Class of 1984
Diana McGookey Milewicz
Dissertation topic: Aspects of Cholesterol Metabolism involved in the Cholesteryl Ester Cycle in Macrophage Foams Cells and the Endocytic Pathway in Human Fibroblasts
Mentor: RGW Anderson
Current Position: Professor, Internal Medicine, Medical Genetics
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Houston Health Science Center
Kevin J. Petty
Dissertation Topic: The Role of Sodium-Potassium-Activated Adenosine Triphosphatase in the Mechanism of Mineralocorticoid Hormone Action in the Mammalian Nephron
Mentor: J. Kokko
Current Position: Director, Clinical Pharmacology
Current Affiliation: Merck
Class of 1986
Christen M. Anderson
Dissertation Topic: Regulation of the Synthesis and Activity of Cholesterol Side Chain Cleavage Cytochrome P-450 in the Adult and Fetal Testis
Mentor: C. Mendelson
Current Position: Senior Director, Clinical Development
Currrent Affiliation: Arena Pharmaceuticals
Debra Jeske Zack
Dissertation Topic: Molecular Mapping of Idiotopes and the Antigen Combining Site in A/J Anti-p-Azophenylarsonate Antibodies
Mentor: JD Capra
Current Position: Associate Medical Director, Pharmacology/Pathology
Current Affiliation: Amgen, Inc.
Class of 1987
John B. Williams
Dissertation Topic: The Role of Retinoic Acid in Vitamin A-Mediated Differentiation: F9 Embryonal Carcinoma Cells as a Model System
Mentor: JL Napoli
Current Position: Clinical Assistant Professor, Internal Medicine
Current Affiliation: University of Tennessee School of Medicine, Knoxville, TN
Class of 1988
Andrew Zinn
Dissertation Topic: Yeast Mitochondrial DNA Recombination
Mentor: R. Butow
Current Position: Associate Professor, Internal Medicine and McDermott Center for Human Growth & Development
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Class of 1989
Richard Rembecki
Dissertation Topic: Genetic analysis of hemopoetic histocompatibility (Hh1 antigens)
Mentor: M. Bennett
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Pediatrics
Current Affiliation: Medical City, Dallas
Barbara Joy Snider
Dissertation Topic: The complex class of nonadenylated polysomal RNA from rodent brain
Mentor: M. Morrison-Bogorad
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Neurology
Current Affiliation: Washington University
Class of 1991
Michael J. Eck
Dissertation Topic: The three-dimensional structure of Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF-alpha) at 2.6 angstrom resolution
Mentor: S. Sprang
Current Position: Associate Professor, Biological Chemistry & Molecular Pharmacology
Current Affiliation: Harvard University - Dana Farber Cancer Institute
Sunilkumar Patel
Dissertation Topic: Functional and phenotypic analysis of human T-cell clones
Mentor: P. Lipsky
Current Position: Private practice - Abilene, TX
Ellen Pizer
Dissertation Topic: Insertional activation of the C-MYB locus and development of B-cell lymphomas in chickens infected embryonically with ALV
Mentor: E. Humphries
Current Position: Attending Pathologist
Current Affiliation: CellNetix Pathology PLLC, Everett, WA
Ronald Rubenstein
Dissertation Topic: Regulation of G Proteins by the b-Adrenergic Receptor: Aspects of Receptor Structure and Selectivity
Mentor: E. Ross
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Pediatrics
Current Affiliation: Children's Hospital, Philadelphia
Mark Swancutt
Dissertation Topic: Molecular characterization of the immunogenic 34-kilo dalton membrane lipoprotein of Treponema palladium
Mentor: M. Norgard
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Microbiology and Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease
Current Affiliaton: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Keith Woeltje
Dissertation Topic: Structure/function/regulatory properties of mitochondrial carnitine palmitoyltransferase
Mentor: JD McGarry
Current Position: Associate Professor, Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases
Current Affiliation: Washington University, St. Louis
Class of 1992
Brian Maddux
Dissertation Topic: Processing of Multimodality Cortical Signals in the Cerebellar Paraflocculus
Mentor: D. Woodward
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Neurology
Current Affiliation: Case Western Reserve University
Andrea Richardson
Dissertation Topic: Molecular Cloning and Characterization of the t(2;14) Translocation Associated with Childhool CLL
Mentor: P. Tucker
Current Position: Instructor, Pathology
Current Affiliation: Harvard University, Brigham & Women's Hospital
Mark Segal
Dissertation Topic: The Role of Disulfide Bond Formation & the Cellular Protein BiP in the Folding of Influenza Hemagglutinin
