Rebecca Holton, PhD
March 30, 2023
Mentor: Dr. Karen Berkowitz (Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
Thesis Title: CHTF18 safeguards the quantity and quality of the ovarian reserve and mediates meiotic cohesion

Margaret O’Connor, MD, PhD
April 21, 2020
Mentor: Elias El Haddad, PhD (Department of Medicine)
Thesis Title: Innate and Adaptive Lymphocytes instruct Immune Responses and Regulate Germinal Center Interactions in Humans

Lorela Ciraku, PhD
June 10, 2022
Mentor: Mauricio Reginato, PhD (Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
Thesis Title: OGT/CDK5/ACSS2 Axis Regulates Metabolic Adaptation of Tumors in the Brain
Subsequent Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Lausanne University, Switzerland

Lisa Stukenborg, MS
June 22, 2022
Mentor: Christian Sell, PhD (Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
Thesis Title: Enhancing Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapeutic Potential Through mTOR Inhibition
Subsequent Position: Research Associate, Vesalius Therapeutics

Jessie Nagle, MS
June 17, 2022
Mentor: Eishi Noguchi, PhD (Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
Thesis Title: The Role of Maf1 in Age-Associated Phenotypes
Subsequent Position: Scientist, Absorption Systems

Gabrielle Tramonte, MS
July 25, 2022
Mentor: Garth Ehrlich, PhD and Joshua Chang Mell, PhD (Department of Microbiology & Immunology)
Thesis Title: Functional investigation of Haemophilus influenzae genes of unknown function implicated in pathogenesis
Subsequent Position: Scientist, Eurofins

Sarah Nicolson, MS
July 14, 2022
Mentor: Todd Strochlic, PhD, VMD (Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
Thesis Title: Exploring Copper-Mediated Regulation of CK2 Activity in D. melanogaster

Manali Potnis, PhD
July 27, 2022
Mentor: Christian Sell, PhD, (Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
Thesis Title: lncRNA H19/let7b/EZH2 axis regulates cellular senescence
Subsequent Position: Postdoctoral fellow, Drexel University College of Medicine

Diehl De Souza, MS
December 2, 2021
Mentor: Dr. Michael Nonnemacher (Department of Microbiology & Immunology)
Thesis Title: Assessment of genes in defective integrated HIV-1 provirus within the PBMC compartment of individuals with neuroHIV
Subsequent Position: Laboratory Technician at National Institutes of Health (NIH-NINDS)

Kristopher Raghavan, PhD
November 22, 2021
Mentor: Dr. Edna Cukierman (Fox Chase Cancer Center)
Thesis Title: The Role of NetrinG1 in Stroma-derived Extracellular Vesicle-mediated Survival of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma under Nutrient-deprivation

Danielle Piazza, PhD
November 19, 2021
Mentors: Dr. Joshua Chang Mell and Dr. Ming Xiao (Department of Microbiology & Immunology) Thesis Title: Testing the Limits of Natural Transformation: Effects of Donor DNA Size and Genomic Structural Variation on Haemophilus influenzae Recombination
Subsequent Position: Senior Scientist, Frontage Laboratories, Inc.

Daniel Kantner, MS
July 29, 2021
Mentor: Joris Beld, PhD (Department of Microbiology & Immunology)
Thesis title: Activity and substrate specificity of cobinamide/cobamide amidohydrolase CbiZ in diverse bacteria
Subsequent position: PhD student, Biomedical Sciences Program, Temple University

Matthew Ritts, MS
July 28, 2021
Mentor: Sandhya Kortagere, PhD (Department of Microbiology & Immunology)
Project title: Inflammation in Parkinson’s Disease
Subsequent position: Associate Scientist, Proclinical Staffing

Michelle Swift, PhD
July 26, 2021
Mentor: Jane Clifford, PhD (Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
Thesis title: Investigating the role of cell cycle-dependent regulation of Sp1 in double strand break repair
Subsequent position: Postdoctoral fellow, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Rongrong Li, MS
July 12, 2021
Mentor: Todd Strochlic, VMD, PhD (Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
Thesis title: Cell-Based Readouts of Copper-Modulated CK2 Kinase Activity
Subsequent position: Research Technician, Rutgers University

