IPID Graduate Students
MS Students
Madeleine Morta, BS
Year 1 MS student
Advisor: Rey Carabeo, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: University of Santo Tomas, Manila
Kamryn Reynolds, BS
Year 2 MS student
Advisor: Kurt Fisher, MD, PhD
Research: Targeting ERRα in the PGC-1β signaling cascade in aggressive colorectal cancer
Education: Wayne State College, NE
Rachel Soukup, BS
Year 2 MS student
Advisor: Rakesh Singh, PhD
Research: Non-thesis
Education: University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Gabriel Tonucci, BS
Year 1 MS student
Advisor: Rakesh Singh, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: Miami University, Oxford, OH
Chenyang Wang, MS
Year 1 MS student
Advisor: Jian Xie, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: Guangzhou Medical College, China
Education: Hubei University of Traditional Chinese Medicine
PhD Students
Isaac Adediji, MS
Year 3 PhD student
Advisor: Lynda Harris, PhD
Research: Exploring melatonin's potential in mitigating the effects of prenatal oxycodone exposure on the placenta and fetal brain
Education: University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Education: University of Ibadan, Nigeria
Samuel Aden, BS
Year 1 PhD student
Advisor: Sujata Chaudhari, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Sushmita Adhikari, BS
Year 4 PhD student
Advisor: Stacey Gilk, PhD
Research: Role of the chloride antiporter CLC7 during Coxiella burnetii infection
Education: University of Nebraska Omaha
Monisha Alla, MS
Year 5 PhD student
Advisor: Rey Carabeo, PhD
Research: Pathogen recognition of iron-starved Chlamydia trachomatis
Education: Vellore Institute of Technology, India
Ridhi Bhola, MDS
Year 3 PhD student
Advisor: Rakesh Singh, PhD
Research: Role of Catheporssin G in Mammary Tumrso
Education: Pandit Bhagwat Dayal University of Health Sciences, India
Nichole Brandquist, MS
IPID Graduate Representative
Year 4 PhD student
Advisor: Tammy Kielian, PhD
Research: Metabolic crosstalk between Staphylococcus aureus biofilm and leukocytes during prosthetic joint infections
Education: University of Nebraska Omaha
Ashish Das, MS
Year 5 PhD student
Advisor: Svetlana Romanova, PhD
Research: Exploring the molecular pathways underlying complex diseases to develop nanoparticulate systems and theranostic mechanisms for the delivery of therapeutics.
Education: South Asian University, New Delhi
Del Dsouza, BS
Year 4 PhD student
Advisor: M. Jana Broadhurst, MD, PhD
Research: Developing diagnostic tools capable of characterizing pre-existing cross-reactive antibodies to novel and zoonotic influenza A viruses by leveraging non-invasive and home-based sample collection
Education: University of Nebraska Omaha
Christi Ellis, MS
Year 4 PhD student
Derrick Samuelson, PhD
Research: Effects of nutrient deficiency and pathobionts on IBD
Education: Southeast Missouri State University
Amanda Fernandes, B.Tech.
