Graduates

Ph.D.'s

As of August 2007 40 graduates have earned the Ph.D. or M.D.-Ph.D. in Neuroscience:

1. Dr. Denise Lokhorst in May of 1992: The Effects of Ethanol on Cultured Serotonergic Neurons. Her thesis advisor was Dr. Mary Druse-Manteuffel of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry. After graduating, Denise began a post-doctoral position in the laboratory of Dr. Martin Shankland of the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, Harvard Medical School. She is now a Clinical Research Associate at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
2. Dr. Renata Maslowski-Cobuzzi in January of 1993: Effects of Dopamine and Dopaminergic Agents on Neuronal Activity of the Ventral Pallidum and Substantia Innominata. Her thesis advisor was Dr. T. Celeste Napier of the Department of Pharmacology. After graduating Renata obtained her current position as an Information Scientist with the Astra-Merck Pharmaceutical Company.
3. Dr. Ralph Murry in January of 1994: In Vitro Investigations of the ACTH_4-9 Analog, ORG2766. His thesis advisor was Dr. Jerry McLane of the Hines VA Rehabilitation Engineering and Research Program and Loyola's Department of Cellular and Molecular Biochemistry. After graduating Ralph was a postdoctoral fellowship in the laboratory of Dr. Robert E. Marc at the Moran Eye Center, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Utah. He is now working for the Jesse Lair Company in Utah designing marketing plans and consumer research projects.
4. Dr. Hisham Mostafa in May of 1994: Immunocytochemical and Ultrastructural Investigation of Canine Cardiac Ganglia. His thesis advisor was Dr. E.J. Neafsey of the Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology & Anatomy. After graduating Hisham began a postdoctoral fellowship in the laboratory of Dr. Robert Wurster in Loyola's Physiology Department. He is now in Egypt.
5. Dr. Joseph Costello in January of 1995: The Role of Cytosine Methylation and Chromatin Structure in the Regulation of the O⁶-methylguanine-DNA Methyltransferase (MGMT) gene in Human Glioma Cells. His thesis advisor was Dr. Russell Pieper of the Departments of Medicine and Pharmacology. After graduating, Joe took a postdoctoral fellowship in the laboratory of Dr. Webster Cavinee at the Ludwig Cancer Institute in La Jolla, CA. He is now an Assistant Professor in Residence in the Department of Neurological Surgery's Brain Tumor Research Center at the University of California San Francisco.
6. Dr. Mette Schulz in January of 1995: Integration of Fetal Neocortical Transplants with the Damaged Host Brain last fall. Her thesis advisor was Dr. Anthony Castro of Cell Biology, Neurobiology & Anatomy. Mette is now a resident in neurosurgery at the University Hospital in Odense in Denmark.
7. Dr. Thomas Corso in May of 1995: Neuronal Degeneration in Rat Olfactory and Cortical Brain Regions Following Subchronic Ethanol Intoxication. His thesis advisor was Dr. Michael Collins of Biochemistry. Tom took a post-doctoral position with Dr. John Olney at Washington University. From 1997-1999 Tom was an Assistant Professor of Biology at Lander University in South Carolina. Tom is now an Associate Professor of Biochemistry at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine.
8. Dr. Jung-Ae Kim in May of 1995: The Effects of Ethanol on the Developing Serotonergic Neurons. Her thesis advisor was Dr. Mary Manteuffel of Biochemistry. Jung-Ae has returned to Korea, where she is now (1997) an assistant professor in the College of Pharmacy at Yeungnam University, Kyongsan.
9. Dr. Christopher Willson in January of 1996: Effect of Neurotrophic Factors on Cholinergic Neurons in the Septo-Hippocampal Pathway of Normal and AF64A Treated Rats. His thesis advisor was Dr. Israel Hanin of Pharmacology. After graduating Chris took a post-doctoral position at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. In January of 1998 he became a Post-doctoral Associate at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis at the University of Miami in Florida. He subsequently moved with his advisor to the Neurological Surgery Department at the University of Louisville in Kentucky working on spinal cord injury and regeneration. He is now Assistant Technology Manager in the Office of Technology Development at the University of Louisville.
10. Dr. Debra Gearhart in May of 1997: "N-methylation of beta-carbolines as a potential bioactivation route in Parkinson's disease. Her thesis advisor was Dr. Michael Collins of Biochemistry. Debra is now a Research Assistant in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta.
