T32 Training Program in Cellular, Biochemical, & Molecular Sciences

Graduated Trainees

Zachary Walter

• Bhakt P, Pokharel SM, Li Y, Srivastava T, Miller J, Dittmar M, Zhu Y, Nguyen D, Walter Z, Ayyanathan K, Tudor M, Yu C, Chatterjee AK, Ramage H, Schultz D, Cherry S. NS5-targeting nucleoside analogs inhibit dengue virus and other flaviviruses. PLoS Pathog. 2026 Feb 17;22(2):e1013970. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1013970. PMID: 41701758; PMCID: PMC12928577.
• Walter, Z., Li, M., Molho, M., Berish, L., Isopi, A., O’Mara, M., Dittmar, M., Nwaezeapu, C., Richards, A., McCullagh, M., Krogan, N. J., Cherry, S., Johnson, J. R., & Ramage, H. (2025). An integrated proteomics approach identifies phosphorylation sites on viral and host proteins that regulate West Nile virus infection. Cell Reports, 44(5), 115728. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2025.115728 PMID: 40381193 PMCID: PMC12180539.
• Roy P, Walter Z, Berish L, Ramage H, McCullagh M. Motif-VI loop acts as a nucleotide valve in the West Nile Virus NS3 Helicase. Nucleic Acids Res. 2024 Jul 22;52(13):7447-7464. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkae500. PMID: 38884215; PMCID: PMC11260461.

Jenna Aumiller

• Aumiller JL, Luo J, Komolov KE, Sosa J, Wedegaertner, PB. G_q-coupled GPCRs mediate oncogenic activity of Gα_q-Q209L/P in Uveal Melanoma. Science Signaling. Under Provisional Acceptance.
• Dwyer MB, Aumiller JL, Wedegaertner PB. Going rogue: mechanisms, regulation, and roles of mutationally activated Gα in human cancer. Mol Pharmacol. 2024 Aug 26:MOLPHARM-MR-2023-000743. doi: 10.1124/molpharm.124.000743. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39187387.
• Han A, Mukha D, Chua V, Purwin TJ, Tiago M, Modasia B, Baqai U, Aumiller JL, Bechtel N, Hunter E, Danielson M, Terai M, Wedegaertner PB, Sato T, Landreville S, Davies MA, Kurtenbach S, Harbour JW, Schug ZT, Aplin AE. Co-Targeting FASN and mTOR Suppresses Uveal Melanoma Growth. Cancers (Basel). 2023 Jun 30;15(13):3451. doi: 10.3390/cancers15133451. PMID: 37444561; PMCID: PMC10341317.
• Aumiller JL, Wedegaertner PB. Disruption of the interaction between mutationally activated Gαq and Gβγ attenuates aberrant signaling. J Biol Chem. 2023 Feb;299(2):102880. doi: 10.1016/j.jbc.2023.102880. Epub 2023 Jan 7. PMID: 36626984; PMCID: PMC9926304.
• Randolph CE, Dwyer MB, Aumiller JL, Dixon AJ, Inoue A, Osei-Owusu P, Wedegaertner PB. Enhanced membrane binding of oncogenic G protein αqQ209L confers resistance to inhibitor YM-254890. J Biol Chem. 2022 Nov;298(11):102538. doi: 10.1016/j.jbc.2022.102538. Epub 2022 Sep 27. PMID: 36174676; PMCID: PMC9626947.

Melanie Goetz

• Goetz ML, Romer-Seibert JS, Versace AM, Kogan S, Jeurkar C, Bowman RL, Brooks N, Frese K, Meyer SE. P300/CBP inhibition with inobrodib in combination with gilteritinib and venetoclax targets leukemia stem cells in epigenetic mutant AML. Sci Adv. 2026 May 15;12(20):eaec9305. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aec9305. Epub 2026 May 15. PMID: 42139346; PMCID: PMC13178526.
• Lawler ME, Goetz ML, Romer-Seibert JS, Gamlen HA, McGlinn E, Meyer SE. miR-196b-Oct1/2 axis regulates DNMT3A-mutant AML pathogenesis. Leukemia. 2025 Jan;39(1):229-233. doi: 10.1038/s41375-024-02456-8. Epub 2024 Nov 23. PMID: 39580581; PMCID: PMC11717699.
• Gamlen HA, Romer-Seibert JS, Lawler ME, Versace AM, Goetz ML, Yang F, Guryanova OA, Palmisiano N, Meyer SE. miR-196b-TLR7/8 signaling axis regulates innate immune signaling and myeloid maturation in DNMT3A-mutant AML. Clin Cancer Res 2022;28:4574–86. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-22-1598 PMID: 35943291 PMCID: PMC9588567.

