Alumni

Recent Graduates, Department of Pharmacology

Jonathan DeLiberty, PhD

Defense Date: 11/12/24
Advisors: Kristen Bryant and Channing Der
Title of Dissertation: “Therapeutic Targeting of RAS-Driven Metabolic Dependencies by PIKfyve Inhibition”
Current Position:

Mariah Stewart, PhD

Defense Date: 11/07/24
Advisors: Jonathan Schisler
Title of Dissertation: “Phosphorylation-Dependent Interactions of Heat Shock Proteins and Co-Chaperones: Structural Insights and Implications for Cancer Cell Proliferation”
Current Position:

Kaitlan Smith, PhD

Defense Date: 11/01/24
Advisors: Jonathan Schisler
Title of Dissertation: “Genetic and Pharmacological Inhibitors of Necroptosis in STUB-1 Dependent Ataxias”
Current Position:

Aditi Kothari, PhD

Defense Date: 09/25/24
Advisors: Natalia Isaeva
Title of Dissertation: “HPV-Associated Head and Neck Cancer: Etiology and Determinants of Radiation Sensitivity”
Current Position:

David Lee, PhD

Defense Date: 09/20/24
Advisors: Greg Scherrer
Title of Dissertation: “Harnessing Neuron Type-Specific GPCR Targets and Tools for Precious Analgesia”
Current Position: Postdoctoral Research Associate, UNC-CH

Madigan Bedard, PhD

Defense Date: 07/19/24
Advisors: Zoe McElligott
Title of Dissertation: “Sex-Specific Responses to Withdrawal in Mouse Models of Opioid Use”
Current Position: Postdoctoral Research Associate, UNC-CH

Gray Gereau, PhD

Defense Date: 06/17/24
Advisors: Zoe McElligott
Title of Dissertation: “Manipulations of the Neurotensin System Modulate Alcohol Consumption”
Current Position: Postdoctoral Research Associate, Washington University in St. Louis

Sarah Cooper Patterson, PhD

Defense Date: 05/31/24
Advisors: Adam Palmer
Title of Dissertation: “Understand and Optimizing Chemotherapy Combinations”
Current Position: Patent Examiner, United States Patent and Trademarks Office.

Ryan Sheehy, PhD

Defense Date: 05/15/24
Advisors: Juan Song
Title of Dissertation: “Interrogating the Role of G9a in the Brain During Health, Aging, and Alzheimer’s Disease”
Current Position: Postdoctoral Research Associate, UNC-CH

Claire Gates, MS

Defense Date: 05/10/24
Advisors: Kirsten Bryant and Stephen Hursting
Title of Masters Thesis: “The incretin mimetic drug tirzepatide attenuates mammary tumor growth independently of insulin-like growth factor-1 signaling”
Current Position:

Tim Daugird, PhD

Defense Date: 05/09/24
Advisors: Wesley Legant
Title of Dissertation: “Correlative single molecule lattice light sheet imaging reveals the dynamic relationship between nucleosomes and the local chromatin environment”
Current Position: Postdoctoral Research Associate UNC-CH

Eden Y. Zewdie, PhD

Defense Date: 04/12/24
Advisors: Shelley Earp
Title of Dissertation: “MerTK Induces Tolerogenic Dendritic Cells by Metabolic Reprogramming”
Current Position: Clinical Protocol Development Associate, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, UNC-CH

Yi Xu, PhD

Defense Date: 04/08/24
Advisors: Jen Jen Yeh
Title of Dissertation: “Defining the Kinome Landscape of Pancreatic Cancer”
Current Position: Postdoctoral Research Associate, UNC-CH

Gavin Schmitz, PhD

Defense Date: 02/02/24
Advisors: Melissa Herman and Bryan Roth
Title of Dissertation: “Identifying the Neurological Mechanisms Underlying Potential Therapeutic Effects of Psychedelic Compounds”
Current Position: Returned to UNC-Medical School to complete MD (enrolled in MD/PHD program)

Ana Cartaya, PhD

Defense Date: 11/07/23
Advisor: Edward Bahnson
Title of Dissertation: “Antioxidant Response Activating nanoparticles (ARAPas): Treating Arterial Disease in 3D”
Current Position: Microscopy Specialist, Duke University

Devin Effinger, PhD

Defense Date: 11/07/23
Advisor: Melissa Herman
Title of Dissertation: “Sex-Specific Effects of Psychedelic Drug Administration on Stress-Related Brain Region Reactivity and Threat Responding”
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Colorado

Marguerite “Bree” Little, PhD

Defense Date: 10/17/23
Advisor: Alex Duncan
Title of Dissertation: “Determination of cross-species immune responses from outer membrane vesicle-based meningococcal vaccines to Neisseria gonorrhoeaee”
Current Position:

Amanda Graboski, PhD

Defense Date: 09/21/23
Advisor: Matthew Redinbo
Title of Dissertation: “Characterization and Inhibition of Gut Microbial Tryptophanase and its Implications in Chronic Kidney Disease”
Current Position: Scientist, Scorpion Therapeutics, Protein & Structural Sciences division, Boston

Peyton Sandroni, PhD

Defense Date: 06/26/23
Advisor: Brian Jensen
Title of Dissertation: “The Alpha-1A Adrenergic Receptor Regulates Oxidative Metabolism in the Mouse Heart”
Current Position: Clinical Research Methodology Fellow, Scientific Solutions Team, at Worldwide Clinical Trials, doing drug development consulting and clinical trial design.

Selin Altinock, PhD

Defense Date: 06/06/23
Advisor: Jonathan Schisler
Title of Dissertation: “Domain-Specific Changes in CHIP Function Explain Distinct Clinical Features in SCA48 Patients”
Current Position: Analyst, IndieBio NY

Alexandra “Sasha” Goriounova, PhD

Defense Date: 05/10/23
Advisor: Robert Tarran
Title of Dissertation: “ELD607 is a novel, specific Orai1 inhibitor”
Current Position: Early Development Clinical Pharmacology Fellow, Priovant Therapeutics

Jeffrey DiBerto, PhD

Defense Date: 01/19/23
Advisor: Bryan Roth
Title of Dissertation: “Discovery Campaigns for Pharmacologically Unique Agonists at the Mu-Opioid and 5-Hydroxytryptamine 2A Receptors”
Current Position: Co-Founder & Director of Assay Development, EvE Bio (a Convergent Research subsidiary)

