BSGP Student Profiles
Take a look at some of our extraordinary BSGP students!
Larry Agbor
2007 Cohort
Larry is in the Laboratory of Dr. Mary Walker as a second year student in
Toxicology and Pharmacology. He received his Bachelor’s from the University of Buea (Cameroon) with a major in Biochemistry and a minor in Medical Laboratory
Technology. He later graduated with a Master’s degree in Biology from New Mexico
Highlands University and worked as a Research Technician in the UNM College of
Pharmacy. Larry later returned to graduate school with an interest in
Toxicology. He enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking, swimming, playing golf,
tennis, and most of all his greatest passion - soccer. He thinks that
Albuquerque is just a great place for him to realize his dreams.
Soumik Basuray
2008 Cohort
Soumik is a first year PhD student in the BSGP. He received his Bachelor's degree in Biotechnology from Bangalore
University and followed it up with a Master's degree in Biochemical Technology
from Madurai Kamaraj University in India. Soumik has worked in premier research
institutes in India, such as the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, National Center
for Biological Sciences (a unit of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research) and
the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore before entering into the realm of graduate studies at the School of Medicine at the University of New Mexico. His
research interests lie in exploring the processes of endocytic trafficking and
phagolysosome biogenesis. Soumik feels that the BSGP has outstanding curriculum and
rich faculty resources, and is very special because of it's flexibility and multidisciplinary
approach which could be an ideal platform for the young researchers to mold
their interests to reach their desired goal of long term success. In this
program you have affable peers and faculty who are great for holding stimulating discussions
and collegial interaction. The program is run by a progressive and sensitive administration who
lend a helping hand to your issues and concerns as a graduate student. This,
along with
the enchanting weather of Albuquerque, makes a newcomer feel at home, and the students enjoy the congenial environment both in and outside the
campus. Soumik looks forward for a rewarding experience in this great
collaborative and productive research endeavor here in Albuquerque.
Carl Brown III
2008 Cohort
Carl recently graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering
from the University of Rochester, class of '08. He is a PhD student and his research interests at UNM
are in viral immunology, specifically viral evasion of the immune system and the
subsequent immune response. He has one publication, from the lab of Dr. Ingrid Sarelius, Dept. of Pharmacology and Physiology
at the University of Rochester, titled "Microvascular endothelial cells exhibit optimal aspect ratio for minimizing flow resistance." As a first year student, he was elected to be a
GPSA representative for the
BSGSS and is planning on applying for the IGERT fellowship in the spring. Carl originally hails from Cleveland, OH and is truly enjoying the change of
weather and culture coming down to the Southwest. The BSGP is an excellent program, headed by a knowledgeable
and forward thinking administration, and the umbrella program encompasses a huge
variety of faculty research focuses. The faculty are very personable and easy to
get in touch with about classwork/research or to just sit and have a casual
conversation. Albuquerque is a great city with lots of opportunity and a small town feel to
it. There is always plenty to do, whether it's mini-golf, hiking/biking in the
Sandia Mountains, or checking out the Rattlesnake Museum in Old Town. There's
plenty of history and culture to go around, and the students are
already getting together with each other on the weekends to hang out, making for
a fun social atmosphere as well a more productive and collaborative research
environment. The students work to help each other out, promoting the success of
the program and the student body as a whole, rather than the "go-it-alone"
mentality. Carl is certainly looking forward to new opportunities and new
experiences.
Patrick Cutler
2008 Cohort
Pat Cutler is a third year PhD student in the Biomedical Sciences program.
I am currently working on a project with my advisor Diane Lidke in cell
pathology and my co-advisor Keith Lidke in physics and astronomy. The system
that I am interested in involves immunoglobulin E (IgE) and its high affinity
receptor (FceRI), which play a major role in allergies. We are interested in
the fundamental processes involved in signal initiation and membrane receptor
dynamics. We use single particle tracking (SPT) of quantum dots conjugated to
IgE and other related techniques to investigate this system. We are also
currently developing a line-scanning hyperspectral microscope to further expand
our SPT abilities.