Haley Wilson

• Wilson HP, Stefanski CD, Caksa S, Mersky GL, Varney SD, Haj JI, Erkes DA, Purwin TJ, Chua V, Aplin AE. Diacylglycerol kinase eta as a novel target in NRAS mutant melanoma. Pigment Cell Melanoma Res. 2026. Accepted for publication.
• Caksa S, Purwin TJ, Erkes DA, DeRosa KM, Kitterman E, Barnada SM, Stefanski CD, Wilson HP, Mersky GL, Glasheen MQ, Heilizer JS, Ajmal N, Sun Y, Chan JSY, Rui H, Chervoneva I, Capparelli C, Aplin AE. Elevated Transglutaminase-2 in SOX10-Deficient Melanoma Promotes Tumor Onset and Decreases Intratumoral CD4+ T Cells. Cancer Res. 2025 Oct 1;85(19):3614-3632. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-24-3267. PMID: 40742313; PMCID: PMC12398951.
• Cherlin, T., Jing, Y., Shah, S., Kennedy, A., Telonis, A. G., Pliatsika, V., Wilson, H., Thompson, L., Vlantis, P. I., Loher, P., Leiby, B., & Rigoutsos, I. (2024). The subcellular distribution of miRNA isoforms, tRNA-derived fragments, and rRNA-derived fragments depends on nucleotide sequence and cell type. BMC Biology, 22(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-024-01970-6 PMID: 39267057 PMCID: PMC11397057
• Wilson HP, Aplin AE. Site matters in metastatic melanoma. Trends Cancer. 2023 Aug;9(8):603-605. doi: 10.1016/j.trecan.2023.05.007. Epub 2023 Jun 17. PMID: 37331825; PMCID: PMC10823917.
• Rosenbaum, S. R., Caksa, S., Stefanski, C. D., Trachtenberg, I. V., Wilson, H. P., Wilski, N. A., Ott, C. A., Purwin, T. J., Haj, J. I., Pomante, D., Kotas, D., Chervoneva, I., Capparelli, C., & Aplin, A. E. (2023). SOX10 loss sensitizes melanoma cells to Cytokine-Mediated inflammatory cell death. Molecular Cancer Research, 22(2), 209–220. https://doi.org/10.1158/1541-7786.mcr-23-0290 PMID: 37847239 PMCID: PMC10842433

6th Year Trainees

JodiRae DeDreu

• Le PM, DeDreu J, Mattapallil MJ, Caspi RR, Tomlinson R, Stepp MA, Menko AS. Matrix molecules associated with both regulation of inflammation and pathogenic outcomes associated with the surface of the lens in the eyes of EAU mice. Exp Eye Res. 2025 Oct;259:110529. doi: 10.1016/j.exer.2025.110529. Epub 2025 Jul 18. PMID: 40684871; PMCID: PMC12904472.
• DeDreu J, Basta MD, Walker JL, Menko AS. Immune Responses Induced at One Hour Post Cataract Surgery Wounding of the Chick Lens. Biomolecules. 2023 Nov 4;13(11):1615. doi: 10.3390/biom13111615. PMID: 38002297; PMCID: PMC10668984. 
• DeDreu J, Le PM, Menko AS. The ciliary zonules provide a pathway for immune cells to populate the avascular lens during eye development. Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2022 Dec; 247(24):2251-2273. doi: 10.1177/15353702221140411. Epub 2023 Jan 12. PMID: 36633170; PMCID: PMC9899985.

