Education / Medical Scientist Training Program / Current Students

Current Students

2020 MSTP Incoming Students

2020 Incoming Students

The MSTP's greatest asset is its talented and dedicated students. Our students are devoted to biomedical science and medicine, participating in the MD Double Helix Curriculum, a wide variety of graduate programs, and co-curricular events of the MSTP. In addition, our students volunteer in a range of medical and scientific outreach activities and take an active role in program administration.

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Maya Anand - Columbia University

Year: Med 2

Jonathan Bartko, Ph.D. - University of Pittsburgh

Adviser: Marc Halterman, M.D., Ph.D.

PhD Degree Program: PWD - Year: Med 3

Interests: Defining hypoxia-induced ER stress signaling networks in the CNS

Catherine Beamish - Washington University

Adviser: Matthew Rand, Ph.D. | Rand Lab

PhD Degree Program: TOX - Year: Grad 1

Hannah Bell, M.S. - Cornell University

Adviser: Michelle Dziejman, Ph.D. | Dziejman Lab

PhD Degree Program: IMV - Year: Grad 5

Interests: Determining the function of a T3SS effector protein, VopZZ, in colonization and the disease process.

Michael-John Beltejar, Ph.D. - SUNY Brockport

Adviser: Cheryl Ackert-Bicknell, Ph.D. | Ackert-Bicknell Lab

PhD Degree Program: Genetics - Year: Med 3

Interests: Understanding the Genetic Basis for Bone-Matrix Quality

John Bennett - Hamilton College

Adviser: Rudi Fasan, Ph.D. | Fasan Lab

PhD Degree Program: TOX - Year: Grad 2

Interests: C-H functionalization

Hayley Chang - University of Rochester

Year: Med 1

Udaysankar Chockanathan, M.S. - University of Chicago

Adviser: Krishnan Padmanabhan, Ph.D. | Neural Circuits and Computation Laboratory

PhD Degree Program: NBA - Year: Grad 5

Interests: Hippocampal population coding in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease

Zachary Christensen - Brigham Young University

Adviser: Edward Freedman, Ph.D. & John Foxe, Ph.D. | Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory

PhD Degree Program: TBS - Year: Grad 3

Ankit Dahal - University of Pennsylvania

PhD Degree Program: IMV - Year: Grad 1

Ian DeAndrea-Lazarus - Gallaudet University

Adviser: Edward Freedman, Ph.D. & John Foxe, Ph.D. | Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory

PhD Degree Program: TBS - Year: Grad 4

Interests: Anticipatory biasing of visuospatial attention and anatomical connectivity in deaf children.

Carol Deaton, M.S. - University of New Mexico

Adviser: Gail Johnson, Ph.D | Gail Johnson Lab

PhD Degree Program: PWD - Year: Grad 3

Interests: Presenilin 1-dependent regulation of lysosome function and tau clearance

Thomas Delgado - University of Florida

Year: Med 2

Dawling Dionisio-Santos, Ph.D. - University of Puerto Rico

Adviser: M. Kerry O'Banion, M.D., Ph.D. & John Olschowka, Ph.D.

PhD Degree Program: NBA - Year: Med 4

Interests: Ameliorating Alzheimer’s Disease tau pathology through immunomodulation: A novel role for interleukin 4 and glatiramer acetate

Michelle Duan - Wellesley College

Year: Med 1

Alan Finkelstein - CUNY Queens College

Adviser: Giovanni Schifitto, M.D. & Jianhui Zhong, Ph.D. | Zhong Lab

PhD Degree Program: BME - Year: Grad 2

Interests: Applications of multimodal neuroimaging and machine learning in neuropathology

Karl Foley, M.S. - Vasser College

Adviser: Houhui Xia, M.Sc., Ph.D. | Xia Lab

PhD Degree Program: NBA - Year: Grad 4

Interests: The molecular mechanisms of learning and memory

Ranran "Annette" French - Georgia Institute of Technology

Adviser: Greg DeAngelis, Ph.D. | DeAngelis Lab

PhD Degree Program: BCS - Year: Grad 3

Interests: Human depth perception, cue integration, motion perception, causal inference

Scott Friedland, Ph.D. - University of Rochester

Adviser: Aram Hezel, M.D. | Hezel Lab

PhD Degree Program: Genetics - Year: Med 4

Interests: Arid1a, a subunit of the SWI/SNG chromatin remodeling complex, is a barrier to KrasG12D-driven tumorigenesis