Carolina Franco
2007 Cohort
Carolina is currently working in Dr. Orlando’s lab trying to understand the
intricacies of obesity. Her research focuses on the basic biology of the
adipocyte and the crosstalk with infiltrating macrophages that populate the
adipose tissue in an obese state. She wants to identify the biochemical and
molecular events leading to lipid imbalance in metabolic syndrome. She obtained
her Bachelor’s degree in Biology at the Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio
Grande do Sul (PUCRS – Brazil). She continued her studies at the Universidade
Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS – Brazil), where she received a scholarship
to pursue her Master’s degree in Genetics and Molecular Biology. Her
dissertation involved the clinical diagnosis characterization and the detection
of deletions in carrier women of Duchenne/Becker Muscular Dystrophy by
quantitative Real Time PCR. Carolina is an international student from Brazil and
understands the turmoil of leaving her home country to study abroad. She has
lived in Albuquerque twice before, during the period when her father and her
mother came to achieve their graduate degrees. She enjoys Albuquerque because of
the dry weather and great atmosphere, as well as the large international
diversity of UNM.
Kathryn M. Frietze
2004 Cohort
Kathryn is a PhD Candidate working under Adriana E. Kajon at the
Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute. Originally from Pasco, WA, Kathryn attended Central Washington University where she earned a BS degree in Biological Sciences and was a member of the William O. Douglas Honors College. She began the BSGP PhD degree in Fall 2004 and was advanced to candidacy in Spring 2008. Her dissertation research is focused on characterizing novel E3 proteins from respiratory human adenoviruses. Kathryn's research interests
include evolution and emergence of infectious diseases and public health. She is
currently supported by a Robert D. Watkins Graduate Research Fellowship from the
American Society for Microbiology and was previously supported by the Infectious
Disease and Inflammation Program T-32 training grant. Kathryn has a Graduate
Research Development grant from UNM's Graduate and Professional Student
Association (GPSA). She has attended the annual meetings of the American Society
for Virology, the American Society for Microbiology, and the Molecular Biology
of DNA Tumor Virus conference. Kathryn has previously served as a BSGP Steering
Committee Student Representative, a UNM GPSA council representative, and a BSGP
Student Research Day Committee Chair.
Kate
Harms
2004 Cohort
Kate Harms is a PhD candidate in the Department of
Neurosciences working with Lee Anna Cunningham. Her dissertation work
studies the neural stem cell response to stroke and its effects on neuronal
injury in the ischemic brain, and has been funded by a pre-doctoral grant
from the American Heart Association. Kate has presented her dissertation
work at several meetings, including those held by the Society for
Neuroscience, the International Society for Stem Cell Research, the Keystone
Symposium on Hypoxia, and the American Society for Neurochemistry. Her work
has resulted in one peer-reviewed first author publication in PLoS ONE, and
contributed to articles published in Cell Death and Differentiation and the
Journal of Immunology. Originally from San Jose, California, Kate graduated
from U.C. Davis in 2001 with a B.S. in Neurobiology, and entered the BSGP in
the Fall of 2004. As a graduate student, Kate has been a T.A. for the
undergraduate biology labs, the graduate courses Neuroanatomy and Intro to
Neurobiology, as well as tutored the first-year medical students in their
Neuroscience block. In addition, she has served as the Biomedical Sciences
Graduate Student Society (BSGSS) President, BSGSS Treasurer, and as a
student representative to the BSGP Steering Committee.
Shanya Jiang
2008 Cohort
Shanya is a second year PhD student working in Dr. Vojo
Deretic’ s lab in the Molecular Genomics and Microbiology department. Her
research focuses on the regulating mechanism of unconventional secretion
by autophagy together with other topics related to autophagy. She received
her bachelor’ s degree from Jilin University, China in 2009 (one-year
internship at National Institute of Biological Sciences, Beijing during
2008-2009 and had a third author publication in PNAS at that time) and
joined BSGP program the same year. She thinks BSGP includes a variety of
research areas for the students to find their favorites. Plus the faculty
and staff in the program are always willing to help students, especially
the international students. And she also thinks the cost of living in
Albuquerque is relatively low compared to other places. She loves the
spectacular southwestern scenery and comfortable weather of Albuquerque.
And Albuquerque also has a friendly Chinese community and CSFA (Chinese
Student Friendship Association).
Ebany Martinez-Finley
2005 Cohort
Ebany is a fourth year PhD Candidate in the departments of
Neurosciences and Toxicology. Her
mentors are Dr. Andrea Allan (Neurosciences)
and Dr. Jim Liu (Toxicology). Her work focuses on moderate arsenic exposure and
its effects on the developing nervous system. Ebany holds bachelors degrees in
Biology and Spanish from the University of New Mexico. She is a graduate student member of the Society of Toxicology where she has presented her
work for the past five years. She is also the student representative for the
Mountain West Society of Toxicology, representing graduate students in
toxicology departments from New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Nevada, Wyoming and Southern Idaho.
