Alumni & Giving
Make a pledge to support our valuable work. Whether you choose to make a one-time gift, an annual gift, a bequest or legacy gift, you will help make a lasting impact on the lives of millions.
Philanthropic support from alumni and friends allows the MSTP to strengthen our research and educational programs. When you support us, you help advance scientific discovery in foundational and translational research, provide high-quality mentorship to students and trainees and nurture an inclusive community committed to excellence and opportunity.
Our current priorities include enhancing professional development opportunities for students, improving shared research facilities and recruiting new faculty to complement our current research goals.
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Alumni Resources
Alumni
Eric G. Engelbrecht
May 2026
| Residency | Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Internal Medicine / ABIM Research Path |
|---|---|
| Graduate Department | Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics |
| PhD Mentor | Dr. Corey T. Watson |
| Undergraduate Degree | BA Molecular Biology, 2014 Kenyon College, Gambier, OH |
Dana Oakes
May 2026
| Residency | Baylor College of Medicine, Child Neurology / Neuroscience |
|---|---|
| Graduate Department | Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology |
| PhD Mentor | Dr. William Guido |
| Undergraduate Degree | BS Biology and Neuroscience, with minor in Medical Sociology, 2018 Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis, IN |
Cassandra Woolley, PhD
May 2025
| Residency | Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Pediatrics |
|---|---|
| Graduate Department | Microbiology and Immunology |
| Dissertation Title | "Illuminating under-appreciated mechanisms of receptor regulation in human lymphocytes" |
| PhD Mentor | Dr. Thomas C. Mitchell |
| Undergraduate Degree | BS Biology, 2018 University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY |
| Awards | Graduated Cum Laude, AOA |
Evan Tracy, PhD
May 2024
| Residency | Johns Hopkins University, Internal Medicine Combined Physician Scientist Training Program |
|---|---|
| Graduate Department | Physiology |
| Dissertation Title | "Stromal Vascular Fraction Restores Vasodilatory Function By Reversing Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Oxidative Stress In Aging-Induced Coronary Microvascular Disease" |
| PhD Mentor | Dr. Amanda Jo LeBlanc |
| Undergraduate Degree | BS Biology, 2015 Linfield College, McMinnville, OR |
Jordan Noe, MD, PhD
May 2023
| Residency | University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, General Surgery Residency Program, Preliminary |
|---|---|
| Graduate Department | Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics |
| Dissertation Title | "Metabolic-Epigenetic Regulation of Macrophage Polarization" |
| PhD Mentor | Dr. Robert A. Mitchell |
| F30 AWARD | National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, Project Title: "The role of MIF in mitochondrial metabolism and M2-TAM polarization." |
| Undergraduate Degree | BS Biology, minor in Chemistry, 2013 University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT |
Anne Geller, MD, PhD
May 2023
| Residency | Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, Urology Residency Program |
|---|---|
| Graduate Department | Microbiology and Immunology |
| Dissertation Title | "Harnessing the Power of Trained Immunity in the Setting of Pancreatic Cancer: A Novel Mechanism of Immune Trafficking and Tumor Control" |
| PhD Mentor | Dr. Jun Yan |
| Intramural Research Fellowship | National Institutes of Health, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Bethesda, MD, 2014-2015 |
| Graduate Degree | MS Biomedical Science, 2014 Tufts University, Medford, MA |
| Undergraduate Degree | BS Biomedical Science in Engineering, minor in Engineering Entrepreneurship, 2013 University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA |
George Wei, MD, PhD
May 2023
| Residency | Emory University, Atlanta, GA, Neurosurgery Residency Training Program |
|---|---|
| Graduate Department | Pharmacology and Toxicology |
| Dissertation Title | "Oligodendrocyte Responses after Spinal Cord Injury" |
| PhD Mentors | Dr. Michal Hetman and Dr. Scott Whittemore |
