Thesis Defense

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2024

Riley Shearer

Characteristics and outcomes for hospitalized patients with methamphetamine and opioid co-use: Identifying opportunities for hospital-based addiction services tailored to co-use  
Wednesday, January 10, 2024
2-101A/B HSEC
Zoom link in MSTP Events calendar

2023

Adrina Kocharian

Dopaminergic control of neuroeconomic decision-making  
Thursday, December 7, 2023
2-102 CMRR
Zoom link in MSTP Events calendar

Natalie David

Nuclear corepressors NCOR1 and NCOR2 in CD4 T cell development   
Thursday, September 28, 2023
1-101 MRF
Zoom link in MSTP Events calendar

Fathima Mohamed

Metabolic regulation of the germinal center reaction in murine chronic graft versus host disease  
Friday, September 15, 2023
Zoom link in MSTP Events calendar

Minna Ding
Pulmonary immune response to Cryptococcus neoformans clinical isolates
Monday, August 21, 2023
110-LRB
Zoom link in MSTP Events calendar
Alexandria Kristensen Cabrera

Structural Racism and Black Maternal-Infant Birth Outcomes   
Wednesday, August 16, 2023
Zoom link in MSTP Events calendar

Bayardo Garay

Understanding the transcriptional networks and physiological adaptations governing the clinical manifestations of Duchenne muscular dystrophy  
Tuesday, August 15, 2023
1-101 MTRF
Zoom link in MSTP Events calendar

Caleb Vogt

3D Bioprinting of Complex Cellular Alignment through Pre-aligned Anisotropic Microtissues
Tuesday, July 11, 2023
MCB 2-122
Zoom link in MSTP Events calendar

Kevin Lin

Scalable chemical-genetic screen platform for predicting compound mode-of-action  
Wednesday, June 7, 2023
NMR Conference Room (between PWB and Moos Tower)
Zoom link in MSTP Events calendar

Noah Gavil

Characterizing the migration and therapeutic potential of CD8+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes
Tuesday, June 6, 2023
2-102 CMRR
Zoom link in MSTP Events calendar

Roberto Lopez Cervera

Navigating curiously and vigorously: distributed encoding of complex behavior in the primate brain
Wednesday, May 10, 2023
Zoom link in MSTP Events calendar

2022

Megan Schmit

The elucidation of MCM10's role in human disease
Wednesday, November 2, 2022
10:00 AM
3-125 Mayo
Zoom link in MSTP Events calendar

Philip Titcombe

Epigenetic regulation of T cell peripheral tolerance by a BATF-BIM axis
Thursday, September 8, 2022
1:00 PM
2-102 Center for Magnetic Resonance Research
Zoom link in MSTP Events calendar

Sara Bolivar Wagers

Enhancing regulatory T cell therapy efficacy for acute GVHD prevention
Tuesday, August 9, 2022
8:00 AM
450 Masonic Cancer Center
Zoom link in MSTP Events calendar

Kelsey Wanhainen

P2RX7: A double edged sword in tumor immunotherapy
Monday, August 8, 2022
1:30 PM
1-125 CCRB
Zoom link in MSTP Events calendar

Robin Lee

Transcriptional and epigenetic networks governing B cell development and transformation     
Monday, July 11, 2022
1:00 PM
1-125 CCRB
Zoom link in MSTP Events calendar

Brian Trieu

A Non-canonical Role of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme in Synaptic Plasticity     
Wednesday, June 8, 2022
12:15 PM
2-101 NHH
Zoom link in MSTP Events calendar

Javier Sierra-Pagan

Epigenetic regulatory mechanisms that govern cardiovascular development  
Tuesday, May 24, 2022
3:00 PM
1-125 CCRB
Zoom link on MSTP events page calendar

Dieter Brandner

Neuroligin-3 Modulates Opioid-Evoked Changes in Behavior and Brain Function  
Wednesday, May 18, 2022
12:15 PM
2-137 Jackson Hall
Zoom link on MSTP events page calendar

