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Current Lab Members

 

Dr. Jonathan D. Dinman, Ph.D.

Professor and Chair
[ dinman@umd.edu] 

​

​Lab Alumni

Undergraduate

Victoria Lilling.  Fall 2002 – Spring 2004.

  • HHMI Undergraduate Fellow.

  • Goldwater Fellow

  • Graduated SUNY Rochester Med. School.

Sara Roshwalb. Spring 2003 – Spring 2006.

  • HHMI Undergraduate Fellow

  • P. Arne Hansen Memorial Award. 

  • SAO inductee, graduated with Highest Honors. 

  • Graduated Vet. Med. Program in exotic animals, Vanderbilt, Univ.

Mark Connelly.  Fall 2005.

Nicholas Hepler.  Fall 2006 – Spring 2008.

  • HHMI Undergraduate Fellow. 

  • SAO inductee, graduated with Honors. 

  • PhD in Bioinformatics, U.C. San Diego.

Minal Mehta.  Spring 2007 – Spring 2008.

  • HHMI Undergraduate Fellow.

  • Ph.D., Pennsylvania School of Medicine

  • Currently a Research Scientist, Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolic Disease (CVRM) at MedImmune

Rachel Niederer.  Fall 2007 – spring 2009. 

  • HHMI Undergraduate Fellow,

  • CBMG Honors program,

  • P. Arne Hansen Memorial Award. 

  • Ph.D. JHU BCMB doctoral program.

  • Postdoctoral fellow, Yale University.

  • Assistant Professor, Tenure Track, University of Michigan.

Sheveir Ross (URM).  Spring 2008.

  • Currently an Environmental Health Specialist, Prince George’s County Health Department

Hannah Silverman.  Spring 2008 – Fall 2008.

  1. Brian Garvey.  Spring 2008 – spring 2009. 

  • Graduated Georgetown Medical School 2014.

Jack Quesinberry.  Fall 2008 – Fall 2011

  • Currently, Core laboratory Technologist, GeneDx.

Curt Kugel.  Fall 2009 – Spring, 2010.

  • PhD., Thomas Jefferson University

  • Postdoc at the Wistar Institute.

  • Currently an Associate Consultant with ZS Management Consulting

Michelle Pondlik.  Fall 2010.

Krzysztof Franaszek.  Fall 2010 – Spring 2013.

  • HHMI Undergraduate Fellow; CBMG Honors; 

  • Goldwater Scholarship Honorable Mention, 2012;

  • Gates-Cambridge Scholarship 2013; 

  • Outstanding CBMG Undergraduate Award 2013.

  • Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans recipient.

  • Completed Ph.D. at Cambridge University, UK

  • MD, MIT Medical school.

Mary Mervis.  Fall 2010 – Spring 2013. 

  • PhD, Molecular Biosciences, Stanford University.

  • Postdoc, UCSF.

Megan Lin.  Fall 2011 – Spring 2012.

Tyler Thrasher.  Fall 2011 – Spring 2014.

  • Graduated with CBMG Honors.

  • Clinical Trials Assistant, Duke University Medical School

  1. Maliha Zainib, Spring 2012 – Fall 2013.

Christine Moomau, Fall 2012 – Fall 2014.

  • College Park Scholars

  • Graduated CBMG Honors with High Honors

  • Student Speaker, CMNS Convocation, Dec. 2014.

  • PhD MIT. NSF Predoctoral Fellowship 2022.

Vanessa Frontz, Fall 2013 – spring 2014.

Rajan Patel, Fall 2013 – Spring 2016.

Christin Langen, Fall 2013 – spring 2014.

Elizabeth Mahoney (U. Pittsburgh). Summer 2013.

  • Director of Childrens Education, Colorado Museum of Natural History

Joseph Dong, Summer 2014 – Spring 2016.

Ki Kim. Summer 2014 – Spring 2016.

Leanne Young. Fall 2015 – Spring 2016.

  • Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine full tuition scholarship

Yousuf Khan.  Summer 2014 – Summer 2017.

  • Banneker-Key Scholar, 2014- 2018

  • Maryland Summer scholarship, 2015.

  • Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Scholarship, 2016 - 2018.

  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute Undergraduate Research Fellowship, 2017 – 2018.

  • Churchill Scholar. 2018.

  • Knight-Hennessy Scholar. 2019

  • MD/PhD program, Stanford University.

Avan Antia, Fall 2014 – Spring 2016.

  • Winner, Best Undergraduate Poster, 17th Annual Rustbelt RNA meeting, Huron OH, 2014.

  • Recipient, Department of State Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) recipient, 2014.

  • Recipient, American India Foundation Clinton Fellowship

  • NIH Intramural Research Training Fellowship

  • MD/PhD program Washington University School of Medicine

Swaksha Rachuri, Fall 2014 – Spring 2017.

  • JR Dorfman Prize for Undergraduate Research, 2017.

  • Drexel Medical School, M.D./Ph.D. program. Sept 2018 – present.

Danyaal Jafrani, Fall 2015 – Spring 2017.