Tylor Brewster, MS
July 9, 2021
Mentor: Eishi Noguchi, PhD (Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
Thesis title: Roles of Timeless in DNA Repair and Carcinogenesis
Subsequent position: Scientist, Absorption Aystems, LLC

Tejsi Dhameliya, MS
July 6, 2020
Mentor: Mauricio Reginato, PhD (Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
Thesis title: The role of KLF8 in breast cancer stem cells
Subsequent position: Associate Scientist, Cell line development, Sana Biotechnology, Inc.

Nima Sarfaraz, MS
June 30, 2021
Mentor: Michael Bouchard, PhD (Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
Project title: The Interplay of Long Non-Coding RNAs and Hepatitis B Virus
Subsequent position: PhD Student, MCBG Program, Drexel University College of Medicine

Sydney Wilson, MS
June 28, 2021
Mentor: Pooja Jain, PhD (Department of Microbiology & Immunology)
Project title: Adult T-cell Leukemia/Lymphoma: The Role of Genetic Variation on Clinical Disparities and Disease Progression between ATLL Patient Populations

Emily Esquea, MS
June 21, 2021
Mentor: Mauricio Reginato, PhD (Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
Project title: Understanding the role of the OGT/CDK5/ACSS2 signaling axis on breast cancer brain metastatic growth
Subsequent position, PhD Student, MCBG Program, Drexel University College of Medicine

Julia Oleksak, MS
June 2, 2021
Mentor: Edward Hartsough, PhD (Department of Pharmacology & Physiology)
Project title: Role of CADM1 in Reducing Viability of Melanoma Circulating Tumor Cells
Subsequent position: Scientist, Pharmaceutical Product Development, Inc.

Katherine Innamorati, PhD
April 23, 2021
Mentor: Garth Ehrlich, PhD (Department of Microbiology & Immunology)
Title: Comparative genomics of the keystone mucosal pathogens Porphyromonas gingivalis and Gardnerella vaginalis reveal associations between virulence phenotypes and phylogenetic structure
Subsequent position, Postdoctoral Fellow, Drexel University College of Medicine

Daniel Slusaw, MS
April 14, 2021
Mentor: Srinivas Somarowthu, PhD (Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
Thesis title: HOTAIR domains can independently regulate gene expression in breast cancer
Subsequent position: PhD Student, Biological Sciences Program, University of Delaware

Theodore Gurrola, MS
December 18, 2020
Mentor: Brian Wigdahl, PhD (Department of Microbiology & Immunology)
Project title: Delivering CRISPR to the HIV-1 reservoirs
Subsequent position, PhD Student, MCBG Program, Drexel University College of Medicine

Alexandra Guffey, MS
December 4, 2020
Mentor: Patrick Loll, PhD
Project title: Regulation of Vancomycin Resistance Expression in Vancomycin-resistant Enterococci by the VanRS Two-component System
Subsequent position: Medical Writer, Janssen Pharmaceuticals

Samuel Flashner, PhD
September 3, 2020
Mentor: Jane Clifford, PhD
Project title: The Transcription Factor Specificity Protein 1 Regulates Chromosome Assembly and Segregation During Mitosis
Subsequent position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Columbia University

Jacob Yo, MS
August 12, 2020
Mentor: Edward Hartsough, PhD
Project title: Efficacy of Next-Generation BRAF Inhibitors in Differentiated Thyroid Carcinomas
Subsequent position: Associate Scientist, Quest Diagnostics

Namitha Gobbi, MS
July 31, 2020
Mentor: Karen Berkowitz, MD
Project title: Investigating a Role for CHTF18 in Meiotic Crossover Formation
Subsequent position: Molecular Biologist, Biomeme, Inc.

