Alumni Timeline

2024:

Faezeh Moakedi, Ph.D

Advisor: Ramamurthy
Graduate Program: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Upon Graduation from WVU: TBA
Current Status: TBA

Dissertation Title: “Structural and Functional Consequences of PDE6 Prenylation in Rod and Cone Photoreceptors”

2024:

Rawaa Aljammal, Ph.D

Advisor: Ramamurthy
Graduate Program: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Upon Graduation from WVU: TBA
Current Status: TBA

Dissertation Title: “The Function of Protien Post-Traslational Glutamylation in Vision”

2023:

Ryan O'Connell, Ph.D

Advisor: Tseytlin/Eubank
Graduate Program: Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine
Upon Graduation from WVU: TBA
Current Status: TBA

Dissertation Title: “Longitudinal oxygen imaging in 3D (bio)printed models”

2023:

Janelle Chuah, Ph.D

Advisor: Smith
Graduate Program: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Upon Graduation from WVU: Janelle is currently a Postdoctoral Research in Dr. David Smith's lab at West Virginia University.
Current Status: Postdoc at WVU

Dissertation Title: “Elucidating Mechanisms of Proteasome Modulation by Small Molecules to Treat Neurodegenerative Diseases and Cancer”

2023:

Marc Purazo, Ph.D

Advisor: Pugacheva
Graduate Program: Cancer Cell Biology
Upon Graduation from WVU: Marc is currently a Medical Science Liaison supporting hematology oncology with AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals
Current Status: Medical Science Liaison

Dissertation Title: “The role of NEDD9 in HER2 driven breast cancer.”

2023:

Daniella Munezero, Ph.D

Advisor: Ramamurthy
Graduate Program: Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences
Upon Graduation from WVU: Daniella is seeking employment as a scientist in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.
Current Status: Seeking employment in the biotechnology industry.

Dissertation Title: “Heat Shock Protein 90 (HSP90) system in health and disease.”

2023:

Siyan Zhu, Ph.D

Advisor: Du
Graduate Program: Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences
Upon Graduation from WVU: Pharmacokineticist
Current Status: Pharmacokineticist in Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Dissertation Title: “Specialized metabolism in retina, retinal pigmented epithelium and testis”.

2023:

Schuyler Vickers, Ph.D.
Advisor: Leonardi
Graduate Program: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Upon Graduation from WVU: TBA
Current Status: TBA

Dissertation Title: “Investigating the Role of NUDT7-mediated Peroxisomal CoA Degradation in the Regulation of Hepatic CoA Levels and Lipid Metabolism”.

2022:

Jessica Allen, Ph.D.

Advisor: Weed
Graduate Program: Cancer Cell Biology Graduate Program
Upon Graduation from WVU: TBA
Current Status: TBA

Dissertation Title: “Actin Cytoskeletal Regulation and Matrix Metalloproteinase Targeting in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC) Progression"

2022:

Claire Smathers, Ph.D.
Advisor: Robart
Graduate Program: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Upon Graduation from WVU: Claire is taking a break and seeking employment as a scientific/technical writer
Current Status: Seeking employment as a scientific/technical writer

Dissertation Title: “Transitions Between the Steps of Group IIC Intron Forward and Reverse Splicing and Integration into DNA”.

2022:

Taylor Thomas, Ph.D.
Advisor: Smith
Graduate Program: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Upon Graduation from WVU: Taylor has accepted a position with Leidos, Inc. as a Biomedical Life Scientist supporting the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP).
Current Status: Biomedical Life Scientist at Leidos, Inc.

Dissertation Title: “Elucidating the Proteasomal Regulatory Mechanism of Proteasome Activator PA28γ /REGγ”.

2022:

Fatimah Matalkah, Ph.D.
Advisor: Stoilov
Graduate Program: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Upon Graduation from WVU: Fatimah has accepted a position with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as an associate service fellow at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
Current Status: Associate service fellow at NIOSH/CDC.

Dissertation Title: “The Musashi RNA Binding Proteins Promote Protein Expressions in Photoreceptor Neurons”.

2022:

Raymond Anderson, Ph.D.
Advisor: Smith
Graduate Program: Neuroscience Graduate Program
Upon Graduation from WVU: TBA
Current Status: TBA

Dissertation Title: “Hyperactivation of the proteasome in C. elegans protects against proteotoxic stress and extends lifespan”.

2021:

Emily Sechrest, Ph.D.
Advisor: Kolandaivelu
Graduate Program: Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences
Upon Graduation from WVU: Emily took a postdoctoral position at West Virginia University in the laboratory of Wen Tao Deng.
Current Status: Postdoctoral position at WVU.

2021:

Nafisa Nusha, Ph.D.
Advisor: Pugacheva
Graduate Program: Cancer Cell Biology
Upon Graduation from WVU: Nafisa took a position as a coordinating center associate with United Biosurce Corporation (UBC).
Current Status: Coordinating Center Associate

2021:

Andrew Nickerson, Ph.D.
Advisor: Rajendran
Graduate Program: Cellular and Integrative Physiology Graduate Program
Upon Graduation from WVU: Drew took a post-doctoral fellow position in the Department of Nephrology at University of Pittsburgh.
Current Status: Post-doctoral position at University of Pittsburgh

2021:

Kristina Marinak-Whately, Ph.D.
Advisor: Pugacheva
Graduate Program: Cancer Cell Biology
Upon Graduation from WVU: Kristina took a post-doctoral fellow position at UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, School of Medicine in the laboratory of Dr. Chad Pecot, MD
Current Status: Post-doctoral position at UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center

2020:

Evan Kerr, Ph.D.
Advisor: Roberta Leonardi, Ph.D.
Graduate Program: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Current Status: Postdoctoral fellow at University of Minnesota.

Dissertation Title: “Characterization of the Biochemical Properties of Nudt8, a Novel CoA-degrading Enzyme that Localizes to the Mitochondria”

2020:

Skye Hickling, Ph.D.
Advisor: Eric Tucker, Ph.D.
Graduate Program: Neuroscience Graduate Program
Current Status: TBA

Dissertation Title: “c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase signaling controls
cellular mechanisms of guided cortical interneuron migration”

2020:

Mariah Morris, MS
Advisor: David Smith, Ph.D.
Graduate Program: Master of Science
Current Status: Medical School at Marshall University.

2020:

Brenen Papenberg, Ph.D.
Advisor: Scott Weed, Ph.D.
Graduate Program: Cancer Cell Biology Graduate Program
Current Status: Postdoctoral fellow at NCI.

Dissertation Title: “Novel Functions on 11q13 Transcripts in Invasive Late Stage Appalachian Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma”

2019:

Ashley Brandebura, Ph.D.
Advisor(s): George Spirou, Ph.D., Peter Mathers, Ph.D.
Graduate Program: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Current Status: Postdoc in the lab of Nicola Allen at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, CA.

Dissertation Title: "Glial Cell Expansion and Intercellular Signaling in the Developing Medial Nucleus of the Trapezoid Body"

2019:

Emily Minor, Ph.D.
Advisor: Vazhaikkurichi Rajendran, Ph.D.
Graduate Program: Cellular and Integrative Physiology
Current Status: X

Dissertation Title: "Can the colon be targeted to treat iron deficiency anemia?"

2019:

Stephanie Shumar, Ph.D.
Advisor: Roberta Leonardi, Ph.D.
Graduate Program: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Current Status: Post Doctoral Fellow, Leonardi Lab

Dissertation Title: "Determining the Role of Nudt7 in the Regulation of Cellular CoA Levels and Metabolism"

2019:

Tiffany Thibaudeau, Ph.D.
Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: David M. Smith, Ph.D.
Current Status: Postdoctoral Fellow in Rick Morimoto’s lab in Chicago at Northwestern University. Tiffany will be studying mechanisms of proteostasis in C. elegans, with a focus on protein degradation.

Dissertation Title: "Elucidating a Common Mechanism of Proteasome Impairment in Neurodegenerative Disease and Pharmacological Intervention"

2018:

Steve Markwell, Ph.D.
Advisor: Scott Weed, Ph.D.
Graduate Program: Cancer Cell Biology Graduate Program
Current Status: Postdoctoral Researcher, Laboratory of Daniel Brat, Northwestern University Department of Pathology.

Dissertation Title: "Cortactin Phosphorylation by Casein Kinase 2 Regulates Actin Related 2/3 Complex Activity and Invadopodia Function"

2018:

Abigail Moye, Ph.D.
Advisor: Visvanathan Ramamurthy, Ph.D.
Graduate Program: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Current Status: Post-Doctoral Fellow, Ted Wensel Lab, Baylor College of Medicine

Dissertation Title: "ARL2BP, a Novel Ciliopathy Protein, is Required for Cilia Microtubule Formation"

2018:

Brandon Jones, Ph.D.

Advisor: Pugacheva
Graduate Program: CCB
Current Status: Postdoctoral Fellow in Cancer Research at Georgetown University, Washington, DC.

Dissertation Title: "Dual Targeting of the Mesenchymal and Amoeboid Pathways: A Viable Therapy against Metastatic Breast Cancer"

2018:

Aaron Snoberger, Ph.D.

Advisor: David Smith, Ph.D.
Graduate Program: BMB
Current Status: Post-Doc at University of Pennsylvania

Dissertation Title: “Proteasomal ATPases Hard at Work: The Inner Workings of a Protein Destruction Machine”.

2018:

Trey Rottgen, Ph.D.

Advisor: Vazhaikkurichi Rajendran, Ph.D.
Graduate Program: CIP
Current Status: Medical School at West Virginia University

Dissertation Title: "A study of epithelial CT secretion in the Murine Distal Colon"

2017:

Yuriy Loskutov, Ph.D.

Advisor: Elena Pugacheva, Ph.D.
Graduate Program: CCB

Title: "Implications of primary cilia and associated lysophosphatidic acid signaling in glioblastoma biology and therapy."

2017:

Helen Rodgers, Ph.D.

Dr. Rodgers completed her Ph.D. in 2017.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Peter H Mathers, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: ""

2017:

Jessica Hall, Ph.D.

Jess completed her Ph.D. in March 2017

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Michael Schaller, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: “Biochemical Characterization of the Release of FAK Autoinhibition”

Jessica Hall presented her doctoral dissertation defense on Friday, March 17, 2017. She is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at Bucknell University. This year she taught upper level Cell Biology & Molecular Biology, next year she will be teaching Intro to the Cell & Molecular Biology. Jess is doing research with 3 undergrads over the summer as well!

