The University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences

09/17/2026

When researchers at The University of Toledo discovered that a widely used heartburn medication could help make cancer drugs work for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients, the finding came the slow way: years of lab work, guided in part by computational modeling rather than artificial intelligence (AI).

Now, a new AI-Driven and Structure-Based Drug Discovery Core, within UToledo’s Northwest Ohio Cancer Research Institute, is working to compress that kind of timeline, helping UToledo scientists identify promising drug candidates faster and with greater precision than traditional methods allow.

Read more in UToledo News: https://buff.ly/QTIjZ6Q

09/16/2026

Dr. Viviana Ferreira, professor in the Department of Medical Education and Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, was recently appointed chair of the American Association of Immunologists (AAI) Science and Education Core Committee (SECC). The AAI SECC is charged with promoting science education through planning and coordinating programs to advance undergraduate, graduate and medical education; facilitating development of immunology curricula and other resources to support and enhance secondary science instruction and learning; and sponsoring popular career-development symposia and workshops focused on diverse career paths and stages at the AAI annual meetings.

Dr. Ferreira also served as faculty in the AAI Introductory Immunology Course in July at the UCLA Luskin Conference Center in Los Angeles. She gave the lecture on “The Complement System” to participants who traveled from within the U.S. and from around the world to participate in this course. This is the fifth year in a row she has been invited to give this lecture.

Founded in 1913, AAI is a society of professionally trained scientists throughout the world dedicated to advancing the knowledge of immunology and its related disciplines and is the most prestigious association of immunologists in the world.

09/15/2026

Thirty-six interns and acting interns from family medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, and emergency medicine sharpened their point-of-care ultrasound skills during the recent Emergency Medicine-sponsored boot camp in the Simulation Center.

Thanks to Dr. Stephen Grider, chair and associate professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine, for sharing these photos with us.

09/14/2026

Dr. Kuo-Hui Su, assistant professor in the Department of Cancer and Cell Biology, was recently awarded with a two-year $80,000 grant from Ohio Cancer Research (OCR).

Dr. Su’s project will study how pancreatic cancer cells survive under stress, with the goal of finding new weaknesses that could lead to better treatment strategies.

“Support from Ohio Cancer Research will allow us to pursue an innovative new direction that defines how tumor cells use a stress-protection switch to control their energy supply and survive,” Dr. Su shared with OCR. “Uncovering a hidden vulnerability that could guide future treatment strategies.”

OCR funds individual researchers to help get their projects off the ground, giving them the opportunity to collect the initial round of data needed to apply for a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant, or the ability to access a specific technology they need to get started.

Congratulations, Dr. Su!

09/13/2026

Dr. Jyothi Sri Pappula, associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine and director of COMLS Student Health and a UToledo Health family medicine practitioner, discusses campus health services that address physical and mental health.

Read here: https://buff.ly/Nbtqnei

Today’s generation of college students rate their well-being as a priority, with a pandemic experience and online resources providing a foundation for it. ...

09/12/2026

Kelsey Hoffman, director of the Radiation Therapy Program, explains the need for more radiation therapists nationwide and the experiential learning offered for students.

Watch now: https://buff.ly/s9R7kUo

09/11/2026

The Jacobson Center for Clinical and Translational Research invites College of Medicine and Life Sciences faculty to apply for Research Mentor status. This designation recognizes faculty who maintain active research programs and mentor medical students in clinical and translational research.

Research Mentors gain access to JCCTR resources including poster design and printing, abstract development and publication support, illustration software for presentations and grant applications, and the JCCTR conference room with full video conferencing. The Center also supports opportunities for dissemination of research findings through its support of the Central Society for Clinical and Translational Research (CSCTR) annual meeting, where medical students present their work as first authors. Mentors are listed on the JCCTR website as research contacts for students seeking projects.

Eligible faculty are in good standing with an active research program and commit to mentoring at least one medical student per year plus a brief annual activity report. New faculty may join as conditional Research Mentors during their first year. To apply or learn more, contact Dr. Steven Haller or Kaitlynn Grey, or visit the dedicated webpage.

Learn more here: https://buff.ly/HfUHHYp 🔗

09/10/2026

Dr. Victoria Kottman, associate professor and vice chair for education in the Department of Neurosciences and Psychiatry, shared her expertise during a panel discussion on mental health and mindfulness at the recent Women’s Leadership Summit Premier Experience, held as part of the Greater Toledo Classic at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania. The panel was chaired by Jean M. Drees, UTMC community liaison.

The panel discussion was also featured in the “On the Town” section of The Blade.

09/09/2026

Danielle Dougherty, director of admissions for COMLS programs, recently participated in the exhibitor fair at the National Association of Advisors for the Health Professions (NAAHP) in New Orleans. The University of Toledo was among over 150 exhibitors, engaging with hundreds of Pre-Health advisors from across the country. 🚀

09/08/2026

After completing her third year, medical student Tara Tekkey recently traveled halfway around the world to conduct research she hopes will improve maternal and infant health both abroad and at home.

Tara was awarded a prestigious Fulbright-Fogarty Public Health Fellowship, a nationally competitive program that supports research in low- and middle-income countries. At the end of July she left for Dhulikhel Hospital in Dhulikhel, Nepal, about 20 miles from Kathmandu, where for 10 months she is studying how ambient air pollution affects inflammation in maternal and fetal blood and how those changes influence pregnancy outcomes. She hopes the fellowship will help shape a career that blends research with direct patient care.

Read more in UToledo News: https://news.utoledo.edu/index.php/08_13_2026/utoledo-medical-student-awarded-fulbright-fogarty-fellowship-for-global-health-research