Mentor: MJ Gething
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Medicine
Current Affiliation: University of Florida
Jeffrey Smith
Dissertation Topic: Feedback Regulation of Genes Controlling Cholesterol Metabolism
Mentors: M. Brown, J. Goldstein
Current Position: Research Assistant Professor, Medicine & Cancer Biology
Current Affiliation: Vanderbilt University
Class of 1993
Robert C. Kowal
Dissertation Topic: Studies of the Structure and Function of the LDL Receptor-Related Protein
Mentors: M. Brown, J. Goldstein
Current Position: Cardiologist
Current Affiliation: Baylor Heart Hospital, Dallas, TX
Sancy A. Leachman
Dissertation Topic: Functional Domains of Skeletal and Smooth Muscle Myosin Light Chain Kinases
Mentor: J. Stull
Current Position: Associate Professor of Dermatology and Director, Matthews Familial Melanoma Research Clinic, Huntsman Cancer Institute
Current Affiliation: University of Utah
Kathryn Maschhoff
Dissertation Topic: An Analysis of the Mechanism of Pre-mRNA Splicing using Phosphorothioate-Substituted RNA
Mentor: R. Padgett
Current Position: Clinical Associate Attending Neonatologist, Pediatrics Neo-Natal ICU
Current Affiliation: University of Pennsylvania
Class of 1994
David Crawford
Dissertation Topic: Structural and Functional Studies of Ribonuclease Inhibitor, a Cytosolic Phosphoprotein
Mentor: B. Beutler
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Pediatric Hematology-Oncology
Current Affiliation: University of Alabama, Birmingham
Keith Tansey
Dissertation Topic: Motor Unit Activation during Evoked Muscle Contractions: Implications for the Synaptic Organization of Motoneuron Pools and the Modulation of Muscle Force
Mentor: B. Botterman
Current Position: Assistant Professor of Neurology
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Class of 1995
Michael Wong
Dissertation Topic: Long-Term and Short-Term Steroidal Modulation of the Electrophysiological Properties of Hippocampal Neurons
Mentor: R. Moss
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Pediatric Neurology
Current Affiliation: Washington University, St. Louis
Class of 1996
Scott Armstrong
Dissertation Topic: Molecular and Biochemical Characterization of Rab Geranylgeranyl Transferase
Mentors: M. Brown, J. Goldstein
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Pediatrics
Current Affiliation: Harvard University - Dana Farber Cancer Institute
David M. Berman
Dissertation Topic: The Role of Steroid 5-a Reductase Isozymes in Male Sexual Development
Mentor: D. Russell
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Pathology
Current Affiliation: Johns Hopkins University
Laura Camp Lee
Dissertation Topic: Purification, Characterization and Molecular Cloning of Palmitoyl-Protein Thioeserase
Mentor: S. Hoffman
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Cell & Developmental Biology
Current Affiliation: Vanderbilt University
Leonidas Carayannopoulos
Dissertation Topic: A System for the Production of Recombinant Immunoglobulin A: Application to the Study of IgA Structure and Function
Mentor: JD Capra
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Internal Medicine/Pulmonary
Current Affiliation: Washington University, St. Louis
Diego Castrillon
Dissertation Topic: Studies of Loci Required for Male Fertility in Drosophila Melanogaster
Mentor: S. Wasserman
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Pathology
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Ravindhra G. Elluru
Dissertation Topic: Characterization of the Axonal Transport of Kinesin and Type I Hexokinase in the Rat Visual System
Mentor: S. Brady
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Otolaryngology
Current Affiliation: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Christine Kim Garcia
Dissertation Topic: Transporters of Mevalonate and Monocarboxylates
Mentors: M. Brown, J. Goldstein
Current Position: Assistant Professor, McDermott Center for Human Growth & Development
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Christopher L. Newton
Dissertation Topic: Cloning and Characterization of a cDNA for Ataxia-Telangiectasia
Mentor: T. Sudhof
Current Position: Pediatric Private Practice - Dallas, TX
Class of 1997
Fernando Catalina
Dissertation Topic: The Effect of Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) Administration on the Proliferation of Normal & Neoplastic Hematopoietic Progenitors: The Role of Caloric Restriction
Mentor: M. Bennett
Current Position: Private Practice
Current Affiliation: Medical Associates Pediatrics, Leominster, MA
Charles Eberhart
