UNT Health Biomedical and Translational Sciences

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UNT Health Biomedical and Translational Sciences UNT Health College of Biomedical & Translational Sciences. CBTS offers M.S. and Ph.D.

The College of Biomedical and Translational Sciences was established in 1993 when the Department of Biomedical Sciences at UNT was transferred to the Health Science Center. degrees in biomedical sciences as well as dual degrees with options to specialize in biochemistry and molecular biology, cancer biology, cardiovascular science, cell biology, integrative physiology, microbiology and immunology, neurobiology of aging, pharmacology and neuroscience. CBTS also offers an online bachelor’s degree in biomedical sciences designed for degree completion with a robust curriculum centered around the next generation of students seeking a career in health care, public or private laboratory research, scientific industry, or many other science careers.

👏 A round of applause for CBTS students who presented their research at the 2026 University Research Day at University o...
10/07/2026

👏 A round of applause for CBTS students who presented their research at the 2026 University Research Day at University of North Texas in Denton!

Our students joined researchers from across the UNT System to showcase work that explores important questions in neuroscience, brain injury, neurodegeneration, pain management, and more.

Join us in congratulating our outstanding student researchers:

👉 Hannah Ampofo: "Hypoperfusion Drives White Matter Neuroinflammation and Cognitive Decline"

👉 Olivia Anchondo: "The Search for Safer Opioid Therapies: Investigating Triazole 1.1"

👉 Calvin Brooks: "The Role of Mitophagy in Endothelin-1-Mediated Neurodegeneration in Rodent Models of Glaucoma"

👉 Claire Caballero: "Intracerebroventricular Tracer Infusion Reveals Functional Heterogeneity of the CSF-Brain Barrier"

👉 Nathan Jones: "Evaluating the Neuropathogenic CB8 T-Cell Response Following Traumatic Brain Injury Using the CHIMERA Device"

We are proud to celebrate all of the students, faculty and staff members, mentors, and researchers who are contributing to a vibrant culture of discovery across our campuses.

Dr. Ying Qin, a PhD candidate in the lab of Dr. Hongli Wu, was awarded the Predoctoral Individual National Service Award...
09/30/2026

Dr. Ying Qin, a PhD candidate in the lab of Dr. Hongli Wu, was awarded the Predoctoral Individual National Service Award (F31) from the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health.

The F31 grant is awarded to promising predoctoral students with potential to develop into a productive, independent research scientists. The funding enables them to obtain mentored research training while conducting their dissertation research.

Under the mentorship of Dr. Wu, Qin’s research explores the biological processes associated with aging.

Her project titled “Using a Cataract Model to Investigate Redox Imbalance, Cellular Senescence, and Inflammation in Aging and Age-Related Cataracts,” uses age-related cataracts as a model to better understand how different biological processes associated with aging interact with one another.

“Specifically, we are investigating how oxidative stress, cellular aging, and chronic low-grade inflammation work together to contribute to cataract development and progression. Unlike traditional inflammation caused by immune cells entering a tissue, we are particularly interested in inflammatory signals produced by aging cells within the lens itself,” Qin said.

“We also hope to determine whether targeting these processes may provide new therapeutic strategies to delay or reduce age-related cataracts and potentially other age-related diseases.”

🎉 Congratulations Dr. Qin! 👏

Dr. Lisa Hodge was invited to share her expertise at the Mayo Clinic. Dr. Hodge, Assistant Dean for Specialized Masters ...
09/29/2026

Dr. Lisa Hodge was invited to share her expertise at the Mayo Clinic.

Dr. Hodge, Assistant Dean for Specialized Masters Degree Programs and Associate Professor in Physiology and Anatomy, gave the keynote presentation “Connecting Osteopathic Principles to Biological Mechanisms,” at the Mayo Osteopathic Research and Education Conference in Rochester, Minn., on Sept. 19.

Sponsored by the Mayo Clinic School of Continuous Professional Development, the conference emphasized osteopathic manual treatment and osteopathic research.

⭐ Alumni Spotlight ⭐ After earning her BS in Biomedical Sciences from CBTS, Rayna Cortina advanced from laboratory techn...
09/22/2026

⭐ Alumni Spotlight ⭐

After earning her BS in Biomedical Sciences from CBTS, Rayna Cortina advanced from laboratory technician to Chemist I in a pharmaceutical quality-control laboratory. Working under strict U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Drug Enforcement Administration guidelines, she tested pharmaceutical ingredients, raw materials and finished products. Her work included UV-visible and infrared spectroscopy, dissolution testing, pH measurement, refractive index, viscosity and identification assays. Each test helped confirm that a product met precise safety and quality standards before reaching consumers.

Although Rayna enjoyed the science, she missed interacting with people.

“As much as I love the science and working in the lab, I realized I wanted to bring that knowledge to the front line and help patients directly,” Rayna said. “I want to answer their questions and guide them while fully understanding what went into making their medications safe.”

Rayna took the next step toward that goal by joining the PharmD program at UNT Health Fort Worth. Last month, she put on her first white coat as UNT Health’s 2026 White Coat Ceremony.

👉 Read Rayna’s story: https://bit.ly/4h8ctj7

Congratulations Dr. Ammar Kapic!Ammar fulfilled the requirements for the PhD degree in Biochemistry and Cancer Biology u...
09/22/2026

Congratulations Dr. Ammar Kapic!

Ammar fulfilled the requirements for the PhD degree in Biochemistry and Cancer Biology under the guidance and supervision of Dr. Katalin Prokai-Tatrai and Dr. Laszlo Prokai.

