NADIYA NAWSHEEN
Thesis Title: Characterizing Human Cajal-Retzius Neurons Across Developing Neocortex and Stem Cell-Derived Systems
Date: Tuesday, September 29, 2026
Time: 11:00am
Location: Zoom, and Tishman Auditorium, Kennedy Center
Laboratory of Dr. Renata Batista-Brito
PhD Candidate, Neuroscience
PRASOON JAYA
Thesis Title: Understanding Starvation-Induced Endosomal Microautophagy in Drosophila
Date: Friday, September 18, 2026
Time: 10:30am
Location: Zoom, and LeFrak Auditorium, Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Andreas Jenny
PhD Candidate, Developmental & Molecular Biology
JOSHUA SALTZBERG
Thesis Title: State Model of Transcription Reveals Regulators of Co-Transcriptional RNA Processing Kinetics
Date: Thursday, September 3, 2026
Time: 10:00am
Location: LeFrak Auditorium, Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Matthew Gamble
MD-PhD Candidate, Molecular Pharmacology
PHILLIP DMITRIEV
Thesis Title: Regulation of Chaperone-Mediated Autophagy by IMP2 in Aging and Disease
Date: Wednesday, September 2, 2026
Time: 12:00pm
Location: LeFrak Auditorium, Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Ana Maria Cuervo
MD-PhD Candidate, Developmental & Molecular Biology
MEGAN RUSSELL
Thesis Title: REST Links
Cardiomyocyte Transcriptional Reprogramming to Cardiac
Fibrosis in Hypothyroidism-Induced Heart Failure
Date: Friday, July 31, 2026
Time: 12:30pm
Location: Riklis Auditorium,
Belfer
Laboratories of Drs. Bin Zhou and Deyou Zheng
PhD Candidate, Genetics
ADAM HAIMOWITZ
Thesis Title: Deciphering the
Roles of DBR1 in Regulating Gene Expression
Date: Tuesday, July 28, 2026
Time: 11:00am
Location: LeFrak Auditorium,
Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Matthew Gamble
PhD Candidate, Molecular Pharmacology
ANDREA RAMIREZ
Thesis Title: RhoGTPase-Dependent
Regulation of Src Signaling Mediated by mDia Formins at
Invadopodia
Date: Friday, July 10, 2026
Time: 11:00am
Location: Zoom, and Riklis
Auditorium, Belfer
Laboratory of Dr. Louis Hodgson
PhD Candidate, Molecular Pharmacology
ISAAC KRAZ
Thesis Title: GNMT Controls
Cellular Methylation Through an N-Terminal
Folate-Sensing Regulatory Hub
Date: Thursday, July 9, 2026
Time: 1:00pm
Location: LeFrak Auditorium,
Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. David Shechter
MD-PhD Candidate, Biochemistry
SAMMI CHUNG
Thesis Title: Establishing
Standardized Zebrafish Western-Type Diet Models to
Investigate MASLD Progression and the Protective Role of
GDF15 in MASH
Date: Thursday, July 9, 2026
Time: 10:30am
Location: Zoom, and LeFrak
Auditorium, Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Sofia de Oliveira
PhD Candidate, Developmental & Molecular Biology
SARAH GRAFF
Thesis Title: Identification of
Histone Succinylation as a Potential Regulator of
Longevity via Direct Inhibition of Jumonji
Domain-Containing Demethylases
Date: Tuesday, July 7, 2026
Time: 1:00pm
Location: LeFrak Auditorium,
Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Simone Sidoli
PhD Candidate, Biochemistry
SOFIA KRYLOVA-SIDOLI
Thesis Title: Multi-Omics
Analysis of Mouse Liver Reveals Sex-Specific
Post-Transcriptional Adaptations to High Fat Diet
Date: Thursday, July 2, 2026
Time: 10:00am
Location: Zoom, and LeFrak
Auditorium, Price Center
Laboratories of Drs. Jeffrey Pessin and Kamini
Singh
MD-PhD Candidate, Molecular Pharmacology
RACHEL WEIL
Thesis Title: The Impact of RNA
Helicase DDX3 on the Tumor Microenvironment
Date: Tuesday, June 30, 2026
Time: 10:00am
Location: Zoom, and LeFrak
Auditorium, Price Center
Laboratory of Drs. David Loeb and Alice Lee
PhD Candidate, Clinical Investigation, and
Developmental & Molecular Biology
ALEXANDER LEDET
Thesis Title: The Role of
Chaperone-Mediated Autophagy in Metabolic
Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis
Date: Wednesday, June 24, 2026
Time: 10:00am
Location: LeFrak Auditorium,
Price Center
Laboratory of Drs. Ana Maria Cuervo and Esperanza
Arias-Perez
MD-PhD Candidate, Developmental & Molecular
Biology
MICHAEL KRAWCHUK
Thesis Title: Leveraging C.