Dissertation Topic: A Molecular & Genetic Analysis of Pelota & Boule, Two Loci Required for Meiotic Cell Division in Drosophila Males
Mentor: S. Wasserman
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Pathology and Oncology
Current Affiliation: Johns Hopkins University
Phil Frykman
Dissertation Topic: The Very Low Density Lipoprotein Receptor Knockout Mouse
Mentors: M. Brown, J. Goldstein
Current Position: Attending Surgeon, Associate Director
Current Affiliation: Cedars-Sinai Pediatric Surgical Services, Los Angeles, CA
Naoum Issa
Dissertation Topic: The Concentration of Calcium Ions at the Presynaptic Active Zone of Hair Cells During Neurotransmitter Release
Mentor: AJ Hudspeth
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Neurobiology, Pharmacology, Physiology
Current Affiliation: University of Chicago
Daniel Lee
Dissertation Topic: Temperature-Dependent Regulation of Interleukin-1b Gene Expression
Mentor: P. Nison
Current Position: Clinical Instructor, Anesthesiology
Current Affiliation: Univeristy of California San Diego Medical Center
Ethan Lee
Dissertation Topic: The Structural Basis of G Protein Activation
Mentor: A. Gilman
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Cell & Developmental Biology
Current Affiliation: Vanderbilt University
Steve Margossian
Dissertation Topic: Studies of the Dead/H Box Protein, Suv3p, & Its Role in Mitochondrial RNA Metabolism in Yeast
Mentor: R. Butow
Current Position: Instructor, Pediatric Oncology and Medicine
Current Affiliation: Harvard University - Children's Hospital, Dana Farber Cancer Institute
Ignatius Ou
Dissertation Topic: Cloning & Characterization of Cellular Factors that Bind to Critical Regulatory Elements in the HIV-1 LTR
Mentor: R. Gaynor
Current Position: Assistant Clinical Professor, Medicine/Hematology-Oncology
Current Affiliation: University of California, Irvine Medical Center
David Raizen
Dissertation Topic: Behavioral, Electrophysical & Genetic Studies of Neurons that Control Pharyngeal Pumping in Caenorhabditis Elegans
Mentor: L. Avery
Current Position: Instructor, Neurology
Current Affiliation: University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
John Villano
Dissertation Topic: Molecular & Genetic Characterization of the Drosophila Four-Jointed Gene
Mentor: F. Katz
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Internal Medicine - Hematology/Oncology
Current Affiliation: University of Illinois at Chicago
Brian Weis
Dissertation Topic: Expression of the Carnitine Palmitoyltransferase Enzymes in Rat Liver & Heart
Mentor: JD McGarry
Current Position: Associate Professor, Internal Medicine
Current Affiliation: Texas Tech University School of Medicine
Patrick Weix
Dissertation Topic: Analysis of Loss of Heterozygosity in Murine Ocular Tumors by Simple Sequence Length Polymorphisms
Mentor: J. Sambrook
Current Position: Obstetrics and Gynecology Private Practice - Irving, TX
Class of 1998
Prakash Bhatia
Dissertation Topic: Identification and Analysis of RAD28, the Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Homolog of the Cockayne Syndrome Complementation Group A (CSA) Gene
Mentor: E. Friedberg
Current Position: Resident, Psychiatry
Current Affiliation: Washington University
Prakash Bhuyan
Dissertation Topic: Identification of the Rat Maternally Transmitted Antigen
Mentor: Kirsten Fischer Lindahl
Current Position: Instructor, Internal Medicine - Infectious Diseases
Current Affiliation: University of Pennsylvania
Britt Britton
Dissertation Topic: Molecular Characterization of Human Isoforms of Carnitine Palmitoyltranferase I
Mentor: JD McGarry
Current Position: Resident, Surgery
Current Affiliation: University of Tennessee, Memphis
Vik Dabhi
Dissertation Topic: Characteristics of T Cells Specific for the MHC Class I Molecule H2-M3
Mentor: Kirsten Fischer Lindahl
Current Position: Fellow, Medicine - Hematology/Oncology
Current Affiliation: University of Washington/Fred Huchison Cancer Center
Jim Davie
Dissertation Topic: Expression and Assembly of Mammalian Branched-Chain Alpha-Ketoacid Decarboxylase in Escherichia Coli
Mentor: D. Chuang
Current Position: Senior Staff Pathologist, Dermatopathology
Current Affiliation: Quest Diagnostics - Philadelphia, PA
Julia Klesney-Tait
Dissertation Topic: Characterization of the Major Outer Membrane Protein of Haemophilus ducreyi
Mentor: E. Hansen
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Internal Medicine
Current Affiliation: University of Iowa
Colin Koon
Dissertation Topic: Identification, Purification and Characterization of a Mitochondrial DNA-Binding Protein
Mentor: RS Williams
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Gynecologic Oncology
