Recent Alumni (2007-2021)

2019

Parul Chaudhary, MBBS, Ph.D. (June 2019 – June 2020)
Mentor: Richard Wainford, Ph.D.
Scientist at Intellia Therapeutics, Inc.

Christina Ward, Ph.D. (August 2019 – July 2020)
Mentor: Katya Ravid, DSc
Scientist I, Cell Culture Development, Sarepta Therapeutics Inc

2018

Alessandra Fedoce Weaver, Ph.D. (April, 2018 – September 2019)
Mentor: Markus Bachschmid, PhD
Senior Research Investigator, Opix Pharmaceuticals

Joel May Ph.D. (June 2018 – June 2020)
Mentor: Francesca Seta, Ph.D.

Todd Sponholtz, Ph.D. (July 2018 – June 2019)
Mentor: Vasan S. Ramachandran, MD

Cristal Reyna Thompson, Ph.D. (June 2018 – June 2019)
Mentor: Katya Ravid, DSc
Scientific Consultant/Field Application Scientist, Genedata

Beatriz Ferran Perez, Ph.D. (June 2018 –July 2021)
Mentor: Reiko Matsui, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Associate, Vascular Biology, Boston University School of Medicine

Sana Majid, M.D. (June 2018 – July 2021)
Mentor: Naomi Hamburg, M.D.
Postdoctoral Associate, Vascular Biology, Boston University School of Medicine

2017

Nicholas Chavkin, Ph.D. (July 2017- June 2018)
Mentor: Kenneth Walsh, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Associate, University of Virginia

Jason Nasse, Ph.D. (March 2017 – April 2020)
Mentor: Carmela Abraham, Ph.D
Senior Scientist, Viral Communications at Addgene

Vladimir Mastyugin, Ph.D. (June 2017 – June 2020)
Mentor: Victoria Bolotina, Ph.D.
Scientific Contractor

2016

Clive Baveghems, Ph.D. (2016 – 2020)
Mentor: Olga Gursky, Ph.D.
Scientist at Charles River Laboratories

Sonomi Maruyama, Ph.D. (2016-2017)
Mentor: Kenneth Walsh, Ph.D.
Associate Director, Daiichi Sankyo Pharma Development, Edison, NJ

Seng Kah Ng, Ph.D. (July 2016- June 2018)
Mentor: Katya Ravid, DSc
Scientist, Alstem, Richmond, Virginia

Joon W. “Simon” Shim, Ph.D. (February 2016- June 2018)
Mentor: Victoria Bolotina, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Marshall University, Huntington, WV

Erik Taylor, Ph.D. (July 2016 – March 2019)
Mentor: Jim Hamilton, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM

Joshua Walker, Ph.D. (March 2016 – November 2019)
Mentor: Vipul Chitalia, MD, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow at Boston College

Jiyao Zhang, Ph.D. (June 2016-June 2018)
Mentor: Naomi Hamburg, M.D.
Scientific Representative, Stemcell Tech, Cambridge, MA

2015

Olukemi Akintewe, Ph.D. (2015 – 2017)
Mentor: Joyce Wong, Ph.D.
Current Position – Lecturer University of Tampa; Lecturer Hillsborough Community College, Tampa Florida

Deepa Gopal, M.D. (2015 – 2017)
Mentor: Wilson Colucci, M.D.
Current Position – Assistant Professor of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine
AHA Fellow to Faculty Award

2014

Jessica Fry, Ph.D. (2010-2012; 2014-2015)
ADAM9 isoforms in breast cancer cell migration
Mentor: Richard Cohen, M.D.
Current Position – Assistant Professor, Biology, Curry College, Milton MA

Shakun Karki, Ph.D. (2014-2017)
Mentor: Noyan Gokce, M.D.
Current Position – Assistant Professor, KO1 Award, Boston University School of Medicine

Darae Ko, M.D. (2014-2017)
Mentors: Elaine Hylek M.D. and Naomi Hamburg, M.D.
Current Position – PGY 2 Resident, Boston Medical Center

Ron Neppl, Ph.D. (2014-2015)
lncRNA regulation of physiological and pathophysiological growth processes within the cardiovascular system
Mentor: Kenneth Walsh, Ph.D.
Current Position – Instructor of Orthopedic Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Nicole Spartano, Ph.D. (2014-2017)
Mentor: Vasan Ramachandran, M.D.
Current Position – Research Assistant Professor of Medicine, Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health

2013

Jingyan Han, Ph.D. (2013-2014)
The Role of glutaredoxin-1 in Endothelial Barrier Function Regulation and Atherosclerosis
Mentor: Richard Cohen, M.D.
Current Position – Assistant Professor of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine

2012

Pamela Dorsey, Ph.D. (2012- 2014)
Cardioprotective properties of Phenolytic compounds
Mentor: Joseph Vita, M.D. and Naomi Hamburg, M.D.
Current Position – Staff Fellow, Pharmacology (Generic Drugs), Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, FDA

Susan MacLauchlan, Ph.D. (2012-2015)
Induction of antiangiogenic alternative splicing by Wnt5a
Mentor: Kenneth Walsh, Ph.D.
Current Position – Postdoctoral Associate, University of Massachusetts Medical School

Christine Oslowski, Ph.D. (2012-2014)
The relationship between store-operated Calcium entry and ER stress in Beta-Cells
Mentor: Victoria Bolotina, Ph.D.
Current Position – Assistant Professor of Science, Wentworth Institute of Technology, Boston; Social Media Content Specialist for Thermo Fisher