Stephano Iglesias, MS
July 29, 2020
Mentor: Shae Padrick, PhD
Project title: Development of a Fluorescent Assay of Septin Filament Assembly
Subsequent position: PhD student at Thomas Jefferson University, Biochemistry & Molecular Pharmacology Program

Lindsay Steele, PhD
July 21, 2020
Mentor: Boris Polyak, PhD
Project title: Magnetically Actuated Alginate Scaffolds: Effects on Macrophage Function and Regenerative Outcomes
Subsequent position: Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Pennsylvania

Kritika Hanamshet, PhD
July 16, 2020
Mentor: Alexander Mazin, PhD
Project title: The essential role of RAD52 in BRCA-deficient cells
Subsequent position: Postdoctoral Scientist, EMD Serono, In.

Jasmine Peake, PhD
June 19, 2020
Mentor: Dr. Eishi Noguchi (Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
Project title: "Characterization of acetaldehyde-induced genomic instability during DNA replication in esophageal keratinocytes"
Subsequent position: Postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Eric Brown at University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine (PennPORT Program)

Jean Marc Maurancy, MS
June 18, 2020
Project title: "An investigation into the binding mode of novel small molecule HIV-1 capsid (CA) protein inhibitors"
Subsequent position: Senior Laboratory Technologist at Opentrons Labworks Inc.

Joseph Guarnieri, PhD
November 25, 2019
Mentor: Dr. Michael Bouchard (Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
Project title: "Viral and Lipid Regulation of Hepatocyte Signal Transduction Pathways"

Sheila Longo, PhD
November 25, 2019
Mentor: Dr. Alana O'Reilly (Fox Chase Cancer Center)
Project title: "Nutrient Regulation of Proliferation and Autophagy Determines Follicle Stem Cell Lifespan"
Subsequent position: Medical writer, Fishawack Group of Companies

Jacob Hamilton, MS
November 19, 2019
Mentor: Dr. Karen Berkowitz, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Project title: "The Role of CHTF18 in Sister Chromatid Cohesion and Post-Replicative Genome Maintenance"
Subsequent position: Research specialist, University of Pennsylvania

Jennifer Alexander, PhD
March 19, 2019
Mentor: Dr. Edna Cukierman (Fox Chase Cancer Center)
Project title: "Palladin isoforms regulate the functional heterogeneity of cancer associated fibroblast in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma"
Subsequent position: Postdoctoral fellow, Fox Chase Cancer Center

Manali Potnis, MS
March 19, 2019
Mentor: Dr. Christian Sell (Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine)
Project title: "Genomic Landscape During Cellular Senescence"
Subsequent position: PhD student, MCBG program at Drexel University College of Medicine

Nina Latcheva, PhD
March 19, 2019
Mentor: Dr. Daniel Marenda (Department of Biology)
Project title: "The Drosophila Chromodomain Protein Kismet Epigenetically Regulates Ecdysone Steroid Hormone Receptor Expression to Affect Axon Pruning In Vivo"
Subsequent position: Postdoctoral fellow, University of California Los Angeles, School of Medicine (Dr. Daniel Geschwind)

Andrew Matamoros, PhD
August 10, 2018
Mentor: Dr. Peter Baas (Department of Neurobiology & Anatomy)
Project title: "Microtubule-Mediated Nerve Regeneration: Knocking Down the Microtubule Severing Protein Fidgetin Augments Nerve Regeneration In Vitro and In Vivo"
Subsequent position: Postdoctoral fellow (IRACDA Fellowship) in the laboratory of Yuanquan Song at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Jennifer Marcy, MS
August 2, 2018
Mentor: Dr. Vanessa Pirrone (Department of Microbiology & Immunology)
Project title: "Dysregulation of the Wnt Signaling Pathway in the Development of Colorectal Cancer in HIV-infected Patients"
Subsequent position: Scientist, Biopharmaceutical Analytical Sciences Division, GlaxoSmithKline

Parin Mehta, MS
July 18, 2018
Mentor: Dr. Jane Clifford (Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
Project title: "Role of Sp1 in Regulating Mitosis"
Subsequent position: Cell Manufacturing Associate, Fibrocell Science

