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:  Allergist
Current Affiliation: Texas Health Resources, Texas Health Plano, Plano, TX 

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:  Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine, Hospitalist Program
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas

Jimmy L. Holder
Dissertation Topic: The bHLH/PPAS Transcription Factor SIM1 is a Novel Obesity Gene
Mentor: Andrew Zinn
Current Position:  Resident in Pediatrics, Division of Child Neurology
Current Affiliation: Baylor College of Medicine (Houston, TX)

Irfan Kathiriya
Dissertation Topic: GATA Co-factors:  Collaborators in Cardiac Development, Conspirators in Cardiac Disease
Mentor: Deepak Srivastava
Current Position:  Clinical Fellow, Pediatric Anesthesia
Current Affiliation: University of California at San Francisco Medical Center

Deepak Nijhawan
Dissertation Topic: Biochemical Pathways in Apoptosis
Mentor: Xiaodong Wang
Current Position:  Clinical Fellow in Internal Medicine
Current Affiliation: Harvard University - Dana Farber Cancer Institute

John Peters
Dissertation Topic: Casein Kinase 1 Transduces Wnt Signals
Mentor: Jon Graff
Current Position:  Pathologist
Current Affiliation: Texas Health Resources, Texas Health HEB, Bedford, TX 

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 in Psychiatry
Current Affiliation: McGill University Health Centre (Montreal, QC, Canada)

Matthew Wieduwilt
Dissertation Topic: Smad3 in Embryonic Patterning, Mesoderm Induction, and Colorectal Cancer in the Mouse
Mentor: Jon Graff
Current Position:  Clinical Fellow in Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology
Current Affiliation: University of California at San Francisco Medical Center

Jon Willie
Dissertation Topic: Lessons from Sleepy Mice:  Narcolepsy and the Orexin Neuropeptide System
Mentor: Masashi Yanagisawa
Current Position: Resident in Neurosurgery
Current Affiliation: Washington University School of Medicine 

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: Resident in Dermatology
Current Affiliation: University of California at San Francisco Medical Center

Jennifer Olson Graves
Dissertation Topic:  The Molecular Mechanism of High Signaling Efficiency in Drosophila Photoreceptor Cells.
Mentor: Dr. Rama Ranganathan
Current Position: Instructor in Neurology; Fellow, Neuro-ophthalmology
Current Affiliation: University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

Rohit Sharma
Dissertation Topic: The physical mechanism underlying long-range energetic interactions between sites in a protein.
Mentor: Dr. Rama Ranganathan
Current Position: Instructor, Internal Medicine
Current Affiliation: Harvard University Massachusetts General Hospital

Andrew I. Shulman
Dissertation Topic: Allosteric Communication in Retinoid X Receptor Heterodimers
Mentor: Dr. David Mangelsdorf
Current Position: Clinical Fellow in Pediatrics, Rheumatology Division
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas 

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: PGY5 Resident Post Grad in Pathology
Current Affiliation: University of Alabama Medical Center at 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: Postdoctoral Clinical Trainee/Fellow in Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases Division
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas

Elie A. Traer
Dissertation Topic: Regulation of cytochrome c release in UV-induced apoptosis
Mentor: Dr. Xiaodong Wang
Current Position: Clinical Fellow in Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology
Current Affiliation: Knight Cancer Institute, 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: Postdoctoral Clinical Trainee/Fellow, Neurology & Neruotherapeutics
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas

Jing-Tzyh (Alan) Chiang
Dissertation Topic: Evolution of Pharyngeal Feeding Behaviors in Free-living Soil Nematodes
Mentor: Dr. Leon Avery
Current Position: Postdoctoral Clinical Trainee in Radiology
Current Affiliation: University of California at San Diego Medical Center

Luke Engelking
Dissertation Topic: Insig-Mediated Regulation of Hepatic Lipid Synthesis
Mentor: Drs. Mike Brown and Joe Goldstein
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Molecular Genetics; Laboratory of Drs. Mike Brown and Joe Goldstein
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas

Jamison Feramisco
Dissertation Topic: SCAP, INSIG, and Cholesterol Interactions in Mammalian Cells
Mentor: Drs. Mike Brown and Joe Goldstein
Current Position: Resident in Dermatology, Molecular Medicine Program
Current Affiliation: University of California at San Francisco Medical Center

Eileen Foy
Dissertation Topic: Control of Innate Antiviral Defenses by the Hepatitis C Virus NS3/4A Protease
Mentor: Dr. Michael Gale
Current Position: Clinical Fellow in Pediatric Infectious Disease
Current Affiliation: University of California at San Francisco Medical Center

