The Graduate College Announces the Final Examination For the Defense of the Doctor of Philosophy Degree

Jaanam Gopalakrishnan | Department of Pathology  | Identification and Functional Validation of Causal Variants Spanning Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Risk Haplotypes

Defense Date: Wednesday, April 21, 2021, 1:15 p.m. │ Location: https://omrf.zoom.us/j/94513469747?pwd=eno2cHBkSXJwdXhPV3QvbE5aM1BZUT09

COMMITTEE IN CHARGE: Patrick M. Gaffney, M.D., Christopher J. Lessard, PhD., A. Darise Farris, PhD., Scott M. Plafker, PhD., Priyabrata Mukherjee, PhD., Zhizhuang Joe Zhao, PhD

Micaela Lee Montgomery | Department of Microbiology and Immunology | Charactering the Involvement of Ocular Glands and Stromal Fibroblasts in Corneal Infections  

Defense Date: Tuesday, April 20, 2021, 9:30 a.m. │ Location: https://zoom.us/j/99894472516?pwd=dTNRUkJFU0dXalVpN2d5a2JDd3ZJdz09 

COMMITTEE IN CHARGE: Kevin Fuller, PhD; Mark Lang, PhD; William Hildebrand, PhD; Robert Axtell, PhD; Michael Elliott, PhD

Minjian Cui | Pharmaceutical Sciences | Combined use of experimental and computational approaches to improve preclinical-to-clinical translation of cancer nanotechnology  

Defense Date: Tuesday, April 20, 2021, 2:00 pm  │ Location: https://oklahoma.zoom.us/j/93303655047?pwd=UmRaOEpDazB0clFQQjZLLzlLdGtwdz09 

COMMITTEE IN CHARGE: Jessie L.-S. Au, PharmD,  PhD, Chair; Michael A. Ihnat, PhD;  Lucila Garcia-Contreras, PhD; Sukyung Woo, PhD; M. Guillaume Wientjes, PhD

Souwelimatou Amadou Amani | Department of Microbiology and Immunology | Humoral immunity following Clostridioides difficile infection and mechanisms of protection against disease  

Defense Date: Thursday, April 1, 2021, 10:00 am  │ Location: https://zoom.us/j/91769843905?pwd=NmV3aS9DZHc3UVAxL1NydGgxM1AwQT09 

COMMITTEE IN CHARGE: Mark Lang, PhD, Chair; Jimmy Ballard, PhD; Lauren Zenewicz, PhD; Susan Kovats, PhD; Karla Rodgers, PhD

Bethany D. Williams │ Department of Allied Health Sciences │ Association Between Health-Enhancing Community Environment and  Early Childhood Education Classroom Health Practices

Defense Date:  Wednesday, December 16, 2020, 2:00pm │ Zoom Meeting ID: 978 0636 7743, Passcode: 69725860

Rebaz Awat Ahmed │ Department of Pathology │ Role of BRG1 (SMARCA4) in the Resistance of Lung Cancer to EGFR Inhibitors

Defense Date: Friday, December 4_, 2020 │ Zoom Meeting ID: 976 3245 3798 

COMMITTEE IN CHARGE: Rajagopal Ramesh, PhD; Joe Zhao, PhD; Maria Ruiz-Echevarria, PhD; Courtney Griffin, PhD; Jie Wu, PhD; Wei-Qun Ding, PhD

Marcio Luís Soares Bezerra |  Department of Occupational and Environmental Health | Innovative Methods to Assess and Control Welding Fume Emission and Exposure 

Defense Date: Friday, November  20, 2020 |  Zoom Meeting ID: 955 6379 6076  

COMMITTEE IN CHARGE: Evan L. Floyd, PhD; David L. Johnson, PhD; Changjie Cai, PhD; Jun Wang, PhD; Wei-Chung Su, PhD

Jared Michael Evatt |  Department of Cell Biology | A Secondary Connection: How Achiasmate Chromosomes Can Faithfully Segregate in Meiosis 

Defense Date:  Monday, October 26, 2020 |  Zoom Meeting ID: 658 261 8635 

COMMITTEE IN CHARGE: Dean Dawson, PhD; Gary J. Gorbsky, PhD; Christopher L. Sansam, PhD; Eric W. Howard, PhD; William H. Hildebrand, PhD

Siqi Gao | Department of Cell Biology | Effects of Plasmin and RIPK3 on Murine Vascular Development and Integrity

