Alumni

2021-2022

Zie Craig, Graduate Student

Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology (MCDB)
Research: Characterizing the role of Anillin in junction remodeling during epithelial homeostasis and kidney disease
Mentor: Ann Miller, PhD Associate Professor, Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology (MCDB)

Jessica Maung, Graduate Student

Molecular and Integrative Physiology
Research: Mechanisms of adipose tissue loss in a mouse model of familial partial lipodystrophy 2
Mentor: Ormond MacDougald, PhD Molecular and Integrative Physiology, Internal Medicine

Nafisa Nuzhat, Graduate Student

Cell and Developmental Biology (CDB)
Research: Investigating how the distal-end centriolar protein, CEP162, regulates axoneme extension during ciliogenesis and its underlying role in retinal dystrophy
Mentor: Jillian N. Pearring, PhD, Assistant Professor, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences

Megan Schaller, Graduate Students

Molecular & Integrative Physiology
Research: The role of FMO-2/FMO5 to resist oxidative stress-induced intestinal barrier dysfunction
Mentor: Scott F. Leiser, PhD, Assistant Professor of Molecular & Integrative Physiology, Internal Medicine and Gerontology

Bridget Waas, Graduate Student

Cell and Developmental Biology
Research: Investigating Dual Roles for KIF17 in the Developing Cerebellum
Mentor: Benjamin Allen, PhD, James Douglas Engel Collegiate Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology
Daysha

Daysha Ferrer-Torres, PhD

Internal Medicine
Research: A racially diverse living biobank to interrogate injury-repair in the human esophagus
Mentor: Jason Spence, PhD, H. Marvin Pollard Collegiate Professor of Gastroenterology Associate Professor

Erez Cohen, PhD

Cell and Developmental Biology
Research: The Role of Nulear Keratins in Organ Repair and Cellular Stress Response
Mentor: Pierre A. Coulombe, Ph.D. G. Carl Huber Professor and Chair Cell and Developmental Biology

Wenting Du, PhD

General Surgery
Research: The role of WNT signaling in the tumor microenvironment of pancreatic cancer
Mentor: Marina Pasca di Magliano, PhD, Professor, General Surgery

Typhanie Dumontet, PhD

Internal Medicine - MEND (Metabolism, Endo, & Diabetes)
Research: Role of the transcription factor Hhex in adrenal homeostasis and response to hormonal challenges
Mentor: Gary Hammer, PhD, Millie Schembechler Professor of Adrenal Cancer

2020-2021

Nicole Edwards, PhD

General Surgery
Research: Prevention of Traumatic Heterotopic Ossification via Modulation of Macrophage Migration and Function
Mentor: Marina Pasca di Magliano, PhD, Associate Professor, General Surgery
Co-Mentor: Yuji Mishina, PhD, Professor of Dentistry, Department of Biologic and Materials Sciences & Prosthodontics

Hiroki Ueharu, PhD

Department of Biologic and Materials Sciences & Prosthodontics
Research: Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) signaling directs cell fate of cranial neural crest cells
Mentor: Yuji Mishina, PhD, Professor Biologic and Materials Sciences & Prosthodontics

2019-2020

Martha Luz Echevarria-Andino, Graduate Student

Cell & Developmental Biology (CDB)
Research: Investigating Novel Roles for Hedgehog Co-Receptors During Craniofacial Development
Mentor: Benjamin Allen, PhD, James Douglas Engel Collegiate Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology
Co-Mentor: Vesa Kaartinen, PhD, Biologic and Materials Science, School of Dentistry

Kevin McGowan, Graduate Student

Molecular & Integrative Physiology
Research: Establishing a role for intestinal telocytes in regulating the stem cell niche
Mentor: Linda Samuelson, PhD, John A. Williams Collegiate Professor of Gastrointestinal Physiology, Professor Molecular & Integrative Physiology, Professor Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology Interim Director, Center for Organogenesis

Richard Youngblood, Graduate Student

Biomedical Engineering
Research: Developing A 3D Niche Microenvironment To Improve hESC-Derived p-Cell Maturation For Treatment of Type l Diabetes
Mentor: Lonnie Shea, PhD, William and Valerie Hall Chair, Biomedical Engineering Steven A. Goldstein Collegiate Professor, Biomedical Engineering
Co-Mentor: Jason Spence, PhD, Associate Professor, Internal Medicine

Ann Laszczyk, PhD, Postdoctoral

Pathology
Research: Defining the role of Pax proteins in adult renal epithelial cells
Mentor: Greg Dressler, PhD, Professor, Collegiate Professor of Pathology Research, Department of Pathology
Co mentor: Sanjeev Kumar Patel, PhD, Associate Professor, Nephrology, Internal Medicine

Eun Kyung Choi, PhD, NTF

Nutritional Sciences, School of Public Health
Research: Exploring the Roles of Manganese in Infammatory Bowel Disease
Mentor: Young-ah Seo, PhD, Assistant Professor, Nutritional Sciences
Co-Mentor: Yatrick Shah, PhD, Horace W. Davenport Collegiate Professor of Physiology, Professor Molecular & Integrative Physiology, Professor Internal Medicine

2018-2019

Abhishek Sinha

Abhishek Sinha, PhD

Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
Mentor: Kenneth Cadigan, PhD, Professor Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
Co-Mentor: Gary Hammer, MD, PhD, Millie Schembechler Professor of Adrenal Cancer, Molecular & Integrative Physiology/Internal Medicine (MEND)

Gabriel Manske, Graduate Student

Human Genetics Department
Research: Investigating the Contribution of Sperm Chromatin to Development
Mentor: Sue Hammoud, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Human Genetics, Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Assistant Professor of Urology

Gloria Jih, Ph.D.