Garrett Gotway
Dissertation Topic: The Role of Apobec2 in Striated Muscle Development and Function
Mentor: Dr. Deepak Srivastava
Current Position: Postdoctoral Clinical Trainee/Fellow in Pediatric Genetics
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas - Children's Medical Center of Dallas

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 in Internal Medicine
Current Affiliation: Pitt County Memorial Hospital/East Carolina University (Winterville, NC)

Christopher Jones
Dissertation Topic: Development and Analysis of an Animal Model of Autosomal Recessive Hypercholesterolemia
Mentor: Drs. Joachim Herz and Helen Hobbs
Current Position: Clinical Fellow in Internal Medicine
Current Affiliation: George Washington University (Washington, DC)

Jason Mock
Dissertation Topic: The LspA Proteins of Haemophilus ducreyi: Extracellular Virulence Factors
Mentor: Dr. Eric Hansen
Current Position: Clinical Fellow in Internal Medicine, Division of Pulmonology/Respiratory
Current Affiliation: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Charles Nguyen
Dissertation Topic: Haplotype-specific Effects of the SLAM/CD2 Family on the Immune Response
Mentor: Dr. Ward Wakeland
Current Position: Resident in Internal Medicine
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Health Science Center (Houston, TX)

Tim Rand
Dissertation Topic: A Biochemical Model for siRNA Loading and RISC activation in RNA interference
Mentor: Dr. Xiaodong Wang
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Dr. Shinya Yamanaka Laboratory
Current Affiliation: Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease; University of Calfornia at San Francisco Medical Center 

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: Clinical Fellow in Internal Medicine, Division of Rheumatology
Current Affiliation: Yale-New Haven Hospital - Yale University School of Medicine

Tuhin Virmani
Dissertation Topic: Molecular And Functional Determinants Of Synaptic Vesicle Recycling In CNS Synapses
Mentor: Dr. Ege Kavalali
Current Position: Resident (PGY4) in Adult Neurology
Current Affiliation: Washington University School of Medicine - Barnes-Jewish Hospital

Jeff Waugh
Dissertation Topic: A Structural/Behavioral Analysis of Dopamine Regulation by the R7 RGS Subfamily
Mentor: Dr. Stephen Gold
Current Position: Clinical Fellow in Pediatric Neurology
Current Affiliation: Harvard University - Children's Hospital of Boston 

Class of 2008

Michael Arnold
Dissertation Topic: The MEF2 Transcription Factor is an Essential Regulator of Bone Development
Mentor: Dr. Eric Olson
Current Position: Clinical Fellow, Anatomic Pathology Residency Training Program
Current Affiliation: Center for Cancer Research, Laboratory of Pathology, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD

Tracy Clyne Beswick
Dissertation Topic: Allosteric Regulation of S-Adenosylmethionine Decarboxylase from T. Cruzi
Mentor: Dr. Meg Phillips
Current Position: Resident, Dermatology
Current Affiliation: University of Oklahoma School of Medicine, Oklahoma City, OK

Nathan Bingham
Dissertation Topic: Loss of Ventromedial Hypothalamic Leptin Receptors Results in Increased Adiposity and a Metabolic Syndrome
Mentor: Dr. Keith Parker
Current Position: Resident in Pediatrics
Current Affiliation: Cincinnati Children's Hospital

Alice Chan
Dissertation Topic: In vivo identification of Sle1b: Ly108 mediates autoantibody production
Mentor: Dr. Ward Wakeland
Current Position: Resident in Pediatrics
Current Affiliation: University of California at San Francisco Medical Center

Temekka Leday
Dissertation Topic: Use of an Animal Model of Group A Streptococcal Infection to Identify Factors Important for Virulence
Mentor: Dr. Kevin McIver
Current Position: Resident in Pathology
Current Affiliation: Baylor University Medical Center (Dallas, TX)

Daniel Motola
Dissertation Topic: Identification of Ligands for the Orphan Nuclear Receptor DAF-12 that Govern Dauer Formation and Reproduction in C. elegans
Mentor: Dr. David Mangelsdorf
Current Position: Clinical Fellow in Internal Medicine, GI Division
Current Affiliation: Harvard University - Massachusetts General Hospital

Bogachan Sahin
Dissertation Topic: Evaluation and Characterization of Novel Signal Transduction Pathways in the Striatum
Mentor: Dr. James Bibb
Current Position: Resident in Neurology
Current Affiliation: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine 

Nadia Tsankova
Dissertation Topic: The Role of Chromatin Remodeling in Hippocampus in Depression and Antidepressant Action
Mentor: Dr. Eric Nestler
Current Position: Resident in Pathology
Current Affiliation: New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia School of Medicine

