Alumni – MGM Graduate Program
(* Indicates faculty member with secondary appointment to MGM)
| Jason A. Stajich: The GSA Reporter Young Researcher Profile This article presents an inside look at how Jason Stajich, alumnus of the Dietrich lab and UPGG program and currently an assistant professor at the University of California, Riverside, uses bioinformatics to bridge the divide between bench science and data analysis. Read More > |
| NAME | DISSERTATION | MENTOR | DEGREE YEAR | POST-GRADUATE POSITION |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | ||||
| Nelson, Cody | Defining the role of antibodies in protection against cytomegalovirus acquisition and congenital disease for rational vaccine design | Permar* | PhD 2018 | |
| Mefferd, Adam | HIV-1 as a Target for the Cas9 DNA Editing Enzyme and the Development of Novel sgRNA Expression Technology | Cullen | PhD 2018 | |
| Bryant, Jeffrey | Regulation of HIF-1α during Hypoxia by DAP5-Induced Translation of PHD2 | Gromeier* | PhD 2018 | |
| Tay, Matthew | Fc-Dependent Antibody Functions against HIV-1 | Tomaras* | PhD 2018 | |
| Piro, Anthony | The Role of Human Guanylate Binding Proteins in Host Defense and Inflammation | Coers | PhD 2018 | |
| Hafez, Amy | Establishment of oncogene-induced senescence by the host DNA damage response after EBV infection | Luftig | PhD 2018 | |
| Esher, Shannon | Fungal Cell Wall Remodeling Directos Host Immune Recognition | Alspaugh* | PhD 2018 | |
| Walton, Eric | Cell Wall Lipids Promoting Host Angiogenesis During Mycobacterial Infection | Tobin | PhD 2018 | |
2017 | ||||
| Shumansky, Kara | Sullenger* | MS 2017 | Pfizer | |
| Alvarez, Monica | Human Genetic Variation in VAC14 Alters Susceptibility to Pathogenic Infections | Ko | PhD 2017 | Duke |
| Kleinstein, Sarah | Human Genomics of Complex Trait Severity | Goldstein* | PhD 2017 | Columbia |
| Saelens, Joseph | Genomic, genetic, and functional interrogation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis outbreak strains | Tobin | PhD 2017 | Postdoc, at Duke, Medicine - ID |
| Poling, Brigid | The Epstein-Barr Virus-encoded BHRF1 miRNAs Regulate Viral Gene Expression in Cis | Cullen | PhD 2017 | Artech Information Systems |
| Snavely, Emily | Functional Characterization of Type II Secretion in Chlamydia | Valdivia | PhD 2017 | Postdoc at Wadsworth Center, Albany, NY |
| Carpenter, Victoria | The C. trachomatis effector protein TepP hijacks host cell signaling pathways to promote bacterial survival during infection | Valdivia | PhD 2017 | Medical School |
| Mitchell, Caitlyn | Silver | MS 2017 | Genetic Counseling Graduate Student at University of South Carolina | |
| Schmidt, Elyse | The Role of Irgm1 In Mitochondrial Dynamics and Metabolism | Taylor* | PhD 2017 | PreScouter Global Scholar |
| Feeley, Eric | The role of Galectic 3 in pathogen sensing and cell autonomous defense | Coers | PhD 2017 | Field Application Scientist, Gyros Protein Technologies |
| Cao, Xiou | Neuronal Regulation of the Innate Immune Response in Caenorhabditis elegans | Aballay | PhD 2017 | Postdoc at Stanford |
| Homa, Nicholas | Virus-Host Interactions during Epstein-Barr Virus Latent Infection of B cells | Luftig | PhD 2017 | Nuventra Pharma Sciences |
| Sharma, Ruchira | Olfactory receptor accessory proteins play crucial roles in receptor function and gene choice | Matsunami | PhD 2017 | Postdoctoral Scholar at UCSF |
| Levitt, Brandt | Drug Development in Dengue Virus and Molecular Epidemiology of Malaria in Western Kenya | Jen-Tsan Ashley Chi and Steve Taylor* | PhD 2017 | Duke |
| Vargas-Muñiz, José | Septins' Role in Morphogenesis, Development, and Pathogenesis of the Human Fungal Pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus | Steinbach* | PhD 2017 | Postdoc, at UNC-Chapel Hill |
2016 | ||||
| Nicholson, Cindo | The development and application of a method to quantitatively identify RNA binding sites, and whole transcript targets of RNA binding proteins | Keene | PhD 2016 | Postdoc, IRTA Fellow at NIEHS |
| Barrows, Nicholas | Characterization of host factors and anti-viral compounds for diverse mosquito-borne flavivurses | Garcia-Blanco* | PhD 2016 | Postdoc, Univ of Texas |