Defense Date:  Wednesday, October 21, 2020 | 2:00 pm | Zoom Meeting ID: 978 8010 4348  | 

https://omrf.zoom.us/j/97880104348?pwd=QklJN0MzRWdJcERmQTYyMEI5dzJRUT09

COMMITTEE IN CHARGE: Courtney T. Griffin, PhD; Florea Lupu, PhD; Eric W. Howard, PhD; Lorin E. Olson, PhD; Lijun Xia, MD, PhD

Eileen Parks | “NEUROSTEROID SYNTHESIS IS ALTERED IN THE AGING BRAIN AND CONTRIBUTES TO COGNITIVE DECLINE”

 Defense Date:  Wednesday, October 7, 2020 | 1:00pm | Zoom Meeting ID: 467 094 3657

COMMITTEE IN CHARGE:  William E. Sonntag, PhD, Chair; David M. Sherry, PhD; Nicole M. Ashpole, PhD; Michael B. Stout, PhD; Willard M. Freeman, PhD 

Eleni Petsouki | FBW7 promotes osteoblast differentiation by maintaining structural and functional integrity of primary cilia in mesenchymal stem cells

Defense Date:  Monday, September 14, 2020, 2:00 pm | Zoom Meeting ID: 957 7336 3292 

COMMITTEE IN CHARGE: Leonidas Tsiokas, PhD; Dean Dawson, PhD; Mary Beth Humphrey, MD, PhD; Yuechueng Liu, PhD; James J. Tomasek, PhD 

Jordan Craig Evans | A conserved cholesterol-dependent cytolysin motif directs prepore and pore formation and reveals a new class of pore-forming proteins.

Defense Date: Friday, August 14, 2020 | 10 am |  Zoom Meeting ID:965 5368 6167 | Password: CVsx%m1w

 Committee in Charge:  Rodney K. Tweten, PhD, Chair; Jimmy D. Ballard, PhD; Zachary D. Dalebroux, PhD; David W. Dyer, PhD; Augen A. Pioszak, PhD

Jimmy Manyanga | Department of Cell Biology | Electronic Cigarettes: Implications on Cancer Risk and Cisplatin Resistance in Oral Epithelial Cells

Defense Date:  Wednesday, July 29, 2020 | 2 pm | Zoom Meeting ID: 962 9100 4026 |   Password: 51666737

Committee in Charge: Lurdes, Queimado, MD, PhD; Priyabrata, Mukherjee, PhD; H. Anne, Pereira, PhD: Susannah Rankin, PhD; James J. Tomasek, PhD 

Leslie D. Carroll |  Department of Health Promotion and Sciences | COMMUNITY HEALTH IMPROVEMENT PLANS AT NATIONAL AND LOCAL LEVELS: AN ANALYSIS OF PLANS AND AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH IN AN URBAN HEALTH DEPARTMENT

Defense Date:  Friday, July 24, 2020   |  1:30 pm |   Meeting Location: https://ouhsc.zoom.us

COMMITTEE IN CHARGE:  Thomas A. Teasdale, DrPH, JGSA, FAGHE; Marianna S. Wetherill, PhD, MPH, RDN-AP/LD;  Kerstin Reinschmidt, PhD, MPH; Chan Hellman, PhD, M.A.^, Michael Stout, PhD, MA

Sarah Jane Bland  |  Department of Microbiology & Immunology | Characterization of factors influencing cytotoxicity, structural stability, and receptor binding of Clostridioides difficile toxin B aracterization of factors influencing cytotoxicity, structural stability, and receptor binding of Clostridioides difficile toxin B 

Defense Date:  Thursday, July 23, 2020 |  10 am  | Meeting Location: http://ouhsc.zoom.us/j/ 92526133298?pwd=N1NSeXByUmo xSDZWdFVRdFJmZWRGZz09   Password: 4jys1@Ns 

Committee in Charge:   Jimmy Ballard, PhD, Chair; Rodney Tweten, PhD; Mark Lang, PhD; Ann West, PhD; David Dyer, PhD 

Fauziyya Y. Muhammad |  Department of Microbiology and Immunology | PHENOTYPIC CHARACTERIZATION OF REGULATORY T CELLS NECESSARY FOR SUPPRESSION OF UVEITIS

Defense Date:  Monday, July 20, 2020   |  10:00 am |   Zoom Meeting:  https://ouhsc.zoom.us/j/96762460723  

