Recent PhD Recipients
| Year | Graduate | Degree | Mentor | Dissertation Title | |
| 2024 | |||||
 | Easton Ford | PhD | Dr. Melissa Smith | Uncovering the Hidden Diversity of Antibody Heavy Chains and Their Implications for Autoantibody Mediated Disease | |
 | Amanda Brady | PhD | Dr. Matthew Lawrenz | Inhibition of Pro-inflammatory Lipid Mediators by Yersinia pestis | |
 | Carlos Rodriguez-Hernandez | PhD | Dr. Juhi Bagaitkar | Porphyromonas gingivalis inactivates anti-viral Immunity at the oral and respiratory epithelial barriers | |
| 2023 | |||||
 | Cassandra Woolley | PhD | Dr. Thomas Mitchell | Illuminating underappreciated mechanisms of receptor regulation in human lymphocytes | |
 | Sarah Price | PhD | Dr. Matthew Lawrenz | The Legend of Yersinia pestis and Yersiniabactin: Zinc's Revenge | |
 | Trey Landers | PhD | Dr. Kevin Sokoloski | The Alphaviral Capsid Protein Inhibits IRAK1-Dependent TLR Signaling to Promote Pathogenesis | |
 | Matthew Woeste, MD | PhD | Dr. Jun Yan | Irreversible electroporation potentiates beta glucan induced trained innate immunity: a novel combination treatment for pancreatic adenocarcinoma | |
| 2022 | |||||
 | Claire Westcott | PhD | Dr. Kevin Sokoloski | Keeping a Leash on Host-Pathogen Interactions – Using Molecular Tethering to Define Sindbis Viral Infection | |
 | Rejeena Shrestha | PhD | Dr. Jun Yan | Induction of trained immunity by particulate | |
 | Bethany Vaughn | PhD | Dr. Yousef Abu Kwaik | Lysosomal evasion of L egionella | |
 | Hazel Ozuna | PhD | Dr. Donald Demuth / Dr. Silvia Uriarte | Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans exploits and modulates the inflammatory response of Human neutrophils for survival in the anaerobic environment | |
| 2021 | |||||
 | Henry Nabeta | PhD | Dr. Kenneth Palmer | Q-Griffithsin Interactions and Utility for the | |
 | Drew Skidmore | PhD | Dr. Hoon Chung | Determination of the Biological Functions of Undefined Domains of VEEV nsP2 | |
 | Anne Geller | PhD | Dr. Jun Yan | Harnessing the Power of Trained Immunity in the Setting of Pancreatic Cancer: A Novel Mechanism of Immune Trafficking and Tumor Control | |
 | Autumn LaPointe | PhD | Dr. Kevin Sokoloski | The Importance of Noncapped Genomic RNA on Alphaviral Infection and Pathogenesis. | |
 | James Harder | PhD | Dr. Michele Kosiewicz | Sex-based differences in microbiota composition and metabolomic profiles associated with altered macrophage function and protection from lupus in BWF1 mice. | |
| 2020 | |||||
 | Morgan (Duff) Waide | PhD | Dr. Nathan Schmidt | Malaria, microbes, and mice: the role of the gut microbiota on the immune response to Plasmodium infection and the treatment potential of microbiota modulation. | |
 | Mohammad Roky | PhD | Dr. Donald Demuth | Identification and structural characterization of the functional motifs of short fimbria (Mfa1) of P. gingivalis | |
 | Samantha Morrissey | PhD | Dr. Jun Yan | Tumor-derived Exosomes Drive Immunosuppressive Macrophages in a Pre-metastatic Niche through NF-kB dependent Glycolytic Metabolic Reprogramming | |
 | Katlin Stivers | PhD | Dr. Jay Hoying | Tissue-Resident Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells Modulate Immune Homeostasis in Healthy Adipose | |
 | Chris Harding | PhD | Dr. Nathan Schmidt | Plasmodium Impairs Innate Immunity to Systemic Bacterial Coinfections in Part through Hemozoin-bound Bioactive Molecules | |