Brant Ward
Dissertation Topic: Behavioral characteristics of Langerhans cells in vivo.
Mentor: Dr. Akira Takashima
Current Position: Resident in Internal Medicine, Research Track
Current Affiliation: Virginia Commonwealth University

Class of 2009

Christian Gocke
Dissertation Topic: Regulation of Chromatin - Associated Proteins By Somoylation
Mentor: Dr. Hongtao Yu
Current Position: Resident, Internal Medicine
Current Affiliation: Johns Hopkins Hospital

Ammar Hawasli
Dissertation Topic: Regulation of excitatory neurotransmission, synaptic plasticity, and memory by Cdk5
Mentor: Dr. James Bibb
Current Position: Resident, Neurological Surgery
Current Affiliation: Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO

Cindy Johnson
Dissertation Topic: Hepatitis C Virus NS3/4A Protease and the Intracellular Antiviral Response:  Mapping Complex Virus-Host Interactions
Mentor: Dr. Michael Gale
Current Position: Resident, Internal Medicine
Current Affiliation: Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 

Brian Keller
Dissertation Topic: Insights into Virus-host Interactions: Regulation of Cytokine Signaling as a Virulence Determinant of West Nile Virus
Mentor: Dr. Michael Gale
Current Position: Resident, Internal Medicine
Current Affiliation: Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 

Christopher Larson
Dissertation Topic: Evolutionary constraints specifying protein folding and function
Mentor: Dr. Rama Ranganathan
Current Position: Resident, Internal Medicine/Investigator Pathway
Current Affiliation: University of California, San Diego Medical Center

Amy Mellgren
Dissertation Topic: PDGFRb Signaling in Epicardial and Mural Cells Impacts Blood Vessel Remodeling
Mentor: Dr. Michelle Tallquist-Seidel
Current Position: Resident, Internal Medicine
Current Affiliation: Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 

Alexis Melton
Dissertation Topic: Combinatoral Control of CD45 Signal - Induced Exon Repression by hnRNPL and PSF
Mentor: Dr. Kristen Lynch
Current Position: Resident, Pediatrics
Current Affiliation: Harvard University - Children's Hospital of Boston

Prashant Mishra
Dissertation Topic: Dynamic Scaffolding in a G-protein Signaling Cascade
Mentor: Dr. Rama Ranganathan
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Biology
Current Affiliation: California Institute of Technology, laboratory of Dr. David Chan

Chan Nguyen
Dissertation Topic: Protein phosphatase inhibitor-1 and Cdk5: Of molecules and memory
Mentor: Dr. James Bibb
Current Position: Resident, Ophthalmology
Current Affiliation: University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center 

Brent Presley
Dissertation Topic: Novel Roles of Gastrin and Cholecystokinin in Islet Beta Cell Proliferation
Mentor: Dr. Christopher Newgard (Duke University)
Current Position: Resident, Pediatrics
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Paul Tannous
Dissertation Topic: Cardiomyocyte Autophagy is Induced by Protein Aggregation in Heart Disease
Mentor: Dr. Joseph A. Hill
Current Position: Resident, Pediatrics
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Mark Valasek
Dissertation Topic: The Regulation of Cholesterol Absorption: Nuclear Hormone Receptors and Niemann-Pick C1 Like 1
Mentor: Dr. Joyce J. Repa
Current Position: Resident, Anatomic Pathology
Current Affiliation: University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle, WA 

Jadon Webb
Dissertation Topic: Slow Inactivation of Sodium Channels: Structural Clues
Mentor: Dr. Steve Cannon
Current Position: Resident, Psychiatry
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Class of 2010

David Benavides
Dissertation Topic: The Role of Cdk5 in the Regulation of Dopamine Neurotransmission, Neuronal Excitability, and Reward-Related Behavior
Mentor: Dr. James Bibb
Current Position: Resident, Internal Medicine (Prelim); Adult Neurology
Current Affiliation: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Elizabeth Keohane-Bhoj
Dissertation Topic: Using Balance Translocation to Discover Novel Disease Causing Genes: Potential Involvement of Basonuclin 2 in Congenital Heart Disease and Palmitoylated Membrane Protein 7 in Mature-Onset Diabetes of the Young
Mentor: Dr. Andrew Zinn
Current Position: Resident, Pediatrics (Pediatric Genetics)
Current Affiliation: Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Vijay Bhoj
Dissertation Topic: Innate and Adaptive Immune Responses to Respiratory Syncytial Virus
Mentor: Dr. Zhijian (James) Chen
Current Position: Resident, Pathology
Current Affiliation: Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