Annie Londregan

• Snook A, Carlson R, Weil L, Baybutt T, Kulak O, Cao M, Staudt R, Jain P, Crutcher M, Entezari A, Caspi A, Kopenhaver J, Londregan A, Barton J, Kuret T, Gandhi V, Habash E, Wahl J, Lieber A, Waldman S, Mahoney M. DSG2-Directed CAR-T Cells Safely and Universally Eliminate Solid Tumors. Res Sq [Preprint]. 2026 Feb 12:rs.3.rs-5909002. doi: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5909002/v1. PMID: 41727586; PMCID: PMC12919166.
• Londregan A, Alexander TD, Covarrubias M, Waldman SA. Fundamental Neurochemistry Review: The role of enteroendocrine cells in visceral pain. J Neurochem. 2023 Dec;167(6):719-732. doi: 10.1111/jnc.16022. Epub 2023 Dec 1. PMID: 38037432; PMCID: PMC10917140.
• Barton JR, Londregan AK, Alexander TD, Entezari AA, Covarrubias M, Waldman SA. Enteroendocrine cell regulation of the gut-brain axis. Front Neurosci. 2023 Nov 7;17:1272955. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1272955. PMID: 38027512; PMCID: PMC10662325.

• Barton, JR, Londregan, AK, Alexander, TD, Entezari, AA, Bar-Ad, S, Cheng, L, … Waldman, SA (2023). Intestinal neuropod cell GUCY2C regulates visceral pain. J Clin Invest. 2023;133(4):e165578. doi: 10.1172/JCI165578 PMID: 36548082.

Samantha Thomas

• Thomas SJ, Ghosh B, Wang Z, Yang M, Nong J, Severa J, Wright MC, Zhong Y, Lepore AC. Hepatocyte Growth Factor Delivery to Injured Cervical Spinal Cord Using an Engineered Biomaterial Protects Respiratory Neural Circuitry and Preserves Functional Diaphragm Innervation. J Neurotrauma. 2024 Aug 12. doi: 10.1089/neu.2024.0084. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39078323.
• Michel-Flutot P, Cheng L, Thomas SJ, Lisi B, Schwartz H, Lam S, Lyttle M, Jaffe DA, Smith G, Li S, Wright MC, Lepore AC. PTEN inhibition promotes robust growth of bulbospinal respiratory axons and partial recovery of diaphragm function in a chronic model of cervical contusion spinal cord injury. Exp Neurol. 2024 Aug;378:114816. doi: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2024.114816. Epub 2024 May 22. PMID: 38789023; PMCID: PMC11200215.
• Urban MW, Charsar BA, Heinsinger NM, Markandaiah SS, Sprimont L, Zhou W, Brown EV, Henderson NT, Thomas SJ, Ghosh B, Cain RE, Trotti D, Pasinelli P, Wright MC, Dalva MB, Lepore AC. EphrinB2 knockdown in cervical spinal cord preserves diaphragm innervation in a mutant SOD1 mouse model of ALS. Elife. 2024 Jan 15;12:RP89298. doi: 10.7554/eLife.89298. PMID: 38224498; PMCID: PMC10945582.
• Brumer RP, Corrêa-Velloso JC, Thomas SJ, Sandiford OA, Thomas AP, Bartlett PJ. Short-term high fat diet feeding of mice suppresses catecholamine-stimulated Ca2+ signalling in hepatocytes and intact liver. J Physiol. 2023 Mar 2. Epub ahead of print. doi: 10.1113/JP283691 PMID: 36864773.
• Allahyari RV, Heinsinger NM, Hwang D, Jaffe DA, Rasouli J, Shiers S, Thomas SJ, Price TJ, Rostami A, Lepore AC. Response of Astrocyte Subpopulations Following Spinal Cord Injury. Cells. 2022 Feb 18;11(4):721. doi: 10.3390/cells11040721. PMID: 35203371; PMCID: PMC8870235.
• Heinsinger NM, Spagnuolo G, Allahyari RV, Galer S, Fox T, Jaffe DA, Thomas SJ, Iacovitti L, Lepore AC. Facial grimace testing as an assay of neuropathic pain-related behavior in a mouse model of cervical spinal cord injury. Exp Neurol. 2020 Dec;334:113468. doi: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2020.113468. Epub 2020 Sep 20. PMID: 32966805; PMCID: PMC7642067.