| Undergraduate Degree | BA Chemistry, 2014 Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ |
Desmond Harrell-Stewart, MD, PhD
May 2022
| Residency | University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD Internal Medicine Research Pathway |
|---|---|
| Graduate Department | Pharmacology and Toxicology |
| Dissertation Title | "A Novel Role for RASSF1A in the Regulation of Ras Activation" |
| PhD Mentor | Dr. Geoffrey Clark |
| Undergraduate Degree | BS Biochemistry, minor in Biology, 2014 Xavier University of Louisiana, New Orleans, LA |
Samantha Morrissey, MD, PhD
May 2022
| Residency | University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC Internal Medicine/Pediatrics Residency Program |
|---|---|
| Graduate Department | Microbiology and Immunology |
| Dissertation Title | "Tumor-derived Exosomes Drive Immunosuppressive Macrophages in a Pre-metastic Niche through NF-kB dependent Glycolytic Metabolic Reprogramming" |
| PhD Mentor | Dr. Jun Yan |
| Undergraduate Degree | BA Biology, minor in Chemistry, 2013 University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA |
Peter Campbell, MD, PhD
May 2021
| Residency | Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX Child Neurology, receiving one of two spots, with one year of basic neuroscience research |
|---|---|
| Graduate Department | Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology |
| Dissertation Title | "Development, form and function of intrathalamic circuits" |
| PhD Mentor | Dr. William Guido |
| F30 AWARD | National Institutes of Health, National Eye Institute, Project Title: "Formation and Maturation of Projections Between Thalamic Reticular Nucleus and Dorsal Lateral Geniculate Nucleus" |
| Undergraduate Degree | BA Independent Study in Neuroscience, 2006 Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA |
Douglas Saforo, MD, PhD
May 2021
| Residency | Emory University, Atlanta, GA Pediatrics Residency Training Program |
|---|---|
| Graduate Department | Pharmacology and Toxicology |
| Dissertation Title | "Characterizing the role of extracellular matrix in non-small cell lung carcinoma metastasis using a 3D microenvironment mimetic in-vitro culture system" |
| PhD Mentor | Dr. Leah Siskind and Dr. Levi Beverly |
| Undergraduate Degree | BA Biology, 2013 University of Louisville, Louisville, KY |
Heather Clair, MD, PhD
May 2019
Dr. Clair is a board-certified family medicine physician who joined Flagler Health and is currently associated with Primary Care at Julington Creek in St. Johns, Florida.
| Residency | Orange Park Medical Center, Orange Park, FL, Family Medicine, 2022 |
|---|---|
| Graduate Department | Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics |
| Dissertation Title | "PCB-Associated Steatohepatitis and the Role of Xenobiotic Receptors" |
| PhD Mentor | Dr. Matthew Cave |
| F30 AWARD | National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Project Title: "Xenobiotic Receptors Modulate PCB-induced Steatohepatitis" |
| Graduate Degree | MS Animal Science, Biotechnology, 2001 University of Georgia, Athens, GA |
| Undergraduate Degree | BS Animal Science, Dairy Science, 1999 University of Georgia, Athens, GA |
Venkat Ramakrishnan, MD, PhD
May 2018
| Fellowship | Pediatric Urology Fellowship, Boston Children's Hospital Harvard University Medical School, Boston, MA |
|---|---|
| Residency | Harvard University, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA - Urology Residency Program. Dr. Ramakrishnan was selected to be one of the 2022-2023 chief residents and will stay for an additional year to fulfill that role. |
| Graduate Department | Department of Physiology |
| Dissertation Title | "Development of a Vascularized, Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Liver-Tissue Mimic for Therapeutic Applications" |
| PhD Mentor | Dr. Nolan Boyd |
| Fulbright Research Fellow | University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland, 2010-2011 |
| Undergraduate Degree | BS Biology (Cellular Physiology), 2010 University of Louisville, Louisville, KY |
Jessica Mezzanotte Sharpe, MD, PhD
May 2018
| Fellowship | Hematology/Medical Oncology Fellowship, Department of Medicine Division of Hematology/Oncology. Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN |
