2025 UT Southwestern Medical School
New Faculty Research Forum
October 14, 2025
10 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
T. Boone Pickens Conference Center, NG3.112
Registration | Program | Videos | Campus Map
About the New Faculty Research Forum
Over the past twenty years, The New Faculty Research Forum has fostered collaborations among our researchers and cultivated the environment of innovation and discovery that makes UT Southwestern unique. This year’s event will introduce 14 speakers representing 10 departments and two schools to our research community. We hope you join us for this exciting event!
Boxed lunches will be provided to early registrants.
Tomorrow’s Scientific Leaders, Today
#NFRF2025
Keynote Address
Professor of Pharmacology
Topic: Starting Your Lab and Making Your Mark at UT Southwestern
Jim Collins, Ph.D., is renowned for his groundbreaking research on schistosomiasis – a parasitic disease that affects over 200 million people worldwide. Beyond his scientific achievements, Dr. Collins is deeply committed to mentoring early-career faculty. His selection as this year’s keynote speaker reflects both the impact of his research and his dedication to guiding and inspiring the next generation of scientists.
Video: Meet Dr. Collins | The Collins Lab
New Faculty Presenters
Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine and Molecular Biology; joined UT Southwestern in July 2024
Topic: Rewiring Fate: Epigenetic Factors as Drivers of Cardiac Reprogramming
Dr. Bann’s research focuses on developing regenerative therapies for heart failure and heart attacks. Her laboratory investigates the transcriptional and epigenetic control of heart development and cardiac cell fate differentiation, with a focus on direct cardiac reprogramming as a therapeutic strategy for ischemic heart disease.
Video: Meet Dr. Bann | The Bann Lab
Assistant Professor of Radiology, NIH FIRST Scholar; joined UT Southwestern in September 2024
Topic: Brain Network Characterization of Neurodegenerative Diseases Using Computational Neuroimaging
Dr. Chiang’s research focuses on developing and translating computational neuroimaging methods to help researchers better understand human brain function and wiring. Current applications of her work include identifying biomarkers of disease progression and treatment success in neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease.
Video: Meet Dr. Chiang | The Chiang Lab
Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine; joined UT Southwestern in September 2024
Topic: Immune Modulation of Vascular Susceptibility to Atherosclerosis
Dr. Lee’s laboratory focuses on defining the mechanisms by which our immune activation perturbs vascular homeostasis and thereby increases blood vessels’ susceptibility to cardiovascular disorders, such as atherosclerosis. The goal of her research is to improve our patients’ vascular resilience and help prevent myocardial infarction, stroke, and ischemic limb loss.
Video: Meet Dr. Lee
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Molecular Biology; joined UT Southwestern in September 2024
Topic: From Genomic Variants to Vascular Mechanisms
Dr. Lee’s laboratory is dedicated to leveraging human genetics to explore the complex interactions between cells and the surrounding extracellular matrix. Her research focuses on using these strategies to understand cardiovascular development and disease.
Video: Meet Dr. Lee | The Lee Lab
Assistant Professor of Pharmacology; joined UT Southwestern in January 2025
Topic: Structure-Docking Synergy for Ligand Discovery
Membrane enzymes remain understudied despite their critical roles in diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. By integrating cryo-EM with innovative virtual screening approaches, Dr. Liu’s lab aims to unravel the complexities of these enzymes and unlock their therapeutic potential.
Video: Meet Dr. Liu | The Liu Lab
Assistant Professor of Cell Biology; joined UT Southwestern in March 2024
Topic: Quality Control of Protein Complexes Involved in Gene Expression
Dr. Mark’s laboratory investigates how the body regulates gene expression through ubiquitylation and how failures in these control pathways contribute to developmental disorders and diseases, such as neurodegeneration and cancer.
Video: Meet Dr. Mark | The Mark Lab
Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine; joined UT Southwestern in August 2024
Topic: Cracking the Code of Kidney Disease Through Methionine Metabolism
Dr. Muto’s research investigates how dysregulated metabolic functions can cause epigenetic changes in kidney tissues that can lead to life-altering diseases. His research aims to identify novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of acute kidney injury, chronic kidney disease, and polycystic kidney disease.