Internal Medicine
Research: Molecular function of the Trithorax group protein ASH1L in hematopoiesis
Mentor:Ivan Maillard, Professor of Medicine, Cellular and Molecular Biology and Immunology, University of Pennsylvania
Co-Mentor: Yali Dou, Professor of Medicine, Pathology/Biological Chemistry, University of Southern California

Joyce Thompson, PhD

General Surgery
Research: Transcriptional and epigenetic regulation of early pancreatic neoplasia by Bmi1
Mentor: Filip Bednar, Assistant Professor of Surgery
Co-Mentor: Marina Pasca di Magliano, PhD, Associate Professor, General Surgery

Michael Czerwinski, PhD

Internal Medicine - Gastroenterology
Research: Using scRNA-seq to characterize the cellular make up of the human intestine and its stem cell niche
Mentor: Jason Spence, PhD, H. Marvin Pollard Collegiate Professor of Gastroenterology Associate Professor

Sim Namkoong, PhD

Molecular & Integrative Physiology
Research: TranscriptomicAnalyses of NAFLD and NASH at a Single Cell Resolution
Mentor: Jun Hee Lee, PhD, Associate Professor Molecular & Integrative Physiology Research Associate, Professor Gerontology
Co-Mentor: Hyun Min Kang, PhD, Associate Professor of Biostatistics

2017-2018

Elizabeth Mills Organogenesis

Elizabeth Mills, PhD

The Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience (MBNI)
Research: Strategies for stimulating CNS repair in fish and mammals
Mentor: Daniel Goldman, PhD, Bernard W. Agranoff Collegiate Professor of Neuroscience, Professor Biological Chemistry Research, Professor Michigan Neuroscience Institute
Co-Mentor: Jack Parent, PhD, William J Herdman Professor of Neurology, Co-Director, Epilepsy Program

Kyriel Pineault, Graduate Student

Cellular & Developmental Biology
Research: Measuring the progenitor potential of Hox11-expressing skeletal mesenchymal cells using a novel Hoxa11CreERᵗ² allele
Mentor: Deneen Wellik, PhD, Chair and Professor, Cell & Regenerative Biology, University of Wisconsin - Madison
Co-Mentor: Ernestina Schipani, MD, PhD, Professor Orthopaedic Surgery, Professor Internal Medicine/Division of Endocrinology, Professor Cell and Developmental Biology
Kunal Rambhia Organogenesis

Kunal Rambhia, Graduate Student

Biomedical Engineering
Research: Regeneration of Vascularized Bone on Novel, Injectable Nanofibrous Spongy Microspheres
Mentor: Peter Ma, PhD, FBSE, Professor, Schools of Dentistry, Engineering, and Medicine

Michael Scales, Graduate Student

Cell & Developmental Biology
Research: Investigating GLI function during pancreas homeostasis and neoplasia
Mentor: Benjamin Allen, PhD, James Douglas Engel Collegiate Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology
Co-Mentor:Marina Pasca di Magliano, PhD, Professor, General Surgery
Naoko Sakagami

Naoko Sakagami

Department of Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry
Research: I dentification of molecular mechanisms of Resting Chondrocytes in the Postnatal Growth Plate as a Novel Type of Skeletal Stem Cells
Mentor: Noriaki Ono, DDs, PhD, Associate Professor, School of Dentistry

2016 - 2017

Emily Bowers

Emily Bowers

Cell & Developmental Biology
Graduate Student
Research: Role of the microenvironment on maintenance of hematopoietic stem and progenitor populations in the bone marrow
Mentor: Lucas Daniel, PhD, Assistant Professor, Cell and Developmental Biology

2015-2016

Jennifer Chase, Ph.D.

Cellular & Molecular Biology
Mentor: Ivan Maillard, MD
Current Position: Science & Technology Policy Fellow,
California Council on Science and Technology

David Lorberbaum, Ph.D.

Cellular & Molecular Biology
Mentor: Scott Barolo, Ph.D.
Current Position: Postdoc, University of Colorado Denver

Yevgeniya Mironova, Ph.D.

Cellular & Molecular Biology
Mentor: Roman Giger, Ph.D.
Current Position: Postdoc, Johns Hopkins University

Justine Pinskey, Ph.D.

Cell & Developmental Biology
Mentor: Ben Allen, Ph.D.
Current Position: Graduate Student, Univ. of Michigan

Danielle Rux, Ph.D.

Cell & Developmental Biology
Mentor: Deneen Wellik, Ph.D.
Current Position: Postdoc, Univ. of Pennsylvania

Melissa Smaldino, Ph.D.

Pharmacology
Mentor: Lori Isom, Ph.D.
Current Position: Postdoc, Pharmacology Univ. of Michigan

Natasha Weiser, Ph.D.

Cellular & Molecular Biology
Mentor: John Kim, Ph.D.
Current Position: Medical Student Univ. of Michigan