She is funded by the Pfizer Safety Scholars fellowship and is currently awaiting
a funding decision on an NIH NRSA Fellowship submitted in May. She is the
Vice-chair for the Graduate Research and Development Grant that is part of the
Graduate and Professional Student Association. She is also a past president of
the Biomedical Sciences Student Society. She has one peer-reviewed first author
publication in Neurotoxicology. Ebany enjoys playing intramural volleyball with
the Biomedical Sciences, ‘Bump, Set, Pipette’ team and reading things other than
science articles.
Michal Peterson
2006 Cohort
Michal
works in Dr. Hattie Gresham’s lab in the department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology. Originally from Amarillo, TX, Michal
received her BS in Microbiology from Brigham Young University in Provo UT in 2003. She transferred from the University of Utah
Molecular Biology Graduate Program to UNM in the Fall of 2006. As a member of
the BSGSS, she helped organize the 2007 Student Research Day and Student
Retreat. She has presented her work on the role of serum apolipoprotein B (apoB)
as a barrier to invasive Staphylococcus aureus infections at the BSGP Student Research Day 2008 and an IDIP works in
progress seminar. In addition to completing the BSGP core curriculum, she
attended an advanced course in Immunology offered by the American Association of
Immunologists. She advanced to candidacy in August 2008, and continues to
explore the function of apoB in community-acquired methicillin resistant
S. aureus infections, which are considered hypervirulent and are
responsible for a majority of
S. aureus-related deaths. Michal also enjoys baking, reading,
playing violin and piano, and dancing.
Kendra Pesko
2008 Cohort
Kendra is a PhD student working in the department of Pathology.
Originally from Ann Arbor, MI, Kendra received her Bachelor’s in Science in 2003
from University of Michigan. She came to University of New Mexico from University
of Florida, where she received a Master’s degree in Entomology. Her interest in
vector borne diseases such as West Nile virus and Dengue virus brought her to
UNM to work with Gregory Ebel. Her work focuses on evolution and molecular
epidemiology of flaviviruses, and particularly the influence of mosquito
and vertebrate hosts on viral population structure. She is a member of
the American Society for Virology and the Society for Vector Ecology,
and has presented her research at the annual meetings for each of these
Societies, as well as at the American Society for Tropical Medicine and
Hygiene Annual Meeting. She has published first author papers in Journal
of General Virology, Journal of Medical Entomology, and Vector Borne and
Zoonotic diseases. She is currently supported by the Infectious disease
and Inflammation Program T-32 training grant. She enjoys soccer, ultimate
Frisbee, hiking with her dogs, and yoga in her free time.
Abhishek
Prasad
2008 Cohort
Abhishek “Abhi” Prasad is a first year graduate student in the BSGP.
He initially applied as an M.S. student, however he was impressed enough with
the strengths of the program and its faculty that he has elected to take
the qualifying exam and matriculate into the Ph.D program. His research
interests include virology and immunology, particularly studying mechanisms of
virulence and exploiting them to elucidate possible avenues of treatment.
He is a pseudo-native of New Mexico, having resided in Las Cruces, NM for 22 out
of his 26 years. He graduated from New Mexico State University with a B.S.
in Biology and minors in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. His
undergraduate research involved working in the NMSU Cotton Genetics and Breeding
program, a far cry from his current vocations, but still an experience he feels
benefited him. Abhi is also an avid amateur herpetologist, and
during the spring and summer months he can often be found in the field wrangling
snakes and other critters. His real passion is with venomous reptiles, and
he maintains a modest private collection of snakes, as well as a few tarantulas.
Krystle
Quan
2007 Cohort
Krystle is a fourth year Ph.D. student working under Dr. Laurie Hudson
in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Her graduate studies involve
investigating the role of the transcription factor Slug/Snai2 in diabetic
models of wound healing. Hyperglycemia caused by diabetes leads to the
formation of advanced glycation end products and their precursors, which are
known to affect the activities of the epidermal growth factor receptor
(EGFR). EGFR is a tyrosine kinase receptor that plays crucial roles in
migration and is also known to alter the activities of Slug/Snai2. By
studying the impact of Slug/Snai2 in wound repair, more light can be shed on
the factors that are required for successful healing in diabetes. Originally
from Seattle, Washington, Krystle received a B.S. in Biochemistry with a
minor in Chemistry from the University of Washington. In her spare time, she
enjoys reading, running, and doing yoga.