| Ang, Weixingladys | Mechanisms of rush desensitization in mast cells | Abraham* | PhD 2016 | Postdoc Research Fellow, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center |
| Landau, Dustin | Multiple Approaches to Novel GSD Ia Therapies | Koeberl* | PhD 2016 | Research Associate, Quintiles |
| Price, Alexander | Temporal Regulation of LMP1 and Apoptosis Resistance After Primary EBV | Luftig | PhD 2016 | Postdoc, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia |
| Zhao, Ying | Physical and genetic analysis of the CUP1 tandem array in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae | Petes | PhD 2016 | JD Candidate, Northwestern Law School |
| Baxter, Ryan | Valdivia | MS 2016 | Research Assistant, Univ of CO | |
| Woods, Benjamin | Mechanisms of Cdc42 polarization in yeast | Lew* | PhD 2016 | Postdoc, UNC-CH |
| Zhou, Ting | Transcriptome and Functional Analysis of Carotid Body Glomus Cells | Matsunami | PhD 2016 | Postdoc, Duke |
| Rempe, Katherine | Insights into nonpilus adhesin functionality and the molecular determinants of nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae colonization | St. Geme* | PhD 2016 | Clinical Research, Actelion Pharmaceuticals |
| Starr, Kimberly | The genetic and molecular basis for Kingella kingae encapsulation and capsule diversity | St. Geme* | PhD 2016 | Clinical Microbiology and Public Health Fellow at University of Washington |
| Brown, Mike | Antineoplastic Cytotoxicity and Immune Adjuvancy of Recominant Oncolytic Poliovirus | Gromeier* | PhD 2016 | Postdoc Associate, Duke |
| Lu, Yi-Fan | Functional Evaluation of Causal Mutations Identified in Human Genetic Studies | Goldstein | PhD 2016 | Postdoc Research Scientist at Columbia University |
2015 | ||||
| Pilla-Moffett, Danielle | Mechanisms by Which Guanylate Binding Proteins Target Pathogen Vacuoles and Promote Caspase-11 Dependent Pyroptosis | Coers | PhD 2015 | Project Management, Regulatory Affairs at Nuventra Pharma Sciences |
| Frank, Christopher | Chromatin Accessibility Dynamics Underlying Development and Disease | Crawford* | PhD 2015 | Scientist, Element Genomics in Durham, NC |
| Cho, Jang Eun (Lisa) | Topoisomerase 1-dependent Mutagenesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae | Jinks-Robertson | PhD 2015 | Postdoc, Duke |
| Kokes, Marcela | Mechanisms of Chlamydia Manipulation of Host Cell Biology Revealed Through Genetic Approaches | Valdivia | PhD 2015 | HHMI Postdoc, at Stanford |
| Kang, Dong | EBV BART microRNAs target pro-apoptotic and anti-Wnt signaling genes to promote cell survival and proliferation | Cullen | PhD 2015 | Business consultant, Deloitte Tohmatsu Consulting Group, Japan |
| Smith, Kristen Jurcic | Examining Mycobacterial Interactions with Host Cellular Pathways | Lee* | PhD 2015 | Technical Director at LabCorp |
| Perley, Casey | Mycobacterium tubercolosis surface-binding antibodies alter early infection events | Frothingham* | PhD 2015 | Postdoc, US Army Medical Research, Infectious Diseases |
| Miao, Yuxuan | Mechanisms of Bacterial Expulsion as a Cell Autonomous Defense Strategy In the Bladder Epithelium | Abraham* | PhD 2015 | Jane Coffin Childs Postdoctoral Fellow at Rockefeller University |
| Whisnant, Adam | Interactions of Mammalian Retroviruses with Cellular MicroRNA Biogenesis and Effector Pathways | Cullen | PhD 2014 | Alexander von Humboldt postdoctoral fellow at Universität Würzburg |
2014 | ||||
| Tamika Payne | Dissertation Seminar | Tomaras* | PhD 2014 | Microbiologist/ Interdisciplinary Risk Assessor, USDA |
| Krupp, Deidre | Dissertation Seminar | Gregory* | PhD 2014 | Postdoc, Oregon Health & Science University |
2013 | ||||
| Bowen, Samantha | Dissertation Seminar | Abraham* | PhD 2013 | Director of Operations at Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development |
| MacDonald, Ian | Dissertation Seminar | Kuehn* | PhD 2013 | Postdoc Research Associate, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy |
| Mobley, Yuvon | Dissertation Seminar | Abraham* | PhD 2013 | Medical Affairs Manager at Assurex Health |
