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2023
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Shaw Camphire, CMU Bio, Advisor: Dr. N. Luisa Hiller.
Shaw studies a major cell-cell communication system in Streptococcus
pneumoniae and other closely related pathogenic and commensal
species with the aim of understanding how environmental signals coordinate virulence
behaviors and ultimately affect human health and disease.
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Abby Carney, Pitt, Advisor: Dr. Cunningham. Abby is
studying the factors that affect processing and localization of the
cochlear hair cell mechanotransduction pore protein, TMC1.
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Jada George, Pitt, Advisor: Dr. Laty Cahoon. Jada's work
investigates the client protein repertoires of Gram-positive protein
secretion chaperones to determine their contribution to the chaperones'
observed roles in cell growth, cell wall assembly and virulence.
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Jasper Jeffrey, Pitt, Advisor: Dr. Huaying Zhang. Jasper's
current research is focused on structural features that drive liquid-liquid
phase separation of proteins involved in cell division.
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Bailey Smith, CMU, Advisor: Dr. N. Luisa Hiller. Bailey's
work focuses on investigating an operon of unknown function which serves as
a central node of several different cell-cell communication systems in the
human pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae.
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Caroline Ward, Pitt Human Genetics, Advisor: Dr. Zachary
Freyberg. Caroline studies
the function of dopamine and dopamine receptors in the
pancreas to elucidate the mechanism of metabolic dysfunction as a side
effect of dopamine antagonist antipsychotic medications.
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2022
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Samantha Bryce, CMU Bio, Advisor: Dr. Tina Lee. Samantha
studies the regulations of Atlastins, a class of GTPase that promotes the
membrane fusion reactions that generate the tubular endoplasmic reticulum
network.
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Hisham Sadkhan, Pitt, Advisor: Dr. Jon Boyle. Hisham is
interested in identifying and understanding Toxoplasma gondii virulence
factors. The acute phase of infection is characterized by the
secretion of parasite proteins into the infected host cell
to interfere with normal cellular processes. These effectors allow T.
gondii to bypass the host immune system and establish
an infection.
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Kayla Komondor, Pitt Bio, Advisor: Dr. Anne Carlson.
Kayla studies the signaling pathway that activates the fast block to polyspermy,
which is a process in external fertilizers to ensure that one egg is
fertilized by one sperm.
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Emily Lackner, Pitt Med, Advisor: Dr. Ora Weisz, Emily’s
project focuses on how the effects of fluid shear stress impacts kidney
proximal tubule endocytic capacity.
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Jenesis Gayden, Pitt Neuro, Advisor: Dr. Zachary
Freyberg. Jenesis's thesis work studies the electrophysiological properties
of striatal dopamine receptor subpopulations and how that may translate to
opioid-related behaviors.
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Tafadzwa Chigumira, CMU Bio, Advisor: Dr. Huaiying
Zhang. Tafadzwa's research focuses on understanding the mechanisms that
drive telomere collisions and clustering in ALT cancer cells.
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2021
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Josiah Kratz, CMU Bio, Advisor: Dr. Huaiying Zhang. Josiah's
project concerns the interplay between chromatin and lipid droplet
formation.
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Dasia Aldarondo, CMU Chem. E., Advisors: Dr. Elizabeth
Wayne. Dasia is working on how shear stress impacts particle uptake by
monocytes.
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Claire Weckerly Pitt Med, Advisor: Dr. Gerry Hammond. Claire
is working on the role of phospholipase D in phospholipase C signaling
using a novel sensor and other tags in her assays.
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Morgan Webb, Pitt Bio, Advisor: Dr. Brodsky. Morgan is
examining how disease-associated mutations in an ion transporter, which is
linked to neurodevelopmental disorders, is recognized by cellular “quality
control” machineries.
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Maddie Torres, Pitt Bio, Advisor: Dr. Laty Cahoon.
Maddie studies anti-microbial action against Lysteria and Streptococcus
with a focus on chaperones of secretory factors.
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Mitch Lesko, Pitt Bio, Advisor: Dr. Allyson O'Donnell. Mitch’s
PhD project is focused on the mechanism of resistance to an anti-cancer
glycolytic inhibitor.
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2020
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Melissa Tosiano, CMU Bio, Advisor: Dr. Joel McManus,
Melissa's project concerns the hypothesis that alternative transcription
start-sites control the expression of EFG1, a master transcriptional
regulator of filamentation genes in the C. albicans.
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Nolan Frey, CMU Bio, Advisors: Drs. Phil LeDuc and Jonathon
Minden. Nolan is working on how mechanical stresses, such as changes in
gravity and compressive forces, affect fruit fly embryo development.
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Morgan Ricci, Pitt Med, Advisor: Dr. Gerry Hammond,
Morgan is working on the mechanism by which the lipid phosphatase SHIP2
becomes activated for synthesis of PI(3,4)P2 at the plasma membrane as it
provides a possible target to reduce tumor-associated Akt signaling in
breast cancer.
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Kayla Troutman, Pitt Med, Advisor: Dr. Marijn Ford, Kayla
is working on the mechanisms of Pib2 activation of TORC1 signaling and also
examining changes in amino acid sensing capacity in aged yeast cells.
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Leah Cabo, Pitt Bio, Advisor: Dr. Jon P. Boyle, Leah
studies Toxoplasma gondii-placenta interactions, focusing on
parasite manipulation of placental development and mechanisms of infection
resistance in placental trophoblasts during congenital transmission.
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Sarah Tripplehorn, Pitt Bio, Advisor: Dr. Karen Arndt. Sarah’s
PhD project is focused on understanding the mechanisms that couple
transcription to chromatin remodeling in eukaryotes.
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