Three Professors Receive Hunkele Research Awards

Assistant Engineering Professor Dr. Rana Zakerzadeh and the team of Pharmacy Professor Dr. Wilson Meng and Associate Pharmacy Professor Dr. Lauren O’Donnell were recently awarded more than $11,400 each from the University’s Hunkele Dreaded Disease Review Committee.

The Hunkele Dreaded Disease Research Award, a competitive grants program, is available to full-time, tenure-track or tenured faculty at Duquesne. The grant provides money for researchers conducting biomedical research that could ultimately lead to a direct cure for major, life-threatening diseases, such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

Zakerzadeh’s research focuses on computational modeling and studies blood flow in human arteries and through the heart and heart valves. She is working on the development and application of computational models of cardiovascular disease to help with medical decision-making and to improve the design of medical devices to enhance their performance.

Meng’s and O’Donnell’s project will identify small peptides in common viruses such as influenza that could potentially enhance the efficacy of vaccines targeting SARS-CoV2, which causes COVID-19. The researchers will work to understand how human immune cells respond to these viral peptides. They will then leverage that response to rapidly engineer a vaccine platform that can be adjusted to different SARS-CoV2 strains.

The Hunkele Dreaded Disease award reflects Duquesne’s commitment to research that expands student horizons while tackling some of the world’s most critical health challenges.