Video: Meet Dr. Muto | The Muto Lab
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Ophthalmology; joined UT Southwestern in July 2024
Topic: Advanced Biomaterials for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine
Dr. Rizwan’s lab is dedicated to designing innovative hydrogel biomaterials for applications in tissue engineering. The lab uses these hydrogels to study the interactions between the cell and the surrounding matrix, control biotherapeutic delivery, and discover drivers of tissue regeneration. Dr. Rizwan’s overarching mission is to develop clinically viable biomaterials that improve tissue repair and restore healthy function to patients.
Video: Meet Dr. Rizwan | The Rizwan Lab
Assistant Professor in the Peter O’Donnell Jr. School of Public Health; joined UT Southwestern in December 2024
Topic: Large Language Models Powered Autonomous Agents for Complex Medical Reasoning
Dr. Shi’s research lies at the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and health care, with a dedicated focus on pediatric health care, cancer, and rare diseases. The Shi Lab works on developing large language models for translational medicine, advancing agentic AI and generative models, and promoting responsible AI practices to improve clinical outcomes.
Video: Meet Dr. Shi
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern; joined UT Southwestern January 2024
Topic: Lysosome GPCR Mediated Nutrient Sensing and Signaling
Dr. Shin’s lab combines unique expertise in cell biology, biochemistry, chemical biology, and organelle physiology to discover the connections between cholesterol sensing, organelle functions, and gene expression. Her research aims to uncover how inter-organelle communication dictates downstream metabolic responses following environmental changes, and how breakdowns in this communication can lead to cancer and other age-related diseases.
Video: Meet Dr. Shin | The Shin Lab
Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine and Biomedical Engineering; joined UT Southwestern in June 2024
Topic: Molecular Determinants of Podocyte Actin Cytoskeleton in Health and in Disease
Dr. Suleiman’s research focuses on glomerular kidney diseases driven by injury to podocytes, which are cells essential to the kidney’s ability to filter waste from the body. His lab uses multiple super-resolution microscopic techniques to reveal the actin cytoskeleton of podocytes in vivo. These novel techniques will enable the lab to design new kinds of experiments that will lead to new therapies.
Video: Meet Dr. Suleiman | The Suleiman Lab
Assistant Professor of Neuroscience and Ophthalmology in the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute; joined UT Southwestern in January 2024
Topic: Rewiring Neural Circuits to Restore Vision
Dr. Varadarajan’s research focuses on rebuilding neural circuits and restoring sensory function impaired by injury or disease. Her lab uses the eye-to-brain pathway to study how damaged retinal ganglion cells in the eye can regrow their axons and restore their connections in response to enhanced neuronal activity in the brain. Her work seeks to identify therapeutic strategies that can restore vision in patients suffering from blinding diseases or eye injuries.
Video: Meet Dr. Varadarajan | The Varadarajan Lab
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern and the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center; joined UT Southwestern in August 2024
Topic: Misbehaving Stem Cells (and What We Can Do About Them)
Dr. Voit’s lab focuses on essential factors that govern hematopoietic stem cell maintenance and lineage commitment. Through his research, he hopes to better understand the transcriptional and translational regulation of hematopoiesis. His research aims to develop better, targeted therapies for acute myeloid leukemia and inform the next generation of gene therapy for inherited bone marrow failure syndromes.
Video: Meet Dr. Voit | The Voit Lab
Jialiang "Shirley" Wang, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor in the Charles and Jane Pak Center for Mineral Metabolism and Clinical Research and the Departments of Internal Medicine and Physiology; Member of the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center; joined UT Southwestern in April 2024
Topic: Cell-Type Specific Transcription Regulation in Skeletal Disease and Bone Cancer
Dr. Wang’s laboratory employs an interdisciplinary approach that integrates genetics, multi-omics, and both in vivo and in vitro models to investigate disruptions in transcriptional regulation that underly bone cancer and skeletal diseases. Her research aims to investigate the potential for using bone-lineage specific transcription factors to restore osteogenic cell differentiation in tumors, as well as to find novel targetable pathways for the treatment of bone cancer.
Video: Meet Dr. Wang | The Wang Lab
Organizers
Rueyling Lin, Ph.D.
Associate Dean of Biomedical Research Recruitment & Advancement
Program Co-Chair
Lee Kraus, Ph.D.
Director of the Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences
Program Co-Chair