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|Department of Biological Sciences| > Alumni > Ph.D. in Biological Sciences

Ph.D. in Biological Sciences: Alumni Career Paths & Recent Alumni

Career paths of Ph.D. graduates of the Department of Biological Sciences have led to research, teaching, and administrative positions at renowned academic institutions. Graduates are also leaders in industry and government.

2013 Graduates

Ashrifia Adomako-Ankomah, Ph.D.
A Molecular Analysis of Skeletal Morphogenesis in the Sea Urchin Embryo
Advisor: Charles Ettensohn
Research Associate at Dr. Charles Ettensohn's Laboratory, Carnegie Mellon University

Shantanu Bhattacharyya, Ph.D.
Relaxation Dynamics of Single Chain Variable Fragment Light Chain M8Vlg
Advisor: Gordon Rule
Research Associate at Dr. William Schief's Laboratory, The Scripps Research Institute

2012 Graduates

Bradley Yates, Ph.D.
Directed Evolution of a Fluorogen-Activating Single Chain Antibody for Function and Enhanced Brightness in the Cytoplasm
Advisor: Peter Berget

Kaitlyn Dykstra, Ph.D.
Yip1A Structures the Endoplasmic Reticulum
Advisor: Tina Lee
Postdoctoral Fellow at Dr. Robert Tarran's Laboratory, UNC Chapel Hill

Kalin Vasilev, Ph.D.
Novel Biosensor System for Reporting Membrane Protein Proximity and Cell Surface Contacts in Living Cells
Advisor: Jonathan Jarvik
Postdoctoral Fellow at Cambridge University

Qi Yan, Ph.D.
FAP Based New Applications for Super-resolution Imaging and Quantification of Receptor Trafficking
Advisor: Marcel Bruchez
Scientist at Sharp Edge Labs

Brenna McCauley, Ph.D.
Gene Regulatory Network Changes Associated with the Evolution of a Novel Cell Population in Sea Urchin Embryos
Advisor: Veronica Hinman

Kristen Yankura, Ph.D.
Mechanisms of Ectodermal Patterning in a Dipleurula-like Sea Star Larva and the Evolutionary Origins of Centralized Nervous Systems
Advisor: Veronica Hinman
Postdoctoral Fellow at Dr. Elissa Hallem's Laboratory, UCLA

Jing Wen, Ph.D.
Experience-dependent Plasticity of Layer 2/3 Circuits in Developing Somatosensory Neocortex
Advisor: Alison Barth
Postdoctoral Fellow at Dr. Nathan Urban's Laboratory, Carnegie Mellon University

Elmer Ker, Ph.D.
Monitoring and Engineering of the Stem Cell Microenvironment: Inkjet Printing of Growth Factors onto Novel Scaffolds for Controlling Musculoskeletal Stem Cell Differentiation and Alignment and Development of a Computer Vision-based System to Characterize Stem Cell Growth
Advisor: Phil Campbell
Postdoctoral Fellow at Dr. Yunzhi Peter Yang's Laboratory, Stanford University

2011 Graduates

Jeanne Morin-Leisk, Ph.D.
Mechanistic Insights into ER Network Branching by the Large GTPase Atlastin

Advisor: Tina Lee
Postdoctoral Fellow at Jenny Hinshaw's Laboratory, National Institutes of Health characterizing the structures, activities and mechanisms of the proteins in the dynamin superfamily of large GTPases

Nina Senutovitch, Ph.D.
Isolation and Characterization of Fluoromodules
Advisor: Peter Berget

John Holleran, Ph.D.
Fluorescence Platform Development for Detection of Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator Trafficking
Advisor: Jonathan Jarvik
Dr. Simon Watkins' Laboratory, Center for Biologic Imaging, University of Pittsburgh and Dr. Pay Frizzell's Laboratory at Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh

Shantanu Ganguly, Ph.D.
Analysis of Cell-cell Signaling in C. albicans Biofilms
Advisor: Aaron Mitchell
Postdoctoral Fellow at Dr. Aaron Mitchell's Laboratory, Carnegie Mellon University

