Current MD-PhD Students

Year in Program: MY2
Mentor: Ashok Chopra
Graduate Program: MICR

Research Interest

I am interested in the interactions between bacteria and the host immune system, as well as discovering new treatments and vaccines to protect against multi-drug resistant bacterial pathogens.

Honors & Awards

• 2016 - Outstanding Student Abstract, ASM Microbe Conference.

Publications

• S. Ainsworth, P.M. Ketter, J.J. Yu, R.C. Grimm, H.C. May, A.P.. Cap, J.P. Chambers, M.N. Guentzel, B.P. Arulanandam. (2017) Vaccination with a live attenuated Acinetobacter baumannii decifient in thioredoxin provides protection against systemic Acinetobacter infection. Vaccine. 35: 3387 – 3394.

Presentations

• S. Ainsworth, P.M. Ketter, J.J. Yu, M.N. Guentzel, B.P. Arulanandam. Characterization of a Live Attenuated Vaccine for Protection Against Multi-Drug Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii. Poster Presentation. ASM Microbe Conference 2016. Boston, MA.
• S. Ainsworth, P.M. Ketter, J.J. Yu, M.N. Guentzel, B.P. Arulanandam. Characterization of a Live Attenuated Vaccine for Protection Against Multi-Drug Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii. Oral Presentation. SURF Conference 2016. San Antonio, TX.
• S. Ainsworth, P.M. Ketter,J. J. Yu, M.N. Guentzel, B.P. Arulanandam. Characterization of a Live Attenuated Vaccine for Protection Against Multi-Drug Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii. Poster Presentation. SURF Conference 2016. San Antonio, TX.
• S. Ainsworth, P.M. Ketter, J.J. Yu, M.N. Guentzel, B.P. Arulanandam. Characterization of a Live Attenuated Vaccine for Protection Against Multi-Drug Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii. Poster Presentation. Vaccine Conference 2015. San Antonio, TX.
• S. Ainsworth, P.M. Ketter, J.J. Yu, M.N. Guentzel, B.P. Arulanandam. Characterization of a Live Attenuated Vaccine for Protection Against Multi-Drug Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii. Poster Presentation. UTSA COS Research Conference 2015. San Antonio, TX.

Year in Program: MY2
Mentor: Physician Healer Track - Geary;
Summer 2020 Dr. Sheetz
Graduate Program: BMB (MBET)

Research Interests

I am interested in real-time imaging and mathematical modeling of contractile units in nonmuscle cells and their role in rigidity sensing and preventing cancer growth.

Honors & Awards

• Graduate Student Poster Presentation Award 24th Annual Structural Biology Symposium 2019
• Best Poster Presentation for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (2nd place) National Student Research Forum 2019
• Vesalius Osler Society Travel Grant School of Medicine 2019
• Dr. F. Parker Gregg Scholarship School of Medicine 2019
• Dea Bailey Calvin Research Scholarship School of Medicine 2019
• Outstanding Poster Award NIH Postbaccalaureate Poster Day 2017
• Intramural Research Training Award NIH 2017-2018
• NSF Physics REU Fellowship Kansas State University 2016
• Undergraduate Research Fellowship University of California, Los Angeles 2015

Research Activities

ResearchGate Profile

Year in Program: MY2
Mentor: Michael Cornforth
Graduate Program: BMB

Research Interest

I am interested in mitigating the deleterious effects of long-term spaceflight. Currently, our group is investigating the effects of high- and low-LET ionizing radiation on human cells using directional genomic hybridization.

Honors & Awards

• Alfred and Janet Potvin Outstanding Bioengineering Student Award
• Great Beginnings Award
• University Scholar
• Outstanding Academic Achievement Award

Research Activities

ResearchGate Profile

Year in Program: GY1
Undergrad University: Baylor University
Mentor: TBD
Graduate Program: TBD

Research Interests

My research interest pertains to the epidemiology of chronic disease, particularly diabetes mellitus. I am interested in the social as well as physiological impacts of this disease as it progresses over time.