|---|---|
| Residency | The Ohio State University Medical Center, Columbus, OH, Internal Medicine Residency Program. Dr. Sharpe was selected to be one of the 2021-2022 chief residents and stayed for an additional year to fulfill that role. 2018-2022 |
| Graduate Department | Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics |
| Dissertation Title | "The discovery of a novel, Ras-mediated NORE1A/PMLIV tumor suppressor complex" |
| PhD Mentor | Dr. Geoffrey Clark |
| Undergraduate Degree | BA Biology, minors in Chemistry and English, 2010 Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN |
Huy T. Le, MD, PhD
May 2016
| Faculty Appointment | Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hospital Medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE |
|---|---|
| Residency | University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska - Internal Medicine Pediatrics Residency Program, 2020 |
| Graduate Department | Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology |
| Dissertation Title | "Biophysical and Computational Investigation into G-Quadruplex Structural Polymorphism and Interaction with Small Molecules." |
| PhD Mentor | Dr. John Trent |
| Undergraduate Degree | BS Chemistry, minor in Biology; University of Louisville, Louisville, KY |
Michael J. Zhang, MD, PhD
May 2016
| Fellowship | University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN - Physician Scientist Training Program Fellowship Dr. Zhang was awarded a NIH F32 training grant and will spend 3 years in the lab before finishing his fellowship in 2024. He was also awarded an American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellowship Grant in 2021. |
|---|---|
| Residency | University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN - Physician Scientist Training Program - two years of clinical training (short track) as an Internal Medicine resident. |
| Graduate Department | Department of Physiology and Biophysics |
| Dissertation Title | "Inflammation-resolving Lipid Mediators Promote Revascularization to Enhance Wound Healing" |
| PhD Mentors | Dr. Aruni Bhatnagar and Dr. Matthew Spite |
| Undergraduate Degree | BS Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, minor in Global Studies University of California, Los Angeles, CA |
Alex Belshoff, MD, PhD
May 2015
Dr. Belshoff joined Aloha Urology in Honolulu, Hawaii in August 2021.
| Residency | Loyola University Medical Center, Chicago, IL - Urology Residency Program, 2021 |
|---|---|
| Graduate Department | Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology |
| Dissertation Title | "Probing the Anti-cancer Mechanism of Selenite: a Metabolic Approach" |
| PhD Mentor | Dr. Teresa Fan |
| Undergraduate Degree | BS Chemistry, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY |
Alden Klarer, MD, PhD
May 2015
| Faculty Appointment | Assistant Professor, University of Louisville, Department of Radiation Oncology, Louisville, KY Dr. Klarer specializes in the treatment of breast malignancies and is involved in a number of investigator-initiated and cooperative group clinical trials. Her treatment expertise and clinical interests includes intensity modulated radiation therapy, cardiac-sparing radiation therapy, stereotactic body radiotherapy and radiobiology |
|---|---|
| Residency | University of Louisville, Department of Radiation Oncology, Radiation Oncology Residency, 2020 University of Louisville, Louisville, KY for preliminary year in Internal Medicine, 2016 |
| Graduate Department | Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology |
| Dissertation Title | "6-Phosphofructo-2-Kinase Inhibition Induces Autophagy as a Survival Mechanism" |
| PhD Mentors | Dr. Steven Ellis and Dr. Sucheta Telang |
| F30 AWARD | Grant award from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Project title: "Y-family DNA Polymerases and Cellular Responses to Benzo[a]pyrene" |
| Undergraduate Degree | BS Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 2004 |
Francesca Rinaldo, MD, PhD
May 2015
Dr. Rinaldo is an Affiliated Scholar at the Stanford Clinical Excellence Research Center (CERC) and Senior Vice President of Clinical Product and Innovation at Sharecare. In her role at Sharecare, she is the Chief Medical Officer of CareLinx.
