T32 Research Grad Students

a man in light blue shirt with glasses smiling

Grant Berkbigler

Area of Research: Discovery and development of novel PPARα agonists towards therapeutic leads for diabetic retinopathy.

Scientific Interests: Organic small molecule synthesis and medicinal chemistry.

Peer-Reviewed Publications: 
Poudel, S.; Qin, C.; Pangeni, R.; Hu, Z.; Berkbigler, G.; Gunawardena, M.; Duerfeldt, A.S.; Xu, Q. “Oral Pharmacokinetic Evaluation of a Microemulsion-Based Delivery System for Novel A190 Prodrugs.” Biomolecules. 2025, 15(8), 1101. 

Pangeni, R.; Poudel, S.; Herz, S. M.; Berkbigler, G.; Duerfeldt, A. S.; Damaj, M. I.; Xu, Q. “New PPARα Agonist A190-Loaded Microemulsion for Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy.” Mol. Pharmaceutics. 2025, 22, 1641–1656. 
 

woman with blond hair smiling

Taylor Knickel

Area of Research: Investigating processes of suppression in binocular rivalry using direct psychophysical tests and modeling approaches and studying interactions between vision and hearing in how we spatially localize objects in our environment.

Scientific Interests: My scientific interests broadly include how we combine information across various sensory modalities and processes that contribute to sensory integration and suppression. This involves investigating cross-modal interactions and how we divide our attentional resources in complex dual-task conditions. I'm also interested in investigating these processes in individuals with visual impairments, hearing loss, and dual sensory impairment.

Peer-Reviewed Publications:
Gordon E Legge, Yingzi Xiong, Qingying Gao, Rachel Gage, Taylor Knickel, & Charles Bigelow. (2026). Assessment of newly designed fonts for visual accessibility. PloS One, 21(3), e0345068.  
 

Julian Yang outside by a tree

Julian Yang

Area of Research: Investigating the molecular mechanisms of hydroxyapatite formation and their contribution to drusen in age-aelated macular degeneration.

Scientific Interests: I am interested in neurodegenerative diseases and understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms that contribute to their development and progression. In particular, I am interested in how these mechanisms can be pharmacologically targeted to improve treatment strategies.

 

Peer-Reviewed Publications:

Hackney A.T., Yang J., Hulleman J.D.  Mineralization in the sub-RPE space: hydroxyapatite, protein/lipid sequestration, and progression of AMD. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2025;1468:15-19.

 

Hulleman J.D., Jeon S., Bali S., DiCesare SM, Abbas A., Daniel S., Ortega A.J., Collier G.E., Yang J., Bhattacharyaa A., McCoy M.K., Joachimiak L.A., Posner B.A. Select azo compounds post-translationally modulate HTRA1 abundance and activity potentially through interactions at the trimer interface. PMC13420024. ACS Chem Biol. 2025;20(8):1849-1862.

 

Yang, J., Daniel, S., and Hulleman, J.D. (2026) An inducible model of RPE-associated hydroxyapatite mineralization with relevance to drusen formation in age-related macular degeneration. Submitted, Exp. Eye Res. Published as a preprint.