Graduates of the Wesleyan University Molecular Biology and Biochemistry PhD program since 2016

 

  • Lorencia Chigweshe (2023)

    Lorencia’s research in Professor Holmes’ lab on histone genetics and chromosome dynamics resulted in a first author publication in G3 Genes, Genomes, Genetics and authorship on an article in Genetics.

    Following graduation Lorencia accepted a postdoctoral research fellow position in Boston at Mass General Hospital's Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center.

 

  • Anna Rogers (2022)

    Anna has a first author paper in Genetics describing the work she conducted in Professor Holmes’ lab, using molecular genetics, microscopy, and bioinformatics to investigate the influence of histone proteins on gene expression and chromosome stability.
    Following her graduation from Wesleyan, Anna took a postdoctoral research scientist position at the Earlham Institute in Norwich, England, where she studies mechanisms of DNA replication and their role in preserving genome integrity.

 

  • Joyce Noble (2020)

    Joyce published a first author paper in PLoS ONE describing her work conducted in Professor Lane’s lab on olfactory receptor gene regulation in sensory neurons. Joyce is also an author on an article in Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience.
    Following her PhD defense Joyce moved to the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, where she joined Björn Reinius’s Lab and is investigating the regulatory factors involved in X-chromosome hyperactivation during embryonic development.

 

  • Brandon Case (September 2020)

    Brandon conducted research in Professor Hingorani’s lab, focusing on the biochemistry of DNA repair. He published four papers, including a first author paper in Nucleic Acids Research. 
    Following his PhD, Brandon joined Johannes Walter’s lab at Harvard University, and is investigating mechanisms of genome maintenance, with a focus on repair of DNA damage.

 

  • Tithi Banerjee (2019)

    Tithi was an author on four papers, including first author publications in Molecular Microbiology and Journal of Biological Chemistry, based on her work on protein secretion in E. coli conducted in Professor Oliver’s lab.
    Tithi took a postdoctoral position in Joel Belasco’s lab at the Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine (New York University) where she is researching fundamental mechanisms of post-transcriptional gene regulation.

 

  • Rutesh Vyas (2019)

    Rutesh’s research in Professor Lane’s lab on the chromatin modifying factors that regulate odorant receptor gene expression in developing sensory neurons led to a first author publication in Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience; Rutesh will also be an author on a forthcoming article from the Lane Lab.
    Rutesh moved to a post-doctoral fellowship in Chay Kuo’s lab at the Duke University School of Medicine, where he is investigating new sources of neurogenesis in the adult brain.

 

  • Sudipta Lahiri (2018)

    Sudipta’s work on the structural basis for DNA mismatch repair in Professor Mukerji’s lab resulted in a first author publication in Biophysical Journal; a collaboration with Professor Oliver’s group led to an authorship on an article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
    Sudipta is pursuing a post-doctoral fellowship in the Jensen Lab at the Yale School of Medicine, investigating the links between DNA repair and cancer biology.

 

  • Katherine Kaus (2018)

    Katie pursued her PhD in Professor Olson’s lab on the structure of bacterial toxins, earning authorship on four research papers, including first author publications in Journal of Molecular Biology and Journal of Biochemistry.
    Katherine went on to a post-doctoral fellowship in Y. Whitney Yin’s lab in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Texas Medical Branch, where she conducts structural and functional studies of antiviral drugs.

 

  • Bo Song (2018)

    Bo studied the biochemistry of DNA replication and repair in Professor Hingorani’s lab; he published two studies, including a first author article in Journal of Biochemistry.
    Bo pursued a post-doctoral fellowship at Yale University, working in Anna Pyle’s lab on the impact of RNA architecture and dynamics on the life of the cell.

 

  • Lina Yishehak (2018)

    Lina studied the initiation of recombination in meiosis in Professor MacQueen’s lab, and described her work in a first author article in G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics.
    Lina accepted a position as clinical trial project assistant at PPD Pharmaceuticals in San Diego, California, supporting trials for breast cancer, solid tumors, coronary artery disease, and HIV infection.

 

  • Zeliang Zheng (2018)

    Zeliang pursued his PhD under the guidance of Professor Oliver, publishing two articles, including a first author article in the Journal of Biological Chemistry describing his work on protein secretion in E. coli.
    Zeliang moved to the National Institutes of Health, pursuing research on cancer immune-therapy research in Ira Pastan’s lab at the National Cancer Institute.

 

  • Yan Li (2018)

    Li Yan published four articles, including a first author article in International Journal of Molecular Sciences, describing her work on the structure and dynamics of DNA repair proteins, conducted with Professor Mukerji.
    Following her PhD at Wesleyan, Li Yan accepted an internship with the United Nations Education Program (UNEP) in Switzerland, and subsequently took a position as project manager at the biotechnology company HitGen, Inc.

 

  • Bharat Lakhani (2017)

    Bharat conducted collaborative research under the guidance of Professors Mukerji and Professor Hingorani, as well as Professors Thayer and Beveridge from the Chemistry Department. His research was focused on computational modeling of allosteric mechanisms, and resulted in three publications, including first author papers in Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics and The Journal of Physical Chemistry.
    Following his PhD Bharat took a position as a data science consultant at Wolfram Research, in Los Angeles, California.

 

  • Swastik De (2016)

    Swastik conducted research in the structure and function of bacterial toxin proteins in Professor Olson’s lab, publishing five papers, including first author articles in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, PLoS Pathogens, and Journal of Biological Chemistry.
    Following his PhD Swastik accepted a post-doctoral fellowship position in Nobel Prize winner Thomas Steitz’s lab at Yale University, where he studied the structural basis for the initiation of transcription, then moved to New York City to conduct research with Nobel Prize Winners Joachim Frank and Martin Chalfie.

 

  • Seda Kilinc Avsaroglu (2016)

    Seda conducted research on the nuclear organization of odorant receptor gene loci in developing olfactory sensory neurons. Her work resulted in two first-author publications in Molecular Cellular Neuroscience and Nucleus.
    Seda took a postdoctoral position in Andrei Goga’s lab at the University California at San Francisco (UCSF) where she is working on how tumors alter the behavior of surrounding cells to promote their own growth.