2017:

Kimberly Alonge, Ph.D.

Kim completed her Ph.D. in February 2017

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Brad Hillgartner, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Novel Mechanisms Controlling the Expression of the Antidiabetic Hepatokine Fibroblast Growth Factor 21".

Kimberly presented her doctoral dissertation defense in February 2017. Kimberly moved to Seattle Washington right after her defense. She is doing research at the University of Washington in the Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition.

2016:

Zachary Wright, Ph.D.

Zachary completed his Ph.D. in July 2016

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Visvanathan Ramamurthy, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Complex Regulation of Protein Trafficking and Photoreceptor Cell Development by Small GTPases".

Zachary, defended his thesis in July 2016 at the Eye Institute Lecture Hall.

2016:

Nachiket Pendse, Ph.D.

Nachiket completed his Ph.D. in August 2016

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Visvanathan Ramamurthy, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Role for protein prenylation and CAAX processing in photoreceptor neurons"

Nachiket Pendse, Graduate Student Biology Dept. with Dr. Vishy Ramamurthy’s Lab, defended on Tuesday, August 16th, 2016 at the Eye Institute Lecture Hall.

2016:

Phillip Pifer, Ph.D.

Philip completed his Ph.D. in June 2016

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Steven Frisch, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Grainyhead-like-2 inhibits the co-activator p300, suppressing tubulogenesis and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition”.

Phillip defended his dissertation in June 24th, 2016. After defending his dissertation, Phillip returned to medical school to finish his 3rd and 4th year, expecting to graduate in May 2018. His plan is to prepare for a cancer related residency yet to be determined.

2016:

Josh Farris, Ph.D.

Josh completed his Ph.D. in June 2016

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Steven Frisch, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Grainyhead-like-2 Reverses the Metabolic Changes Induced by the Oncogenic Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition: Effects on Anoikis”.

Josh Farris, Graduate Student in the Cancer Cell Biology Dept. with Dr. Steven Frisch’s Lab, defended on Friday, June 3rd, 2016. After finishing his time in Dr. Frisch's lab, he plans to return to 3rd year medical school. Ultimately, Josh hopes to practice radiation oncology.

2016:

Elisha Martin, M.S.

Elisha completed his M.S. in 2016.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: Yehenew Agazie, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "SHP2 promotes Triple Negative Breast Cancer by mediating crosstalk between EGFR and Wnt/ β-catenin singling pathways”.

Elisha presented his Master Thesis Defense in April 2016. Elisha is applied for jobs with the CDC and NIH. Working in a government lab is something that he really aspires to do. His alternative plan was to apply for academic lab positions, such as a research assistant, doing independent research and training students.

2016:

Dan Murphy, Ph.D.

Dr. Murphy completed his Ph.D. in 2016.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Peter Stoilov, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "The Regulation of Alternative Pre-mRNA Splicing in Photoreceptor Cells"

Dan completed his dissertation January 2016. A few months after graduation, Dan started as a postdoc in Dr. Joseph Corbo's lab at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. The lab has very a broad range of research projects on the control of gene expression in the retina.

2015:

Amanda Suchanek, Ph.D.

Dr. Suchanek completed her Ph.D. in 2015.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Lisa Salati, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Enhancement of RNA Splicing by the Nutrient Regulated Splicing Factor, SRSF3"

Dr. Suchanek defended her dissertation in August in which she demonstrated that the splicing factor SRSF3 is involved in enhancing RNA splicing during the fed state. She also developed an new reagent that can be used in liver to find new targets for SRSF3. Amanda has moved to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she is doing post-doctoral studies with Dr. Rosalind Coleman. The Coleman lab studies enzymes involved in the entry of fatty acids into cells and their subsequent metabolism.

Current Status: Senior Research and Development Scientist, LabCorp, Burlington, NC Campus
Amanda started Nov. 26, 2018, Leading a team to develop their microbiome profiling platform.

2015:

Dan Vanderbilt, Ph.D.

Dr. Vanderbilt completed his Ph.D. in 2015.

Degree: M.D./Ph.D.
Advisor: Michael Ruppert, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Functions and Mechanisms of the Transcription Factors GLI1 and Krüppel-Like Factor 4 in Cancer"

Dan Vanderbilt is currently a third year medical student in the WVU MD PhD Program.

Dr. Vanderbilt defended his thesis in June 2015. Dan identified a critical mechanism that stabilizes the Gli1 transcription factor and maintains the malignant phenotype of cancer stem-like cells (CSCs). He found that the HMG box transcription factor Sox9 binds to the Skp/Cul/Fbox (SCF) E3 ligase component beta-TrCP, and prevents its association with Skp1. When Sox9 is suppressed, SCF-beta-TrCP targets nuclear Gli1 for degradation, resulting in loss of CSCs and loss of malignant properties such as tumor cell survival. He will receive the MD and PHD degrees following completion of medical school in 2017.

2015:

Sriganesh Sharma, Ph.D.

Dr. Sharma completed his Ph.D. in 2015.

Degree: M.D./Ph.D.
Advisor: Michael Ruppert, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Krüppel-like factor 4 (KLF4) regulates protumorigenic signaling in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells"

Sriganesh Sharma is currently a third year medical student in the WVU MD PhD Program.

Dr. Sharma defended his thesis in May 2015. Sri studied the regulation of RAS-ERK signaling by KLF4. He showed that KLF4 directly regulates the transcription of two microRNAs (miRs), miR-206 and miR-21. These two miRs compose a novel activator of RAS-ERK through suppression of GTPase activating proteins (GAPs), including RASA1 and the Spred1/NF1 complex. His results provide the rationale for a novel antagomiR-based approach for treatment of cancer, regardless of the RAS mutational status, and may explain the paucity of activating point mutations in RAS genes in certain cancers such as breast cancer. He will receive the MD and PHD degrees following completion of medical school in 2017.

2015:

Mark Farrugia, Ph.D.

Dr. Farrugia completed his Ph.D. in 2015.

Degree: M.D./Ph.D.
Advisor: Michael Ruppert, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "The Diverse Relationship of Krüppel-Like Factors 4 and 5 in Breast Cancer"

Mark Farrugia is currently a third year medical student in the WVU MD PhD Program.

Dr. Farrugia defended his thesis in May 2015. He studied Kruppel-like factors (KLFs) in HER2+ breast cancer. He showed dynamic roles of KLF4 and KLF5 as cooperative mediators of therapeutic resistance, using lapatinib resistance as a model. He will receive the MD and PHD degrees following completion of medical school in 2017.

2013:

Travis Cyphert, Ph.D.

Dr. Cyphert completed his Ph.D. in 2013.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Lisa Salati, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "The inhibition of splicing of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase mRNA during starvation by heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein K"

Dr. Cyphert is examining mechanisms involved in the regulation of glucose disposal during metabolic disease, via a postdoctoral position at Vanderbilt with Dr. Owen McGinnis.

2013:

Zachary Hartman, Ph.D.

Dr. Hartman completed his Ph.D. in 2013.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Yehenew Agazie, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Exploring the mechanism of SHP2 and EGFR/HER2 cooperation in breast cancer cell signaling"

Dr. Hartman is an Associate Medical Writer for prIME Oncology in Atlanta, GA

2012:

Catherine Kinzer-Woodard, M.S.

Ms. Kinzer-Woodard completed his/her M.S. in 2012

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: Maxim Sokolov, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Role of Chaperonin CCT in G-protein Biosynthesis"

2012:

Fatima Matalkah, M.S.

Ms. Matalkah completed her M.S. in 2012

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: Yehenew Agazie, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "The role of Src-homology 2 domain-containing tyrosine phosphatase 2 in signaling and tumorigenesis of basal type/triple negative breast cancer"

2012:

Christy Ku, Ph.D.

Dr. Ku completed her Ph.D. in the Neuroscience Graduate Program in 2012

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Visvanathan Ramamurthy, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Rescue of Inherited Retinal Degeneration Associated with Aipl1 Defects"

2012:

Holly Cyphert, Ph.D.

Dr. Cyphert completed her Ph.D. in 2012.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Brad Hillgartner, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "The nutritional regulation of hepatic fibroblast growth factor 21 a novel anit-diabetic hormone"

Dr. Cyphert is doing her postdoc at Vanderbilt with Roland Stein. She is studying transcriptional mechanisms involved in the development of pancreatic islets and production of insulin by these cells.

2012:

Ben Cieply, Ph.D.

Dr. Cieply completed his Ph.D. in 2012.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Steven Frisch, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "The Transcription Factor Grainyhead-like-2 is a Novel Suppressor of the Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition"

Dr. Cieply is doing his postdoc with Russ Carstens at University of Pennsylvania. He is conducting his postdoctoral work on the role of ESRP and mRNA splicing in EMT, cancer, and iPS cells.

2011:

Cheng-Chun Lin, Ph.D.

Dr. Lin completed his Ph.D. in the Cancer Cell Biology Graduate Program in 2011.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: J. Michael Ruppert, M.D., Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "The Roles of MicroRNAs on the Post-transcriptional Regulation of Krüppel-Like Factor 4 and Their Functions in Breast Cancer"

Chen-Chung's dissertation work describing the regulation of the transcription factor KLF4 by miRNAs was published in Molecular and Cellular Biology. He continues to work on related projects as a postdoctoral fellow with Mike Ruppert.

2011:

Heather E. Knupp, M.S.

Ms. Knupp completed her M.S. in Biomedical Sciences in 2011.

Degree: MS
Advisor: Lisa M. Salati, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Can changes in SR protein acetylation affect alternative splicing?"

After graduating in 2011, Heather worked for the University of Pittsburgh Vascular Medicine Institute studying the molecular mechanisms behind sickle cell disease related pulmonary arterial hypertension.

She left the VMI in 2014 moving from basic science into patient care, with the goal of entering nursing school. Heather worked at UPMC Shadyside as a patient care technician on a hematology/oncology floor and currently she is a patient care technician at UPMC Children's Hospital on an ortho/neuro/trauma floor.

Heather started nursing school at CCAC-Allegheny in August 2017 and will graduate with her RN in May 2019. She plans to continue on to earn her BSN building her knowledge base and expertise.

2011:

Jeffrey R. Christiansen, Ph.D.

Dr. Christiansen completed his Ph.D. in the Neuroscience Graduate Program in 2011.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Visvanathan Ramamurthy, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Role of "CAAX" protein processing in the retina"

Dr. Christiansen completed his PhD in the Neuroscience Program working with Dr. Vishy Ramamurthy. His work on post-translational processing of phosphodiesterase 6 in the rod photoreceptor cells in the eye was published in PNAS. Dr. Christiansen is pursuing postdoctoral studies at Colorado State University.

