IPID Graduate Students
MS Students
Year 2 MS Student
Advisor: Benita McVicker, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: Nobel College Affiliated to Pokhara University, Nepal
Year 1 MS Student
Advisor: Rotating
Research: TBD
Education: Wayne State College, NE
Fulbright Scholar
Year 2 MS student
Advisor: Maher Abdalla, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: Tafila Technical University, Jordan
Year 1 MS student
Advisor: TBD
Research: Non-thesis
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, NE
PhD Students
Year 2 PhD student
Advisor: Lynda Harris, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: University of Nebraska-Lincoln, NE
Education: University of Ibadan, Nigeria
IPID Graduate Representative
Year 3 PhD student
Advisor: Stacey Gilk, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: University of Nebraska Omaha, NE
Year 4 PhD student
Advisor: Rey Carabeo, PhD
Research: Pathogen recognition of iron-starved Chlamydia trachomatis
Education: Vellore Institute of Technology, India
Year 2 PhD student
Advisor: Rakesh Singh, PhD
Research: Role of Catheporssin G in Mammary Tumrso
Education: Pandit Bhagwat Dayal University of Health Sciences, India
Year 3 PhD student
Advisor: M. Jana Broadhurst, MD, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: University of Nebraska Omaha, NE
Year 3 PhD Student
Derrick Samuelson, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: Southeast Missouri State University, MO
Year 4 PhD Student
Advisor: Santhi Gorantla, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: Manipal Institute of Technology, India
Year 5 PhD Student
Advisor: Rey Carabeo, PhD
Co-Advisor: Amanda Brinkworth, PhD
Research: Structural and biophysical studies of DNA repair proteins like Replication Protein A
Education: University of Philippines, Philippines
Year 6 PhD Student
Advisor: Gloria Borgstahl, PhD
Research: Structural and biophysical studies of DNA repair proteins like Replication Protein A
Education: Wayne State College, NE
Year 1 PhD Student
Advisor: Rotating
Research: TBD
Education: Wayne State College, NE
Year 5 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
Year 4 PhD Student
Advisor: Vinai C. Thomas, PhD
Research: Investigating the metabolic pathways Staphylococcus uses to respond to oxidative stress
Education: University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, NC
Year 2 PhD Student
Advisor: TBD
Research: TBD
Education: University of Nebraska-Kearney, NE
Education: University of Bradford, UK
Year 4 PhD Student
Advisor: Stacey D. Gilk, PhD
Research: Manipulation of the host endocytic pathway during Coxiella burnetii infections
Education: Peru State College, NE
Year 3 PhD Student
Advisor: Howard Gendelman, MD
Research: TBD
Education: Oregon State University, OR
Year 5 PhD Student
Advisor: Stacey D. Gilk, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: University of Kansas, KS
Year 5 PhD Student
Advisor: Joshua Santarpia, PhD
Co-Advisor: St. Patrick Reid, PhD
Research: Intrinsic Factors Impacting Viral Aerosol Stability in the Environment
Education: University of Nebraska Omaha, NE
Year 4 PhD Student
Advisor: Elizabeth Rucks, PhD
Research: Impact of Chlamydia trachomatis on host cell vesicular trafficking
Education: Saint Andrews University, NC
Year 1 PhD Student
Advisor: Amanda Brinkworth, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: University of Nebraska Lincoln, NE
Year 2 PhD Student
Advisor: Pengwei Zhang, PhD
Research: Early Intracellular HPV trafficking and infection
Education: Whitman College, WA
Year 1 PhD Student
Advisor: Derrick Samuelson, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: University of Nebraska-Lincoln, NE
Year 3 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, NE
Year 1 PhD Student
Advisor: Rotating
Research: TBD
Education: University of Ghana, Ghana
Year 4 PhD Student
Advisor: Derrick Samuelson, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: Michigan State University - East Lansing, MI
Year 4 PhD Student
Advisor: Dr. Martin Conda-Sheridan
Research: TBD
Education: Federal University of Parana, Brazil
Year 2 PhD Student
Advisor: Caroline Ng, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: BRAC University, Bangladesh
Year 2 PhD Student
Advisor: Paul Davis, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: Midland University, NE
Year 5 PhD Student
Advisor: Paul D. Fey, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: University of Nebraska Medical Center, NE
Year 3 PhD Student
Advisor: Stacey D. Gilk, PhD
Research: Role of host IL-17 signaling during Coxiella burnetii infection
Education: North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Year 5 PhD Student
Advisor: Maher Abdalla, PhD
Research: Targeting Heme Oxygenase-1 in Prostate Cancer
Education: University of Nebraska Omaha, NE
Year 4 PhD Student
Advisor: Rakesh Singh, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: University of Dubuque, IA
Year 2 PhD Student
Advisor: Howard Gendelman, MD
Research: TBD
Education: Bryan College of Health Sciences, NE
Year 2 PhD Student
Advisor: Siddappa Byrareddy, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal, India
Year 3 PhD Student
Advisor: Paul D. Fey, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: University of Nebraska Omaha, NE
Year 6 PhD Student
Advisor: Elizabeth Rucks, PhD
Research: Eukaryotic SNARE Protein Recruitment to and Interactions with the Chlamydia trachomatis Inclusion
Education: South Dakota State University, SD
Year 2 PhD Student
Advisor: Scot Ouellette, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: Bryan College of Health Sciences, NE
MD/PhD Scholars
Year 1 MD/PhD Scholars Program
Advisor: Paul Fey, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: Creighton University, NE
Year 1 MD/PhD Scholars Program
Advisor: Scot Ouellette, PhD
Research: TBD
Education: Stanford University, CA
Year 4 MD/PhD Scholars Program
Advisor: Tammy Kielian, PhD
Research: The association between metabolism and epigenetics during S. aureus craniotomy infection
Education: University of Nebraska Lincoln, NE
Alumni
- Benjamin Girardo, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Marilynn Martin / Dissertation: "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”
- Kapita Pandey, PhD / Advisor: Dr. Siddappa Byrareddy / Dissertation: “Combinatorial Antiviral Regimen as a Strategy to Control SARS-CoV-2 Infections”
- 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”
