Faculty Spotlight

Dr. Heddwen Brooks Elected to the American Physiological Society Leadership Council
Heddwen Brooks, PhD, professor of physiology in the University of Arizona College of Medicine - Tucson, has been elected as a councilor of the American Physiological Society (APS).
Featurette

Why Physiology and Medical Sciences?
One of a five-part video series that have students answering questions about their challenges, career goals and why they chose to major in physiology.
Student and Alumni Spotlight
Trevor Nolan Tankersley earns university-wide award at the May 13 Commencement ceremony.
Trevor Nolan Tankersley is graduating magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry and a Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences in physiology and medical sciences. Tankersley was born in Phoenix. Interested in health care and medicine, Tankersley joined Alpha Epsilon Delta his sophomore year of college, a national health pre-professional honors society dedicated to the encouragement and recognition of excellence in pre-professional health scholarship. Through AED, Tankersley participated in many community-driven volunteering events and attended many health-oriented lectures. He also volunteered at Z Mansion, working with those experiencing homelessness, and the Southern Arizona Research, Science and Engineering Foundation, an organization that engages young students interested in STEM who are underrepresented in these fields. Tankersley's strong interest in immunology started after an internship at a vaccine company. Additionally, his grandfather's diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer's disease, and subsequent decision to volunteer in Alzheimer's vaccine studies, inspired Tankersley to continue that legacy by working to help find a cure. Beginning in the summer of 2020, Tankersley began conducting research in the lab of former associate professor Hsin-Jung Joyce Wu in the Department of Immunobiology, studying the impact of the gut microbiota on the immune system, which became the focus of his senior thesis. Tankersley later joined the lab of Janko Nikolich-Žugich, professor and head of the Department of Immunobiology in the College of Medicine – Tucson, to continue conducting research, and he declared a second thesis focused on SARS-CoV-2 and modeling the disease in mice. Tankersley has been awarded the Wildcat Excellence Award and the Dean's Distinction Award. After graduation, Tankersley will work as a research technician in the Nikolich-Žugich lab, further honing his skills as a researcher. He then hopes to apply to graduate school and eventually obtain a doctorate in immunobiology.
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