ALUMNI
2023 Graduates
Brian Lloyd, PhD
BM, Vocal Performance, Univ. of Denver, Denver, CO, 2013; BS, Biology, Univ. of Colorado, Denver, CO, 2017
Mentor: Aoto, Jason
Subsynaptic characterization of neurexins
Brian Lloyd's Publications on PubMed
Current Position: Return to medical school
Connor Hughes, PhD
BS, Biology, Univ. of Richmond, Richmond, VA, 2016
Mentor: Ford, Heide L.
I study the role of Eya transcriptional cofactors in regulation of the immune response in triple negative breast cancer
Current Position: Return to medical school
Austin Jolly, PhD
BA, Integrated Physiology, Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 2016
Mentor: Weiser-Evans, Mary C.M.
Investigating the contribution of vascular progenitor cells to pathologic vascular remodeling, fibrosis, and hypertension.
Current Position: Return to medical school
Jaqueline Turner, PhD
BA, Biochemistry and Integrative Physiology, Univ of Colorado Boulder., Boulder, CO, 2017
Mentor: Torres, Raul M.
Lipid modulation of anti-tumor immunity and immunosurveillance
Jackie Turner's Publications on NIH
Current Position: Return to medical school
Gregory Wright, PhD
BS, Chemistry, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, 2003; MS Chemistry & Bioinformatics, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, 2014
Mentor: Black, Joshua C.
Investigating transient site-specific gain as a mechanism of gene amplification
Jonathan Tullis, PhD
BS, Chemistry, Santa Clara Univ., Santa Clara, CA, 2014
Mentor: Bayer, K. Ulrich
Investigating DAPK1 localization and function in synaptic plasticity.
Jonathan Tullis' Publications on NIH
2022 Graduates
Madison Furnish, PhD
BS,
Biology, Univ. of Louisville, Louisville, KY, 2017
Mentor: Caino, Maria
Identification
and characterization of novel effector proteins in the Rho-like GTPase Miro2
that alter metabolism and motility in prostate cancer.
Madison Furnish's Publications on PubMed
Current Position: Scientist I, Platform Biology Enveda Biosciences Boulder, CO
Faith Aguilar, MS
BS, Chemistry, University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley, 2017
Developing Choice: Issues and Implications of an Operant Choice Mouse Model
Philip Tatman, PhD
BS, Physiology and Biochemistry, Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA, 2014
Mentor: Black, Joshua C.
Activation of the insulin receptor by histone three tail peptides.
Publications: View on Google Scholar
Current Position: Return to medical school
Michelle Foreman, MS
BS, Mathematical Biology, University of Houston, Houston, TX, 2019
Mentor: Black, Joshua
Investigating epigenetic dysregulation of the interferon receptor locus by PRC1 in trisomy 21
Michelle's content on RNA Journal
Michelle's publications on PubMed
Logan Tyler, PhD
BS, Biology, Villanova Univ., 2012; MPH., Epidemiology, Drexel Univ., 2014
Mentor: Doebele, Robert C.
Investigating mechanisms of acquired resistance to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in human primary cell lines with driving receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) fusion mutations
Logan Tyler's Publications on PubMed
Current Position: Research Scientist OnKure Therapeutics Boulder, CO
Joshua Garcia, PhD
BS, Biology, Univ. of New Mexico, 2015
Mentor: Smith, Katharine R.
Understanding mechanisms of inhibitory synapse down-regulation in vulnerable cell-types during OGD
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California, San Francisco
Christophe Langouet-Astrie, PhD
BS, Biotechnology & Statistics Minor, James Madison Univ., Harrisonburg, VA, 2015; M.S., Biomedical Sciences and Biotechnology, Univ. of Colorado Anschutz, Denver, CO, 2018
Mentor: Schmidt, Eric P.
Glycosaminoglycan therapeutics to sequester pathogenic toxins in Sepsis.
Christophe Langouet-Astrie's Publications on PubMed
Current Position: Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of Washington, Seattle, WA,
2021 Graduates
Jessica Hsu, PhD
BS, Molecular Toxicology, Univ. of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 2014
Mentor: Ford, Heide L.
Utilizing zebrafish as a model organism to investigate the mechanisms by which developmental genes contribute to formation and progression of Rhabdomyosarcoma.
