Summer Research Fellows advance research discoveries across the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Each summer, research labs across the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (SOPPS) welcome summer research interns into their ranks. Labs come alive with discovery as faculty mentors and dedicated students from across campus work side by side to tackle the forefront of pharmaceutical sciences and healthcare challenges.

“While a lot of our students want to get involved in labs, it can be a bit overwhelming during the semester, when they're still taking courses,” said Clinical Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice Taylor Clark. “Giving students this summer opportunity allows a focus on the research and more involvement in every step of the process. Being at an institution like Binghamton makes it much easier as a student or a junior faculty member to lay your roots in research while helping students prepare for residencies, fellowships, and other opportunities.”

The projects below demonstrate how research at SOPPS connects laboratory discovery with clinical practice and public health. Whether they are rising undergraduate researchers or PharmD students preparing for careers as healthcare professionals, these scholars are making direct and meaningful contributions under the guidance of dedicated faculty mentors. Their work not only advances scientific understanding but reinforces the school's commitment to fostering the next generation of researchers, clinicians, and innovators whose discoveries have the potential to improve lives far beyond campus.

Prescribing psychology 

Third-year PharmD student Kahaan Shah is working with Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences Phil Hughes on a mixed-methods study looking at the well-being of psychologists who prescribe medications.

Prescribing psychologists provide services to patients that traditional psychologists usually need to refer a patient to a psychiatrist for. This specialty field includes additional work stress, potentially leading to greater risk of patient harm and malpractice compared to traditional psychologists. However, an increased ability to provide care may also increase job satisfaction. 

To study this, the lab is collecting data from psychologists to understand how prescriptive authority impacts their well-being. The findings will have implications for state policymakers considering prescriptive authority in 10 to 15 states.

Lipid nanoparticles for drug and gene delivery

Upcoming second-year student researcher and Summer Research Fellow Smit Patel is working with Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences John Fetse on the development of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) for drug and gene delivery. His focus is on developing LNPs designed for delivering treatments directly to the brain. 

These microscopic, protective delivery vehicles are one of the most efficient, non-viral methods for transporting delicate genetic materials — like mRNA, siRNA, and CRISPR therapies — into human cells. These nanoparticles overcome major biological hurdles by offering crucial cargo protection; if you introduce "naked" genetic material into the body, natural enzymes destroy it almost immediately, but LNPs bypass this by “wrapping” a fragile payload until it reaches the target cell. They also allow for "smart," pH-responsive delivery. The lipids remain neutral and stable in the bloodstream until they are taken up by a cell, where the acidic environment releases the payload directly into the cell's cytoplasm and it can do its job.

Antioxidants in invasive plants and root teas

Rising P2 students David Wang and Lun Nuam are working on two projects with Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences Katie Edwards, reviewing antioxidant capacity and protection in invasive plant samples and root teas.

Wang’s study focuses on antioxidant levels and medicinal properties extracted from invasive plant species like Japanese knotweed, using special extraction techniques to find out what parts of the plants are going to give the most metabolically in terms of antioxidant production.

Nuam’s project, from the consumer end, will show how much antioxidants individuals get in their tea, and how they can grow it best to make sure they get the most benefit. They’re trying to understand what the tea is doing for consumers at the biochemical level and if drinking it every day could reduce different oxidative stress-related diseases.

Treatment options for schizophrenia

A group project hosted by Chair and Clinical Professor of Pharmacy Practice Kenneth “Mac” McCall, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice Alex Rola, and Clinical Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice Emily Leppien will allow students Dev Patel, Vaishvi Gandhi, and Roisin Daly to focus on the safety of a novel treatment option for schizophrenia, a complex psychiatric disorder that profoundly impacts daily functioning. 

Although new therapies offer alternatives to traditional dopamine-blocking agents, a significant evidence gap remains, as current safety data is limited to highly controlled clinical trials, which can exclude certain patients. This research is significant because it addresses the critical need for real-world safety evidence as the medication transitions from restricted trials to broad clinical use. 

Clinical outcomes of type 2 diabetes patients 

P3 PharmD student Francis Depalo will work with Clinical Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice and Menner Family Endowed Faculty Fellow Mia Lussier to examine clinical outcomes of patients with type 2 diabetes. Specifically, they will compare the health outcomes of patients who initiated newer diabetes therapies (such as GLP-1 receptor agonists) while on metformin compared to patients who initiated the newer therapies without metformin. 

Treatment guidelines usually recommend continuing metformin when starting newer medications, but the pair want to better understand whether patients who do experience better health outcomes than those initiated on newer therapies. To do so, they analyze de-identified electronic health records, comparing blood sugar control, weight changes, kidney function, cardiovascular health, and other important clinical measures between the two cohorts. The goal is to better understand which treatment approach provides the greatest benefit for patients in clinical practice.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)

Rising P3 PharmD student Prince Karmacharya and Andrianna Poznahovska, an undergraduate pursuing a degree in integrated neuroscience, are working separately with Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences Yuanjun “Steve” Shen on two projects related to pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a particularly prevalent, dangerous, and often deadly lung disease. 

Karmacharya’s project aims at identifying if certain proteins activate a master protein, which then goes on to trigger the cells inside of the lungs to multiply and divide rapidly, causing the arteries there to become thicker, which eventually leads to hypertension in the lung arteries. Identifying that master protein and precisely what activates it, such as protein phosphatases (PPPs), is the first step in deactivating the root cause of the disease. A more detailed understanding of disease progression, such as how these proteins interact with each other, will help the team to design new drugs against PAH.

Poznahovska’s side, while also touching on genotyping and finding targets to study, is focused on developing a digital twin model using machine learning. This digital 3D model could then drill down to a vascular or cell level as a diagnostic tool to help predict disease progression. She is currently inputting parameters to help the machine learning create a model progression. Additionally, her projects include understanding how lung arteries become abnormal when a fetus develops Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH), a disease that itself can be corrected but leads to pulmonary hypertension, which is deadly to newborns.

Interest in emergency contraception vending machines

P3 PharmD student Ariel Yosha is working with Clinical Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice Taylor Clark on a project titled “Utilization of Emergency Contraception Vending Machines Across NYS Campuses and Student Interest in OTC Contraceptives.”

Over-the-counter emergency contraception, used up to 72 hours after sexual intercourse to prevent pregnancy (as opposed to birth control, used daily to prevent pregnancy), is available on some New York campuses via emergency contraception vending machines. The purpose of this study is to evaluate student interest in these machines versus over-the-counter or provider-delivered contraception. 

Yosha wants to take a closer look to see if students are using the vending machines and if they want a different option like Opill, a birth control prevention. The goal is to aid access issues, ascertain the usefulness of the vending machines via student survey, and encourage other campuses to implement them in ways that then appeal to students.

Cellular senescence and anti-inflammation

Denisse Martinez, a rising junior majoring in biology on the pre-med track, will work with Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences Azadeh Nasuhidehnavi to study cellular senescence, a stress response that stops the division of damaged cells, sometimes without triggering cell death. This is a vital process for cells to repair themselves, but chronic infections may trigger the process prematurely, creating an inflamed environment within the tissue that weakens the immune system's ability, especially when those cells accumulate.

Martinez will particularly investigate Chaga’s disease, caused by a parasite called T. cruzi. This disease causes chronic inflammation within tissues and organs, so she hopes to see if it has other relationships that trigger senescent-associated pathways and infected cells. They also hope to study potential anti-inflammatory remedies/compounds that could mitigate the expression of these genes and stops cells from undergoing senescence early, thereby treating the disease.