elegans to Understand Synaptic Dysfunction of Human
Calcium Channel Mutations
Date: Monday, June 22, 2026
Time: 12:30pm
Location: Zoom, and Tishman
Auditorium, Kennedy Center
Laboratory of Dr. Peri Kurshan
MD-PhD Candidate, Neuroscience
SETH KATTAPONG-GRABER
Thesis Title:
Subtype-Synchronized Directed Forebrain Neurogenesis and
Genetic Engineering of Chemogenetic Human iPSC-Derived
Excitatory Neurons
Date: Tuesday, June 16, 2026
Time: 1:00pm
Location: Zoom, and Tishman
Auditorium, Kennedy Center
Laboratory of Drs. Jean Hebert and J. Tiago
Goncalves
PhD Candidate, Neuroscience
JOHN HOBBS
Thesis Title: Transitory
Enhancement of GATA2 Chromatin Engagement During Early
Erythroid Differentiation
Date: Tuesday, June 16, 2026
Time: 11:30am
Location: Zoom, and 5th Floor
Lecture Hall, Forchheimer
Laboratory of Drs. Robert Coleman and Ulrich
Steidl
PhD Candidate, Cell Biology
MICHAEL CAMERINO
Thesis Title: The Role of Pax6
During Eye Morphogenesis, Lens 3D Nucleome Architecture,
and a Novel Organoid System for Modeling Human Eye
Disease
Date: Friday, June 12, 2026
Time: 10:00am
Location: Zoom, and LeFrak
Auditorium, Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Ales Cvekl
PhD Candidate, Genetics
ELLIOT KIM
Thesis Title: Effects of
Internally Generated Processes in the Mouse Visual
System
Date: Thursday, June 11, 2026
Time: 10:00am
Location: Zoom, and Tishman
Auditorium, Kennedy Center
Laboratory of Dr. Adam Kohn
MD-PhD Candidate, Neuroscience
MEGAN DARRELL
Thesis Title: Unpacking the
Neural Mechanisms Underlying Selective Attention in
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Date: Monday, June 8, 2026
Time: 2:00pm
Location: Zoom, and Tishman
Auditorium, Kennedy Center
Laboratory of Dr. Sophie Molholm
MD-PhD Candidate, Neuroscience
THOMAS BASSETT
Thesis Title: Specialized
Circuits for Associative Memory in the Hippocampal
Formation
Date: Thursday, May 28, 2026
Time: 1:00pm
Location: Zoom, and Tishman
Auditorium, Kennedy Center
Laboratory of Dr. Jelena Radulovic
PhD Candidate, Neuroscience
MICHAEL SHULTIS
Thesis Title: Targeting
Antibiotic Persisters to Improve the Treatment of
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Date: Wednesday, May 27, 2026
Time: 2:00pm
Location: Zoom, and LeFrak
Auditorium, Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Michael Berney
MD-PhD Candidate, Microbiology & Immunology
REBECCA SEREDA
Thesis Title: Chaperone-Mediated
Autophagy & Cellular Senescence in Aging & Disease
Date: Thursday, April 2, 2026
Time: 10:00am
Location: LeFrak Auditorium,
Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Ana Maria Cuervo
PhD Candidate, Developmental & Molecular Biology
KELSEY VINZANT
Thesis Title: Lessons From the
Outside-In: A Cell-impermeable Kinase Inhibitor Uncovers
Signaling Pathways That Promote HIV-1 Infection
Date: Tuesday, March 31, 2026
Time: 1:00pm
Location: LeFrak Auditorium,
Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Betsy Herold
PhD Candidate, Microbiology & Immunology
ELIZABETH WOOD
Thesis Title: Neuroimmune
Mediators of Memory Formation
Date: Monday, March 30, 2026
Time: 11:00am
Location: Zoom, and Tishman
Auditorium, Kennedy Center
Laboratory of Dr. Jelena Radulovic
PhD Candidate, Neuroscience
STEVEN GRUDMAN
Thesis Title: Computational
Frameworks for the Study of Co-Stimulatory
Immunoglobulin Superfamily Proteins
Date: Thursday, March 23, 2026
Time: 1:00pm
Location: Zoom, and LeFrak
Auditorium, Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Andras Fiser
