UTEP School of Pharmacy updates
Faculty Spotlight
Dr. Alaa Abdelhakiem - September 2023
Dr. Abdelhakiem received her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Missouri State University in 2015 and went on to earn her doctoral degree in pharmacy from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Pharmacy in 2019. She completed a PGY1 Pharmacy Residency the following year at DHR Health in Collaboration with Texas A&M Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy and then went on to complete a Post-Doctoral Academic Fellowship at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy. She is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at El Paso School of Pharmacy. During her role as faculty member, her focus has been teaching in the pharmacotherapy curriculum, drug information course, and PILLs course, and precepting APPE pharmacy students on the inpatient general medicine and academia/research elective rotations. Dr. Abdelhakiem is leading the Academic Teaching Certificate Program provided to pharmacy residents through UTEP SOP. Additionally, she is the Residency Research Preceptor for the PGY1 Pharmacy Residents at the University Medical Center of El Paso and PGY2 Pharmacotherapy Resident at UTEP SOP. Dr. Abdelhakiem’s research interests include DEIA, student wellness and resilience, and health disparities.
News & Updates
$3.8 MILLION IN NIH FUNDING BOLSTERS UTEP’s CANCER RESEARCH
Dr. Taslim Al-Hilal
Assistant Professor
Pharmaceutical Sciences
CANCER
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Amount Awarded: $3.8M
Award Start Date: Aug. 01, 2022
Award End Date: Jul. 31, 2023
Researchers at The University of Texas at El Paso’s School of Pharmacy are leading efforts to reduce mortality rates in lung, ovarian and pancreatic cancer with $3.8 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Click HERE to learn more.
R21: THE ROLE OF TUMOR ENDOTHELIUM-SPECIFIC PRION-LIKE PROTEIN DOPPEL (PRND) GENE IN EPITHELIAL OVARIAN
Dr. Taslim Al-Hilal
Assistant Professor
Pharmaceutical Sciences
CANCER
NIH - NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE
Amount Awarded: $403,018
Award Start Date: Sep. 01, 2022
Award End Date: Aug. 31, 2024
This research investigates determines whether a highly conserved membrane-associated prion-like protein doppeldrives ovarian cancer progression.
PRIMING PANCREATIC DUCTAL ADENOCARCINOMA USING BLOOD THINNERS TO SENSITIZE THE EFFICACY OF CHECKPOINT IMMUNOTHERAPY
Dr. Taslim Al-Hilal
Assistant Professor
Pharmaceutical Sciences
CANCER
NIH - NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE
Amount Awarded: $1,507,750
Award Start Date: Jul. 05, 2022
Award End Date: May 31, 2026
Pancreatic cancers tend to develop small clots, called intratumoral clots, within their vascular network and interstitial milieu. This project will determine the effect of intratumoral fibrin clots on tumor microenvironment and immunity, and whether the use of blood thinners enhance the efficacy of immunotherapy in different subtypes of pancreatic cancer.
R01: TARGETING OF DOPPEL-AXIS TO CONTROL LUNG TUMOR ANGIOGENESIS AND IMMUNITY
Dr. Taslim Al-Hilal
Assistant Professor
Pharmaceutical Sciences
CANCER
NIH - NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE
Amount Awarded: $1,745,584
Award Start Date: Aug. 01, 2022
Award End Date: Jul. 31, 2027
This research explores whether the protein, doppel, arrests growth of blood vessels in tumors, thus, eliminating tumor growth and reducing off-tumor effects.
SUPPRESSOR OF CYTOKINE SIGNALING AS A CRUCIAL REGULATOR FOR RESISTANT UVEAL MELANOMA RESPONSE TO IMMUNOTHERAPY
Dr. Yong Qin
Assistant Professor
Pharmaceutical Sciences
NIH - NATIONAL EYE INSTITUTE
Amount Awarded: $614,000
Award Start Date: Sep. 01, 2022
Award End Date: Aug. 31, 2027
This research investigates the role of cytokine signaling 1 as an immunotherapy in immune-resistant uveal melanoma tumors.
HEALTH COMMUNICATION AND RISK PERCEPTION (HCRP) LABORATORY
Dr. Gabriel Frietze
Assistant Professor
Pharmaceutical Sciences
The School of Pharmacy (SOP) would like to introduce one the latest research laboratories at UTEP. The Health Communication and Risk Perception (HCRP) Lab, led by Dr. Gabriel Frietze (Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences), has several ongoing projects in the areas of Hispanic health disparities, infectious diseases, and vaccine acceptance. Take a moment to check out the ongoing research in Dr. Frietze’s lab. Additional information about Dr. Frietze’s reseach may be found HERE.
Collaborative Awards Across Colleges
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RACIAL EQUITY: MEASURING THE SOCIAL NETWORKS AND COMMUNITY CULTURAL WEALTH OF LATINA/O STEM UNDERGRADUATES IN THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SYSTEM LSAMP
Dr. Ben Flores, Dr. Denise Yates, and Dr. Jessica Shenberger-Trujillo
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Amount Awarded: $259,739
Award Start Date: Sep. 01, 2022
Award End Date: Aug. 31, 2026
In collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, this research investigates social networks, community cultural wealth, and undergraduate research experiences of Latina/o STEM students in the UT System LSAMP campuses.
LSAMP BRIDGE-TO-THE-DOCTORATE PROGRAM
Dr. Ben Flores, Dr. William Robertson, Dr. Helmut Knaust, Dr. Denise Yates, and Dr. Jessica Shenberger-Trujillo
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
LSAMP
Amount Awarded: $1,075,000
Award Start Date: Sep. 01, 2022
Award End Date: Aug. 31, 2024
This project provides a pathway and support system to increase the number of historically underrepresented students who complete doctoral degrees in STEM programs.
TWO PHOTON POLYMERIZATION 3D NANOFABRICATION SYSTEM FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY APPLICATIONS INCLUDING ENERGY STORAGE, PHOTONICS, SENSORS, AND BIOMEDICAL STRUCTURES
Dr. Robert Roberts, Dr. Eric MacDonald, Dr. Md Nurunnabi, Dr. David Roberson, Dr. Raymond Rumpf, Dr. Sreeprasad Sreenivasan, Dr. David Zubia, Dr. Carlos Cabrera Martinez, Dr. Ben Flores, Dr. Alexis Maurel, and Dr. Ana C. Martinez
ARMY RESEARCH OFFICE
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Amount Awarded: $576,549
Award Start Date: Aug. 01, 2022
Award End Date: Jul. 31, 2023
This grant enables acquisition of a two-photon polymerization 3D printer to enable nanoscale manufacturing that can expand innovative interdisciplinary research, enhance student training, and better address DoD research and needs for the upcoming decade.
Student Events
Pharmacy Week
- Affirmation Wall Monday: We all took a moment to either pick a note, or write one ourselves, thanking or leaving words of encouragement to students, faculty, and staff. (Activity led by the Faculty Excellence Team and Student Excellence Team)
- Don’t Stress Tuesday: Students received stress balls in time for midterms. (Activity led by the Student Excellence Team)
- Phamily Pheud Wednesday: Students vs. Faculty/Staff, Students WON!!! (Activity led by APHA-ASP, SSHP, and SNPhA)
- Barry Coleman Thursday: Remembering a pharmacy giant! (Activity led by the Dean’s Office)
- Pan Dulce Friday from Bowie Bakery: In celebration of DEIA. (Activity led by the Student Excellence Team and Dean’s Office)