Melissa Witzberger Krajcovic, Ph.D.
Investigating the Role of Myosin II During the Cell Shape Changes of Ventral Furrow Formation
Advisor: Jon Minden
Adjunct Faculty at Grove City College teaching genetics

Shu Ying Kwan, Ph.D.
The Flip Side of Osteoimmunity: Crosstalk Between Stem Cells, BMP-2 and Innate Immune Cells, and the Control of Osteoblastogenesis
Advisor: Phil Campbell

Michael Chen, Ph.D.
Regulation of Non-Exonic Recursive Splicing in Drosophila melanogaster
Advisor: Javier Lopez

Maureen E. StolzeR, Ph.D.
Phylogenetic Inference for Multidomain Proteins
Advisor: Dannie Durand

Smita Yadav, Ph.D.
Mechanistic and Functional Aspects in Positioning of the Golgi Apparatus in Mammalian Cells
Advisor: Adam Linstedt

Parker H. Mills, Ph.D.
Computational Methods for Enhancing Sensitivity to MRI Cell-tracking Agents
Advisor: Eric Ahrens

Corey Flynn, Ph.D.
Molecular Correlates of Visual System Development
Advisor: Justin Crowley

Tara Sharma, Ph.D.
Analysis of a Developmental Gene Regulatory Network in the Sea Urchin Embryo During Normal and Regulative Development
Advisor: Charles Ettensohn

Ken Hovis, Ph.D.
Analysis of Functional Circuitry and the Effect of Activity Across Development in the Mouse Accessory Olfactory System
Advisor: Nathan Urban

Bistra Iordanova, Ph.D.
Ferritin-based Reporter Genes for Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Brain
Advisor: Eric Ahrens
Postdoctoral Fellow at Dr. Eric Ahrens's Laboratory, Carnegie Mellon Univesity

Deepak Kadayakkara, Ph.D.
Advances in ¹⁹F Cellular MRI to Study Inflammation and Cancer
Advisor: Eric Ahrens
Postdoctoral Fellow at Levitsky Laboratory, Department of Oncology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins University's School of Medicine

2010 Graduates

Brett Benedetti, Ph.D.
Experience-dependent Plasticity and Development of Neocortical Columnar Circuits
Advisor: Alison Barth
Postdoctoral Fellowship at Fishell Lab, New York University

Mengning Zhou, Ph.D.
On the Function of the Tumor Suppressor APC Gene Product using Drosophila melanogaster as a Model System
Advisor: Brooke McCartney

Connor Murphy, Ph.D.
Optimization of Guanine Quadruplex-targeted Peptide Nucleic Acids
Advisor: Bruce Armitage

Panagiotis Papasaikas, Ph.D.
Computational and Functional Analyses of Splicing Regulation
Advisors: A. Javier Lopez and Russell Schwartz
Postdoctoral Fellow at Valcarcel Lab, Department de Regulacion Genica, the Centre de Regulacio Genomica

Aarti Sahasranaman, Ph.D.
Understanding Principles of Ribosome Biogenesis by Focusing on One Step in Assembly of 60S Ribosomal Subunits in Yeast
Advisor: John Woolford
Postdoctoral Fellowship at Dr. John Woolford's Laboratory, Carnegie Mellon University

Debrup Sengupta, Ph.D.
Mechanism of GRASP65 Mediated Organelle Tethering and its Regulation
Advisor: Adam Linstedt
Postdoctoral Fellow at Department of Immunobiology, Yale University

Sonal Shruti, Ph.D.
Activity-Induced Gain-of-Function in BK Channels and Beta4-Dependent Regulation of Channel Trafficking
Advisor: Alison Barth
Postdoctoral Fellowship at Marder Laboratory, Brandeis University

2009 Graduates

Kaustubh Sinha, Ph.D.
Biochemical and Biophysical Studies of Human Glutathione Transferases
Advisor: Gordon Rule
Postdoctoral Fellowship at Jen-Jacobson Laboratory, University of Pittsburgh