| Prest (Hoefs), Tiffany | Dissertation Seminar | Seed* | PhD 2013 | Postdoctoral Research Associate at University of Colorado Boulder |
| Traver, Maria | Dissertation Seminar | Taylor* | PhD 2013 | Irvington Postdoctoral Fellow at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences |
2012 | ||||
| Frahm, Marc | Dissertation Seminar | Ferrari/Tomaras* | PhD 2012 | Equity Research Associate at Cowen and Company |
| Kulp, Adam | Dissertation Seminar | Kuehn* | PhD 2012 | Scientist, Micronature in Morgantown, WV |
| Mitchel, Kat | Dissertation Seminar | Jinks-Robertson | PhD 2012 | Genetics Development Scientist at Invitae |
| Nikitin, Pavel | Dissertation Seminar | Luftig | PhD 2012 | Senior Scientist at Bioverativ |
| Porsch, Eric A. | Dissertation Seminar | St. Geme* | PhD 2012 | Research Associate II at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia |
| Shveygert, Mayya | Dissertation Seminar | Gromeier* | PhD 2012 | Senior Writing Associate, AMGEN |
| Kotula, Jonathan | Dissertation Seminar | Sullenger* | PhD 2012 | Senior Scientist, Caribou Bisciences, Berkeley, CA |
2011 | ||||
| Bateman, Stacey | Dissertation Seminar | Seed* | PhD 2011 | Research Scholar |
| Chutkan, Halima | Dissertation Seminar | Kuehn* | PhD 2011 | Medical Writer, Whitsell Innovations |
| Jorgensen, Ine | Dissertation Seminar | Valdivia | PhD 2011 | Researcher, Oslo Univ. Hospital in Riskshospitalet Oslo, Norway |
2010 | ||||
| Byrnes, Edmond | Dissertation Seminar | Heitman | PhD 2010 | Chief, Public Liaision Group National Institutes of Health, NINR, Bethesda, MD |
| Chen, Julia (Ling-Yu) | Dissertation Seminar | Chi | PhD 2010 | Scientist, San Francisco Bay Area |
| Findley, Keisha | Dissertation Seminar | Heitman | PhD 2010 | Scientist, FDA |
| Jin, Cong | Abraham* | PhD 2010 | Associate Professor China CDC |
|
| Kim, Jong Wook | Dissertation Seminar | Nevins | PhD 2010 | Post-Doctoral Fellow Hahn Lab Dana Farber Cancer Institute |
| Lee, Phoebe S. | Dissertation Seminar | Petes | PhD 2010 | Trigent Solutions, Chantilly, VA |
| Mudrak, Ben | Secretion and lipopolysaccharide binding of heat-labile enterotoxin | Kuehn* | PhD 2010 | Communication Manager, Research Square |
| Saunders, Kevin | Dissertation Seminar | Tomaras* | PhD 2010 | Assistant Professor of Surgery, Duke |
| Walters, Robert | Dissertation Seminar | Gromier* | PhD 2010 | Research Associate, U of Colorado, Boulder |
2009 | ||||
| Cocchiaro, Jordan | Dissertation Seminar | Valdivia | PhD 2009 | Program Manager, DHVI |
| Miller, Heather B. | Dissertation Seminar | Garcia-Blanco | PhD 2009 | Assistant Professor in Chemistry, High Point, NC |
| Sessions, October | Dissertation Seminar | Garcia-Blanco | PhD 2009 | Assistant Professor at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School |
| Sheets, Amanda | Cha-Cha-Cha: Variable adhesive activity of the Haemophilus cryptic genospecies trimeric autotransporter Cha | St. Geme* | PhD 2009 | Associate Director, Drug Development (Microbiologist) - Cempra Pharmaceuticals |
| Sena (Spesock), April | Dissertation Seminar | Pickup | PhD 2009 | Director of Technical Development at Seqirus, Liverpool UK |
| Tekippe, Mickey | Dissertation Seminar | Aballay | PhD 2009 | Duke University Medical School |
| Vignola, Mark | Dissertation Seminarr 2009 | Valdivia | PhD 2009 | Director, Investor Relations at Intercept Pharmaceuticals |
2008 | ||||
| Chen, Shao-Yin | Identification and functional characterization of erythrocyte microRNAs | Chi | PhD 2008 | Medical Science Liaison at Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. |
| Hsueh, Yen-Ping | Sex in Cryptococcus: Signaling, mating-type locus evolution and gene silencing | Heitman | PhD 2008 | Post-Doctoral Fellow Sternberg Lab California Institute of Technology |
| Natalizio, Barbara | Examination of the role of the carboxyl-terminal domain of RNA polymerase II in coupling transcription to mRNA splicing | Garcia-Blanco | PhD 2008 | AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow at National Science Foundation |