Current Affiliation: University of Nebraska Medical Center
Richard Noel
Dissertation Topic: Use of Recombinant Adenovirus for Engineering of Glucose Transport and Glycerol Metabolism in Insulinoma Cells and Islets of Langerhans
Mentor: C. Newgard
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Pediatric GI and Nutrition
Current Affiliation: Medical College of Wisconsin
Andrea Sestak
Dissertation Topic: Studies of Gene Expression in Two Animal Models of Growth and Insulin Hypersecretion in the Islets of Langerhans
Mentor: C. Newgard
Current Position: Research Assistant Member, Arthritis & Immunology Research Program
Current Affiliation: Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
Pampee Young
Dissertation Topic: Two Cis-Acting Motifs, a CRE-Like Element and a GT Box, are Necessary for the Cyclic AMP Regulation of the Human Surfactant Protein-A2 (SP-A2) Gene Expression in Alveolar Type II Cells
Mentor: C. Mendelson
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Pathology
Current Affiliation: Vanderbilt University
Class of 1999
David Berman
Dissertation Topic: Regulators of G Protein Signaling (RGS): A Family of GTPase Activating Proteins
Mentor: A. Gilman
Current Position: Associate Director, Clinical Discovery-Oncology
Current Affiliation: Bristol-Myers Squibb
Greg Clines
Dissertation Topic: The Positional Cloning of Three Loci Involved in Human Skeletal Growth and Morphogenesis
Mentor: M. Lovett
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism
Current Affiliation: University of Virginia Medical Center
Michael Biswas
Dissertation Topic: cDNA Cloning and Characterization of Enzymes that Metabolize Androgens
Mentor: D. Russell
Current Position: Internist, Private Practice
Current Affiliation: Presbyterian Dallas
Michele Hutchison
Dissertation Topic: Cloning and Characterization of the Mammalian STE20-Related Protein Kinases, PAK2 adn TAO1
Mentor: M. Cobb
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Pediatrics
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Robert Marquis
Dissertation Topic: Study of the Active Mechanical Properties of the Hair Bundle Which May Underlie Signal Amplification in Vertebrate Internal Ear Organs
Mentor: AJ Hudspeth
Current Position: Private Practice (Ophthalmology) - Austin, TX
Thai Nguyen
Dissertation Topic: Characterization of Neuroligins: Novel Cell Adhesion Molecules in Neurons
Mentor: T. Sudhof
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Anesthesiology & Critical Care Medicine
Current Affiliation: Johns Hopkins University
Monique Spillman
Dissertation Topic: Estrogen-Responsive Genes in Breast and Ovarian Cancer
Mentor: A. Bowcock
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology
Current Affiliation: University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
Linda Verkruyse
Dissertation Topic: Characterization of Palmitoyl-Protein Thioesterase and Its Role in Human Disease
Mentor: S. Hofmann
Current Position: Medical Oncology Private Practice
Current Affiliation: Texas Oncology - Texas Cancer Center, Arlington TX
Class of 2000
Beth Duncan
Dissertation topic: Identification and characterization of the sites of regulated proteolysis in SREBP-2
Mentors: M. Brown and J. Goldstein
Current Position: Resident (Research Track), Internal Medicine
Current Affiliation: University of North Carolina
Alex Faulkner Lazar
Dissertation topic: A New Family of Lipid Phosphate Phosphatases: What DO they Do
Mentor: P. Sternweis
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Pathology, Division of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Current Affiliation: University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center
Rene Galindo
Dissertation topic: Genetic and molecular analysis of dorsoventral signaling in the Drosophila embryo
Mentor: S. Wasserman
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Pediatric Pathology and Molecular Oncology
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Dick Kibbey
Dissertation topic: The LDL receptor clustering motif interacts with the clathrin terminal domain in a reverse turn conformation.
Mentor: RGW Anderson
Current Position: Associate Research Scientist, Internal Medicine - Endocrine
Current Affiliation: Yale University
Rob Makar
Dissertation topic: Non-Sterol Regulation of LDL Receptor Gene Expression in Jurkat Cells
Mentor: P Lipsky and J Cuthbert
Current Position: Clinical Fellow, Pathology
Current Affiliation: Harvard University - Massachusetts General Hospital
Kevin Rosenblatt
Dissertation topic: Alternative splicing of slo channels within auditory hair cells: A tune with many variations.