 | Mohammad Roky | PhD | Dr. Donald Demuth | Identification and structural characterization of the functional motifs of short fimbria (Mfa1) of P. gingivalis | |
 | Dylan Johnson | PhD | Dr. Igor Lukashevich | Development of Rationally Designed Attenuated Vaccines for Lassa Fever and Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis | |
 | Amanda Pulsifer | PhD | Dr. Matthew Lawrenz | Modulation of Host Innate Immune Cells by Yersinia pestis to Create a Permissive Environment for Replication | |
 | Pradeep Shrestha | PhD | Dr. Haval Shirwan | Transient Display of Chimeric Immunological Ligands on Biological Surfaces as an Effective Strategy to Modulate Innate and Adaptive Immune Responses | |
 | Irina Miralda | PhD | Dr. Silvia Uriarte | The Emerging Oral Pathogen, Filifactor alocis, Disrupts Neutrophil Functions to Promote its Survival and Dysregulate Inflammation | |
| 2019 | |||||
| Juanita Von Dwingelo | PhD | Dr. Yousef Abu Kwaik | The Manipulation of Host Transcription by the AnkH Effector of Legionella | ||
 | Paul Dascani | PhD | Dr. Jun Yan | CD11 B Regulation of B Cell Receptor Signaling In Health And Systemic Lupus Erythatosus | |
 | Ruqaih Alghsham | PhD | Dr.Haribabu Bodduluri | A Distinct Pattern of Sterile Inflammation Induced by Zinc Oxide Nanowires | |
| 2018 | |||||
 | Joshua Denny | PhD | Dr. Nathan Schmidt | Characterizing the Role of the Gut Microbiota during Plasmodium Infection and Antimalarial Treatment | |
 | Neal Bhutiani, MD | PhD | Dr. Nejat Egilmez | “Oral IL-10 and IL-12 Therapy Effectively Treats Colon Adenocarcinoma through Pleiotropic Effects on T lymphocytes and Colon Epithelial Barrier Integrity” | |
 | Tiva Vancleave | PhD | Dr. Matthew Lawrenz | "Characterizing the Virulence Factor YapE in Yersinia pestis" | |
 | Ashley Best | PhD | Dr. Yousef Abu Kwaik | “Nutritional virulence of Legionella pneumophila” | |
 | Nikole Warner | PhD | Dr. Igor Lukashevich | "Involvement of epithelia cells and macrophages in arenavirus-induced pathogenesis” | |
 | John Perpich | PhD | Dr. Yousef Abu Kwaik | "Molecular characterization of an eukaryotic-like F-box protein of Legionella pneumophila" | |
 | Blair Schneider | PhD | Drs. Donald Demuth and James Graham | "Identification and Characterization of Type II Toxin/Anti-toxin Systems in Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans" | |
 | Bindu Hegde | PhD | Dr. Haribabu Bodduluri | “Inflammasome Independent Leukotriene-B4 Production Drives Crystalline Silica-Induced Sterile Inflammation” | |
| 2018 Graduation Ceremony Photos |
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| 2017 | |||||
 | Shuvasree Sengupta | PhD | Drs. Thomas Mitchell and Silvia Uriarte | "Revisiting neutrophil responses to Toll-like receptor 4: influence of ligand structures and cellular environments" | |
 | Cortney Armstrong | PhD | Dr. Silvia Uriarte | "Characterizaiton of Filifactor alocis and its immune evasion strategies employed against human neutrophils" | |
 | Kyle Woodward | PhD | Drs. Haval Shirwan and Esma Yolcu | "Targeting Fas Pathway as an Effective Means of Inducing Tolerance to Pancreatic Islets" | |
| 2016 | |||||
 | Ramy Fodah | PhD | Dr. Jon Warawa | “In vivo monitoring of therapeutic efficacy and virulence profile by bioluminescent Klebsiella pneumoniae” | |
