PHCP Students
Andrew Hart
Start Year: 2016
Graduate Group: IGG
PhD Advisor: Terri Laufer
Andrew graduated with a BS in Molecular Biology from Marshall University in May of 2016. His research interests in science encompass bacterial immunity and innate signaling cascades. He hopes to incorporate these passions into public health, focusing on the social determinants of health that influence bacterial infections and recovery. In his free time, Andrew enjoys running, baking, and watching movies with friends.
Emily Cribas
Start Year: 2017
Graduate Group: CAMB MVP
PhD Advisor: Michael Abt
Emily received her BS in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Penn State in May 2017. She is primarily interested in bacterial pathogenesis as well as the relationship between the human microbiota and disease. In terms of global health, she is interested in malnutrition and women's health issues after participating in a medical/public health brigade in Nicaragua. In her spare time, Emily enjoys weightlifting, video games (occasionally), and exploring new places.
Dan Ju
Start Year: 2017
Graduate Group: CAMB G&E
PhD Advisors: Ian Mathieson and Sarah Tishkoff
Dan is a Genetics and Epigenetics student fascinated by human origins. Before graduate school, he did research in bat echolocation at Johns Hopkins University and cancer epidemiology at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center. He is interested in the intersection of evolution and public health, and believes these two fields more often than not run in tandem. Besides learning about biology, he enjoys music and plays tuba.
Matt Martinez
Start Year: 2019
Graduate Group: BMB
PhD Advisor: Yi-Wei Chang
Matt graduated from Florida State University with a BS in Biological Sciences and minors in Chemistry and Italian, followed by a Masters in Pharmacology at the University of Oxford completed in September 2019. As a student of the BMB graduate group, he is interested in biochemical, biophysical, and structural properties of proteins that will allow insight into the molecular mechanisms of host-pathogen interactions. With this knowledge, he hopes to better understand the biology of pathogens that are rampant in the developing world and aid the efforts toward their eradication.
Jaffna Mathiaparanam
Start Year: 2019
Graduate Group: NGG
PhD Advisor: Michael Granato
Jaffna graduated from the University of Wisconsin Madison in 2017 with a degree in neurobiology. She is interested in studying molecular and circuitry characteristics of substance abuse and neuropsychiatric disease. She hopes to use her PhD with her public health experience to improve access and treatment for groups vulnerable to these conditions.
Seble Negatu
snegatu@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Start Year: 2019
Graduate Group: IMUN
PhD Advisor: Kellie Jurado
Seble is currently an IGG graduate student with research interests in host-pathogen interactions during viral infections. She is interested in understanding how to incorporate knowledge about infectious diseases into real world public health scenarios. Outside of lab, Seble enjoys painting, going to museums, hiking, and exploring new restaurants.
Jorge Acuña
Jorge.Acuna@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Start Year: 2020
Graduate Group: CAMB MVP
PhD Advisor: Sara Cherry
Jorge is a Microbiology, Virology, and Parasitology student within the CAMB program. His interests revolve around virology, specifically in host-pathogen interactions involving immune evasion and pathogenesis. Implementing his PhD and public health experiences, he aims to contribute to the prevention, containment, treatment, and eradication of emerging infectious diseases. Outside of the lab, he enjoys weightlifting, playing intramural sports, and traveling.
Daniel Kim
kimdanny@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Start Year: 2020
Graduate Group: CAMB MVP
PhD Advisor: Elizabeth White
Daniel graduated from Emory University with degrees in neuroscience and Spanish in 2017. Afterwards, he completed a postbaccalaureate research fellowship at the National Institutes of Health in virology where he studied noroviruses in immunocompromised patients. As an MVP student, Daniel is currently interested in exploring biomedical research that has implications in shaping public health initiatives for managing infectious diseases at the population level.
Grace Li
ShukHang.Li@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Start Year: 2020
Graduate Group: CAMB MVP
PhD Advisor: Scott Hensley
Grace is an MVP student with an interest in virology and immunology. At Penn, she hopes to focus on studying host immune response to viral infection and vaccination and developing immune-based interventions to prevent infectious diseases. She is eager to develop competencies in the field of public health through PHCP and explore the intersection of infectious disease research and public health with the goal of contributing to decision making in infectious disease-related public health concerns.