Year 5 PhD student
Advisor: Santhi Gorantla, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: Manipal Institute of Technology, India
Francis Fontanilla, MS
Year 6 PhD student
Advisor: Rey Carabeo, PhD
Co-Advisor: Amanda Brinkworth, PhD
Research: Chlamydia trachomatis modulation of the epithelial interferon (IFN) response
Education: University of Philippines, Philippines
Jason Franklin, BS
Year 2 PhD Student
Advisor: Surinder Batra, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: Wayne State College, NE
Claire Garman, BS
Year 2 PhD Student
Advisor: Sujata Chaudhari, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: University of Nebraska Omaha
Dylan George, BS
Year 6 PhD student
Advisor: M. Jana Broadhurst, MD, PhD
Research: Development of immunological tests for emerging infectious diseases including SARS-CoV-2
Education: Peru State College, NE
Mohammed Hassan, MS
Year 3 PhD student
Advisor: Maher Abdalla, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: University of Nebraska-Kearney, NE
Education: University of Bradford, UK
Dawson Hollingsworth, BS
Year 4 PhD student
Advisor: Howard Gendelman, MD
Research: Parkinson's disease therapeutics
Education: Oregon State University, OR
Brigham Killips, BS
Year 6 PhD student
Advisor: Stacey D. Gilk, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: University of Kansas
Hayden Klaus, BA
Year 1 PhD student
Advisor: Leonardo da Silva Augusto, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: Doane University, NE
Haley Knowles, BS
Year 5 PhD student
Advisor: Elizabeth Rucks, PhD
Research: Impact of Chlamydia trachomatis on host cell vesicular trafficking
Education: Saint Andrews University, NC
Jaxon Kramer, BS
Year 3 PhD student
Advisor: Amanda Brinkworth, PhD
Research: Building an organotypic skin model to study immunology of the skin during Borrelia burgdorferi invasion
Education: University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Artha Lotlikar, MS
Year 3 PhD student
Advisor: Tammy Kielian, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: Vellore Institute of Technology, India
Maddie Love, BA
Year 3 PhD student
Advisor: Pengwei Zhang, PhD
Research: Early Intracellular HPV trafficking and infection
Education: Whitman College, WA
Mason Mandolfo, BS
Year 2 PhD student
Advisor: Derrick Samuelson, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Mojisola Ogunnaike, MS
Year 4 PhD student
Advisor: Larisa Poluektova, MD, PhD
Research: Targeting Viral Replication and cccDNA as a Potential Functional Cure for Hepatitis B Virus Infection
Education: University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Clinton Osei, BS
Year 2 PhD student
Advisor: Scot Ouellette, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: University of Ghana, Ghana
Ashley Peer, BS
Year 5 PhD student
Advisor: Derrick Samuelson, PhD
Research: Alcohol research and innate immunity
Education: Michigan State University
Israt Poly, BS
Year 3 PhD student
Advisor: Caroline Ng, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: BRAC University, Bangladesh
Brittany Rabe, MBA
Year 3 PhD student
Advisor: Paul Davis, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: Midland University, NE
Arif Sadi, BS
Year 4 PhD student
Advisor: Stacey D. Gilk, PhD
Research: Role of host IL-17 signaling during Coxiella burnetii infection
Education: North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Claire Snodgrass, BS
Year 1 PhD student
Advisor: Scot Ouellette, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Anna Sommers, BS
Year 2 PhD student
Advisor: Vinai Thomas, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: University of Nebraska Omaha
Reegan Sturgeon, BS
Year 5 PhD student
Advisor: Rakesh Singh, PhD
Research: Neutrophil-pancreatic cancer interplay defines a microenvironmental axis that sustains neutrophil survival and pro-tumorigenic reprogramming
Education: University of Dubuque, IA
Shefali Srivastava, BS
Year 3 PhD student
Advisor: Amanda Brinkworth, PhD
Research: Treg Fucosylation in Parkinson's Disease
Education: Meredith College, NC
Debapriya Sutar, MS
Year 3 PhD student
Advisor: Siddappa Byrareddy, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal, India
Angela Truong, BS
