I have been involved in research for about a decade now, from my undergraduate program through to my PhD training. Over this period of time, I have learned the skills and ethics needed to be successful as an independent researcher.  In the earlier part of my career, I studied the pharmacology of natural drug products. Use of medicinal plant is common in local Ghanaian communities, even though beneficial effects have not been proven scientifically. I studied the effects of the extracts of two such plants, Piper guineense and Antrocaryon micraster using validated animal models of disease states.

My PhD dissertation research is focused on Leptin Signaling in Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) – Interferon Alpha (GIFN) transgenic mice. This project involves investigating the molecular mechanisms involved in leptin resistance and its implication in the management of obesity. Outside of my bench research work, I am collaborating with a clinical veterinary researcher, Dr Emma Meyer in two ongoing research in  Veterinary Medicine Error Report  and Pharmacokinetic Studies of Nitrofurantoin in dogs.

I have been trained in research ethics, mouse handling techniques, behavior assays, analytical laboratory techniques such as western blot, pcr and flow cytometery. I have gained translational research skills through the collaboration with a clinical faculty. All of these trainings and skills have given me the competency to succeed in a career as an independent researcher in understanding immunological disease mechanisms to identify points of therapeutic control. 

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<div class="badge-base LI-profile-badge" data-locale="en_US" data-size="medium" data-theme="dark" data-type="VERTICAL" data-vanity="leslie-essel-363062100" data-version="v1"><a class="badge-base__link LI-simple-link" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-essel-363062100?trk=profile-badge">Leslie Essel</a></div>

1. Essel, L. B., Obiri, D. D., Osafo, N., Antwi, A. O., Duduyemi, B. D. (July, 2017). The total ethanolic stem bark extract of Antrocaryon micraster ameliorates acetic acid-induced colitis through reduced serum levels of TNFα and IL-6. Poster presented at the 2017 annual meeting of the Ghana Biomedical Convention Conference, Accra, Ghana

2. Essel, L. B., Obiri, D. D., Osafo, N., Antwi, A. O., Duduyemi, B. D. (March, 2017). Anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects of the ethanolic stem-bark extract of Antrocaryon micraster (Anacardiaceae) A. Chev. & Guillaumin. in murine models of inflammation. Poster presented at the Building Stronger Universities (BSU II) Phase 2 Conference, (A collaboration between the Royal Danish Government, Danish Universities and KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana.

3. Essel, L. B. (March, 2017). Anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects of the ethanolic stem-bark extract of Antrocaryon micraster (Anacardiaceae) A. Chev. & Guillaumin. in murine models of inflammation. Paper presented at the Graduate Students’ conference, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana.

1. 2020-2021 Robert C. Lanman Graduate Pharmacology Scholarship Competitive and Merit-based scholarship award offered by the UMKC School of Pharmacy Foundation. 

2. 2019-2020 Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) ScholarAward Fellowship An award to train graduate students in the College Teaching and Career Preparation Certificate Program offered by the School of Graduate Studies / School of Education, UMKC.

3. 2019-2020 Robert C. Lanman Graduate Pharmacology Scholarship Competitive and Merit-based scholarship award offered by the UMKC School of Pharmacy Foundation.

4. 2018-2019 Thomas D. Ross Memorial Graduate Scholarship Competitive and Merit-based scholarship award offered by the UMKC School of Pharmacy Foundation.

5.  UMKC Graduate Scholarship Division of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Missouri – Kansas City (UMKC), Missouri, USA

6. Graduate Teaching Assistant (2014-2016) Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy,  Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana

7. Graduate Teaching Assistant (2013-2014) Department of Biomedical and Forensic Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.

Leptin Signaling in Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) – Interferon Alpha (GIFN) Transgenic mice

My research focuses on cytokine and hormonal signaling pathways in the brain that lead to leptin resistance. The hormone leptin produces anorexic effects and promotes energy metabolism, actions that lead to normal physiological maintenance of a healthy body weight. Failure of leptin’s action, referred to as leptin resistance, leads to hyperphagia, dysregulated energy homeostasis and obesity. Obesity is prevalent in the general population and is a major risk factor of cardiovascular and metabolic disease. A restoration of leptin’s function should mitigate obesity. My research approach is to define the particular pathway of leptin resistance, and thereby identify a target for a therapeutic drug that will disrupt this resistance pathway. My research is very close to defining this pathway, as work progresses steadily. A successful completion of this project will not only provide an insight into novel pathway mechanisms, but it will also have huge clinical implications in the management of obesity. As a risk factor, obesity can lead to the development of heart disease and diabetes, which have high morbidity and mortality rates in American societies. The ability to significantly reduce this high disease burden by being able to effectively deal with the problem of obesity underscores the relevance and impact of this study.