Honors and Awards

• Bluebonnet Health Services Initiative Award, 2016
• Bluebonnet Health Services Volunteer of the Year, 2014
• Providence Hospital Research Internship, 2014-2015
• Dean's Academic Honor List (Baylor University), 2012-2015
• National Society of Collegiate Scholars special recognition for "commitment to the ideals of scholarship, leadership and service", 2012
• Baylor-Buckner Honors College Scholarship (for travel abroad to Peru), 2012

Research Activities

ResearchGate Profile

Year in Program: GY1
Undergrad University: Loyola University Chicago
Mentor: TBD
Graduate Program: TBD

Research Interests

My research interests are in understanding, managing, and finding solutions to the medical challenges of human spaceflight, and the clinical applications of those solutions to life on Earth.

Honors and Awards

• Loyola University Chicago Pre-Health Award- November 2015
• Sigma Pi Sigma Award for Excellence in Physics- May 2016
• Graduated Cum Laude from Loyola University Chicago- May 2016
• Jeffrey R. Davis Space Medicine Scholarship- May 2017

Publications

• Masterova, K., Sethi, A., Anderson, D., Prabhu, V., Rusu, I., Gros, S. and Melian, E. (2016), SU-F-T-638: Is There A Need For Immobilization in SRS? Med. Phys., 43: 3610–3611. doi:10.1118/1.4956823

Presentations

• Initiation to Leadership Development in Aerospace Medicine- a Student’s Perspective
  May 2017, Aerospace Medicine Association Annual Meeting- Leadership Development Panel
• Accounting for Gravity in Ocular Hemodynamics and Intraocular Pressure Modeling
  May 2017, Aerospace Medicine Association Annual Meeting
• Colonoscopy Screening in the U.S. Astronaut Corps
  Feb 2016, NASA Human Research Program Investigators Workshop- Poster
• Predicted and Observed Biological and Psychological Effects of the Early Space Flight Environment
  April 2015, Chicago Area Undergraduate Research Symposium- Poster

Year in Program: GY1
Undergrad University: Johns Hopkins University
Mentor: TBD
Graduate Program: TBD

Research Interests

My interests revolve around a central theme of understanding the etiology of disease so as to either exploit it with novel therapeutics or delay onset of disease. I am primarily involved in developing new treatments against Glioblastoma Multiforme, as well as studying nucleoside related therapy  neurotoxicity. This has led me to develop a range of skills to complement my clinical knowledge such as in physical and organic chemistry, biophysics, bioinformatics, and a variety of mass spectrometry "omic" techniques as well as mass spectrometry imaging. The goal is that my training will allow me to meet the needs of a physician-scientist that advances the field of medicine. 

Honors and Awards

• Vice President of the MD-PhD Student Association, 2017-2019
• Johns Hopkins University, Chemistry Department Honors, 2016
• Johns Hopkins University Honors
• Phi Beta Kappa Alpha Chapter of Maryland at Johns Hopkins University, Class of 2016
• Kilpatrick prize for outstanding academic achievement in Chemistry, 2016
• Deans Undergraduate Research Award (grant), 2016
• American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) membership awardee

Research Activities

ResearchGate Profile

Year in Program: GY1
Undergrad University: Regis University
Mentor: TBDGraduate Program: TBD

Research Interests

I am an MD/PhD student at the University of Texas Medical Branch. My goals are to reduce the global burden of hemorrhagic fever viruses, promote effective medical care in resource limited settings, and develop novel interventions for infectious and inflammatory diseases. I have held research positions at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the University of Colorado. I have multiple publications, including in Frontiers in Immunology, JHEP Reports, and Cell Reports.