Year 1 PhD student
Advisor: Tammy Kielian, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: University of Nebraska at Omaha
Jessica Ware, MS
Year 2 PhD student
Advisor: Joshua Santarpia, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: University of Nebraska Medical Center
Terry Wiese, BS
Year 3 PhD student
Advisor: Scot Ouellette, PhD
Research: Differentiation of chlamydia through proteomic turnover
Education: Bryan College of Health Sciences, NE
Tyler Zimmerman, MS
IPID Graduate Representative
Year 4 PhD student
Advisor: Rey Carabeo, PhD
Research: The capacity of Chlamydia trachomatis to overcome tryptophan starvation and mechanisms for dampening the innate immune system
Education: University of Nebraska-Lincoln
MD/PhD Scholars
Taylor Burke, BS, BA
Year 3 MD/PhD Scholars Program
Advisor: Paul Fey, PhD
Research: Staphylococcus aureus Nitrogen Metabolism
Education: Creighton University, NE
Cole Holderjano, BA
Year 2 MD/PhD Scholars Program
Advisor: Scot Ouellette, PhD
Research: Investigating transcriptional regulation of the Chlamydia trachomatis persistence response and clarifying its role in human infection
Education: Stanford University, CA
Joanna Moody, BS
Year 1 MD/PhD Scholars Program
Advisor: Joseph Fauver, PhD
Research: Population genetics of infectious diseases, with a specific focus on Necator americanus
Education: University of Iowa
Charlie Speelmon, BS
Year 1 MD/PhD Scholars Program
Advisor: Tammy Kielian, PhD
Research: Mechanisms and functional significance of immunometabolic crosstalk between innate cells in the context of chronic Staphylococcus aureus infection
Education: Oklahoma State University
Sarah Uhm, MPH
Year 1 MD/PhD Scholars Program
Advisor: M. Jana Broadhurst, MD, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Alumni
- Valerie Fousek-Schuller, PhD / Advisor: Gloria Borgstahl, PhD / Dissertation: “Phosphorylation modulates the structure and function of replication protein A”
- Gabrielle Schulze, PhD / Advisor: Paul D. Fey, PhD / Dissertation: "Staphylococcus aureus encodes multiple arginine transporters"
- Abigail Hall, PhD / Advisor: Vinai C. Thomas, PhD / Dissertation: “Cysteine-mediated redox balance in Staphylococcus aureus"
- Aramis Pereira, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Martin Conda-Sheridan / Dissertation: “Study of peptide amphiphiles as antimicrobial agents”
- Jampa (Jhyama) Gurung, MS / Advisor: Dr. Benita McVicker / Thesis: “Role of stabilin-1 expressing macrophages in
colorectal liver metastasis” - Emily Heaton, MS / Advisor: Dr. Stacey Gilk / Non Thesis Program
- Dania Sahtout, MS, Fulbright Scholar / Advisor: Dr. Maher Abdalla / Thesis: "Targeting metabolic and heme degradation pathways in prostate cancer: A new therapeutic strategy"
- Elizabeth Klug, PhD / Advisor: Dr. St. Patrick Reid; Co-Advisor: Dr. Joshua Santarpia / Dissertation: "Intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of bioaerosol decay: Investigating pathogen stability of Bacteriophage MS2, Sin Nombre Virus, and SARS-CoV-2 in simulated environments"
- Ray Widner, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Lisa Rucks /
Dissertation: "The Chlamydia trachomatis inclusion membrane as the confluence between a pathogen and its host" - Zachary Van Roy, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Tammy Kielian / Dissertation: “Immunoplasticity: A Key Determinant in the Outcome of Neurosurgical Biofilm Infection”
- Itidal Reslane, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Paul Fey / Dissertation: “Adaptation through mutation: Arginine auxotrophy in Staphylococcus aureus”
-
Ramia Salloom, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Maher Abdalla / Dissertation: “Therapeutic effects of targeting the heme degradation pathway in prostate cancer”
- Benjamin Girardo, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Marilynn Larson / Dissertation: "Characterization of the Francisella tularensis universal stress protein"
- Aaron Jensen, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Scot Ouellette / Dissertation: “The unfolding saga: The role of the ClpC unfoldase in the development and differentiation of Chlamydia trachomatis”