Jessica Hsu's Publications on PubMed
Current Position: Research Scientist, Foresight Diagnostics Inc Aurora, CO
BA, Neuroscience, Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL, 2018
Mentor: Dell’Acqua, Mark
Investigating the signaling of AKAP-anchored PKA in synaptic plasticity.
Alexander (Sascha) Strait, PhD
BS, Biological Science, Univ. of California, Davis, CA, 2004
Mentor: Wang, Xiao-Jing
TGF-β signaling regulates the response to immune checkpoint blockade in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
Alexandra Strait's Publications on PubMed
Current Position: Research Scientist OnKure Therapeutics Boulder, CO
Sarah Cook, PhD
BS, Neurobiology, Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX, 2014
Mentor: Bayer, K. Ulrich
Role of CAMKII T305-306 auto-phosphorylation in bi-directional synaptic plasticity (LTP vs. LTD)
Sarah Cook's Publications on PubMed
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow Hotchkiss Brain Institute Calgary, Alberta Canada
Robert Jones, PhD
BS, Biological Sciences, Univ. of Michigan, Dearborn, MI, 2009
Mentor: Theodorescu, Daniel
Investigating molecular determinants of chemosensitivity in bladder cancer.
Robert Jone's Publications on NCBI
Current Position: Return to medical school
Sean Korpela, PhD
BS, Biochemistry, Loyola Univ., Chicago, IL, 2014
Mentor: Heasley, Lynn E.
Inhibition of oncogenic signaling pathways can modulate T-cell inflammation
Sean Korpela's Publications on PubMed
Current Position: Senior Research Associate Invitae Boulder, CO
Wells LaRiviere, PhD
BA, Political Science, Reed College, Portland, OR, 2010; BS, Molecular Biology, Univ. of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 2013
Mentor: Schmidt, Eric P.
The vascular and pulmonary glycobiology of critical illness.
Wells LaRiviere's Publications on PubMed
Current
Position: Return to medical school
Susana Restrepo, PhD
BS, Bio-Biotechnology, Univ. of Florida, 2015
Mentor: Aoto, Jason
Role of Neurexin3-alpha at the synapse.
Susana Restrepo's Publications on PubMed
Current Position: Scientific Consultant CBR International Corp. Boulder, CO
Andrew Riching, PhD
BS, Biochemistry & Music, Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 2012
Mentor: Song, Kunhua
Investigating regulation of cardiomyogenesis for cardiac repair.
Andrew Riching's Publications on PubMed
Current
Position: Scientist 2 at Horizon Discovery, Lafayette, CO
2020 Graduates
Ashley Bourke, PhD
BS, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI, 2013
Mentor: Kennedy, Matthew J.
Ashley Bourke's Publications on PubMed
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow Max Planck Institute for Brain Research Frankfurt, Germany DE
Evelyn Bordeaux, MS
BS, Biochemistry, Seattle Univ., Seattle, WA, 2017
Mentor: Sikora, Matthew J.
Investigating the unique regulation and functions of ER in ILC breast cancers.
Evelyn Bordeaux's Publications on PubMed
Danting Cao, PhD
BS, Southern Medical Univ., Guangzhou, China, 2013
Mentor: Petrache, Irina
Current Position: Senior Scientist Immunology and Respiratory Research Boehringer Ingelheim, Ridgefield, CT
Emily Wagner, MS
BS, Biotechnology, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, 2018
Mentor: Nemenoff, Raphael A.
Investigating the role of chemokine CCL2 in the recruitment of macrophages to the tumor microenvironment of NSCLC
Current Position: Research Associate at Inscripta, Inc, Boulder CO
2019 Graduates
Ivelisse Cruz-Torres, PhD
BS, Biology and Natural Sciences, Univ. de Puerto Rico en Cayay, Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, 2013
Mentor: Herson, Paco
Current Position: Investigator Early Discovery Neurotherapeutic Area/Neurogenetics Research Unit Glaxo Smith Kline
Ivelisse Cruz-Torres' Publications on PubMed
Alicia Purkey, PhD
BA, Psychology, Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, Boulder, CO, 2011
Mentor: Dell'Acqua, Mark
Current Position: Scientist Recursion Salt Lake City, Utah
Alicia Purkey's Publications on PubMed
2018 Graduates
Brent Fitzwalter, PhD
BS, Biochemistry, Univ. of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 2011
Mentor: Thorburn, Andrew
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow Broad Institute Boston, MA US
Brent Fitzwalter's Publications on PubMed
Andrew Goodspeed, PhD
BS, Biology, State Univ. of New York, Brockport, NY, 2012; M.S., Biology, State Univ. of New York, Brockport,
NY, 2013
Mentor: Costello, James
Current Position: Research Associate University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus Aurora, CO
Sarah Haeger, PhD, MD
BS, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 2011
Mentor: Tuder, Rubin
Current Position: Residency, Pulmonary Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz
Sarah Haeger's Publications on PubMed
Brooke Sinnen, PhD
BA, Biological Science, Northwestern Univ.,
IL, 2013
Mentor: Kennedy, Matthew J.