2010:

Hongman Song, Ph.D.

Dr. Song completed her Ph.D. in the Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Graduate Program in 2010.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Maxim Sokolov, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "The roles of the phosducin family proteins in the regulation of heterotrimeric G proteins in vertebrate photoreceptors"

Dr. Song's graduate studies resulted in two first-authorship publications in Journal of Biological Chemistry and Journal of Proteome Research and a number of collaborative papers in Biochemistry, Journal of Neuroscience, Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, Journal of General Physiology, Journal of Neurochemistry, and PNAS. Hongman continues her endeavor in the field of Photoreceptor Biology and Visual Signal Transduction, working as a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Paul Sieving's laboratory at the NIH.

2010:

Sanjeev Kumar, Ph.D.

Dr. Kumar completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Graduate Program in 2010.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Steven M. Frisch, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Regulation of anoikis by ankyrin complexes"

While in the lab, Sanjeev investigated the mechanisms by which E-cadherin and EMT regulate a specific apoptotic response known as anoikis. He discovered elements of a novel pathway leading from E-cadherin to transcriptional regulation. This work was published in Molecular and Cellular Biology. Upon completion of his dissertation, Sanjeev became a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Alan Diehl's lab at the Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania.

2009:

Alison Bloom Kohan, Ph.D.

Dr. Kohan completed her Ph.D. in the Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Graduate Program in 2009.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Lisa M. Salati, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Mechanism by which dietary polyunsaturated fat regulates lipogenic gene expression"

Ali completed her Ph.D. in the summer of 2009. Her work established an important mechanism for intracellular regulation by dietary fat. She carried out her postdoctoral work with Dr. Patrick Tso at the University of Cincinnati and successfully obtained a F32 postdoctoral fellowship and a K01 Mentored Research Scientist Development Award from the NIH. Ali is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University Connecticut.

Dr. Kohan's research program focuses on the role of apolipoprotein C-III in mediating inflammatory disease. The canonical role of apolipoprotein (apo) C-III is to inhibit lipid uptake by peripheral tissues and liver, stimulating hypertriglyceridemia. Her lab first reported that overexpression of human apoC-III in mice results in delayed dietary fat absorption and secretion of smaller chylomicrons.

Prior to this discovery, all other known effects of apoC-III were deleterious. Genetic variants in apoC-III exist, but there is only one family known to have a complete loss of apoC-III, suggesting a strong evolutionary pressure to retain apoC-III expression.

She and her lab have now determined that in addition to the delay in dietary fat absorption, apoC-III overexpression confers significant protection from colitis in mice (induced with dextran-sulfate sodium (DSS), and confers resistance to all associated pathologies including weight loss, colon shortening, macroscopic damage, and pro-inflammatory secretion of IL-17.

Major efforts in her research laboratory are focused on: (i) mechanism of apoC-III regulation of intestinal regulatory T cells (Tregs); (ii) the interplay between dietary lipid absorption-chylomicron secretion-and apolipoprotein expression and inflammatory bowel disease; and (iii) the influence of plasma lipoproteins, particularly triglyceride-rich lipoproteins with apoC-III, on intestinal lipid metabolism. The laboratory has extensive experience in intestinal lipid absorption, lipoprotein synthesis and secretion, plasma lipoprotein metabolism, and they developed the primary intestinal organoid model for the study of lipoprotein synthesis and secretion.

The overall goal of Dr. Kohan's research is to determine the mechanisms through which intestinal apolipoproteins impact disease in human populations, and the therapeutic implications of this physiology.

2009:

Callee McConnell-Walsh, Ph.D.

Dr. Walsh completed her Ph.D. in the Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Graduate Program in 2009.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Lisa M.Salati, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "The effect of nutrients upon the activity of SR proteins"

Dr. Walsh's dissertation addressed the molecular mechanisms controlling alternative splicing in response to nutritional stimulation, specifically effects upon the SR protein family of splicing factors. Following graduation, Callee worked as a postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Aaron Timperman in the Department of Chemistry at West Virginia University and then joined Protea Biosciences as a staff scientist.

Upon Graduation from WVU: Post-Doc at West Virginia University
Current Status: Lab Manager, SRF Director, BioNano Research Facilities at WVU

2009:

David M. Howell, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Howell completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Graduate Program in 2009

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Peter H. Mathers, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "The identification of molecular guidance cues necessary for development of the central auditory system"

Dr. Howell's dissertation focused on the role of the DCC-netrin signaling pathway in regulating axon guidance and cellular migration of auditory neurons in the developing mouse brainstem. Upon completing his dissertation and clinical studies, David performed his residency in the Pathology Department at WVU.

2009:

Brian G. Zamora, Ph.D.
Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Peter H. Mathers, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Functions of Rx in early vertebrate ocular development"

Dr. Zamora, PhD, completed his doctoral dissertation work in December 2009 in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Graduate Program. His project explored the role of the Rx homeobox gene in early mouse eye development, and combined conditional gene deletion and transgenic approaches to manipulate the timing of Rx gene deletion and possible compensation mechanisms. He is currently completing his clinical training at the WVU School of Medicine.

After completing his clinical training, He graduated with honors from West Virginia University School Of Medicine in 2012. Following graduation, Brian completed a Transitional Year Internship at WVU from 2012-2013, followed by his Ophthalmology Residency from 2013 through 2016 at the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Zamora is is currently completing a Vitreoretinal Surgery Fellowship at Wake Forest University from 2016-2018.

Having more than 5 years of diverse experiences, especially in Ophthalmology, Dr. Zamora affiliates with many hospitals including North Carolina Baptist Hospital, Davie Medical Center, and cooperates with other doctors and specialists in medical group Wake Forest University Health Sciences.

2008:

Sushant Bhatnagar, Ph.D.

Dr. Bhatnagar completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Graduate Program in 2008.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Frank Bradley Hillgartner, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Fibroblast Growth Factor-19: A Novel Factor That Inhibits Hepatic Fatty Acid Synthesis"

Dr. Bhatnagar completed his Ph.D. in December 2008. He discovered that fibroblast growth factor 19 was a component of the bile acid signaling pathway controlling the hepatic lipogenic gene expression. Sushant recently obtained a NIH K99 Mentored Research Scientist Development Award. After completing his Ph.D. from the Department of Biochemistry at WVU, Sushant went to the laboratory of Alan Attie at the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin at Madison for post-doctoral training. During his postdoc, he acquired experience in the area of genetics of type 2 diabetes. In 2015, Dr. Bhatnagar started his independent laboratory working on understanding mechanisms of insulin secretion in type 2 diabetes. The lab is located in the Comprehensive Diabetes Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

2007:

Patrick L. Apopa, Ph.D.

Dr. Apopa completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 2007.

Degree: M.S.
Degree: Ph.D.
Advisors: James E. Mahaney, Ph.D and Qiang Ma, M.D., Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Thermodynamic effects of phospholamban on Ca-ATPase kinetics"
Doctoral Dissertation: "Molecular Mechanisms of Nuclear Factor-Erythroid-2 Related Factor 2 (Nrf2) Regulation: Phosphorylation by Casein kinase 2 (CK2) and Interaction with Proto-Oncogene N-Myc in Neuroblastoma Cells"

Upon completion of his dissertation, Dr. Apopa performed his postdoctoral work at Thomas Jefferson University.

2007:

Kelli R. Phillips, Ph.D.

Dr. Phillips completed her Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 2007.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Janet Lee Cyr, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Characterization of myosin I in the inner ear"

2007:

Anindita Biswas, M.S.

Ms. Biswas completed her M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 2007.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: Janet Lee Cyr. Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Analysis of motor activity of recombinant myosin-1c"

2006:

Brian Nelson Griffith, Ph.D.

Dr. Griffith completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 2006.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Lisa M. Salati, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Differential binding of hnRNP K, L and A2/B1 to an exonic splicing silencer element located within exon 12 of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase mRNA"

Dr. Griffith is a member of the faculty in Biomedical Sciences at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine.

2006:

Indrani Talukdar, Ph.D.

Dr. Talukdar completed her Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 2006.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Lisa M. Salati, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Signaling pathways involved in regulation of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) by arachidonic acid"

Upon completion of her dissertation research, Dr. Talukdar performed postdoctoral studies at UCSD and at the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Insitiute.

Dr. Talukdar is an Assistant Professor in the Bio-Science Department at the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani-Goa, India.

2006:

Saswata Talukdar, Ph.D.

Dr. Talukdar completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 2006.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Brad Hillgartner, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Analysis of the mechanisms mediating the regulation of acetyl-CoA carboxylase transcription by the liver X receptor and chenodeoxycholic acid"

Upon completion of his dissertation, Dr. Talukdar performed postdoctoral studies at UCSD. In 2011, he joined Pfizer as a Principal Scientist.

2005:

Elena Kozhemyakina, Ph.D.

Dr. Kozhemyakina completed her Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 2005.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Peter H. Mathers, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Role of the Rx homeobox gene in development of the eye and pituitary gland"

Upon completing her dissertation, Dr. Kozhemyakina performed her postdoctoral studies at Harvard Medical School.

2004:

Jason Robert Waggoner, Ph.D.

Dr. Waggoner completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 2004.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: James E. Mahaney, Ph.D.

Dissertation: "Physical mechanism of Ca²-ATPase regulation by phospholamban"

Upon completion of his PhD studies, Dr. Waggoner performed his postdoctoral research at the University of Cincinnati. He then joined Camargo Pharmaceutical Services as a Research Scientist and in 2009, joined Ethicon Endo-Surgery as a Clinical Scientist.

2004:

Stacey Lynn Brower, Ph.D.

Dr. Brower completed her Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 2004.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Michael R. Miller, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Mitogens estradiol, epidermal growth factor and acetaminophen differentially alter estrogen receptor phosphorylation and Erk/MAPK activation in MCF-7 cells"

Dr. Brower is currently a Senior Scientist in the Research and Development Department at Precision Therapeutics, Inc. in Pittsburgh, PA. She has been there since graduating in 2004.

2003:

C. Edward Ebert, Ph.D.

Dr. Ebert completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 2003.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Diana S. Beattie, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Effects of mutations of the iron-sulfur protein on the function and structure of the cytochrome bc1 complex of yeast mitochondria"

Dr. Ebert join the faculty at Winston-Salem State University as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry.

2003:

Vera Voronina, Ph.D.