| Fellowship | Stanford University, Stanford, CA - Clinical Excellence Research Center (CERC) Fellowship 2017-2018 Dr. Rinaldo put her surgical residency on hold to accept a year long fellowship as a Design Fellow. CERC is a value-based healthcare "think-tank" with a focus on using scientific evidence to design less costly approaches and innovating models of healthcare delivery to improve the quality of care and safely and significantly reduce costs. Upon completing the fellowship, she remained at CERC as an Associate Director for the Healthcare Design Fellowship and served as a Clinical Lead for the Stanford CERC Partnership for AI Assisted Care (PAC). At PAC, she co-led a team of computer scientists and clinicians in a study examining the application of computer vision deep-learning algorithms to detect patterns of mobility in critically ill patients and how these patterns drive post-ICU clinical outcomes. This work was published in Nature Digital Medicine in March 2019. |
|---|---|
| Residency | Stanford University, Division of General Surgery, Stanford, CA - Accelerated Surgeon Scientist Track Dr. Rinaldo finished her first two years of surgical residency and was voted the Consult Resident of the Year by her surgical attendings at the end of year two. |
| Graduate Department | Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology |
| Dissertation Title | "Investigating the Mechanism of Action of XB05: A Novel Small Molecule with Anticancer Properties" |
| PhD Mentor | Dr. Paula Bates |
| Undergraduate Degree | BA Pre-Med, Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL |
Alan Brooks, MD, PhD
May 2014
Dr. Brooks is currently associated with Norton Healthcare, Norton Heart and Vascular Institute, Cardiology Program, Louisville, KY.
| Fellowship | University of Rochester, Rochester, New York Cardiovascular Diseases: Fellowship in Research, 2021; Fellowship in Cardiovascular Disease, 2020 |
|---|---|
| Residency | University of Rochester, Strong Memorial Hospital, Rochester, NY - Physician Scientist Training Program, Internal Medicine Research Path, 2016 |
| Graduate Department | Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology |
| Dissertation Title | "Unfolded Protein Response Signaling in Myocardial Response to Ischemia" |
| PhD Mentor | Dr. Aruni Bhatnagar |
| Graduate Degree | ME Chemical Engineering, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY |
| Undergraduate Degree | BS Chemical Engineering, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, 2003 |
Lacey Jo Gunn, MD, PhD
May 2014
| Faculty Appointment | Assistant Professor, University of Louisville, Department of Family and Geriatric Medicine, Louisville, KY |
|---|---|
| Residency | University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, Department of Family and Geriatric Medicine, 2017 |
| Graduate Department | Department of Microbiology and Immunology |
| Dissertation Title | "Effect of Complement C5a in Tumor Progression and the Local Tumor Microenvironment" |
| PhD Mentor | Dr. Jun Yan |
| Undergraduate Degree | BA Biology and Chemistry, Earlham College, Richmond, IN |
Courtney Jetun Mitchell, MD, PhD
May 2014
| Faculty Appointment | Assistant Professor, University of Mississippi Medical Center, School of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maternal and Fetal Medicine Fellowship Faculty, Jackson, MS. Dr. Mitchell's research interests include: hypertensive disorders in pregnancy, maternal mortality and morbidity, barriers to care in resource poor areas, OB quality improvement. |
|---|---|
| Fellowship | Maternal Fetal Medicine Fellowship, Duke University School of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2021 |
| Residency | University of Alabama Medical Center, Birmingham, AL Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency, 2018 |
| Graduate Department | Department of Microbiology and Immunology |
| Dissertation Title | "IL12 Induced Modifications of Tumor Infiltrating Macrophages" |
| PhD Mentors | Dr. Robert Stout and Dr. Jill Suttles |
| F31 AWARD | Grant award from the National Cancer Institute, Project title: "Functional Conversion of Tumor Associated Macrophages via Cytokine Therapy" |
| Undergraduate Degree | BS Biology, Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta, GA, 2007 |
Adrianna Henson Masters, MD, PhD
May 2014
| Faculty Appointment | Assistant Professor, University of Louisville, Department of Radiation Oncology, Louisville, KY |
|---|---|
| Residency | Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, NC for Radiation Oncology University of Louisville, Louisville, KY for Preliminary Year Internal Medicine, 2015 |
| Graduate Department | Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology |
| Dissertation Title | "Molecular Bases of Inherited Bone Marrow Failures: Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome and Diamond Blackfan Anemia" |
| PhD Mentor | Dr. Steven Ellis |
| Undergraduate Degree | BS Chemistry, minor in Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, 2005 |