Jacob Blackmon. Spring 2016 – Fall 2016.

Mina Griffioen. Spring 2016 – Spring 2018.

  • Poster Honorable Mention, 2016 Rustbelt RNA Conference.

  • Best Poster, School of Public Health spring 2018 fair.

  • Student Speaker, UMD School of Public Health Fall 2018 Commencement.

  • Research Fellow, NCI Fredrick

  • PhD candidate, U. Colorado, Boulder..

Hui-Ju Han.  Spring 2016.

Liya Ketema. Spring 2016 – Fall 2017.

  • Currently a Programmer Analyst II at GEICO

Tania Mamdouhi. Spring 2016 – Fall 2017.

  • M.D.from the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, 2022.

Arvin Massoudi. Spring 2016 – Fall 2017.

Michael Wong. Spring 2016 – Fall 2016.

Brian Florenzoi. Fall 2016 – Spring 2017.

Hannah Bress. Spring 2017 – Spring 2019.

  • Outstanding CBMG Student Award, 2019

  • Graduated with High Honors in CBMG

Jinyi Zhu. Spring 2017 – Spring 2019.

Zaynah Ahmed. Spring 2018 – Spring 2019. 

Bruck Negash (URM). Spring 2018 – Fall 2018.

Alexandra Schneider. Fall 2018 – 2020.

  • Dr. Normal Laffer Scholarship, 2019

  • Best Poster, Cell and Developmental Biology, UMD Bioscience Day 2019

  • Outstanding CBMG student award, 2020.

  • Began Doctoral program at U. Penn, fall 2021

Tanya Ghosh. Spring 2019 – 2021.

Kevin Tu. Fall 2019- present

  • Sigma Xi, 2020.

  • Goldwater Scholar, 2022.

  • Amgen Fellow, 2022.

  • CBMG DEI Recognition Award, 2022.

  • Churchill Fellowship awarded 2023.

Clarissa Halprin: Spring 2020 – 2021.

  • Currently in PhD program, George Washington University. 

 

Masters

Jason Yasenchak.  1997 – M.S. awarded July 2, 1999.

Mary Rigsby.  2003 – M.S. awarded June 1, 2005.

Jessica Wilson-Neeriemer.  2006 – M.S. awarded January 18, 2008. 

  • NIH Virology Training grant Award.

Courtney K. Robinson.  2008 – M.S. Awarded December 18, 2009.  

Shivani Rama Reddy.  2009 – 2013.

Zachary Flickinger. 2015 – 2016

  • Cell and Molecular Biology Training Grant Fellowship. 2015-2016.

 

Doctoral

Amy B. Hammell.  1996 – Ph.D. awarded December 12, 2000.

Jason W. Harger.  1999 – Ph.D. awarded October 2, 2003. 

  • NIH Host/Pathogen Interactions Training Grant Award.

Jonathan L. Jacobs.  2000 –Ph.D. awarded  April 4, 2006. 

  • NIH NRSA fellow.

Kristi Muldoon-Jacobs.  2001 – Ph.D. awarded  May 1, 2006.

Alexey Petrov.  2003 – Ph.D. awarded June 28, 2006. 

  • Andrew J. Moyer Award, (2006).

Jennifer Baxter-Roshek.  2001 – Ph.D. awarded December  2006.

  • NIH Virology Training Grant Award.

Johnathan R. Russ.  2003 –  Ph.D. Awarded August 2, 2007. 

  • NIH Minority/Disadvantaged Graduate Student Award.

Timothy Waaganer.  2003 – Ph.D. Awarded August 13, 2007. 

  • NIH Virology Training Grant Award, 2007.

Ashton Trey Belew.  2005 – 2011. 

  • NIH Virology Training Grant Award, 2007; 

  • Andrew J. Moyer Award, 2009;

  •  College of Chemical and Life Sciences Drs. Wayne T. and Mary T. Hockmeyer Doctoral Fellowship, 2009. 

Michael Rhodin.  2006 – Ph.D. Awarded December 12, 2010.

  • Isabel MacDonald Award (2008). 

  • First place poster in Genetics, Genomics, Bioinformatics and Proteomics category, University of Maryland Bioscience Day (2010).

Amanda Howard.  2006 – Ph.D. awarded October 26, 2010.

  • NIH Virology Training Grant Award, 2007

Sharmishtha Musalgaonkar.  2008 – Ph.D. Awarded August 9, 2014.

  • Dr. Abedin-ul Zain Memorial Scholarship, 2013; 

  • Deans  Fellowship, Fall 2013;

  • Goldhaber Travel Award, Summer 2013;

  • MOCB-Concentration Area Travel Grant, 2013.

Gina Della Togna.  2008 – Ph.D. Awarded August 7, 2015.  Co-advised with Dr. Pierre Comizzoli, Smithsonian Institution.

Vanya Paranalov.  2008 – Ph.D. Awarded April 21, 2014.  Co-advised with Dr. John Glass, J. Craig Venter Institute.