Dr. Voronina completed her Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 2003.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Peter H. Mathers, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Rx plays multiple roles in eye development"

After completing her dissertation, Dr. Voronina performed her postdoctoral studies at the University of Washington. In 2008, she went into industry as a Scientist at Regeneron.

2003:

Yegor Voronin, Ph.D.

Dr. Voronin completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 2003.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Vinay K. Pathak, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Investigation of initiation of reverse transcription in retroviruses using vectors with two primer-binding sites"

After completing his dissertation, Dr. Voronin performed his postdoctoral work at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Institute. He is now Science Officer at the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise.

2002:

Jason Shawn Southall, Ph.D.

Dr. Southall completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 2002.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: James Mahaney, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Physical and mechanistic basis for Ca-ATPase regulation by phospholamban"

Upon completion of his dissertation studies, Dr. Southall joined Mylan Pharmaceuticals as a Research and Development Scientist.

2002:

Supriya Shah, M.S.

Ms. Shah completed her M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 2005.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: Peter H. Mathers, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Determination of Rx expression in the adult mouse retina and delineation of the Rx mediated gene regulation"

Upon completion of her studies, Ms Shah joined the group of Dr. Karen Knudsen at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University.

2002:

Christina M. Okernick, M.S. (Umbright)

Ms. Umbright completed her M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 2002.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: Peter H. Mathers, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Identification of downstream effectors of the Rx gene and its proposed role in anophthalmia/microphthalmia"

After completing her dissertation work in Biochemistry, Mrs. Umbright (nee Okernick) accepted a position at NIOSH.

2002:

Jason Andrew Peters, M.S.

Mr. Peters completed his M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 2002.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: Michael R. Gunther, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Investigation into the mechanism of 2-oxohistidine formation from the peroxidase activity of superoxide dismutase"

2001:

Samantha Lynn Gadd, Ph.D.

Dr. Gadd completed her Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 2001.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Michael R. Miller, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Acetaminophen-induced proliferation of estrogen-responsive breast cancer cells is associated with increased c-myc RNA expression and NF-kB activity"

2001:

Yutong Wang, Ph.D.

Dr. Wang completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 2001.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Brad Hillgartner, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Role of accessory proteins in controlling the thyroid hormone regulation of transcription of the malic enzyme gene"

After completing his PhD studies, Dr. Wang performed his postdoctoral studies at the University of Washington. In 2010, he joined the faculty in the Cell Biology Department at the Capital Medical University in Beijing.

2000:

Elias Konstantine Halvas, Ph.D.

Dr. Halvas completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 2000.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Vinay K. Pathak, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Structural determinants of murine leukemia virus (MLV) reverse transcriptase (RT) important for fidelity and drug resistance in vivo"

After completing his dissertation, he went on to perform his postdoctoral studies at Pitt and he joined the faculty at Pitt as Research Assistant Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases/Department of Medicine.

2000:

Evguenia S. Svarovskaia, Ph.D.

Dr. Svarovskaia completed her Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 2000.

Degree: M.S.
Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Vinay K. Pathak, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Importance of the RNase H domain of the murine leukemia virus reverse transcriptase for the accuracy of DNA synthesis"
Doctoral Dissertation: "Structural determinants of murine leukemia virus reverse transcriptase that are important for template switching, fidelity, and drug-resistance"

After completing her dissertation work at WVU and NIH, Dr. Svarovskaia joined Gilead Sciences as a Senior Research Scientist.

2000:

Batoul Amir-Ahmady, Ph.D.

Dr. Amir-Ahmady completed her Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 2000.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Lisa M. Salati, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Molecular mechanism of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase regulation by dietary factors in intact animals"

2000:

Janet A. Dowdy, M.S.

Ms Dowdy completed her M.S. in 2000.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: Michael R. Miller, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Effects of acetaminophen on estrogen-responsive alkaline phosphatase in Ishikawa endometrial cancer cells"

1999:

Laura A. Stabile, Ph.D.

Dr. Stabile completed her Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1999.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Lisa M. Salati, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Regulation of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase by polyunsaturated fatty acids in cultured rat hepatocytes"

Upon completing her dissertation, Dr. Stabile performed her postdoctoral work at Pitt. She is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology at Pitt.

1999:

Eugenia Harnagea Theophilus, Ph.D.

Dr. Theophilus completed her Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1999.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Michael R. Miller, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Acetaminophen stimulates proliferation of breast cancer cells"

The knowledge and experience in the field of estrogen research gained in Dr. Miller's lab has been invaluable to getting Eugenia's first R&D scientist job at Avon Products, Inc. in Suffern NY in 1999. There, she was a study director for in vitro studies, helping to set up a new in vitro lab, led the postmenopausal women's products bioscience team, overseeing in vitro and clinical studies and identifying compounds for use in new products, and conducted safety evaluations and risk assessments for hundreds of new ingredients and formulations for new cosmetic products. In 2002, Eugenia moved to R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Winston-Salem, NC, where she designed and managed many scientific programs, overseeing toxicology and clinical studies in support of reduced risk products like Eclipse, smokeless products, and VUSE. She is currently a Master Scientist in R&D.

1998:

Victor H. Obungu, Ph.D.

Dr. Obungu completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1998.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Diana S. Beattie, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Effects of mutations on the function and assembly of the iron-sulfur protein into the cytochrome bc1 complex of yeast mitochondria"

After completing his dissertation research, Dr. Obungu continued his scientific career at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) at the NIH. He then joined Eli Lily.

1998:

Suzelle Madeleine Fiedler, M.S. (Suzelle Amyot)

Ms. Amyot completed her M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1998.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: Diana S. Beattie, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Role of amino acids in the transmembrane and extra-membranous domains of the S. cerevisiae iron sulfur protein in its activity and stability in the cytochrome bc1 complex"

1998:

Timothy Brian Miley, Ph.D.

Dr. Miley completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1998.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Andrew K. Shiemke, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Studies of the respiratory chain of Methylococcus capsulatus (bath)"

Dr. Miley completed his dissertation research and his MBA at WVU. Since completing his studies he has worked as a scientist and business development officer for a number of companies including Mylan, Bayer, Grindus, TriPath Oncology, Sandoz and Nueland Labs.

1998:

Le Yan, M.S.

Mr. Yan completed his M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1998.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: James E. Mahaney, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "The influence of phospholamban on cardiac Ca-ATPase phosphorylation"

1997:

Xuexun Fang, Ph.D.

Dr. Fang completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1997.

Degree, Ph.D.
Advisor: Brad Hllgartner, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Cell-specific regulation of transcription of the malic enzyme gene: characterization of cis-acting elements that modulate nuclear T3 receptor activity".

Upon completion of his dissertation research, Dr. Fang performed his postdoctoral research at the Burnham Institute. Recruit to Jilin U in bioengineering in the School of Pharmacy.

1997:

Scott Andrew Cook, Ph.D.

Dr. Cook completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1997.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Andrew Shiemke, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Methane oxidation and respiration of Methylococcus capsulatus"

After completing his dissertation studies, Dr. Cook went in to industry, working at Bayer before joining the Process Purification Development Department at Pfizer in St. Louis.

1997:

John George Julias, Ph.D.

Dr. Julias completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1997.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Vinay K. Pathak, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Retrovirus variation and RT template switching during retroviral reverse transcription: Development of novel retroviral vectors for gene therapy"

After finishing his PhD studies, Dr. Julias went on to perform his postdoctoral work with Stephen Hughes at the HIV Drug Resistance Program at the National Cancer Institute. After his postdoc, he worked for Booz Allen Hamilton, a consulting firm in the areas of strategy and technology, and in 2010 became Program Manager for the Strategic Development Office at DARPA.

1997:

Deborah Lynne Hodge, Ph.D.

Dr. Hodge completed her Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1997.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Lisa M. Salati

Doctoral Dissertation: "Molecular mechanisms involved in the expression and regulation of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase by dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids"

After completing her dissertation studies, Dr. Hodge did her postdoctoral work with Dr. Howard Young at the National Cancer Institute. In 2002, Dr. Hodge became a staff scientist in the Laboratory of Experimental Immunology at NCI-Frederick.

1997:

Elizabeth Mambo, Ph.D.

Dr. Mambo completed her Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1997.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Marylin I. Evans, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "The effect of estrogen on the transcriptional regulation and the chromatin remodeling of the very low density apolipoprotein II gene"

1996:

Franklin David Christian Shuler, Ph.D.

Dr. Shuler completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1996.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Marylin I. Evans, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Analysis of regulatory regions within the first intron of the estrogen-inducible chicken very low density apolipoprotein II gene"

After completing his PhD and MD studies at WVU, Dr. Shuler performed his residency and fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Shuler served on the faculty of Vanderbilt University before returning to West Virginia to join the faculty at Marshall University as Associate Professor and Director of Research in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery.

1996:

Lan-Ping Yu, M.S.

Ms. Yu completed her M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1996.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: Diana S. Beattie, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Assembly of Deletion Mutants of the Iron-Sulfur Protein into both the Intact Cytochrome bc1 Complex and a bc1 Complex Lacking the Cytochrome b in the Yeast Mitochondria"

After completing her MS dissertation (in 1996) and MD (in 2000), Dr. Yu performed her residency at Virginia Commonwealth University. She is a practicing pediatrician in Colonial Heights/Hopewell Virginia.

1996:

Robert Stephen Edinger, Ph.D.

Dr. Edinger completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1996.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Marilyn I. Evans, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Partial isolation of the vitellogenin I gene and the characterization of the regulation for the egg yolk protein genes"

Dr. Edinger performed his postdoctoral studies at Pitt and then joined the faculty at Pitt in the Department of Medicine.

1995:

Ramanujam S Ramabadran, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Ramabadran completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1995.

Degree: M.S. - 1991
Degree: Ph.D. - 1995
Degree: M.D. - 1999
Advisor: Diana S. Beattie, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Processing of the intermediate form of the iron-sulfur protein of the BC1 complex to the mature form after import into yeast mitochondria"
Doctoral Dissertation: "Assembly of deletion mutants and chimeric proteins of the iron sulfur protein into the cytochrome bc1?complex of yeast mitochondria"

Dr. Ramabadran completed his PhD in 1995 and completed his MD studies at WVU School of Medicine in 1999. Dr. Ramabadran interned at the University of Iowa and performed his residency at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Ramabadran is a cardiologist practicing in Dubuque Iowa.

1994:

Jiazhi Sun, M.S.

Dr. Sun completed his M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1994.

