News and Events
Faculty
Dr. R. Furilla retired from the UPR School of Medicine last July 2001, after many years of productive work. He contributed to the academic and research mission of the Department of Physiology during the past 10 years, and is currently living in Anchorage, Alaska. (E-Mail: rfurilla@gci.net)
Dr. M.J. Crespo, joined the faculty of the Department of Physiology since February 1, 2002. Dr. Crespo is an active investigator in the area of cardiovascular research funded by the NIH-SCORE Program. She will strengthen our graduate program and will contribute to the academic mission of the department (E-Mail: mcrespo@rcm.upr.edu).
Graduate Students
The Ph.D. candidates Marcelo Febo and Carmen Padró received the Porter Fellowship from the American Physiological Association. Mr. Febo also received the Neuroscience Society Travel Award to participate in the Annual Neuroscience Meeting held last year.
Mr. Jose Reyes obtained the Master Degree last June, 2001. Mr. Reyes' graduate advisor was Dr. R. Furilla and the thesis work was on the "Work of Breathing in Snakes". He is currently conducting Ph.D. Studies in Physiology of marine organisms at the School of Marine Biology, University of Maryland.
Mr. Orlando Gonzalez obtained the Ph.D. in Physiology last July, 2001. He conducted studies on the "Cold-induced Contraction of Airway Smooth Muscle". His thesis was advisor was Dr. G.E. Santacana. Dr. Gonzalez is currently a faculty member at the University of Puerto Rico at Bayamon.
Mrs. Rhina Jimenez, completed the Masters Degree in Physiology under the guidance of Dr. W. Silva last December, 2002. Her thesis work was related to the expression of caveolin isoforms in vascular smooth muscle cells under differentiation. She is currently working at a pharmaceutical company in P.R.
During the XXII Annual Research & Education Forum (April 2001) at the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, the graduate students from the Physiology Department Lillian Cruz Orengo and Orlando González received the 1st prize award for best oral and poster presentation, respectively. These presentations were also recognized by their quality at their respective national research associations (Neurosciences and APS) were they were selected for special presentations.
Mr. Johnny D. Figueroa, a Ph.D. student in the Department, obtained the RCMI Travel Award (April 2001) to receive an intensive training in the field of spinal cord injury and regeneration research in the laboratory of Dr. Wise Young, at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Dr. Young is a pioneer in the field of spinal cord trauma.
Open House Activities
The Physiology Department offered two Open House activities (10:00am-3:30 pm) to undergraduate students interested in continuing graduate training in Physiology. The activity was designed to describe the areas of research (Cardiovascular, Respiratory, Exercise, Renal, Neurobiology) within the Department, requirements for admission, to visit the facilities and environment of the Department, and to meet the faculty and their research interests. The first Open House was on December 7, 2001 and approximately 12 students participated from several institutions including UPR at Rio Piedras, Turabo and Bayamón.
The second Open House was scheduled for Februray 1, 2002, and 55 undergraduate students participated from UPR at Rio Piedras, Bayamón, Catholic University at Ponce, Sagrado Corazón, UMET and Interamerican University at Rio Piedras and Guayama. Additional information on these activities and on admission procedures can be found by contacting Dr. J. Miranda, Graduate Program Coordinator of Physiology at jmiranda@rcm.upr.edu or by visiting our facilities.
Brain Awareness Week
Dr. Annabel Segarra organized an exhibit entitled "Explore your brain" during the Brain Awareness Week (2nd week of March 2001) at a booth in Plaza Las Americas Shopping Mall (the largest shopping mall in the Caribbean). Several goals were obtained in this activity, for example: 1) neuroscientists from Puerto Rico oriented the general public on research and diseases of the Nervous System, 2) strengthened the interaction among the scientific community in Puerto Rico and 3) the Puerto Rican community met scientists & became aware of the importance of research in the neuroscience field.