Jane Lee, PhD

Defense Date: 12/16/22
Advisor: Channing Der and Adrienne Cox
Title of Dissertation: “Inhibiting KRAS and the DNA damage response in pancreatic cancer”

Danielle Chappell, PhD

Defense Date: 11/30/22
Advisor: Blossom Damania
Title of Dissertation: “KSHV Viral Protein Kinase (vPK) Interacts with USP9X to Modulate the Viral Lifecycle”
Current Position: Associate Medical Writer, Pharmaceutical Product Development, Inc. (PPD)

Emily Fennell, PhD

Defense Date: 11/22/22
Advisor: Lee Graves
Title of Dissertation: “Profiling the Multi-omic Response to Mitochondrial Protease ClpP Activation in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cells”
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Salk Institute, San Diego

Megan Hinkle, MS

Defense Date: 10/23/22
Advisor: Michael Emanuele
Title of MS Thesis: “Investigation and characterization of novel APC/CCdh1 substrates”
Current Position: Information Specialist, Emmes, RTP

Lucas Aponte-Collazo, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 07/27/22
Advisor: Lee Graves
Title of Dissertation: “Exploring the role of mitochondrial protease ClpP in apoptosis regulation of triple negative breast cancer cells.”
Current Position: Graduate Student Success Manager, Office of Graduate Studies, Scripps Research

Matthew Cummins, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 06/06/22
Advisors: John Sondek and Brian Kuhlman
Title of Dissertation: “Design of hyper-stable proteins completely from scratch that efficaciously inhibit oncogenic G proteins”
Current Position: Postdoctoral Researcher with the deMello Group at ETH Zurich

Blaide Woodburn, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 05/18/22
Advisor: Ron Swanstrom
Title of Dissertation: “Characterizing HIV-1 Infection of the Central Nervous System”
Current Position: Life Science Consultant at L.E.K. Consulting in Boston, MA

Elizaveta Wick, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 05/10/22
Advisor: Nicholas G. Brown
Title of Dissertation: “Viral Hijacking of Ubiquitin Ligases: Lessons from Human Cytomegalovirus pUL145”
Current Position: Pharmacology Curriculum Lead, HMX, Harvard Medical School

Chitra Saran, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 04/19/22
Advisor: Kim Brouwer
Title of Dissertation: “Bile Acid Transporters and Hepatotoxicity: Novel Mechanisms and in Vitro Models”
Current Position: Senior Scientist, Merck

Ernesto León, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 04/04/22
Advisor: Barbara Savoldo
Title of Dissertation: “Enhancing the function and delivery of chimeric antigen receptor T-cells: Implications for treatment of solid tumors”
Current Position: Manager in the Advertising and Promotions Regulatory Affairs group, Kite Pharma, Santa Monica CA

Natalie Hewitt, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 03/31/22
Advisor: Henrik Dohlman
Title of Dissertation: “Modulation of Active State Dynamics by Catalytic Glutamine Mutations in Large G proteins”
Current Position: Advisor Receptor Pharmacology, Eli Lilly and Company

Taylor Enrico, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 03/04/22
Advisor: Michael Emanuele
Title of Dissertation: “Control of Proliferation by the Ubiquitin Proteasome System”
Current Position: Consultant, Boston Consulting Group

Kevin Knight, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 11/03/21
Advisor: Henrik Dohlman
Title of Dissertation: “Structural mechanisms of G protein activation and suppression”
Current Position: Postdoctoral Researcher, Martemyanov Lab, Neuroscience, UF Scripps

Angela Lovett, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 11/02/21
Advisor: Alex Duncan
Title of Dissertation: “Analysis Of The Cervicovaginal Microbiome In Neisseria Gonorrhoeae Infections And Its Contribution To Disease Presentation”
Current Position:

Ryan Mary Murphy, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 10/29/21
Advisor: Antonio Amelio
Title of Dissertation: “Biomarkers in Squamous Cell Carcinoma”
Current Position: Clinical Trial Management Associate at Kite Pharma, Santa Monica

Juanita Limas, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 09/20/21
Advisors Jean Cook
Title of Dissertation: “Quantitative profiling of adaptation to cyclin E overproduction”
Current Position: Eli Lilly, Indianapolis

Connor Wander, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 06/29/21
Advisors: Juan Song and Todd Cohen
Title of Dissertation: “Potential Mechanisms of Hippocampal Resilience to Alzheimer’s disease Pathophysiology”
Current Position: Research Scientist, Deciduous Therapeutics

Megan Agazanian, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 02/16/21
Advisor: Ben Major
Title of Dissertation: “Kinase regulation of WNT signaling”
Current Position: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Developmental Biology, Stanford University

Waylin Yu, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 09/03/2020
Advisor: Thomas Kash
Title of Dissertation: “Sex-specific regulation of pain: A novel role for dopamine and corticotropin releasing factor signaling in the midbrain and extended amygdala”
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, in Vikaas Sohal’s lab at the Weill Institute for Neurosciences at UCSF

Raquel Martinez Chacin, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 07/02/2020
Advisor: Nicholas Brown
Title of Dissertation: “The chain elongating E2 UBE2S activates the RING E3 ligase APC/C for substrate priming”
Current Position: Scientist I, Ribometrix Inc.

Daniel Sprague, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 06/17/2020
Advisor: Mauro Calabrese
Title of Dissertation: “Identification of functional domains in non-coding RNA”
Current Position: Scientist, Computational Biology. Flagship Labs, Boston

Jennifer Kernan Franks, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 03/09/2020
Advisor: Mike Emanuele
Title of Dissertation: “Characterizing the role of APC/CCdh1 ubiquitylation to regulate UHRF1 during cell cycle progression.”
Current Position: Bench Scientist, BridgeBio, Raleigh, NC

Ian McDonald, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 03/05/2020
Advisor: Lee Graves
Title of Dissertation: “Exploring the Controversial Role of MELK in Cancer.”
Current Position: Bain & Co., Atlanta, GA

Tigist Tamir, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 10/25/2019
Advisor: Ben Major
Title of Dissertation: “Identification and characterization of kinase regulators in KEAP1/NPF2 signaling.”
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, in Forest White’s lab in Biological Engineering at MIT

Irem Dagliyan, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 8/27/2019
Advisor: Channing Der
Title of Dissertation: “Low dose vertical inhibition of ERK MAPK cascade for the treatment of KRAS-mutant cancer.”
Current Position: Scientist II, Takeda Pharmaceuticals