Degree M.S.
Advisor: Diana S. Beattie, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Targeting of Q-binding Protein of Cytochrome BC1 Complex into Yeast Mitochondria"

Dr. Sun received his MD from Peking University and then completed his MS degree in 1994 in the Department of Biochemistry. He continued his training at Pittsburgh and the Moffitt Cancer Center before joining the faculty as Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences (College of Pharmacy) and Department of Molecular Medicine (College of Medicine) at the University of South Florida.

1994:

William Chu, Ph.D.

Dr. Chu completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1994.

Degree: Ph.D.
Degree: M.D.
Advisor: Marylin I. Evans, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Estrogen-dependent expression and insulin inhibition of the chicken very low density apolipoprotein II gene"

Dr. Chu completed his dissertation work in 1994 and his studies for his MD degree at WVU in 1997. He performed his residency and cardiology fellowship at the University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison. He did a fellowship in interventional cardiology at Georgetown University Medical School. He now practices in Las Vegas Nevada.

1992:

Zongfan Liu, M.S.

Mr. Liu completed his M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1992.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: Peter B. Challoner, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Use of Alternative Polyadenylation Sites During the Post Meiotic Stages of Spermatogenesis"

1992:

Steven Jeffrey Walker, Ph.D.

Dr. Walker completed his Ph.D. in 1992.

Degree: M.S. 1982
Degree: Ph.D. 1992
Advisor: Kent E. Vrana, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Isolation and partial characterization of the plasmalemma from Glycine max, cv. 'Essex' roots incubated with and without aflatoxins"
Doctoral Dissertation: "Catalytic core of rat tyrosine hydroxylase: Terminal deletion analysis of bacterially expressed enzyme"

Dr. Walker received his MS and PhD in Genetics and Molecular Biology (Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design), working with Dr. Kent Vrana in the Department of Biochemistry. Upon completing his dissertation project, Dr. Walker pursued his postdoctoral studies at Wake Forest University. He joined the faculty at Wake Forest and has held appointments in the Department of Pediatrics and the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology. Dr. Walker then became an Assistant Professor in the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest University and a member of the Neuroscience Program.

1992:

Fatemeh Mahmoodian, Ph.D.

Dr. Mahmoodian completed her Ph.D. in 1992.

Degree: M.S.
Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Bruce Caterson, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Biochemical characterization of embryonic chicken bone marrow proteoglycans"
Doctoral Dissertation: "Biochemical characterization of stromal cell proteoglycans in hemopoiesis"

Dr. Mahmoodian completed the requirements for her MS and PhD degrees in the Genetics and Developmental Biology Graduate Program (Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design) working with Dr. Bruce Caterson in Biochemistry.

1991:

William J Fu, Ph.D.

Dr. Fu completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1991.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Diana S. Beattie, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Import and Assembly of the Rieske Iron-Sulfur Protein of the Cytochrome BC1 Complex in Yeast Mitochondria"

Following completion of his dissertation work, Dr. Fu was a Research fellow at NCI Frederick in the HIV Drug Resistance Program. Then he joined the Southern Research Institute as a Research Scientist.

1991:

Eugene A. Berkowitz, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Berkowitz completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1991.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Diana S. Beattie, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Estrogen and Insulin Regulation of the Chicken Very Low Density Apolipoprotein II Gene in LMH Cells."

After completing his PhD, Dr. Berkowitz went on to train as a physician, receiving his MD from Tulane. After performing his fellowship at the University of Texas at Houston, he joined the faculty in the Department of Radiology at Emory.

1991:

Hazem M. Hallak, Ph.D.

Dr. Hallak completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1991.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Kent Vrana, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Regulation of Nigrostriatal Tyrosine Hydroxylase Gene Expression by Dopaminergic Drugs"

1991:

Harvey C. Jenkins, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Jenkins completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1991.

Degree: Ph.D.
Degree: M.D.
Advisor: Diana S. Beattie, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "A Topographical Examination of Cytochrome B of the Inner Membrane of yeast Mitochondria"

1991:

Eric Wentz, M.S.

Mr. Wentz completed his M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1991.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: Michael R. Miller, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Effects of acetaminophen of vitellogenin production in cultured trout hepacytes"

Upon completion of his studies, Mr. Wentz worked as a Research Scientist at Bristol Myers Squibb and Glaxo Smith Kline.

1990:

Remedios Marcello-Baciu, M.S.

Mrs. Marcello-Baciu completed his M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1990.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: Diana S. Beattie, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Effects of DCCD on Proton Movements in the Reconstituted Cytochrome bc1 Complex of Yeast Mitochondria"

1990:

Peter Caine Baciu, Ph.D.

Dr. Baciu completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1990.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: John P. Durham, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Nuclear protein phosphorylation during differentiation of HL-60 cells"

After completing his dissertation work, Dr. Baciu performed postdoctoral work at the La Jolla Cancer Center and Massachusetts General Hospital, before joined Allergan, where he is a Senior Biological Scientist.

1990:

Christopher John Kolanko, M.S.

Mr. Kolanko completed his M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1990.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: James B. Blair, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Pyruvate kinase phosphorylation in the rat erythrocyte: effects of environmental stimulation"
Doctoral Dissertation: "DNA radioprotection by aminothiols"

Dr. Kolanko completed the requirements for his MS degree in the Genetics and Developmental Biology Graduate Program in the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design working with Dr. Jim Blair in Biochemistry. He continued in the program and completed his PhD studies with Drs. Blakely and Nath at the Davis College and at the Naval Research Laboratory Environmental Quality Section.

1990:

Ronald E. Bishop, Ph.D.

Dr. Bishop completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1990.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: George P. Tryfiates, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Biosynthesis of a novel form of vitamin B-6 by tumor cells"

Dr. Bishop worked at Microbiological Associates, Inc. before joining the faculty in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at SUNY Oneonta.

1990:

Xuan Liu, Ph.D.

Dr. Liu completed her Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1990.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Kent E. Vrana, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Tyrosine hydroxylase regulation: molecular studies"

After completing her PhD studies, Dr. Liu was a Damon Runyon Postdoctoral Fellow at UCLA. She joined the faculty in the Biochemistry Department at the University of California at Riverside and has risen to the rank of full Professor.

1989:

Peggy Sue Biser, Ph.D.

Dr. Biser completed her Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1989.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Fred R. Butcher, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Partial purification of a 53kDa protein from HL60 cells"

Dr. Biser is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Frostburg State University.

1988:

Noriko Sato MS

Ms. Sato completed her M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1988.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: Michael R. Miller, Ph.D.

"Characterization of cytochrome P4501A1 and vitellogenin synthesis in isolated trout liver cells"

1987:

Leslie A. Bruggeman, Ph.D.

Dr. Bruggerman completed her Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1987.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Kevin L. Dreher, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Isolation and characterization of allotype-defined rabbit kappa-1 immunoglobulin genes"

Upon completion of her studies, she performed postdoctoral work at the National Institutes of Health, followed by taking her first faculty position with the Department of Medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. She is currently a Professor of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University's MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland.

1987:

Anthony Calabro, Ph.D.

Dr. Calabro completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1987.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Bruce Caterson, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Monoclonal antibodies directed against proteoglycan core protein: Their use as probes for elucidating proteoglycan structure and function"

Dr. Calabro is on the faculty in the Biomedical Engineering Department at the Cleveland Clinic.

1987:

Russell A. Hammond, Ph.D.

Dr. Hammond completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1987.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Michael R. Miller, Ph.D.

Upon completing his dissertation, Dr. Hammond performed his postdoctoral studies at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. Dr. Hammond has spent his career in industry, with positions at PB Diagnostics Systems, T Cell Sciences and Avant Immunotherapeutics before joining Celldex Therapeutics and becoming their Director of Process R&D.

1987:

Christopher Robert Prostko, Ph.D.

Dr. Prostko completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1987.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Rolf F. Kletzien, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Analysis of Hepatic Glucose-6-phosphate Dehydrogenase RNA Levels and Gene Transcription During Starvation-refeeding"

Upon completion of his dissertation work, Dr. Prostko was a Research Associate at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey and on the faculty in the Department of Pharmacology at the UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson School of Medicine. Dr. Prostko has been involved in medical education for most of his career and serves as the Scientific Program Director at PRIME Education Inc.

1986:

Patrick John Donahue, M.S.

Mr. Donahue completed his M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1986.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: Bruce Caterson, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Characterization of link protein(s) from human intervertebral disc tissues"

1984:

John Blaine Shabb, Ph.D.

Dr. Shabb completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1984.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Michael R. Miller, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Characterization of rat liver DNA-binding protein kinases"

Upon completion of his PhD studies, Dr. Shabb performed his postdoctoral studies at Vanderbilt. Following his postdoctoral work, Dr. Shabb joined the faculty in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences where he is involved in undergraduate, graduate and medical education. His research interests are in cellular signaling and proteomics.

1984:

Charles Gordon Todderud, Ph.D.

Dr. Todderud completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1984.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Rolf F. Kletzien, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Studies on the identification of the hepatic system A amino acid transporter"

1984:

Deborah J Stumpo, Ph.D.

Dr. Stumpo completed her Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1984.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Rolf F. Kletzien, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "The Role of the Glucocorticoids and Insulin in the Regulation of Hepatic Glucose-6-phosphate Dehydrogenase"

Upon completion of her dissertation studies, Dr. Stumpo performed her postdoctoral work at Duke University. She served as a Research Assistant Professor at Duke for 10 years before joining the staff at NIEHS as a Staff Scientist.

1984:

Catherine A. Heyneman Cashmore, Pharm.D., M.S.

Dr. Heyneman completed her M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1984.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: Mark Reasor, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Chlorphentermine-induced pulmonary phospholipidosis: drug quantitation and uptake into rat alveolar macrophages"

After completing her MS studies in Biochemistry working with Mark Reasor, and working in the biotech industry, Dr. Heyneman obtained her PharmD from the Idaho State University School of Pharmacy. Following her residency, she joined the faculty at the ISU School of Pharmacy.

1984:

Carol Arthur Emler, M.S.

Mr. Emler completed his M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1984.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: Joseph Albert Fontana, M.D., Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Protein phosphorylation associated with differentiation in the human leukemia cell line HL60"

1984:

James Gardner Spencer, M.S.

Mr. Spencer completed his M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1984.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: Mary J. Wimmer, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "A study of chloroplast coupling-factor catalyzed oxygen-exchange reactions"

Upon completing his MS studies at WVU, Mr. Spencer completed his MBA at George Washington University School of Business. He has worked in the biotechnology industry in product management, business development and marketing for Gibco/BRL, Ciphergen Biosystems, Invitrogen and Life Technologies.

