Sarisha Lohano Wins 2025 Poster Pitch Competition at CCTS Conference

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May X, 2025) –  At the 2025 CCTS Spring Conference, undergraduate Sarisha Lohano took first prize in the annual 60-Second Poster Pitch Competition, hosted by UK’s Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship.

At the 2025 CCTS Spring Conference, undergraduate Sarisha Lohano took first prize in the annual 60-Second Poster Pitch Competition, hosted by UK’s Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship.

The annual competition helps researchers refine their presentation techniques. Participants are judged based on clarity of presentations and potential to create new therapies.

Lohano, who this month is completing her bachelor’s degree in just three years, has already begun an impactful career in the biomedical field. In the Poster Pitch Competition, she presented research aimed at developing treatment for heart failure by focusing on the root cause—loss of contractile force, meaning that the heart isn’t pumping strongly enough.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in Kentucky, but there is currently no long-term treatment for heart failure. Lohano’s research focuses on the role of a protein called RAD, which regulates calcium current in the heart.

“By deleting RAD, we are proving that contractile force can be increased. Even more than that, we are proving that it can remodel a diseased heart closer to a healthy heart,” she said in her pitch. “Effective treatments are urgently needed.”

Lohano is a biology major in the Lewis Honors College and College of Arts and Sciences. She has worked in the cardiovascular research lab of Jonathan Satin, PhD, since her freshman year. She was recently co-author, along with other lab members, on a paper published in the Journal of General Physiology exploring the role of RAD, and is co-author on a second paper that is currently under consideration for publication.

“[Working in his lab] has been a fantastic experience—the highlight of my undergrad career. It’s my second home,” she said.

Her first-place victory in the Von Allmen pitch competition came with a $1250 prize, which Lohano will use to attend the International Society for Heart Research conference in Nara, Japan.

The recent win, though, is not her first pitch competition victory. She’s had a string of successes pitching a start-up, called DocAI, she’s developing with her brother, which uses AI to develop customized videos with discharge instructions for patients. The idea for the company builds on the work of her father, an internal medicine-pediatrics physician who observed a gap in communication between health care providers and patients.

“He noticed that when patients are being discharged from the hospital, there’s a lot going on and it’s hard for them to take in all the information and instructions they’re being given, which can land them back in the hospital. Through shadowing for medical school, I saw this too,” she said.

Her father passed away last year, but his lifetime commitment to patients inspired both of his children to pursue careers in medicine.

“It’s our way to carry on his legacy. He was very focused on patient-centered medicine.”

She will be attending medical school at UK in the fall, and while she’s not entirely sure what she’ll specialize in, she’s excited to continue blending medical practice with her burgeoning entrepreneurial spirit.

Media Contact: Mallory Profeta, mallory.profeta@uky.edu