Reid Olsen, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 6/7/2019
Advisor: Bryan Roth
Title of Dissertation: “Development of next-generation G protein biosensors for deconvoluting the complexity of GPCR signaling”
Current Position: Molecular Pharmacologist at Exscientia Ltd, Oxford UK

Samuel Eaton, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 4/1/2019
Advisor: Monte Willis
Title of Dissertation: “Understanding the Pathobiology of Mutant Bag3: Proteotoxicity, Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Implications for the Treatment of Rare Bag3-related Cardiomyopathies.”
Current Position: Business Insights Leader, Oncology at AstraZeneca, Arlington, VA

Alex Chung, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 3/21/2019
Advisor: Leslie Parise
Title of Dissertation: “CIB1: A promising target in triple-negative breast cancer.”
Current Position: Clinical Scientist at Bristol Myers Squibb

Devon Blake, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 2/26/2019
Advisor: Channing Der
Title of Dissertation: “Development and application of a MYC degradation screen in KRAS-mutant pancreatic cancer.”
Current Position: Scientist, Ribometrix

Matthew Lipner, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 2/18/2019
Advisor: Jen Jen Yeh
Title of Dissertation: “Irreversible JNK1-JUN inhibition by JNK-IN-8 sensitizes pancreatic cancer to 5-FU/FOLFOX chemotherapy.”
Current Position: Returning to UNC-Medical School to complete MD (enrolled in MD/PHD program)

Evan DuBose, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 1/11/2019
Advisor: Gary Johnson
Title of Dissertation: “Determining the consequence of PTEN loss in BRAF-mutant melanoma treated with Dabrafenib and Trametinib.”
Current Position: Clinical Research Scientist at Impact Pharmaceuticals in Research Triangle Park, NC.

Dan Goulet, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 11/16/2018
Advisor: Gary Johnson
Title of Dissertation: “Discrete Adaptive Responses to Mek Inhibitor in Subpopulations of Triple Negative Breast Cancer.” 
Current Position: Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT

Samantha Miller Bevill, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 10/15/2018
Advisor: Gary Johnson
Title of Dissertation: “Defining Transcriptional Mechanisms of Adaptive Resistance to Targeted Therapies in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.”
Current Position: Postdoc in Bradley Bernstein lab at Massachusetts General Hospital

Orrin Stone, Ph.D.,

Defense Date: 5/24/2018
Advisor: Klaus Hahn
Title of Dissertation: “New Approaches for Control and Visualization of Protein Conformation in Live Cells.”
Current Position: Director of Business Development & Operations at BridgeBio

Denis Okumu, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 5/10/2018
Advisor: Lee Graves
Title of Dissertation: “Lyn regulates drug resistance mechanisms in chronic myelogenous leukemia”
Current Position: Postdoctoral Researcher at UNC-CH

Allie Mills, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 1/11/2018
Advisor: Michael Emanuele
Title of Dissertation: “Characterizing the roles of SCF(Cyclin F), and its substrates, in cell cycle progression”
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, UNC Proteomics Core

Marissa (Cann) Berry, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 9/22/2017
Advisor: David Lawrence
Title of Dissertation: “Identifying Therapeutic Agents for the Treatment of Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma”
Current Position: Senior Manager, Regulatory Strategy at Camargo Pharmaceutical Services

Katherine Lansu, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 8/21/2017
Advisor: Bryan Roth
Title of Dissertation: “Ligand discovery and functional characterization of MRGPRX family orphan GPCRs”
Current Position: Senior Scientist, Eli Lilly, Indianapolis, IN

Derek Franklin, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 6/13/2017
Advisor: Yanping Zhang
Title of Dissertation: “Microglial depletion alters the brain neuroimmune response to acute binge ethanol withdrawal.”
Current Position: Scientist III at Shattuck Labs

T. Jordan Walter, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 6/13/2017
Advisor: Fulton Crews
Title of Dissertation: “Microglial depletion alters the brain neuroimmune response to acute binge ethanol withdrawal.”
Current Position: Returning to UNC-Medical School to complete MD (enrolled in MD/PHD program)

James Shellhammer, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 3/27/2017
Advisor: Henrik Dohlman
Title of Dissertation: “Coordination of G Protein and Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Signaling Pathways by 2-Hydroxy Branched-Chain Amino Acid Second Messengers during Osmotic Stress.”
Current Position: Patent Examiner, United States Patent and Trademarks Office.

John Peyton Bohnsack, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 3/23/2017
Advisor: Leslie Morrow
Title of Dissertation: “Epigenetic control of GABAA-R expression by ethanol.”
Current Position: Biotechnology Equity Research Associate at Cowen and Company, Chicago, IL

Meagan Ryan, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 10/26/2016
Advisor: Adrienne Cox
Title of Dissertation: “Targeting the ERK MAPK Pathway in RAS-driven cancers.”
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA

Nicole Baker, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 09/20/2016
Advisor: Channing Der
Title of Dissertation: “Evaluating the therapeutic potential of the PAK1 AND TBK1 Kinases in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma.”
Current Position: Associate Director Regulatory Affairs at Kriya Therapeutics

Brian Constance M.S.

Defense Date: 8/25/2016
Advisor: Todd Cohen
Title of MS Thesis: “The Role of Tau in Alzheimer’s Disease: Effects of LYS-280 and LYS-281 Acetylation on Tau Functions and Structure.”
Current Position: Associate Clinical Project Manager at IQVIA

Zachary Schools M.S.

Defense Date: 7/13/2016
Advisor: Bryan Roth
Title of MS Thesis: “Engineering and Biophysical analysis of alpha adrenergic receptor crystallography constructs”
Current Position: Research Associate at KBI Biopharma, Durham NC

Tasha Nalywajko Blatt, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 06/07/2016
Advisor: Rob Nicholas
Title of Dissertation: “Role of the P2Y1 receptor in platelet aggregation”
Current Position: Academic Editor for Research Square, Durham, NC

Ejiofor Ezekwe, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 04/28/2016
Advisor: Alex Duncan
Title of Dissertation: “Cellular mechanisms of Staphylococcus aureus α-hemolysin-mediated activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome”
Current Position: Pediatric Specialist, UNC Hospitals

Bingying Zhou, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 04/07/2016
Advisor: Adrienne Cox
Title of Dissertation: “Ras signaling and therapeutic resistance in melanoma”
Current Position: Associate Professor, State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China

Patrick Taus, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 02/09/2016
Advisor: Angelique Whitehurst
Title of Dissertation: “FATE1: Contributor to Tumor Cell Fitness and Example of an Oncogene-activated Cancer Testis Antigen.”
Current Position: Resident Physician, UNC Health Care