Sergey Sulima.  2009 – Ph.D. Awarded October 31, 2013 .

  • NIH Training Grant “Training Program in Cell and Molecular Biology” (T32GM080201) Award, July 2010 – June 2013;

  • The Jacob K. Goldhaber Travel Grant, 2013;

  • Molecular and Cell Biology Travel Award, June 2013;

  • Dean's Fellowship, January 2013.

Ryan Kobylarz.  2010 – Ph.D. Awarded July 23, 2015.

  • Sampugna/Keeney Travel Award, 2014.

Alicia Bowen.  2010 – Ph.D. Awarded March 23, 2015.  

  • NOBCChE Advancing Science Award, 2013. 

  • NSF NOBCChE Chairman’s Travel Award, 2013.

  • Sampugna/Keeney Travel Award, 2014.

  • NOBCChE Winifred Burks-Houck Graduate Student Leadership Award, 2014.

Suna Gulay.  2010 – Ph.D. Awarded February 9, 2015. 

  • CBMG Distinguished Teaching Assistant Award, 2012 -13;

  • Graduate Student Summer Research Fellowship, 2013;

  • Center for Teaching Excellence Distinguished Teaching Assistant Award, 2013;

  • Jacob K. Goldhaber Travel Grant, 2013, UMD;

  • Molecular and Cell Biology Concentration Area Travel Award, 2013;

  • Ann G. Wylie Dissertation Fellowship, 2014.

  • Chosen to present a platform talk at the 2014 Cold Spring Harbor Meeting on Translational Control entitled “Computational refinement and visualization of high throughput SHAPE analyses in conjunction with atomic resolution structures”.

  • MOCB-CA travel Grant, 2014 to attend Cold Spring Harbor Meeting on Translational Control.

Vivek Advani.  2010 – Ph.D. Awarded April 14, 2015.

  • Best research poster in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, UMD Bioscience Research Day 2013. 

  • Graduate Dean’s Dissertation Fellowship, 2014-15. 

  • Selected to present a platform talk at the FASCEB meeting on Post –transcriptional control of gene expression: mechanisms of mRNA decay, July 2014. 

  • MOCB-CA travel Grant, 2014 to attend FASCEB meeting.

  • Goldhaber travel award, 2014.

  • FASCEB Travel Award, 2014.

  • “Outstand Oral Presentation” Award, Rustbelt RNA Meeting, October 2014.

  • Poster Winner in the area of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, UMD Bioscience Day, November 20, 2014.

  • Dr. Abedin-ul Zain Memorial Scholarship, November 21, 2014.

Joseph Kendra.  2013 – 2018.  Ph.D. Awarded September 17, 2018.

  • NIH Virology Training Grant Award, 2013, 2016 – 2018.

Carolina Marques dos Santos Vieira. 2014 – 2018. Ph.D. Awarded July 2, 2018.

  • Dean’s Fellowship, Fall 2014.

  • International Conference Student Support Award, 2016

  • Goldhaber Travel Award, 2016

  • Best poster, Genetics, Genomics, Bioinformatics, and Proteomics. UMD Bioscience Day, 2016

Alexandra Olsen. Spring 2018 – May 2022.

  1. Jamie Kelly.  Spring 2019 – August 2022.

    • NIH Virology Training Grant Fellowship, 2019-2020.

    • Wallace-Prescott Fellowship Award recipient, 2021.

 

Post-doctoral

Arturas Meskauskas, January, 1999 – December, 2001.

Pinger Wang.  August, 1999 – December, 2001.

Maria Smith, January, 2000 – January, 2001.

Ewan Plant, September, 2000 – January, 2007.

Bani Mukhopadhyay.  March 2003 –January, 2005.

Rasa RakauskaitÄ—.  December 2003 – January, 2011.

Karen Jack.  June 2007 – January, 2011.

Jonathan Leshin.  November 2008 –October 2011.

Denis Nyongesa Wafula, November 16, 2014 – January, 2017.

 

Other Research Directions (K-12 Interactions)

Shevier Ross (URM).  High School student. Summers, 2006, 2007. 

Tai Nguyn.  Eleanor Roosevelt H.S., Summer/Fall, 2005. 

Jack Quesinberry.  Community Mentorship Program, Calvert County Public Schools. 2004 – 2008.

Calvin Tran, Poolesville HS.  Summer 2012.

Donald G. Belle (URM). Gwen Park HS, Brandywine MD.  July 2010 – August 2011.  Performed research on genomic frameshifting as part of the Minority Student Pipeline ExPERT grant program.

Sheikisha Jenkins (URM). Bowie High School. July – August, 2012. Performed research on ribosomal protein L2 through the EXPERT (Extending Professional Experiences in Research for Teachers) program.

Brittany Jones (URM). Greenbelt Middle School.  July – August 2013.  Performed research on genomic frameshifting as part of the Minority Student Pipeline ExPERT grant program.

Tenzin Chimey Sonam.  High School student (Montgomery Blair HS Magnet Program). Summer, 2105.

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