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Research Day 2026 fanfare delivers on promise of collaborative engagement

April 20, 2026
David Mogollon, Communications Manager, Department of Medicine

The annual College of Medicine – Tucson research showcase features Nobel laureate William Kaelin Jr., MD, U of A Provost Patricia Prelock, PhD, and a successful poster session as well as multiple Department of Medicine faculty presenters and participants.

[Keynote speaker and Nobel laureate William G. Kaelin Jr., MD, during his morning talk at the College of Medicine – Tucson Research Day 2026 shows a short video of him being awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Chemistry. He noted earlier jokingly that a professor had said of him: “Mr. Kaelin seems to be a bright young man whose future lies outside the laboratory.” His lunchtime talk was on the von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor, the discovery that proved that professor wrong.]

Keynote speaker and Nobel laureate William G. Kaelin Jr., MD, during his morning talk at the College of Medicine – Tucson Research Day 2026 shows a short video of him being awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Chemistry. He noted earlier jokingly that a professor had said of him: “Mr. Kaelin seems to be a bright young man whose future lies outside the laboratory.” His lunchtime talk was on the von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor, the discovery that proved that professor wrong. See a mini-photo gallery from the day’s activities below.

David Mogollon, Department of Medicine

With a Nobel laureate as keynote speaker, a variety of hot topic presentations and a successful poster session — not delayed due to high winds threatening to carry away tents in the plaza at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson south entrance as was the case last year — Research Day 2026 came off without a hitch.

Among significant participants from the Department of Medicine were chief emcee and moderator Hossein Ardehali, MD, PhD, a Division of Cardiology professor, Sarver Heart Center associate director, and the college’s associate dean for translational research and training and MD/PhD dual degree program director. He acted as host in the HSIB Forum and introduced key speakers at the Health Science Innovation Building, where multiple morning and early afternoon sessions where held April 15.

[Nobel laureate and Harvard Medical School/Dana-Farber Cancer Institute professor William G. Kaelin Jr., MD, packs the HSIB Forum during his lunchtime talk at Research Day 2026 of the College of Medicine – Tucson on “The von Hipell-Lindau tumor suppressor: Insights into cancer, oxygen sensing and drugging the undruggable.” The discovery led to a now FDA-approved therapy for clear cell renal cell carcinoma, the most common kidney cancer.]

Nobel laureate and Harvard Medical School/Dana-Farber Cancer Institute professor William G. Kaelin Jr., MD, packs the HSIB Forum during his lunchtime talk at Research Day 2026 of the College of Medicine – Tucson on “The von Hipell-Lindau tumor suppressor: Insights into cancer, oxygen sensing and drugging the undruggable.” The discovery led to a now FDA-approved therapy for clear cell renal cell carcinoma, the most common kidney cancer.

David Mogollon, Dept. of Medicine

The keynote speaker was William G. Kaelin Jr., MD, a Harvard Medical School/Dana-Farber Cancer Institute professor and winner of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability, primarily based on his research into von Hippel-Lindau disease. It resulted in a treatment regimen that inhibits the transcription factor HIF2a and disrupts the primary driver of clear cell renal cell carcinoma, the most common kidney cancer. Dr. Kaelin spoke twice, giving a career and scientific talk.

“In his earlier career talk, he spoke about his journey to become a physician-scientist and how his research on a very uncommon disease led to a major discovery that led to the Nobel Prize. His advice to young people was to not be daunted by failure along the way in their career,” Dr. Ardehali said. “In his scientific talk, he discussed how his discovery of a cellular pathway involved in oxygen sensing led to the discovery of a novel therapy for renal cancer. This new therapy is now approved by the Food & Drug Administration.”

[U of A provost and chief academic officer Patricia Prelock, PhD, offers perspectives on the transition from pediatric to adult primary care for autistic youth and young adults in a rural state as her spotlight talk during COM-T Research Day 2026.]

U of A provost and chief academic officer Patricia Prelock, PhD, offers perspectives on the transition from pediatric to adult primary care for autistic youth and young adults in a rural state as her spotlight talk during COM-T Research Day 2026.

David Mogollon, Dept. of Medicine

Speaking after Dr. Kaelin’s morning talk was U of A provost and chief academic officer Patricia Prelock, PhD, who presented on her research on autism and behavioral health, offering her perspectives on improving patients transition from pediatric to adult health care systems.

Dr. Ardehali noted a new format was introduced at the afternoon Poster Session held in the UAHS Plaza “in which we assigned ‘poster professors’ to coordinate the discussion for 8-9 posters. These poster professors would follow a team of presenters and discuss each poster with the group. This new format was well received and led to important scientific discussion.”