Jason Melehani, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 02/03/2016
Advisor: Joseph Alex Duncan
Title of Dissertation: “Mechanisms and consequences of Staphylococcus aureus Leukocidin AB-mediated activation of the host NLRP3 inflammasome”
Current Position: Resident Physician, Stanford Health Care

Carrie (Wolffe) Rubel, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 11/19/2015
Advisors: Jonathan Schisler and Gary Johnson
Title of Dissertation: “Ubiquitin Proteasome System Dysfunction as a Driver of Disease: CHIP Mutation in Spinocerebellar Ataxia”
Current Position: Associate Director Biomarkers at Biogen

Francesca Bargiacci, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 11/06/2015
Advisor: Shelley Earp
Title of Dissertation: “Specific Combinations of Transcription Factors Induce Transdifferentiation to a Mammary Luminal Epithelial Cell Phenotype.”
Current Position: Senior Medical Director at Blueprint Medicines

Leanna Gentry, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 09/03/2015
Advisor: Channing Der
Title of Dissertation: “Targeting the Ras-Ral effector pathway for cancer treatment”
Current Position: Manager, US Regulatory Affairs R&D – Pipeline at Chiesi USA, Inc., Cary, NC

Kimberly Maxfield, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 07/20/2015
Advisor: Angelique Whitehurst
Title of Dissertation: “Genetic Dissection of Therapeutic Intervention Targets in Triple Negative Breast Cancer”
Current Position: Policy Lead and Clinical Pharmacology Reviewer in, Office of Clinical Pharmacology at FDA

Jayme Warischalk, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 03/18/2015
Advisor: R. Jude Samulski
Title of Dissertation: “Uncovering structural components of the adeno-associated viral capsid that can be modified to enhance clinical gene therapy applications”
Current Position: Associate Scientific Director at BOLDSCIENCE

Meagan Eldridge, M.S.

Defense Date: 11/17/2014
Advisor: Jen Jen Yeh
Title of M.S. Thesis: “Identifying biomarkers of response to modified FOLFIRINOX regimens using patient derived xenograft mouse models of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma”
Current Position: Medical/Clinical Writer for WebbWrites, LLC in Durham, NC.

Ernesto Perez-Chanona, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 9/18/2014
Advisor: Christian Jobin
Title of Dissertation: “Microbial signaling in intestinal ischemia/reperfusion injury response.”
Current Position: Postdoc, National Cancer Institutes (NIH), Center for Cancer Research

Kayla Knilans, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 8/7/2014
Advisor: Alex Duncan
Title of Dissertation: “The role of lytic transglycosylases LtgA and LtgD in innate immune recognition and pathogenesis of Neisseria gonorrhoeae.”
Current Position: Biological Scientist at USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services

Sarah (Nicolson) Jims, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 7/7/2014
Advisor: Jude Samalski
Title of Dissertation: “Understanding mechanisms of Adeno-associated virus vector transduction through pharmacological and biological approaches”
Current Position: Engagement Manager, Triangle Insights Group

Jeran Stratford, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 7/3/2014
Advisors: Jen Jen Yeh and Channing Der
Title of Dissertation: “Aberrant gene expression: diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets for pancreatic cancer”
Current Position: Bioinformatics Data Analyst at RTI International, Durham, NC

Doug Ornoff, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 6/19/2014
Advisor: Nancy Allbritton
Title of Dissertation: “Development of a cellular analysis platform featuring arrays of patterned microwells fabricated atop permeable supports”
Current Position: Attending Physician at Midtown Inpatient Medicine, LLC (MiM)

Kate White, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 4/7/2014
Advisor: Bryan Roth
Title of Dissertation: “Identification of biased kappa opioid receptor ligands for in vivo probing of specific signal transduction pathways?”
Current Position: Research Assistant Professor, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA

Justin English, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 4/1/2014
Advisor: Henrik Dohlman
Title of Dissertation: “Stress on a Deadline: Setting a Timer for Adaptation in Living Cells”
Current Position: Assistant Professor, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT

Daniel Dominguez, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 3/14/2014
Advisor: Zefeng Wang
Title of Dissertation: “Transcriptome Dynamics During the Mammalian Cell Cycle.”
Current Position: Assistant Professor, UNC Department of Pharmacology

Bryan Richardson, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 12/15/2013
Advisor: Gary Johnson
Title of Dissertation: “Defining the Molecular Mechanisms of the Cerebral Cavernous Malformation Proteins”
Current Position: Senior Patent Agent, Precision BioSciences, Inc, Raleigh-Durham, NC

Lauren Parker Huff, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 12/15/2013
Advisor: Adrienne Cox
Title of Dissertation: “Impact of subcellular localization on oncogenic functions of the RhoGEF Ect2 and on its Rho GTPase targets”
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow at Emory University, Atlanta GA

Rebecca Sinnott, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 12/4/2013
Advisor: Angelique Whitehurst
Title of Dissertation: “Mechanisms that promote liberation of mitotic stress-induced death”
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, SUNY-Albany, New York

Pei-Hsuan Chu, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 10/24/13
Advisor: Klaus Hahn
Title of Dissertation: “Dissecting the role of kinase isoforms using new tools for activation and inactivation of kinases in vivo“
Current Position: Scientist, Stem Cell Translational Laboratory at National Center for Advancing Translation Sciences (NCATS), Rockville MD

Daniel Urban, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 10/21/13
Advisor: Bryan Roth
Title of Dissertation:“Pharmacosynthetic Modulation of Serotonin Networks.”
Current Position: Pharmacology / Toxicology Reviewer at FDA, Washington DC

Marty Whittle, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 8/12/13
Advisor: Gary Johnson
Title of Dissertation: “Targeting the Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Kinome with Chemical Proteomics”
Current Position: Research Assistant Professor, University of Washington, Seattle, WA

Ross Dubose, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 7/29/13
Advisor: Rob Nicholas
Title of Dissertation: “P2Y Receptor Trafficking in Polarized Epithelial Cells”
Current Position: Scientific Manuscript Submission Scanner at American Journal Experts, Durham, NC

Chris Dibble, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 6/5/13
Advisor: Gary Johnson
Title of Dissertation: “Defining the Cerebral Cavernous Malformation signaling network in endothelial cells”
Current Position: Neurosurgery, Washington University