Mentor: AJ Hudspeth
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Pathology
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Class of 2001
Hal Berman
Dissertation Topic: Regulation of glucose disposal in hepatocytes and islets of Langerhans studied by metabolic engineering
Mentor: Dr. Chris Newgard
Current Position: Resident, Pathology
Current Affiliation: University of California, San Francisco Medical Center
Derek Byers
Dissertation Topic: The cytotoxic T lymphocyte response to a viral peptide presented by H2-M3
Mentor: Dr. Kirsten Fischer Lindahl
Current Position: Fellow, Internal Medicine - Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine
Current Affiliation: Washington University
Tom D'Orazio
Dissertation topic: A study of the camerosplenic axis of Anterior Chamber-Associated Immune Deviation (ACAID)
Mentor: Dr. Jerry Niederkorn
Current Position: Ophthalmology Private Practice, Pittsburgh PA
Alex Duncan
Dissertation Topic: A biochemical dissection of the heterotrimeric G protein thioacylation cycle
Mentor: Dr. Al Gilman
Current Position: Fellow, Internal Medicine - Infectious Diseases
Current Affiliation: University of North Carolina
David Edwards
Dissertation topic: Intracellular protein-protein interactions involved in the establishment of dorsoventral polarity during Drosophila melanogaster embryogenesis
Mentor: Dr. Steven Wasserman
Current Position: Fellow, Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiology
Current Affiliation: Johns Hopkins University
Greg Goldmakher
Dissertation Topic: Electrophysiological characterization of the voltage- and GABA-induced currents of periglomerular neurons of the rat accessory olfactory bulb
Mentor: Dr. Robert Moss (Deceased)
Current Position: Fellow, Pediatric Radiology
Current Affiliation: Boston's Children's Hospital
Adrian Goldstein
Dissertation Topic: CAATT displacement protein regulates B-lymphocyte and T-lymphocyte development
Mentor: Dr. Richard Scheuermann
Current Position: Fellow, Pathology (Dermatopathology)
Current Affiliation: University of Alabama, Birmingham
Greg Hosler
Dissertation Topic: Minimal residual disease evaluation as a prognostic indicator in T Cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Mentor: Dr. Richard Scheuermann
Current Position: Fellow/Assistant Resident, Pathology (Dermatopathology)
Current Affiliation: Johns Hopkins University
Laura Klesse
Dissertation Topic: Neurotrophin signaling cascades
Mentor: Dr. Luis Parada
Current Position: Postdoctoral Clinical Trainee/Fellow, Pediatrics (Pediatric Hematology/Oncology)
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Bobby Korn
Dissertation Topic: SCAP, A sterol sensing protein that regulates cholesterol homeostatis in the liver
Mentor: Drs. Michael Brown and Joseph Goldstein
Current Position: Fellow, Ophthalmology (Orbit & Reconstructive Surgery)
Current Affiliation: University of California, San Diego Medical Center
Steven Russell
Dissertation Topic: Role of the proteasome in gene transcription and DNA repair
Mentor: Dr. Stephen Johnston
Current Position: Research Fellow, Medicine (HMS); Assistant in Medicine/Endocrinology (MGH)
Current Affiliation: Harvard University - Massachusetts General Hospital
Greg Van Dyke
Dissertation Topic: Study of the mechanisms by which CD8 T lymphocytes suppress the replication of HIV in CD4 T cells
Mentor: Dr. Ellen Vitetta
Current Position: Resident, Dermatology
Current Affiliation: University of California at Los Angeles Medical Center
Class of 2002
Kevin Berman
Dissertation Topic: Studying Stress Responsive Signaling Pathways in C. elegans and Mammals
Mentor: Dr. Melanie Cobb
Current Position: Resident, Dermatology
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Mickie Cheng
Dissertation Topic: Regulation of meiosis and cell cycle in the developmental context of spermatogenesis of Drosophila.
Mentor: Dr. Steve Wasserman
Current Position: Clinical Fellow, Internal Medicine - Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism Division
Current Affiliation: University of California, San Francisco - San Francisco Veterans Administration Medical Center
Katrina Voe Cotton
Dissertation Topic: Translational regulation of HMG CoA reductase by a mevalonate-derived product
Mentor: Drs. Michael Brown and Joseph Goldstein
Current Position: Resident, Anesthesiology
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Amber Luong
Dissertation Topic: Study of the regulation of 2 isoforms of the transcription factor, 5REBP-1
Mentor: Drs. Michael Brown and Joseph Goldstein
Current Position: Rhinology Clinical Fellow, Division of Sinus and Nasal Disorders
Current Affiliation: Cleveland Clinic Foundation
David Myers
Dissertation Topic: Mapping the Energetics of Dimerization ofTrypanosoma brucei Ornithine Decarboxylase.
Mentor: Dr. Meg Phillips
Current Position: Fellow, Internal Medicine - Pulmonary Division
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Ben Ohlstein
Dissertation topic: A role for the Drosophila Bag-Of-Marbles and Benigh Gonial Cell Neoplasm genes in the differentiation of cystocytes from germline stem cells.
Mentor: Dr. Dennis McKearin
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow
Current Affiliation: Carnegie Institute-Washington (Baltimore)
Andrew Rozelle
Dissertation Topic: Phosphatidylinositol 4,5 bisphosphate induces actin-based movement of endocytic and exocytic vesicles enriched in sphingolipid: Cholesterol rafts through WASP family proteins and the Arp 2/3 complex.