PhD Candidate, Systems & Computational Biology,
and Biochemistry
ERIN COLE
Thesis Title: Development of
Innovative Ex Vivo and In Vivo Strategies to Generate
Long-Lasting CAR-T Cell Therapies Against HIV and Cancer
Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2026
Time: 1:00pm
Location: Zoom, and LeFrak
Auditorium, Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Harris Goldstein
PhD Candidate, Microbiology & Immunology
SARA LAMCAJ
Thesis Title: T Cell-Focused
Immunotherapeutic Strategies to Overcome HIV-1 Mediated
Immune Dysfunction
Date: Monday, March 9, 2026
Time: 1:00pm
Location: Zoom, and 3rd Floor
Lecture Hall, Forchheimer
Laboratory of Dr. Harris Goldstein
PhD Candidate, Microbiology & Immunology
RONALD CUTLER
Thesis Title: Consequences of
Age-related Somatic Mutations at Single-cell Resolution
Date: Friday, February 20, 2026
Time: 1:30pm
Location: LeFrak Auditorium,
Price Center
Laboratories of Drs. Jan Vijg and Simone Sidoli
PhD Candidate, Genetics, and Biochemistry
MARLIETTE RODRIGUEZ MATOS
Thesis Title: Integrating
Multi-omic QTL Mapping and Predictive Models Reveals
Regulatory Architectures at Immune Disease Loci in CD4+
T Cells
Date: Tuesday, February 17, 2026
Time: 1:00pm
Location: Zoom, and LeFrak
Auditorium, Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. John Greally
PhD Candidate, Genetics
ARAVIND KRISHNA
Thesis Title: Tracking the Flow
of Signals Within and Across Visual Cortical Areas V1
and V2
Date: Friday, February 13, 2026
Time: 9:00am
Location: Tishman Auditorium,
Kennedy Center
Laboratory of Dr. Adam Kohn
PhD Candidate, Neuroscience
KYLE ARONSON
Thesis Title: Intrinsic Hormone
Signaling in Regionality and Proliferation Control of
Neural Stem Cells
Date: Wednesday, January 7, 2026
Time: 1:00pm
Location: LeFrak Auditorium,
Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Dongsheng Cai
PhD Candidate, Molecular Pharmacology
ALISHBA MAIRA
Thesis Seminar Title:
Mitochondrial Respiration in Smooth Muscle Cell Biology
and Vascular Remodeling
Date: Tuesday, December 23, 2025
Time: 1:00pm
Location: Zoom, and 5th Floor
Lecture Hall, Forchheimer
Laboratory of Dr. Nicholas Sibinga
PhD Candidate, Developmental & Molecular Biology
LANETTE LACOMB
Thesis Seminar Title: Deciphering
the Interaction Landscape of Mena and PTP1B: Structural
Dynamics and Implications for Drug Discovery
Date: Monday, December 15, 2025
Time: 1:00pm
Location: Zoom, and LeFrak
Auditorium, Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Steven Almo
PhD Candidate, Biochemistry
NICOLE COUTURIER
Thesis Seminar Title: The Role of
Tumor-Infiltrating CD169+ Macrophages in Orchestrating
Anti-Tumor CD8+ T Cell Immunity in a Preclinical Model
of Breast Cancer
Date: Friday, December 12, 2025
Time: 1:30pm
Location: LeFrak Auditorium,
Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Gregoire Lauvau
PhD Candidate, Microbiology & Immunology
GEORGIA FALLON
Thesis Seminar Title:
Neutralizing and Protective Antibody Responses to
Powassan Virus
Date: Thursday, December 11, 2025
Time: 12:00pm
Location: LeFrak Auditorium,
Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Jonathan Lai
PhD Candidate, Biochemistry
TRAM NGUYEN
Thesis Seminar Title:
Biobehavioral Correlates of Reward Dysfunction in
Adolescent Depression and Cannabis Use
Date: Monday, December 1, 2025
Time: 2:30pm
Location: Zoom, and 5th Floor
Lecture Hall, Forchheimer
Laboratories of Drs. Vilma Gabbay and Benjamin Ely
MD-PhD Candidate, Clinical Investigation
ANASTASIA NIZHNIK
Thesis Title: Tracing the Hematopoietic