Ryan Phillips, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 5/30/13
Advisor: Nancy Allbritton
Title of Dissertation: “Development of a Novel Assay of Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase Activity in Single Cells Using Capillary Electrophoresis”
Current Position: Resident Physician, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Dustin Bosch, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 3/21/13
Advisor: David Siderovski
Title of Dissertation: “Elucidating G protein signaling in Entamoeba histolytica”
Current Position: Pathology Senior Fellow University Of Washington

Tim Martin, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 3/19/13
Advisor: Channing Der
Title of Dissertation: “The role and regulation of Ral GTPases in oncogenesis“
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Medicine, Brigham and Woman’s Hospital/Harvard

Marty Farrell, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 2/27/13
Advisor: Bryan Roth
Title of Dissertation: “Pharmacosynthetics and the Cell-Type Specific Control of Neuronal Signaling“
Current Position: Research Assistant Professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Suzanne Minton, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 1/15/13
Advisor: Ken McCarthy
Title of Dissertation: “Stimulating glial Gq-coupled GPCR pathways blocks acute pain and itch”
Current Position: Director, Content Strategy at Certara, Cary, NC

Nicole Vincent Jordan, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 9/6/12
Advisor: Gary Johnson
Title of Dissertation: “Epigenetic Regulation of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Epithelial Stem Cells and Triple Negative Breast Cancer”
Current Position: Principle Scientist, Cancer Drug Discovery at Bristol Meyers Squibb

Margaret Duncan, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 6/22/12
Advisor: Rob Nicholas
Title of Dissertation: “Probing the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance in the gonococcus”
Current Position: Global Medical Lead, Medical Affairs, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Boston, MA

Asya Borikova, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 5/25/12
Advisor: Gary Johnson
Title of Dissertation: “Cerebral Cavernous Malformations is a disease of dysregulated expression of RhoA and Rap1 proteins”
Current Position: Chief Operating Officer at MedAppTech, Woburn, MA

Brent Hehl, M.S.

Defense Date: 5/9/12
Advisor: Howard McLeod
Title of M.S. Thesis: “Identifying genetic factors affecting anthracycline-induced cytotoxcity.”
Current Position: Director of Global Business Development, Eurofins Discovery

Jasmyn Adams, M.S.

Current Position: Senior Clinical Research Associate (Oncology), Covance

Jason Goldsmith, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 4/16/12
Advisor: Christian Jobin
Title of Dissertation: “”Mechanisms of mu opioid receptor mediated protection from multiple models of acute injury”
Current Position: Pharmacologist and Physician, Washington PA

Xin Zou, M.S.

Defense Date: 3/30/12
Advisor: Klaus Hahn
Title of M.S. Thesis: “Using Aureochrome to Control Protein-Protein Interactions with Light”
Current Position: Data Scientist at ByteDance

Allison McMullen, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 11/1/11
Advisor: Ken McCarthy
Title of Dissertation: “Cellular, histological and behavioral changes in the pathogenesis of hydrocephalus in the Ro1 mouse model”
Current Position: R&D Project Manager at SAS, Durham, NC

Michal Nagiec, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 6/14/11
Advisor: Henrik Dohlman
Title of Dissertation: “Coordination of MAP Kinase Signaling During Cell Fate Decisions.”
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard Medical School, Boston MA

Chris Welch, Ph.D. High Honors, M.D.

Defense Date: 5/20/11
Advisor: Klaus Hahn
Title of Dissertation: “Revealing Rho GTPase Dynamics in Cell Migration.”
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Michigan Medical School

Katy Cappell, Ph.D., M.D.

Defense Date: 5/13/11
Advisor: Angelique Whitehurst
Title of Dissertation: “Symplekin and Transforming Acidic Coiled-Coil Containing Protein 3 Support the Cancer Cell Mitotic Spindle.”
Current Position: Resident Physician, Internal Medicine, Stanford Hospital and Clinics

Eric Zimmerman, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 3/24/11
Advisors: Lee Graves
Title of Dissertation: “Lyn kinase regulation of microRNA and Mcl-1 in drug-resistant myelogenous leukemia.”
Current Position: Director, Clinical Pharmacology, Global Blood Therapeutics

Sarah Rogan, Ph.D., M.D.

Defense Date: 2/14/11
Advisors: Bryan Roth
Title of Dissertation: “Remote control of neuronal signaling in vivo.”
Current Position: Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburg, Pittsburg, PA

Steven Cappell, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 12/16/10
Advisors: Henrik Dohlman
Title of Dissertation: “Systematic Analysis of Essential Genes Reveals New Regulators of G protein Signaling.”
Current Position: Stadtman Investigator, National Cancer Institute (NCI), Bethesda, MD

John Bauman, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 12/6/10
Advisor: Ryszard Kole
Title of Dissertation: “Modification of Bcl-x and Mcl-1 pre-mRNA splicing using splice-switching oligonucleotide.”
Current Position: Senior Manager, Molecular Biology at LabCorp Drug Development (formerly Covance), Morrisville NC

Aurelie Gresset, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 8/5/10
Advisor: John Sondek
Title of Dissertation: “Mechanism of phosphorylation-induced activation of phospholipase C-gamma isozymes”
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France

Ellen Stevens, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 6/3/10
Advisor: Channing Der
Title of Dissertation: “Identification of Novel Therapeutic Approaches and Targets for the Treatment of Ovarian Carcinoma”
Current Position: Scientist, Diagnostic Development, Affinergy

Adam Kimple, Ph.D., M.D.

Defense Date: 5/5/10
Advisor: David Siderovski
Title of Dissertation: “R4 and R12 subfamily RGS proteins-Structure, funtion, and emerging chemical biology”
Current Position: Associate Professor, Human Oncology, Univ Wisconsin-Madison

Jamie Alan Olsen, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 3/15/10
Advisor: Adrienne Cox
Title of Dissertation: “Tyrosine kinase modulation of trafficking and biological functions of the atypical Rho GTPase, Wrch-1”
Current Position: Associate Professor of Pharmacology, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine

Tanya Zand, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 3/12/10
Advisor: Channing Der
Title of Dissertation: “Ras signaling through the RalGEF-Ral pathway in C. elegans”
Current Position: Associate Medical Writer at Squared Communications, Durham, NC

Tiffany K. Ricks, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 2/26/2010
Advisor: Ken Harden
Title of Dissertation: “Signal Regulation of Protease-activated Receptor-2 and Structural Determinants of Gaq -dependent Activation and Deactivation of Phospholipase C-ß”
Current Position: Pharmacology/Toxicology Supervisor at FDA

Randal Hand, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 12/29/09
Advisor: Franck Polleux
Title of Dissertation: “The regulation of cortical development by Neurogenin2”
Current Position: Principle Scientist at Apic Bio, Inc., Cambridge, MA

Jarrod Johnson, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 9/11/09
Advisor: R. Jude Samulski
Title of Dissertation: “Virion components and subcellular parameters that impact trafficking, nuclear targeting, and infection of adeno-associated virus”
Current Position: Research Assistant Professor at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City UT

Dionne R. Glast, Ph.D.