- Megan Otte, MS / Advisor: Dr. Amar Singh / Thesis: “Understanding the Role of Malondialdehyde-acetaldehyde Adducts (MAA) in Inflammatory Bowel Disease”
- Kabita Pandey, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Siddappa Byrareddy / Dissertation: “Combinatorial antiviral regimen as a strategy to control SARS-CoV-2 Infections”
- Srijanee Das, PhD / Advisors: Dr. Howard Gendelman and Dr. Benson Edagwa / Dissertation: "Development of Long-acting Antiviral and Antimicrobial Prodrug Nanoformulations"
- Matthew Romero, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Rey Carabeo / “Synergetic Signaling between Secreted Effectors TarP and TmeA Regulates Actin Kinetics and Efficient Entry"
- Enakshi Roy, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Patrick Reid / Dissertation: “Understanding the Effect of Chikungunya Virus Infection on Bone Homeostasis”
- Thomas Schulze, PhD /Advisor: Dr. Paul Davis / Dissertation: “Towards a Mode of Action for the Anti-Schistosomal Aryl Hydantoins”
- Zachary Scott, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Prabagaran Narayanasamy / Dissertation: “Investigating and Targeting Iron Metabolism in Pseudomonas aeruginosaand Klebsiella pneumoniae”
- Ryan Singh, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Vinai C. Thomas / Dissertation: “The Physiological Significance of Nitric Oxide Synthase in Staphylococci”
- Amanda Stastny, MS / Advisors: Dr. Rey Carabeo and Dr. Amanda Brinkworth / Non Thesis Program
- Natalie Sturd, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Elizabeth Rucks / Dissertation: “A Tale of Two Proteins: An Investigation of Eukaryotic Proteins FLI1 and LRRF1 Localization to the Chlamydial Inclusion Membrane”
- Blake Bertrand, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Tammy Kielian / Dissertation: “The Interface between Host and Bacterial Metabolism during Staphylococcus Aureus Prosthetic Joint Infection”
- Nathan Hatch, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Scot Ouellette/ Dissertation: “Investigating Transcriptional Anomalies During Persistence in Chlamydia trachomatis”
- Melissa Holzapfel, MS / Advisor: Dr. Geoffrey Talmon / Thesis: “Mechanisms of Mutated Myosin Vb Mediated Cholestasis in Microvillus Inclusion Disease”
- Christopher Horn, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Tammy Kielian / Dissertation: “The Glycolysis-HIF-1⍺ Axis Is a Critical Component of Granulocytic Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cell Activity in Staphylococcus Aureus Biofilm Infection”
- Caitlin Molczyk, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Rakesh Singh / Dissertation: “Targeting the CXCR1/2 Axis in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma”
- Omalla Allan Olwenyi, PhD / Advisors: Dr. Siddappa Byrareddy and Dr. Courtney Fletcher / Dissertation: “Immunological Factors associated with SIV/SHIV Persistence in Diverse Tissue Compartments”
- Catherine Vornholt, MS / Advisor: Dr. Paul Fey / Non Thesis Program
- Nicholas Wood, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Scot Ouellette / Dissertation: “A Critical Assessment of the Role of ClpXP-Mediated Proteolysis in the Development and Differentiation of Chlamydia trachomatis"
- Logan Bulock, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Ken Bayles / Dissertation: “Metabolic Heterogeneity and the Roles of Cody and Ccpa in Central Metabolism and Aureus Biofilm Formation”
- Kathryn Cole, PhD / Advisor: Dr. James Talmadge / Dissertation: “Leukocyte Subsets in the Peripheral Blood and Spleen of Gastrointestinal Cancer Patients”
- Paran Goel, MS / Advisor: Dr. Rakesh Singh / Thesis: “Neutrophils in Pancreatic Cancer Progression”
- Samuel Johnson, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Siddappa Byrareddy / Dissertation: “Gut Commensals Modulate SIV/SHIV Pathogenesis and Therapeutics”
- Lisa Jorgenson, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Lisa Rucks / Dissertation: “Understanding the impact of Chlamydia trachomatis infection on host vesicular trafficking”
- Jian Li, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Xu Luo / Dissertation: “Overcoming Resistance to Drug-induced Apoptosis in Cancer Cells”
- Stephen Luebker, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Scott Koepsell / Dissertation: “Gene Expression Profiling of MAPK Pathway Inhibitor Resistance in Melanoma”