Sandra Zimmerman, Ph.D.
Regulation of Cell Shape by the Canonical Wnt Pathway
Advisor: Brooke McCartney
Postdoctoral Fellow at Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington

Rebecca Webb, Ph.D.
Cytoskeletal Organization in the Drosophila Syncytical Embryo
Advisor: Brooke McCartney
Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh in Johnstown

2008

Tamara Berdyyeva, Ph.D.
Neuronal Representation of Ordinal Position in Monkey Frontal Cortex
Advisor: Carl Olson
Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Salk Institute

Timothy Feinstein, Ph.D.
A New Model For Feedback Between Ribbon Structure of the Golgi Apparatus and Mitotic Cell Cycle Progression
Advisor: Adam Linstedt
Postdoctoral Fellowship at Vilardaga Lab, Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh

Anupam Goyal, Ph.D.
Regulation of the Actin Cytoskeleton in Drosophila Ventral Furrow Formation
Advisor: Jonathan Minden
Student in the MBA Program at Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University

Yusong Guo, Ph.D.
Role of Vesicle Coat Machinery in Golgi Homeostasis and Organization
Advisor: Adam Linstedt
Postdoctoral Fellowship at Carnegie Mellon University

Vikrant Kapoor, Ph.D.
Timing and Reliability of Activity in the Main Olfactory Bulb
Advisor: Nathan Urban
Postdoctoral Fellowship at Harvard University

Krishnan Padmanabhan, Ph.D.
The Role of Spontaneous Retinal Activity in the Anatomical Development of Early Visual Circuits
Advisor: Justin Crowley
Postdoctoral Fellowship at Carnegie Mellon University

Lan Tang, Ph.D.
Protein-protein Interactions and their Functions in Ribosome Biogenesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Advisor: John Woolford
Postdoctoral Fellowship at Yale University

Jingyu Zhang, Ph.D.
Physical and Functional Interactions Among Factors Required for One Step in Assembly of 60S Ribosomal Subunits in Yeast
Advisor: John Woolford
Cell Biologist at GE Global Research Center

2007

Roger Clem, Ph.D.
Sensory-driven Plasticity in Neocortical Circuits
Advisor: Alison Barth
Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Johns Hopkins University

Yanhua Hu, Ph.D.
Automated Analysis of Protein Subcellular Locations in Time Series Images
Advisor: Robert Murphy

Juchang Hua, Ph.D.
Image Databases for Automated Determination of Protein Subcellular Locations
Advisor: Robert Murphy

Arun Krishnaswamy, Ph.D.
An Ensemble Machine Learning Approach to Chemical Shift Prediction from Protein Structure
Advisors: Chistopher Langmead, Gordon Rule

Allison Marciszyn, Ph.D.
Cytoskeletal and Motility Effects of a Photoactivatable GTPase Signaling Inhibitor in Cultured Mammalian Cells
Advisor: Frederick Lanni
Postdoctoral Associate at the University of Pittsburgh

Parul Nisha, Ph.D.
Analysis of the Chromatin Structure and Modifiers of Heterochromatic Gene Silencing in trans
Advisor: Amy Csink

Narayanan Raghupathy, Ph.D.
Duplication in the Evolution of Insulin Signaling and Novel Methods for Gene Cluster Statistics
Advisor: Dannie Durand
Postdoctoral Research Associate at Princeton University

Mangala Srinivas, Ph.D.
Development and Application of a ¹⁹F Platform for in vivo MRI: Tracking and Quantification of T-cells in Murine Disease Models and the Effect of Immunotherapy on T-cell Tracking
Advisor: Eric Ahrens
Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Nijegen Center for Molecular Life Sciences

Tiequan Zhang, Ph.D.
Investigation of Capsid Self-Assembly Using Discrete-Event Simulation
Advisor: Russell Schwartz

2006

Nan Song, Ph.D.
Homology Identification for Multidomain Proteins
Advisor: Dannie Durand

Christine Wang, Ph.D.
Characterization of Microbial Communities Associated with Anaerobic Reductive Dechlorination of Polychlorinated Biphenyls in River Sediments
Advisor: William Brown

