PhD Students
Marcel G. Brown, MD
Orthopaedic Surgery Physician Scientist Program, 2022 - 2023
Year Matriculated: 2022
Email: marcebro@wakehealth.edu
Education: MD, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, 2022
BA, Chemistry, Williams College, 2015
Research Mentor: Xue Ma, MD, PhD (Orthopaedics)
Research Interests: Regenerative medicine and applications of amniotic fluid stem cells; Degenerative joint disease; arthroplasty and periprosthetic joint infections; Peripheral nerve injury and repair
Justin Campbell
Second Year PhD Student, 2022 - 2023
Year Matriculated: 2021
Email: jdcampbe@wakehealth.edu
Education: Bachelor of Science Biology; Minor in Pre-Health;
Winston-Salem State University
Associate in Applied Science; Major in Biotechnology;
Associate in Applied Science; Major in Nanotechnology
Forsyth Technical Community College
Research Mentor: Thomas Shupe, PhD (WFIRM); Frank Marini, PhD (Cancer Biology)
Research Interests: Cell biology; Virology; Tissue engineering; Regenerative medicine
Samuel Carmichael II, MD
Third Year PhD Candidate, 2022 - 2023
Year Matriculated: 2022
Email: scarmich@wakehealth.edu
Education: MD, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, 2013
Research Mentor: Anthony Atala, MD (WFIRM)
Research Interests: Shock resuscitation; Intra-Abdominal adhesions
Tameka Dean, DO, MS
Orthopedic Physician Scientist Program, 2022 - 2023
Year Matriculated: 2021
Email: tamdean@wakehealth.edu
Education: Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
Doctorate of Osteopathic Medicine, 2021
MS, Biomedical Science, 2021
Research Mentor: Xue Ma, PhD (Orthopedics)
Research Interests: Ischemia-reperfusion injury; skeletal muscle physiology
Hope Didier
Second Year PhD Student, 2022 - 2023
Year Matriculated: 2021
Email: hdidier@wakehealth.edu
Education: Kennesaw State University; BS, Molecular & Cellular Biology, 2021
BA, Dance, 2021
Research Mentor: Karen Haas, PhD: Microbiology & Immunology
Research Interests: Cancer immunology; Translational science; B lymphocyte response/differentiation; Tumor associated carbohydrate antigens; Anti-Tumor immune response
Maryssa Ellison
Second Year PhD Student, 2022 - 2023
Year Matriculated: 2021
Email: maelliso@wakehealth.edu
Education: Bachelor of Science, Biology Major; Molecular Biology & Biotechnology concentration; Palm Beach Atlantic University, 2016
Research Mentor: Anthony Atala, MD and Victoria Weis, PhD (Regenerative Medicine)
Research Interests: Necrotizing enterocolitis; hPCS therapy; intestinal stem cell niche; paracrine signaling; immunomodulation; pediatrics; translational science; regenerative medicine
Aya Abdel Raouf El-Taibany, MD
Third Year PhD Student, 2022 - 2023
Year Matriculated: 2021
Email: aeltaiba@wakehealth.edu
Education: MD, School of Medicine, Alexandria University, 2008
Internship, School of Medicine, Alexandria University, 2010
MS, Medical Genetics, Alexandria University, 2016
Research Mentor: Michael Seeds, PhD (WFIRM) and Anthony Atala, MD (WFIRM)
Research Interests: Neurodegenerative; Neuroimmunological; Blood brain barrier; Molecular genetics; Drug discovery and translational research
Lindsey Farris
Forth Year PhD Candidate, 2022 - 2023
Year Matriculated: 2019
Email: lfarris@wakehealth.edu
Education: BS Biology & Chemistry
Research Mentor: Leslie Poole, PhD (Biochemistry)
Research Interests: Cancer therapeutics & translational medicine
Alexandria Harrison
Eighth Year PhD Candidate, 2022 - 2023
Year Matriculated: 2015
Email: alexharr@wakehealth.edu
Education: BS, Biology, Winston-Salem State University, 2014
Research Mentor: Donald McClain, MD, PhD (Endocrinology & Metabolism)
Research Interests: Diabetes; Obesity; Metabolism; Dietary iron; Hypoxia
Brendan Johnson, DVM
Forth Year PhD Candidate, 2022 - 2023
Year Matriculated: 2020
Email: bjjohnso@wakehealth.edu
Education: DVM, University of Missouri, 2018
Research Mentor: Mark Cline, DVM, PhD (Pathology, Comparative Medicine)
Research Interests: Comparative medicine; Cancer biology; Radiation oncology; Cognition and memory
Sudarshan Krishnamurthy
Second Year PhD Student, MD/PhD dual degree program, 2022 - 2023
Year Matriculated: 2022
Email: sukrishn@wakehealth.edu
Education: BS Biomedical Sciences, University of South Florida, 2019
Research Mentor: Dr. Samuel Lockhart (IM - Gerontology) and Dr. Trey Bateman
Research Interests: Aging; Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias; Cardiometabolic index; Social deprivation; Health disparities; Health equity
Caroline Kuczynski
Forth Year PhD Candidate, 2022 - 2023
Year Matriculated: 2019
Email: ckuczyns@wakehealth.edu
Education: BS, Biophysics with Honors, Wake Forest University, 2018
Research Mentor: Graça Almeida-Porada, MD, PhD (WFIRM)
Research Interests: Genetic hematologic disorders (particularly sickle cell anemia and other hemoglobinopathies), adeno-associated virus (AAV)-based gene therapy; prenatal gene therapy; and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations
Hannah Lamond
Second Year PhD Student, 2022 - 2023
Year Matriculated: 2021
Email: hlamond@wakehealth.edu
Education: Bachelors of Science; Biochemistry/Molecular Biology Major;
Writing Minor; Loyola University Maryland, 2020
Research Mentor: Dr. Ellie Rahbar, PhD (Biomedical Engineering)
Research Interests: Inflammation; Immunology; Liver; Polyunsaturated; Fatty acids
Kendall Langsten, DVM
Forth Year PhD Candidate, 2022 - 2023
Year Matriculated: 2019
Email: klangste@wakehealth.edu
Education: DVM, University of Missouri, 2017
MS in Biomedical Sciences, University of Missouri, 2017
Residency in Anatomic Pathology, University of Minnesota, 2020
Research Mentor: Bethany Kerr, PhD (Cancer Biology)
Research Interests: Cancer biology; Pathophysiology
Daniel Lara, MD
Orthopedic Physician Scientist Program, 2022 - 2023
Year Matriculated: 2017
Email: dlara@wakehealth.edu
Education: BS, University of Notre Dame, 2011
MD, Creighton University School of Medicine, 2016
Research Mentor: Thomas Smith, PhD (Orthopedic Surgery)
Research Interests: Neuromuscular junction/peripheral nerve trauma and regeneration
Sumaiya Nazli
Sixth Year PhD Candidate, 2021 - 2022
Year Matriculated: 2017
Email: snazli@wakehealth.edu
Education: Bachelors of Science; Biology Major, Math Minor; Salem College, 2015
Research Mentor: Michael Olivier, PhD (Molecular Medicine)
Research Interests: Plasma proteomics; Mass spectrometry; Plasma biomarkers for biological disease
Emma Parsons
Third Year PhD Student, 2022 - 2023
Year Matriculated: 2020
Email: ecparson@wakehealth.edu
Education: BA Biology and Sociology; Minor in Chemistry, Wake Forest University, 2018
Research Mentor: Anthony Atala, MD
Research Interests: Immunology; Translational science; Osteoarthritis; Immunomodulatory cell-based treatment; Cellular and molecular mechanisms
Chirayu Patel
Third Year PhD Candidate, 2022 - 2023
Year Matriculated: 2020
Email: cpatel@wakehealth.edu
Education: MS Cancer Biology, Wake Forest, 2019
BS Cell and Molecular Biology, Appalachian State, 2014
Research Mentor: Jeff Willey, PhD (Radiology Biology)
Research Interests: The study of pharmaceutical countermeasures and artificial gravity as preventative measures of spaceflight induced musculoskeletal degradation on the International Space Station. The development and use of hardware to test interplanetary travel mission conditions at the NASA Space Radiation Lab.
Patrick Ralph
Third Year MD/PhD dual degree student, 2022 - 2023
Year Matriculated: MD 2019, PhD 2021
Email: pralph@wakehealth.edu
Education: BS Biology, William Peace University
Research Mentor: Sang Jin Lee, PhD (WFIRM)
Research Interests: Tissue engineering; Model development; Neurobiology; Regenerative medicine; Neurodegeneration; Behavioral neurology; Neuropsychiatry
Kaitlyn Reno
Second Year PhD Student, 2022 - 2023
Year Matriculated: 2021
Email: kreno@wakehealth.edu
Education: BS Biology, Chemistry Minor, Virginia Tech, 2021
Research Mentor: Jeff Willey, PhD (Radiation Oncology)
Research Interests: Identifying novel biomarkers of bone damage due to radiation therapy; Radiation Oncology; Identifying biomarkers of progressive fibrosis and pneumonitis in NSCLC
Mackenzie Fitzpatrick
Third Year PhD Candidate, 2022 - 2023
Year Matriculated: 2020
Email: mackrobe@wakehealth.edu
Education: BS Neuroscience, Duke University, 2019
Research Mentor: Leah Solberg Woods, PhD (Molecular Medicine)
Research Interests: Genetics; Translational science; Obesity; Diabetes
William Shane Sills, DVM
Fifth Year PhD Candidate, 2022 - 2023
Year Matriculated: 2019
Email: wsills@wakehealth.edu
Education: BS, Zoology, NC State University; DVM, NC State University
Residency, Anatomic Pathology, Cornell University
Research Mentor: Mark Cline, DVM, PhD, DACVP (Pathology-Comparative Medicine)
Research Interests: Immunology and pathology; Immune response to tumors and cancer immunotherapy; Cancer genetics and genomics; Long-term effects of radiation
Maggie Smith
Third Year PhD Candidate, 2022 - 2023
Year Matriculated: 2020
Email: margsmit@wakehealth.edu
Education: BS Biology, Appalachian State University, 2018
Research Mentor: Fei Xing, PhD (Cancer Biology)
Research Interests: Immune checkpoint inhibitors; Hyperprogression; Lung cancer
Alexandria Szalanczy
Fifth Year PhD Candidate, 2022 - 2023
Year Matriculated: 2018
Email: aszalanc@wakehealth.edu
Education: BS Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Centre College
Research Mentor: Leah Solberg Woods, PhD (Molecular Medicine)
Research Interests: Genetics; Obesity; Stress; Rodent models
Yuezhu Wang
Second year PhD Student, 2022 - 2023
Year Matriculated: 2021
Email: yuewang@wakehealth.edu
Education: Master of Science in Genomic and Bioinformatics, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2019; Bachelor of Medicine, Soochow University, 2018
Research Mentor: Fei Xing, PhD (Cancer Biology)
Research Interests: Tumor immunotherapy; Cancer genomics; Genetic mutation