Mentor: Dr. Helen Yin
Current Position: Fellow, Internal Medicine - Rheumatology Division
Current Affiliation: Stanford University
Jason Walenta
Dissertation Topic: Hooking Organelles to Microtubules
Mentor: Dr. Helmut Krämer
Current Position: Post Graduate Housestaff/Fellow, Psychiatry - Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Division
Current Affiliation: University of Utah School of Medicine
Class of 2003
Jared Abbott
Dissertation Topic: Active Site Analysis of Trypanosoma Brucei g-Glutamylcysteine Synthetase
Mentor: Dr. Meg Phillips
Current Position: Fellow, Pathology (Dermatopathology)
Current Affiliation: Mayo Clinic
Priscilla Chang
Dissertation Topic: Muscle-Specific Regulation Of Serum Response Factor By Differential DNA Binding Affinity And Cofactor Interactions
Mentor: Dr. Eric Olson
Current Position: Resident, Pathology
Current Affiliation: Harvard University - Brigham & Women's Hospital
Narimon Honarpour
Dissertation Topic: The Requirement of Apoptotic Protease Activating Factor-1 (APAF-1) For Mammalian Development
Mentor: Dr. Joachim Herz
Current Position: Resident, Internal Medicine
Current Affiliation: University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center
Michael Lutter
Dissertation Topic: The Role of Mitochondrial Contact Sites In Bid Mediated Cytochrome C Release
Mentor: Dr. Xiaodong Wang
Current Position: Assistant Instructor, Psychiatry
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Holt Oliver
Dissertation Topic: Genetic and Biochemical Analyses of the Necessity for Caspase Activation by the Ced4-Domain Proteins, Apaf-1 and DARK
Mentor: Dr. Xiaodong Wang
Current Position: Fellow, Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology
Current Affiliation: Johns Hopkins University
Gail Streater
Dissertation Topic: Elucidation of Functionally Important Amino Acids in the DNA DSBR and V(D)J Recombination Protein XRCC4
Mentor: Dr. Kathy Meek
Current Position: Resident, Pediatrics
Current Affiliation: University of Illinois College of Medicine, St. Francis Hospital, Peoria IL
Renee Valdez
Dissertation Topic: Myogenic BHLH Transcription Factors: Their Overlapping Functions And Direct Regulation of MEF2C Provide A Regulatory Network For The Maintenance And Amplification Of Vertebrate Myogenesis
Mentor: Dr. Eric Olson
Current Position: Resident, Pediatric Psychiatry
Current Affiliation: University of California, San Francisco Medical Center
Class of 2004
Dara Aisner
Dissertation Topic: Regulation Of hTERT, The Catalytic Subunit Of Human Telomerase
Mentor: Dr. Jerry W. Shay
Current Position: Resident, Pathology
Current Affiliation: National Institutes of Health - National Cancer Institute Clinical Center
Vivek Arora
Dissertation Topic: Identification And Characterization Of A Nef-Associatied Kinase
Mentor: Dr. Jose Victor Garcia-Martinez
Current Position: Resident, Internal Medicine
Current Affiliation: Harvard University - Massachusetts General Hospital
Adrienne Hammill
Dissertation Topic: Assymetric Cell Division Results In Differential Apoptotic Cell Fates In A B-Cell Lymphoma Model Of Tumor Dormancy
Mentor: Dr. Richard Scheuermann
Current Position: Resident, Pediatrics (Integrated Research Pathway, Lab of Dr. Erik Knudsen)
Current Affiliation: Cincinnati Children's Hospital - University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Mark Hatley
Dissertation Topic: Allosteric Determinants Of Guanine Nucleotide Binding Proteins And Methods To Crystallize The Cytosolic Domains Of Adenylyl Cyclase
Mentor: Dr. Al Gilman
Current Position: Fellow, Pediatrics (Pediatric Hematology/Oncology) & Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Molecular Biology, Dr. Eric Olson Laboratory
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Children's Medical Center of Dallas
Jennifer Hodges
Dissertation Topic: Differential Effects Of Thiazolidinediones On Gene Expression In Mouse And Rat
Mentor: Dr. J. Denis McGarry (deceased) and Dr. Victoria Esser
Current Position: Resident, Obstetrics/Gynecology
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Mahesh Karandikar
Dissertation Topic: A Study of Mekk1: Scaffolding Protein and Raf-1 Activator
Mentor: Dr. Melanie Cobb
Current Position: Resident, Neurosurgery
Current Affiliation: University of Washington Affiliated Hospitals
Rafal Kedzierski
Dissertation Topic: Cardiovascular Role Of Endothelin-A Receptor: Studies In Conditional Gene Knockout Mice
Mentor: Dr. Masashi Yanigasawa
Current Position: Resident, Radiology
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Thomas Kerr
Dissertation Topic: Cholesterol 25-Hydroxylase And The In Vivo Role Of Short Heterodimer Partner (SHP) In Bile Acid Metabolism
Mentor: Dr. David W. Russell
Current Position: Resident, Internal Medicine
Current Affiliation: Barnes-Jewish Hospital - Washington University
Lily Li
Dissertation Topic: The Role Of Endonuclease G, A Mitochondrial Nuclease In Apoptosis
