Rajendra Kumar Angara, PhD, a postdoctoral research associate in the UNMC Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, recently received the 2024 Excellence in Research Award at the UNMC Office of Postdoctoral Education Annual Event.
Dr. Angara was recognized for his research and presentation of “A novel bacterial effector protein mediated ER-LD membrane contacts to regulate host lipid droplets.” His mentor, Stacey Gilk, PhD, in nominating him for the honor, wrote that he had produced, “the highest quality manuscript to come out of my research program thus far, in terms of the mechanistic nature, scientific rigor, novelty and impact.”
Dr. Angara’s work, she continued, “opens a whole new avenue of research in host-pathogen interactions and significantly impacts our understanding of the structure and function of inter-organelle contact sites and lipid droplet metabolism in cell biology.”
Dr. Angara accepted the award from Iqbal Ahmad, PhD, director of postdoctoral education, and chair of the UNMC Scientific Research Oversight Committee.
Nicole Zabik, PhD, a postdoc with the Blackford NeuroScience Team at the Munroe-Meyer Institute, was recognized as a finalist for the award.
The event also featured remarks from Dr. Ahmad and Jane Meza, PhD, interim vice chancellor for academic affairs. Bennett Goldberg, PhD, professor of physics and astronomy at Northwestern University, and Sarah Hokanson, PhD, vice provost at Olin College of Engineering, delivered a co-keynote, “Creating Your Own Path.”
The event also featured small group sessions for networking and scientific discussion.