Defense Date:8/27/2009
Advisor: Rob Nichols
Title of Dissertation: “G Protein-coupled Receptor Signaling: Role of PAR-2 in Breast Carcinoma Metastasis and Regulation of Agonist-Promoted Internalization of P2Y1 Receptors”
Current Position: Medical Writing Science Senior Manager at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Durham, NC

Angela Russo, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 5/18/09
Advisor: Pilar Blancafort
Title of Dissertation: “Delineating and rationally perturbing signaling mechanisms involved in metastasis”
Current Position: Research Assistant Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago

Sabrice Guerrier, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 3/31/09
Advisor: Franck Polleux
Title of Dissertation: “Cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying srGaP2 function during neuronal development”
Current Position: Associate Professor of Biology, Rollins College, FL

Elizabeth Sweger Butala, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 3/27/09
Advisor: Ken McCarthy
Title of Dissertation: “Expression of the Gi-coupled RASSL Ro1 in GFAP-positive cells: a novel model of hydrocephalus”
Current Position: Scientist III/Bioanalytical Project Manager at BioAgilytix, Durham NC

Lisa Stalheim Crose, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 3/24/09
Advisor: Gary L. Johnson
Title of Dissertation: “Regulation and Function of the Cerebral Cavernous Malformation 2 Protein”
Current Position: Senior Manager, Regulatory Affairs, Orphazyme, US

Katie (Jungbluth) Kelm, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 3/23/09
Advisor: George Breese
Title of Dissertation: “Investigating the Mechanism of Ethanol-enhanced GABA Release”
Current Position: Associate Director Medical Writing at PPD

Nina DiPrimio, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 3/20/09
Advisor: R. Jude Samulski
Title of Dissertation: “Surface loop dynamics of a Parvovirus”
Current Position: Director, Strategic Alliances, Cary, NC

Ingrid Fricks, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 3/18/09
Advisor: Ken Harden
Title of Dissertation: “Molecular Pharmacology and Function of the P2Y14 Receptor”
Current Position: Senior Regulatory Consultant at Syneos Health

Justin Brown, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 11/7/08
Advisor: Richard Mailman
Title of Dissertation: “Structural basis for ligand-binding and activation of D1-like dopamine receptors”
Current Position: Vice President Business Development & Marketing at Strata Oncology, Ann Arbor, MI

Michael J. Lee, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 4/8/08
Advisor: Henrik Dohlman
Title of Dissertation: “Activation of G protein signaling by a non-receptor exchange factor”
Current Position: Assistant Professor at U. Mass Medical School, Worscester, MA

Amanda C. Sharko, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 4/1/08
Advisor: Clyde Hodge
Title of Dissertation: “The role of metabotropic glutamate receptors and associated cell signaling pathways in the acute sedative-hypnotic effects of ethanol”
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC

Mariya Chhatriwala, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 3/31/08
Advisor: John Sondek
Title of Dissertation: “Defining diverse mechanisms that regulate the activity of Dbl-family guanine nucleotide exchange factors”
Current Position: Business Development Associate at Wellcome Genome Campus, Cambridge, UK

Ryan Shanks, M.S.

Defense Date: 3/26/08
Advisor: Henrik Dohlman
Title of M.S. Thesis: “GAP independent RGS action”
Current Position: Practicing Physician

Donita Brady, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 3/17/08
Advisor: Adrienne Cox
Title of Dissertation: “The transforming Rho family GTPase, Wrch-1, regulates epithelial cell morphogenesis through modulating cell junctions and actin cytoskeletal dynamics”
Current Position: Assistant Professor of Cancer Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

Jiyoung Cha, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 7/24/07
Advisor: Channing Der
Title of Dissertation: “The role and mechanism of fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 in cellular transformation”
Current Position: Research Associate in Dr. Solomon Snyder’s lab at Johns Hopkins University

Bin Zhao, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 7/11/07
Advisor: Leslie Parise
Title of Dissertation: “Regulation of cell survival by CIB1, a new modulator of 3-phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase 1 (PDK1)”
Current Position: Clinical Director, Oncology at Merck, New York City NY

Eric Wauson, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 7/3/07
Advisor: Lee Graves
Title of Dissertation: “The Regulation of the Pyrimidine Biosynthetic Protein CAD by Phosphorylation and Protein-Protein Interactions”
Current Position: Associate Professor, Des Moines University, Des Moines, IA

Matthew Higgins, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 7/2/07
Advisor: Lee Graves
Title of Dissertation: “Regulation of Human Cytidine Triphosphate Synthetase 1 by Phosphorylation and Interacting Proteins”
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Gladstone Inst., University of California at San Francisco

Christopher Johnston, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 6/29/07
Advisor: David Siderovski
Title of Dissertation: “Structural Insights into the Molecular Basis of Heterotrimeric G-protein Signal Transduction”
Current Position: Associate Professor, University of New Mexico

YiXing (Emily) Zhou, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 6/28/07
Advisor: Ken Harden
Title of Dissertation: “Cloning and Characterization of a Novel Phospholipase C Isozyme, PLC-n2”
Current Position: Director of Feasibility, Pfizer

Mohamed Zayed, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 6/6/07
Advisor: Leslie Parise
Title of Dissertation: “ClB1 Mediated Regulation of Endothelial Cells and Pathological Angiogenesis”
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Surgery/Vascular Surgery at Washington University, St. Louis, MO

Rafael Rojas, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 5/21/07
Advisor: John Sondek
Title of Dissertation: “Coordinating the activation of RhoA by diverse RhoGEFs: SmgGDS and G-alpha-q-responsive Dbl family guanine nucleotide exchange factors”
Current Position: Associate Director at Prometheus Biosciences, San Diego, CA

James Ferguson, Ph.D., M.D.