11. Dr. Randy Jensen in January of 1998: Growth inhibition of meningioma cells by calcium channel antagonists. After graduating Randy took a position as an Associate Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Utah Medical School.
12. Dr. Poonam Arora Kuruganti in May of 1998: Role of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) in Brain Tumor Growth. Her thesis advisor was Dr. Robert Wurster of Physiology. After graduating Poonam took a post-doctoral position studying multiple sclerosis in Dr. Raymond A. Sobel's laboratory in the Pathology department at Stanford University. She is currently a Senior Research Associate at Sugen (Pharmacia) in the Preclinical Therapeutics Department.
13. Dr. Christopher Ladner in May of 1998: Coupling of M₁M Muscarinic cholinergic receptors to guanine nucleotide-binding proteins in Alzheimer's Disease Brain. His thesis advisor was Dr. Jack Lee of Pathology. After finishing his thesis Chris resumed his medical school training on his way to his combined M.D.-Ph.D. degrees. Chris is now in private practice of interventional neuroradiology in Burlington, VT.
14. Dr. Michael McAbee in May of 1999: Ontogeny and regulation of sex differences in androgen receptor mRNA in developing rat brain. His thesis advisor was Dr. Lydia DonCarlos of Cell Biology, Neurobiology & Anatomy. Mike took a post-doctoral fellowship with Dr. Sandra Petersen in the Department of Biology at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.
15. Dr. Darinka Mileusnic in January of 2000: The neurokinin B system in rat and human brain. Her thesis advisor was Dr. John Lee of Pathology and Pharmacology. After completing a residency in pathology at Loyola, Darinka is now an Assistant Professor of Pathology at the University of Tennessee Knoxville.
16. Dr. Sanjay Singh in January of 2000: Topography, Morphology, and Neurochemistry of Neurons within Cardiac Ganglia of Normal and Diseased Human Hearts. His thesis advisor was Dr. Robert Wurster of Physiology. Sanjay is teaching at Columbia College in Chicago.
17. Dr. Michael Petr in May of 2000: Mechanisms of eicosanoid mediated proliferative control in cloned astrocytoma U373-MG and primary meningioma cultures. His advisor was Dr. Robert Wurster of Physiology. After finishing medical school Mike began his neurosurgery residency at the University of Cinncinati.
18. Dr. Wilfred Pinto in May of 2000: Biochemical and functional consequences of impairment of brain serotonin axons and nerve terminals. His advisor was Dr. George Battaglia of Pharmacology. Wilfred is a post-doc in the lab of Dr. William Rudnick at Yale University.
19. Dr. Adil Javed in May of 2000: Mechanism of action of d-fenfluramine, a potent anorectic agent, in the brain. His thesis advisor was Dr. Thackery Gray of Cell Biology, Neurobiology & Anatomy. After finishing his thesis Adil finished his medical school training at Southern Illinois University and them completed his residency in neurology at Yale University. He is now a fellow in neuroimmunology in the Department of Neurology at the University of Chicago.
20. Dr. Shih-Yen Tsai in January of 2001: Microglia and neuro-immune interactions in the rat pineal gland. His thesis advisor was Dr. John McNulty of Cell Biology, Neurobiology & Anatomy. Shih-Yen is now a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Wendy Kartje at Hines VA Hospital.
21. Dr. Jason Eriksen in January of 2001: Prevention of damaging effects of ethanol on serotonergic neurons and glia by treatment with 5-HT1A agonists. His thesis advisor was Dr. Mary Manteuffel of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry. Jason is a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Todd Golde at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville.
22. Dr. Jim Palacino in May of 2001: Can specific functions regulated by presenilin I be structurally dissected?. His thesis advisor was Dr. Ben Wolozin of Pharmacology. After several post-docs at Harvard, Jim took his present position as a research scientist at Novartis Pharmaceuticals in Cambridge, MA.
23. Dr. Ed Quigley in May of 2001: Synthesis and characterization of covalently modified gramicidin ion channels: an investigation of channel properties, structure, and function. His thesis advisor was Dr. Sam Cukierman of Physiology. Ed is a resident in the Radiology Department at the Univesity of Utah (interventional neuroradiology).
24. Dr. Naser Muja in January of 2002: Characterization of signal transduction events in Schwann cells following exposure to macrophage-derived factors. His thesis advisor was Dr. George DeVries of Cell Biology, Neurobiology & Anatomy. Naser has begun a postdoctoral fellowship at the NIH in the laboratory of Dr. Lynn Hudson at NINDS.