Brittany Mahon

• Kushinsky S, Puccetti MV, Adams CM, Shkundina I, James N, Mahon BM, Michener P, Eischen CM. DNA fork remodeling proteins, Zranb3 and Smarcal1, are uniquely essential for aging hematopoiesis. Aging Cell. 2024 Nov;23(11):e14281. doi: 10.1111/acel.14281. Epub 2024 Jul 23. PMID: 39044358; PMCID: PMC11561652.

5th Year Trainees

Jacquelyn DePierro

• Carey JL, Hayashi M, Welebob E, Ganser LR, Wang H, Buckhaults K, DePierro JA, Shi Z, Shorter J, Myong S, Haeusler A, Guo L. RNA G-quadruplexes function as a tunable switch of FUS phase separation. Nucleic Acids Res. 2026 Jun 22;54(12):gkag594. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkag594. PMID: 42363764; PMCID: PMC13309791.
• Hayashi, M., Girdhar, A., Ko, Y., Kim, K. M., DePierro, J. A., Buchler, J. R., Arunprakash, N., Bajaj, A., Cingolani, G., & Guo, L. (2024). Engineered NLS-chimera downregulates expression of aggregation-prone endogenous FUS. Nature Communications, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-52151-6 PMID: 39251571; PMCID: PMC11384663

Mary O’Mara

• O'Mara M, Molho M, Kurland AP, Walter Z, Gracias S, Caval V, Jouvenet N, Johnson JR, Ramage H. Powassan virus NS5 antagonizes TYK2-mediated immune signaling pathways. bioRxiv 2026.09.07.749923; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.07.749923
• Rood JE, Yoon SK, Heard MK, Carro SD, Hedgepeth EJ, O'Mara ME, Hogan MJ, Le N, Muramatsu H, Lam K, Schreiner P, Kasden C, Stedman HH, Langlois RA, Heyes J, Pardi N, Eisenlohr LC. Optimal murine CD4+ T cell priming by mRNA-lipid nanoparticle vaccines requires endogenous antigen processing. Nat Commun. 2026 Jan 16;17(1):1327. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-68080-x. PMID: 41545353; PMCID: PMC12873236.
• Walter, Z., Li, M., Molho, M., Berish, L., Isopi, A., O’Mara, M., Dittmar, M., Nwaezeapu, C., Richards, A., McCullagh, M., Krogan, N. J., Cherry, S., Johnson, J. R., & Ramage, H. (2025). An integrated proteomics approach identifies phosphorylation sites on viral and host proteins that regulate West Nile virus infection. Cell Reports, 44(5), 115728. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2025.115728 PMID: 40381193 PMCID: PMC12180539

William Auerbacher

• Chandramouly G, Fried W, Gordon J, Ralph D, Keuk C, Kumari S, Ramanjulu M, Auerbacher W, Minakhin L, Tredinnick T, Tiberi B, Morton G, Betsch R, Cai KQ, Vekariya UM, Tyagi M, Skorski T, Karakashev S, Johnson N, Childers WE Jr, Chen XS, Pomerantz RT. RTx-303, an Orally Bioavailable Polθ Polymerase Inhibitor That Potentiates PARP Inhibitors in BRCA Mutant Tumors. J Med Chem. 2025 Nov 13;68(21):22196-22215. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.5c00551. Epub 2025 Oct 22. PMID: 41124685; PMCID: PMC12621202.
• Fried W, Tyagi M, Minakhin L, Chandramouly G, Tredinnick T, Ramanjulu M, Auerbacher W, Calbert M, Rusanov T, Hoang T, Borisonnik N, Betsch R, Krais JJ, Wang Y, Vekariya UM, Gordon J, Morton G, Kent T, Skorski T, Johnson N, Childers W, Chen XS, Pomerantz RT. Discovery of a small-molecule inhibitor that traps Polθ on DNA and synergizes with PARP inhibitors. Nat Commun. 2024 Apr 5;15(1):2862. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-46593-1. PMID: 38580648; PMCID: PMC10997755.

