School of Medicine

Spring 2026

Dr. Sunyoung Kim, Professor of Genetics, was invited to speak at an invited roundtable discussion for the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology (NSCEB).  It was an opportunity to showcase emerging technologies and innovation programs at LSU Health to Commissioner Alexander Titus and his team.

Congress charged NSCEB with conducting a thorough review of how advancements in emerging biotechnology will shape current and future activities of the US Department of Defense.  Different parts of our innovation ecosystem discussed our strengths and where we need to close gaps to drive biotech business and job growth across Louisiana.  The group provided recommendations that will be heard at the congressional level.  The follow-up steps are to be prepared for part of the $15B that will be opened for STEM biotech infrastructure development.

 

Dr. Sunyoung Kim, Professor of Genetics, has been awarded a five-year $7.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to continue research efforts on understanding the rules that govern the dynamics of nanomotor motion. Nanomotors are tiny protein machines, crucial for all life, that convert energy into motion. Nearly 100 different biological nanomotors are known to perform a wide range of coordinated cellular tasks under varying and often extreme conditions of temperature, pressure, crowding, and time, allowing our bodies to adapt, thrive, and survive. Funding will support nanomotor research and workforce development through training and mentoring of junior faculty and trainees to broaden scientific perspectives of protein design and mechanics, and actively encourage development of novel, critical technologies.  This project promises to enhance the research capability of LSUHSC and promote the next generation of bioscience leaders to drive new technology-based discoveries and increase the economic impact of research innovations.

Fall 2025

Fokhrul Hossain published a P20 manuscript in NPJ Breast Cancer. 

Sun Young Kim published in JAMA Network Open. The paper also appears on GenomeWeb. To view a direct copy of the article on JAMA Network Open, click here!

Brionna King (M4 Medical Student - Honors Research Program) won the LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center Travel Award for her research on nucleoside analogs as novel immunotherapeutics leveraging the adenosine pathway. She will present her research at the AACR annual meeting 2026 in San Diego with the travel award support.

Laura Naldi (PhD student): Laura's image of a tumor-derived organoid was selected for the Agilent BioTek 2026 imaging calendar. Organoid models are at the forefront of preclinical cancer research, and a key component of Laura's work on sodium-dependent regulation of antitumor T-cell responses through the vasopressin pathway. The project is a collaboration between Dr. Giulia Monticone's lab at LSUHSC and Dr. Alessandro Peri at the University of Florence (Italy). 

Dr. Giulia Monticone, Assistant Professor in the Department of Genetics and the LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center, was awarded a highly competitive FDA - AACR Oncology Educational Fellowship for the 2025–2026 cycle. This prestigious fellowship, jointly sponsored by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), provides fellows with unique opportunities to deepen their understanding of regulatory science and policy in oncology drug development. As part of the fellowship, Dr. Monticone will receive support to attend two key in-person events: the AACR Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA, in April 2026, and Project ODAC Odyssey in May 2026 at the FDA’s White Oak Campus. During these events, fellows participate in specialized sessions within the Regulatory Science and Policy Track, engage directly with FDA staff, and culminate their experience by leading a mock FDA Oncology Drugs Advisory Committee meeting. We congratulate Dr. Monticone on this remarkable achievement and look forward to their contributions to advancing oncology research and drug development at LSUHSC.

Spring 2025 Graduates

Congratulations to former MIP Graduate Student Jacob Elnaggar MD, PhD, who has matched at Stanford University where he will take up a residency in Radiation Oncology.

Congratulations to Dr. Joy Sturtevant who received a 2026 Aesculapian Society Excellence in Teaching Award for the L1 Spring Semester. 

Congratulations to MIP graduate students Thomas Galbato
who placed first for his oral presentation and John Lammons who placed second for his poster at Graduate Research Day, 2025.

Dr. Guoshun Wang was awarded an R01 grant from NIH through 2029 entitled “The Role of Neutrophils in Cystic Fibrosis Pathogenesis”.

MIP was voted "Best Basic Science Department" by the Graduating Medical School Class of 2025. 

Dr. Lyndsey Gisclair graduated Ph.D. at the May 2025 Commencement. See photo.

Congratulations to Dr. Tim Foster, who received the 2025 Faculty Assembly award for Outstanding Service to the Institution.

Drs. Jennifer Cameron and Mike Hagensee were awarded an R01 grant from NIH through 2029 entitled “The role of antiretroviral therapy in susceptibility to oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infection”.