Origin of Lymphocytes in Development
Date: Tuesday, November 4, 2025
Time: 1:00pm
Location: Zoom, LeFrak Auditorium,
Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Teresa Bowman
PhD Candidate, Developmental & Molecular Biology
DANIEL BORGER
Thesis Title: Proteomic
Characterization of Revitalized Bone Marrow Stromal
Cells Reveals Novel Roles for Semaphorins in the
Hematopoietic Niche
Date: Wednesday, September 4,
2025
Time: 10:00am
Location: Zoom, and 5th Floor Lecture
Hall, Forchheimer
Laboratory of Dr. Kira Gritsman
MD-PhD Candidate, Department of Cell Biology
JESSICA WEISELBERG
Thesis Title: Effects of
Methamphetamine on Gene Expression and Functions of
Primary Human Macrophages: Implications
for HIV Neuropathogenesis
Date: Thursday, September 4, 2025
Time: 10:00am
Location: 5th Floor Lecture Hall,
Forchheimer
Laboratory of Dr. Joan W. Berman
PhD Candidate, Department of Pathology
MADELINE DELUCA
Thesis Title: The Effect of Paclitaxel
on the Pro-metastatic Microenvironment of
Triple-negative Breast Cancer
Date: Monday, August 4, 2025
Time: 10:00am
Location: 3rd Floor Lecture Hall,
Forchheimer
Laboratory of Dr. David Entenberg
PhD Candidate, Department of Pathology
ELIEZYER FERMINO DE OLIVEIRA
Thesis Title: Intrinsic Neural Dynamics
and the Coding of Movements and Visual Stimuli in the
Primary Visual Cortex
Date: Thursday, July 31, 2025
Time: 1:00pm
Location: Zoom, and Tishman Auditorium,
Kennedy Center
Laboratory of Dr. Lucas Sjulson
PhD Candidate, Department of Neuroscience
ROHAN HOFLAND
Thesis Title: Microglia Replacement as
a Method for Drug Delivery in the Brain
Date: Wednesday, July 23, 2025
Time: 1:30pm
Location: Zoom, and Tishman Auditorium,
Kennedy Center
Laboratories of Drs. Jean Hebert and J. Tiago
Goncalves
MD-PhD Candidate, Department of Neuroscience
SANDRA PELKA
Thesis Title: Focused Ultrasound
Therapy Modulates the Anti-melanoma Immune Response
Through Unconventional Protein Secretion
Date: Monday, July 14, 2025
Time: 10:00am
Location: Zoom, and LeFrak Auditorium,
Price Center
Laboratories of Drs. Ana Maria Cuervo, Chandan Guha, and
Fernando Macian
MD-PhD Candidate, Department of Developmental &
Molecular Biology
JACOB ROTH
Thesis Title: Regulatory Roles of PRMT5
in Chromatin and Cell Cycle Control
Date: Friday, July 11, 2025
Time: 11:00am
Location: Zoom, and LeFrak Auditorium,
Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. David Shechter
MD-PhD Candidate, Department of Biochemistry
KARL ROBERTS
Thesis Title: Proof-of-Concept in a
Murine Model of Treatment of Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic
Purpura Using Lab-Grown Engineered Red Blood Cells
Date: Wednesday, July 2, 2025
Time: 12:00pm
Location: Zoom, and 5th Floor Lecture
Hall, Forchheimer
Laboratory of Dr. Eric Bouhassira
PhD Candidate, Department of Cell Biology
DANIELLA MILLER
Thesis Title: Reduced dosage of Kmt2d
Modifies the Transcriptional Landscape of Tbx1
Haploinsufficiency Towards Phenotypes of 22q11.2DS
Date: Monday, June 16, 2025
Time: 1:00pm
Location: Zoom, and 5th Floor Lecture
Hall, Forchheimer
Laboratory of Dr. Bernice Morrow
MD-PhD Candidate, Department of Genetics
AUSTIN LANDGRAF
Thesis Title: Widespread Discordance
Between mRNA Expression, Protein Abundance and de novo
Lipogenesis Activity in Hepatocytes During the
Fed-Starvation Transition
Date: Wednesday, June 25, 2025
Time: 1:00pm
Location: Zoom, and LeFrak Auditorium,
Price Center
Laboratories of Drs. Kosaku Shinoda and Jeffrey
Pessin