Sarah Broskin, MS
June 26, 2018
Mentor: Dr. Alana O'Reilly (Fox Chase Cancer Center)
Project title: "Nutrient Mediated Stem Cell Activation as a Means to Target Cancer Stem Cells"
Subsequent position: Research staff at Thomas Jefferson University

Alyssa Duffy, MS
June 25, 2018
Mentor: Dr. Eishi Noguchi (Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
Master's thesis: "The Roles of Timeless in Mediating Actetaldehyde-Induced DNA Damage Response and Promoting Esophageal Carcinogenesis"
Subsequent position: PhD student, Cancer Biology program at Emory University

Shridhar Sanghvi, MS
June 25, 2018
Mentor: Dr. Harpreet Singh (Department of Pharmacology & Physiology)
Project title: "Role of Chloride Ion in Cardiac Physiology"
Subsequent position: PhD Student, Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology PhD program at the Ohio State University

Michael Owens, MS
June 21, 2018
Mentor: Dr. Srinivas Somarowthu (Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
Master's thesis: "Structural Characterization of the IncRNA WSPAR"
Subsequent position: PhD student, Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics program at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

Baicheng Lin, MS
June 13, 2018
Mentor: Dr. Eishi Noguchi (Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
Master's thesis: "Investigating Acetaldehyde-Induced DNA-Protein Crosslinks in Esophageal Cell"
Subsequent position: PhD student, Biomedical Sciences program at Medical University of South Carolina

Justin Cohen, PhD
June 12, 2018
Mentor: Dr. Claudio Torres (Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine)
Doctoral Dissertation: "Antiretroviral Drug Mediated Astrocyte Senescence as a Contributor to HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders"

Zachary Bacigalupa, PhD
June 1, 2018
Mentor: Dr. Mauricio Reginato (Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
Doctoral Dissertation: "The Role of O-GlcNAc Transferase in Glioblastoma Growth and Acetate Metabolism & in Tissue"
Subsequent position: Postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Jeffrey Rathmell at Vanderbilt University

Suyash Bhatnagar, PhD
April 5, 2018
Mentor: Dr. Akhil Vaidya (Department of Microbiology & Immunology)
Doctoral Dissertation: "Investigating Na+ and lipid homeostasis as targets for antimalarial drugs"

Nicholas Duchemin, PhD
November 30, 2017
Mentor: Dr. Michael Bouchard (Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
Doctoral dissertation: "Dynamic Control of Hepatitis B Virus Replication: Contributions of Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1 and Autophagy"
Subsequent position: Postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Denise Galloway at The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

Chaitali Bhadiadra, MS
November 27, 2017
Mentor: Dr. Mauricio Reginato (Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
Master's thesis: "Using Cancer Genomic Databases to Identify Involved in Tumor Growth"

Maya Rao, PhD
November 8, 2017
Mentor: Dr. Patrick Loll (Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
Doctoral dissertation: "Interaction Between the AAA+ ATPase p97 and Its Cofactor Ataxin3 in Health and Disease"
Subsequent position: Scientist, HarkerBIO

Patrick Williams, PhD
July 5, 2017
Mentor: Dr. Todd Strochlic (Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
Doctoral dissertation: "Emerging Roles of the Protein Kinase MK2 in Spermatogenesis"
Subsequent position: Postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Kathryn Hamilton at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Tanu Singh, PhD
April 7, 2017
Mentor: Dr. Alana O'Reilly (Fox Chase Cancer Center
Doctoral dissertation: "Diet-Dependent Balance Between Autophagy and Proliferation Regulates Follicle Stem Cell Lifetime"
Subsequent position: Postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Jeffrey Peterson at Fox Chase Cancer Center.

Peter Michener, MS
February 28, 2017
Mentor:  Dr. Mauricio Reginato (Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
Master's thesis: "Identification of Oncogene-Dependent Protein Interactions with O-GlcNAc Transferase"
Subsequent position: Research associate in the laboratory of Dr. Christine Eischen at Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson University Hospitals