1983:

James Joseph Kerbacher, Ph.D.

Dr. Kerbacher completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1983.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: James Blair, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Hormonal and dietary control of carbohydrate metabolism in isolated rat hepatocytes"

Upon completion of his dissertation studies, Dr. Kerbacher performed his postdoctoral studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He then completed his MD at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

1983:

Paula Ann Sherman, Ph.D.

Dr. Sherman completed her Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1983.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Mary Wimmer, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Studies of the Energy-transducing ATPase from Spinach Chloroplasts"

Upon completing her PhD studies, Dr. Sherman performed her postdoctoral studies in the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of North Carolina. After working in industry at Burroughs Wellcome and Glaxo, she returned to school, completing her MD at the University of North Carolina in 2004. Dr. Sherman specialized in Psychiatry and is currently practicing in Chapel Hill.

1983:

Sameer A. Sakallah, Ph.D.

Dr. Sakallah completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1983.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Charles L. Harris, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "The Role of Modified Nucleosides in Isoleucyl-Transfer-RNA Function"

Upon completion of his dissertation studies, Dr. Sakallah did his postdoctoral training at the University of Michigan and Florida State University. He joined the Faculty of Medicine at Kuwait University in 1985. Dr. Sakallah worked briefly as a Staff Scientist at Applied Genetics Laboratories, Inc. in Melbourne, FL before joining the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center as Program Coordinator in the Division of Molecular Diagnostics, Department of Pathology. In 1999 he became the Manager of Molecular Diagnostics at the New Hampshire Public Health Laboratories. In 2007 Dr. Sakallah joined Crown Agents USA as Senior Laboratory Advisor. He is currently serving as independent Global Health Advisor for laboratory systems.

1983:

Johnny Keith McClung, Ph.D.

Dr. McClung completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1983.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Rolf F. Kletzien, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "The role of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase in the regulation of BHK cell growth arrest"

1983:

Melissa L Means, M.S.

Ms. Means completed her M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1983.

Degree: M.S.

Masters Thesis: "Partial purification and characterization of rat liver phosphorylase kinase"

1982:

Pragna I. Patel, Ph.D.

Dr. Patel completed her Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1982.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Michael R. Miller, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "A Subcellular System for Studying DNA Replication and DNA Repair Proteins in Animal Cells"

Following completion of her dissertation, Dr. Patel obtained postdoctoral training in Human Molecular Genetics at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Baylor College of Medicine. In 1986, she was invited to join the faculty of Baylor College of Medicine where she rose to the rank of Professor. In 2004, Dr. Patel was recruited to the University of Southern California where she is a member of the Institute for Genetic Medicine and Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology in the Keck School of Medicine. Her research interests are in the molecular etiology and therapeutics of inherited diseases.

1981:

Lana Elaine Wlodyka, M.D.

Dr. Wlodyka completed her M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1981.

Degree: Ph.D.
Degree M.D.
Advisor: Rolf F. Kletzien, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Protein phosphorylation and the regulation of cell growth: correlation of the phosphorylation of a specific protein with growth and transformation"

Upon completing her M.S. studies, Dr. Wlodyka pursued her medical studies in the West Virginia University School of Medicine, earning her MD at 1986. She interned and performed her residency at Akron General Hospital. Dr. Wlodyka is in private practice in Jacksonville Florida.

1980:

Julie Ellen Scheffler, Ph.D.

Dr. Scheffler completed her Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1980.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Eugene G. Sander, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Allosteric properties of Clostridium oroticum Dihydroorotase"

Dr. Scheffler has had a long career in industry, working at Hoffmann-LaRoche and Bristol-Myers Squibb prior to joining Johnson and Johnson as the Director of New Business Development.

1980:

Christina B. Myers, M.S.

Ms. Myers completed her M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1980.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: Michael R. Miller, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "The Subcellular Location of Soluble Proteins in BHK and CHO Cells which Stimulate DNA Replication and DNA Repair"

1979:

Wayne L. Backes, Ph.D.

Dr Backes completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1979.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: William J. Canady, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Multiple Substrate Binding to Cytochrome P-450"

After completing his PhD, Dr. Backes did a postdoc at University of Connecticut Health Sciences Center. In 1984, he joined the faculty at the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans where he is Professor of Pharmacology and Associate Dean for Research.

1977:

Michele A. Cimbala, Ph.D.

Dr. Cimbala completed her Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1977.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: James B. Blair, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Acute Hormonal Regulation of Hepatic Pyruvate Kinase"

After completing her dissertation studies, Dr. Cimbala performed her postdoctoral work with Richard Hansen at Case Western Reserve University. She join the faculty of the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in 1982. In 1987, Dr. Cimbala went into patent law. She is the Director in the Biotechnology/Chemical Group at Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox PLLC

1977:

Farhad Marashi, Ph.D.

Dr. Marashi completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1977.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Charles L. Harris. Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Aminoacylation of Sulfur-Deficient tRNAIle From Escherichia ColiC6"

1977:

M. Marcia Federici, Ph.D.

Dr. Federici completed her Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1977.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Frederick J. Lotspeich, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Synthetic Inhibotors of Methionine Adenosyltransferase"

After obtaining her Ph.D., Dr.Federici was an NIH fellow where her research included spectroscopic studies of protein conformational changes.Dr.Federici began her career in industry in 1981 and initially worked in analytical methods development and QC testing. From 1986-1992, Marcia was employed at Genetech, Inc. where she managed the quality control release and stability testing laboratories for Nutropin®, Activase® and other protein drugs. Dr. Federici was employed at SmithKline Beecham (now GlaxoSmithKline) from 1994-2006 in various capacities of increasing managerial responsibility. At various times, Marcia served as the director of the protein characterization, bioanalytical method development, and biopharmaceutical formulation development departments. Dr.Federici directed an effort to address outstanding FDA CMC issues which resulted in the approval of the cancer drug Bexxar®. Marcia next held the position of VP of biopharmaceutical manufacturing and, in this capacity, was responsible for US and UK based pilot plant operations, facilities and QC testing. Since 2006 she has been self employed as a cosultant specializing in the regulatory affairs of biopharmaceuticals. Currently, Dr.Federici serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland Baltimore County where she teaches a graduate course in biotechnology. Dr.Federici also acts as a guest lecturer at the University of Kansas and actively mentors many students.

1977:

John Lewis Foster, Ph.D.

Dr. Foster completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1977.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: James Blair, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Regulation of pyruvate kinase and glycolysis in the isolated rat hepatocyte"

Dr. Foster is on the faculty in the Department of Medicine and the Center for Infectious Diseases at the University of North Carolina.

1976:

Gloria C. Higgins Wright, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Wright completed her Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1976.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: George H. Wirtz, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Plasma Membrane Enzymes of Regenerating Rat Liver"

After completing her dissertation Dr. Higgins went on to pursue studies in medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, receiving her MD in 1983. Dr. Higgins is a Member of the Division of Pediatric Rheumatology and Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at the Ohio State University College of Medicine.

1975:

Larry R. Larson, M.S.

Mr. Larson completed his MS in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1975.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: Dr. John Ellingson, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Fatty Acid Composition of Dental Pulp and Predentin"

1975:

Anna Mae McCormick, Ph.D.

Dr. McCormick completed her Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1975.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Reginald F. Krause, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Effect of Vitamin A on Liver Transfer RNA Methylases"
Doctoral Dissertation: "The Effect of Vitamin A Deficiency on Testicular Transfer RNA Methyltransferase Activity"

Upon completing her dissertation research, Dr. McCormick performed her postdoctoral research at the University of Wisconsin. She served on the faculty at the University of Texas for 10 years. Dr. McCormick then joined the National Institute on Aging, where she was Chief of the Genetics and Cell Biology Branch of the Division of Aging Biology. In 2011, Dr. McCormick left NIH to work in consulting.

1975:

John King Shuler, M.S.

Mr. Shuler completed his M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1975.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: George P. Tryfiates, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Cofactor Deficiency and the Multiple Forms of Tyrosine Aminotransferase"

After completing his dissertation studies, which led to six publications with Dr. Tryfiates, Mr. Shuler went to work in industry, where he has worked at Becton Dickinson.

1975:

Eugene W. St Clair, M.D.

Dr. St. Clair completed his M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1975. He then went on to complete his M.D. in 1980.

Degree: M.S.
Degree: M.D.
Advisor: Charles L. Harris, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Transfer RNA Sulfurtransferase in Rat Liver"

After completing his MS degree, Dr. St. Clair completed his medical studies at the WVU School of Medicine in 1980. He performed his residency at Duke. Dr. St. Clair is the Chief of the Division of Rheumatology and Immunology in the Department of Medicine at Duke.

1975:

George Harmison, Ph.D.

Dr. Harmison completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1975.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Gale W. Rafter, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Properties of a disulfide-disulfide interchange enzyme"

After completing his dissertation work, Dr. Harmison pursued his postdoctoral studies at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. He has served on the staff at the NINDS since the completion of his postdoc.

1974:

James Lawrence Turner, M.S.

Mr. Turner completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1974.

Degree: M.S.
Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: William J. Canady, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Correlation of the Effect of Ionic Strength on the Kinetic Constant and Solubility of Naphthalene as an Inhibitor of Enzymatic Hydrolysis."

1974:

Randolph J. Canterbury II, M.D.

Dr. Canterbury completed his MS in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1974. He then earned his M.D. from the West Virginia University School of Medicine in 1979.

Degree: M.S. - 1974
Degree: M.D. - 1979
Advisor: Reginald F. Krause

Masters Thesis: "Effect of Vitamin A Deficiency on DNA Content and Uptake of Labeled Thymidine."

After finishing his MS in Biochemistry, he completed studies for his MD at WVU in 1979.

Dr. Canterbury completed residency training both in Internal Medicine and Psychiatry and has been on the UVA School of Medicine faculty since 1984. He served as Chair of the Department of Psychiatry for 12 years and currently serves as the Senior Associate Dean for Education.

1974:

Margaret E. Gnegy, Ph.D.

Dr. Gnegy completed her Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1974.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Frederick J. Lotspeich, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Synthetic Inhibitors of tRNA Methyltransferases"

Following completion of her dissertation studies, Dr. Gnegy performed her postdoctoral studies at the National Institute of Mental Health. She joined the faculty in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Michigan, where she is a full Professor. In the fall of 2011, Dr. Gnegy returned to Morgantown to provide the keynote address at the Research Induction Ceremony for the graduate students in the biomedical sciences programs at WVU.

