Alumni

Are you a graduate of the Biological Sciences Graduate Program? Email bisi@umd.edu to tell us about your current placement.

View Career Outcomes for 2015-2024 Biological Sciences Doctoral Graduates

Fall 2025 Graduates

Nour El Husseini - Pseudomonas aeruginosa in catheter-associated urinary tract infections: determining virulence factors in a murine model - Rob Patro, CS

Cesar Hernandez - Melanopsin and PACAP in intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells regulate development of retinofugal projections in mice - Colenso Speer, BIOL

Hind Hitti - Investigating the role of cell surface proteins in cytoneme-mediated FGF signaling in Drosophila - Sougata Roy, CBMG

Neha Nanajkar - Investigating aggregation and peptide-lipid interactions in Huntington's Disease - Silvina Matysiak, BIOE

Shauna Rasband - Evolution of Growth Hormone Axis Genes Across Birds - Philip Johnson, BIOL

Summer 2025 Graduates

Madison Jermain - Investigation of the Novel Antitermination Mechanism of LoaP, a NusG Specialized Paralog - Wade Winkler, CBMG

Post-Grad: Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Storz Lab at the National Institutes of Health

Sophia Levy - Exploring Health Relevant Functions of the Gut Microbiome - Brantley Hall, CBMG

Joseph Mack - The dietary evolution and regeneration physiology of freshwater annelids - Alexa Bely, BIOL

Hao Yiu - Neutral and selective drivers of T cell receptor repertoire diversity - Philip Johnson, BIOL

Spring 2025 Graduates

Kristen Behrens - Challenging tenets of sex chromosome research: Options are not limited - Thomas Kocher, BIOL

Post-Grad: Postdoctoral Fellow of Fisheries Bioinformatics, Cooperative Institute of Great Lakes Research

Hyeon Jin Cho - Highly Constrained Kinetic Models for Quantitative Single-Cell Gene Expression Analysis - Robert Patro, CS

Post-Grad: Bioinformatics Fellow in the Standardized Organoid Modeling (SOM) Center at Axle

Ronald Clark - Characterization of the Unannotated Transcriptome: Investigating The Evolution of sORFs and Proto/De Novo Genes in the Drosophila pseudoobscura Subgroup using Comparative Transcriptome and Genome Data - Carlos Machado, BIOL

Post-Grad: Postdoctoral Fellow, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) at the NIH

Daniel Kemboi - The Molecular Basis for Gamma Phage Targeting - Daniel Nelson, VetMed

Samiha Tasnim - Odorant responses in freely moving C. elegans: insights into learning and the role of small RNA regulation - Antony Jose, CBMG

Sahar Vakili - Investigation of Cellular Communications in Progeria Vasculature - Kan Cao, CBMG

Post-Grad: Postdoctoral Research Associate, Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland

Fall 2024 Graduates

David Bloodgood - Investigating mechanisms underlying MLO's role as a host factor essential for pathogenesis of powdery mildew fungi - Shunyan Xiao, CBMG

Yiwei Dai - Initial Local Cytokine Responses Against Neisseria Gonorrhoeae Infections in the Human Cervix - Wenxia Song, CBMG

Sofia Di Benigno - Roles of Female Sex Hormones in Regulating Neisseria gonorrhoeae Colonization of the Human Cervix - Wenxia Song, CBMG

Post-Grad: Visiting Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Mary Washington

Meaghan Hart - The Standalone Regulator RofA of Streptococcus pyogenes Exhibits Characteristics of a PRD-Containing Virulence Regulator - Kevin McIver, CBMG

Post-Grad: Postdoctoral Associate, Department of Cell Biology & Molecular Genetics, UMD

Jessica Kopew - The Role of Genome Organization and Filamentous Bacteriophage on Gonococcal Biology and Pathogenicity - Daniel Stein, CBMG

Post-Grad: Medical Research Specialist, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

Xuan Li - Algorithmic approaches for investigating DNA Methylation in tumor evolution and heterogeneity - Stephen Mount, CBMG; Cenk Sahinalp, CS

Post-Grad: Postdoctoral Fellow at the NCI's Division of Cancer Epidemiology & Genetics Intetegrative Tumor Epidemiology Branch

Aashli Pathni - Biomechanical regulation of T lymphocytes: The cytoskeleton at the nexus of force and function - Arpita Upadhyaya, Physics

Post-Grad: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Fred Hutch

Thomas Pranzatelli - Cell Population Shifts and Clinical Heterogeneity in Sjögren's Disease - Philip Johnson, BIOL

Post-Grad: Postdoctoral Employee, University of California, San Diego Health OB/GYN

Michael Shuster - Inhibition of type one interferon signaling through crosstalk with Toll-like receptor signaling - Volker Briken, CBMG

Post-Grad: Biologist II at Merck

Summer 2024 Graduates

Maria Colt - Elucidating the molecular pathways associated with paternal care in the California mouse - Karen Carleton, BIOL; Heidi Fisher, BIOL

Post-Grad: Intramural Research Training Fellow, National Institutes of Health

Ashley Della Fera - Characterization of chromatin assembly dynamics mediated by the histone H3.3 chaperone HIRA and implications of innate immunity during human papillomavirus infection - Margaret Scull, CBMG; Alison McBride, CBMG

Post-Grad: Postdoctoral researcher at the National Institutes of Health/NIAID

Nora Hamovit - Methane biogeochemistry and microbial communities in freshwater mineral wetlands - Stephanie Yarwood, ENST

Post-Grad: Faculty assistant and postdoctorate researcher at UMD in the Environmental Science and Technology Department

Ahana Mallick - Serotonin Regulates an Olfactory Critical Period in Drosophila - Ricardo Araneda, BIOL; Quenting Gaudry, BIOL

Post-Grad: Postdoctoral Research Associate at the UNC School of Medicine; Postdoctoral Research Associate at the UNC School of Pharmacy

Spring 2024 Graduates

Oluwamayowa Amosu - TLR9 Activation as Immunotherapy in a Murine Model of Metastatic Lymphangioleiomyomatosis - Katharina Maisel, BIOE

Zeke Gonzalez - Insights in ecology, behavior, and reproduction from visual models of African cichlids - Karen Carleton, BIOL

Post-Grad: Public Affairs Officer at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research

Dongze He - Methods for efficient processing and comprehensive analysis of single cell sequencing data - Robert Patro, CS

Post-Grad: Computational scientist at Altos Labs

Daphne Knudsen-Palmer - An Intersecting Network of Regulators is Required for RNA Silencing and Nuclear Integrity in C. elegans - Antony Jose, CBMG

