It’s that time of year when graduate students, having finished their research rotations, choose both a laboratory and a doctoral program to complete the requirements for their PhD. M&I is one of 14 doctoral programs that are selected by students who have been admitted through one of two interdisciplinary portals: the Biological and Biomedical Sciences … Read more
M&I alumnus Josh Hall, Director of UNC’s postbac program PREP, is also the organizer of the annual NC DNA Day, an innovative science outreach initiative. On April 24, UNC graduate students and postdocs served as “ambassadors” to high schools throughout North Carolina, talking to teenagers about science and the life of scientists. The DNA Day … Read more
May 2015 Graduate degree candidates: Lydia Aybar successfully defended her dissertation in July 2014. Lydia’s research, conducted in the laboratory of Ronald Falk, revealed that reduced numbers of regulatory B cells in patients with active anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody-associated (ANCA) vasculitis permit increased circulating autoantibodies. Dr. Aybar is currently a postdoc at UNC’s Kidney Center, continuing … Read more
December 2014 Graduates: Justin Callaway successfully defended his dissertation in October 2014. Justin conducted his research in the lab of Dr. Jenny Ting. His research identified that dengue virus immune complexes induce elevated inflammatory cytokine expression by activating a signaling axis through spleen tyrosine kinase and extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2. Dr. Callaway will … Read more
Sixteen M&I graduate students completed their PhD work during this past academic year and are eligible to participate in the doctoral hooding ceremony at the Dean Smith Center on May 9. Below are short summaries of their doctoral work and current activities/plans. August 2014 Graduates: Myra dela Pena graduated in August 2014. Her doctoral research … Read more
A short video interview with M&I faculty member Terri Tarrant is featured on the current homepage of the Rheumatology Research Foundation’s website. After navigating to the link below, scroll down to “Meet the Researchers” to hear about some of the things that have inspired Terri’s interests in autoimmunity. http://patients.rheumresearch.org
Congratulations to Nik Stasulli, winner of the 2015 D. Gordon Sharp Graduate Innovator Award. As part of his dissertation work in Bill Goldman’s lab, Nik has focused on neutrophil involvement in the process of inflammatory lesion development during pneumonic plague. This work involved fully virulent strains of Yersinia pestis and respiratory infections of mice in … Read more
The Department of Microbiology and Immunology announced that Jon Hagar is the 2015 G. Philip Manire Graduate Student Excellence in Research Award recipient. For his dissertation work in Ed Miao’s lab, Jon has sought to understand how the innate immune system interacts with microbial pathogens and how the immune system becomes dysfunctional during sepsis. Jon’s … Read more
Before M&I Professor Bruce Cairns became an immunologist, he was a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy. See the link below to learn about how his military experiences influenced his career and the development of the Advanced Medic Instructor Training program and the new Physicians Assistant program at UNC. Returning the Favor
A wide variety of external awards to M&I graduate students will be featured at the Annual Graduate Student Recognition Celebration (http://gradschool.unc.edu/events/recognition/). Winners of national fellowships and research awards: Jennifer McGraw (Heise lab): NRSA Fellowship (F31), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Brandon Anjuwon-Foster (Tamayo lab): NRSA Fellowship (F31), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious … Read more
