Facts & Figures

The Retina Research Foundation has approved the RRF Pilot Study Grant for Dr. Ming Zhang for his project, “The roles of RIP kinase 3 in the development of AMD-like pathologies during cytomegalovirus ocular latency.”

Congratulations Dr. Zhang on this great accomplishment!

Phylicia Allen (graduate student in Graydon Gonsalvez’s lab) received a NOGA (Notice of Grant Award) for her NIH F31 pre-doctoral fellowship titled “Investigating the in vivo regulation of Dynein activity.”

Congratulations to Phylicia on a job well done!

The Augusta University Research Institute honored Dr. Yutao Liu with the 2024 AURI Distinguished Researcher Award at the 2024 AURI Research Awards Ceremony at Fat Man's Cafe, Enterprise Mill on Friday, January 24, 2025.

Congratulations, Dr. Yutao Liu, on this well-deserved award!

The MCG Electron Microscopy and Histology Core lab is featured in the Jagwire for being known nationwide. We are so proud the Core lab staff that is managed by Donna Kumiski and several experts in their field including Brendan Marshall PhD, an expert in electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry; Libby Perry, an expert in electron microscopy; Tania Greene, an expert in electron microscopy and histology; and Jing Zhao, an expert in immunohistochemistry and cryosectioning.

Well-deserved recognition for the Core and the outstanding staff!

The Office for Faculty Success selected Dr. Patricia Schoenlein as an “AU/MCG Woman Who Inspires" for the 2024 Women in Medicine Month Campaign!
Congratulations Dr. Schoenlein, well deserved!

Susan (Laney) Willis (undergraduate student Dr. McGee-Lawrence lab) was selected as the 2024 recipient of the Muhammad Ebadullah (Ebad) Hasan Memorial Award from the STAR Program. The Muhammad Ebadullah Hasen Memorial Award was established by the Summer 2005 STAR participants in loving memory of their fellow STAR participant Ebad Hasan who lost his life in a tragic accident in July 2005.

Dr. Meghan McGee-Lawrence was honored with the 2024 Outstanding Mentorship Award from the STAR program. 

Congratulations on these wonderful honors!

Dr. Zheng Dong successfully renewed his NIDDK R01 grant titled “Kidney Injury by Cisplatin and Renoprotective Strategies”. This grant will investigate the chronic or long-term effects of cisplatin chemotherapy in kidneys. This grant has been funded for five years.

Congratulations Dr. Dong on this wonderful news!

Dr. Meghan McGee-Lawrence received the Notice of Award for an NIH S10 equipment grant, supporting the purchase of a ~$400K in vivo micro-computed tomography instrument that will be utilized by faculty and staff in CBA, DNRM, VBC, Medicine, and Oral Biology.

The MCG Faculty awards ceremony was held Thursday, May 23, 2024 in the Lee Auditorium. CBA received the Outstanding Basic Science Teaching Award from the class of 2026 (left);

Dr. Brett Szymik, Associate Professor, AU/UGA Medical Partnership, Athens received the Educator of the Year Award from the class of 2027 (top).

From the MCG Dean's Diary June 14, 2024...

Dr. Meghan McGee Lawrence receives National Institute on Aging grant to study crosstalk between tissues and how that changes with age

Here’s another example of the great teamwork that is an MCG hallmark. Bone biologist and interim chair of our Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy Dr. Meghan McGee Lawrence has received $2.4 million from the National Institute on Aging to study the crosstalk between bone, the adrenal glands, the muscle and fat in our bodies and how that changes as we age. As we all know, tissues don't function in isolation – everything in the body “talks” to everything else to keep people healthy across the lifespan. So, perhaps the best approach to understanding how that talk first happens, and then changes, as we age, would be by assembling a team with a wide variety of expertise? Lucky for us, when the NIA was looking for grant proposals that included such teams, we were at the ready…because of how well we collaborate here at MCG. I am beginning to sense a theme.

Dr. Ming Zhang has received his new NEI R01 grant titled “Ocular MCMV Latency and AMD-like Pathology”. The innovative of this project is to determine the contribution of CMV latency to AMD-relevant ocular pathology and to identify potential therapeutic targets to treat age-related macular degeneration and its symptoms and is funded for four years.

Congratulations Dr. Zhang on this wonderful news.

Dr. Meghan McGee-Lawrence has received a Notice of Grant Award from NIH that her NIA U01 grant ($2.36M) will be funded (award total: $2,365,732).

The title of the grant is “Endogenous steroid hormones as mediators of interorgan communication with the musculoskeletal system.” Co-investigators on this award, brought together by the AU Adrenal Center, include Drs. Wendy Bollag, Carlos Isales, Eric Belin de Chantemele, and Kate Kosmac.

Congratulations on this fantastic news!

Dr. Menaka Thounaojam has been selected as the recipient of the Center for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship’s 2024 Mentor Excellence Award!

As an undergraduate research mentor Dr. Thounaojam has spent many hours advising and guiding students and these students have clearly noticed her efforts and are grateful for her mentorship.

Congratulations Dr. Thounaojam and thank you for all you do for our students!

We want to congratulate Husam Eldin Bensreti on his successful defense of his dissertation entitled “Endogenous Glucocorticoid Signaling During Skeletal Aging” on April 15, 2024.

Congratulations on a job well done!

Mark Hamrick, PhD, senior associate dean for research, received the Distinguished Leadership and Outstanding Service Award at the MCG State of the College Address from Dean Hess.

We want to congratulate Anik Tuladhar on his successful defense of his dissertation entitled “PRKD1 (PKC-MU) Regulates the Formation and Repair of Plasma Membrane Disruptions (PMD) in Osteocytes” on January 25, 2024.

Dr. Tuladhar will be starting as a postdoctoral fellow at AbbVie Inc. in Chicago, IL starting in March.

Congratulations on a job well done!