BBS Faculty Considering Graduate Students

Listed below are faculty who are interested in accepting rotating graduate students during the Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 semesters. Please know that this is not an exhaustive list of graduate faculty and that there are additional faculty looking for students not recorded on the list below.  Applicants to the BBS program are strongly encouraged to contact faculty members prior to applying to the program, however, it is not required.  You can learn about the work of all the BBS faculty on the Research Areas page. Individuals admitted to the BBS PhD program are admitted to the 1^st year cohort and not a specific faculty member’s lab. Admitted students are required to complete three lab rotations during their first year before officially joining a lab.

Adler, Carrie (Molecular Medicine) - Stem cell biology in planarian flatworms; organ regeneration; transcriptional and cell biological responses to tissue injuries; animal behavior 

Aguilar-Carreno, Hector (Microbiology & Immunology) - Entry, egress, and interactions of enveloped viruses with host cells, with emphasis on emerging paramyxoviruses, vaccine and antiviral strategies

Altier, Craig (Population Medicine & Diagnostic Sciences) - Infection/agent; molecular basis of Salmonella pathogenesis; the genetic and environmental control of epithelial cell invasion

Brito, Ilana (Biomedical Engineering) - Pioneering experimental and computational methods to explore host-microbiome interactions as it pertains to autoimmune disease and cancer, specifically with respect to direct protein-mediated interactions; Probing host-microbiome systems to understand the triggers of horizontal gene transfer and antibiotic resistance.

Caddy, Sarah (Microbiology & Immunology) - I am particularly interested in maternal antibodies, which are transferred from mother to infant in all mammalian species. It is amazing that these antibodies can be both protective against infection and yet inhibitory for vaccines at the same time. 

Cazer, Casey (Population Medicine & Diagnostic Sciences, Public & Ecosystem Health) - Epidemiology of zoonotic diseases, evidence-based medicine, and One-Health; developing methods to improve antimicrobial resistance surveillance and track multidrug resistance

Delco, Michelle (Clinical Sciences) - Investigating mitochondria, the energy-producing centers of the cell, as a link between cartilage trauma and osteoarthritis

DeLisa, Matthew (Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering) - We aim to engineer the protein machinery of simple bacteria for solving complex problems in biology and medicine

Diel, Diego (Population Medicine & Diagnostic Sciences) - Molecular and applied Virology - from virus-host interactions to rational vaccine development. 

Doerr, Tobias - (Microbiology) - We study how bacteria build and maintain a healthy cell envelope and resist killing by antibiotics

Dongre, Anushka (Biomedical Sciences)- Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition as a driver of resistance to anti-tumor immunity

Evans, Jacquelyn (Biomedical Sciences)- hereditary diseases in dogs to identify genetic variants contributing to disease development 

Flyak, Andrew (Microbiology & Immunology) - Human antibody response to viral pathogens

Fowell, Deborah (Microbiology & Immunology) - Spatiotemporal regulation of T cell immunity at tissues sites of infection and inflammation.

Goodman, Laura (Department of Public & Ecosystem Health) - Pathogen genomics - working at the intersection of human, animal, and environmental health 

Han, Chun (Microbiology &  Genetics)- neurobiology of sensory systems- studies the mechanisms of dendrite morphogenesis and neurodegeneration using Drosophila sensory neurons as a model system

Hedrick, Brandon (Biomedical Sciences) wildlife conservation and sexual behavior- researches relationship between morphology, phylogeny, and ecology to understand how morphological innovations lead to ecological expansion and the radiation of taxa

Hollopeter, Gunther (Molecular Medicine) - Endocytic mechanisms in multicellular systems. We use C. Elegans to study cellular machines 

Hu, Fenghua (Molecular Biology & Genetics) - Molecular and cellular mechanisms of neurodegeneration; Protein homeostasis; Lysosome biology

Ivanek, Renata (Population Medicine & Diagnostic Sciences) - Epidemiology and ecology of infectious and foodborne diseases; mathematical modeling; spatial epidemiology; risk assessment; public health

Jiang, Shaoyi (Biomedical Engineering) - Immunology of nanomaterials and implantable materials and (b) safe and targeted delivery of mRNAs and DNAs for cancer immunotherapies/vaccines and neurological diseases

Kawate, Toshi (Molecular Medicine) - Structures and mechanisms of membrane proteins that regulate extracellular signaling

Kurpios, Natasza (Molecular Medicine) - issue morphogenesis; cell shape and architecture; organ development; gut morphogenesis; mammary gland biology; breast cancer

Kwan, Alex (Biomedical Engineering)- neuroscience, drug impact on neural circuits, systems neuroscience approaches to measure the impact of psychiatric drugs on neural circuits in mice

Lammerding, Jan (Biomedical Engineering) - Cellular biomechanics; mechanotransduction; cell migration; muscular dystrophy and cancer cell biology

Lau, Colleen (Microbiology & Immunology) - Our research aims to leverage the unique ability of NK cells to acquire adaptive features in order to explore immune memory in the context of classic antigen-dependent and more unconventional antigen-independent memory responses. We combine multi-omic approaches with genetic mouse model systems to interrogate in vivo, in vitro, and in silico how different signals integrate to generate an immune memory program.

Lee, Sylvia (Molecular Biology & Genetics) - Molecular genetics of aging; signaling pathways of nutrient sensing; molecular basis of stress response

Leifer, Cindy (Microbiology & Immunology) - The Leifer lab uses multiple approaches from basic molecular biology to cell biology, and whole animal models, to address questions related to innate immunity, host defense, autoimmunity, biomaterials and biology of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in these processes

Lujan, Marla (Nutritional Sciences) - Nutritional regulation of fertility; endocrinology and metabolism; polycystic ovary syndrome; ultrasonography

McGeachy, Mandy (Microbiology & Immunology) - Th17 cell differentiation: unique signaling pathways and mechanisms, Th17 interactions with lymph node stromal cells, and consequences for adaptive immunity

Nydam, Daryl (Population Medicine & Diagnostic Sciences, Public & Ecosystem Health) - Epidemiology of food security/safety issues related to dairy production medicine; study of economically important infectious diseases, particularly zoonoses; subclinical diseases of peraparturient cattle and reproductive efficacy

O'Brien, Kimberly (Nutritional Sciences) - Calcium metabolism and bone health; control of maternal/fetal nutrient; partitioning and cellular mineral transport; micronutrient status in international settings; development of mass spectrometric methodology; pediatric bone health; pregnancy and mineral metabolism in adolescents

Reesink, Heidi (Clinical Sciences) - Comparative and translational orthopedics; metabolism and musculoskeletal disease; osteoarthritis; regenerative medicine

Rudd, Brian (Microbiology & Immunology) - Towards a better understanding of the development and function of the adaptive immune system

Sardana, Richa (Molecular Medicine) - We study how membrane protein trafficking and quality control mechanisms surveil the membrane proteome, and how their dysregulation results in human disease.

Schang, Luis (Microbiology & Immunology) - Role of cellular protein, lipids, and glycans play in viral infection

Schimenti, John (Biomedical Sciences) -  Our lab uses the mouse as a model to investigate the genetics and mechanisms of gametogenesis, meiosis, and genome maintenance. 

Smolka, Marcus (Molecular Biology & Genetics) - Cell signaling and genome maintenance; DNA replication stress; Phosphoproteomics

Song, Jeongmin (Microbiology & Immunology) - Typhoid toxin, Salmonella Typhi, Bacterial AB toxins, Vaccines, Antibodies, Typhoid fever, Chronic/persistent infection

Tumbar, Tudorita (Molecular Biology & Genetics) - Elucidating the basic cellular and molecular mechanisms implicated in cell fate choice and stem cell activity within tissues.

Van de Walle, Gerlinde (Microbiology & Immunology) - Viral pathogenesis and stem cell biology

VanderVen, Brian (Microbiology & Immunology) understanding the host and bacterial systems that Mtb (causative agent of Tuberculosis) relies on to maintain persistent infections in mammals

Weiss, Robert (Biomedical Sciences) - Molecular mechanisms for the maintenance of genomic stability; cellular responses to DNA damage; mouse models of human cancer

White, Andrew (Biomedical Sciences) - Cancer biology; stem cell biology; biochemistry and cell biology

Whittaker, Gary (Microbiology & Immunology, Public & Ecosystem Health) - Pathogenesis of influenza viruses, coronaviruses and arenaviruses; host range and receptors; activation of membrane fusion; macrophage- and neuro-tropism; anti-viral therapeutics; diagnostic tests; virus-bacteria co-infections

Wolfner, Mariana (Molecular Biology & Genetics) - Genetic, molecular, developmental, and evolutionary studies of seminal proteins' functions in fertility, and of mechanisms of egg activation and initiation of embryogenesis; investigate conserved phenomena in reproductive biology, using primarily the Drosophila model system

Xu, Chris (Applied & Engineering Physics) - Biomedical imaging and fiber optics