MD-PhD Candidate, Department of Molecular Pharmacology
RUTH HAUPTMAN
Thesis Title: Microbiome-Derived
Biomarkers for Diarrhea: Insights from Mechanistic and
Data-Driven Approaches
Date: Friday, June 20, 2025
Time: 10:00am
Location: Zoom, and LeFrak Auditorium,
Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Libusha Kelly
MD-PhD Candidate, Department of Systems &
Computational Biology
DANIELLA MILLER
Thesis Title: Reduced dosage of Kmt2d
Modifies the Transcriptional Landscape of Tbx1
Haploinsufficiency Towards Phenotypes of 22q11.2DS
Date: Monday, June 16, 2025
Time: 1:00pm
Location: Zoom, and 5th Floor Lecture
Hall, Forchheimer
Laboratory of Dr. Bernice Morrow
MD-PhD Candidate, Department of Genetics
KHUSHBU PATEL
Thesis Title: Role of
Chaperone-Mediated Autophagy in Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Development
Date: Monday, June 16, 2025
Time: 11:00am
Location: Zoom, and 5th Floor Lecture
Hall, Forchheimer
Laboratory of Drs. Esperanza Arias-Perez and Fernando
Macian
PhD Candidate, Department of Pathology
BLAKE EBERT
Thesis Title: Epigenetic Regulation of
Stem Cell Biology by the Enzymatic Activities of TET DNA
Dioxygenases
Date: Tuesday, June 10, 2025
Time: 12:00pm
Location: LeFrak Auditorium, Price
Center
Laboratory of Dr. Meelad Dawlaty
MD-PhD Candidate, Department of Genetics
OLIVIA ALBERT
Thesis Title: Aneuploidy in the Healthy
Human Brain, Revealed by Single-Cell Analysis, Occurs
Independently of High-Grade Glioma
Date: Wednesday, June 4, 2025
Time: 11:00am
Location: LeFrak Auditorium, Price
Center
Laboratory of Drs. Jan Vijg and Cristina Montagna
PhD Candidate, Department of Genetics
JACOB STAUBER
Thesis Title: Evolution of Donor Stem Cell
Clonal Hematopoiesis in Hematopoietic Cell
Transplantation
Date: Tuesday, May 27, 2025
Time: 1:00pm
Location: Zoom, and LeFrak Auditorium,
Price Center
Laboratories of Drs. John Greally and Ulrich Steidl
MD-PhD Candidate, Department of Genetics
YESSENIA CEDENO CEDENO
Thesis Title: Dissecting the Role of NMNAT1
in Local and Dynamic NAD+-Dependent Transcriptional
Regulation
Date: Thursday, May 22, 2025
Time: 10:00am
Location: Zoom, and LeFrak Auditorium,
Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Robert Coleman
PhD Candidate, Department of Cell Biology
ALISON XU
Thesis Title: Assessing the Role of the
Pulvinar in Cortical Inter-areal Signaling
Date: Monday, May 12, 2025
Time: 10:30am
Location: Zoom, and LeFrak Auditorium,
Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Adam Kohn
MD-PhD Candidate, Department of Neuroscience
ALEXANDRA SCHURER
Thesis Title: TTLL4 Glutamyltransferase is
a Therapeutic Target for NPM1-mutated Acute Myeloid
Leukemia
Date: Monday, May 5, 2025
Time: 10:00am
Location: Zoom, and 5th Floor Lecture Hall,
Forchheimer
Laboratory of Dr. Kira Gritsman
MD-PhD Candidate, Department of Cell Biology
JARRETT LOPEZ-SCARIM
Thesis Title: The Role of CD4+ T Cell Help
in the Generation of Intrahepatic CD8+ T Cell Subsets During
an HCV-Related Rodent Hepacivirus Infection
Date: Wednesday, April 30, 2025
Time: 1:00pm
Location: Zoom, and LeFrak Auditorium,
Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Eva Billerbeck
PhD Candidate, Department of Microbiology & Immunology
BLUYÉ DeMESSIE
Thesis Title: Brain Microstructure at
Depths of Sulci: Vulnerability to Repetitive Head
Impacts
Date: Tuesday, April 29, 2025
Time: 2:00pm
Location: Zoom, and LeFrak Auditorium,
Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Michael Lipton
MD-PhD Candidate, Department of Neuroscience
