Program Alumni

Christina Hugenschmidt (2008)
Advisor: Dr. Paul Laurienti, Radiology
Dissertation Title: The effects of aging on cross-modal attention
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Genomics, Wake Forest
University School of Medicine

David Gifondorwa, PhD (2008)
Advisor: Dr. Carol Milligan, Neurobiology and Anatomy
Dissertation Title: Exogenous heat shock protein 70 modulates disease progression in a mouse model of ALS
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Dept. Neurobiology and Anatomy, Wake
Forest University School of Medicine

Jeremy Ingraham, PhD (2008)
Advisor: Dr. William Sonntag, Physiology and Pharmacology
Dissertation Title: Effect of aging on microvascular density and plasticity in the rodent hippocampus
Current Position: Instructor, University of NC – Chapel Hill

Exazevia Logan, PhD (2008)
Advisor: Dr. Debra Diz, Hypertension and Cardiovascular Center
Dissertation Title: The role of the sympathetic nervous system in the pathogenesis of hypertension
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Dept. Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest School of Medicine

Travis Meyer, PhD (2008)
Advisor: Dr. Terry Stanford, Neurobiology and Anatomy
Dissertation Title: Effects of training on the functional organization of the prefrontal cortex
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA

Matthew Schindler, PhD (2008)
Advisor: Dr. David Riddle, Neurobiology and Anatomy
Dissertation Title: Aging dependent changes in the normal brain tissue response to
irradiation: New translational models of whole and focal brain irradiation
Current Position: Medical Student, Wake Forest School of Medicine

Tiffany Fisher, PhD (2007)
Advisor: Drs. Dwayne Godwin & Emilio Salinas, Neurobiology and Anatomy
Dissertation Title: Thalamic integration of cortical input
Current Position: Medical Student, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill

Georgia Alexander, PhD (2005)
Advisor: Dr. Dwayne Godwin, Neurobiology and Anatomy
Dissertation Title: Absence epilepsy treatment through metabotropic glutamate receptors
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Dept. of Neurobiology, Duke University

Nicole Procacci, PhD (2007)
Advisor: Dr. Terry Stanford, Neurobiology and Anatomy
Dissertation Title: Constraints governing interlimb coordination during discrete bimanual task performance
Current Position: Instructor, Medical School, American Samoa

Yu Liu, PhD (2005)
Advisor: Dr. David Roberts, Physiology and Pharmacology
Dissertation Title: Sensitization of the Reinforcing effects of cocaine
Current Position: Junior faculty, Peking University

Gabriela Chytrova, PhD (2005)
Advisor: Dr. Jim Johnson, Neurobiology/Anatomy
Dissertation Title: Neurotrophic signaling and retinal activity in the developing chick visual system
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Dept. of Medicine, UCLA

Elizabeth Vernon, PhD (2005)
Advisor: Dr. Jim Johnson, Neurobiology/Anatomy
Dissertation Title: Neurotrophic signaling in the developing chick neuromuscular system
Current Position: Adelphi International Research

Gregory Tinkler, PhD (2005)
Advisor: Dr. Mary Lou Voytko, Neurobiology and Anatomy
Dissertation Title: The effects of two years of estrogen loss and replacement on the
cholinergic and dopaminergic systems of surgically menopausal cynomolgus monkeys
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, NIH – Laboratory of Experimental Gerontology

Joshua Grill, PhD (2004)
Advisor: Dr. David Riddle, Neurobiology and Anatomy
Dissertation Title: the effects of normal aging and insulin-like growth factor-1 on dendritic geometry
Current Position: Director, Recruitment and Education Core, Mary S. Easton Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research at UCLA

Robin Lichtenwalner, PhD (2004)
Advisor: Dr. David Riddle, Neurobiology and Anatomy
Dissertation Title: Regulation of neurogenesis in the adult rat hippocampus by insulin-line growth factor-1
Current Position: Scientific Writer, ThinkMed