Eliana von Krusenstiern
elianav@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Start Year: 2020
Graduate Group: PHRM
PhD Advisors: Kelly Jordan-Sciutto and Judith Greenspan
Dale Brokaw
dale.brokaw@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Start Year: 2021
Graduate Group: CAMB G&E
PhD Advisor: Syd Shaffer
Samuelle Delcy
Samuelle.Delcy@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Start Year: 2021
Graduate Group: PHRM
PhD Advisor: Akiva Cohen
Samuelle graduated from Brooklyn College in 2021 with a BS in Psychology and a minor in Neuroscience. She was also a MARC Scholar which is how she became involved in research! She is primarily interested in neurodegeneration and understanding some of the neural mechanisms disruptions that contribute to diseases such as Alzheimer’s. For Samuelle's public health project, she is specifically interested in looking at populations who are often overlooked in scientific research, yet have the highest prevalence for neurodegenerative disorders (e.g., African Americans and Hispanics). In her free time, she enjoys trying new foods, traveling, and occasionally also crochets.
Emily O'Rourke
emily.orourke@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Start Year: 2021
Graduate Group: CAMB MVP
PhD Advisor: Sunny Shin
Emily O’Rourke is pursuing a Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology. She graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Biology. As an undergraduate, Emily took a course in South Africa about the evolution of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This experience piqued her interest in public health. Through PHCP, she hopes to explore the interface of infectious disease research and community health education. In her research, Emily is interested in uncovering the molecular basis of infectious diseases. Outside of lab, Emily enjoys running, fashion, and trying coffee shops around Philly.
Jaydeen Sewell
jaydeen.sewell@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Start Year: 2021
Graduate Group: CAMB MVP
PhD Advisor: Sunny Shin
Jaydeen is a PhD student in the CAMB MVP program. She grew up in Jamaica but has been living in Bridgeport, Connecticut, for the past 11 years. She received her bachelors in Biological Sciences from the University of Connecticut and her masters in Biomedical Sciences with a concentration in microbiology from Quinnipiac University. Jaydeen is passionate about public health and science communication. Her goal is to take what she knows about pathogenic organisms in the infectious disease and link it back to public health.
Tamanna Srivastava
tamanna.srivastava@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Start Year: 2021
Graduate Group: BMB
PhD Advisor: Sara Cherry
Tamanna is a BMB student interested in applying computational and biochemical methods to study infectious diseases. She graduated from Duke University with a BS in Chemistry and Statistics. In the PHCP program, she hopes to study the public-health implications of infectious diseases through multiple perspectives.
Jordan Williams
jo.williams@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Start Year: 2022
Graduate Group: PGG
PhD Advisor: Rob Lee
Jordan is a PGG student, coming to Penn from a postbac fellowship at the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) and a Chemistry B.S. from Boise State University. She’s an aspiring science communicator and feels that the program will give her a foundation in public health necessary to advance her scicomm skills. Outside of the lab, Jordan plays the clarinet, enjoys winding down with cozy video games, takes nature walks/beach trips, and loves to explore Philly.
PHCP Requirements Completed
Brianne Roper
Start Year: 2019
Graduate Group: CAMB MVP
PhD Advisor: Audrey John
Brianne Roper is an MVP student interested in virology, particularly diseases that disproportionately affect people of lower income. Her interest in global health was started from a month long global health course she took during undergrad at a research center in Macha, Zambia. While in the PHCP, she plans to find an intersection of her biomedical and public research interests.
Mike Noji
Start Year: 2018
Graduate Group: CAMB CB
PhD Advisors: Kathryn Wellen and Zoltan Arany
Mike is a Cancer Biology student within the CAMB graduate group with an interest in cancer metabolism. He received his Bachelor's degree in Biology from Rutgers University in 2015 where he studied the effects of diet and exercise on the microbiome. Outside of lab, Mike enjoys participating in Intramurals at Penn, reading, and attending concerts around Philadelphia.