RIANA LO BU
Thesis Title: Identifying the Functional
Role of GPNMB in the Pathogenesis of Parkinson’s
Disease
Date: Monday, April 28, 2025
Time: 2:00pm
Location: Zoom, and Tishman Auditorium,
Kennedy Center
Laboratory of Dr. Frank Soldner
MD-PhD Candidate, Department of Neuroscience
DEJAUWNE YOUNG
Thesis Title: The Role of CARM1 in
Regulating Developmental Programming and NGFR Signaling in
Glioblastoma
Date: Monday, April 28, 2025
Time: 1:00pm
Location: Zoom, and LeFrak Auditorium,
Price Center
Laboratories of Drs. Simone Sidoli and Chandan Guha
MD-PhD Candidate, Departments of Biochemistry, and Pathology
KASSIDY LUNDY
Thesis Title: Stellate Cells in Healthy
Development and Fibrotic Activation
Date: Tuesday, April 15, 2025
Time: 3:00pm
Location: LeFrak Auditorium, Price
Center
Laboratory of Dr. John Greally
PhD Candidate, Department of Genetics
ABHIMANYU PAVULURI
Thesis Title: Representational Geometries
and Their Dynamics in Macaque Areas V1 and V2
Date: Friday, April 11, 2025
Time: 11:00am
Location: Zoom, and Tishman Auditorium,
Kennedy Center
Laboratory of Dr. Adam Kohn
PhD Candidate, Department of Neuroscience
ROSA PARK
Thesis Title: CD138 and APRIL Regulate
Plasma Cell Survival, Competition, and Retention in the Bone
Marrow Niche
Date: Tuesday, April 8, 2025
Time: 1:00pm
Location: Zoom, and LeFrak Auditorium,
Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. David Fooksman
MD-PhD Candidate, Department of Pathology
JOAN SONG
Thesis Title: Techniques for Gray
Matter-White Matter Interface Characterization Link Adverse
Cognitive Performance to Soccer RHI
Date: Tuesday, April 8, 2025
Time: 10:30am
Location: Zoom, and Tishman Auditorium,
Kennedy Center
Laboratory of Dr. Michael Lipton
MD-PhD Candidate, Department of Neuroscience
ILANA KARP
Thesis Title: Alternative Splicing and RNA
Binding Protein Regulation of Hematopoietic Stem and
Progenitor Cell Emergence
Date: Thursday, April 3, 2025
Time: 11:00am
Location: Zoom, and LeFrak Auditorium,
Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Teresa Bowman
PhD Candidate, Department of Developmental & Molecular
Biology
JESSIE LARIOS VALENCIA
Thesis Title: AP-1 and Yap/Taz Promote
Multipotency Reactivation in Basal-like Breast Cancer
Tumorigenesis
Date: Wednesday, April 2, 2025
Time: 2:00pm
Location: Zoom, and LeFrak Auditorium,
Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Wenjun Guo
MD-PhD Candidate, Department of Cell Biology
ALEXANDRA TSE
Thesis Title: Host Receptor Interactions
and Viral Entry Strategies in Emerging Viruses
Date: Wednesday, April 2, 2025
Time: 10:00am
Location: Zoom, and LeFrak Auditorium,
Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Kartik Chandran
MD-PhD Candidate, Department of Microbiology &
Immunology
NATALIA MUÑOZ PEREZ
Thesis Title: VISTA Emerges as a Promising
Target Against Immune Evasion Mechanisms in
Medulloblastoma
Date: Wednesday, March 26, 2025
Time: 1:00pm
Location: Zoom, and LeFrak Auditorium,
Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Allison Martin
MD-PhD Candidate, Department of Microbiology &
Immunology
HELEN JUNG
Thesis Title: Design of Immunogens and
Immunization Strategies to Elicit Broadly Neutralizing
Antibody Responses Against Zika and Dengue Viruses
Date: Monday, March 24, 2025
Time: 12:00pm
Location: Zoom, and LeFrak Auditorium,
Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Jonathan Lai
MD-PhD Candidate, Department of Biochemistry
ILANA V. DEYNEKO
Thesis Title: Monogenic Deletions in ANKS1B
