MS Trainees

Dene Betz

Research Interest: Neuroscience
Prior Education: UT Dallas

Rolando Garza

Research Interest: Immunology, Neuroscience
Prior Education: UT San Antonio

Sarah Mahn

Research Interest: Pharmacology, Cancer Biology
Prior Education: Mount Mary University

Jan Simper

Research Interest: Immunology, Infectious Diseases
Prior Education: Arizona State University

Austin Todd

Research Interest: Neuroscience, Imaging
Prior Education: CSU-Sacramento

Jeff Wang

Research Interest: Cancer, Genetics
Prior Education: UC Los Angeles

Nicole Wrigley

Research Interest: Neuroscience, Pharmacology & Physiology 
Prior Education: University of Virginia

Angela Jasper

Research Interest: Pharmacology, Cancer Biology 
Prior Education: University of Wisconsin-Madison

Clare Murray

Research Interest: Immunology, Cancer Biology
Prior Education: UT Austin

George Naratadam

Research Interest: Neuroscience
Prior Education: University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign

Carlos Ontiveros

Research Interest: Infectious Diseases
Prior Education: UT El Paso

Sonia Razaqyar

Research Interest: Radiological Sciences, Neuroscience
Prior Education: Mount Holyoke College

Jonathan Towne

Research Interest: Radiological Sciences, Neuroscience
Prior Education: Rice University

Neha Wali

Research Interest: Tumor Immunology, Immunotherapy, Cancer Biology, Genomics 
Prior Education: University of Maryland-Baltimore County

Jacob T. Boyd, Ph.D.

Ph.D. Track: Physiology & Pharmacology
Ph.D. Mentor: Kenneth Hargreaves, D.D.S., Ph.D.
Ph.D. Project: "High Omega-6 Diet Produces a Painful Peripheral
Neuropathy that is Rescued by Altering Membrane Lipid Content or Enzyme Activity"
Ph.D. Dissertation Defense: August 1, 2019
Award: NIH F30AT009949 "Role of High Omega-6 Diet as a Risk Factor
for Pain Through Increased TRPV1 and TRPA1 Activity"
Prior Education: University of North Texas, BA; University of Kansas, MA

Eithan Kotkowski, Ph.D.

Ph.D. Track: Radiological Sciences, Neuroscience Imaging Track
Ph.D. Mentor: Peter Fox, M.D.
Ph.D. Project: "A Neural Signature of Metabolic Syndrome"
Ph.D. Dissertation Defense: April 24, 2019
Award: NIMH Research supplement to promote diversity in
health-related research; CTSA Translational Science (TL-1) Fellowship Award, 2018; Armand J. Guarino Award for Academic Excellence in Doctoral Studies, 2019 
Prior Education: University of Texas at Austin, BS

Trevi Mancilla, Ph.D.

Ph.D. Track: Physiology
Ph.D. Mentor: Greg Aune, M.D., Ph.D.
Ph.D. Project: “The Role of Transformation-Related Protein 53
in Doxorubicin-Induced Stress Responses in Cardia Fibroblasts”
Ph.D. Dissertation Defense: May 24, 2019

Award: CTSA Translational Science (TL-1) Fellowship Award, 2017
Prior Education: Wellesley College, BA

Kristen (Rogers) Canady, Ph.D.

Ph.D. Track: Microbiology & Immunology
Ph.D. Mentor: Sunil Ahuja, M.D.
Ph.D. Project: “Novel Approaches to Uncover Host Genetic
Correlates of HIV Disease Progression”
Ph.D. Dissertation Defense: June 24, 2019
Prior Education: Rice University, BA, UNT Health Science Center, MS

Jeffrey Cooney, Ph.D.

Ph.D. Track: Cancer Biology
Ph.D. Mentor: Ricardo Aguiar, M.D., Ph.D. 
PhD Project: "The Cyclic AMP/Phosphodiesterase 4 Axis Regulates
the Proximal B-cell Receptor, the Lymphoma cell, and its Microenvironment"
PhD Dissertation Defense: April 19, 2018 
Awards: NIH F30CA206343 "The cyclic AMP/ phosphodiesterase4 axis
regulates proximal B cell receptor signaling and offers a new therapeutic
strategy for B cell lymphomas" 
Prior Education: Boston College, BS; Boston University, MA

Kathryn Hinchee-Rodriguez, Ph.D.

Ph.D. Track: Biochemistry
Ph.D. Mentor: Bettie Sue Masters, Ph.D., Martin Adamo, Ph.D.
PhD Project: "Regulation of Neuronal Nitric Oxide Synthase by
Insulin in Skeletal Muscle "
PhD Dissertation Defense: September 20, 2017
Awards: NIH F30 DK100128 (NIDDK) “Regulation of Neuronal Nitric Oxide
Synthase by Insulin in Skeletal Muscle"
Prior Education: Duke University, BS

Brett Ipson, Ph.D.

Ph.D. Track: Cell & Molecular Medicine
Ph.D. Mentor: Al Fisher, M.D., Ph.D.
Ph.D. Project: "A novel role for tyrosine aminotransferase in the oxidative stress response"
Ph.D. Dissertation Defense: May 7, 2018
Awards: NIH F30AG053034 "Contribution of m-tyrosine to the adverse
effects of oxidative stress"
Prior Education: Brigham Young University, BS