Sara Ward, PhD (2004)
Advisor: Dr. David Roberts, Physiology/Pharmacology
Dissertation Title: Investigating cocaine/heroin interactions in rats: From neural mechanisms of reinforcement to modeling polydrug histories
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Dept. of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Temple University, PA

Melanie Wyder, PhD (2004)
Advisor: Dr. Terry Stanford, Neurobiology/Anatomy
Dissertation Title: Quantitative assessment of single-neuron activity in primate central thalamus associated with the performance of oculomotor tasks
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Dept. of Psychology, Vanderbilt University

Xiaoying Zhu, PhD (2004)
Advisor: Dr. Jim Eisenach, Anesthesiology
Dissertation Title: Spinal cyclooxygenase-1 and pain
Current Position: Resident, Department of Anesthesiology, WFSM

Jessica Henderson, PhD (2003)
Advisor: Dr. Carol Shively, Comparative Medicine
Dissertation Title: The effects of current and prior OC treatment on the behavior and neurobiology of cynomolgus monkeys
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Oregon Regional Primate Research Center – University of OR Health Science Center

John Simeral, PhD (2003)
Advisor: Dr. Sam Deadwyler, Physiology/Pharmacology
Dissertation Title: Neural representation and dynamics in the rat hippocampus
Current Position: Research Scientist, Rehabilitation R & D Service, Veterans Administration Medical Center; Research Fellow, Dept. of Neuroscience, Brown University

Thomas Gould, PhD (2002)
Advisor: Dr. Ronald Oppenheim, Neurobiology and Anatomy
Dissertation Title: Neurotrophic receptor expression: Development and function in embryonic avian motoneurons
Current Position: Instructor, Medical School, American Samoa

Michele Kelly, PhD (2002)
Advisor: Dr. Sam Deadwyler, Physiology and Pharmacology
Dissertation Title: Experience-dependent regulation of the immediate-early gene arc following the acquisition of a novel behavior
Current Position: Research Scientist, Neuroscience Division, Wyeth Research Division

Nuwan Kurukulasuriya, PhD (2001)
Advisor: Dr. Dwayne Godwin, Neurobiology and
Anatomy
Dissertation Title: Opening the gateway to cortex: Nitric oxide differentially modulates retinal and cortical synapses in the thalamus
Current Position: Research Scientist, Johnson & Johnson

Ling Li, MD, PhD (2000)
Advisors: Drs. Carol Milligan and Ronald Oppenheim,
Neurobiology and Anatomy
Dissertation Title: Molecular Mechanisms of motoneuron cell death during development
Current Position: Private Practice, Neurology, St. John’s Clinic, Springfield, MO

Brandon Poe, PhD (2000)
Advisor: Dr. Judy Brunso-Bechtold, Neurobiology and Anatomy
Dissertation Title: Age-related variation in synapse number in rat sensorimotor cortex and hippocampus and the effect of insulin-like growth factor-1 treatment
Current Position: Instructor, Biology, Springfield Technical Community College

Edward Ergenzinger, PhD (1999)
Advisor: Dr. Tim Pons, Neurosurgery
Dissertation Title: Corticofugal influences in the primate somatosensory system
Current Position: Attorney, Neuroscience Law, Alston & Bird LLP, Raleigh, NC

Rachna Subrahmanyam Sinnott, PhD (1999)
Advisor: Dr. Mike Nader,
Physiology/Pharmacology
Dissertation Title: An analysis of dopamine receptor subtype modulation of cocaine’s behavioral effects in rhesus monkeys
Current Position: Director of Foundation and Corporate Relations, Whitman College

Amy Garrett, PhD (1998)
Advisor: Dr. Frank Wood, Neuropsychology
Dissertation Title: Glucose metabolic correlates of individual difference variables in adults with dyslexia and controls
Current Position: Research Associate and Neuroimaging Manager, Interdisciplinary Brain
Science, Stanford University

Mark Kirby, PhD (1998)
Advisor: Dr. Sam Deadwyler, Physiology and Pharmacology
Dissertation Title: Characterization of the effects of cannabinoids in rat hippocampus
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Georgia State University, Neural Signals, Inc.

