Pharmaceutical Sciences Graduates Launch Doctoral Careers

The Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy celebrated the graduation of three Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Pharmaceutical Sciences graduates at the University of Hawaii at Hilo in 2025. The PhD degree has a research-intensive focus that requires the generation of new scientific knowledge, which is created with the mentorship and guidance of doctoral faculty. DKICP’s newest PhDs and their dissertation titles are listed below:

• Md Samiul Atanu: Pyracrenic acid induces oxidative stress-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) by modulating the PI3K/Akt/GSK3β pathway leading to caspase-dependent and -independent cellular death

• Sasha Nealand: Targeted Isolation of Anti-mycobacterial Labdane Terpenes from Grindelia stricta var. platyphylla

• Nathan Sunada: Calcium signaling profiles in patient-paired high-risk neuroblastoma tumors: Novel mechanisms driving chemotherapy resistance and targeted therapies

These graduates are amongst the 14 alumni of the PhD program which began in 2011.