Graduate Program in the Biomedical Sciences

2021 PhD Thesis Defenses

DIPPAL PARIKH

Thesis Title: Characterization of Allograft Inflammatory-1-Like (AIF1L) in Diet-Induced Obesity

Date: Monday, December 20, 2021
Online Via Zoom 
Laboratory of Dr. Nicholas Sibinga
PhD Student, Department of Developmental and Molecular Biology

 

VANESSA ALMONTE

Thesis Title: Inhibition of Colony Stimulating Factor 1 Receptor in Graft Vascular Disease

Date: Wednesday, December 15, 2021
Online Via Zoom 
Laboratory of Dr. Nicholas Sibinga
PhD Student, Department of Developmental and Molecular Biology

LIJIE SHI

Thesis Title: Functions of Crk and Crkl in Mouse Cardiovascular Development

Date: Monday, December 13, 2021
Online Via Zoom 
Laboratory of Dr. Bernice Morrow
PhD Student, Department of Genetics

ZUEN REN

Thesis Title: Redox Signaling by Glutathione Peroxidase 2 Dysregulation Links Vascular Modulation to Metabolic Plasticity, Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition, and Breast Cancer Metastasis

Date: Friday, December 3, 2021
Online Via Zoom 
Laboratory of Dr. Rachel Hazan
PhD Student, Department of Pathology

MIRJANA PERSAUD

Thesis Title: Role of Host Factors of ZIKV and HIV-1 Infection

Date: Tuesday, October 12, 2021
Online Via Zoom 
Laboratory of Dr. Felipe Diaz-Griffero
PhD Student, Department of Microbiology & Immunology

MICHELLE HUANG

Thesis Title: The Molecular Pathogensis of Neyropsychiatric Lupus: Potential Mechanisms and Therapeutics Targets

Date: Wednesday, October 6, 2021
Online Via Zoom 
Laboratory of Dr. Chaim Putterman
PhD Student, Department of Microbiology & Immunology

KATHERINE KAUGARS

Thesis Title: Using a Herpes Simplex Viral Vector to Generate Protective Vaccines Against Viral Pathogens

Date: Friday, September 24, 2021
Online Via Zoom 
Laboratory of Dr. William Jacobs
MD/PhD Student, Department of Microbiology & Immunology

JOANNA KRZYSPIAK

Thesis Title: Determining the Critical Donor-Cells Parameters for Optimal Cortical Regeneration

Date: Monday, September 20, 2021
Online via Zoom
Laboratories of Dr. Kamran Khodakhah and Dr. Jean Hebert
PhD Student, Department of Neuroscience

MAISHA RAHMAN

Thesis Title: The Roles of Glycoproteins in Dendrite Development

Date: Friday, September 17, 2021
Online Via Zoom 
Laboratory of Dr. Hannes Buelow
PhD Student, Department of Neuroscience

MAXIM I. MARON

Thesis Title: Transcriptomic and Proteomic Regulation by Protein Arginine Methyltransferases

Date: Friday, September 10, 2021
Online Via Zoom 
Laboratory of Dr. David Shechter
MD/PhD Student, Department of Biochemistry

ROBERT BORTZ

Thesis Title: Antiviral Therapeutics Exploit Structural Changes in the Ebola Virus Glycoprotein During Virus Entry

Date: Friday, September 10, 2021
Online Via Zoom 
Laboratory of Dr. Kartik Chandran
MD/PhD Student, Department of Microbiology & Immunology

BENJAMIN LORTON

Thesis Title: Regulation of Chromatin Function by Histone H3 Arginine 2 Methylation

Date: Thursday, July 22, 2021
Online Via Zoom 
Laboratory of Dr. David Shechter
PhD Student, Department of Biochemistry

RYAN MALONIS

Thesis Title: Investigating Antibody Responses to Emerging Alphaviruses and Flaviviruses

Date: Thursday, July 29, 2021
Online Via Zoom 
Laboratory of Dr. Jonathan Lai
MD/PhD Student, Department of Biochemistry

BENJAMIN LORTON

Thesis Title: Regulation of Chromatin Function by Histone H3 Arginine 2 Methylation

Date: Thursday, July 22, 2021
Online Via Zoom 
Laboratory of Dr. David Shechter
PhD Student, Department of Biochemistry

YVES JUSTE

Thesis Title: Reciprocal Regulation of Chaperone-Mediated Autophagy and the Circadian Clock

Date: Thursday, July 15, 2021
Online Via Zoom 
Laboratory of Dr. Ana Maria Cuervo
PhD Student, Department of Developmental and Molecular Biology

STEFANO LUTZU

Thesis Title: Novel Cellular and Synaptic Mechanisms Implicated at the Hippocampal Mossy Fiber System

Date: Monday, June 28, 2021
Online Via Zoom 
Laboratory of Dr. Pablo Castillo
PhD Student, Department of Neuroscience

PABLO LITUMA

Thesis Title: Mechanisms of Information Transfer and Storage in the Mammalian Hippocampus

Date: Friday, June 25, 2021
Online Via Zoom 
Laboratory of Dr. Pablo Castillo
PhD Student, Department of Neuroscience

ADAM HUDGINS

Thesis Title: Post-GWAS Functional Genomics Analysis of Alzheimer's Disease Risk Loci

Date: Wednesday, May 19, 2021
Online Via Zoom 
Laboratory of Dr. Yousin Suh
PhD Student, Department of Genetics

HELEN BELALCAZAR

Thesis Title: From the Nucleus to the Synapses: The Role of KDM5 in Drosophila Neuromuscular Junction Structure and Function

Date: Thursday, April 29, 2021
Online Via Zoom 
Laboratory of Dr. Julie Secombe
PhD Student, Department of Genetics

VIRGINIA FOLGADO-MARCO

Thesis Title: Studies of Ribosomal Protein Mutants in Flies and Mice

Date: Thursday, April 15, 2021
Online Via Zoom 
Laboratory of Dr. Nicholas Baker
PhD Student, Department of Genetics

BASIA GALINSKI

Thesis Title: XPO1 Overexpression and Drug Targeting in a Combination Strategy for High-Risk Neuroblastoma

Date: Tuesday, April 13, 2021
Online Via Zoom 
Laboratories of Dr. Danial Weiser & Dr. Jean Hebert
PhD Student, Department of Genetics

MORGAN PORCH

Thesis Title: Mechanisms Underlying the Regulation of Synpatic Plasticity

Date: Monday, February 22, 2021
Online Via Zoom 
Laboratory of Dr. R. Suzanne Zukin
PhD Student, Department of Neuroscience

REESE HITCHINGS

Thesis Title: Mechanisms of Azoreduction by the Gut Microbiome

Date: Wednesday, January 27, 2021
Online Via Zoom 
Laboratory of Dr. Libusha Kelly
PhD Student, Department of Systems and Computational Biology

GILBERT SALLOUM

Thesis Title: Drinking and Degradation in Fibroblasts and Tumor Cells

Date: Tuesday, January 26, 2021
Online Via Zoom 
Laboratories of Dr. Jonathan Backer and Dr. Anne Bresnick
PhD Student, Department of Molecular Pharmacology