Latest updates in the IBP PhD Graduate Program
October 2025
IBP graduate students enjoy a fun Halloween social outing!
September 2025
Thank you Jenna, Rawan and Audrey for organizing a meaningful visit for our Distinguished Lecturer, Annet Kirabo!
Congratulations to Audrey Daugherty who received the Hemingway award for 2025!
August 2025
We finally got back to Itasca!
June 2025
On June 3 we celebrated all of our recent students who successfully passed their final exams. JP on April 30, Arthur de la Cruz-Lynch, May 6 and Houda Cohen on May 9. We got a picture of the whole 2019 cohort at the event!
May 2025
Jenna Mendelson received first place at the Visscher Young Investigator Competition on May 29, 2025. The winning talked was titled: Glycoprotein 130 Antagonism Counteracts Metabolic and Inflammatory Alterations to Enhance Right Ventricle Function in Pulmonary Artery Banded Pigs.” Great job Jenna!
Congratulations to Babatunde Anidu on receiving the 2025 Student Scholarship in Cardiovascular Disease from the American Heart Association!
Great work Houda! Houda Cohen successfully defended her thesis on May 9, 2025! Title: Investigation of membrane stabilizing copolymers as early therapy for muscular dystrophy. Houda will continue in the Metzger lab as a Postdocal Fellow.
Congratulations to Arthur de la Cruz-Lynch who successfully defended his thesis on May 6, 2025. Title: Catheter-Based Afferent Renal Denervation: Evaluation as a Treatment for Hypertension. Arthur is continuing with the MSTP program and is currently doing his clinical rotations.
April 2025
JP Pallais successfully defended his thesis "An essential role for microglial Complement 3a Receptor (C3aR) on high-fat diet induced hypothalamic neuroinflammation" on April 30, 2025. Way to go, JP!
Congrats to Babatunde Anidu from the Evans lab! Babatunde was a finalist a finalist in the APS Physiology summit in the Water & Electrolyte Section’s Data Diuresis competition.
March 2025
Medical School Awards
Congratulations to the awardees from IBP! Preethy Parthiban and Jenna Mendelson are both recipients of the Dr. Marvin and Hadassah Bacaner Research Award, Tracy Her was selected to receive the Steer Family Award in Diabetes Research. Natalie Weir received the Lifson/Johnson Memorial Award and Fanta Barrow received the J. Jacob Kaplan Award and the Jan Lunden Award! Great accomplishments!
January 2025
Congratulations Babatunde Anidu for receiving third place in the American Physiology Society (APS) essay contest! Here is Babatunde's essay in Physiology: Is Your Love for Salt Putting Your Health at Risk?
Congratulations to our first PhD in 2025, Fanta Barrow, for her successful thesis defense on January 24, 2025.