1973:

Daniel Harper Conrad, Ph.D.

Dr. Conrad completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1973.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: George H. Wirtz, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "The Immunochemistry of Vitamin A: Modification of the Complement Reaction and Characterization of Anti-vitamin A Antibodies"

After completing his dissertation, Dr. Conrad performed his postdoctoral studies at the University of Manitoba and the Virginia Commonwealth University. In 1978 he joined the faculty at VCU in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, where he is currently a Professor.

1972:

Ronald E. Orynich, Ph.D.

Dr. Orynich completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1971.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: George H. Wirtz, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "In Vitro Studies of Specific Reactions of Immune Complement Hemolysis: I Probe of Human Complement Hemolysis by Vitamin A; II Inhibition of Guinea Pig Complement Hemolysis by Human C9"

Dr. Orynich is currently the CEO at Diamed-North America, Inc.

1972:

Arlene Moskovitch, Ph.D.

Dr. Moskovitch completed her Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1972.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: William J. Canady, Ph.D.

1972:

Samuel James Black, II

Mr Black completed his M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1972.

Degree: MS
Advisor: Gale W. Rafter, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: Endotoxin and Ribonucleic Acid Metabolism in Rabbit Whole Blood Leukocytes

1972:

Joanne P. Materio Black, M.S.

Ms. Materio completed her M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1972.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: Reginald F. Krause, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Studies on the binding of C-retinol to serum protein"

Upon completing her dissertation work, Dr. Black obtained her AS in Nursing from the Community College of Allegheny County and her MS in Nursing from the University of New Mexico. She completed her PhD studies in Counseling Psychology at Summit University. Dr. Black has served as Child Adolescent Psychiatric Nurse at the University of New Mexico Children’s Psychiatric Hospital, as Psychiatric Liaison at Presbyterian Hospitals and is in private practice in Albuquerque.

1971:

Yih-Show Li, M.S.

Mr. Li completed his MS in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1971.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: George H. Wirtz, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Vitamin A Modified Immune Hemolysis: The Influence of Several Chemical and Physical Variables"

1971:

Carol Grosenbaugh Cox, Ph.D.

Dr.Cox completed her Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1971. Upon completion of her PhD in Biochemistry Dr. Cox joined the faculty of the University of Minnesota in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology. In 1977 she accepted a position in the Diagnostics Division of Abbott Laboratories first in California and then at the corporate headquarters in Illinois as Director of New Technology Development. She retired in 1995 and has homes in Arizona and Colorado.

Degree: M.S. - 1969
Degree: Ph.D. - 1971
Advisor: Gale W. Rafter, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Pyrogen and Enzyme Release from Blood Leukocytes Promoted by Endotoxin and Polyinosinic Acid: Polycytidylic Acid"

1971:

Charles Bosetti Cuono, MD, Ph.D.

Dr. Cuono completed his dissertation and medical studies at WVU in 1971, earning both PhD and MD degrees.

Degree: Ph.D. - 1971
Degree: M.D. - 1971
Advisor: Frederick J. Lotspeich, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Synthesis and Properties of a Series of Arylcycloheptyl Methanesulfonate Esters"

Dr. Cuono performed his fellowship at the National Cancer Institute and his residency at the Yale New Haven Hospital. Dr. Cuono joined the faculty at Yale in the Department of Surgery and was a leader in the treatment of burn victims at the institution. Dr. Cuono is now in private practice in Arizona.

1971:

Edward M. Williams, Ph.D.

Dr. Williams completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1971.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: William J. Canady, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Thermodynamics and Physical Parameters of a-Chymotrypsin at Certain Ionic Strengths and pHs."

1971:

Thomas J. Puskar, M.S.

Mr. Puskar completed his M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1971.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: George P. Tryfiates, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Hormonal Induction of Tyrosine Aminotransferase in Vitamin B6 Deficiency"

After completing his dissertation work in Biochemistry, Mr. Puskar completed his MBA degree at Monmouth University. He worked as a business development officer in the Pharmaceutical industry at a number of companies, including CBD Technologies, Chesapeake Biological Labs, DSM Pharmaceuticals, Avecia Biotechnology Inc., Enzon Pharmaceuticals and SCM Pharma Ltd.

1970:

Nicholas J. Nardacci, M.S., M.D., Ph.D.

Mr. Nardacci completed his M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1970.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: William J. Canady, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Retinoic Acid: The only Acidic Metabolite Isolated after Incubation of ß-Carotene with the soluble Enzymes of Rat Intestinal Mucosa"

Dr. Nardacci went on to get his PhD at Columbia in 1972, and his MD from Universidad Autonoma De Ciudad Juarez. He currently is in private practice in Albuquerque.

1970:

Edward F. Plow, Ph.D.

Dr. Plow completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1970.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Harold Resnick, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Physicochemical Studies of a Phytohemagglutinin, Concanavalin A: Characterization of the Binding Properties"

Upon completion of his PhD, Dr. Plow pursued his postdoctoral studies at the Scripps Research Institute. In 1992, Dr. Plow was recruited to the Cleveland Clinic, where he is the Robert C. Tarazi, M.D., Endowed Chair in Heart and Hypertension Research and Chair of the Department of Molecular Cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic.

1970:

Ben Anthony Hitt Jr., Ph.D.

Dr. Hitt completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry graduate Program in 1970.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: James B. Gilbert, M.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Synthesis of DNA, RNA and protein in temperature-sensitive mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisae"

Upon completion of his PhD in Biochemistry, Dr. Hitt performed his postdoctoral studies at Stanford. He has been on the faculty at Stanford, the University of Cincinnati and the VA in Palo Alto. Dr. Hitt developed expertise in data mining and problem solving applications while working at Neuralware Inc, Advanced Software Applications and American Heuristics. He has also worked at Raytheon Systems and Correlogic Systems. Dr. Hitt has also been the Director of the Schenk Center for Informatic Sciences at Wheeling Jesuit University. He is the Senior Partner at Serenity Hill Informatics LLC.

1970:

Barbara H. Witherspoon, M.S.

Ms. Witherspoon completed her M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1970.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: Gale W. Rafter, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Studies on the Thermal Inactivation of Glucose-6-Phosphatase"

1970:

Jane Hoover Plow, M.S.

Dr. Plow completed her M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1970.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: Reginald F. Krause, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Effect of Vitamin A Deficiency on Mitochondrial Membranes and Lysosomes"

After completing her studies at WVU, Dr. Hoover-Plow completed her PhD studies at the University of California-Davis. She served on the faculty at San Diego State University and joined the faculty at the Cleveland Clinic in 2002.

1969:

Pervis Cheri Major, M.S.

Mr. Major completed his MS in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1969.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: George H. Wirtz, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "The In Vivo Inhibition of the Terminal Transportation of Guinea Pig Immune Lysis by Retinal"

Upon completion of his dissertation studies, Dr. Major joined the staff at NIOSH at Morgantown.

1969:

Richard A. Cox, M.S.

Mr. Cox completed his M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1969

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: James B. Gilbert, M.D.

1969:

David R. Whikehart, Ph.D.

Dr. Whikehart completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1969.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Gale W. Rafter, Ph.D.

Dr. Whikehart joined the faculty at the University of Alabama Birmingham as a member of the Department of Vision Sciences in the School of Optometry, where he served for over 30 years. In April, 2010, Dr. Whikehart was awarded Professor Emeritus status at UAB. Dr. Whikehart authored the textbook, "Biochemistry of the Eye".

1969:

Charles Cecil Cuppett, Ph.D.

Dr. Cuppett completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1969.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: William J. Canady, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Physical Chemical and Kinetic Properties of Alpha-Chymotrypsin as a Function of Ionic Strength and PH"

Upon completion of his dissertation studies, Dr. Cuppert joined the staff at Dupont as a Research Chemist. In 1974, he left industry to take a position as Clinical Chemistry in the Department of Pathology at Lee Hospital in Johnstown, PA. In 2000, Dr. Cuppert joined the faculty at Penn State University at Altoona as an Assistant Professor in Chemistry.

1968:

Garfield P. Royer, Ph.D.

Dr. Royer completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1968.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: William J. Canady, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "The Binding Sites of a-Chymotrypsin and Yeast Alcohol Dehydrogenase"

Dr. Royer joined the faculty in the Biochemistry Department at Ohio State University in 1970, where he taught and ran an active research program until 1982. At that time Dr. Royer became a lab director at Amoco and worked in industry for 10 years. In 1996, Dr. Royer founded a company that later became Royer Biomedical, Inc.

1968:

David J. Moffa, Ph.D.

Dr. Moffa completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1968.

Degree: M.S.
Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Reginald F. Krause, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis "Preparation and properties of E-CMC from germinated barley."
Doctoral Dissertation: "Purification and Properties of Retinal Oxidase From Rat Intestinal Mucosa"

1967:

Ernest Kent Robinson, Ph.D.

Dr. Robinson completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1967.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Damon C. Shelton, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Regulation of Amino Acid Transport in Leuconostoc Mesenteroides by Growth Stimulatory Dipeptides"

1967:

Charlotte W. Lawrence, Ph.D.

Dr. Lawrence completed her Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1967.

Degree: M.S.
Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Reginald F. Krause, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Intestinal Absorption of Retinol-15-C14 – Palmitate-9, 10-H3 in the Living Rat"
Doctoral Dissertation: "Effect of Vitamin A Deficiency on Glycoprotein Synthesis and Mitochondrial Phospholipid Metabolism"

1967:

Patricia E. Gimber, Ph.D.

Dr. Gimber completed her Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1967.

Degree: M.S. - 1967
Degree: Ph.D. - 1969
Advisors: Damon C. Shelton, Ph.D. and Gale W. Rafter, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "The Effects of pH on the Transport Systems for Valine and Glycyl-L-Valine in Leuconostoc Mesenteroides"

Following completion of her dissertation, Dr. Gimber performed postdoctoral studies in the Department of Physiology at Albany Medical College. She served on the faculty of Department of Physiology at the Albany Medical College, held an appointment at the Stratton VA Medical Center in Albany and was the Director of Drug Discovery at Vascular Vision.

1967:

Robert M. Carper, M.S.

Mr. Carper completed his MS in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1967.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: Damon C. Shelton, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "L-Phenylalanine Transport in Leucoconostoc Mesenteroides – Effect of Dipeptides"

1967:

Susan Rader Tenney, M.S.