Gary Ge Gary Ge - University of Rochester

Adviser: Kevin Parker, Ph.D. & Jannick Rolland-Thompson, Ph.D. | ODALab-Spectrum | Parker Lab

PhD Degree Program: OPT - Year: Grad 3

Interests: Medical imaging - ultrasound, optical, and magnetic resonance imaging

Adam Geber - Columbia University

PhD Degree Program: IMV - Year: Grad 1

Jonathan Gigas - University of Massachusetts - Amherst

Adviser: Vera Gorbunova, Ph.D. | Gorbunova & Seluanov Laboratory

PhD Degree Program: BIO - Year: Grad 3

Interests: Molecular biology of aging, age-related disease, and sirtuin proteins

Booyeon Han, Ph.D. - Princeton University

Adviser: Scott Gerber, Ph.D. & David Linehan, M.D.

PhD Degree Program: IMV - Year: Med 3

Interests: Cancer immune microenvironment and immunotherapy

Andrew Hong - University of California, Berkeley

Year: Med 1

Emily Isenstein - Cornell University

PhD Degree Program: BCS - Year: Grad 1

Interests: Proprioceptive functioning in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Howard "Mark" Kenney, M.S. - University of Rochester

Adviser: Edward Schwarz, Ph.D. | Schwarz Lab

PhD Degree Program: PWD - Year: Grad 2

Interests: Lymphatic dysfunction, inflammatory arthritis

Jeehyun Kim - University of California, Berkeley

Year: Med 1

Marlene Lawston - Colgate University

Year: Med 1

Allison Li, Ph.D. - Washington University

Adviser: Laura Calvi, M.D.

PhD Degree Program: PWD - Year: Med 4

Interests: Regulation of hematopoiesis in the bone marrow microenvironment

Alison Livada - The Pennsylvania State University

Adviser: Craig Morrell, D.V.M., Ph.D. | Morrell Lab

PhD Degree Program: PWD - Year: Grad 1

Svetlana Markova - City University of New York

Year: Med 1

Hayley Martin, Ph.D. - SUNY Geneseo

Adviser: Ann Dozier, RN, Ph.D., FAAN

PhD Degree Program: EPI - Year: Med 4

Interests: Assessing the impact of Group Prenatal Care on Breastfeeding Behavior and Motivation

Michael Meadow - University of California, Los Angeles

Year: Med 2

Interests: Understanding and exploiting mechanisms of protein degradation in the context of aging/longevity

Briaunna Minor - Xavier University of Louisiana

Adviser: Stephen Hammes, M.D., Ph.D. | Hammes Lab

PhD Degree Program: IMV - Year: Grad 3

Interests: Tumor Immunology; Estrogen signaling in immune cell infiltrate of a mouse model for Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM).

Adwiteeya "Aditi" Misra - Dartmouth College

Adviser: Eric Small, Ph.D. | Small Lab

PhD Degree Program: BME - Year: Grad 4

Interests: Influence of Cytokines on the Regenerative Potential of the Epicardium. Extracted and incubated hearts from embryos mice in cytokines

Keshia Mora - Yale University

Adviser: Alayna Loiselle, Ph.D. & Mark Buckley, Ph.D. | Buckley Lab

PhD Degree Program: BME - Year: Grad 5

Interests: Investigating the mechanism underlying the differential response of tendon cells to axial tension and transverse compression

Duy Nguyen - Amherst College

Year: Med 1

Laura Owlett, Ph.D. - SUNY Geneseo

Adviser: John Olschowka, Ph.D. & M. Kerry O'Banion, M.D., Ph.D.

PhD Degree Program: NBA - Year: Med 3

Interests: Investigating the role of Axl in modulating microglial clearance of amyloid beta plaques in Alzheimer’s disease

Rohith Palli, Ph.D. - University of Pittsburgh

Adviser: Juilee Thakar, Ph.D.