Mentor: Dr. Xiaodong Wang
Current Position: Resident, Dermatology
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Timothy Lu
Dissertation Topic: Nuclear Receptor Regulation of Bile Acid Metabolism
Mentor: Dr. David Mangelsdorf
Current Position: Fellow, Internal Medicine (Division of GI)
Current Affiliation: University of California, San Francisco Medical Center
David McFadden
Dissertation Topic: Control Of Cardiac And Limb Development By The bHLH Transcription Factors dHAND and eHAND
Mentor: Dr. Eric Olson
Current Position: Resident, Internal Medicine
Current Affiliation: Harvard University - Brigham & Women's Hospital
Timothy Niacaris
Dissertation Topic: Serotonergic And G-Protein Mediated Regulation Of The C. Elegans Pharyngeal Muscle Action Potential
Mentor: Dr. Leon Avery
Current Position: Resident, Orthopedic Surgery
Current Affiliation: University of California, San Diego Medical Center
Adam Seegmiller
Dissertation Topic: Feedback Regulation Of Lipid Biosynthesis By Drosophila Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Protein (dSREBP)
Mentor: Drs. Michael Brown and Joseph Goldstein
Current Position: Resident, Clinical Pathology
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Class of 2005
Gene Devora
Dissertation Topic: Activating Murine NK Cell Receptors LY49H and LY49U and Their Potential Role in Friend Virus Resistance
Mentor: Michael Bennett
Current Position: Resident, Internal Medicine
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Ed Esplin
Dissertation Topic: Characterization of the Role of the PP2A-A Beta Gene, a Putative Tumor Suppressor, in Cell Growth and Tumorigenesis
Mentor: Glen Evans/Marc Mumby
Current Position: Resident, Internal Medicine
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Jimmy L. Holder
Dissertation Topic: The bHLH/PPAS Transcription Factor SIM1 is a Novel Obesity Gene
Mentor: Andrew Zinn
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Laboratory of Dr. Louis Ptacek, Neurology
Current Affiliation: University of California, San Francisco
Irfan Kathiriya
Dissertation Topic: GATA Co-factors: Collaborators in Cardiac Development, Conspirators in Cardiac Disease
Mentor: Deepak Srivastava
Current Position: Resident, Anesthesiology (prelim) and Pediatrics
Current Affiliation: University of California, San Francisco Medical Center
Deepak Nijhawan
Dissertation Topic: Biochemical Pathways in Apoptosis
Mentor: Xiaodong Wang
Current Position: Resident, Internal Medicine
Current Affiliation: Harvard University - Massachusetts General Hospital
John Peters
Dissertation Topic: Casein Kinase 1 Transduces Wnt Signals
Mentor: Jon Graff
Current Position: Resident, Pathology
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Katherine Steger
Dissertation Topic: Cholinergic Regulation of Feeding in C. elegans: Studies of a T-type Calcium Channel and Three Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptors
Mentor: Leon Avery
Current Position: Resident, Psychiatry
Current Affiliation: McGill University
Matthew Wieduwilt
Dissertation Topic: Smad3 in Embryonic Patterning, Mesoderm Induction, and Colorectal Cancer in the Mouse
Mentor: Jon Graff
Current Position: Resident, Internal Medicine
Current Affiliation: University of California, San Francisco Medical Center
Jon Willie
Dissertation Topic: Lessons from Sleepy Mice: Narcolepsy and the Orexin Neuropeptide System
Mentor: Masashi Yanagisawa
Current Position: Resident, Neurosurgery
Current Affiliation: Washington University
Class of 2006
Jeffrey B. Cheng
Dissertation Topic: cDNA Cloning And Characterization Of Enzymes That Synthesize Bile Acids, Vitamin D And Waxes
Mentor: Dr. David Russell
Current Position: Emory University School of Medicine, Transitional Year
Current Affiliation: University of California (San Francisco) Affiliated Hospitals, Dermatology
Jennifer Olson Graves
Dissertation Topic: The Molecular Mechanism of High Signaling Efficiency in Drosophila Photoreceptor Cells.
Mentor: Dr. Rama Ranganathan
Current Position: Virginia Mason Medical Center, Internal Medicine-Preliminary
Current Affiliation: University of Pennsylvania Health System, Neurology
Rohit Sharma
Dissertation Topic: The physical mechanism underlying long-range energetic interactions between sites in a protein.
Mentor: Dr. Rama Ranganathan
Current Position: Resident, Internal Medicine
Current Affiliation: Boston University Medical Center
Andrew Ira Shulman
Dissertation Topic: Allosteric Communication in Retinoid X Receptor Heterodimers
Mentor: Dr. David Mangelsdorf
Current Position: Resident, Pediatrics
Current Affiliation: Children's Hospital/Boston Medical Center
Mark R. Steciuk
Dissertation Topic: The control of terminal bulb pumping in the nematodes C. elegans and P. redivivus
Mentor: Dr. Leon Avery
Current Position: Resident, Pathology
Current Affiliation: University of Alabama Medical Center - Birmingham
Rhea M. Sumpter, Jr.