Susan Mockus, PhD (1998)
Advisor: Dr. Kent Vrana, Physiology and Pharmacology
Dissertation Title: Structural and functional domains within aromatic amino acid hydroxylases
Current Position: Scientific Editor, Proteome, Division of Biobase Biological Databases, Beverly, MA

Melissa Niblock, PhD (1998)
Advisor: Dr. Judy Brunso-Bechtold, Neurobiology and Anatomy
Dissertation Title: Insulin-like growth factor-1 during development and aging
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Dept. of Molecular, Cellular and Systems Physiology, Dartmouth University

Babette Botchin Fontenot, PhD (1997)
Advisor: Dr. Jay Kaplan, Comparative Medicine
Dissertation Title: The relationship between social status in stable and unstable social groups and indices of biogenic amine function in adult male cynomolgus macaques
Current Position: Head, Division of Behavioral Sciences, University of LA at Lafayette

Mark Laubach, PhD (1997)
Advisor: Dr. Donald Woodward, Physiology and
Pharmacology
Dissertation Title: A neurophysiological investigation of the role of the cortico-basal ganglia system in reaction-time performance
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Dept. of Neurobiology, Yale University

Sharon Letchworth, PhD (1997)
Advisor: Dr. Linda Porrino, Physiology and
Pharmacology
Dissertation Title: The effects of cocaine on the dopamine transporter
Current Position: Research Scientist, Targacept, Winston-Salem, NC

Zhongyu Li, MD, PhD (1997)
Advisor: Dr. Thomas Smith, Orthopaedic Surgery
Dissertation Title: Neural control of mechanisms of the cutaneous thermoregulatory microcirculation
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Dept. of Orthopaedic Surgery, Wake Forest School of Medicine

Albert Lo, MD/PhD, (1997)
Advisor: Dr. Ronald Oppenheim, Neurobiology and Anatomy
Dissertation Title: Injury-induced neuronal cell death and the role of neurotrophic factors in the chick embryo
Current Position: Staff Neurologist, Multiple Sclerosis Clinic, VA Healthcare System, West Haven, CT; Staff Neurologist/Neurorehabilitation Physician, Gaylord Hospital, Wallingford, CT; Associate Research Scientist, Yale School of Medicine, Department of Neurology and PVA/EPVA Neuroscience Research Center, CT; Attending Neurologist, VA Healthcare System, West Haven CT

Craig Slawecki, PhD (1997)
Advisor: Dr. Hank Samson, Physiology/Pharmacology
Dissertation Title: The regulation of ethanol consumption by conditioned reinforcers
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Laboratory of Translational Neuropharmacology and San Diego Minorities Substance Abuse Project, The Scripps Research Institute, San Diego

Lisa Williams-Hemby, PhD (1996)
Advisor: Dr. Linda Porrino, Physiology and
Pharmacology
Dissertation Title: The effects of ethanol on functional CNS activity in the rat: The contribution of dopamine
Current Position:

Sharen McKay, PhD (1995)
Advisor: Dr. Ronald Oppenheim, Neurobiology and Anatomy
Dissertation Title: The Role of Neurotrophic Factors in the Development of the Chick Neuromuscular System
Current Position: Research Fellow, Dept. of Pharmacology, Yale University

Edward Schicatano, PhD (1995)
Advisor: Dr. Terry Blumenthal, Psychology
Dissertation Title: The effects of caffeine on habituation of the acoustic startle reflex in humans
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Dept. of Psychology, Wilkes University

Olivier Thibault, PhD (1993)
Advisor: Dr. Philip Landfield, Neurobiology and Anatomy
Dissertation Title: Modulation of repolarization calcium currents in young and aged rat hippocampal CA1 neurons: Effects of cAMP and divalent cation concentration
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Dept. of Molecular and Biomedical Pharmacology, University of Kentucky