Post-Grad: CRTA Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Cancer Institute

Akshay Patel - Characterizing the Roles and Mechanisms of Cytonemes in Asymmetric Signaling and Organizations in the Drosophila Muscle Progenitor Niche - Sougata Roy, CBMG

Post-Grad: IRTA Postdoctoral Fellow, NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)

Bixuan Wang - Mixture Models for RNA Sequence Feature Analysis - Stephen Mount, CBMG

Post-Grad: Postdoctoral Associate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Wei Xiao - Evolution of the CRISPR immune system from ecological to molecular scales - Philip Johnson, BIOL

Post-Grad: ORISE Fellow, FDA

Rui Yin - High resolution modeling of antibody and T cell receptor recognition using deep learning - Brian Pierce, CBMG

Post-Grad: AI Scientist II, Absci

Yunliang Zhang - Investigation of a Novel O-GlcNAc Modification of a Vaccinia Virus Core Protein - Margaret Scull, CBMG

Post-Grad: Postdoctoral Fellow, NIH

Fall 2023 Graduates

Adit Alreja - An investigation on the molecular basis for dimer formation of a bacteriophage endolysin possessing antimicrobial activity against Streptococcus pneumoniae - Daniel Nelson, VetMed

Post-Grad: Postdoctoral Associate, Department of Cell Biology & Molecular Genetics, UMD

Mary Chey - Gene regulatory architectures that dictate transgernerational epigenetic effects in C. elegans - Antony Jose, CBMG

Post-Grad: Assistant Clinical Professor in the FIRE Program at UMD

David Crawford - Studies onf Variability in Cancer Gene Expression: From Single Proteins to Populations - Stephen Mount, CBMG

Jax Ficklin - Sex and the Evolution of a Double Hermaphrodite - Eric Haag, BIOL

Monty Goldstein - Engineering physiologically-relevant model systems to understand the requirements of rhinovirus C infection - Margaret Scull, CBMG

Post-Grad: Postdoctoral Associate, IBBR; Postdoctoral Associate, National Emerging Infectious Disease Laboratories

Saul Sarria - Linking Antimicrobial Resistance Genes and Plasmid to host bacteria - Jiuzhou Song, ANSC

Renee Ti Chou - Application of Advanced Machine Learning Strategies for Biomedical Research, Michael Cummings, BIOL

Post-Grad: Data Scientist, Lexical Intelligence

Summer 2023 Graduates

Zabdiel Alvarado Martinez - Antibacterial mechanism of plant-derived phenolics against Salmanella enerica serovar Typhimurium - Debabrata Biswas, AGNR

Post-Grad: Postdoctoral Research Assistant, American Dental Association; Microbiologist at the FDA

Kevin Bennett - Evolutionary history and consequences of gene flow in bearded manakins - Gerald Wilkinson, BIOL

Post-Grad: Postdoctoral Researcher at Penn State University

Javier Carpinteyro-Ponce - The genomics of species divergence of the Drosophila pseudoobscura subgroup - Carlos Machado, BIOL

Post-Grad: Bioinformatics Research Associate, Carnegie Institution for Science; Data Engineer, Johns Hopkins Pathology

Haleigh Eppler - Biomaterials Reprogram Antigen Presenting Cells to Promote Antigen-Specific Tolerance in Autoimmunity - Christopher Jewell, BIOE

Post-Grad: Postdoctoral Researcher, Stanford University

Yujia Li - Investigating the mechanisms of FGF release at cytonemes contact sites - Sougata Roy, CBMG

Post-Grad: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Reynold Yu - Investigation of progerin expression in non-Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome individuals - Kan Cao, CBMG

Post-Grad: Bioinformatics Scientist, NIH's National Human Genome Research Institute

Spring 2023 Graduates

Theresa Alexander - Analytical approaches for complex multi-batch - Omics datasets and their application to neuronal development - Colenso Speer, BIOL, and Najib El-Sayed, CBMG

Post-Grad: Quantitative Biologist at Horizon; Senior Scientist at Amgen

Anshuman Bhanja - Mechanisms by which the actin cytoskeleton switches B cell receptor signaling from the activation to the attenuation mode - Wenxia Song, CBMG

Post-Grad: Postdoctoral Scientist at the UC San Diego School of Medicine

Rong Guo - Comparative genomics of chemosensory gene families among members of the Heliothinae - Megan Fritz (ENTM)

Post-Grad: Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, UC Irvine

Can Liu - Systems immunology of immune imprints induced by acute viral infections - Philip Johnson, BIOL

Post-Grad: Postdoctoral Research Associate, Yale University

Nicholas Rachmaninoff - Systems approaches to immunology in acute COVID19, monogenic immune disorders, and childhood development - Philip Johnson, BIOL

Post-Grad: Data Scientist at GSK

Zajeba Tabashsum - Probiotic, prebiotic, and synbiotic approaches in sustainable poultry production through microbiome modulation - Debabrata Biswas, ANSC

Post-Grad: Postdoctoral Research Associate, UNC Chapel Hill

Binghan Xue - Persistent effects on sound encoding and intra-cortical circuits during early development and aging - Colenso Speer, BIOL

Post-Grad: Research Assistant at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Huijing Xue - Development of an accelerated cellular model for Alzeheimer’s Disease - Kan Cao, CBMG

Post-Grad: Postdoctoral Fellow, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research; Development Associate II, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research

Fall 2022 Graduates

Custodio de Oliveira Nunes - Molecular and biophysical bases of intracellular electric fields in pollen tubes - José Fiejó, CBMG

Matthew Fischer - Quantifying the relative contribution and furthering qualitative understanding of ftz cis-regulatory elements in Drosophila melanogaster - Leslie Pick, ENTM

Amy Hsu - Identification and analysis of genetic variants permitting disseminated coccidioidomycosis - David Mosser, CBMG

Dirk Joldersma - Genome-wide identification and analysis of imprinted genes strawberry seed development - Zhongchi Liu, CBMG

Summer 2022 Graduates

Domenick Braccia - A multi-omics approach to characterizing health-relevant functions of the gut microbiome - Brantley Hall, CBMG

Seth Commichaux - Method validation and development for the metagenomic exploration of microbial communities - Mihai Pop, CS

Shelby Foor - Structure-function analyses of an essential virulence determinant of the Lyme disease pathogens - Utpal Pal, VetMed

Junghyun Rachel Kim - Development and characterization of Epstein-Barr birus (EBV) antibodies and testing their efficacy in a humanized mouse model - Xiaoping Zhu, VetMed