His dissertation was titled “Mass Spectrometry-Based Proteomics Reveals the Impact of 17β-Estradiol Deficiency and the Therapeutic Utility of DHED on the Male Rodent Reproductive and Visual Systems.”

“Loss of s*x hormones such as the neuroprotective 17β-estradiol (E2) has been shown to drive neurodegeneration; however, this remains understudied in males. E2 has been suggested as a potential therapeutic; however, these approaches are limited due to systemic side effects like feminization and cancer risks,” Ammar said.

“To address this knowledge gap, we employed mass spectrometry-based proteomics to investigate, for the very first time, the molecular consequences of s*x hormone deprivation and estrogen supplementation using the CNS-targeting E2 prodrug, DHED, across three biological contexts in males: the seminal vesicles, retina, and visual cortex, in addition to behavioral assessments of vision and histological analysis of retinal ganglion cell populations.”

“These studies carry translational implications for understanding glaucomatous neurodegeneration of the retina and brain in the context of hormonal decline. Collectively, this work advances our understanding of s*x hormone deprivation in visual system neurodegeneration and supports retina-targeted E2 delivery as a neuroprotective strategy.”

After completing his degree, Ammar started a new role as postdoctoral research scientist at Texas Christian University in the lab of Dr. Zygmunt Gryczynski.

👁️ Bringing vision research to the international stage 🌏 UNT Health Fort Worth was well represented at the International...
09/03/2026

👁️ Bringing vision research to the international stage 🌏

UNT Health Fort Worth was well represented at the International Society for Eye Research 2026 biennial meeting in Valencia, Spain, last month.

⭐ Dr. Dorota Stankowska (former Associate Professor, Microbiology, Immunology & Genetics, NTERI)
⭐ Dr. Raghu Krishnamoorthy (Professor, Pharmacology & Neuroscience, NTERI)
⭐ Dr. Suchi Acharya (Assistant Professor, Pharmacology & Neuroscience, NTERI)
⭐ Dr. Jenny Pham (CBTS Alum, Postdoc at University of Montreal)
⭐ Dr. Denise Inman (Professor and Chair, Pharmaceutical Sciences, NTERI)
⭐ Dr. Abe Clark (Regents Professor, Pharmacology and Neuroscience and NTERI)

All gave oral presentations about their research at the meeting, which was attended by 1200 vision scientists from 41 countries. ISER provides a unique international platform for discussion and exchange of ideas on contemporary topics in eye and vision research among its members and the broader eye/vision research community.

Every year, millions of people survive a stroke only to face a long, uncertain road to recovery, even after successful t...
08/27/2026

Every year, millions of people survive a stroke only to face a long, uncertain road to recovery, even after successful treatment.

Dr. Sterling Ortega recently received the Robert Allan Shivers, Jr. Integrating Perspectives in Neurotrauma Research award, a two-year grant funded by the Mission Connect program of the TIRR Foundation, to explore how the immune system responds to a stroke. The findings could help expand treatment options and speed up recovery for survivors.

👉 Read more about the project: https://bit.ly/4qGtsfh

Two new publications from the Tick-Borne Disease Research Lab at UNT Health Fort Worth 🔎 📄 👉 In Emerging Infectious Dise...
08/25/2026

Two new publications from the Tick-Borne Disease Research Lab at UNT Health Fort Worth 🔎 📄

👉 In Emerging Infectious Diseases, the Lab provides an update on tick surveillance results in Texas spanning from 2014-2021, and discusses the geographic distribution of tick species and the pathogens they carry to monitor risks for the general public across the state.

👉 In the Journal of Medical Entomology, Dr. Michael Allen, in collaboration with researchers at UT Arlington, published modeling results on how mammal biodiversity affects Lyme disease risk.

🔗 Get details: https://bit.ly/45OyInD

🎉 Congratulations Dr. Dipti Debnath!Dipti successfully defended her dissertation to fulfill the requirements for the PhD...
08/24/2026

🎉 Congratulations Dr. Dipti Debnath!

Dipti successfully defended her dissertation to fulfill the requirements for the PhD in Biochemistry and Cancer Biology under the guidance of Dr. Robert Barber. Dipti’s dissertation, titled “Investigating Genetic Variants That Explain the Inverse Relationship Between Alzheimer’s Disease and Cancer,” explored a surprising connection between two very different diseases.

Scientists have noticed for many years that people who have Alzheimer's disease tend to have a lower chance of developing cancer, and people who have cancer tend to have a lower chance of developing Alzheimer's. The research aims to understand whether our genes could help explain this unusual link. To study this, Dipti analyzed genetic information from more than one hundred thousand people using computer-based methods. She looked for specific regions in our DNA and specific genes that seem to push the body in opposite directions, raising the risk of one disease while lowering the risk of the other. The results identified several genes and biological pathways that appear to sit at the center of this trade off, many of which control how cells grow, divide, and repair themselves.

“Understanding this connection matters because it could one day help researchers find better ways to protect the brain without increasing cancer risk, or to treat cancer without harming brain health. My hope is that this work adds a small but meaningful piece to the larger puzzle of how these two diseases are related,” Dipti said.

“Looking ahead, I hope to continue working at the intersection of genetics, data science, and human health. My goal is to keep using computational and biological research to better understand complex diseases and to help turn scientific discoveries into real benefits for patients. I am excited to begin the next chapter of my career and to keep contributing to research that makes a difference in people's lives.”

Welcome to campus, new students! We are so glad you are here. 📷 Here are a few highlights from orientation.
08/21/2026

Welcome to campus, new students!

We are so glad you are here.

📷 Here are a few highlights from orientation.

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