Among HSIB presenters and participants from the DOM were: 
•    Aaron Scott, MD, Division of Hematology & Oncology associate professor and co-leader of the U of A Cancer Center’s Clinical & Translational Oncology Program, who spoke during the Cancer focus session on “Weighing in on cancer: Can GLP-1 tip the scales in GI malignancies”
•    Jennifer Carew, PhD, Division of Translational Medicine professor and chief, the college’s investigator-initiated clinical trials director and center’s translational research director, who spoke in the same session on “Pevonedistat in acute myeloid leukemia: From mechanism to clinical translation and next-generation therapeutic optimization”
•    Joseph Finkelstein, MD, PhD, a Division of General Internal Medicine, Geriatrics & Palliative Medicine professor and Arizona Telemedicine Program director, who spoke on “AI to revolutionize telemedicine and digital health,” in the AI in Health focus session moderated by David Ebert, PhD, U of A chief AI and data science officer
•    Lawrence Mandarino, PhD, Division of Endocrinology professor and Center for Disparities in Diabetes, Obesity & Metabolism director, who spoke on “Diabetes research infrastructure in the Southwest” at the Metabolic Health & Lifestyle Interventions focus session that he and Dr. Ardehali led as hosts
•    Ronadip Banerjee, MD, PhD, Endocrinology division chief and associate professor, who spoke at the same session on “Cycling GLP-1 receptor agonist treatment induces therapeutic resistance and increased adiposity”
•    Sairam Parthasarathy, MD, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine chief and Center for Sleep, Circadian & Neuroscience Research director, C. Kent Kwoh, MD, a Division of Rheumatology Professor Emeritus and Arizona Arthritis Center director, and Janet Funk, PhD, MS, Endocrinology professor and DOM vice chair of research, who participated in the CTSI – SW CACTI focus session with Drs. Parthasarathy and Kwoh offering brief comments

Dr. Funk said the session focused on the Southwest Center for Advancing Clinical & Translational Innovation (SW CACTI) partnership of the U of A Health Sciences, University of New Mexico Health Sciences and Banner Health that won a $43.6 million NIH Clinical & Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program grant last year. “It outlined the organization and its resources, as well as information helpful for those applying for career development awards supported by SW CACTI, which have replaced UAHS/College of Medicine – Tucson career development awards and are solely focused on translational research implementation,” she said.

Dr. Parthasarathy added that SW CACTI “offers a plethora of opportunities for researchers at the U of A that span training grants, pilot grants, data science and implementation science awards within health care and community settings.” Learn more at its new website: swcacti.org.

Dr. Carew said of the full day’s activities, “Research Day reinforced that our greatest strength is the integration of discovery science with clinically meaningful questions. This alignment ultimately drives impact for patients.”

[After her COM-T Research Day talk, U of A Provost Patricia Prelock, PhD, chats with the Division of Nephrology’s Abd Qannus, MD (white shirt) and Julia Jernberg, MD, MBA (top left), a geriatrician in the Division of General Internal Medicine, Geriatrics & Palliative Medicine, as the Division of Hematology & Oncology’s Aaron Scott, MD (right), prepares to speak next. ]

After her COM-T Research Day talk, U of A Provost Patricia Prelock, PhD, chats with the Division of Nephrology’s Abd Qannus, MD (white shirt) and Julia Jernberg, MD, MBA (top left), a geriatrician in the Division of General Internal Medicine, Geriatrics & Palliative Medicine, as the Division of Hematology & Oncology’s Aaron Scott, MD (right), prepares to speak next.

David Mogollon, Dept. of Medicine

Among other DOM attendees seen and heard at HSIB (with their division/other department or organization) were: DOM administrator Phetcharat “Pat” Chen; Dawn Coletta, PhD (Endocrinology); Sandesh Dev, MD (Cardiology/SAVAHCS); DOM biostatistician Maryam Emami, PhD; Joshua Farr, PhD (Rheumatology); Ahmad Iftikhar, MBBS (Inpatient Medicine), Julia Jernberg, MD, MBA (General Internal Medicine, Geriatrics & Palliative Medicine); Anita Koshy, MD (Infectious Diseases/Neurology); DOM Chair James K. Liao, MD (Cardiology); Lalitha Madhavan, MD, PhD (GGP/Neurology); Steffan Nawrocki, PhD (Translational Medicine); Abd Qannus, MD (Nephrology); Franz Rischard, DO, MSc (PACCS); Hesham Sadek, MD, PhD (Cardiology chief); Rachna Shroff, MD, MS (Hematology & Oncology chief), and Haw-Chih Tai, PhD (Cardiology).

ALSO SEE:
“No wind, no rain, just sunshine above big tents at COM-T Research Day Poster Session” | Posted April 21, 2026
“DOM well represented at delayed 2025 College of Medicine – Tucson Research Day poster session” | Posted May 6, 2025
“DOM faculty host 3 of 7 sessions and grand rounds at COM-T Research Day 2025” | Posted April 11, 2025

(Photos courtesy of David Mogollon, DOM communications manager)

For additional photos from COM-T Research Day 2026 at HSIB, click here.

MINI-PHOTO GALLERY
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David Mogollon
mogollon@arizona.edu
520-275-6931