Julia Riedl

Steps towards understanding cellular therapies for Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa
Wednesday, April 27, 2022
3:00 PM
2-102 CMRR

Stephanie Rhee

Regulation of T follicular helper cells in the germinal center reaction of chronic graft-versus-host disease
Tuesday, April 26, 2022
10:00 AM
Hosted via Zoom

Alexander Dwyer

Hybrid peptide-specific T cells incite islet inflammation and autoimmune diabetes 
Friday, April 22, 2022
2:00 PM
1-110 LRB/MTRF

2021

Ifeolu Akinnola

"Regenerating Pulmonary Vascular Endothelium of Tissue-Engineered Lungs using Endothelial Progenitor Cells and Acellular Scaffolds"
Friday, October 8, 2021
9:00 AM

Blake Stagg

"The role of hepatocyte D-β-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase in ketone body metabolism and liver health"
Friday, October 1, 2021
11:00 AM
Hosted via zoom

Paul Wang

"Progress Towards Development of a Desktop Oxygen Scanner for Assessing Macroencapsulated Islet Oxygenation"
Thursday, August 19
3:00 PM
Hosted via zoom

Emily Chiu

"Natural Killer cell immune engagers to induce optimal anti-tumor activity"
Wednesday, June 9
2:00 PM
Hosted via zoom

Erik Faber

"Development of Allosteric Inhibitors against Cyclin-dependent Kinase 2 (CDK2)"
Thursday, May 27
10:00 AM
Hosted via zoom

Sruthi Valluri

"Cyclical food purchasing behavior among low income households receiving nutrition assistance" 
Thursday, May 13
10:00 AM
Hosted via zoom

Rebecca Goldblum

"The Role of Oxidative Stress in Remodeling the Cardiac Microtubule Cytoskeleton" 
Wednesday, May 5
2:00 PM
Hosted via Zoom

2018

Mayank Verma 

"Cross talk between skeletal muscle stem cell and endothelial cell"
Friday, March 9, 2018
1:00 PM
1-110 MTRF

2017

Matthew Wheelwright

"iPSC-Derived Cardiomyocytes: Towards an in vitro Model of Cardiac Physiology" 
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
1:00 - 2:00 PM
1-110 MTRF

2016

Judit PĂ©rez Ortiz

​​"PKA phosphorylation of ATAXIN1 in Purkinje cells modulates early onset of ataxia"
Monday, October 31, 2016
9:00 - 10:00 AM
3-100 Mayo

Scott Warren

"Selective attentional modulation of task-appropriate neural populations in primary visual cortex"
Thursday, October 20, 2016
9:00 - 10:00  AM
2-470 PWB

Michael Lane

"Developing methods to understand and engineer protease cleavage specificity"
Thursday, September 8, 2016
1:30 -2:30 PM
105 Cargill Building (St. Paul campus)

Mathew Angelos

"Mechanisms of early hemato-endothelial development from human pluripotent stem cells"
Friday, September 9, 2016
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
1-125 Cancer & Cardiovascular Research Building

Cameron McDonald-Hyman

"Methods to enhance the efficacy of regulatory T-cell therapies for acute and chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease"
Monday, August 8, 2016
1:30 - 2:30 PM
450 MCRB

Tracy Marko

"Uncovering mechanisms of osteosarcoma metastasis"
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
8:30 -9:30 AM
1-125 CCRB

Sakeen Kashem

"Immunity against Candida albicans skin infections"
Thursday, May 5, 2016
1:30 - 2:30 PM
1-125 CCRB

2015

Anja Srienc

"Retinal ischemia in the in vivo rodent: cellular and vascular characteristics"
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
1:30-2:30 PM
2-137 Jackson Hall


Javier Cabrera-Perez

"Examining helper T-cell recovery after sepsis"
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
11:00 AM-12:00 PM
2-520 MoosT


Alexa Weingarden

"Mechanisms of fecal microbiota transplantation and development of novel therapies for Clostridium difficile infection"
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
9:30-10:30 AM
1-110 MTRF