Defense Date: 5/10/07
Advisor: Cam Patterson
Title of Dissertation: “Ankyrin Repeat and SOCS Box Protein 4 (ASB4) is a Hydroxylation Substrate of Factor Inhibiting HlF1a(FlH) and Promotes Vascular Differentiation via an Oxygen-Dependent Mechanism”
Current Position: Urology Resident at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Holly Gentry, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 5/3/07
Advisor: Leslie Parise
Title of Dissertation: “Structure and Biochemical Characterization of CIB1”
Current Position: Medical writer/editor

Jason Seifert, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 3/30/07
Advisor: Ken Harden
Title of Dissertation: “Regulation of phospholipase C-epsilon by Rho and Ras Family GTPases”
Current Position: Associate General Counsel, University of Utah

Breann Wolfe Barker, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 3/26/07
Advisor: JoAnn Trejo
Title of Dissertation: “Clathrin-dependent Internalization of Protease-activated Receptor-1: Regulation by Ubiquitination and Epsin”
Current Position: ‎Senior Scientist at Teva Pharmaceuticals, West Chester, PA

Dayle Houston, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 3/23/07
Advisor: Ken Harden
Title of Dissertation: “Agonist-Promoted Regulation of the P2Y1 Receptor: Quantification of Native and Recombinant Receptors with the Novel Radioligand [32P]MRS2500”
Current Position: Executive Director, Global Medical Writing at PPD

Marielle Yohe, Ph.D., M.D.

Defense Date: 3/19/07
Advisor: John Sondek
Title of Dissertation: “Auto-inhibition of Tim and Related Dbl-family Rho GEFs by an N-terminal Helical Motif”
Current Position: Assistant Clinical Investigator at the National Cancer Institute

Melinda Hains Willard, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 10/27/06
Advisor: David Siderovski
Title of Dissertation: “Multiple Domain ‘Nexus’ Proteins in Receptor-Mediated Cell Signaling”
Current Position: Research Scientist, Eli Lily, Indianapolis, IN

Sheritha P. Lee, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 6/19/06
Advisor: Leslie Parise
Title of Dissertation: “Chronic Inflammation in Sickle Cell Disease: Potential Role of Platelets and the Inflammatory Mediator CD40L”
Current Position:Global Medical Lead TTP and SCD at Takeda, Collegeville, PA

Qian Dai, Ph.D., M.D.

Defense Date: 5/06
Advisor: Cam Patterson
Title of Dissertation: “The cochaperone and ubiquitin ligase CHIP in protein quality control”
Current Position: Surgical Pathology Fellow at UC San Diego, San Diego CA

Biljania Djukic, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 4/11/06
Advisor: Ken McCarthy
Title of Dissertation: “Role of the inward rectifying K+ channel, Kir4.1, in astrocyte physiology and neuronal excitability”
Current Position: Director, Head of Translational Science at Takeda, Cambridge, MA

May M. Paing, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 8/25/05
Advisor: JoAnn Trejo
Title of Dissertation: “Regulation of Protease-activated Receptor 1 Signaling and Trafficking”
Current Position: Staff Scientist, Washington University Medical School, St. Louis, Department of Molecular Microbiology & Microbial Pathogenesis

Nathan Allen, M.S.

Defense Date: 7/28/05
Advisor: Jude Samulski
Title of M.S. Thesis: “Investigation of the Potential for Adeno-Associated Virus Type 5 to Establish Latency by Integration”
Current Position: Director of Product Management at Bio-Techne, Minneapolis, MN

Patricia Joyce Keller, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 7/5/05
Advisor: Adrienne Cox
Title of Dissertation: “Characterization of the small GTPase Rac3 in signaling and transformation”
Current Position: Scientist, Constellation Pharmaceuticals, Boston, MA

Anurag Singh, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 5/16/05
Advisor: Channing Der
Title of Dissertation: “The Role of Divergent Rho Family Members Rac1b and Rnd3 in Cellular Transformation and Oncogenesis”
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Boston University, Pharmacology and Medicine, Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology

Scott Oloff, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 4/20/05
Advisor: Richard Mailman, Alex Tropsha
Title of Dissertation: “Development of Computer Aided Drug Discovery Methods Based on Machine Learning Techniques and Application to the Dopamine D1 Receptor”
Current Position: Exec. Exec. Director of IT Research, Development, and Medicine Enablement, Boehringer Ingelheim

Vivian Choi, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 4/1/05
Advisor: Jude Samulski
Title of Dissertation: “The Involvement of DNA Replication and Repair Pathways in DNA Recombination Utilizing Viral DNA Terminal Repeat Hairpin Structures”
Current Position: Head of Global Gene Therapy Research at Takeda

Matthew Edin, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 3/29/05
Advisor: Rudy Juliano
Title of Dissertation: “Role of PAK and PKA in Adhesion-Dependent ERK Activation by EGF”
Current Position: Staff Scientist, Environmental Cardiopulmonary Disease Group, Immunity, Inflammation, and Disease Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)

Thomas Hilder, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 3/18/05
Advisor: Lee Graves
Title of Dissertation: “Phosphorylase Kinase and MAP Kinase Regulation During Skeletal Muscle Apoptosis and Atrophy”
Current Position: Senior Research Scientist I, Grifols, RTP, NC

Shannon Penland, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 3/4/05
Advisor: Leslie Morrow
Title of Dissertation: “Effects of Ethanol on Biosynthesis of GABAergic Neurosteroids”
Current Position: Director, Regulatory Affairs, Pearl Therapeutics, Raleigh, NC

Erik Bodor, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 2/21/05
Advisor: Ken Harden
Title of Dissertation: “Purification of the Human P2Y12 Receptor: Ligand Binding, G Protein Coupling, and Regulation by RGS Proteins”
Current Position: CFO & VP Research, Cognifem LLC, Boder Laboraries, Inc., Miami, FL

Sarah Leonard, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 11/15/04
Advisor: Richard Mailman
Title of Dissertation: “The Amygdala: A Model System for Novel Dopamine Receptor Pharmacology”
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Neuroscience Division, Princeton, NJ

Todd Palmby, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 7/6/04
Advisor: Channing Der
Title of Dissertation: “Components of Vav Mediated Transformation and Signal Transduction”
Current Position: Senior Director, US Regulatory Science and Strategy at BeiGene

Rhonda Saunders Wilder, M.S.

