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Megan A. Opichka, PhD Receives the 2023 Friends of MCW Doctor of Philosophy Outstanding Dissertation Award

May 24, 2023

Megan Opichka, PhDCongratulations to Megan A. Opichka, PhD, for being selected to receive one of three 2023 Friends of MCW Doctor of Philosophy Outstanding Dissertation Award announced at the MCW PhD Hooding Ceremony on May 18, 2023.

Megan's dissertation titled "Placental and syncytiotrophoblast-specific Gαq signaling in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia" describes her research performed over the last four years between the laboratories of Justin L. Grobe, PhD (Physiology) and Jennifer J. McIntosh, DO (Obstetrics & Gynecology). Megan's research utilized human placental tissue and novel transgenic mouse models to investigate the role of elevated Gαq second-messenger signaling within specific layers of the placenta in the development of preeclampsia, and her findings provide exciting new insight into the early-gestational molecular etiology of this pregnancy-specific cardiovascular disorder.

Megan's work was supported by a T32 fellowship from the Department of Physiology, and an individual predoctoral fellowship from the American Heart Association. Now graduated, she has started a new position as a research scientist at BioSpyder in Carlsbad, CA.

Congratulations and we wish you all the best Megan!

Tagged: Physiology

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