25. Dr. Qingyu Lian in January of 2002: The Pathological Role of Alterations in Calcineurin (Protein Phosphatase 2B) Phosphatase Activity in Alzheimer's Disease. His thesis advisor was Dr. Jack Lee of Pharmacology and Pathology. "Billy" has moved to Atlanta and is now developing scientific lab and data management software.
26. Dr. April Emerick in January of 2003: The Functional Effect of mAb IN-1 on Cortico-efferent Plasticity in Adult Rats with Sensorimotor Cortex Lesions. Her thesis advisor was Dr. Wendy Karte of Neurology. April was a post-doc with Dr. Kartje for several years and has recently moved to Marquette, MI.
27. Dr. Shotaro Suzuki in May of 2003: Sex Differences in the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis: Roles of Estrogen Receptor-Beta in the Adult Female Rat Brain. His thesis advisor was Dr. Robert Handa, who is now a Professor at Colorada State University. Shotaro is now a post-doc in the lab of Dr. Phyllis Wise at the University of Washington in Seattle.
28. Dr. Michael Turner in May of 2003: Interaction of the Ventral Palllidum and Subthalamic Nucleus in a Rat Model of Parkinson's Disease. Mike's thesis advisor was Dr. Celeste Napier of Pharmacology. Mike is now a resident in the Neurosurgery program at the University of Chicago.
29. Dr. Amith Panner in May of 2004: The Role of the T-type Calcium Channel in Cell Division of Cultured Glial Tumor Cells. His advisor was Dr. Robert Wurster of Physiology and Hines VA. Amith is now a post-doc in the lab of Dr. Russ Pieper in the Department of Neurosurgery at UCSF.
30. Dr. Maya Ramic in May of 2004: Effects of Amphetamine and Rehabilitation on Neuroanatomical Plasticity Following Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion in Adult Rat Brain. Her thesis advisor was Dr. Wendy Kartje of Neurology at Hines VA Hospital. Maya is now in medical school at Finch University of Health Sciences/Chicago Medical School.
31. Dr. Catherine Papadopoulos in May of 2004: The Effect of IN-1 Antibody Treatment onf Functional Recovery and Neuroanatomical Plasticity Following Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion in the Adult Rat. Her thesis advisor was Dr. Wendy Kartje of Neurology at Hines VA Hospital. Cathy is now a post-doc in the lab of Dr. William Wolf at Hines VA Hospital.
32. Dr. Jassmine Ren in May of 2004:Mechanism of Ethanol Induced Disruption of Neuroendocrine Function in the HPG Axis of the Pubertal Male Rat. Jassmine's thesis advisors were Dr. E.J. Neafsey of Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy and Dr. Maryann Emanuele of the Department of Medicine.
33. Dr. Michael Lawlor in May of 2004:Characterization of Antibody-Mediated Peripheral Nerve Damage in MGUS Neuropathy. Mike's thesis advisor was Dr. Evan Stubbs. Mike is currently a resident in Pathology at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
34. Dr. Julie Tetzlaff in August of 2005:Motoneurons, stress and injury: Neuroprotection by gonadal steroids. Julie's thesis advisor was Dr. Kathy Jones of Cell Biology, Neurobiology & Anatomy. Julie is currently a postdoc in the lab of Dr. Bradley Hyman at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
35. Dr. Stacey Thomas in May of 2006:Angiogenic Potential of Normal and Neurofibromin-Deficient Human Schwann Cells. Stacey's thesis advisor was Dr. George DeVries, formerly of Cell Biology, Neurobiology & Anatomy. Stacey is currently a postdoc in the Laboratory of Molecular Neuro-oncology of the Hermelin Brain Tumor Center at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.
36. Dr. Sara Sarkey in May of 2007: Extranuclear Androgen Receptors in Axons of the Adult Brain. Sara's thesis advisor was Dr. Lydia DonCarlos of Cell Biology, Neurobiology & Anatomy. Sara has accepted a position with Takeda Pharmaceuticals in Deerfield, IL.
37. Dr. Casey Cook in May of 2007: Alterations in the Expression of Calcipressin in Alzheimer's Disease. Casey's advisor was Dr. Jack Lee of Pathology. Casey is now a postdoc in the lab of Dr. Leonard Petrucelli at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL.
38. Dr. Anay Pradhan in August of 2007: Role of Neuronal Nogo-A in Post-Natal Dendritic Spine Morphogenesis. Anay's thesis advisor was Dr. Wendy Kartje of Neurology. Anay began a residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in July of 2007.
39. Dr. Fei Shen in August of 2007: Hippocampal Tyrosine Kinase B Receptors and Amphetamine-Induced Associative Learning. Fei's advisor was Dr. Celeste Napier of Pharmacology. Fei will remain as a postdoc with Dr. Napier.
40. Dr. Jason Sarkey in August of 2007: Therapeutic Potential of Lovastatin for the Treatment of Peripheral Autoimmune Neuropathies. Jason's advisor was Dr. Evan Stubbs of Neurology. Jason is now a postdoc at Children's Memorial Hospital/Northwestern University.