4^th Year Trainees

Andrea Berghella

• Boyle BR, Collyer E, Berghella AP, Blanco-Suarez E. Protocol for inducing focal striatal stroke in mice using photothrombosis. STAR Protoc. 2026 Jun 19;7(2):104487. doi: 10.1016/j.xpro.2026.104487. Epub 2026 Apr 7. PMID: 41950011; PMCID: PMC13091047.
• Boyle BR, Berghella AP, Blanco-Suarez E. Astrocyte Regulation of Neuronal Function and Survival in Stroke Pathophysiology. Adv Neurobiol. 2024;39:233-267. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-64839-7_10. PMID: 39190078.

Sarah Strock

• Li F, Phadte AS, Bhatia M, Barndt S, Monte Carlo Iii AR, Hou CD, Yang R, Strock S, Pluciennik A. Structural and molecular basis of PCNA-activated FAN1 nuclease function in DNA repair. Nat Commun. 2025 May 14;16(1):4411. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-59323-y. PMID: 40368897; PMCID: PMC12078661.

Joshua Okletey

• Okletey J, Muench M, Yu C, Maresca A, Carelli V, Tigano M. Mutations Causative of CPEO Differentially Engage Innate Immunity Sensors. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2026 May 25:2026.05.24.727547. doi: 10.64898/2026.05.24.727547. PMID: 42244575; PMCID: PMC13232264.

Erin Gallagher

• Flynn JM, Thadani N, Gallagher EE, Azzaro I, Bodnar CM, McCarty CP, Romano G, Webster MR, Capparelli C. Plasticity and Functional Heterogeneity of Cancer- Associated Fibroblasts. Cancer Res. 2025 Sep 15;85(18):3378-3398. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-24-3037. PMID: 40729489; PMCID: PMC12371731.

3^rd Year Trainees

Robert Brian Akins

• Dudka D, Nguyen AL, Boese KG, Marescal O, Akins RB, Black BE, Cheeseman IM, Lampson MA. Adaptive evolution of CENP-T modulates centromere binding. Curr Biol. 2025 Mar 10;35(5):1012-1022.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2025.01.017. Epub 2025 Feb 12. PMID: 39947176; PMCID: PMC11903153.

Geethu Annamalai

• Sousa-Squiavinato ACM, Bernardes SS, Aguiar FC, Facciolo AC, Herrera MDCV, Wong-Ramirez JRC, Basurto-Lozada P, Nobre AB, Annamalai G, do Nascimento RMC, Boccacino J, Fagundes R, Barros PSDR, Pitombo MM, Olvera-León R, Matsuyama LSAS, Billington J, Vermes I, Simonin-Wilmer I, Carvalho DG, Simoes JPC, Fernandes PV, Nunes LF, de Melo AC, de Oliveira JL, Herlyn M, Aplin AE, Robles-Espinoza CD, Adams DJ, Possik PA. Modelling Acral Melanoma in Admixed Brazilians Uncovers Genomic Drivers and Targetable Pathways. medRxiv [Preprint]. 2025 Aug 13:2025.08.08.25332963. doi: 10.1101/2025.08.08.25332963. PMID: 40832384; PMCID: PMC12363704.

Other Trainees

Juliana Benitez

• Montoya B, Melo-Silva CR, Tang L, Kafle S, Lidskiy P, Bajusz C, Vadovics M, Muramatsu H, Abraham E, Lipinszki Z, Chatterjee D, Scher G, Benitez J, Sung MMH, Tam YK, Catanzaro NJ, Schäfer A, Andino R, Baric RS, Martinez DR, Pardi N, Sigal LJ. mRNA-LNP vaccine-induced CD8+ T cells protect mice from lethal SARS-CoV-2 infection in the absence of specific antibodies. Mol Ther. 2024 Jun 5;32(6):1790-1804. doi: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2024.04.019. Epub 2024 Apr 11. PMID: 38605519; PMCID: PMC11184341.