Current Position: Scientist at Recursion Salt Lake City, UT
Brooke Sinnen's Publications on PubMed
2017 Graduates
Brett Dunn, MS
BS, Biochemistry, Monmouth College, Monmouth, IL, 2014
Mentor: Aoto, Jason
Current Position: Intern Muse Biotechnolgy
Jessica Spiltoir, PhD
BS, Biochemistry, Univ. of Vermont, VT, 2009
Mentor: Tucker, Chandra L.
Jessica Spiltoir's Publications on PubMed
2016 Graduates
Rachel Carlson (Fickes), PhD
BS, Biochemistry, Creighton Univ., NE, 2011
Mentor: Voelker, Dennis R.
Current Position: Clinical Services Specialist Adaptive Biotechnologies
Rachel Fickes' Publications on PubMed
Jovylyn Gatchalian, PhD
BS, Biochemistry, Univ. of California, San Diego, CA, 2006
Mentor: Kutateladze, Tataiana G.
Current Position: Senior Scientist Kura Oncology, Inc. San Diego, CA
Jovylyn Gatchalian's Publications on PubMed
Christina L. Wysoczynski-Horita, PhD
BS, Biology, Univ. of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA, 2009
Mentor: Churchill, Mair E. A.
Current Position: Production Manager Cytoskeleton Inc. Denver, CO
Christina Wzsoczynski-Horita's Publications on PubMed
2015 Graduates
Kelsey Barcomb, PhD
BA, Neuroscience, Hamilton College, Clinton, NY, 2009
Mentor: Bayer, K. Ulrich
Current Position: Post Doctoral Fellow Pharmacology Univ. of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Kelsey Barcomb's Publications on PubMed
Wes Blakeslee, PhD
BA, Biochemistry, Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 2009
Mentor: McKinsey, Timothy A.
Current Position: Chief Clinical Officer at Rxrevu, Inc.
Wes Blakeslee's Publications on PubMed
Hannah Edlin, MS
BS, Biochemistry/Molecular Biology, Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 2009
Mentor: Jones, David N. M.
Current Position: Student Pharmacy Univ. of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Hannah Edlin's Publications on PubMed
Sarah Martin, PhD
BS, Biochemistry, North Central College, Naperville, IL, 2010
Mentor: Murphy, Robert C.
Current Position: Senior Scientist Servier Pharmaceuticals Boston, MA
Sarah Martin's Publications on PubMed
2014 Graduates
Wallace H. Liu, PhD
BS, Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Univ. of California, San Diego, CA, 2007
Mentor: Churchill, Mair E. A.
Current Position: Research Scientist Gilead Sciences Foster City, CA
Wallace Liu's Publications on PubMed
Allison Ostriker, PhD
BA, Biochemistry, Bowdoin Coll., Brunswick, ME, 2004
Mentor: Nemenoff, Raphael A.
Current Position: Scientist II Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Lexington, MA
Allison Ostriker's Publications on PubMed
Jacki M. Rorabaugh, PhD
BS, Biology: Allied Health, Winona State Univ., Winona, MN, 2009
Mentor: Zahniser, Nancy R.
Current Position: Medical Science Liaison Teva Pharmaceuticals
Jacki Rorabaugh's Publications on PubMed
2013 Graduates
J. Taylor Juergens, PhD
BS, Biology, Univ. of Colorado, Denver, Denver, CO, 2007
Mentor: Sather, William A.
Current Position: Senior Medical Science Liaison EMD Serono, Inc.