Masters

As of May 2004 six students have received Masters in Neuroscience degrees.

1. Dr. Hany Elsayed in May of 1994: Use of Cortical Grafts in Hypoxic-Ischemic Brain Injury in Neonatal Rats. His thesis advisor was Dr. Anthony Castro of the Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology & Anatomy.
2. Dr. Yoshinobu Goto in May of 1994: Functional Studies of a Transgenic Mouse Model of Human Autosomal Dominant Retinitis Pigmentosa. His thesis advisor was Dr. Neal Peachey of the Department of Neurology. Dr. Goto is currently a professor in the Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
3. Dr. Luisa Roveri in May of 1995: Characterization of the On and Off Pathways in Human Vision. Her thesis advisor was Dr. Paul DeMarco of Neurology. Dr. Roveri has returned to Italy.
4. Ms. Laia Acarin in January of 1996: Microglial Reactivity to N-Methyl-D-Aspartate (NMDA) Induced Excitotoxicity in the Immature Rat Brain. Her thesis advisor was Dr. Tony Castro of Cell Biology, Neurobiology & Anatomy. Dr. Acarin is currently a member of the Department of Cell Biology, Physiology, and Immunology at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona in Spain.
5. Ms. Amy Francis in May of 1998: Expression of Neuregulin and erbB Receptors in Cultured Neonatal Astrocytes. Dr. George DeVries of Cell Biology, Neurobiology & Anatomy was her thesis advisor.
6. Mr. Jim Conners in January of 2001: Olfactory ensheathing cells: neurotrophic properties and regeneration promoting capabilities. His thesis advisor was Dr. Kathryn Jones of Cell Biology, Neurobiology & Anatomy. Jim is now in medical school at the University of Illinois.

 

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