Defense Date: 3/24/04
Advisor: Adrienne Cox
Title of M.S. Thesis: “Regulation of Ect2, a Dbl family RhoGEF, by its Pleckstrin Homology (PH) domain”
Current Position: Assistant Research Practice Manager, Duke Cancer Institute

Carolyn Coyne, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 4/30/03
Advisor: Larry Johnson
Title of Dissertation: “Characterization and Modulation of Airway Tight Junctions”
Current Position: Associate Professor, University of Pittsburgh, Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics

Donnie Eddins, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 11/24/03
Advisor: Bob Rosenberg
Title of Dissertation: “Regulation of alpha7 neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors by extracellular divalent cations”
Current Position: Scientific Manager – Developmental Neurobiology Behavioral Core Laboratory at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis TN

Sally A. Hunsucker, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 6/18/03
Advisor: Beverly Mitchell
Title of Dissertation: “The Role of Cytosolic 5’-Nucleotidase IA in Nucleoside Analog Metabolism”
Current Position: Research Associate, Armistead laboratory, UNC-CH Lineberger Cancer Center

Randall Kimple, Ph.D., M.D.

Defense Date: 6/25/03
Advisor: David Siderovski
Title of Dissertation: “The Goloco Motifs of RGS12 and RGS14—Novel Regulators of G-Protein Signaling”
Current Position: Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin, Department of Human Oncology

Mark K. Larson, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 12/15/03
Advisor: Leslie Parise
Title of Dissertation: “Mechanisms and functions of glycoprotein VI-mediated Rap1 activation in platelets”
Current Position: Associate Professor, Augustina College, Department of Biology

Aylin Ulku, Ph.D., M.D.

Defense Date: 5/16/03
Advisor: Channing Der
Title of Dissertation: “RAS Regulation of Gene Expression in Ovarian Carcinogenesis”
Current Position: Assistant Professor, University of California at San Francisco, Department of Medicine

Amy Brinson, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 8/22/02
Advisor: Ken Harden
Title of Dissertation: “Differential Regulation of Uridine Nucleotide-activated P2Y4 and P2Y6 Receptors”
Current Position: Scientific writer, IMFORM GmbH, International Clinical Research

Chris Herold, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 8/12/02
Advisor: Rob Nicholas
Title of Dissertation: “Nucleotide Selectivities of the Human and Rat P2Y4 Receptors and Pharmacological Analysis of Chimeric Human/Rat P2Y4 Receptors”
Current Position: Senior Regional Medical Liaison, Amgen Cardiovascular

Peter Sazani, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 7/26/02
Advisor: Ryszard Kole
Title of Dissertation: “The Role of Chemical Structure in the Delivery and Activity of Antisense Oligonucleotides”
Current Position: Chief Development Officer at Enzerna Biosciences, Durham NC

Melanie Olesky, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 6/10/02
Advisor: Rob Nicholas
Title of Dissertation: “The Mechanism of Porin-mediated Antibiotic Resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae”
Current Position: US Head of Medical Affairs at Amryt Pharma plc, Arlington, MA

John Lambert, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 5/14/02
Advisor: Channing Der
Title of Dissertation: “Rac: Upstream Activation and Downstream Signaling”
Current Position: Consultant in Biotechnology, Cambridge, MA

Patrick Hines, Ph.D., M.D.

Defense Date: 3/22/02
Advisor: Leslie Parise
Title of Dissertation: “Intracellular Cyclic AMP Promotes Sickle RBC Aggregation and Adhesion to Laminin”
Current Position: Health Innovation Fellow, The Aspen Institute

Jason Kralic, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 10/3/02
Advisor: Leslie Morrow
Title of Dissertation: “GABAA Receptor α1 Subunity Knockout Mice Exhibit Plasticity of Gabaergic Function and Behavior”
Current Position: Co-founder & CEO, Tellus Therapeutics

Danielle Mercatante Carrick, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 10/11/02
Advisor: Ryszard Kole
Title of Dissertation: “Modification of the Alternative Splicing Pattern of BCL-x pre-mRNA: Induction of Cell Death and Chemo-sensitization of Cancer Cells”
Current Position: Program Director at National Cancer Institute, Washington D.C.

Peter Ward, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 1/28/02
Advisor: Dhiren Thakker
Title of Dissertation: “Phospholipase C as a Regulator of Epithelial Tight Junction Permeability: Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms”
Current Position: Senior Director, DMPK at Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc.

Victoria Harding, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 11/20/01
Advisor: Howard Rockman
Title of Dissertation: “Role of G Protein-Coupled Receptor Signaling in the Pathogenesis of Heart Failure”
Current Position: Postdoctoral fellow, UCSD, La Jolla CA

Kevin Pruitt, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 11/6/01
Advisor: Channing Der
Title of Dissertation: “Ras and Rho Regulation of the Cell Cycle and Oncogenesis”
Current Position: Associate Professor, Department of Immunology and Molecular Microbiology, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center

Jennifer Obernier, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 6/8/01
Advisor: Fulton Crews
Title of Dissertation: “The Relationship between Binge Drinking, Neurodegeneration and Cognitive Dysfunction”
Current Position: Deputy Senior Director, Security & Intel at Department of the Navy

Terry Amiss, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 4/6/01
Advisor: Jude Samulski
Title of Dissertation: “Investigation of the DNA Sequences Required for Site-specific Integration of Adeno-associate Virus Type 4”
Current Position: Research Scientist, Becton Dickinson Technologies, RTP NC

Julia Brittain, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 10/27/00
Advisor: Leslie Parise
Title of Dissertation: “Integrin-Associated Protein is an Agonist and Adhesion Receptor on Sickle Red Blood Cells”
Current Position: Vascular Biology Center, Augusta University, Augusta, GA;

Jung Weon Lee, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 7/11/00
Advisor: Rudy Juliano
Title of Dissertation: “The Role of Alpha 5 Beta 1 Integrin in Intestinal Epithelial Cell Survival “
Current Position: Associate Professor, Seoul National University, Korea

Mike Wheeler, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 5/10/00
Advisor: Ron Thurman
Title of Dissertation: “Oxidative Stress and Hepatic Gene Delivery: Studies with Adenovirus and Adeno-associated Virus”
Current Position: Associate Professor, East Carolina University, Department of Nutrition Science

Erik Dahlstrand, M.S.

Defense Date: 6/28/00
Advisor: Lee Graves
Title of M.S. Thesis: “Evidence of Unique Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase Localization to the Mitochondria”
Current Position: Buildings & Historic Sites Team Lead, Jefferson County Open Space, Golden, CO

Michelle Cunningham, Ph.D.

Defense Date: 3/10/00
Advisor: Ken Harden
Title of Dissertation: “Regulation of Inositol Lipid Signaling at Multiple Levels through Protein Kinase C-promoted Phosphorylation”
Current Position: Patent Attorney