Honors and Awards

• Burroughs Wellcome Fund Trainee Travel Award, Association for Clinical and Translational Science, 03/2023
• Institute for Translational Science TL1 Training Core, University of Texas Medical Branch, 01/2021-04/2023
• Andrew A. Lackner Early-Stage Investigator Award, 38th Annual Symposium on Nonhuman Primate Models for AIDS, 09/2021
• Edward S. Reynolds Award,  University of Texas Medical Branch, 10/2021
• Samuel Baron, MD Research Scholarship, University of Texas Medical Branch, 01/2021
• Arthur and Dorothy Barrett Scholarship Fund, University of Texas Medical Branch, 12/2019
• Dean's List, Regis University, 2011-2015
• Alpha Sigma Nu National Jesuit Honors Society, 2014-Present
• Beta Beta Beta National Biological Honors Society, 2011-Present

Research Activities

ResearchGate Profile

Year in Program: GS1
Mentor: Dr. Rakez Kayed and Dr. Mauro Montalbano
Graduate Program: Neurology

Abbigael Aday is a first year PhD student in the neurology program. She is studying under the direction of Dr. Rakez Kayed and Dr. Mauro Montalbano in the Mitchell Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases

ResearchGate
LinkedIn
Rakez Kayed Lab

Year in Program: GS2
Mentor: Dr. Lawrence Sowers
Graduate Program: Pharmacology/Toxicology

Research Interests:

I am interested in the metabolic pathways that contribute to chemotherapy resistance in glioblastoma as well as processes involved in DNA repair. Previously at UT Austin, I investigated how binding motifs impact the specificity and efficiency of human helicase-mediated disruption of secondary DNA/RNA structures.

Honors & Awards:

• Translational Science Training Grant (TL1) from NCATS, UTMB (2024- )
• Truman G. Blocker Endowment for the MD/PhD Program (2022-2023)
• John Sealy School of Medicine Research Scholarship Grant (2022)
• UT Austin Graduate with Honors and Research Distinction (2020)
• UT Austin Undergraduate Research Fellowship (2018)

Research Activities:

Researchgate:
Baljinnyam, T., Conrad, J. W., Sowers, M. L., Chang-Gu, B., Herring, J. L., Hackfeld, L. C., ... & Sowers, L. C. (2023). Characterization of a Novel Thermostable DNA Lyase Used To Prepare DNA for Next-Generation Sequencing. Chemical Research in Toxicology, 36(2), 162-176.

Sowers, M. L., Conrad, J. W., Chang-Gu, B., Cherryhomes, E., Hackfeld, L. C., & Sowers, L. C. (2023). DNA Base Excision Repair Intermediates Influence Duplex–Quadruplex Equilibrium. Molecules, 28(3), 970.
Chang-Gu, B., Venkatesan, S., & Russell, R. (2022). Kinetics measurements of G-quadruplex binding and unfolding by helicases. Methods.

Chang-Gu, B., Bradburn, D., Yangyuoru, P. M., & Russell, R. (2021). The DHX36-specific-motif (DSM) enhances specificity by accelerating recruitment of DNA G-quadruplex structures. Biological Chemistry, 402(5), 593-604.

Year in Program: GY1
Mentor: Ping Wu, MD, PhD
Graduate Program: Neuroscience Graduate Program

Research Interests

My research interests are in the impact of maternal opioid use on fetal brain development and offspring behavior, and the effect of a high-fat diet on different pain states.

Honors & Awards

• Harry B. and Marie S. Kelso Endowed Blocker Scholarship, 9/2022 - 8/2023
• University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX
• Behavioral and Brain Sciences Honors (BBS), 2018
  Thesis: Palmitic Acid Induces pain via the TLR4 receptor on Sensory Neurons
• University of Texas at Dallas, TX
• Larry Cauller Undergraduate Research Travel Award, 2018
• University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX
• Undergraduate Research Scholar Award, 2018
• University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX
• Buhrmester Undergraduate Research Award, 2017
• University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX

Research Activities

Research Gate
ORCID ID: 0000-0003-2615-5847