Muzi Li - Investigating molecular mechanisms specifying diverse Rosaceae fruit types through comparative transcriptomic analysis - Zhongchi Liu, CBMG

Ji Liu - Auditory cortical responses to spectromtemporally dynamic stimuli during passive listening and behavior - Daniel Butts, Biology

Lauren Skelly - Mechanisms of sexual mode evolution in caenorhabditis elegans - Eric Haag, Biology

Randi Turner - A synthetic tmRNA platform for elucidation of bacterial proteome remodeling under stress - Jonathan Dinman, CBMG

Jurriaan Van Haaren - Roles of plasma membrane wounding and repair in B cell antigen capture and presentation - Wenxia Song, CBMG

Fuxi Wang - Mechanisms of DREAM component TSO-1 in plant stem cell regulation - Zhongchi Liu, CBMG

David Weber - Divergent mating strategies across the Peromyscus genus drive reproductive trait evolution and diversity - Heidi Fisher, Biology

Spring 2022 Graduates

Johnathan Guest - Strategies and resources for rational vaccine design and antibody-antigen docking and affinity prediction - Brian Pierce, CBMG

Ethan Iverson - Mucin-mediated and Interferon-driven Defense Mechanisms against Influenza Virus Infection in Human Airway Epithelium - Margaret Scull, CBMG

Jamie Kelly - Keeping it in frame: Monitoring ribosomal frameshifting during translation - Jonathan Dinman, CBMG

Xiaojing Mao - Investigation of accelerated skin aging and peroxisomal abnormalities in Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome - Kan Cao, CBMG

Corey Rennolds - Physiological dynamics of injury and regeneration in clonal freshwater annelid Pristina leidyi - Alexandra Bely, BIOL

Jonathan Schenk - Physiological characterization of specific local interneuron subpopulations in the Drosophila antennal lobe - Quentin Gaudry, BIOL

Bo Shi - Regulation of endocytosis at mammalian central synapses - Leslie Pick, ENTM; Ling-Gang Wu, NIH-NINDS

Anshuman Swain - How do resource availability, infomration flow, and targeted interactions shape eco-evolutionary processes in microbial organisms across scale? - Bill Fagan, BIOL

Pablo Villar del Rio - Modulation of early olfactory circuits by long-range GABAergic inhibition - Ricardo Araneda, BIOL

Fall 2021 Graduates

Nathan Shugarts - Intercellular transport of RNA can limit heritable epigenetic changes - Antony Jose, CBMG

Yantenew Gete - Investigation of the molecular mechanisms of vascular endothelial dysfunction in Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome through in vitro 2D and 3D models - Kan Cao, CBMG

Jingyuan Liu - Translation and movement of an infectious umbravirus-like RNA citrus yellow vein associated virus - Anne Simon, CBMG

Craig Taswell - The role of the ventral striatum and amygdala in reinforcement learning - Dan Butts, BIOL; Bruno Averbeck, NIH-NIMH

Summer 2021 Graduates

Madhvi Venkantraman - What makes a successful invader? Population genomics and adaptation to novel environments in the invasive Japanese white-eye (Zosterops japonicus) - Dan Gruner, ENTM; Robert Fleischer, SI-NZ

Sanju Sinha - Three Variations of Precision Medicine: Gene-Aware Genome Editing, Ancestry-Aware Molecular Diagnosis, and Clone-Aware Treatment Planning - Eytan Ruppin, CMSC/NIH-NCI

Rezia Era Braza - The importance of nutrient adaptation and uptake by Group A Streptococcus for its growth and infection - Kevin McIver, CBMG

Spring 2021 Graduates

Kuoyuan Cheng - Metabolic Modeling of Anti-Cancer CD8 T Cells and SARS-CoV-2 Infection - Philip Johnson, BIOL; Eytan Ruppin, CMSC / NIH-NCI

Jordan Aoyama - Investigating the competition between components of dual-function RNA - Leslie Pick, ENTM; Gisela Storz, NIH-NICHD

Markus Brown - Divergent Roles of the TCF4 and LEF1 WNT Signaling Transcription Factors in Colon Cancer - Kan Cao, CBMG; Thomas Reid, NIH-NCI

Samantha Worthy - Impact of phenotypic variation and its interaction with abiotic and biotic factors, within and among tree species, on differential demography and community structure - Nate Swenson, BIOL

Fall 2020 Graduates

Miranda Yourick - Internal and External Environmental Regulation of Opsin Expression in African Cichlids - Karen Carleton, BIOL

Julie Mallon - Time is energy - Drivers of migratory and non-migratory movements by soaring birds - Bill Fagan, BIOL

Krittika Petprakob - Drought resistance in tropical trees: Traits, trade-offs, and inter- and intraspecific interactions - Nate Swenson, BIOL

Grace Capshaw - Extratympanic hearing in salamanders: A comparative assessment of structural variation and terrestrial function of an atympanic ear - Catherine Carr, BIOL; Daphne Soares, NJIT

Kunal Kundu - Interpreting genetic variants for discovering disease etiology and mechanisms - John Moult, CBMG

Alexander Simon - Molecular evolution and biophysical characterization of plant glutamate receptor-like ion channels - José Fiejó, CBMG

Summer 2020 Graduates

Rongkang Deng - Development of the translaminar circuits in the mouse cortex - Patrick Kanold, BIOL

Kajal Hamidzadeh - The Endogenous Regulation of the Human Macrophage Activation Response - David Mosser, CBMG

Samuel Porter - Chromatin control of Papollomavirus infection - Jeffrey DeStefano, CBMG; Alison McBride, NIH-NIAID

Spring 2020 Graduates

Edward Hurme - Movement ecology of the Mexican fish-eating bat, Myotis Vivesi - Gerald Wilkinson, BIOL

Lei Lin - High-resolution analysis of HIV envelope-specific antibody responses to accelerate rational immunogen design - Wenxia Song, CBMG; Yuxing Li, UMB-SOM/IBBR

Fall 2019 Graduates

Laramie Pence - Novel Models for Studying Trophoblast Development and Placental Pathologies - Bhanu Telegu, ANSC

John Sittmann - Investigating the Regulation of Growth Mechanisms in Two Distinct Branches of Photosynthetic Life - Zhongchi Liu, CBMG

Cordelia Weiss - Investigation of the dynamics and homeostasis of signaling nucleotides in bacteria - Wade Winkler, CBMG

