Each year the Department of Pharmacology invites distinguished researchers to present their work on topics broadly related to pharmacology. Topics range from those closely aligned with the research interests of the department to areas of interest to researchers across the UC Davis campus and the UC Davis School of Medicine. All seminars are held in the Genome Building Auditorium at 4 p.m. on Tuesdays (except where noted otherwise).
2025 - 2026 Seminars
January 21, 2025
Speaker: Saverio Gentile, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Anesthesiology, Medical University of South Carolina
Title: “Targeting ion channels unveils cancer vulnerability: From bench side to bed side.” (PDF)
Host: Ye Chen-Izu, M.S., Ph.D., Professor, Department of Pharmacology
February 4, 2024
Speaker: Dan Minor, Ph.D., Professor, Cardiovascular Research Institute, Departments of Biochemistry and Biophysics and Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, University of California San Francisco
Title: “Electrosome assembly: A first structural view of ion channel biogenesis.”
Host: Johannes Hell, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Pharmacology
March 18, 2025
Speaker: Matthew Caporizzo, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, University of Vermont
Title: “Assessing diastolic function in HFpEF with working myocardial slices” (PDF)
Host: Donald Bers, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Pharmacology
April 15, 2025
Speaker: Hanjun Wang, M.D., Margaret Larson Endowed Professor, Professor, Department of Anesthesiology Research Faculty, College of Medicine, University of Nebraska
Title: “Neural Crosstalk between the Heart and Lungs in Cardiopulmonary Diseases” (PDF)
Host: Crystal Ripplinger, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Pharmacology
May 20, 2025
Speaker: John Lueck, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, University of Rochester Medical Center
Title: “Development of Platform Anticodon Edited (ACE) tRNAs Technologies for Nonsense-Associated Diseases” (PDF)
Host: Yale Goldman, M.D., Ph.D., Professor, Department of Pharmacology
September 16, 2025
Speaker: Maya Kaelberer, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Physiology, University of Arizona
Title: "A Gut Sense." (PDF)
Host: Elva Diaz, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Pharmacology
October 21, 2025
Speaker: Stacey L. Rentschler, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Medicine, Cardiovascular Division, Center for Cardiovascular Research, Washington University in St. Louis
Host: Crystal Ripplinger, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Pharmacology
November 18, 2025
Speaker: Mike Previs, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, The University of Vermont
Host: Jody Martin, Ph.D., Associate Professor Adjunct, Department of Pharmacology and Core Director of CVRI
December 2, 2025
Speaker: Oliver Schluter, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor, Neuroscience, Center for Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh
Host: Johannes W. Hell, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Pharmacology
January 20, 2026
Speaker: Drew Bennett, Ph.D., Staff Scientist, Biochemical and Biophysical Systems Group, Lawrence Livermore National Labs in Berkley
Host: Heike Wulff, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Pharmacology
February 17, 2026
Speaker: Josè Manuel Pioner, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
Host: Stefano Morotti, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology
March 17, 2026
Speaker: Samir Awasthi, M.D., Ph.D., VP of clinical research, Anumana
Host: Ye Chen-Izu, M.S., Ph.D., Professor, Department of Pharmacology
April 21, 2026
Speaker: Huabo Su, Ph.D., Professor, Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University
Host: Manuel Navedo, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Pharmacology
May 19, 2026
Speaker: Pooneh Bagher, Ph.D., Associate Professor, UNMC Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology, College of Medicine, University of Nebraska
Host: Madeline Nieves-Cintron, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology
See: Past Seminars
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