients of the prestigious 2019-20 ARCS Foundation Scholarships. The ARCS Foundation - Phoenix Chapter - is dedicated to advancing science and technology in the US, and selects outstanding doctoral-track students in science, engineering, and medical Research with a track record of academic excellence.

Feb 14, 2019
Drs. Julie Ledford, PhD (left) and Monica Kraft, MD (right) win the $10,000 prize during UA Research Day's ‘Shark Tank’ Event for their pitch on a new, inhaled therapeutic for the treatment of asthma and potentially even COPD, cystic fibrosis and pneumonia.
Feb 12, 2019
Dr. Donata Vercelli, a Professor of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, will speak as part of the renowned College of Science Lecture Series on February 12, 2019.
Feb 01, 2019
Congratulations to the University of Arizona Genetic Counseling Graduate Program (UAGCGP), which has been granted accredited by the Accreditation Council for Genetic Counseling (ACGC). The new Master’s in Genetic Counseling program, part of the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, will begin in Fall 2019.
Dec 19, 2018
Julie Ledford, PhD - an Assistant Professor in CMM - together with colleagues in the Department of Medicine and the Asthma and Airways Disease Research Center recently published their study entitled “Club Cell Secretory Protein Deficiency Leads to Altered Lung Function” in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. While Club Cell Secretory Protein 16 (CC16) has been described as a serum biomarker for obstructive lung diseases, a distinct mechanism of action for CC16 has remained elusive.
Nov 07, 2018
Donata Vercelli, MD, Professor of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the UA College of Medicine and Associate Director of the Asthma and Airway Disease Research Center at the University of Arizona Health Sciences, has been elected the first female secretary general of the Collegium Internationale Allergologicum. Founded in 1954, the Collegium is a group of distinguished international physicians and scientists who study the emerging field of allergy and clinical immunology. Dr. Vercelli has been a member of the Collegium for more than 25 years.
Oct 19, 2018
Balasz Kiss, PhD – a CMM postdoctoral scholar in Dr. Henk Granzier's lab - and colleagures recently published a study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) about the role of nebulin, a giant sarcomeric, actin-binding protein found in skeletal muscle. Using X-ray diffraction, it was found that thin filaments are threefold more extensible in nebulin-knockout living muscle.
Oct 03, 2018
Sara Parker, PhD – a CMM postdoctoral scholar in Dr. Gus Mouneimne’s lab - together with colleagues in the departments of Neuroscience, Pharmacology, an Immunobiology have recently published a new study in the journal eNeuro entitled “High Fidelity Cryopreservation and Recovery of Primary Rodent Cortical Neurons". Cryopreservation is the process of freezing biological materials, and is used routinely for the storage of cell lines.

Sep 21, 2018
MD/PhD student Jessika Iwanski (center; Dr. Gregorio's lab) poses with other graduate students at the 2018 Arizona BioRetreat! (9/21/2018)!
Aug 03, 2018
Darren Cusanovich, PhD, led a study published in the most recent issue of Cell presenting a single-cell atlas of chromatin (how the genome is packaged in the nucleus of a cell) patterns in adult mice based on data from almost 100,000 individual cells. Their work sheds light on how the various cell types present in mammals are able to accomplish such different functions while referencing the same genome. This resource may ultimately help us to understand precisely how human diseases develop and manifest in complex tissues.
Aug 01, 2018
Marco Padilla-Rodriguez, PhD – a recent CMM graduate from Dr. Gus Mouneimne’s lab- and colleagues have recently published a new study in Nature Communications highlighting estrogen’s dual effects of promoting tumor growth in estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer, and suppressing tumor invasion through actin cytoskeletal remodeling.
Jul 05, 2018
Congratulations to Diana Darnell, PhD for her promotion to full Professor, Educator Scholar Track!