Alexander Sohr - The Mechanisms and Roles of Post-transitional Processing of the Drosophila Fibroblast Grownth Factor Brancless During Development - Sougata Roy, CBMG

Jake Weissman - Investigating the Distribution of CRISPR Adaptive Immune Systems Among Prokaryotes - Philip Johnson, BIOL; Bill Fagan, BIOL

Summer 2019 Graduates

Elske Tielens - Diversity and Structure of Metrosidesos polymorpha canopy arthropod communities across space and time - Daniel Gruner, ENTM

Pravrutha Raman - Unknown - Antony Jose, CBMG

Spring 2019 Graduates

Danielle Adams - Consequences of Sexual Selection Within and Between Species of Phyllostomid Bats - Gerald Wilkinson, BIOL

Senthilkumar Muthiah - Some statistical and dynamical models for the analysis of microbial ecosystems and their genomic data - Hector Corrada Bravo, CMSC

Frances Betsy Clark - Genetic Conflict in Lake Malawi Cichlids: B Chromosomes and Sex Determination - Thomas Kocher, BIOL

Da Yin - Genomic and Reproductive Consequences of the Evolution of Self-Fertility in Caenorhabditis Nematodes - Eric Haag, BIOL

Qian Yu - Neisseria gonorrhoeae modulates infectivity based on properties of human cervical epithelia and phase variable bacterial surface structures - Wenxia Song, CBMG

Xioran Shang - Structure-Guided Engineering of a Multimeric Bacteriophage- Encoded Endolysin PlyC - Daniel Nelson, VetMed

Rini Pek - Investigating the Role(s) of Mammalian Heme Transport by HRG1 - Iqbal Hamza, ANSC

Daniel Escobar Camacho - Proximate and Ultimate Insights in the Evolution of Color Vision in Tropical Freshwater Fish - Karen Carleton, BIOL

Fall 2018 Graduates

Carey Stuart - Orthologous Gene Swapping and Experimental Evolution Provide Novel Way to Study Essential Poxvirus Genes - Jeffrey DeStefano, CBMG & Bernard Moss, NIH-NIAD

Joseph Kendra - Programmed Translational Recoding Signals as a Therapeutic Target Against Alphaviruses - Jon Dinman, CBMG

Ji Young (Julie) Choi - Investigation of Defective Cell Signaling Cascade Involved in the Osteogenesis in Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome - Kan Cao, CBMG

Jonathan Goodson - Description:Discovery and Characterization of Antiterminator Proteins in Bacteria - Wade Winkler, CBMG

Summer 2018 Graduates

Jason Berg - Factors that Influence the Mating System in Native and Non-Native Populations of the Potentially Invasive Plant, Mimulus guttatus - Nate Swenson, BIOL

Snusha Ravikumar - Mobile RNAs Reveal Differential Requirements for Gene Silencing in the C. elegans Soma at Single-Cell Resolution - Antony Jose, CBMG

Qiong Zhang - Identification and Characterization of Novel Plant Immune Components Using the Arabidopsis powdery Mildew Pathosystem - Shunyuan Xiao, PLSA

Kun Wang - Computational Investigation of Transcriptomic and Genetic Underpinnings of Aging and HGPS - Sridhar Hannenhalli, CBMG

Carolina Marques dos Santos Vieira - The Impact of Translational Fidelity on Human Health - Jon Dinman, CBMG

Nathanael Olson - Assessing the 16S rRNA Marker-Gene Survey Measurement Process Using Mixtures of Environmental Samples - Hector Corrada Bravo, CMSC

Spring 2018 Graduates

Alisha Barnes - The Role in Aurora Kinase in the Developing Male gametophyte of Marsilea Vestita - Stephen Wolniak, CBMG

Sindhuja Devanapally - Transgenerational Silencing at a Susceptible Locus in Caenorhabditis Elegans - Antony Jose, CBMG

Will Gammerdinger - The Diversity of Sex Chromosomes Within African Cichlids - Thomas Kocher, BIOL

Pratima Nandamuri - Mechanisms Contributing to Opsin Expression Divergence in the Visual System of African Cichlids - Karen Carleton, BIOL

Mengfei Peng - Stimulation Growth And Metabolites Production of Lactobacillus Control Enteric Bacterial Pathogen Infection Improving Gut Health

Matthew Conte - Structure and Evolution of African Cichlid Genomes - Thomas Kocher, BIOL

Alexander Novarro - Thermal Physiology in a Widespread Lungless Salamander - Alexa Bely, BIOL

Stephen Christensen - Meta-Transcriptomic Profiling of Human Cutaneous Leishmaniasis - David Mosser, CBMG

Rachel Maczis Shahan - A Network Approach to Identify Key Regulators of Fruit Development in Fragaria vesca, a Diploid Strawberry - Zhongchi Liu, CBMG

Winter 2018 Graduates

John Clay
MOCB | Dr. Caren Chang

Dissertation: The Phytohormone Ethylene: (I) Investigating
the Molecular Function of RTE1 and (II) Insights on the Evolution of the Ethylene Biosynthesis and Signaling Pathways

Vincent Keith Hughitt
CBBG | Dr. Najib El-Sayed

Dissertation: Development and Optimization of Tools For Co-expression Network Analyses of Host-Pathogen Systems

Susan Park Ochsner
MOCB | Dr. Xiaoping Zhu

Dissertation: Mucosal Delivery of Influenza Vaccine Antigens

Fall 2017 Graduates

Sarah Ahlbrand
MOCB | Dr. Volker Briken

Dissertation: Characterizing the Inhibition of Innate Immune Signaling by Mycobacterium Tuberculosis

Narendranath Bhokisham
MOCB | Dr. Volker Briken

Dissertation: Design of Enzyme Cascade and CRISPR-Cas9 Networks for Enabling Bioelectronic Communication

Andrew Foss-Grant
BEES | Dr. William Fagan

Dissertation: Quantitative Challenges in Ecology: Competition, Migration, and Social Learning

Jessica Goodheart
BEES | Dr. Michael Cummings

Dissertation: Phylogenomics, Systematics, And Evolution Within The Nudibranch Group Cladobranchia (Mollusca: Gastropoda)

Noor White
BEES | Dr. Karen Carleton

Dissertation: Unraveling the Evolutionary History of Nocturnality in the Strisores

Yizhou Yin
CBBG | Dr. John Moult

Dissertation: Computational Methods in Missense Mutation Analysis: Phenotypes, Pathogenicity, and Protein Engineering

Summer 2017 Graduates

Daniel Ayres
BEES | Dr. Michael Cummings

Dissertation: Research And Application Of Parallel Computing Algorithms For Statistical Phylogenetic Inference