Heidi Schwanz, Ph.D. (2012-2014)
MR imaging of atherosclerotic plaques
Mentor: James Hamilton, Ph.D.
Current Position – Senior Pharmaceutical Scientist – Boston Scientific, Maple Grove, MN

2011

Jessica L. Fetterman, Ph.D. (2011-2014)
Impaired Autophagy in Endothelial Cells from Diabetic Patients
Mentor: Joseph Vita, M.D.
Current Position – Assistant Professor, Boston University School of Medicine

Milka Koupenova- Zamor, Ph.D. (2011- 2014)
The role of platelet TLR-7 in Thrombocytopenia
Mentor: Jane E Freedman, M.D. and Katya Ravid, DSc
Current Position – Instructor of Medicine University of Massachusetts Medical School

Caroline Kramer, Ph.D. (2011- 2014)
Innate Innum Mechanisms Involved in Porphyromonas gingivalis-induced Chronic Inflammation
Mentor: Caroline Genco, Ph.D.
Current Position – Research Associate, Tufts University School of Medicine

Klara Rosenquist, M.D. (2011- 2014)
Clinical Correlation of Cardiometabolic Risk Associated with Upper Body Subcutaneous Far
Mentor: Caroline Fox
Current Position Associate Medical Director, Quality and Process Improvement, North Shore Physicians Group, Danver, MA

Dylan Steen, M.D. (2011-2013)
The Stabilization of Plaques using Darapladib- TIMI 52
Mentor: Stephen Wivott, M.D.
Current Position – Assistant Professor of Medicine, Director, Clinical Trials and Population Health Research, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

Rudy Valentine, Ph.D. (2011- 2014)
Nutrient Excess, Inflammation and Insulin Resistance
Mentor: Neil Ruderman M.D., Ph.D.
Current Position – Assistant Professor, Department of Kinesiology, Iowa State University

2010

Humra Athar, Ph.D. (2010-2013)
Early Events in the assembly of VLDL, the precursor of LDL
Mentor: Jamie McKnight, Ph.D.
Current Position: Scientist III, USDA Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging; Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Massachusetts, Lowell

Antonina Risitano, Ph.D. (2010-2013)
The Role of the Platelet Transcriptome in Regulating Athero-thrombosis
Mentor: Jane Freedman M.D.
Current Position: Researcher, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

2009

Kenneth Barth, Ph.D. (2009-2010)
Innate Immune Response to Porphyromonas gingivalis within endothelial cells
Mentor: Caroline Genco, Ph.D.
Current Position: Instructor of Medicine, Tufts University, Department of Integrative Physiology and Pathobiology

David Chess, Ph.D. (2009 – 2010)
Mitochondrial dynamics and energy efficiency in the pancreatic islet
Mentor: Orian Shirihai, Ph.D.
Current Position: Manager, Technical Operations, BioMotiv, Cleveland, OH

Gladys Ngoh, Ph.D. (2009-2012)
Innate Immune Response to Porphyromonas gingivalis within endothelial cells
Mentor: Kenneth Walsh, Ph.D.
Current Position: Scientist, Janssen R&D, KO1 Award

2008

Melissa Farb, Ph.D. (2008-2010)
Adiposity, Inflammation and vascular dysfunction
Mentor: Noyan Gokce, M.D.
Current Position: Assistant Professor of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine

Duncan Sousa, Ph.D. (2008 – 2011)
Tropomyosin flexibility and muscle force
Mentor : William Lehman, Ph.D.
Current Position: Associate in Research, Johns Hopkins Medical Institute

2007

Lea Beaulieu, Ph.D. (2007-2010)
Inflammatory Modulation of Megakaryocytes and Thrombopoiesis through TLR2 and IL1R
Mentor: Jane Freedman, M.D.
Current Position: Associate Director, Chief of Staff, Platelet Biogenesis, Allston, MA

Hongjie Chen, Ph.D. (2007-2010)
Tumor Necrosis, Factor-alpha Regulation and Vascular Stress
Mentor: Katya Ravid, DSc
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Genetics and Genomic Sciences; Assistant Director of Biochemical Genetics Laboratory at Ichan School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Mustali Dohadwala, M.D. (2007-2009)
Antioxidants, Reactive Oxygen Species and Vascular Function
Mentor: Joseph Vita, M.D.
Current Position: Medical Director and Principal, Heartsafe LLC, North Andover, MA

Eric Essick, Ph.D. (2007-2010)
Oxidative Stress, Cardiomyocytes and the Role of Adiponectin
Mentor: Flora Sam, M.D.
Current Position: Associate Professor, St. Francis University, Juliet, Illinois

Jesse Lugus, Ph.D. (2007-2010)
Adiposity, Inflammation and the Secretome
Mentor: Kenneth Walsh, Ph.D.
Current Position: Research Investigator I, Novartis Institutes

Ivan Luptak, M.D. (2007-2009)
Redox, Aging, and Diastolic Function
Mentor: Wilson Colucci, M.D.
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Boston University School of Medicine; Clinical Cardiology Fellow, Boston Medical Center

Christopher Sucato, Ph.D. (2007-2010)
MRI Imaging of Vulnerable Plaque
Mentor: James Hamilton, Ph.D.
Current Position: Lead Scientist, Head of Biophysical Characterization, Blue Stream Laboratories, Cambridge, MA