Yalda Zolghadri received her DVM (2012) and Ph.D. (2018) in Pharmacology from Shiraz University. Yalda is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Verona, Italy, focusing on GPCR signaling in pancreatic cancer. Yalda’s thesis "Comparison of anticancer effects of everolimus-gemcitabine combination with gemcitabine on pancreatic cancer using Rgs16 biomarker evaluation" included research she conducted as a Visiting Scholar in the Pharmacology Department at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Yalda’s passion for basic research was inspired by her grandfather's battle with pancreatic cancer. After completing her thesis, Dr. Zolghadri taught a Pharmacology course at Shiraz University and contributed to the veterinary community as a member of the World Veterinary Association. Yalda was also a technical manager at Radman Mehr Gostarm, a drug distribution company, before starting her postdoc in Verona. Through her multifaceted experiences and unwavering dedication, Yalda strives to advance our understanding and treatment of pancreatic cancer.
Thomas Wilkie is currently an Associate Professor of Pharmacology at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, a member of the SCCC at UTSW, an Adjunct Faculty Member of Biological Sciences at UT Dallas, the Director of the Cancer Discovery Group, and a member of the Biosample subcommittee of the PRECEDE Consortium to develop early PDA diagnostics and prognostics. Tom has a BA in Biochemistry (UC Berkeley, 1980) and PhD in Biochemistry (UW Seattle, 1986) and conducted his postdoctoral research with Melvin Simon (California Institute of Technology, 1992). As a postdoc, Tom cloned many new G alpha subunit genes in mice and defined the four functional classes of metazoan G alpha subunits: Gq, Gi, G12 and Gs. Soon after starting his own laboratory, he showed that Regulators of G-protein Signaling (RGS proteins) are GTPase activating proteins (GAPs) for Gi (and Gq) class alpha subunits, in collaboration with A. Gilman. He then showed that RGS proteins are regulated by calcium-calmodulin and PIP3 to initiate calciumoscillations evoked by Gq-coupled GPCR agonists in pancreatic acinar cells, in collaboration with S. Muallem. A current goal of the Wilkie Laboratory is to determine the role of G-protein/RGS regulation during the initiation and progression of PDA in people with pancreatitis, metabolic syndrome, obesity and type 2 diabetes.
