Category: Research


2025 Health Professions Magazine Illustrates College’s Statewide Service

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Fall 2025 Health Professions Magazine cover

Under its new leader, Ashley Harkrider, PhD, the College of Health Professions at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center continues to make strides with new programs, collaborative projects, and improved training and clinical spaces. The fall 2025 issue of Health Professions Magazine explains how the college’s passionate students, faculty, and alumni are making a… Read More


Powering the Future of Kidney Care: Researcher Secures $3 Million to Unlock Mitochondrial Therapy for Acute Kidney Injury

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Headshot of Dr. Aman Bajwa

Every moment, millions of mitochondria, the tiny power plants fueling our cells, keep us alive. When they fail, organs begin to shut down. For patients with acute kidney injury (AKI), this failure can strike suddenly, causing life-threatening damage with little warning and no effective treatment. Aman Bajwa, PhD, professor and leading researcher in the Department… Read More


College of Pharmacy’s First Fulbright Scholar Innovates Cancer Treatment Through Synthetic Chemistry

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Photo of Dr. Michio Kurosu in the lab

During his postdoctoral studies at Harvard University, Michio Kurosu, PhD, was deeply inspired by his mentor, Yoshito Kishi, PhD, a former chemistry professor and a pioneer of organic synthesis, who passed away in 2023. Dr. Kishi’s groundbreaking work with complex compounds has significantly advanced the field of medicinal chemistry. “Dr. Kishi taught me how synthetic… Read More


Breaking New Ground in Alcohol Use Disorder Research: UT Health Science Center Scientist Awarded Nearly $400K Grant

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Headshot of Dr. Chang Hoon Jee

For many families, Alcohol Use Disorder is more than a diagnosis – it is a daily struggle marked by loss, relapse, and unanswered questions. Despite decades of research, the biology of why some people become tolerant and dependent on alcohol, and how to stop it, remains one of medicine’s most pressing mysteries. At the University… Read More


College of Pharmacy Ranks No. 12 Nationally in NIH Research Funding

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Photo of a pharmacy researcher in the lab.

The College of Pharmacy at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center achieved remarkable research success in 2024, ranking 12th nationally among colleges of pharmacy receiving grants from the National Institutes of Health. This prestigious recognition highlights the college’s leadership and excellence in pharmaceutical research, drug discovery, and the development of innovative solutions to today’s… Read More


‘You Do Your Best,’ Outstanding Scientist/Mentor Says of 50-Year Career

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Portrait of Dr. Kafait Malik in his lab

Sitting back in a chair in his sparsely decorated office in the Translational Science Research Building, Kafait Malik, DSc, PhD, ponders his 50 years at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. Of course, he is proud that his research, focusing on neurohormonal factors underlying the development and progression of hypertension and associated cardiovascular and… Read More


Team Awarded $3.1 Million to Study Why Some Brains Age Faster Than Others

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Headshots of Dr. Megan Mulligan, Dr. Hao Chen, and Dr. Aman Bajwa

Why do some people experience memory loss in midlife while others stay sharp well into their 80s and 90s? A research team at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center has received a $3.1 million award from the National Institute on Aging to investigate this critical question. The project is a joint effort of co-investigators… Read More


Building the Engine of Discovery: Dr. Guiseppe Pizzorno’s Vision of Clinical Research in Chattanooga

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Portrait of Dr. Guiseppe Pizzorno

If clinical trials are the engine that drives new treatments and medical breakthroughs, then Giuseppe Pizzorno, PhD, PharmD, is the master mechanic working under the hood. At Erlanger Health System in Chattanooga, he has quietly built the complex machinery—research teams, contracts, processes, and support systems—that allows dozens of cutting-edge trials to run without a hitch.… Read More