Vaishnav “Kris” Krishnan
Dissertation Topic: Vulnerability and Resilience to Social Defeat: The Role of Neuroplasticity within the Mesolimbic Dopamine Circuit
Mentor: Dr. Eric Nestler (Mount Sinai)
Current Position: Resident, Internal Medicine (Prelim); Adult Neurology
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas (Prelim); Harvard-Beth Deaconess Medical Center (Adult Neurology)

James Lee
Dissertation Topic: Structural Insights into Bacterial Sporulation
Mentor: Dr. Kevin Gardner
Current Position: Resident, Surgery
Current Affiliation: Huntington Memorial Hospital, Pasadena, CA

Markey McNutt
Dissertation Topic: Characterization of the Non-Proteolytic Mechanism and Cellular Site of Action of PCSK9 Mediated Degradation of the Low-Density Lipoprotein Receptor
Mentor: Dr. Jay Horton
Current Position: Resident, Internal Medicine (PST Program)
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas

Joseph Park
Dissertation Topic: Characterization of Factors Controlling Germline Stem Cell Maintenance in Drosophila melanogaster
Mentor: Dr. Dennis McKearin
Current Position: Resident, Pediatrics
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas

Maggie Waung
Dissertation Topic: Rapid Protein Translation Governs Persistent Changes in Ampar Trafficking in a Form of Long-Term Synaptic Plasticity
Mentor: Dr. Kimberly Huber
Current Position: Resident, Internal Medicine (Prelim); Adult Neurology
Current Affiliation: University of California at San Francisco Medical Center

Nathan York
Dissertation Topic: CNS-specific, Autoreactive CD8 T-cells have a Regulatory Role in Autoimmune Demyelination
Mentor: Dr. Nitin Karandikar
Current Position: Resident, Pediatrics
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas

Bryan Young
Dissertation Topic: Histone Deacetylase 7 in Cardiovascular Development and Transcriptional Regulatory Networks of the Vascular Endothelium
Mentor: Dr. Eric Olson
Current Position: Resident, Internal Medicine
Current Affiliation: Yale University Medical Center

Melissa Rasar Young
Dissertation Topic: Paxillin is a Novel Regulator of Xenopus Oocyte Maturation
Mentor: Dr. Stephen Hammes (U Rochester Medical Center)
Current Position: Resident, Internal Medicine (Prelim); Radiation Oncology
Current Affiliation: Yale University Medical Center

Class of 2011

John Astle
Dissertation Topic: Rapid Identification of Antigen Mimics from Millions of Synthetic Molecules through Coupled Bead Library Screening & Microarray Analysis
Mentor: Dr. Thomas Kodadek (Scripps Florida Research Institute, Jupiter, FL)
Current Position: Pathology Resident
Current Affiliation: Yale-New Haven Hospital

Abigail Nash
Dissertation Topic: Structural and Functional Studies of a Novel Marine Bacterial Photoresponsive Protein.
Mentor: Dr. Kevin Gardner
Current Position: Psychiatry Resident
Current Affiliation: Emory School of Medicine 

David Owen
Dissertation Topic: Hepatitis C Virus Entry into Hepatocytes & Engagement of Innate Immune Defenses.
Mentor: Dr. Michael Gale, University of Washington
Current Position: Obstetrics and Gynecology Resident
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center 

William Renthal
Dissertation Topic: Epigenetic Mechanisms in Drug Addiction
Mentor: Dr. Eric Nestler, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Current Position: Neurology Resident
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center 

Ameen Salahudeen
Dissertation Topic: FBXL5: Sensor and Regulator of Mammalian Iron Homeostasis
Mentor: Dr. Richard Bruick
Current Position: Internal Medicine Resident
Current Affiliation: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center 

Andrew Wang
Dissertation Topic: The Roles of Ly108, the Genetic Susceptibility Loci Sle3, and CXCR4/CXCL12 in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Mentor: Drs. Ward Wakeland and Chandra Mohan
Current Position: Internal Medicine Resident
Current Affiliation: Yale-New Haven Hospital 

Rebekkah Warren
Dissertation Topic: Genetic Reduction of Cholesterol Synthesis in the Mouse Brain Does not Affect Amyloid Formation in an Alzheimer’s Disease Model, but Does Extend Lifespan
Mentor: Dr. David Russell
Current Position: Surgery Resident
Current Affiliation: Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education, Minnesota 

Kyle Wedin
Dissertation Topic: Effect of WNK kinases on OSR1/SPAK and downstream regulation of membrane transporters
Mentor: Dr. Melanie Cobb
Current Position: Research