Bess Dalby
MOCB | Dr. David Moser

Dissertation: Regulation of Gene Expressions by Fc Receptor Cross-Linking in Primary Human Macrohages

Harley King
MOCB | Dr. Shunyuan Xiao

Dissertation: Regulation of the broad-spectrum disease resistance protein RPW8.2 by phosphorylation and 14-3-3 in Arabidopsis

Julia Marré
MOCB | Dr. Antony Jose

Dissertation: Extracellular RNA Is Transported From One Generation To The Next In C. Elegans

Shrutii Sarda
CBBG | Dr. Sridhar Hannenhalli

Dissertation: Mapping and Characterization of Functional Innovations in CIS-Acting Elements and Trans-Acting Factors

Yizhou Yin
CBBG | Dr. John Moult

Dissertation: Computational Methods in Missense Mutation Analysis: Phenotypes, Pathogenicity, and Protein Engineering

Steven Smith
CBBG | Dr. Najib El-Sayed & Dr. Jaques Ravel

Dissertation: Identification and Characterization of Regulatory miRNAs
and mRNAs in the Longitudinal Human Host Response to Vaginal Microbiota

Ganesh (Surya) Sundar
MOCB | Dr. Kevin McIver

Dissertation: Characterizing the Role of the Phosphoenolpyruvate
Phosphotransferase System Enzyme IIs In the Pathogenesis of the Group A Streptococcus

Di Wu
MOCB | Dr. Kan Cao

Dissertation: Investigation of Lamin A Processing and Regulation

Jie Xiang
MOCB | Dr. Leslie Pick

Dissertation: Investigating pair-rule gene orthologs in an intermediate germ beetle, Dermestes maculatus

Juannan Zhou
BEES | Dr. Michelle Dudash & Dr. Elizabeth Zimmer

Dissertation: Natural Selection, Population Genetics, And Trait
Diversification of Silene Stellata and its Pollinating Seed Predator Hadena
Ectypa

Spring 2017 Graduates

Roxane Boutan
MOCB | Dr. Caren Chang

Dissertation: Bolt, an AP2/ERF Transcription Factor Regulates Abiotic Stress and Defense Responses in Arabiodpsis Thaliana
Post-Grad: Postdoctoral Fellow at Lab of Antimicrobial Discovery

David Brown
MOCB | Dr. Jon Dinman & Dr. John Glass

Dissertation: Enhancing Gene Delivery to the Mammalian Nucleus
for Applications in Viral Reverse Genetics and Human Artificial Chromosome Development
Post-Grad: Postdoctoral fellow at J. Craig Venter Institute

Carolina Diller
BIOL | Dr. Charles Fenster

Dissertation: Evaluating the Effects of Pollinator Mediated Selection on Patterns of Floral Variationg
Post-Grad: Postdoctoral fellow at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Beatrice Mao
BEES | Dr. Jerry Wilkinson & Dr. Cynthia Moss

Dissertation: Echolocation, High Frequency Hearing, And Gene Expression In The Inner Ear Of Bats
Post-Grad: Postdoctoral research fellow at the National Institute of Deafness & Other Communication Disorders, NIH

Sarah Tweedt
BEES | Dr. Charles Delwiche & Dr. Doug Erwin

Dissertation: Development and the Early Animal Fossil record: Evolution and Phylogenetic Applications
Post-Grad: Postdoctoral fellow at Yale University

Natalia Umana
BEES | Dr. Nathan Swenson

Dissertation: The Role of Functional Traits in Driving Species-Relative
Abundance Distribution in Plant Communities
Post-Grad: Postdoctoral associate at Yale University; Assistant
Professor in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at the University of Michigan

Fall 2016 Graduates

Silvia Alvarez
BEES | Dr. Bill Fagan

Dissertation: Fission-Fusion Dynamics In Mammals: Linking Animal Movement To Group Behavior
Post-Grad: Searching for employment in Columbia and Latin America

Cora Johnston
BEES | Dr. Dan Gruner

Dissertation: Marine Community Assembly in a Dynamic Ecotone
Post-Grad: Post doc at UC-Santa Barbara in a parasite ecology lab

Sara Linden
MOCB | Dr. Daniel Nelson

Dissertation: An Investigation on a Bacteriophage Endolysin Possessing
Antimicrobial Activity Against Antibiotic Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus
Post-Grad: Post doc at UMD in Nelson lab

Carly Muletz Wolz
BEES | Dr. Karen Lips

Dissertation: The Skin Microbiome of Plethodon Salamanders and
its Association with Hosts’ Taxonomy, Environment, and Health Status
Post-Grad: Researcher at Center for Conservation Genomics at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute

Jeff Quigley
MOCB | Dr. Volker Briken

Dissertation: The Cell Wall Lipid PDIM Mediates Phagosomal Escape and Host Cell Exit of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis
Post-Grad: Post doc at Northeaster in Dr. Kim Lewis's Lab

Sara Reynolds
MOCB | Dr. Bernard Moss & Dr. Jim Culver

Dissertation: Characterization of the Cowpox and Mousepox Homologs
of the Smallpox Virus B22 Protein and Their Roles in Mouse Disease Models
Post-Grad: Assistant Professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University

Haoyue Zhang
MOCB | Dr. Kan Cao

Dissertation: Investigation of Smooth Muscle Cell Death and Genome Instability in Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome
Post-Grad: Post doc at Children's Hospital of Philidelphia in Dr. Gerd Biobel's lab

Summer 2016 Graduates

Vasudevan Achuthan
MOCB | Dr. Jeff DeStefano

Dissertation: HIV Reverse Transcriptase Fidelity & Inhibition are Modulated
by Divalent Cations in a Concentration-Dependent Manner In Vivo
Post-Grad: Post doc research fellow at Harvard Medical School

Cheryl Lewis Ames
BEES | Dr. Allen Collins & Dr. Alexa Bely

Dissertation: Taxonomy, Morphology, and RNA-Seq Transcriptomics
of the Cubozoan Alatina Alata, an Emerging Model Cnidarian
Post-Grad: Peter Buck Post Doctoral Fellow in Invertebrate Zoology at
the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History

Grace DiRenzo
BEES | Dr. Karen Lips

Dissertation: Community- and Population- Level Effects of Chytridiomycosis in a Neotropical Amphibian Community
Post-Grad: NSF Post Doctoral Fellow at UC-Santa Barbara

