Graduate Student Directory

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Bio

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Education:

• B.S. Forensic Science – University of Central Florida, 2000
• M.S. Biomedical Sciences – Florida Atlantic University, 2005

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Research Areas:

• Botanical-Drug Interactions
• In vitro gene expression analysis
• Systemic availability studies of natural products in rats
• Natural Product Chemistry
• Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

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Kelli L. McDonald is a graduate research assistant, working in the lab of Dr. Angela I. Calderón in the Department of Drug Discovery and Development. She is currently investigating potential botanical-drug interactions utilizing both in-vitro and in-vivo models.

Many natural products can affect Cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes and drug transporters, leading to potentially fatal botanical-drug interactions. This research is working to identify bioactive compounds in natural products, which are commonly used and found in botanical supplements. Kelli is utilizing liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) to potentially identify, isolate, quantitate, and determine structural elucidation of these compounds. She looks forward to a career determining the safety and use of natural products in treating various disease states.

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Awards

• 2nd place – Graduate Student Presentation - AU HCOP Research Showcase - 2022
• ASP President’s Travel Award – 2022
• Dean's Graduate Student Travel Award – 2022
• Graduate Student Council (GSC) Travel Award - 2022
• Best HCOP Graduate Student Presentation, AU Student Symposium – 2021
• Presidential Graduate Research Fellowship (PGRF) – 2020 - present

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Oral Presentations and Seminars

• Kelli McDonald, Satyanarayana Pondugula, Jaewoo Choi, Julia Salamat, Mikah Brandes, Cody Neff, Keila Adams, Claudia Maier, Amala Soumyanath, Robert Arnold, and Angela Calderón. Ashwagandha Botanical-Drug Interactions: Potential CYP Induction. 2022 American Society of Pharmacognosy Annual Meeting: Natural Product Solutions to Global Challenges, Charleston, SC, United States. July 2022.
• Kelli McDonald, Satyanarayana Pondugula, Amala Soumyanath, Robert Arnold, and Angela Calderón. Investigation of Ashwagandha Extracts for Induction of Liver CYP Enzymes.Auburn University Student Research Symposium, Auburn, AL, United States. March 2022.
• Zarna Raichura, Kabre Heck, Kelli McDonald, Jaewoo Choi, Mikah Brandes, Cody Neff, Claudia Maier, Amala Soumyanath, Robert Arnold, and Angela I. Calderón. Development of cytochrome P450 cocktail inhibition assay to predict botanical-drug interactions. Auburn University Student Research Symposium, Auburn, AL, United States. March 2022.
• Kelli McDonald, Muralikrishnan Dhanasekaran, Vishnu Suppiramaniam, Miranda Reed. Cannabis use and Neurocognitive Changes. TASME (Technological Advances in Science, Medicine, and Engineering) Conference – July 2021.
• Kelli McDonald, Mohammed Majrashi, Mansour Alturki, Sindhu Ramesh, Manoj Govindarajulu, Jack Schwartz, Mohammed Almaghrabi, Forrest Smith, Tony Thomas, Vishnu Suppiramaniam, Timothy Moore, Miranda Reed, Muralikrishnan Dhanasekaran. Ketone Bodies – Possible Therapeutic Option for Neurodegenerative Diseases. TASME (Technological Advances in Science, Medicine, and Engineering) Conference – July 2021.
• Kelli McDonald, Mohammed Majrashi, Mansour Alturki, Sindhu Ramesh, Manoj Govindarajulu, Jack Schwartz, Mohammed Almaghrabi, Forrest Smith, Tony Thomas, Vishnu Suppiramaniam, Timothy Moore, Miranda Reed, Muralikrishnan Dhanasekaran. Neuroprotective signaling metabolite, β-hydroxybutyrate, reduces oxidative stress and augments mitochondrial functions in hippocampal neurons. Auburn University Student Research Symposium, Auburn, AL, United States. March 2021.

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Poster Presentations

• Zarna Raichura, Kabre Heck, Kelli McDonald, Jaewoo Choi, Mikah Brandes, Cody Neff, Claudia Maier, Amala Soumyanath, Robert Arnold, and Angela Calderón. Progress on the development of cytochromeP450 cocktail inhibition assay to predict botanical-drug interactions. Development of Cytochrome P450 Cocktail Inhibition Assay to Predict Botanical-Drug Interaction using LC-MS-QTOF. July 2022.
• Kelli McDonald, Satyanarayana Pondugula, Jaewoo Choi, Mikah Brandes, Cody Neff, Keila Adams, Claudia Maier, Amala Soumyanath, Robert Arnold, and Angela Calderón. Ashwagandha: Evaluation of potential CYP-mediated drug interactions. AU HCOP Research Showcase, Auburn, AL, United States. April 2022.
• Zarna Raichura, Kabre Heck, Kelli McDonald, Jaewoo Choi, Mikah Brandes, Cody Neff, Claudia Maier, Amala Soumyanath, Robert Arnold, and Angela Calderón. Progress on the development of cytochrome P450 cocktail inhibition assay to predict botanical-drug interactions. AU HCOP Research Showcase, Auburn, AL, United States. April 2022.

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Publications

• Hunsberger HC, Setti SE, Rudy CC, Weitzner DS, Pfitzer JC, McDonald KL, Hong H, Bhattacharya S, Suppiramaniam V, Reed MN. Differential Effects of Human P301L Tau Expression in Young versus Aged Mice. Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Oct 28;22(21):11637. doi: 10.3390/ijms222111637. PMID: 34769068; PMCID: PMC8583766