Current Graduate Students

Abigail Antoine

Research Interests:

I am interested in the system-level effects of cell-to-cell communication. Currently, I study how one transmembrane channel, Pannexin 3, affects the intercellular communication between vascular smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells to facilitate constriction and dilation of small resistance arteries.

Jordon Aragon

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Heather Barber

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Raegan Bostic

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Shelby Cain

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Shaylyn Clancy

Research Interests:

My research focuses on the mechanisms behind axon guidance in the developing mammalian cochlea.  During development, type II spiral ganglion neuron axons extend into the sensory epithelium of the cochlea and make a 90 degree turn towards the cochlear base, but the mechanisms behind this remarkable innervation pattern are largely unknown. I am investigating the role planar cell polarity signaling plays in directing the turning pattern of these axons. Specifically, I am examining the effects of planar cell polarity signaling on both extracellular matrix composition and the mechanical environment of the cochlea, and determining if type II spiral ganglion neurons are sensitive to these effects.

Aleksandra Cwiek

Research Interests:

I am interested in placental development, vascularization, and pregnancy complications. Vitamin A deficiency is a known risk factor for placental dysfunction and poor pregnancy outcomes. However, its molecular role in placental development is unknown. I seek to discover the role of retinoic acid in the regulation of placental vascularization and hematopoiesis to gain valuable insights that can ultimately be applied to creating better clinical strategies for detecting and avoiding placental pathologies leading to premature birth or life-threatening preeclampsia.

Luke Eldredge

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Mary Kate Horak

Research Interests:

Age is the main risk factor for severe diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and neurodegeneration. Thus, interventions that delay aging could also delay the onset of age-related diseases. A few interventions are known to extend healthspan and lifespan across organisms, including caloric restriction. However, the cellular components and mechanisms that ultimate improve health and increase lifespan in these longevity models remain to be elucidated.
Our lab identified a metabolic enzyme necessary to promote health and lifespan across longevity models. Further, its sole activation causes improved health and longevity. Thus, this enzyme holds the secret to living healthier for longer. My work then aims to define how this enzyme can so dramatically improve health outcomes and extend lifespan, so that maybe one day we can chemically manipulate it to die on the dance floor at age 90.

Xavier Horton

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Faith Karanja

Research Interests:

Loss of regenerative capacity often coincides with changes in systemic hormonal signaling. Using Drosophila larvae as a model, I study the role of hormonal signaling in regulating the timing and morphology of the regenerative response to damage.

Mingyang Ma

Research Interests:

Ryan Mulligan

Research Interests:

My project seeks to understand the response of endosomes, specifically those containing mannose-6-phosphote receptor (M6PR), or the late endosomal protein Rab7a, to lysosomal membrane damage states within the nervous system. I am interested in understanding the cumulative behavior of both M6PR and Rab7 vesicular compartments, and how this behavior is coordinated with lysosome specific autophagy and lysosomal membrane repair processes. Further, as Rab7a is mutated in the peripheral neuropathy Charcot Marie Tooth 2B, I am interested in investigating Rab7a driven lysosomal damage responses in a model of this disease.

Gustavo Pacheco

Research Interests:

I am interested in understanding processes that regulate collective cell migration at the tissue level. I currently study the role that cell-cell (cadherin) and cell-extracellular matrix (integrin) adhesions play in regulating mitochondrial dynamics and metabolism in the dorsal marginal zone of the gastrulating Xenopus laevis embryo.

Tan Truong

Research Interests:

Jacob Wolpe

Research Interests:

In order to send neurotransmitters into the synaptic cleft, regulated exocytosis must be both rapid and precisely controlled. I examine the organization of the protein machinery which coordinates this process using purified vesicles and supported lipid bilayers.