 | Hampartsoum “HB” Barsoumian | PhD | Drs. Haval Shirwan and Esma Yolcu | SA-4-1BBL as a Modulator of Innate, Adaptive, and Regulatory Immunity: Implications for Cancer Prevention and Treatment | |
 | Christopher Fleming | PhD | Dr. Jun Yan | Microbiota Activated CD103+ DCs Stemming from Oral Microbiome Adaptation Specifically Drive γδT17 Proliferation and Systemic Expansion | |
 | Michael Connor | PhD | Dr. Matt Lawrenz | “Identification of host factors required for Yersinia pestis macrophage intracellular survival and the impact on vacuole maturation, acidification and trafficking” | |
 | Gerald "Tad" Dryden, MD | PhD | Dr. Jill Suttles | "Impact of Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a Broad-spectrum Anti-inflammatory, in Controlling Intestinal Factors Contributing to Inflammatory Bowel Disease" | |
| 2015 | |||||
 | Maria Gutierrez | PhD | Dr. Jon Warawa | “Characterization of the Role of the Burkholderia Pseudomallei Type III Secretion System Using in Vivo Imaging” | |
 | Zinal Chheda | Ph.D. | Dr. Hari Bodduluri | "Chemoattractant receptors BLT1 and CXCR3 regulate antitumor immunity by facilitating CD8+ T cell migration into tumors" | |
 | Whitney Weigel | Ph.D. | Dr. Don Demuth | “Functional characterization of A. actinomycetemcomitans QseBC: a bacterial adrenergic receptor and global regulator of virulence” | |
 | Sabrin Albeituni | Ph.D. | Dr. Jun Yan | "IMMUNOMODULATION OF MYELOID-DERIVED SUPPRESSOR CELLS BY PARTICULATE β-GLUCAN IN CANCER" | |
 | Jeremy Camp | Ph.D. | Dr. Colleen Jonsson | "Critical insights into the pathogenesis of clinical isolates of pandemic influenza A(H1N1)2009 viruses in mouse and ferret models” | |
 | Rachael Gerlach | Ph.D. | Dr. Colleen Jonsson | "Early Host Responses and Immune Signaling to 2009 Pandemic Influenza A (H1N1) Viruses in Primary Cell Culture Models” | |
| 2014 | |||||
 | Justin Hutcherson | Ph.D. | Dr. David Scott | "Characterization of the innate response to the RagB protein of Porphyromonas gingivalis" | |
 | Carolyn Roberson | Ph.D. | Dr. Jill Suttles | “Modulation of the ovarian cancer humoral response by tumor-derived exosomes” | |
 | Matt Bruckert | Ph.D. | Dr. Yousef Abu Kwaik | “Modulation of host polyubiquitination by the AnkB F-Box protein of Legionella pneumophila” | |
 | Joey Kolb | Ph.D. | Dr. Thomas Mitchell | "A mechanism for TRIF adaptor-biased signaling by Toll-like receptor 4" | |
 | Courtney Mitchell | PhD | Dr. Jill Suttles | “IL-12 induced modulation of tumor associated myeloid cell inflammatory responsiveness” | |
 | Yanfang "Peipei" Zhu | PhD | Dr. Jill Suttles | “Regulation of macrophage inflammatory signaling pathways by AMP-activated protein kinase” | |
 | Gunes Dinc | Ph.D. | Dr. Haval Shirwan and Dr. Esma Yolcu | “SA-4-1BBL as a platform to develop adjuvant systems for prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines” | |
| 2013 | |||||
  | Anita Chhabra | PhD | Dr. Michele Kosiewicz | “Role For Tolerogenic Gut CD103+ Dendritic Cells in The Protection Of Male Lupus-Prone Mice From Disease” | |
 | Kelly Carroll | PhD | Dr. Jill Suttles | “AMP-activated protein kinase regulation of myeloid antigen presenting cell activity.” | |
 | Arin Zirnheld | PhD | Dr. Pascale Alard | “The involvement of beta-catenin in the inflammatory response leading to autoimmune diabetes development” | |
 | Sobha Bodduluri | PhD | Dr. Venkatakrishna Jala | “Mast cell T-cell interactions in inflammatory chemokine mediated immune surveillance of intestinal cancer |