Class of '15

Doctorate of Philosophy

	Devon Cayer Programmable Biomolecules and their Applications in Diagnostics and Therapeutics Advisor: M. Reza Ghadiri, PhD, Professor, Department of Chemistry

	Abhishek Chadha Sensory and Motor Components of Coordination in Drosophila Melanogaster Advisor: Boaz Cook, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

	Kelvin S. L. Chan Part I: Pd-Catalyzed C(sp2)–H Fluorination; Part II: Enantioselective Pd-Catalyzed C(sp3)–H functionalization Advisor: Jin Quan Yu, PhD, Professor, Department of Chemistry

	Emily Charlotte Cherney Unified Approaches to the Synthesis of Tetracyclic Diterpenes and Related Alkaloids Advisor: Phil S. Baran, PhD, Professor, Department of Chemistry

	Vishal Deshmukh Approaches to Multiple Sclerosis and Cancer Immunotherapy Advisor: Peter G. Schultz, PhD, Professor, Department of Chemistry

	Klement Foo Part I: Total Synthesis of (+)-Psychotetramine; Part II: Synthesis of Macrocyclic Sesquiterpenes; Part III: Synthesis of Aryl Amines via C–H Functionalization Advisor: Phil S. Baran, PhD, Professor, Department of Chemistry

	Kwesi Frimpong-Boateng Neonate Immunity: The Factors Driving the Spontaneous Proliferation of Naive CD4 T cells and the Generation of Induced Regulatory T cells Advisor: Charles Surh, PhD, Professor, Division of Integrative Bioscience and Biotechnology, POSTECH

	Yu Gao Conformationally Restricted Peptidomimetic Libraries for High-Throughput Screening Advisor: Thomas Kodadek, PhD, Professor and Chair, Department of Cancer Biology

	Christopher R. H. Hale Part I: Total Synthesis and Structural Revision of Viridicatumtoxin B; Part II: Synthetic Studies Towards Furanocembranoids Advisor: K.C. Nicolaou, PhD, Professor of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Rice University

	Dane Holte Part I: Synthetic Studies in Sequiterpenes; Part II: Total Synthesis of Verruculogen Advisor: Phil Baran, PhD, Professor, Department of Chemistry

	Marisa L. Hovlid The Chemical and Genetic Engineering of Qβ Virus-like Particles for Cell Targeting and Delivery Advisor: M.G. Finn, PhD, Professor and Chair, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology

	Cristina Irimia The Effect of Chronic Drug Exposure on Impulsive Action and Impulsive Choice Advisor: Larry Parsons, PhD, Professor, Committee on the Neurobiology of Addictive Disorders

	John Leon Kiappes, Jr. Synthesis and Biological Characterization of Natural and Designed Sugars Advisor: K.C. Nicolaou, PhD, Professor of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Rice University

	Veena Krishnappa The Tumor Suppressor p53 is an Indispensable Regulator of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Function Advisor: Donald G. Phinney, PhD, Professor, Department of Molecular Therapeutics

	Sarah Adrianne LaMere Dynamic epigenetic regulation of CD4 T cell activation and memory formation Advisor: Daniel R. Salomon, MD, Professor, Molecular and Experimental Medicine

	Hiu Wah Leung Division of Labor within a Protein – Structures of Nicotinamide Nucleotide Transhydrogenase Reveal Coupling between Proton Translocation and Hydride Transfer Advisor: C. David Stout, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology

	Jamal Malik Mechanistic Investigations of the Copper-catalyzed Azide/Alkyne Cycloaddition and Related Reactions Advisor: Valery V. Fokin, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry

	David Parsa Marciano Biological and Chemical Approaches to Enhance Protein Folding and Function Advisor: Patrick Griffin, PhD, Professor and Chair, Department of Molecular Therapeutics

	Steven J. McKerrall The Total Synthesis of Ingenol Advisor: Phil S. Baran, PhD, Professor, Department of Chemistry

	Quentin Nicholas Michaudel Oxidation of Complex Molecules: From Nature to the Flask Advisor: Phil S. Baran, PhD, Professor, Department of Chemistry