Jill Neiman, PhD
BS, Biochemistry, Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA, 2006
Mentor: Wang, Xiao-Jing
Current Position: Medical Doctor Family Medicine, Colville, WA
Jill Neiman's Publications on PubMed
Sarah M. Rogstad, PhD
BS, Biology and Chemistry, Harvey Mudd Coll., Claremont, CA, 2008
Mentor: Wu, Christine C.
Current Position: Chemist Food and Drug Administration
Sarah Rogstad's Publications on PubMed
2012 Graduates
James J. Galligan, PhD
BS, Physiology, Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI, 2006
Mentor: Petersen, Dennis R.
Current Position: Assistant Professor Univ. of Arizona
James Galligan's Publications on PubMed
Wallace R. Helton, PhD
BS, Exercise and Sport Science, Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO, 1994
Mentor: Wu, Christine C.
Current Position: Medical Science Liaison Medical Affairs - Neurodegenerative Diseases EMD Serono, Inc.
Wallace Helton's Publications on PubMed
Patrick M. Hutchins, PhD
BA, Chemistry, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY, 2003
Mentor: Murphy, Robert C.
Current Position: Global Product Manager TSI Incorporated
Patrick Hutchins' Publications on PubMed
Heather E. Caballes, PhD
BA, Biology, BS, Psychology, Clarkson Univ., Potsdam, NY, 2002
Entered Program: 2007
Mentor: Bayer, K. Ulrich
Current Position: Assistant Research Professor Pediatrics-Neurology Univ. of Colorado Denver | Anschutz Medical Campus
Heather Caballes' Publications on PubMed
Prince Tieku, MS
BS, Microbiology, Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA, 2009
Entered Program: 2010
Mentor: Churchill, Mair E.A.
Current Position: Pharmacy Univ. of Colorado Denver | Anschutz Medical Campus
Prince Tieku's Publications on PubMed
James T. Whitehurst, PhD
MS, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Georgetown Univ., Washington, DC, 2005
Mentor: Kieft, Jeffrey S.
Current Position: Director of Research Aalto Scientific, Ltd
James Whitehurst's Publications on PubMed
Sarah M. Williams, MS
BS, Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Univ. of California, San Diego, CA, 2005
Mentor: McKinsey, Timothy A.
Current Position: Principal Clinical Research Specialist Medtronic
Sarah Williams' Publications on PubMed
Dorothy J. Yamamoto, PhD
BA, Psychology, Univ. of Colorado, Denver, Denver, CO, 2006
Mentor: Zahniser, Nancy R.
Current Position: Postdoctoral Associate Radiology Univ. of Colorado Denver
Dorothy Yamamoto's Publications on PubMed
2011 Graduates
Tressa M. Allington, PhD
BS, Chemical Engineering, Iowa State Univ. of Science and Technology, Ames, IA, 2004
Mentor: Schiemann, William P.
Current Position: Associate Director, Research Quality Operations Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc
2010 Graduates
Rebekah Vest, PhD
BS, Zoology, Brigham Young Univ., Provo, UT, 2001
Mentor: Bayer, K. Ulrich
Current Position: Adjunct Professor of Physiology and Biological Sciences Mt. San Antonio College
Brian M. Ziemba, PhD
BS, MCD Biology/Biochemistry, Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 1998
Mentor: Jones, David N. M.
Current Position: Senior Research Associate Integrative Physiology of Aging Laboratory Univ. of Colorado Boulder
2009 Graduates
Henrick Horita, PhD
BS, Biology, Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA, 2004
Mentor: Thorburn, Andrew M.
Current Position: Scientist Cytoskeleton Inc.
Kelli Jonakin, PhD
BS, Biochemistry, Univ. of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA, 2005
Mentor: Wu, Christine C.e
Current Position: Global Marketing Manager - Pharma/Biopharma SCIEX
Bruce Mandt, PhD
BA, Psychology, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 2001
Mentor: Zahniser, Nancy R.
Current Position: Director of Postdoctoral Office Graduate School Univ. of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Anna Nelson, PhD
BA, Psychology, Boston College, Boston, MA, 2003
Mentor: Zahniser, Nancy R.
Current Position: Director Medical Student Education Oregon Health & Science Univ.
Pedro Peña, PhD
BS, Biochemistry, Old Dominion Univ., Norfolk, VA, 2003
Mentor: Kutateladze, Tatiana G.
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow Biotechnology Institute Univ. of Minnesota