McNair Scholar awarded prestigious NIH internship

From a UNT News Service press release

Adrian Cadar, who graduated in May, will study pathophysiology, or how people move, to better help patients suffering from Parkinson's disease as part of a highly prestigious summer internship at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in Bethesda, Md. The NINDS is part of the National Institutes of Health.

Cadar, who majored in biology, was part of UNT's Ronald E. McNair Post-baccalaureate Achievement Program. The federally funded program prepares undergraduate students who are the first in their families to attend college, are from economically marginalized families or are members of groups that are traditionally underrepresented in graduate education to pursue doctoral study.

Under the direction Edward Dzialowski, associate professor of biological sciences, Cadar has been investigating the mechanisms that mediate the closure of an important fetal blood vessel in the chicken embryo model. That model may lead to a better understanding of the congenital heart defect in infants.

Last summer, Cadar attended the Intramural Research Program Summer Student Program at the National Institute on Aging in Maryland. In the fall, Cadar will pursue a doctorate at Vanderbilt University and hopes to one day specialize in cardiovascular surgery in a research-based teaching hospital.

Cadar is the recipient of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund award and was one of the 20 Marshall Scholarship Finalists in the five-state region. He presented his research at the 2009 national conference of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science and at the Texas Undergraduate Research Day at the Capitol in Austin in February 2011.

Elizabeth Smith with UNT News Service can be reached at Elizabeth.Smith@unt.edu.

Read other stories in this issue:

• President's Note
• Mayborn Conference features Ted Conover, undercover journalist
• Moving Forward: New research clusters and strategic investment areas emphasize societal issues
• Students in the inaugural class of Emerald Eagle Scholars graduate
• Wind turbines to generate power for UNT's Mean Green Stadium
• Faculty Focus: Kent Chapman
• Traditions: UNT's Green Brigade Marching Band is No. 1
• Featured Link: UNT's new mobile app keeps the university at your fingertips
• UNT Alumni Association