Charles Hawkins
CBMG | Dr. Zhongchi Liu

Dissertation: Shaping the Dicot Fruit: Molecular & Genomic Approaches to Fruit Development
Post-Grad: Post doc at Washington State University & USDA/ARS

Micki Kuhlmann
MOCB | Dr. Anne Simon

Dissertation: Alternate Conformations Regulate Ribosomal Recoding in a Positive-sense RNA Virus
Post-Grad: Post doctoral fellow at the National Institutes of Health - National Cancer Institute

Gregg Mendez
MOCB | Dr. Charles Delwiche

Dissertation: Dinoflagelate Genomic Organization and Phylogenetic Marker Discovery Utilizing Deep Sequencing Data
Post-Grad: Bioinformaticist at the Mayo Clinic

Jules Nchoutmboube
MOCB | Dr. George Belov

Dissertation: Mechanism of Upregulation of Phosphatidylcholine
Synthesis During Picornavirus Infection & its Role in the Development of Viral Replication Organelles
Post-Grad: MRL Post doc research scientist at Merck Research Labs

Jennifer Shemansky
MOCB | Dr. Caren Chang

Dissertation: Exploring the Function and Regulation of Arabidopsis EIN2 in Ethylene Signaling
Post-Grad: Researcher at USDA

Andrew Simpson
BEES | Dr. Scott Wing & Dr. Charles Fenster

Dissertation: Using a Combination of Phylogenetic Comparative and Paleobotanical
Methods to Elucidate Patterns of Lineage Selection in Rosales (Plantae: Anthphyta)

Elanor (Stevens) Spadafora
BEES | Dr. William Lamp

Dissertation: Analysis of Macroinvertebrate Communities in Seasonal Wetlands through Time, Space, and Species Traits

Erika Tomei
MOCB | Dr. Steve Wolniak

Dissertation: Kinesin Motor Proteins are Essential for Male Gametophyte Development in the Water Fern Marsilea vestita
Post-Grad: Microscopy and Technical Sales at Vashaw Scientific Inc.

Spring 2016 Graduates

Tamara (Fischer) Collum
CBMG | Dr. Jim Culver

Dissertation: Characterization of Tobacco Mosaic Virus Directed Reprogramming
of Phloem Gene Expression to Promote Viral Phloem Loading and Systemic Movement
Post-Grad: Post doctoral researcher in the Culver lab at UMD

Kasim George
MOCB | Dr. David O'Brochta

Dissertation: Genetic Manipulation of Anopheles Stephensi Immunity
to Increase Plasmodium Falciparum Salivary Gland Sporozoite Infection Levels
Post-Grad: Post doc in insect genetic technologies RCN in the O'Brochta lab at IBBR

Ginger Houston-Ludlum
MOCB | Dr. Najib El-Sayed

Dissertation: Comparative Transcriptome Profiling of Human Foreskin
Fibroblasts Infected with the Sylvio and Y Strains of Trypanosoma Cruzi

Faith Kung
MOCB | Dr. Utpal Pal

Dissertation: Characterization of Borrelia Burdoferi Gene Product BBD18 for
its Role(s) in Pathogen Biology and Infectivity
Post-Grad: Post doctoral fellow at UMD in Dr. Leslie Pick's lab

My Le
MOCB | Dr. Anne Simon

Dissertation: Structural Analysis of Ribosome Binding Elements of the
3’ UTR in Two Positive-Strand Plant RNA Viruses
Post-Grad: Post doc researcher at Indiana University in the Giedroc Group

Ashley Nazario-Toole
MOCB | Dr. Louisa Wu

Dissertation: Genome Wide Association Studies of Phagocytosis and the Cellular Immune Response in Drosophila Melanogaster
Post-Grad: Research Educator/Research Associate: UMD FIRE Program

Julie Samy
BEES | Dr. Jerry Wilkinson & Dr. Kaci Thompson

Dissertation: Social Structure of Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus) in Sri Lanka

Alyssa Stewart
BEES | Dr. Michele Dudash

Dissertation: Bat-Plant Pollination Interactions in Southern Thailand
Post-Grad: Lecturer, Mahidol University, Thailand

Kayla Valdes
MOCB | Dr. Kevin McIver

Dissertation: Functional Characterization of the Link Between
Carbohydrate Metabolism and Pathogenesis of the Invasive M1T1 Group A Streptococcus
Post-Grad: Biomedical Life Scientist at Leidos

Mona (Wu) Orr
MOCB | Dr. Vincent Lee

Dissertation: NanoRNAses are the Primary Enzymes Responsible for
the Degradation of pGpG in c-di-GMP Signaling
Post-Grad: Post doc at the NIH-NICDH with Dr. Gisela Storz

Fall 2015 Graduates

Gina Tella Togna
MOCB | Dr. Jon Dinman & Dr. Pierre Comizzoli

Dissertation: Structural And Functional Characterization Of The
Panamanian Golden Frog (Atelopus Zeteki) Spermatozoa – Impact Of
Medium Osmolality And Cryopreservation On Motility And Cell Viability
Post-Grad: Post doctoral fellow, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute

Laura Dillon
CBBG | Dr. Najib El-Sayed

Dissertation: Transcriptomic profiling of Leishmania parasites and host macrophages during an infection
Post-Grad: Biologics Project Manager, MedImmune

Ted Gibbons
CBBG | Dr. Charles Delwiche

Dissertation: Inferring Dinoflagellate Genome Structure, Function, and
Evolution from Short-read High-throughput mRNA-seq
Post-Grad: Bioinformatics scientist at Computomics GmbH in Tübingen, Germany

Justin Malin
CBBG | Dr. Sridhar Hannenhalli

Dissertation: Crowdsourcing: A Novel Group-Level Mechanism
Structures Chromatin And Fosters Gene-Complex Activation
Post-Grad: Post doctoral fellow at the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health

Seth Schobel
CBBG | Dr. Michael Cummings & Dr. John Glass

Dissertation: The Viral Genomics Revolution: Big Data Approaches
to Basic Viral Research, Surveillance, and Vaccine Development
Post-Grad: Assistant Professor at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

Summer 2015 Graduates

Katharine Briggs
MOCB | Dr. Zvi Kelman

Dissertation: Exploration of Lithium Ion Binding to Magnesium
Bound Adenosine Triphosphate and Its Implications for Bipolar Disorder
Post-Grad: Post doctoral fellow at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy

Maitreyi Chattopadhyay
CBMG | Dr. Anne Simon

Dissertation: Long and Short Distance RNA:RNA Interactions Modulate Vital Viral Processes in the Carmoviruses
Post-Grad: ORISE Fellow at the FDA