2005

Ayse Celil, Ph.D.
Investigation of Signaling Pathways that Mediate Osterix Expression During Osteoblast Lineage
Advisor: Phil Campbell
Postdoctoral Fellowship at Albert Einstein School of Medicine

Xiang Chen, Ph.D.
Automated Interpretation of Protein Subcellular Location Patterns in 3D Images
Advisor: Robert Murphy
Postdoctoral Associate at Division of Biostatistics, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, School of Medicine, Yale University

Julie A. Jadlowiec, Ph.D.
Investigation of Phosphophoryn Signaling Mechanisms as a Model for ECM-directed Morphogenesis of Mineralized Tissue
Advisor: Phil Campbell
Postdoctoral Fellowship at CMU-MBIC Administration

Supriya Kumar, Ph.D.
Regulation of Alternative Splicing in Drosophila melanogaster
Advisor: A. Javier Lopez
Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Chicago

Rajalaxmi Natarajan, Ph.D.
A Cycling cis Golgi Protein Mediates Early Endosome-to-TGN Traffic
Advisor: Adam Linstedt

Mamta Puri, Ph.D.
Proteomics and Regulation of Ventral Furrow Formation in Drosophila melanogaster
Advisor: Jonathan Minden
Research Assistant Professor at Northwestern University

Tiffany Miles Randall, Ph.D.
Ytm1p, a Scaffolding Protein Necessary for the Assembly of 60S Ribosomal Subunits in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Advisor: John Woolford

Shoba Subramanian, Ph.D.
Analysis of Protein Factors Involved in Vacuole Biogenesis and Protein Folding in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Advisor: Elizabeth Jones
Postdoctoral Research Associate at Mitchell Lab, Carnegie Mellon University

Rajika Thakar, Ph.D.
Nuclear Organization and the Dynamics of Chromatin Movement in Drosophila
Advisor: Amy Csink
Postdoctoral Fellowship at Cold Spring Harbor

2004

Piyanun Harnpicharnchai, Ph.D.
Dynamics of Ribosome Assembly in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Advisor: John Woolford
Postdoctoral Fellowship at the National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Pathumthani, Thailand

Kai Huang, Ph.D.
Data Mining Approaches for Interpreting Protein Subcellular Location Patterns in Fluorescence Microscope Images
Advisor: Robert Murphy

Sapna Puri, Ph.D.
Biogenesis of the Mammalian Golgi, a Structurally Complex yet Dynamic Membrane Organelle
Advisor: Adam Linstedt
Postdoctoral Fellowship at University of California, San Francisco

Manojkumar A. Puthenveedu, Ph.D.
The Role of Vesicle Proteins in Biogenesis and Mitotitc Disassembly of the Golgi Apparatus
Advisor: Adam Linstedt
Postdoctoral Fellowship at University of California, San Francisco

Brian T. Sage, Ph.D.
Factors Influencing Gene Silencing by Heterochromatin in trans
Advisor: Amy Csink
Postdoctoral Fellowship at Brown University

G. Steven Vanni, Ph.D.
Novel Approaches to Localization of Cytoskeletal Proteins and Quantification of Cell-Driven Mechanics in 3D Model Tissue Constructs
Advisor: Frederick Lanni

Yi-Ping Zhan, Ph.D.
NMR, Studies of Human Glutathione Transferase A1-1 and sar, a Small Antisense RNA
Advisor: Gordon Rule

2003

Grace Si-Yan Choy, Ph.D.
Modeling and Characterization of Single Chain Variable Fragments (ScFv) Specific for an Isocyanage-based Protein Conjugate
Advisor: William Brown
Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Texas

Edward Horsey, Ph.D.
Isolation and Characterizattion of Mammalian Histone Deacetylases

James McKay, Ph.D.
Identification and Characterization of helmsman, a Gene Involved in the Development of the Embryoic Tracheal System and the Adult Visual System in Drosophhila melanogaster
Advisor: J. Pollock

