OHIO students, faculty honored with John J. Kopchick Awards for biomedical research

 Ohio University recently awarded more than $87,456 in funding through the John J. Kopchick Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB)/Translational Biomedical Sciences (TBS) Awards. 

These prestigious annual awards support innovative biomedical research led by students and faculty across disciplines at Ohio University.

This year’s awards were presented during a special ceremony on Nov. 15 in the Baker University Center Ballroom. The event also provided OHIO students with the opportunity to present their research and answer questions about their work. 

The John J. Kopchick Awards were established by a generous gift provided by John J. Kopchick, Ph.D., Goll-Ohio Eminent Scholar and Distinguished Professor of Molecular Biology, and Char Kopchick, assistant dean of students. The awards promote a rich interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial environment that fosters discovery research resulting in intellectual property that will bring about the development of new technology and transfer of that technology to the private sector, where it might be deployed for the benefit of human health and well-being. 

The annual awards honor the legacy of Dr. John J. and Char Kopchick, while also inspiring new generations of Ohio University students and faculty.  

Craig Nunemaker, PhD

• Project Title: A novel compound to treat insulin-dependent type 2 diabetes
• Award Amount: $10,000 

Badra Bashir

• Mentor: Darlene Berryman, Ph.D.
• Project: Exploring Immunosenescence and Aging Through Single Nucleus Sequencing of Spleen in bGH Mice
• Award: $5,000

Chloe Becker

• Mentor: Vishwajeet Puri, Ph.D.
• Project: Protective effect of SkM-FSP27 against obesity-induced muscle dysfunction
• Award: $5,000

Thomas Krauss 

• Mentor: Cory Baumann, Ph.D.
• Project: Unraveling the Role of Apolipoprotein J in Skeletal Muscle
• Award: $15,000

Shadi Moradi

• Mentor: Shouan Zhu, Ph.D.
• Project: Role of Acetyl-CoA Carboxylase 1 (ACC1) in Growth Plate Development and Differentiation
• Award: $15,000

Sohana Siyar

• Mentor: Kevin Lee, Ph.D.
• Project: Adipocyte subpopulations regulate nicotine-induced lipolysis and cadiometabolic dysfunction
• Award: $15,000

Alexia Tasoula

• Mentor: Vishva Sharma, Ph.D.
• Project: MKX, a novel regulator of adipose homeostasis
• Award: $15,000 

Paige Herfurth

• Mentor: Darlene Berryman, Ph.D.
• Project: Quantifying Adrenomedullin Expression and Relationship to Growth Hormone
• Award: $1,500

Octavia Hogue

• Mentor: Ronan Carroll, Ph.D.
• Project: Creating an Intracellular Thermometer Using Fluorescent Staphylococcus aureus
• Award: $1,456

Anna Miller

• Mentor: Shouan Zhu, Ph.D.
• Project: Uncovering the Role of Excess Growth Hormone in the Development of Hip Osteoarthritis in bGH Mice
• Award: $1,500

Taylor Ralston

• Mentor: Kevin Lee, Ph.D.
• Project: Investigating Creatine Cycling in Adipocyte Subpopulations
• Award: $1,500

Braedon Scudder

• Mentor: Kevin Lee, Ph.D.
• Project: Determining the effect of ablation of GHR on Type 2 adipocytes
• Award: $1,500