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Therapeutics & Pharmacology

The discovery, development and application of therapeutics is a rapidly growing field that includes disease biology, identification of novel molecular targets, molecular modeling, chemistry to synthesize and identify small molecule inhibitors, drug design and understanding metabolic pathways — and that’s just for starters.

Welcome to TAP

The discovery, development and translation of therapeutics is crucial for the advancement of clinical practice. Excitingly, innovative therapeutic strategies continue to emerge as the era of precision medicine becomes a clinical reality and we, the Therapeutics and Pharmacology (TAP) Program at the MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, are proud to be at the forefront of expanding the boundaries of therapeutic knowledge.

Our mission is to serve as a network for scientists-in-training that promotes the communication, application and translation of emerging concepts that fall under the broad spectrum of therapeutics. These concepts include (i) exploiting vulnerabilities in cancer biology, (ii) modulating/disrupting  genetic & epigenetic mechanisms, (iii) developing immunotherapies, (iv) applying computational and medicinal chemistry strategies for rational drug design, (v) harnessing nuclear medicine for drug development – to name a few. Our program is uniquely designed to potentiate students from a variety of backgrounds with diverse career goals that are interested in translational research. As a result, our students and faculty are particularly focused on taking discoveries across all areas of the basic sciences from “bench-to-bedside.” To achieve this, our students receive a solid background in the principles and mechanisms of therapeutics along with hands-on training in the laboratory of their choice. Importantly, TAP is designed to center around the objectives of the trainee by allowing coursework customization and facilitating access to industry internships.

Overall, we are a tight-knit community with student-led initiatives to socialize and collaborate with peers and scholars across a wide variety of disciplines. Furthermore, we provide students valuable resources for professional development and finding careers in their desired fields. With our unique emphasis on translational research, we train students to be prime candidates for positions within academia, government, pharmaceutical industries, and intellectual property protection. The benefits of our training platform are reflected in our proud alumni who have gone on to pursue successful careers in sectors ranging from biotechnology to regulatory affairs.

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TAP Social Media

Announcements

TAP student, Rolando Vedia, featured in Cancerwise.

Vedia_R

Read Rolando’s article here.

Congratulations to these TAP students for their recent accomplishments:

Servando_Hernandez

Servando Hernandez-Vargas

Advisor: Dr. Ali Azhdarinia

Recipient of the 2022-2023 Rosalie B. Hite Fellowship

read about it here

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Activities and Events

  • Trainee Seminar

    The TAP Trainee Seminar is a monthly, student-organized activity that allows students the opportunity to meet and connect with other trainees working in labs with a focus on therapies such as immunotherapy, radiation, drug therapies and more. For more information regarding the TAP Trainee Seminar, please contact Sheighlah McManus

  • Distinguished Lecture Series in Experimental Therapeutics

    Students are encouraged to attend the monthly faculty seminar series sponsored by the Department of Experimental Therapeutics. For more information regarding the seminar series, please contact Roxanna Anaya.

  • Annual Program Retreat

    Every year the Therapeutics and Pharmacology (TAP) Program sponsors a student-organized research retreat, which includes student talks, poster sessions, and keynote speakers. The retreat is considered to be a valued time where students can interact with faculty while enjoying a simple reprieve from the lab.

    FALL 2023

    See you at the next one!

    Keynote for 2022

    Joseph Marszalek, PhD

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2022-2023 TAP Student Council

The mission of the TAP Student Council is to cultivate community within the TAP program. The Student Council represents the perspectives and concerns of the student body by providing a variety of events, activities, programs, outreaches, and services to enliven, encourage, and mobilize the TAP community.

Servando_Hernandez Servando Hernandez Vargas
Chair

Vedia_R Rolando Vedia
Assistant Chair

Dharmaiah_Sharvari Sharvari Dharmaiah
Retreat Coordinator

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Faith Hernandez

McManus-Sheighlah

Sheighlah McManus
Journal Club Coordinator

Kimberly-Rivera-Caraballo

Kimberly Rivera Caraballo
Communications Co-Coordinator

Rausseo_Barbara_Nassif

Barbara Nassif
Events Coordinator

Stitzlein_Lea

Lea Stitzlein
Recruitment Coordinator                                   


Contact Us

Azhdarinia-Ali

Ali Azhdarinia, PhD
TAP Program Director
Associate Professor, Center for Translational Cancer Research
Institute of Molecular Medicine
McGovern Medical School
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Tel: 713-500-3577
Email: ali.azhdarinia@uth.tmc.edu
Office: MDA 3SCR6.4680

Krishnan-Sunil

Sunil Krishnan, MD
TAP Program Co-Director
Professor, Department of Neurosurgery
McGovern Medical School
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Phone: 713-202-8063
Email: sunil.krishnan@uth.tmc.edu
Office: IMM 330F

Wolf-Taylor_Dawn

Dawn Wolf-Taylor, MA
TAP Program Coordinator
Phone: 713-745-0682
Email: dawn.m.wolftaylor@uth.tmc.edu
Office: BSRB S3.8332a

Helpful Resources

TAP Program Brochure Coming Soon

TAP Program Bylaws