Dissertation Topic: Viral & Host Genetic Determinants of Hepatitis C Virus Persistence and Interferon Resistance
Mentor: Dr. Michael Gale
Current Position: Resident, Internal Medicine
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical School/Affiliated Hospitals
Elie A. Traer
Dissertation Topic: Regulation of cytochrome c release in UV-induced apoptosis
Mentor: Dr. Xiaodong Wang
Current Position: Resident, Internal Medicine
Current Affiliation: Oregon Health and Science University
Class of 2007
James Battiste
Dissertation Topic: Mash1 Defines Lineage-Restricted Neuron and Oligodendrocyte Precursor Cells in Spinal Cord Development
Mentor: Dr. Jane Johnson
Current Position: Resident, Neurology
Current Affiliation: UT Southwestern Medical Center
Alan Chiang
Dissertation Topic: Evolution of Pharyngeal Feeding Behaviors in Free-living Soil Nematodes
Mentor: Dr. Leon Avery
Current Position: Resident, Internal Medicine (Preliminary); Resident, Radiology
Current Affiliation: UT Southwestern Medical Center (Preliminary); University of California, San Diego
Luke Engelking
Dissertation Topic: Insig-Mediated Regulation of Hepatic Lipid Synthesis
Mentor: Drs. Mike Brown and Joe Goldstein
Current Position: Resident, Internal Medicine
Current Affiliation: Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital
Jamison Feramisco
Dissertation Topic: SCAP, INSIG, and Cholesterol Interactions in Mammalian Cells
Mentor: Drs. Mike Brown and Joe Goldstein
Current Position: Resident, Internal Medicine (Preliminary); Resident, Dermatology
Current Affiliation: UT Southwestern Medical Center (Preliminary); University of California, San Francisco
Eileen Foy
Dissertation Topic: Control of Innate Antiviral Defenses by the Hepatitis C Virus NS3/4A Protease
Mentor: Dr. Michael Gale
Current Position: Resident, Pediatrics
Current Affiliation: University of California, San Francisco
Garrett Gotway
Dissertation Topic: The Role of Apobec2 in Striated Muscle Development and Function
Mentor: Dr. Deepak Srivastava
Current Position: Resident, Pediatrics
Current Affiliation: UT Southwestern Medical Center
Nathan Holladay
Dissertation Topic: Data-optimized Linear Predictors of Disorder in Proteins Yield Insight into Disorder Prediction and Physical Processes Underlying Disorde
Mentor: Dr. Nick Grishin
Current Position: Resident, Internal Medicine
Current Affiliation: East Carolina University (Greenville, NC)
Christopher Jones
Dissertation Topic: Development and Analysis of an Animal Model of Autosomal Recessive Hypercholesterolemia
Mentor: Dr. Joachim Herz
Current Position: Resident, Internal Medicine
Current Affiliation: George Washington University
Jason Mock
Dissertation Topic: The LspA Proteins of Haemophilus ducreyi: Extracellular Virulence Factors
Mentor: Dr. Eric Hansen
Current Position: Resident, Internal Medicine
Current Affiliation: Johns Hopkins University
Charles Nguyen
Dissertation Topic: Haplotype-specific Effects of the SLAM/CD2 Family on the Immune Response
Mentor: Dr. Ward Wakeland
Current Position: Resident, Internal Medicine
Current Affiliation: University of Texas, Houston
Tim Rand
Dissertation Topic: A Biochemical Model for siRNA Loading and RISC activation in RNA interference
Mentor: Dr. Xiaodong Wang
Current Position: Resident, Pathology
Current Affiliation: University of California, San Francisco
Abhi Seth
Dissertation Topic: Autoinhibition Regulates the Actin Assembly Activity and Cellular Localization of Diaphanous-Related Formins
Mentor: Drs. Michael Rosen and Helen Yin
Current Position: Resident, Internal Medicine
Current Affiliation: Yale University
Tuhin Virmani
Dissertation Topic: Molecular And Functional Determinants Of Synaptic Vesicle Recycling In CNS Synapses
Mentor: Dr. Ege Kavalali
Current Position: Resident, Neurology
Current Affiliation: Washington University
Jeff Waugh
Dissertation Topic: A Structural/Behavioral Analysis of Dopamine Regulation by the R7 RGS Subfamily
Mentor: Dr. Stephen Gold
Current Position: Resident, Pediatric Neurology
Current Affiliation: Harvard University/Boston Children's Hospital
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