BRET News
Congrats, Dr. Scalici!
May. 7, 2025—Congrats, Dr. Scalici! Who: Alexandra Scalici, PhD Department: Human Genetics PI Mentor: Dr. Nancy Cox Research: My research focused on using VUMC’s electronic health record linked biobank, BioVU, to study rare and common genetic diseases. Vanderbilt Impact: “The strong sense of community within Human Genetics Training Program and the Vanderbilt Genetics Institute allowed me to...
Congrats, Dr. Bryant!
Apr. 23, 2025—Congrats, Dr. Bryant! Who: Kaeli Bryant, PhD Department: Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology PI Mentor: Dr. Timothy Cover Research: I studied the structure of the Helicobacter pylori Cag type IV secretion system, which is a major contributor to the development of gastric cancer. Vanderbilt Impact: “The general research environment at Vanderbilt, including the core facilities offered,...
Congrats, Dr. Bledsoe!
Apr. 23, 2025—Congrats, Dr. Bledsoe! Who: Xavier Bledsoe, PhD Department: Human Genetics PI Mentor: Eric Gamazon & Nancy Cox Research: How do genetic changes to gene expression affect the structure of the brain in contexts of health and disease? Vanderbilt Impact: ” My work relied heavily on Vanderbilt’s Advanced Computing Center for Research and Education (ACCRE)- it...
Congrats, Dr. Munneke!
Apr. 23, 2025—Congrats, Dr. Munneke! Who: Matthew Munneke, PhD Department: Pathology, Microbiology,and Immunology PI Mentor: Eric Skaar Research: Understanding what the bacterial pathogen Clostridioides difficile is eating in your gut Vanderbilt Impact: “The Mass Spectrometry Research Center as well as the Vanderbilt Institute for Infection, Immunology, and Inflammation were essential resources throughout my training here.. “ Post-PhD...
Congrats, Dr. Hartmann!
Apr. 7, 2025—Congrats, Dr. Hartmann! Who: Heather Hartmann, PhD Department: Molecular Pathology and Immunology PI Mentor: Vivian Weiss Research: Intrinsic and environmental drivers of thyroid cancer Vanderbilt Impact: “Both the Cell Imaging Shared Resource (CISR) and the translational Pathology Shared Resource (TPSR) have helped my research at Vanderbilt. “ Post-PhD Plans: Postdoctoral position in the Guengerich laboratory
Congrats, Dr. Kunnath!
Apr. 2, 2025—Congrats, Dr. Kunnath! Who: Ansley Kunnath, PhD Department: Neuroscience PI Mentor: Mark Wallace & René Gifford Research: I study how people with hearing loss integrate information across different senses during speech understanding and the cortical networks involved in this process. Vanderbilt Impact: “I work in the labs of Dr. Mark Wallace and Dr. René Gifford...
Congrats, Dr. Barr!
Apr. 2, 2025—Congrats, Dr. Barr! Who: Jordyn Barr, PhD Department: Biological Sciences PI Mentor: Julian Hillyer Research: Warmer temperatures accelerate aging in mosquitoes, altering their ability to survive and transmit disease Vanderbilt Impact: “Mentoring a high school student through School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt (SSMV) as well as the SEC Scholar Experience instilled in me...
Congrats, Dr. Bogart!
Mar. 31, 2025—Congrats, Dr.Bogart! Who: Avery Bogart, PhD Department: Pathology, Microbiology, & Immunology PI Mentor: Lorraine Ware, MD Research: I study actors that injure the endothelium, a layer of cells that line all blood vessels, in critical conditions such as sepsis to improve treatments for severe illnesses. Vanderbilt Impact: “Graduate School Travel Grants significantly supported my professional...
Congrats, Dr. Hargrove-Wiley!
Mar. 27, 2025—Congrats, Dr. Hargrove-Wiley! Who: Ebony Hargrove-Wiley, PhD Department: Cancer Biology PI Mentor: Barbara Fingleton Research: Sex-Specific Immune Responses and Immunomodulatory Pathways in Breast Cancer Vanderbilt Impact: “IMSD, the ASPIRE Program/BRET Office, and Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center were instrumental in my training.” Post-PhD Plans: Entering Pharmaceutical Industry Clinical and Medical Affairs
Congrats, Dr. Tran!
Mar. 27, 2025—Congrats, Dr. Tran! Who: Jenny Tran, PhD Department: Biochemistry PI Mentor: Breann Brown Research: Understanding how differences in protein structure affect different organisms. Vanderbilt Impact: “The MSRC Proteomics Core were fundamental to some of the core data during my graduate studies. The Center for Structural Biology provided me the instrumentation to conduct experiments and to...
Congrats, Dr. Loberg!
Mar. 27, 2025—Congrats, Dr. Loberg! Who: Matthew Loberg, PhD Department: Cancer Biology PI Mentor: Vivian Weiss and Ethan Lee Research: Thyroid cancers often respond well to therapy, yet a minority progress; the goal of my research is to identify factors associated with thyroid cancer progression. Vanderbilt Impact: “Many different core facilities (VANTAGE, VANGARD, CISR, TPSR, DHSR, high-throughput...
Congrats, Dr. Hayes!
Mar. 27, 2025—Congrats, Dr. Hayes! Who: James Hayes, PhD Department: Cell and Developmental Biology PI Mentor: Dylan Burnette Research: We identified new proteins in the heart that regulate how it produces contractile force. Vanderbilt Impact: “One which made an enormous impact was the Vanderbilt Nikon Center for Excellence and those working within it. My results were not...
Congrats, Dr. Glass!
Mar. 27, 2025—Congrats, Dr. Glass! Who: Sarah Glass, PhD Department: Cell and Developmental Biology PI Mentor: Bob Coffey Research: My work has looked at how one protein, DPEP1, impacts immune cell infiltration into colorectal cancer tumors, which can impact immunotherapy outcomes. Vanderbilt Impact: ” The ASPIRE program made an impact on my training by giving me professional...
Congrats, Dr. Sanchez!
Mar. 27, 2025—Congrats, Dr. Sanchez! Who: Zachary Sanchez, PhD Department: Cell and Developmental Biology PI Mentor: Dylan Burnette Research: My research was focused on the diversity of mitochondria in different cellular contexts. Vanderbilt Impact: “The Vanderbilt resources that made the biggest impact in training: CISR Core, Outreach, and the tremendous support from the CDB department.” Post-PhD Plans:...
Congrats, Dr. Bermudez!
Mar. 27, 2025—Congrats, Dr. Burmudez! Who: Tomas Burmudez, PhD Department: Pathology, Microbiology, Immunology PI Mentor: Maria Hadjifrangiskou Research: I have studied how common and novel routes to fosfomycin resistance in uropathogenic E. coli affect how well the pathogen can cause infection in the host. Vanderbilt Impact: “IMSD was a fantastic resource that really helped me adapt to...