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TRAINING PROGRAMS | CPTR

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The CPTR promotes local workforce development through a multi-tiered training program from undergraduate students to faculty.

 

 

The program supports community outreach through biannual STEM events that bring students from north Louisiana to the LSU Health Shreveport campus to showcase careers in research.

 

As part of the Administration Core, the Training Program Sub-Core, led by Dr. Karen Stokes, will coordinate the enhanced graduate training, the summer research program, and the STEM Immersion Days.

 

From the summer research program to enhanced graduate education and faculty development, trainees will receive hands-on instruction, career development training, and personalized mentorship that includes peer, near-peer, and senior faculty levels.

Karen Stokes, PhD

Karen Stokes, PhD
Training Program Coordinator

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SUMMIT   

Summer Undergraduate Mentorship in Metabolism, Innovation, and Transcriptomics

CPTR’s Summer Research Program and partnerships with regional schools will broaden participation by recruiting students from rural parishes with limited exposure to biomedical research. Graduate students will lead hands-on outreach demonstrations, sharing their research experiences to demystify scientific careers. Collaborations with EPSCoR-funded institutions and biannual K–12 STEM Immersion Events will amplify our reach, while follow-up surveys will measure shifts in participant awareness, enthusiasm, and intent to pursue STEM pathways.

Learn More about SUMMIT

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CPTR SEMINAR SERIES 2025-2026

Thursday 12:00-1:00 p.m.
Zadeck G-221  

November
18

Enteroendocrine function in the colon: at the interface of host and microbial metabolism
Ezra Burstein, MD, PhD, Professor, Berta M. and Cecil O. Patterson Chair in Gastroenterology, UT Southwestern Medical Center
January
15

Blocking CD47-SIRP Promotes Necroptotic Hepatocyte Engulfment and Improves MASH
Hongxue Shi, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Louisiana State University Health Science Shreveport
February
2 

Symposium

Hepatic Lipid Homeostasis and the Assembly and Secretion of Very Low Density Lipoproteins: Studies in Cells, Mice, and Humans
Henry N. Ginsberg, MD, Herbert and Florence Irving Professor of Medicine, Director Emeritus, Irving Institute for Clinical & Translational Research, Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Mitochondrial Hydrogen Sulfide Regulates Metabolic Function and Exercise Capacity In Obesity and Heart Failure
Timothy Allerton, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Vascular Metabolism, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University            
March
(TBD)

TBD
Mónica Díaz Gavilán, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical and Organic Chemistry, Universidad de Granada
April
16

TBD
Matthew Potthoff, PhD, Deputy Director, Harold Hamm Diabetes Center, Harold Hamm Endowed Chair in Clinical Diabetes Research, Professor of Biochemistry and Physiology, The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences, School of Medicine

May
21

Neurogenic mechanisms of metabolic and cardiovascular regulation
Kamal Rahmouni, PhD, FAHA, Professor, Department of Neuroscience & Pharmacology and Department of Medicine, Director, Obesity Research and Education Initiative, University of Iowa

 

CARDIOMETABOLISM FOCUS MEETINGS 2025-2026

FRIDAY 10:00-11:30 p.m.
CME 2306 (Assembly 1) 

November
21

Dysregulation in Putrescine Metabolism Drives Hepatic Fibrosis during MASH, Dhananjay Kumar
December 19

Molecular Pathway and Therapeutic Potential of Placenta-Derived Insulin-Producing Cells, Jie Xu

January
16

Metabolic Reprogramming of Neutrophils in CKD Impair Stroke Recovery, Harpreet Kaur
February 20

Lipin-1 Promotes Mitochondrial Respiration to Facilitate Macrophage Pro-Resolving Responses, Oluwakemi Igiehon (CME 4101)
March
20

Ephrin A1 Expression in EphA2-Dependent Regulation of MASH, Mary Hall
April
17

Macrophage One-Carbon Metabolism in Atherosclerotic Plaque Stability, Sumati Rohilla
May
8

Hepatocyte SHMT2 Drives Atherosclerosis through One-Carbon Metabolic Regulation of VLDL and Ceramide Metabolism, Koral Richard (CME 4101)