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Top(left to right) Chih-Jia Chao and Edidiong Udofa; Bottom(left to right) Monica Haughan and Joohyun Im

Congratulations to our Cancer Center trainee awardees at the UIC Retzky College of Pharmacy 16th Annual Research Day on October 30, 2025, featuring nearly 80 trainee posters and a keynote highlighting cutting-edge research. 

The Cancer Center-funded Cancer Science Prize winners were:

• 1st Place: Monica Haughan, et al (Mentor: Zongmin Zhao, PhD) – Adrenergic Signaling in Adipocytes Drives Ovarian Cancer Cell Invasion 
• 2nd Place: Chih-Jia Chao, et al (Mentor: Zongmin Zhao, PhD) – In situ Dendritic Cell Therapy Enabled by Lipid Nanoparticle-mRNA Formulations

Additional Honors for Cancer Center trainee members were:

• AAPS Student Chapter Choice Award (1st Place): Edidiong Udofa, et al (Mentor: Zongmin Zhao, PhD) – Bone Voyage: Nanoparticle-Mediated Reprogramming of Monocyte Trafficking for Bone Marrow Targeting
• UIC Retzky College of Pharmacy Award for Excellence in Research (3rd Place): Joohyun Im, et al (Mentor:Joanna Burdette, PhD) – PAX8-Dependent Signaling Networks as Drivers of Progression and Immune Evasion in High Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer