People

Program: Evolution Ecology and Population Biology

Graduation Year: 2021

Thesis Advisor: Kenneth M. Olsen

Thesis Title: The evolutionary history of Camelina (Brassicaceae) and domestication of the biofuel crop, C. sativa (L.) Crantz

Program: Plant Biology

Graduation Year: 1987

Thesis Advisor: Tuan-Hua D. Ho

Thesis Title: "Effect of Heat Shock on the Synthesis and Secretion of Plant Proteins"

Program affiliation
Molecular Cell Biology

Research summary
Molecular and genetic mechanisms of airway epithelial cell differentiation and ciliogenesis

Key words
cilia, development, epithelium, lung, transcription

Program: Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology

Current advisor: Natalie M. Niemi, PhD

Undergraduate university: Ball State University, 2024

Program: Immunology

Graduation Year: 2001

Thesis Advisor: Michael M. Dustin

Thesis Title: Molecular Interactions in Immunological Synapse Formation and T Cell Activation

Program: Immunology

Graduation Year: 1991

Thesis Advisor: David D. Chaplin

Thesis Title: Cloning of the Human Major Histocompatibility Complex in Yeast Artificial Chromosomes

Program: Molecular Cell Biology

Graduation Year: 2009

Thesis Advisor: Jean E. Schaffer

Thesis Title: The non-coding RNA gadd7 is a feed-forward regulator of oxidative stress.

Program affiliation
Molecular Cell Biology

Research summary
We focus on the intersection of metabolism and stress responses in human health and disease. We use basic and translational approaches to identify and investigate key metabolic regulators in both physiologic and pathophysiologic contexts including obesity and diabetes.

Key words
Metabolism, skeletal muscle, ER stress, calcium, mitochondria, SREBP, obesity, diabetes

Program: Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis

Graduation Year: 2003

Thesis Advisor: Barbara N. Kunkel

Thesis Title: Characterization of the Effect of the Pseudomonas Syringae Virulence Factor Coronatine during Pathogenesis of Arabidopsis Thaliana

Program: Molecular Genetics and Genomics

Graduation Year: 2014

Thesis Advisor: Robi D. Mitra

Thesis Title: Transcriptional Analysis of Reciprocal Tumor: Microenvironment Interaction in Glioblastoma