Carlos Ayala

"Rab-GTPase dependent regulation of autophagy and mTOR signaling in the larval fat body of Drosophila melanogaster"
Molecular, Cellular, Developemental Biology & Genetics
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
2-520 Moos

2014

Jason Schenkel

"The distribution and function of resident memory CD8 T cells"
Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology Graduate Program
Monday, November 17, 2014
2:30 PM - 3:30 PM
1-110 MTRF
Advisor: David Masopust, PhD


Samuel Cramer

"Normal and diseased circuitry in the cerebellar and cerebral cortex"
Neuroscience Graduate Program
Friday, September 12, 2014
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM
3-125 Mayo
Advisor: Timothy Ebner, MD, PhD


Caitlin Conboy

"R-spondin 2 drives Wnt signaling and tumorigenesis in multiple tissues"
Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology Graduate Program
Thursday, September 4, 2014
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
1-110 MTRF
Advisor: David Largaespada, PhD


Notice...the location of this year's retreat has been changed! We will now be meeting at the River's Edge Convention Center in St. Cloud, MN July 22-23, 2014. Watch your email for updates from the retreat committee.


Shawn Mahmud

"TNF receptor superfamily costimulation drives thymic Treg development and repertoire selection"
Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology Graduate Program
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
1:20-2:30 PM
1-125 CCRB
Advisor: Michael Farrar, PhD


Congratulations to MS4 Nicole Skinner [LINK] on her recent induction into the Gold Humanism Honor Society, honoring senior medical students who "demostrate excellence in clinical care, leadership, compassion and dedication to service."


Ryan Nelson

"The origin and function of a large naive CD4+ T cell population"
Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology Graduate Program
Friday, June 27, 2014
2:00-3:00 PM
2-102 CMRR
Advisor: Marc Jenkins, PhD


Congratulations to U of MN MSTP students Alexa Weingarden and Michael Lane, recipients of the 2014-15 University of Minnesota Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship.

And while we are discussing awards....MSTP student in neuroscience Judit Perez Ortiz was recently awarded an NIH F31 after a competitive application. Congratulations!


A number of MSTP students recently received awards at the University of Minnesota Medical School and University of Minnesota Foundation Honors and Awards Ceremony. Congratulations to the following:

Daniel Beisang [LINK] - J. Jacob Kaplan Award

Caitlin Conboy - Jan Lunden Award

Shawn Mahmud - J. Thomas Livermore Award and Veneziale-Steer Award

Oludare Odumade [LINK] - Global Health Scholar Award and Medical School Achievement Award

Jared Rowe [LINK] - Graduating Medical Student Research Award

Jason Schenkel - Beatrice Z. Milne and Theodore Brandenburg Award

Nathan Welty - J. Jacob Kaplan Award

Additionally, congratulations to MSTP student Mayank Verma for his recent selection as a finalist for the 2014 Regeneron Prize for Creative Innovation in a Graduate Student. He will compete in an on-site competition with 10 other national finalists at Regeneron Headquarters at the end of this month. Good luck Mayank!


Jose San Miguel-Ruiz

"The role of the actin-binding protein Arp2/3 in growth cone actin dynamics and guidance"
Neuroscience Graduate Program
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
12:00-1:00 PM
2-137 Jackson Hall
Advisor: Paul Letourneau, Ph.D.


The MSTP retreat planning committee has finalized plans for the 2014 program retreat. The retreat will be held at the Riverwood Conference Center in Otsego, MN on July 22nd to July 23rd. Please view the tentative schedule. If you are able to attend the retreat please let Michelle Corkrum know by April 15th and the program will provide accommodations.

Congratulations to MS4 MSTP student Dare Odumade [LINK], the 2013-14 University of Minnesota Medical School Global Health Scholar Award recipient!


Congrats to Jason Schenkel, one of this year's recipients of the Beatrice Z. Milne and Theodore Brandenburg Award recognizing exceptional research by graduate students in the basic biomedical sciences at the University of Minnesota. Jason will be formally recognized at the 2014 University of Minnesota Foundation Honors and Awards Ceremony April 23, 2014.