PhD Degree Program: BSCB - Year: Med 3

Interests: Executable models of signaling pathways and application to HIV

Gavin Piester - University of Rochester

Year: Med 2

Catherine Pizzarello - College of William and Mary

Adviser: Kirsi Järvinen-Seppo, M.D., Ph.D. | Järvinen-Seppo Lab

PhD Degree Program: IMV - Year: Grad 3

Interests: The role of human milk oligosaccharides in the regulation of intestinal epithelial cell cytokine expression

Emily Przysinda - Skidmore College

Adviser: Edmund Lalor, Ph.D. & David Dodell-Feder, Ph.D. | Lalor Lab

PhD Degree Program: NSC - Year: Grad 2

Interests: Neural correlates of social cognition and hierarchical processing of language and music in clinical populations

Shuyang "Sue" Qin - California Institute of Technology

Adviser: Scott Gerber, Ph.D. & Peter Prieto, M.D., M.P.H. | Prieto Lab

PhD Degree Program: IMV - Year: Grad 3

Interests: Mechanisms of immunotherapy resistance in synchronous melanoma

Bryan Redmond - Xavier University of Louisiana

Adviser: Krystel Huxlin, Ph.D. | Huxlin Lab

PhD Degree Program: NSC - Year: Grad 1

Interests: Integrated neuro-ophthalmology, psychophysics, clinical and translational science research

David Richardson, M.S. - University of Pittsburgh

Adviser: Edward Freedman, Ph.D. & John Foxe, Ph.D. | Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory

PhD Degree Program: PWD - Year: Grad 4

Interests: Neurophysiology and Movement

Elizabeth Saionz, Ph.D. - University of Pennsylvania

Adviser: Krystel Huxlin, Ph.D.

PhD Degree Program: TBS - Year: Med 3

Interests: Recovery of vision in cortically blind subjects through training

Noah Salama - Washington & Jefferson College

Adviser: Deborah Fowell, Ph.D. | Calvi Lab

PhD Degree Program: IMV - Year: Grad 2

Interests: To characterize long-term, post resolution polarized resident macrophage cell types and ascertain their phenotypic role in maintaining the tissue polarized state

Sarah Sandkuhler - University of Rochester

Year: Med 1

Jerry Saunders, Ph.D. - Brandeis University

Adviser: James Palis, M.D.

PhD Degree Program: PWD - Year: Med 3

Interests: A novel combination therapy enhances recovery following radiation exposure

Colleen Schneider - Colgate University

Adviser: Brad Mahon, Ph.D.

PhD Degree Program: BCS - Year: Med 3

Interests: Visual cortical plasticity in patients with strokes or brain tumors

Keshov Sharma, M.S. - Duke University

Adviser: Lizabeth Romanski, Ph.D. & Julie Fudge, M.D. | Fudge Lab | Romanski Lab

PhD Degree Program: NBA - Year: Grad 4

Interests: Identifying neural connections between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex in the non-human primate

Matthew Sipple - Cornell University

Adviser: John Lueck, Ph.D. | Lueck Lab

PhD Degree Program: CMPP - Year: Grad 1

Interests: Characterizing the molecular underpinnings of muscle excitability in Myotonic Dystrophy and the development of potential therapeutics

Andrew Smith, Ph.D. - University of Rochester

Adviser: Stephen Dewhurst, Ph.D.

PhD Degree Program: IMV - Year: Med 4

Interests: Role of a polymerase defect in function of the live attenuated influenza A virus

Michael Sportiello - University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee

Adviser: David Topham, Ph.D. | Topham Lab

PhD Degree Program: IMV - Year: Grad 2

Interests: Resident memory T cells, influenza immune response, influenza vaccine development, applied bioinformatic methods

Karol Szymula - University of Pennsylvania

Year: Med 1

Matthew Tanner, Ph.D. - University of Oregon

Adviser: Charles Thornton, M.D.

PhD Degree Program: Genetics - Year: Med 3

Interests: Expanded repeat DNA tracts and their roles in splicing-mediated disease in myotonic dystrophy.

Arun Venkataraman - University of Rochester

Adviser: Jianhui Zhong, Ph.D. | Zhong Lab

PhD Degree Program: PAS - Year: Grad 4

Interests: Utilizing MRI techniques to elucidate neuropathological alterations in neurodegenerative disorders and traumatic brain injury

Jesse Wang - University of Connecticut

Adviser: Henry Kautz, Ph.D. | Kautz Lab

PhD Degree Program: TBS - Year: Grad 4

Interests: Utilizing statistical speech analysis and natural language processing to capture and understand a physician-patient conversation, then automatically update eRecord with the appropriate information

Samuel Weisenthal - Hamilton College