• Article
  • Nov 27 2024

Physiology Scholars Program welcomes new cohort focused on biomedical research

From left, Ryan Brennan, Nikitha Dharanipragada, Ava Kruse and Sarisha Lohano.

The University of Kentucky’s Department of Physiology has welcomed a new cohort of undergraduate students for the Physiology Scholars Program.

“The Physiology Scholars Program provides undergraduates with a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in biomedical research, fostering academic excellence and career development. This program not only nurtures research talent but also offers a platform for students to showcase their work and expand their career potential,” said Gregory Graf, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Physiology in the College of Medicine and associate director of the Saha Cardiovascular Research Center.

Undergraduate students apply to the program with support of their faculty member. Both are committed to conducting intensive research for the academic year.

Scholars are selected based on their academic achievements and a statement of interest in research. Four students were selected as 2024-25 Physiology Scholars.

Ryan Brennan is a junior in the Lewis Honors College majoring in neuroscience in the College of Arts and Sciences. He is conducting research on hippocampal neurogenesis in the laboratory of Kathryn Saatman, Ph.D., in the Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center and Department of Physiology. Using confocal imaging and analysis, Brennan is investigating how traumatic brain injury affects the structural development of recently born neurons in adult mice. His work will help guide future studies aimed at stimulating hippocampal neurogenesis with the goal of improving cognitive function after brain injury. Brennan is a certified emergency medical technician and plans to attend medical school. 

Nikitha Dharanipragada is a senior neuroscience major in the College of Arts and Sciences from Frankfort, Kentucky. She is conducting research in the laboratory of Robert Helsley, Ph.D., on the role of the lipid metabolism in adipose tissue and its impact on the development of cardiometabolic diseases including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and liver disease. Dharanipragada completed an Undergraduate Summer Training in Cardiovascular Research (USTiCR) Fellowship in 2024 and will present her research at the American Heart Association’s Vascular Discovery Scientific Sessions in Baltimore Maryland in April 2025.

Ava Kruse, originally from Fort Thomas, Kentucky, is a junior majoring in neuroscience as well as biomedical engineering in the UK Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering. She joined the laboratory of Catalina Vélez-Ortega, Ph.D., during her freshman year at UK. Kruse has been studying noise-induced changes to the specialized ribbon synapses of auditory sensory cells, in particular, in the presence or absence of signaling pathways mediated by the tissue damage sensor TRPA1. Kruse has presented her research results at multiple local, regional and national meetings, including the MidWinter Meetings of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology (ARO). She also collaborated in a second project exploring the role of myosin XVA isoforms in the plasticity of auditory sensory organelles and is the second author in a manuscript that has been accepted for publication at Frontiers in Neurology.

Sarisha Lohano is a senior in the Lewis Honors College and a biology major in the College of Arts and Sciences from Louisville, Kentucky. Lohano is conducting research in the laboratory of Jonathan Satin, Ph.D., exploring novel mechanisms for future treatments and prevention of heart failure. Lohano completed an Undergraduate Summer Training in Cardiovascular Research (USTiCR) Fellowship in 2024, has co-authored two peer reviewed manuscripts, will present her research at the FASEB International Conference on Ion Channels Conference in June 2025, and start medical school at UK in the fall of 2025. 

The program also offers career development sessions with faculty. Scholars will present their research progress during Physiology Research Day. The program also offers travel support to attend and present their research findings at a scientific conference in their chosen field. 

You can find more information about the Physiology Scholars Program and a list of current and past scholars online.