Give Insight into New Cellular Pathogeneses of Autism
Spectrum Disorders
Date: Monday, March 24, 2025
Time: 10:00am
Location: Zoom, and Tishman Auditorium,
Kennedy Center
Laboratory of Dr. Bryen Jordan
PhD Candidate, Department of Neuroscience
GREGORY A. HAMILTON
Thesis Title: The Roles of H2BK120ac and
MacroH2A1 in Regulating Enhancer Function
Date: Thursday, March 20, 2025
Time: 1:00pm
Location: Zoom, and LeFrak Auditorium,
Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Matthew Gamble
PhD Candidate, Department of Molecular Pharmacology
DANIEL J. NILSON
Thesis Title: Structural and Mechanistic
Insights into Fungal and Protozoan mRNA Cap (Guanine-N7)
Methyltransferases: Elucidating the Inhibitory Mechanism of
Sinefungin
Date: Thursday, March 20, 2025
Time: 11:00am
Location: Zoom, and LeFrak Auditorium,
Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Steven Almo
PhD Candidate, Department of Biochemistry
ZHONGXUAN (DORA) CHI
Thesis Title: Transcriptomic Analysis of
Cancer-Associated U2 snRNA Mutations
Date: Thursday, March 13, 2025
Time: 1:00pm
Location: Zoom, and 5th Floor Lecture
Hall, Forchheimer
Laboratory of Dr. Charles Query
PhD Candidate, Department of Cell Biology
APRIL L. MUELLER
Thesis Title: T-Cell Receptor/CD28-Targeted
Immunotherapeutics: Parallel Pathways to Expand Naïve HIV-
and Melanoma-Specific T Cells and Develop TCR Transgenic
CD8+ T Cells
Date: Monday, March 10, 2025
Time: 12:00pm
Location: Zoom, and LeFrak Auditorium,
Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Harris Goldstein
MD-PhD Candidate, Department of Microbiology &
Immunology
GREGORY HAMILTON
Thesis Title: The Roles of H2BK120ac and
MacroH2A1 in Regulating Enhancer Function
Date: Friday, February 28, 2025
Time: 2:00pm
Location: Zoom, and 3rd Floor Lecture Hall,
Forchheimer
Laboratory of Dr. Matthew Gamble
PhD Candidate, Department of Molecular Pharmacology
CHRISTOPHER HINER
Thesis Title: Optimizing Antigen-Specific
Cytotoxic CD8+ T Cell Expansion and Redirection Using Novel
Immunotherapeutics
Date: Wednesday, February 12, 2025
Time: 1:30pm
Location: Zoom, and LeFrak Auditorium,
Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Harris Goldstein
PhD Candidate, Department of Microbiology & Immunology
CZARINA
RAMOS
Thesis
Title:Â Modulating Excitation in Circuits of
the Limbic System
Date: Friday, January 24, 2025
Time: 10:00am
Zoom, and Tishman Auditorium, Kennedy
Laboratory of Dr. Pablo Castillo
PhD Candidate, Department of Neuroscience
HARMONY KETCHUM
Thesis Title:Â Epigenetic
Regulation of Stem Cells by the DNA Dioxygenase TET3
Date: Thursday, January 23, 2025
Time: 1:00pm
LeFrak Auditorium, Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Meelad Dawlaty
PhD Candidate, Department of Genetics
MARC CHRISTOPHER PULANCO
Thesis Title: Immune Checkpoint B7x
Promotes Immune Evasion and Resistance to PD-1/PD-L1
Blockade in Bladder Cancer
Date: Thursday, December 19, 2024
Time: 10:00am
Zoom, and LeFrak Auditorium, Price
Laboratories of Drs. XingXing Zang and Mark Schoenburg
PhD Candidate, Department of Clinical Investigation
CLAIRE WARD
Thesis Title: Developmental Disruption of
Mef2c in MGE-derived Cortical Interneurons Impairs
Cellular and Circuit Function
Date: Monday, December 16, 2024
Time: 10:00am
Zoom, and Tishman Auditorium, Kennedy
Laboratory of Dr. Renata Batista-Brito
PhD Candidate, Department of Neuroscience
KEVIN RAMOS
Thesis Title: Application of Various
Protein Engineering Strategies to Develop Enhanced Antiviral
Immunogens and Therapeutics.
