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First year

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Saamera Awali

PhD Program: Pharmacology & Toxicology

Lab: Rockwell

 

Research: The effect of tBHQ and Nrf2 on dendritic cell maturation and function.

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Maja Blake

PhD Program: DO/Pharmacology & Toxicology

Lab: Amalfitano

 

 

Research: The role of genetics and immunology in autoimmune disease and cancer. 

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Rajab Curtis

PhD Program: Comparative Medicine and Integrative Biology

Lab: Hammer

Research: The manipulation of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus metabolism with small molecules. 

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Ifeanyichukwu Eke

PhD Program: Microbiology and Molecular Genetics

Lab: Abramovitch

 

Research: The development of new drugs against tuberculosis.

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Dare George

PhD Program: Chemistry

Lab: Tepe

 

Research: The total synthesis of nagelamide W and its synthetic derivatives and exploring their potential biological activities as proteasome enhancers. He is also working on the development of a new class of novel small molecule activators of human 20S proteasome for proteolytic degradation of intrinsically disordered proteins.

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Rabail Khan

PhD Program: Neuroscience

Lab: Leinninger

 

Research: The role of Neurotensin-Leptin receptor expressing neurons on energy balance.

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Jess Moerland

PhD Program: Pharmacology and Toxicology

Lab: Abramovitch

 

Research: Nrf2 activation in the lung tumor immune microenvironment. 

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Tommy Reason

PhD Program: Chemistry

Lab: Babak Borhan and Sing Lee

 

Research: The biological activity of fatty acid metabolites.

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Chiho Sugimoto

PhD Program: Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology

Lab: Robison

 

Research: The role of androgen receptors regulating brain circuits important for sexually dimorphic responses to stress.

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Nat Yawson

PhD Program: Pharmacology and Toxicology

Lab: Bernard

 

Research: Nat is using an HTS model developed in the Bernard Lab to identify novel terpenoids that can block transformation induced by factors released from visceral adipose tissue.

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Second Year

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Haleigh Gilliland

PhD Program: Microbiology & Molecular Biology

Lab: Olive

 

Research: Dissecting host mechanisms that alter virulence activation and drug pathways in Mycobacterial species.

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Jacob Howe

PhD Program: Neuroscience

Lab: Sortwell

 

Research: Inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome activation as a neuroprotective strategy against synucleinopathy in Parkinson's Disease. 

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Jariel Ramirez-Virella

PhD Program: Neuroscience

Lab: Leinninger

 

Research: Endogenous and pharmacological activation of Neurotensin Receptor-1 to modulate body weight.

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Skye Henderson

PhD Program: Chemistry

Lab: Swain

 

Research: Development and application of electrochemical biosensors and chemical sensors for studying inhibitory neuromuscular signaling in the gastrointestinal tract.

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Previously supported

Laura Chambers - Pharmacology and Toxicology

Kevin Chen – Chemical Engineering and Materials Science

Shelby DeChow – Microbiology and Molecular Genetics

Lucas Demey - Microbiology and Molecular Genetics

Olivia Favor - Pharmacology and Toxicology

Bronson Gregory - Physiology

Taylor Fiolek - Chemistry

Rebecca Mueller - Neuroscience

Sophia Staerz - Chemistry

Chauncey Splichal - Chemical Engineering and Materials Science

Anna Stoll – Pharmacology and Toxicology