Oliver Kitzerow, a research assistant in the laboratory of Hanjun Wang, MD, received the UNMC Department of Anesthesiology’s Lieberman Travel Award. The award will allow Kitzerow to attend the Association of University Anesthesiologists’ upcoming annual meeting in Denver, Colo. and present his research.
“The travel award and the Lieberman endowment highlight the commitment of the Department of Anesthesiology to foster connections between basic sciences and clinical bedside,” Kitzerow said. “It demonstrates the high esteem that the department holds for the team, for which I am especially grateful.”
Kitzerow has worked under the mentorship of Dr. Wang in an effort to understand the role an antioxidant protein has in the protection against a specific type of pain caused by walking or moderate exercise. His abstract is titled “TRPV1-expressing Cell-Specific Nrf2 Overexpression Protects Against Mechanical Allodynia in a Chronic Femoral Arterial Occlusive Mouse Model.”
“I was fortunate enough to be selected to present a poster at AUA in 2022,” Kitzerow said. “However, due to COVID, the conference was held online, which was unfortunate because it was being held in Hawaii.”
Although Colo. is not exactly an exotic destination, Kitzerow is excited to attend the AUA meeting.
“As a trainee, I am proud of the data and results collected during the past few arduous years,” Kitzerow said. “I can’t wait to discuss the fruits of my labor with fellow scientists and professionals, collect their input and discover how they would proceed or improve upon the experiments.”
Dr. Wang praised Kitzerow for his research productivity and initiative. Kitzerow has authored one publication and co-authored two others. He has two additional manuscripts ready to be submitted, and his AUA abstract will help generate another first-authored paper in the following months.
“I am extremely proud for Oliver to receive this well-deserved travel award,” said Dr. Wang. “He is a wonderful and talented student that every mentor would love to work with.”
Dr. Wang and Kitzerow both stated appreciation for the Department of Anesthesiology leadership and the Lieberman endowment for providing tremendous resources to support graduate research students.
“I would just like to reaffirm my gratitude and thanks to my mentor, Dr. Wang, the Anesthesiology department, and Lieberman endowment for their continued support and encouragement,” said Kitzerow.