- Edward Makarov, MS / Advisors: Dr. Santhi Gorantla and Dr. Larisa Poluektova / Thesis: “Humanized mice for brain infection of emerging viruses”
- Jane Morwitzer, PhD / Advisor: Dr. St. Patrick Reid / Dissertation: “Exploring Host-Pathogen Interactions of the Ebola Virus Ribonucleoprotein Complex”
- Opeoluwa Oyewole, PhD / Advisor: Dr. St. Patrick Reid / Dissertation: “Investigating the Role of Sphingosine Kinases during Alphavirus Infection”
- Thomas Troia, MS / Advisor: Dr. Kurt Fisher / Non Thesis Program
- Kimberly Ziegenhorn, MS / Advisor: Dr. Rakesh Singh / Non Thesis Program
- Abdulelah Alqarzaee, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Vinai Thomas / Dissertation: “Staphylococcal ClpXP Protease Targets the Cellular Antioxidant System to Eliminate Fitness-Compromised Cells in Stationary Phase”
- Raina Barnes, MS / Advisor: Dr. Rakesh Singh / Non Thesis Program
- Jennifer Endres, MS / Advisor: Dr. Ken Bayles / Thesis: “The Staphylococcus aureus lrgAB Operon Encodes a Holin-like Protein Involved in Pyruvate Transport”
- Jonathan Herskovitz, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Howard Gendelman / Dissertation: “Multistrain HIV-1 Elimination: A CRISPR-Cas9 and Theranostics-based Approach”
- Matthew Martens, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Paul Davis (UNO) / Dissertation: "Marinopyrrole Derivatives as Putative Anti-Parasitic Molecules Promoting Initiation of Programmed Cell Death in Toxoplasma gondii"
- Insha Mushtaq, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Hamid Band / Dissertation: "Role of Endocytic Machinery Regulators in EGFR Traffic and Viral Entry"
- Justin Sanford, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Paul Davis (UNO) / Dissertation: "Characterization of Di-Aryl Urea Compounds Against Acute and Chronic Toxoplasma gondii"
- Jiayu Yu, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Javeed Iqbal / “Molecular Pathogenesis of a Novel Subgroup of Peripheral T-cell Lymphomas”
- Cheng Wang, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Kai Fu / Dissertation: “Identification of Clonal Evolution Pattern and Mutation Event Associated with Relapsed Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Using Next-Generation Sequencing”
- Yongji Zeng, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Jixin Dong / Dissertation: “The Role of VGLL4 and MARK2-HDAC axis in Mitosis and Cancer”
- Maggie Bartlett, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Mariano Sanchez-Lockhart / Dissertation: “Fundamental Differences in the B Cell Locus, V(D)J Repertoire, and Marburg Virus Epitope Recognition of the Egyptian Rousette Bat that May Allow for Asymptomatic Presentation”
- Joel Frandsen, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Prabagaran Narayanasamy / Dissertation: “Flavonoid and Cannabidiol Neural Glyoxalase Pathway Enhancement Against Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease”
- Tayla Heavican, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Javeed Iqbal / “Molecular Insights into Major Peripheral T-cell Lymphoma Entities with Advances in a Representative Model System”
- Kathleen Hecker, MS / Advisor: Dr. Elizabeth Rucks / Non Thesis Program
- Kai Huang, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Xu Luo / Dissertation: “Mechanism of BAX/BAK Activation in Apoptotic Signaling”
- Itidal Reslane, MS / Advisor: Dr. Paul Fey / Thesis: “Arginine Biosynthesis in Staphylococcus aureus”
- Connor Rose, MS / Advisor: Dr. Marilynn Larson / Non Thesis Program
- Paroma Roy, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Paul Fey / “Glycan-dependent Adherence and Skin Colonization of Staphylococcus epidermidis Mediated by the Surface Protein Aap”
- Babita Tomar, MS / Advisor: Dr. Rakesh Singh
- Macy Wood, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Elizabeth Rucks / Dissertation: “Insights into the Chlamydial Niche: the Dynamic Roles of Inclusion Membrane (Inc) Proteins in Chlamydia trachomatis Development”
- Chunyi Zhou, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Paul Fey / Dissertation: “Acid Resistance Mechanisms in Staphylococcus aureus”