	Kristopher Lancaster Nazor DNA Methylation Dynamics in Pluripotent and Somatic Cells Advisor: Jeanne F. Loring, PhD, Professor of Developmental Neurobiology, Department of Chemical Physiology

	James S. Oakdale Part I: Homogeneous Catalysis; from ruthenium(II)-catalyzed azide alkyne cycloadditions; Part II: To super-base mediated sulfur(VI) fluoride exchange reactions Advisor: Valery V. Fokin, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry

	Katie Podshivalova Small Non-coding RNA’s and Regulation of Gene Expression During CD4 T Cell Activation Advisor: Daniel R. Salomon, MD, Professor, Molecular and Experimental Medicine

	Zinaida Polonskaya Synthetic Oligosaccharides Displayed on Virus-like Particles: Towards the Development of Modular Vaccines Advisors: Luc Teyton, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Immunology and Microbial Science; M.G. Finn, PhD, Professor and Chair, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology

	Rodrigo A. Rodriguez Chemical Inspiration from the Synthesis of the Pyrrole Imidazole Alkaloids: A Scalable Synthesis of Axinellamines and Development of New Reagents for C-C and C-X bond formation Advisor: Phil S. Baran, PhD, Professor, Department of Chemistry

	Richard C. Sando III Investigating the Neuronal Function of Mammalian Class IIa HDAC’s Advisor: Anton Maximov, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

	Nicole Schirle The Structural Basis for RNA Silencing by Human Argonaute2 Advisor: Ian MacRae, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology

	Nicholas Simmons Studies in Chlorination and C-H Functionalization Advisor: K.C. Nicolaou, PhD, Professor of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Rice University

	Sotirios Totokotsopoulos Epipolythiodiketopiperazine Alkaloids: Methodology and Total Syntheses Advisor: K.C. Nicolaou, PhD, Professor of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Rice University

	Cesar Antonio Virgen Interleukin-1 Receptor 1 Activation Inhibits Hepatitis C Virus Infection Advisor: Francis V. Chisari, MD, Professor Emeritus, Department of Immunology and Microbial Sciences

	Chong Wang Structural Diversity of the G Protein-coupled Receptor Superfamily – From Class A Serotonin Receptors to Class F Smoothened Receptor Advisor: Raymond C. Stevens, PhD, Professor, Department of Biological Sciences and Chemistry, University of Southern California

	Cathy Xueqian Wang Enhancing HIV-1 Lentiviral Vector Mediated Gene Delivery to Hematopoietic Stem Cells Advisor: Bruce E. Torbett, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Molecular and Experimental Medicine

	Erik D. Wold Discovery and Development of Novel Antibody Constructs for Cancer Diagnosis and Therapy Advisor: Brunhilde Felding, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Chemical Physiology

	Huixian Wu Structural Investigation of G protein-Coupled Receptors – Molecular Recognition, Modulation, and Diversity Advisor: Raymond C. Stevens, PhD, Professor, Department of Biological Sciences and Chemistry, University of Southern California

	Han Xiao Synthesis and Reactivity of ‘Izidine’ Alkaloids and Simple Analogs Advisor: Peter G. Schultz, PhD, Professor, Department of Chemistry

	Masters in Clinical Investigation

	Xiaoli Liu, MD Bacterial Species Determination by Whole-Genome Sequencing in a Clinical Setting Advisor: Nicholas Schork, PhD, Professor and Director of Human Biology, J. Craig Venter Institute

	Evan David Muse, MD, PhD Novel Insights into the Coordinate Modulation of LXR- and SREBP-dependent Gene Pathways by Desmosterol and Novel Desmosterol Mimetics in Macrophage and Hepatocytes Advisor: Eric J. Topol, MD, Professor, Department of Molecular and Experimental Medicine

	Hardeep Singh Phull, MD Development of a Switchable Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cell (CART) Platform Targeting the C-type Lectin-like Molecule-1 (CLL-1) Tumor Antigen in Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) Advisor: Peter G. Schultz, PhD, Professor, Department of Chemistry