Jessica Seidel
2005 Cohort
Jessica is a third year student in the BSGP Program. She works in Dr. Bill Shuttleworth’s lab in the Neuroscience department, and her work focuses on the
mechanisms underlying the onset of spreading depression and the fate of neurons and astrocytes following SD
under ischemic conditions. She received her B.Sc.at the University of Arizona (with honors, May 2005) in
Biology and Chemistry (minor). She has recently passed her comprehensive exam (with honors, September
2008), submitted an NRSA F30 pre-doctoral application (August 2008, currently
under review), and is currently funded through an NIH Institutional Training
Grant (T32) under Dr. Ben Walker (August 2008-August 2009). She has attended the
Society for Neuroscience annual conference in both 2008 and 2009, and will be
attending the Gorden Research Conference for Glial Biology: Functional
Interactions among Glia Neurons in March 2009 to present her work. Jessica is an
Albuquerque native and was drawn to the
BSGP program because of the diversity of research being done at
UNM. While at the University of Arizona she began competing in triathlons, and
she loves Albuquerque because like Tucson, is a great place for people who love
to hike, bike and just be outdoors.
Cheryl A. Sensibaugh
2009 Cohort
Cheryl was admitted into the BSGP as the first student whose doctoral research
will focus on science education, specifically biochemistry education research,
with Dr. Marcy Osgood in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
Current research interests include characterizing the nature and diversity of
biochemistry students' approaches to problem-solving, developing authentic
assessments of discipline-specific processes, and identifying the
preconceptions that students bring to biochemistry courses. Cheryl earned her
Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from UNM in 2007, and is also currently
working towards completion of the Certificate Program in University Science
Teaching.
Sarah E. Vaughan
2008 Cohort
Sarah is a third year PhD student working in Dr. Kevin Harrod’s lab in the
Infectious Diseases Program at the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute. Her
research focuses on the immune response to a vaccine developed for highly
pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) with and without an alum adjuvant. Sarah
graduated from the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colorado with
degrees in music performance and French. Following her undergraduate studies,
she worked as a professional research assistant, coordinating clinical research
at the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes in Denver, Colorado. In
addition to her scholastic endeavors Sarah plays the French horn in the
Albuquerque Concert Band, enjoys outdoor activities, horseback riding, and
bowling. She is married and has a one-year-old Labrador Retriever named
Jasper.
Jenny L. Wilkerson
2007 Cohort
Jenny is a second year BSGP student in the Neuroscience Department
working in the laboratory of Dr. Erin Milligan. Her research is focused on elucidating the mechanisms
underlying cannabinoid 2 receptor (CB2R) activation in the spinal cord for the development of
novel therapeutics to treat chronic, neuropathic pain. Additional areas of potential research include the
influence of CB2R activation on neurodegenerative diseases, and neuronal dysfunction as a consequence of
stroke/ ischemia. Jenny attended the SACNAS annual conference in 2007, and will be attending the
American Pain Society’s annual meeting in May 2009 to present her work. She is
currently supported via an IMSD Graduate Fellowship, through the University of
New Mexico’s Department of Biology. Jenny is originally from the Kansas City, MO area, and she obtained her BS in
Cellular/Molecular Biology from Northwest Missouri State University. Before
entering the BSGP in 2007, Jenny worked in the pharmaceutical clinical trial
industry. She loves the natural beauty, climate, and free-spirited nature of New
Mexico.
Mingyan Xu
2008 Cohort
Mingyan is a third year PhD student working in Dr. Jeremy S. Edwards’s
lab in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology. His research
focuses on developing the Next-Generation DNA Sequencing technology for
biomedical applications. He graduated from Beijing Normal University in
Beijing, China, with Master Degree in Chemistry. Right now, he is working on
$1,000 genome project and got two papers published. DNA sequencing
technology has the potential to significantly and substantially impact
cancer related health care (and health care in general), both directly by
providing diagnostic and prognostic markers for the clinical setting, and
indirectly by accelerating the pace of basic and clinical biomedical
research. He likes the great organized BSGP, the comfortable weather in
Albuquerque, and the nice people here. In 2009, he went back to China and
got married. He and his wife are good at cooking Chinese food. There are
several Asian markets in the Albuquerque area that provide him with the
needed ingredients to create authentic Asian dishes.
