Fellows

Research Interest: De’Jana is interested in the immune response to respiratory viral infections. More specifically, she is interested in studying early life respiratory tract infections and the effects on lung and immune cell development and the risk of asthma.

Research Interest: Nikki is interested in the role of the mechanical environment on collective cell behavior, specifically investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying cell sorting and migration of different cell types in 3D tumor models.

Research Interest: Max is interested in RNA biology and disease, especially in the role of VCP in translation, and how mutations in VCP cause diverse diseases.

mbaymill@umich.edu

Research Interest:  Patrice is interested in identifying neighborhood-level factors that impact glaucoma outcomes, above and beyond individual-level factors, to work towards achieving health equity in eye and vision health.

pmhicks@umich.edu

Research Interest: Kristen is interested in the physiology of membrane repair. She is identifying cellular/molecular regulators of actin assembly at the plasma membrane of skeletal and cardiac muscles. Her research aims to determine possible therapeutic targets that may benefit patients with muscular dystrophy.

kdturner@umich.edu

Research Interest: Hector is exploring the molecular mechanisms involved in regulation of gene expression and chromatin modification in the dosage compensation system of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.

hmendoza@umich.edu`

Research Interest: Jenny is interested in studying the cooperativity between cytoskeletal structure, plasma membrane organization, and receptor signaling in immune cells using super-resolution microscopy.

jcflan@umich.edu

Research Interest: Kip is interested in RNA structure-function and is particularly drawn to the study of RNA-protein interactions.

kaitanyk@umich.edu

Research Interest:  Lauren is applying single-molecule microscopy and tracking to learn how E. coli cells are organized, particularly under conditions of stress. 

lamccar@umich.edu

Research Interest: Rebecca is interested in the role of FMO-2 and neuropeptide pathways in a C. elegans model of dietary-mediated longevity.

rebeccco@umich.edu

Research Interest: Molly is interested in studying outer segment growth in photoreceptors. 

mttho@umich.edu

Research Interest: Ramiah is interested in the factors that shape our immune response in obesity, especially the relationship between adipose tissue T cells (ATTs) and the adipose tissue microenvironment.  

rdjacks@umich.edu

Research Interest: Vanessa is interested in how neural networks are built and modified by experience, focusing on cellular, molecular, and/or genetic mechanisms driven the stochastic patterning of these olfactory associative learning circuitsin the developing Drosophila melanogaster.

vmpunal@umich.edu

Research Interest: Sonya is interested in the immune factors influencing diabetic wound healing, examining the role of keratinocytes in shaping the macrophage inflammatory profile in diabetic wounds in order to develop novel targets for treatment.

sonwolf@umich.edu