Clinical Students
Department: Clinical Students
Alan Harris
Education: College of William and Mary, B.S. in Biology (2014); Virginia Commonwealth University, M.S. in Physiology & Biophysics (2016)
Hometown: Richmond, VA
PhD Advisor: Kimberle Jacobs, PhD
Graduate Program: Neuroscience
Publications
Bio: Alan’s main interest is neuroscience, particularly the mechanisms whereby neurocomputation emerges in dependence on membrane conductance properties. His research focuses on how traumatic disruption of cortical fast-spiking interneurons may translate to cognitive dysfunction after traumatic brain injury. Alan is from Richmond and has relished watching the city evolve; outside the lab he enjoys running, philosophy, entomology, and numismatics.
Jessica Kiernan
Education: Virginia Tech University, B.S. in Biology (2008); Georgetown University, M.Sc. Biohazardous Threat Agents and Emerging Infectious Diseases (2011)
Hometown: Lancaster, PA
PhD Advisor: April Kimmel, PhD
Graduate Program: Healthcare Policy and Research
Bio: Building on a pre-medical school career within the field of global health and infectious disease, Jessica's research interests include understanding the landscape of factors that lead to increased disease burden in vulnerable populations. She is interested in evaluating key drivers of disease transmission, opportunities for intervention and translatable, evidence-based models of treatment delivery, specifically within the HIV positive population in the United States. In her free time, Jessica enjoys exploring Richmond with her 16-month-old, SJ, and continuing global travel with her husband, Scott, with over 80 countries visited between them.
Caellaigh Kimpston
Education: University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, B.S. in Biology (2017)
Hometown: Russell, KY
PhD Advisor: Richard Marconi, PhD
Graduate Program: Microbiology and Immunology
Publications
Bio: At the University of North Carolina, Caellaigh's research focused on understanding the roles of the protein periostin and Schwann cells in a murine model of autoimmune peripheral neuropathy. Currently, she is interested in vaccine development for pathogenic spirochetes including those associated with Lyme disease, relapsing fever and periodontal disease. In her free time, she enjoys travelling, hiking, baking, and exploring new restaurants.
Pratyush Narayan
Education: Stony Brook University, B.S. in Biology and Sociology, with a minor in South Asian Studies (2014); Virginia Commonwealth University, M.S. in Physiology and Biophysics (2017)
Hometown: New York, NY
PhD Advisor: Stefano Toldo, PhD
Graduate Program: Physiology and Biophysics
Publications
Bio: Pratyush's research interest is in the field of cardiology and the role of inflammation in cardiovascular disease processes. He is particularly interested in the role of Interleukin-18 in high-fat diet induced cardiomyopathy, cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injury, and heart preservation and transplant. His personal interests include photography, intramural sports and exploring Richmond.
Anuj Tharakan
Education: Drexel University, B.S. in Biological Sciences (2014)
Hometown: Vienna, VA
PhD Advisor: Rebecca Martin, PhD
Graduate Program: Microbiology and Immunology
Publications
Bio: Anuj's research interests lie in basic and translational immunology. His dissertation research focuses on dendritic cell intrinsic mechanisms that influence T-helper 2 cell polarization in the context of allergy and asthma. In his free time, Anuj enjoys playing basketball, cooking, and spending time outdoors.
Kyle Woisard
Education: Virginia Tech, B.S. in Psychology and B.A. in Philosophy (2016)
Hometown: Fairfax, VA
PhD Advisor:Frederick Moeller, MD
Graduate Program: CCTR CaMM
Bio: Kyle's research aims to highlight differences in brain activity among users of different classes of drugs and non-drug users. The primary method toward this aim will be resting state fMRI to assess functional and effective (directional) connectivity among different brain regions and networks. Kyle's personal interests include hunting for good vegan food, sports and exercise, and urban dance.
Christian Fontan
Education: College of William & Mary, B.S. in Chemistry (2016)
Hometown: Leesburg, VA
PhD Advisor: Iain Morgan, PhD
Graduate Program: Oral Health Research
Bio: Christian's research endeavors include how high-risk human papillomaviruses modify the host cell's response to chemoradiotherapy in the context of oropharyngeal cancer. Such an understanding may allow for treatment stratification for HPV-positive versus HPV-negative cancer patients as well as de-escalation therapy. In his personal time, Christian enjoys outdoor sports such as rock climbing and running, as well as exploring food and music festivals.
Kara Dods
Education: Rutgers University, B.Sc. with honors in Biochemistry, Exercise Physiology, Nutrition
Hometown: Linwood, NJ
PhD Advisor: Matthew Hartman, PhD
Graduate Program: Chemical Biology
Publications
Bio: Kara's research focus is using peptide library selection strategies to develop peptide inhibitors of the intrinsically disordered protein MYCN, which plays an important role in high-risk neuroblastoma. She is interested in developing novel therapeutic strategies to reduce the mortality for patients with MYCN-amplified disease. Outside of the lab, Kara enjoys playing music and watching football: she is the librarian/third horn for the VCU Health System Orchestra and is almost always in Liverpool red on match days.
Gene (Chatman) Clark
Education: Virginia Tech, B.S. in Biochemistry (2012); Virginia Commonwealth University, MS in Biochemistry (2015)
Hometown: Richmond, VA
PhD Advisors: Ross Mikkelsen, PhD; Xiang-Yang (Shawn) Wang, PhD
Graduate Program: Biochemistry
Bio: Gene is interested in exploring the immune effects of radiotherapy, immunotherapeutic strategies for solid tumors, and radiotherapy-immunotherapy combination procedures. Currently he is focused on the ability of exosomes produced by irradiated cancer cells to inhibit tumor infiltrating dendritic cell function. His personal interests include traveling, paddle boarding, running, music, teaching, and of course science.