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Michael Powell, President – Michael is from the heart of the coal region, Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania. He attended college at Lycoming College in Williamsport, PA where he majored in biology and minored in chemistry. Michael is a 3rd year Genetics PhD student in Dr. Richard Pestell's laboratory. His research focus is based on the role of Sirtuin mediated post-translational modifications of nuclear hormone receptors and their repercussions in breast and prostate cancer progression. |
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Lisa Ambrose-Lanci, Past President – Lisa is from Blackwood, NJ. She attended The College of New Jersey in Ewing, NJ, where she majored in biology with minors in Chemistry, Psychology, and Women and Gender Studies. Lisa is in her 4th year of the Molecular Cell Biology PhD program. She researches sex differences in anxiety-like behavior during cocaine withdrawl under the mentorship of Dr. Elizabeth Van Bockstaele. |
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Jacquelyn Roth, Secretary – Jackie is from Ambler, PA. She attended Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA, where she majored in biology and minored in applied mathematics. She is in her fourth year of the Genetics PhD program and works in Dr. Arthur Buchberg's lab. She researches the roles of key genes in the development of myeloid leukemia in mouse models. |
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Christine Lightcap, Treasurer – Christine is originally from Boyertown, PA. She attended Lebanon Valley College where she majored in Biochemistry. Christine is in her fourth year of the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology program. She works under Dr. John Williams studying the biochemistry and function of the Pak1-dynein LC8 interaction. |
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Jillian Scavone, VP Academic Affairs – Jill grew up in the Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania. She headed down to Philly for undergraduate studies at Haverford College. At Haverford, she majored in Psychology, and minored in Biology with a concentration in Neural and Behavioral Sciences. Jill came to Jeff to work on a PhD in Neuroscience. She works with Dr. Elisabeth Van Bockstaele on receptor interactions that underlie drug addiction and the modulation of pain. Besides science, Jill loves animals, art and dance, and tries to squeeze in as much time with friends and family as possible when not
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| in the lab. What she appreciates most about Jeff is the fact that students have a voice and an impact on their graduate education. Jill loves a challenge and working on a PhD certainly delivers! |
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Kristen Kahle, VP Career Development – Kristen is originally from Bradford, PA. She attended Penn State University where she earned her Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology with a Psychology minor. She has also obtained a Master's degree in Biotechnology. She is currently a 4th year student in Molecular Pharmacology and Structural Biology program, working in Dr. Michael Root's lab researching the mechanisms by which HIV envelop glycoproteins undergo mutations to become resistant to various treatments. |
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Sudarshan Phani, VP External Affairs – Sudar is from Rockland County New York. He attended New York University and majored in Neuroscience and Psychology. Sudar is a second year student in the Neuroscience program in the laboratory of Dr. Lorraine Iacovitti. He studies the genetic components of Parkinson's disease vulnerability, as well as studying the effects of stem cells in stroke recovery. |
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Tara Robinson, VP Internal Affairs – Tara is from Philadelphia, PA. She attended the University of Pennsylvania where she majored in Biology and Economics. After working for several years on developing and testing HIV vaccines, Tara joined the MD/PhD program where she is currently a 4th year student. She works with Dr. Laurence Eisenlohr studying the processing and presentation of proteasome-dependent MHC class II epitopes. In her spare time, Tara volunteers with several community service and healthcare organizations in the city. |
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Sarah (Katie) Kidd, VP Social Affairs – Katie is a third year Ph. D. candidate in the Cell and Developmental Biology program (CDB). She is originally from Doylestown, PA and majored in biology at Virginia Tech. At Virginia Tech she studied nicotine biosynthesis and the role of plant alkaloids in medicine. Currently Katie studies Parkinson's Disease and heavy metal toxicity in Dr. Jay Schneider's Lab. Sinced moving to Philly for grad school, and as any true Philadelphian, she is a huge Eagles, Phillies, and Flyers fan. |
