Vertex Day Returns to UC Irvine
For the first time since pre-COVID, UC Irvine School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences faculty, PhD students, and scientists from Vertex Pharmaceuticals came together in person for Vertex Day at UCI.
Vertex Day is a one-day, annual research symposium featuring short presentations by graduate students and faculty from the UCI School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences. This year’s event included a career panel featuring Vertex Pharmaceutical scientists and presentations from the 2022 Vertex Scholar, Huda Barhoosh, and keynote speaker, Dr. Sabine Hadida, Senior Vice President & Site Head, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, San Diego.
Students, faculty and Vertex scientists heard presentations from three students from the PhD in pharmacological sciences program:
- Kyle Cole, from the Luptak Lab: “A modular platform for bioluminescent RNA imaging.”
- Rebecca Lee, from the Kwon Lab: “Combining multimodal gene and targeted drug therapy to treat cancer.”
- Hannah Baumann, from the Mobley Lab: “Broadening the scope of binding free energy calculations using a separated topologies approach.”
Followed by presentations from three UCI School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences faculty members:
- Thomas Martinez, assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences: “Mining the microproteome.”
- Lauren Albrecht, assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences: “Protein methylation: a novel regulator of proteostasis in health and disease.”
- Amal Alachkar, professor of teaching: “A tale of cilia: from vestigial organelles to brain tuning antennae.”
As part of the Vertex Day tradition, the 2022 Vertex Scholar, Huda Barhoosh, a PhD candidate in the Paegel Lab, showcased her research, “Activity-Based DEL Screening: expanding the druggable proteome through selective modulation of translation,” before being presented with the Vertex Scholar award by Hadida.
“Huda Barhoosh is wholly deserving of this award,” says Brian Paegel, PhD, professor of pharmaceutical sciences. “She has worked tirelessly over the past three years to develop the basis for advanced microfluidic activity-based DEL screening, which has been a Herculean undertaking. She has integrated knowledge in microfluidics, assay development, and even synthetic biology. I am continually in awe of her perseverance and thankful for Vertex’s generous support of the University.”
“I am very grateful to have been selected as a Vertex scholar and had my research supported by the Vertex fellowship program,” says Barhoosh. “Vertex Day was a great opportunity to share my work, meet with Vertex scientists, and learn more about the company. I look forward to next year!”
As part of the Vertex Diversity Fellowship, Vertex Scholars are selected based on high potential and promise, as well as proven resilience when faced with challenges while making exceptional achievements. Each award funds a student’s stipend and fees for one year.
“The Vertex Fellowship Program supports promising pharmacological sciences PhD students focusing on leading-edge drug discovery research,” says Founding Dean Jan Hirsch, BS Pharm, PhD. “We are grateful to Vertex Pharmaceuticals for their generous contributions and support of our graduate program and students. This gift supports our shared commitment to fostering diversity and equity in the STEM field.”
The event concluded with a keynote speech from Hadida on “Discovery of CFTR modulators for the treatment of cystic fibrosis.”
Reflecting on the long-lasting impact of the Vertex Fellowship program, UCI Distinguished Professor Stephen Hanessian has embraced the continuing support of the Vertex Scholar Fellowship program within the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences since its inception.
“I join my colleagues in saluting Vertex Pharmaceuticals for its vision, encouragement, and confidence in our school’s mission as we grow and strive for excellence.”
Vertex Pharmaceuticals invests in scientific innovation to create transformative medicines for people with serious diseases with a focus on specialty markets.
The Vertex Diversity Fellowship supports promising pharmacological sciences PhD students who are focusing on cutting-edge drug discovery research.
View event photos here.