Surya Viswanathan, Ph.D.
Proteome Variation in Yeast: Response To Altered Gene Dosage
Advisor: Jonathan Minden

Heather Elizabeth Weitzel, Ph.D.
Beta-catenin: Analysis of Protein Turnover and Regulation by Glycogen Synthesis Kinase-3b
Advisor: Charles Ettensohn

2002

Pamela (Antunez-De-Mayolo) Bush, Ph.D.
Proteins and RNAs that Interact with Saccharomyces cerevisiae rpS14
Advisor: John Woolford
Project Assistant at the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse

Amy Jean Mehta, Ph.D.
Investigation into Golgi Biogenesis: Identification of Targeting Determinants in the Golgi Protein Giantin and Characterization of the Disassembled Mitotic Golgi
Advisor: Adam Linstedt

Jaime Lee Mergliano, Ph.D.
Investigations of the Development of the Embryonic Brain and Caspase-Independent Cell Engulfment in Drosophila melanogaster
Advisor: Jonathan Minden

2001

Kristina Jackson Behan, Ph.D.
Double Tiered Interactions between Lozenge and Ets Factors in Drosphila Eye Development
Advisor: J Pollock
Assistant Professor at the University of Florida

Chung-Ke Chang, Ph.D.
Characterization of beta131 Mutants of Hemoglobin: Effects on Hemoglobin Structure and Function
Advisor: Chien Ho

Hak J. Chang, Ph.D.
Role of the Unfolded Protein Response Pathway in Phospholipid Biosynthesis and Membrane Trafficking in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Advisor: Susan Henry
Law Student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Stephen Andrew Jesch, Ph.D.
Investigation of the Mitotic Disassembly Pathway of the Mammalian Golgi Complex
Advisor: Adam Linstedt
Postdoctoral Fellowship at Cornell University

E. John Meharra, Ph.D.
Analysis of the Molecular Defect in the End6 Mutant of Chinese Hamster Ovary Cells
Advisor: Robert Murphy

Yuh-Hai Wang, Ph.D.
Calmodulin Activation in Migrating and Dividing Fibroblasts
Advisor: L. Taylor

2000

James M. Burnette, III, Ph.D.
Recursive Splicing in Large Introns and Regulation of a Regenerated 5' Splicing Site
Advisor: A. Javier Lopez
Academic Coordinator and Professional Researcher at the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of California, Riverside (4/2011)

Monica Ruiz-Noriega, Ph.D.
Signal Transduction and Phospholipid Biosynthesis in yeast: The Role of the Glucose Response Pathway
Advisor: Henry S.

Andrea Jane Wiethoff, Ph.D.
Identification of Mucosal Injury in the Murine Nasal Airways by Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Advisor: William Brown

Postgraduate Plans

Ph.D. Graduates (n=72)

^{Industry, Government or Consulting}

^{Postdoctoral Work}

^{Further Education}

^{University Teaching}

University Positions

Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Brown University
California Institute of Technology
Carnegie Mellon University
Cornell University
Duke University
Emory University School of Medicine
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Harvard University
Johns Hopkins University
The Max-Planck Institute
Memorial Sloan Kettering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Princeton University
Salk Institute
Stanford University
Tufts University
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
University of California, Davis
University of California, San Francisco
University of Chicago
University of Colorado
University of Michigan
University of North Carolina
University of Texas
University of Virginia
University of Washington
Vanderbilt University
Washington University in St. Louis
Woods Hole Marine Biology Lab
Yale University

Industry Positions

Abbott Laboratories
Biogen
Celerant Consulting
Cellomics
ID Business Solutions
Immunetrics
J.Craig Venter Institute
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Lucent Technologies
Managed Objects
Merck & Company, Incorporated
Pitney Bowes
Precision Therapeutics
Roche Pharmaceuticals
Shandon Lipshaw
Wyeth Laboratories

Government & Private Institutions

Johnson Space Center
Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse
Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Ph.D. in Biological Sciences: Alumni Career Paths & Recent Alumni-Department of Biological Sciences - Carnegie Mellon University

Carnegie Mellon University