Daniel Czerny
MOCB | Dr. Heven Sze

Dissertation: Probing the 3D structure and function of a cation/H+
exchanger in plant reproduction
Post-Grad: Adjuct Biology Faculty at Reading Area Community College

Amanda Field
MOCB | Dr. Leslie Pick

Dissertation: The Evolution and Function of the Pair-rule Gene Fushi Tarazu
Post-Grad: Mirzayan S & T Policy Fellow at the National Academy of Sciences

Jacob Hosen
BEES | Dr. Margaret Palmer

Dissertation: Alterations to Headwater Stream Microbial Communities
and Carbon Cycling in Response to Environmental Change
Post-Grad: Post doctoral associate Yale University Department of Forestry

Heather Miller
CBMG | Dr. Wenxia Song

Dissertation: The Regulation of B Cell Activation by Antigen Density and Membrane Damage
Post-Grad: Post doctoral fellow at Rocky Mountain Laboratories

Richard Smith
BIOL | Dr. Ricardo Araneda

Dissertation: Neuromodulation in the Olfactory Bulb
Post-Grad: Postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School

Frank Stearns
BEES | Dr. Charles Fenster

Dissertation: Moving Toward an Optimum: Adaptation Genetics of Arabidopsis Thaliana
Post-Grad: Postdoctoral fellow in the Ostermeier Lab at Johns Hopkins University

Rahul Suresh
CBMG | Dr. David Mosser

Dissertation: Activation Of NLRP3 Inflammasomes During Complement-Mediated Phagocytosis By Macrophages
Post-Grad: Postdoctoral fellow at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Laura VanBlargan
MOCB | Dr. Ted Pierson & Dr. Anne Simon

Dissertation: Deconstructing The Polyclonal Antibody Response To Dengue Virus
Post-Grad: Postdoctoral fellow at Washington University School of Medicine

Spring 2015 Graduates

Vivek Advani
CBMG | Dr. Jon Dinman

Dissertation: Establishing Link Between Translational Recoding and Human Disease
Post-Grad: Research Educator/Research Associate UMD-FIRE Program

Senthil Velan Bhoopalan
CBMG | Dr. Dan Stein

Dissertation: Pour Some Sugar On Me: Role Of Gonococcal Surface Glycoconjugates In Bacteria-Bacteria Interaction
Post-Grad: Pediatrics Resident, University of Nevada School of Medicine, Las Vegas, NV (other)

Gerry Carter
BEES | Dr. Jerry Wilkinson

Dissertation: Cooperation and social bonds in common vampire bats (desmodus rotundus)
Post-Grad: Assistant Professor, Ohio State University

Suna Gulay
MOCB | Dr. Jon Dinman

Dissertation: Building A Map of The Dynamic Ribosome
Post-Grad: Postdoctoral fellow at the National Institutes of Health-National Institute of Child Health & Development

Kyle Miller Hesed
BIOL | Dr. Jerry Wilkinson

Dissertation: Dispersal and Population Ecology of the Red-backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus)
Post-Grad: Biology Faculty member, Hesston College

Shang-Hsuan Lin
BIOL | Dr. Marco Colombini

Dissertation: Discovery of an Escherichia Coli Channel with High Voltage Dependence and Cooperativity
Post-Grad: Postdoctoral fellow at the University of Minnesota

Yong Lu
CBMG | Dr. Leslie Pick

Dissertation: Function and Evolution of Pair-rule Genes
Post-Grad: Research Associate at SUNY-Stonybrook

Kevin Nyberg
BIOL | Dr. Carlos Machado

Dissertation: Comparative Transcriptomics of Long Intergenic Noncoding RNAs in Drosophila
Post-Grad: Postdoctoral fellow in the Carthew Lab at Northwestern University

Lalitha Srinivasan
MOCB | Dr. Volker Briken

Dissertation: Role of Rv3167c in Necrosis and Autophagy Induction by and in Virulence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Post-Grad: Scientist I at Meso Scale Diagnostics, LLC

Fall 2014 Graduates

Lijuan Du
MOCB | Dr. Jian Wang

Dissertation: JAK/STAT and Hippo Signaling Pathways Independently Regulate
The Same Target Genes To Control Cell Proliferation
Post-Grad: Postdoctoral fellow in the Roy Lab at UMD

Bryan Fleming
CBMG | Dr. David Mosser

Dissertation: Expanding our understanding of the Regulatory Macrophage
Post-Grad: Postdoctoral fellow at the National Cancer Institute

Rebecca Just
CBBG | Dr. Michael Cummings

Dissertation: The Forensic Mitochondrial DNA Horizon: Laying The
Foundation To Extend Typing Efforts To The Full Mitochondrial Genome
Post-Grad: Supervisory Research Scientist, American Registry of Pathology (ARP)

Sharmishtha Musalgaonkar
CBMG | Dr. Jon Dinman

Dissertation: Ribosome in the Balance: Structural Equilibrium Ensures Translational Fidelity and Proper Gene Expression
Post-Grad: Postdoctoral Fellow in Molecular Biosciences at the University of Texas at Austin

Katie Seeley-Fallen
CBMG | Dr. Wenxia Song

Dissertation: Actin-binding protein 1 links B-cell antigen receptors to negative signaling pathways
Post-Grad: Post doctoral researcher in the Song Lab at UMD

Liang-Chun (Mark) Wang
CBMG | Dr. Wenxia Song

Dissertation: Interactions of Neisseria Gonorrhoeae with Epithelial Cells
Post-Grad: Research Educator UMD FIRE program

Qian Wang
MOCB | Dr. Louisa Wu

Dissertation: The Antiviral Role of Atg1 Against Drosophila X Virus in Drosophila Melanogaster

Chen-Hsin Yu
MOCB | Dr. John Moult

Dissertation: Analysis Of Consensus Genome-Wide Expression-QTLs
And Their Relationships To Human Complex Trait Diseases
Post-Grad: Postdoctoral Research Associate at Duke University of Medicine

Summer 2014 Graduates

Christian Che-Castaldo
BEES | Dr. Bill Fagan

Dissertation: The Role of Wood-Boring Insect Herbivory in Mediating Primary Succession

Katherine Fenstermacher
CBMG | Dr. Jeff DeStefano

Dissertation: Modulation of Nucleic Acid Binding by HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase and Family A DNA Polymerases
Post-Grad: Postdoctoral Fellow at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg
School of Public Health in the laboratory of Dr. Andrew Pekosz

Ryan Heselpoth
MOCB | Dr. Daniel Nelson

Dissertation: Engineering- Enhanced Structural Stability To The Streptococcal Bacteriophage Endolysin PlyC
Post-Grad: Post doc in Dr. Vincent Fischetti's Laboratory at Rockefeller University.