| Reedy, Jennifer | Sexual reproduction and signal transduction in the Candida species complex | Heitman | PhD 2008 | Assistant in Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital; Instructor, Harvard Medical School |
| Song, Jeongmin | Toll like receptor 4-mediated immune responses in the bladder epithelium | Abraham* | PhD 2008 | Assistant Professor at Cornell University |
| Styer (Vignola), Katie Letitia | Using genetic analysis and the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans to identify bacterial virulence factors and innate immune defenses against pathogens | Aballay | PhD 2008 | Associate at McKinsey & Company |
| Umbach, Jennifer Lin | Analysis of the interaction between viruses, miRNAs and RNAi pathway | Cullen | PhD 2008 | Associate Director, Marketing at Orexo AB |
2007 | ||||
| Bishop, Brian Lee | Regulated exocytosis of E. coli from infected bladder epithelial cells | Abraham* | PhD 2007 | Senior Manager, Regulatory Affairs at Emergent BioSolutions |
| Hall, Charles Robert | The contribution of horizontal gene transfer to the evolution fungi | Dietrich | PhD 2007 | Scientist II at Dupont Industrial Biosciences |
| Kadyrova, Lyudmila Yurievna | Using nucleic acids to repair β-globin gene mutations | Wharton | PhD 2007 | Research Associate Southern Illinois University at Carbondale |
| Lynch, Heather Elizabeth | Poxvirus-mediated activation of NF-B | Pickup | PhD 2007 | Shared Resource Laboratory Manager at Duke Human Vaccine Institute |
| Mauger, David Michael | Regulation of the alternative splicing of FGFR2 in epithelial cells | Garcia-Blanco | PhD 2007 | Scientist, Molecular Biology & Informatics at Moderna Therapeutics |
| Valley, Cory M. | Genomic analysis of chromatin organization on mammalian X chromosomes | Willard | PhD 2007 | Law School University of Maryland |
2006 | ||||
| Baraniak, Andrew Paul | Fox proteins mediate epithelial-specific fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 exon choice | Cullen | PhD 2006 | Technology Specialist for Biotechnical and Medical Patients Fish & Richardson |
| Bray, Steven Matthew | Analysis of a putative pheromone receptor sub-family within the Drosophila gustatory receptor gene family | Amrein | PhD 2006 | Scientist, Eli Lilly and Company |
| Campbell, Stephanie Ann | Exploiting cell type-specific translational control for cancer treatment | Gromeier* | PhD 2006 | Medical Science Liaison Novartis Vaccines |
| de Sessions, Paola Florez | CIS and TRANS-acting factors in enteroviral propagation | Gromeier* | PhD 2006 | National University of Singapore |
| Doehle, Brian Paul | APOBEC3-mediated intrinsic immunity to retroviral infection | Cullen | PhD 2006 | Scientist, Gilead Sciences |
| Merrill, Melinda Kay | Attentuation of PV-Ripo neurovirulence at the level of translation initiation | Gromeier* | PhD 2006 | Medical Science Liaison Biogen |
| Song, Yan | Localization and translational regulation of NANOS mRNA in Drosophila embryos | Amrein | PhD 2006 | Principal Investigator, Peking University |
2005 | ||||
| Dufresne, Andrew Thomas | Immunogenicity and neruopathogenesis of human Enterovirus C | Gromeier* | PhD 2005 | Associate at Michael Best & Friedrich LLP |
| Duncan, Matthew Jason | Pathogenesis of UTIs | Abraham* | PhD 2005 | Engineered Products, S2n |
| Hall, Allison Haberstroh | RNA interference as a potential therapy: Examining silencing of HPV oncogenes and the behavior of modified siRNAs | Pickup | PhD 2005 | Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology Duke University |
| Zhang, Zhihong | The experimental and comparative study of functional elements in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome | Dietrich | PhD 2005 | Illumina |
2004 | ||||
| Blankenship, Jill R. | Lessons from a pathogen: Calcineurin in Candida albicans | Heitman | PhD 2004 | Assistant Professor, U of Nebraska, Omaha |
| Lu, Shihua | RNA biogenesis: Lessons from mRNA and miRNA | Cullen | PhD 2004 | Dana-Farber Cancer Institute |
| Yi, Rui | Nuclear RNA export: From messenger RNA to microRNA | Cullen | PhD 2004 | Associate Professor University of Colorado at Boulder |