Ms. Tenney completed her M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1967.

Degree: M.S
Advisor: Gale W. Rafter, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Leukocyte Adenosine Triphosphatases (Atpases) and the Effect of Endotoxin on Their Activity"

1967:

Roberta Sue Karickhoff Core, Ph.D.

Dr. Core completed her Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1967.

Degree: M.S.
Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Frederick J. Lotspeich, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Derivatives of 2’, 3’, 4’-Trimethoxy-Phenylcycloheptane"
Doctoral Dissertation: "Free Radical Addition of Mercaptoacetic Acid to Substituted Phenylcyclohexenes"

1967:

Anthanetta Jean Hymes, Ph.D.

Dr. Hymes completed her Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1967.

Degree: M.S. - 1965
Degree: Ph.D. - 1967
Advisor: William J. Canady, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Thermodynamics of Enzyme Inhibitor Complex Formation"
Doctoral Dissertation: "Themodynamics and Mechanisms of a-Inhibitor Complex Formation"

1966:

William Frederick Hymes, Ph.D.

Dr. Hymes completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1966.

Degree: M.S.
Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: James B. Gilbert, Ph.D.

Master Thesis: "In Vivo Studies on the Incorporation of L-Leucine into Tissue Proteins of Tumor-Bearing Animals"
Doctoral Dissertation: "Inhibition of Migration of Rat Peritoneal Exudate Cells by Ascites Tumor Fluid and Preliminary Studies on the Biochemical Nature of the Inhibitory Activity"

1966:

C. Carl Tully Jr., M.S.

Dr. Tully completed his M.S. in the Biochemistry graduate program in 1966.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: Damon C. Shelton, Ph.D.

Dr.Tully is currently a Dentist in Bradenton, Florida.

1966:

Omar Christian Yoder, Ph.D.

Dr. Yoder completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1966.

Degree: M.S. - 1964
Degree: Ph.D. - 1966
Advisor: Damon C. Shelton, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Kinetic Studies of L-Valine and Glycyl-L-Valine Uptake by Leuconostoc Mesenteroides"
Doctoral Dissertation: "Specificity of Transport Systems for Glycine, Valine and Their Dipeptides in Leuconostoc Mesenteroides"

1966:

Patricia E. Stafford, M.S.

Ms. Stafford completed her M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1966.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: James B. Gilbert, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Studies of Urinary Methanethiol Excretion in Rats"

1966:

Carl S. Walker, M.S.

Mr. Walker completed his M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1966.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: Gale W. Rafter, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Subcellular Distribution and Phosphorylation of Escherichia Coli Phosphoproteins"

1966:

Richard A. Patrick, Ph.D.

Dr. Patrick completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1967.

Degree: M.S.
Degree: Ph.D.
Advisors: George H. Wirtz, Ph.D. and Frederick J. Lotspeich, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Human Serum Complement Inhibitors"

1966:

Richard H. Wildnauer, Ph.D.

Dr. Wildnauer completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1966.

Degree: M.S., 1964
Degree: Ph.D., 1966
Advisor: William J. Canady, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "The Salt and Temperature Dependence of the Thermodynamic Parameters for the Hydrolysis of Methyl Hippurate by a-Chymotrypsin"
Doctoral Dissertation: "Thermodynamics and Mechanism of Complex Formation of Alpha-Chymotrypsin with Certain Substrates and Inhibitors"

Upon completion of his dissertation studies, Dr. Wildnauer performed postdoctoral studies at the University of Kansas. He has worked in the pharmaceutical industry at McNeil Pharmaceuticals, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson and IVAX Dermatologicals. He is Board Chairman of Euromed, Board Director at CellCeuticals and Executive Consultant at MedNest LLC.

1966:

Peggy A. Brown, M.S.

Ms. Brown completed her MS in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1966.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: Reginald F. Krause, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "The Effect of Vitamin A Administration upon Several Blood Factors in the Developing Atherosclerosis of Purebred Beagles".

1966:

Mary Agnes Pallotta, Ph.D.

Dr. Pallotta completed her Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1966.

Degree: M.S.
Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: Reginald F. Krause, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Effect of Vitamin A on Biochemical Alterations Induced by Atherogenic Factors in Purebred Beagles"

1966:

Ida Idella Yoder, M.S.

Ms. Yoder completed her M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1966.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: Reginald F. Krause, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "The Effect of Vitamin A on the Fatty Acid Composition of Various Lipids in Beagles Subjected to Atherogenic Stress"

1965:

Chester Bradley Hager, Ph.D.

Dr. Hager completed his MS and Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1964, and 1966.

Degree: M.S. - 1965
Degree: Ph.D. - 1967
Advisors: Willaim T. Burke, Ph.D. and James B. Gilbert, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Studies on the Control of Protein Synthesis in a Rat Liver Cell-free Ribosomal System"
Dissertation: "Endometrial Carbonic Anhydrase and its Hormonal Control"

Upon completion of his dissertation work, Dr. Hager performed his postdoctoral work at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a Fellow of the NICHD and as an American Cancer Society Fellow. After completing his postdoctoral studies, Dr. Hager worked in industry at Miles Laboratories, Rohm & Haas and Corning. He led the start up of several companies, including collaborative efforts with other Department of Biochemistry alumni Jim McCoy and David Moffa. Dr. Hager served as president of the Virginia Biotechnology Association. He has retired, but continues to consult regarding clinical studies in China and compliance with FDA regulations.

1965:

James Lloyd McCoy, Ph.D.

Dr. McCoy completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1965.

Degree: Ph.D.
Advisor: William T. Burke, Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertation: "Immunological Response of the Tumor Bearing Host"

Following his dissertation work, Dr. Mcoy worked at the National Cancer Institute and several companies, including Microbiological Associates and Litton Bionetics. He was the founder of ImmunoComp Laboratory Inc., which specialized in cancer patient treatment. Dr. McCoy unfortunately passed away on May 13, 2000.

1965:

Ewald C. W. Krueger, M.S.

Mr. Kreuger completed his MS in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1966

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: William T. Burke, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "An Isolated Perfusion Study of Lipogenesis in Induced Rat Hepatomas"

1965:

Janice Marie Mayshak Bischoff, M.S.

Ms. Mayshak completed her M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1965.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: Damon C. Shelton, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Inhibition and transport kinetic studies involving L-leucine, L-valine and their dipeptides in L. mesenteroides."

1965:

Frank D. Crain, Ph.D.

Dr. Crain completed his MS in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1963, he then completed his Ph.D. in 1965.

Degree: M.S.
Degree: Ph.D.
M.S. Advisor: Reginald F. Krause, Ph.D.
Ph.D. Advisor: Frederick J. Lotspeich, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "The Effect of Vitamin A Acetate on Plasma Free Fatty Acid and Phospholipid Levels in Geriatric Patients"
Doctoral Dissertation: "In Vivo Metabolism of ß-Carotene"

1964:

James Lowell Miles, Ph.D.

Dr. Miles completed his Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1964

Degree: M.S. - 1961
Degree: Ph.D. - 1964
Advisor: William J. Canady, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "The Effect of Ionic Strength of the Hydrolysis of Hippuric Acid Esters by a-Chymotrypsin"
Doctoral Dissertation: "Factors Influencing the Hydrolysis of Hippuric Acid Esters by a-Chymotrypsin"

1963:

Stanley B. Gross, Ph.D.

Dr. Gross completed the first Ph.D. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1963

Degree: MS - 1957
Degree: PhD - 1963
Advisors: Damon C. Shelton, Ph.D. and Reginald Krause, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Phosphorus Concentration and Uptake by Liver of Rats on Vitamin A Supplemented and Deficient Diets"
Doctoral Dissertation: "Subcellular Fractions During Stearic-1-C-14 Acid Absorption"

Stanley B. Gross was awarded the first PhD in the Department of Biochemistry in 1963. After completing his MS degree with Dr. Krause, he performed his dissertation research with Dr. Damon C. Shelton. Part of his work was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 1964 (DC Shelton, RF Krause and SB Gross Am J Clin Nutr 15:352-357). Dr. Gross performed his postdoctoral studies with Emil Pfitzer at the University of Cincinnati. In the late 70’s Dr. Gross joined the US Environmental Protection Agency as a senior toxicologist, where he enjoyed a long and productive career.

1962:

Ricci J. Larese, M.D.

Dr. Larese completed his M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1962

Degree: M.S.
Degree: M.D.
Advisor William J. Canady, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "The Effect of Temperature and Various Salt Solutions on the solubility of Hippuric Acid in Water"

In addition to completing his dissertation work in Biochemistry, Dr. Larese completed his medical studies at WVU, receiving his MD in 1963. He interned and performed his residency at the US Naval Hospital in Portsmouth and did a fellowship at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Larese is a pediatric cardiologist practicing in California.

1962:

Judith E. Larese, M.S.

Ms. Larese completed her MS in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1962.

Degree: MS
Advisor: Reginald F. Krause, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "The Effect of Vitamin A on the Serum Cholesterol levels of Geriatric Patients"

1961:

Elizabeth H. Fleming, M.S.

Ms. Fleming completed her M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1961.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: Frederick J. Lotspeich, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Degradation Studies of C14 Labelled Beta-Carotene"

1959:

Charles K. Payne, M.S.

Mr. Payne completed his M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1959.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: Frederick J. Lotspeich, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Preparation of Vitamin A p-Phenyl Sulfonyl Benzoate"

1959:

Lois J. Kinley, M.S.

Ms. Kinley completed her M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1959.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: Edwin C. Gangloff, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "A Clinical Study of the Influence of Vitamin A on Cholesterol Levels in Normal and Coronary Patients"

1955:

Maurice S. Spivak, M.S.

Mr. Spivak completed his M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate program in 1955.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: Reginald F. Krause, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "Preparation and Characterization of Hyaluronic Acid from Synovial Fluid"

1953:

Lear Twigg Powell, M.S.

Mr. Powell completed his M.S. in the Biochemistry Graduate Program in 1953.

Degree: M.S.
Advisor: Reginald F. Krause, Ph.D.

Masters Thesis: "The Distribution of Vitamin in in the Rat Liver Cell"

Lear Twigg Powell received the first graduate degree awarded in the Department of Biochemistry at WVU. His dissertation was entitled "The Distribution of Vitamin A in the Rat Liver Cell". This work was published in Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics in 1953. Mr. Powell also co-authored three other publications with Dr. Krause between 1953 and 1955.

Department of Biochemistry

Historical Timeline for Alumni