Date: Tuesday, December 10, 2024
Time: 11:00am
LeFrak Auditorium, Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Jonathan Lai
PhD Candidate, Department of Biochemistry
ERIK GUILLEN
Thesis Title: Understanding How T cell
Receptor Recognition and Signaling Impacts CD8+ T cell
Functional Programming
Date: Monday, December 2, 2024
Time: 2:00pm
Zoom, and 3rd Fl Lecture Hall, Forchheimer
Laboratory of Dr. Gregoire Lauvau
MD-PhD Candidate, Department of Microbiology and Immunology
SARAH AMINOV
Thesis Title: Therapeutic Targeting of
Leukemias
Date: Monday, December 2, 2024
Time: 10:00am
Zoom, and LeFrak Auditorium, Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Amit Verma
PhD Candidate, Department of Developmental and Molecular
Biology
MARGARETTE MARIANO
Thesis Title: Engineering Nanoparticle
Vaccines That Elicit Broadly Neutralizing Antibody Responses
Against Flaviviruses and Hantaviruses in vivo
Date: Thursday, November 21, 2024
Time: 10:00am
Zoom, and LeFrak Auditorium, Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Jonathan Lai
PhD Candidate, Department of Biochemistry
JACOB RATLIFF
Thesis Title: Inhibition and
State-Dependent Cortical Function
Date: Monday, November 18, 2024
Time: 11:00am
Zoom, and Tishman Auditorium, Kennedy Center
Laboratory of Dr. Renata Batista-Brito
PhD Candidate, Department of Neuroscience
EMILY SCHWENGER
Thesis Title: The Role of Adaptive Immunity
in the Preleukemic to Leukemic Transition: p53 as a Paradigm
Date: Monday, October 21, 2024
Time: 9:00am
Zoom, and LeFrak Auditorium, Price Center
Laboratories of Drs. Ulrich Steidl and Aviv Bergman
MD-PhD Candidate, Department of Cell Biology
JOHN CONNOLLY
Thesis Title: Interactions Between
Microbial Ecology, Population Structure and Human Health
Across Physiological Systems
Date: Friday, October 11, 2024
Time: 10:00am
Zoom, and LeFrak Auditorium, Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Libusha Kelly
PhD Candidate, Department of Systems and Computational
Biology
RANEE HARRISON
Thesis Title: Chaperone Mediated Autophagy
is Required for Regulatory T-cell Function
Date: Thursday, October 10, 2024
Time: 1:00pm
LeFrak Auditorium, Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Ana Maria Cuervo
PhD Candidate, Department of Pathology
SARAH GOEBEL
Thesis Title: Ly6H Mislocalization and
Cholinergic Dysfunction in the Fmr1 KO Mouse: Therapeutic
Implications for Fragile X Syndrome.
Date: Friday, September 20, 2024
Time: 10:00am
Zoom, and Tishman Auditorium, Kennedy Center
Laboratories of Drs. Anna Francesconi and Vytas Verselis
PhD Candidate, Department of Neuroscience
JAKE LACHOWICZ
Thesis Title: Structural and Mechanistic
Studies of Viperin and Biotin Synthase
Date: Friday, September 6, 2024
Time: 1:00pm
Zoom, and LeFrak Auditorium, Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Tyler Grove
PhD Candidate, Department of Biochemistry
ANDREA BAE
Thesis Title: Auditory Competition and
Neural Coding of Stimulus Selection Across Midbrain and
Forebrain of Barn Owls
Date: Friday, September 6, 2024
Time: 1:00pm
Zoom, and Tishman Auditorium, Kennedy Center
Laboratory of Dr. Jose L. Peña
MD-PhD Candidate, Department of Neuroscience
JOSEPH DEANGELO
Thesis Title: Transcriptional Regulation by
PRMT5
Date: Wednesday, August 21, 2024
Time: 11:00am
Zoom, and LeFrak Auditorium, Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. David Shechter
MD-PhD Candidate, Department of Biochemistry
ALBERT WANG
Thesis Title: Targeting Crimean-Congo
Hemorrhagic Fever Virus Glycoprotein GP38: Investigating
Mechanism, Strain Differences, and Vaccine Development
Date: Tuesday, August 20, 2024
Time: 10:30am
LeFrak Auditorium, Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Kartik Chandran
MD-PhD Candidate, Department of Microbiology and Immunology
SAYRA GARCIA
Thesis Title: Lipocalin-2 Drives
Neuropsychiatric and Cutaneous Disease in SLE
Date: Thursday, August 1, 2024
Time: 11:00am
Zoom, and LeFrak Auditorium, Price Center
Laboratory of Dr. Chaim Putterman
PhD Candidate, Department of Microbiology and Immunology
