Graduate Programs Bulletin Board
CVM Graduate Student of the Month
April 2013
Liz Lennon is a CBS graduate student in Dr. Adam Moeser's lab, studying the role of the mast cell in inflammatory bowel disease. Liz completed vet school at NCSU in 2007, followed by a rotating internship in small animal internal medicine and surgery at the University of Pennsylvania, and returned to NCSU for the clinician investigator program, which combines a small animal internal medicine residency with a PhD program. She is originally from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and her hobbies include horseback riding, hiking and camping, running, and yoga.
Dr. Moeser nominated Liz for the April 2013 CVM Graduate Student of the Month because of her hard work and dedication to her graduate work and her recent achievements which include:
(1) a manuscript published in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases journal,
(2) a T32 pilot grant awarded to her to study the role of mast cells in colitis and,
(3) an certificate of excellence award (1st place) for her oral presentation at the recent CVM research forum.
Defense Announcements
Alumni
Peter Ross earned a doctoral degree in Immunology, August 2012, under the direction of Dr. Paul Hess. Peter was recently awarded an Industrial Research Fellowship through the NC Biotechnology Center at Advanced Liquid Logic in the RTP.
Macarena Quintana Hayashi earned a doctoral degree in Comparative Biomedical Sciences, Fall 2012, under the direction of Dr. Sid Thakur and Dr. Maria Correa. She has accepted a position as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Gothenburg, Sahlgrenska Academy / Department of Medical Chemistry in Gothenburg, Sweden investigating the role of mucins during host defense against bacteria.
Jingjing Li earned a doctoral degree in Comparative Biomedical Sciences in August 2012, under the direction of Dr. Shila Nordone and Dr. Mike Levy. She accepted a position as a Postdoctoral Scholar at The University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center with Dr. Wei Cao in the department of Immunology.
Tracy Hill earned a doctoral degree in Comparative Biomedical Sciences in August 2012, under the direction of Dr. Anthony Blikslager. She accepted a position as a Senior Lecturer in Small Animal Internal Medicine at The Royal Dick School of Veterinary Studies at The University of Edinburgh.
Liping Meng earned a doctoral degree in Immunology in August 2012, under the direction of Dr. Mary Tompkins. She has accepted a position as an Intern at BioMedomics, Inc. in Durham, NC.
Petra Bizikova earned a doctoral degree in Comparative Biomedical Sciences in Summer 2012, under the direction of Dr. Thierry Olivry. She accepted a position as an Assistant Professor of Dermatology at NC State University, College of Veterinary Medicine in July 2012.
Arnaud Van Wettere earned a doctoral degree in Comparative Biomedical Sciences in Summer 2012, under the direction of Dr. Phil Sannes and Dr. Seth Kullman. He has accepted a position as an Assistant Professor of Anatomical Pathology at NC State University, College of Veterinary Medicine.
Rachel Cianciolo earned a doctoral degree in Comparative Biomedical Sciences in Spring 2012, under the direction of Dr. John Cullen. She has accepted a position as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Nephropathology for the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Renae Greiner earned a Master of Science degree in the Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology Program in Fall 2011. She began a position in spring 2012 as a Fisheries Biologist for Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. Renae is currently working on a project with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, "Unassessed Waters Initiative". She is involved in training university and private partners in field data collection on presence/absence of the native brook trout. This indicator species helps classify the previously unsampled water in Pennsylvania to help protect streams against teh repercussions of fracking and coal mining.
Natalie Cherry earned a PhD degree in Comparative Biomedical Sciences in spring of 2012, under the direction of Dr. Ed Breitschwerdt. She has accepted a position as General Supervisor and Staff Scientist at Galaxy Diagnostics in the RTP. Natalie will be testing for Bartonella species bacteria using an ePCR, or EnrichmentPCR, technique in both animal and humans. This testing platform is the most sensitive diagnostic test available for the detection of an active infection.
Susan Irvin earned a PhD degree in Comparative Biomedical Sciences in the fall of 2011. Dr. Irvin accepted a position as a postdoctoral fellow at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, NY in the laboratory of Dr. Betsy Herold. One aim of the Herold Lab is to determine molecular factors, including contraceptive hormones, which contribute to a previously shown epidemiological link between human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections in women. Susan’s initial focus is identifying the molecular mechanisms by which contraceptive hormones impact HIV infection.
Beth Overman earned a PhD degree in Physiology in Fall 2011. Dr. Overman will remain on board with NCSU as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Biology Department in a new program that focuses on providing undergraduates with authentic scientific research experiences to enhance their learning in biology based programs, The Research PackTrack Program. Students who enter the program take courses on how to read, write, communicate science and spend a semester learning and becoming independent on basic laboratory techniques before they are placed in research labs around NCSU's campus where the student will work on their own independent project.
Teresa Green earned a PhD degree in Comparative Biomedical Sciences in Spring 2011. Dr. Green accepted a position as a postdoctoral fellow at the Environmental Protection Agency at Research Triangle Park, NC with the Integrated Systems Toxicology Division in February. Her research project involves in vitro and in vivo comparative studies of the bioavailability and toxicity health effects of silver nanomaterials.