Weatherford, OK – Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU) student researchers received national recognition at the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics 2026 annual meeting in Minneapolis. Robert Cadena, Peiting Wu and Hanniel Park presented research at the national conference under the mentorship of Dr. Reem Atawia and Dr. Wael Eldahshan in the SWOSU College of Pharmacy.

Park, a College of Pharmacy student from Lawton, received the Second Place Presentation Award in the Division of Pharmacology Education. Wu, a student from Hubei, China, conducted research with the SWOSU College of Pharmacy received the Second Place Presentation Award in the Division of Translational and Clinical Pharmacology. Cadena, a College of Pharmacy student from Albuquerque, New Mexico, presented in the Division for Drug Discovery and Development and was selected as a finalist for the Shockley Award.

The students presented conference abstracts that were published in The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

Wu presented “Phenyl-?-Valerolactones Preserve Barrier Function of Lung Microvascular Endothelial Cells Exposed to Lipopolysaccharide.” Park presented “Evaluating Structured Discussion Questions With Peer-Reviewed Case Reports to Enhance Learning of Pharmacology, Pathophysiology and Toxicology in PharmD Program.” Cadena presented “LILRB4 as a Modulator of LGG Immune Microenvironment and Prognostic Outcomes: Is There a Role for Quinazoline-Based Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors?”

“We are incredibly proud of Robert, Peiting and Hanniel,” Atawia and Eldahshan said. “Their dedication, perseverance and passion for scientific research led to these outstanding achievements at the national level. Their success shows the strength of student-faculty collaboration at SWOSU and the value of providing students with meaningful research and scholarship opportunities.”

Atawia was also invited to present during the ASPET Career Development session, “Beyond the Bench: Building and Communicating Transferable Skills Across Academic Career Stages.” The session focused on helping trainees and early-career scientists communicate transferable skills, mentoring experiences, publications, collaboration and professional identity as they prepare for careers in academia.

Hanniel Park and Peiting Wu received ASPET Travel Awards to support their conference participation. Atawia received an Oklahoma IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (OK-INBRE) Travel Award to support conference participation at ASPET 2026. Additional support was provided through research resources from the SWOSU College of Pharmacy.

The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics annual meeting brings together students, faculty, researchers and professionals in pharmacology and related fields. The conference includes research presentations, professional development sessions and opportunities for students to share their work with a national audience.

For more information about the SWOSU College of Pharmacy, visit https://www.swosu.edu/pharmacy/index.php.

About Southwestern Oklahoma State University

Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU) was founded in 1901 and offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate programs across three locations in Weatherford, Sayre, and Yukon. The university serves more than 5,000 students and prides itself on affordability, small class sizes, and over 200 faculty and staff committed to helping students achieve their academic and personal goals.

For more information about Southwestern Oklahoma State University, visit www.swosu.edu.