University of Mississippi
Fall 2023
Dear Friends and Alumni,
Happy Fall and Hello again from BMS! On Friday of this week we would like to invite you to attend with us (in person or virtually) our inaugural Ronald F. Borne Distinguished Lecture. We are excited to welcome back Dr. Christopher McCurdy to provide this address and meet with our faculty, staff, and students. We appreciate the Borne family for providing us with this opportunity to reflect on the legacy of Dr. Borne while learning from one of the top medicinal chemists in the country – event details are below; we look forward to seeing you.
We have lots of student, postdoc, and faculty ‘Good News’ to share with you in this newsletter. For example, at the UM fall faculty meeting Dr. Nicole Ashpole was recognized with the Faculty Achievement Award – please read her inspiring story linked below. We welcomed two new faculty in July and are proud of Dr. Valcarcel who was promoted. At our departmental annual semester kickoff event, our graduate student endowed awards were presented – thank you for your continued donations that are used to support our students!
I hope you are considering a return visit to campus soon. If that coincides with the LSU, Ark, Vandy, or A&M football games, please stop by and share your own ‘Good News’ with us at the School of Pharmacy tent in front of Faser Hall.
Hotty Toddy!
Kristie Willett, Ph.D.
Chair of BioMolecular Sciences
UM alumnus Dr. Michael Borne of Ridgeland, Mississippi, and his wife, Ashley, made the $250,000 gift in honor of his father, establishing the Dr. Ronald F. Borne Distinguished Lectureship in the School of Pharmacy Endowment. The endowment will stand as a perpetual memorial to the life and legacy of the late professor emeritus of medicinal chemistry and will fund an annual lecture in the school. Read More: Tribute to Beloved Professor Ronald F. Borne
Please join us Friday for the inaugural lecture by Dr. Chris McCurdy.
Alum Sly Lee was Keynote Speaker for the SOP Phi Lambda Sigma Leadership Day
Sly Spencer Lee (Masters in Environmental Toxicology, Class of 2012), is a first generation Asian American entrepreneur, co-founder & co-CEO of Emerge, an LA based company building a new communication platform to bridge distance and time—by leveraging sight, sound, touch and brain activity, all powered by an emotion AI platform.
He has spent a decade working in sensor fusion technologies, is a former co-founder of The Hydrous, backed by Google, Autodesk, Nat Geo and the United Nations. His journey is influenced by his upbringing as a child of Asian immigrants in the American Deep South and work in developing countries. He is co-chair of the World Economic Forum Global Future Council for Metaverse & AI, a Forbes 30 Under 30 class of 2018 recipient, a recent student of Daoism, and can be found surfing the coast of southern California some mornings. His talk challenged student leaders to consider how AI technologies can be used to improve their and their patients' lives.
Dr. Nicole Ashpole was recently honored with the Faculty Achievement Award, one of the highest awards given by the University. This award recognizes exemplary efforts in the classroom, excellence in research, and service to the University.
Dr. Ashpole began her independent research career at the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy in 2016. Nicole is an Associate Professor of Pharmacology, Research Associate Professor in RIPS, and Director of Academic Affairs in BioMolecular Sciences. Her research focuses on understanding how cannabinoids and neuroendocrine signals impact behavior and cellular responses in the nervous system. Ultimately, Dr. Ashpole and her research collaborators hope to uncover pharmacological targets that delay or prevent age-related cognitive decline, pain, and other neurological deficits. Read more about Dr. Ashpole's excellence in mentoring and research here: Ashpole Faculty Achievement Award
Groundbreaking Neuro-HIV Treatment in Development
UM researchers are developing a novel treatment for the neurological complications of HIV, also known as neuro-HIV. The National Institutes of Health awarded a five-year grant to Eden Tanner, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, and Jason Paris, research associate professor of pharmacology, to support this work. The duo received $436,000 for the first year of the project. Read more: Groundbreaking Neuro-HIV
Pictured, Kristie Willett & Noa Valcarcel
Congratulations to Dr. Noa Valcarcel on your promotion to Instructional Associate Professor of Pharmacology!
New BMS Faculty
Brenton Laing, Assistant Professor of Pharmacology
Joshua Zhu, Assistant Professor of Medicinal Chemistry
Pharmacy School Expands Research Experience to Boost Recruiting Program
OXFORD, Miss. – In an effort to engage students with research interests from outside the university, the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy has completed the first run of an expanded version of its annual Summer Research Experience.
The 2023 Summer Research Experience marks the realization of a multi-year goal to host a version of the annual summer program that would include non-UM students for the first time and broaden graduate program recruitment efforts in the pharmaceutical sciences.
“The best way to introduce them to the university is to have them come and spend some time here,” said Soumyajit Majumdar, the pharmacy school’s associate dean for research and graduate programs.
The nine-week program seeks to provide pharmaceutical science research opportunities for students considering careers in research or academia. Participants are given opportunities to learn about cutting-edge STEM-related topics, develop presentation and communication skills, practice networking skills, and explore and develop their interest in STEM-related research. Read more: STEM REU
Calling All Alumni - We Would Love to Hear From You!
Whether it's been two years or twenty years, we would love to hear what you've been up to! If you would like to share in future newsletters, contact us!
The University of Mississippi, Dept. of BioMolecular Sciences
(formerly the Departments of Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmacognosy, & Pharmacology)