Nathan Jud
BEES | Dr. Charles Mitter & Dr. Scott Wing

Dissertation: The Ecology Of Early Cretaceous Angiosperms: Insights From The Fossil Record
Post-Grad: Post doc at the Florida Museum of Natural History

Tammy Korolnek
MOCB | Dr. Iqbal Hamza

Dissertation: MRP5/ABCC5, A Conserved ABC Transporter, Regulates Metazoan Heme Homeostasis
Post-Grad: Postdoctoral fellow at the University of British Columbia

Courtney LaPaglia Finch
MOCB | Dr. Daniel Perez

Dissertation: Reverse Genetics of Influenza B and the Development of a Novel LAIV Vaccine
Post-Grad: ORISE post doctoral fellow at the Food & Drug Administration

Yuan Li
CBBG | Dr. Najib El-Sayed

Dissertation: Simultaneous transcriptome profiling of Trypanosoma cruzi parasites and their human host cells
Post-Grad: Senior Quantitative Analyst with Capital One

Rebecca Renberg
MOCB | Dr. Norma Andrews

Dissertation: Residues Critical for Heme Transport in Leishmania Heme
Response 1 (LHR1) from Leishmania amazonensis
Post-Grad: Government contractor at The US Army Research Laboratory,
to work on a biofuel project

Kevin Roelofs
CBMG | Dr. Vincent Lee

Dissertation: The Differential Radial Capillary Action of Ligand Assay
Enables Systematic Identification and Characterization of Protein-Ligand Interactions
Post-Grad: Research Scientist - Molecular Analysis - Finch Therapeutics

Daniel Serrano
CBBG | Dr. Silvia Muro

Dissertation: Role of ICAM-1-Mediated Endocytosis on Endothelial
Function and Implications for Carrier- Assisted Drug Delivery
Post-Grad: Research Associate, University of Maryland Institute for Research in Electronics and Applied Physics

Sarada Viswanathan
PSYS | Dr. Patrick Kanold & Dr. Loren Looger

Dissertation: Distinct laminar and molecular subcircuits of the Subplate Neurons
Post-Grad: Research specialist, HHMI Janelia Farms

Spring 2014 Graduates

Clark Rushing
BEES | Dr. Michele Dudash & Dr. Peter Marra

Dissertation: Causes and Consequences of Long-Distance
Dispersal in a Migratory Bird, the American Restart (Setophaga Ruticilla)
Post-Grad: Post doctoral Fellow, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute

Mercedes Burns
BEES | Dr. Jeff Shultz

Dissertation: Phylogenetic Exploration of Mating System Evolution
in the Easter North American Leiobunine Harvestment (Opiliones: Sclerosomatidae
Post-Grad: NSF Postdoctoral Fellow at San Diego State University

Vanya Paralanov
MOCB | Dr. Jon Dinman and Dr. John Glass

Dissertation: Moving Beyond Serovars: Using Cutting Edge
Molecular Approaches to Redefine Our Understanding of Ureaplasmas
Post-Grad: NRC Postdoc at National Institute of Standards and Technology

Kenneth Jensen
CBMG | Dr. Don Nuss

Dissertation: Functional characterization of papain-like protease
p48 required for replication of hypovirus CHV-1 responsible for virulence-attenuation of the chestnut blight fungus
Post-Grad: Research Scientist

Matthew Angel
CBMG | Dr. Daniel Perez

Dissertation: Reassortment and gene selection of influenza viruses
in the ferret model and potential platforms for in vivo reverse genetics
Post-Grad: Post doc, NIH

Kawther Abdilleh
MOCB | Dr. Carlos Machado

Dissertation: Patterns of gene expression and gene network evolution in Drosophila
Post-Grad: Postdoctoral Fellow in Todd Streelman's lab, Georgia Institute of Technology

Wayne Cabral
MOCB | Dr. Steve Mount & Dr. Joan Marini

Dissertation: Recessive Osteogenesis Imperfecta:
Prevalence and Pathophysiology of Collagen Prolyl-3-Hydroxylation Complex Defects
Post-Grad: Biologist at National Institutes of Health

Jorge Mendez Rios
CBMG | Dr. Jeff DeStefano & Dr. Bernard Moss

Dissertation: Investigation on Poxvirus host-range genes in mammalian cells
Post-Grad: Post doctoral fellow at the NIH, Laboratory of Viral Diseases

Swati Shah
CBMG | Dr. Volker Briken

Dissertation: Mechanisms of Innate Immune Evasion by Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Post-Grad: Postdoctoral Researcher at University of Maryland

Kanika Gera
CBMG | Dr. Kevin McIver

Dissertation: The Phosphoenol Pyruvate Phosphotransferase (PTS) of Streptococcus Pyogenes are its Role in Virulence
Post-Grad: Research Scientist at Open Medicine Institute

Lisa Injaian Hoover
MOCB | Dr. Brenda Fredericksen

Dissertation: Interferon- dependent and independent modulation
of West Nile virus infections of human dermal fibroblasts
Post-Grad: Senior Scientist at Precision for Medicine

Claire O'Quin
BIOL | Dr. Thomas Kocher

Dissertation: The Genetic Basis Of Pigment Pattern Differentiation In Lake Malawi African Cichlids
Post-Grad: Lecturer at University of Kentucky

Heather Cohen
CBMG | Dr. David Mosser

Dissertation: The Identification and Characterization of an Intrinsic
CD39/A2R-based Regulatory Mechanism that Governs Macrophage Activation Responses
Post-Grad: Immuno-Oncology Postdoctoral Fellow at EMD Serono, Boston, MA

Juanji (Jessica) Tang
MOCB | Dr. Louisa Wu

Dissertation: PABP interacting protein, rogue, restrict viral accumulation in Drosophila. (tentative)
Post-Grad: NHLBI Fellow

Dandan Li
MOCB | Dr. Zhongchi Liu

Dissertation: An investigation of mechanisms of an intron-mediated gene silencing
Post-Grad: Postdoc at NCI (National Cancer Institute)

Zhuo Li
Dr. Zvi Keliman

Post-Grad: Research Associate Professor at Third Institute of Oceanography of State Oceanic Administration

Chen-Hsin Yu
MOCB | Dr. John Moult