Password: 56923316 

COMMITTEE IN CHARGE: Darren J. Lee, PhD, Chair; Michelle Callegan, PhD, Daniel J.J. Carr, PhD; William H. Hildebrand , PhD Robert C. Axtell, PhD, Scott M. Plafker, PhD

Allshine Chen | Department of Biostatistics & Epidemiology |  NOVEL APPROACHES TO CREATING SYNTHETIC DATA FROM MULTIVARIATE SURVEY DATA FOR STATISTICAL DISCLOSURE CONTROL

Defense Date:  Wednesday, July 15, 2020, 10:00  am |  Zoom Meeting ID: 96457348125

Zoom  Location:  https://ouhsc.zoom.us/j/96457348125?pwd=cjkzZVdGRm1pYU1BQ3dkZ0VXRERnUY09

Committee  In  Charge:  Daniel Zhao, PhD; Sixia Chen, PhD; Nasir Mustaq, PhD; Chao Xu, PhD; Changjie Cai, PhD

 Vasileios Gerkopoulos | Department of Cell Biology |  Role of the Polycystin complex in cell deciliation

 Defense Date:   Wednesday, July 15, 2020  10:00 am | Zoom Meeting ID:  982 5298 4161

Zoom Location:   https://ouhsc.zoom.us/j/98252984161?pwd=aTZib1RjNnh3ZHc5MlhGZHlUK1BZUT09

Committee In Charge:  Leonidas Tsiokas, PhD: Myron Hinsdale, PhD; Guangpu Li, PhD; Scott M. Plafker, PhD, RPh;  Lawrence I. Rothblum, PhD

Jason M. Booe | Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology |   Modulation of CGRP and Adrenomedullin Peptide Selectivity by Receptor Activity-Modifying Proteins

Defense Date:  Tuesday, June 30, 2020, 12:00  Noon |  Zoom Meeting ID: 957 4487 5237

Zoom  Location: https://ouhsc.zoom.us/j/95744875237

Committee  In  Charge:  Augen A. Pioszak, PhD , Chair; Paul L. DeAngelis, PhD;  Rodger P. McEver, MD;  Jialing Lin, PhD and William H. Hildebrand, PhD 

Ashley Martin | Department of Physiology |   Maternal Adiposity Alters Transcriptomic and Epigenomic Neurodevelopmental Landscapes in the Fetal Hippocampus

Defense Date:  Thursday, May 28, 2020, 9:00 am |  Zoom Meeting ID: 854 1046 5378 

Zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85410465378?pwd=TXlmeFY0d1F5Q25sNEtwdGFseE1qQT09 |   

Committee  In  Charge:  Dean A. Myers, PhD;   Willard M. Freeman, PhD;   Kennon M. Garrett, PhD;  Michael A. Ihnat, PhD:   David M. Sherry, PhD

  Christopher Michael Hoover  | Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | Podoplanin prevents formation of brain aneurysms at midgestation by regulating activity of primitive megakaryocytes

 Defense Date:  Thursday,  May 7, 2020 , 12:00 Noon | Zoom Conference Call :  Meeting ID:  967 8305 4390

 https://ouhsc.zoom.us/j/96783054390?pwd=bU4waWVqN0JnNC96MFYwdFZUWjlrdz09&status=success

Committee in Charge:  Lijun Xia, MD/PhD;  Ann Louise Olson, PhD; Augen A. Pioszak, PhD;  Guangpu Li, PhD; Courtney T. Griffin, PhD

Amanda Roehrkasse | Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | Receptor engagement and G protein recruitment by the cardioprotective peptide Adrenomedullin 2/Intermedin

 Defense Date:  Tuesday,  May 5, 2020 , 12:00 Noon | Zoom:  https://ouhsc.zoom.us/j/93764730371

Committee in Charge:  Augen Pioszak, PhD, Rodger McEver, MD, Ann Louise Olson, PhD, Paul DeAngelis, PhD, Mary Beth Humphrey, MD/PhD.

Dawn Bender | Department of Cell Biology | Mechanisms of ESCO- dependent cohesin regulation

Defense Date:  Friday, April 24, 2020, 2:00 p.m. | Zoom:  https://omrf.zoom.us/j/369307669 |  Meeting ID: 369 307 669 

Committee in Charge: :     Susannah Rankin, PhD; Gary Gorbsky, PhD; Chris Sansam, PhD; Eric Howard, PhD; Karla Rodgers, PhD; Sanjay Bidichandani, PhD

Md Huzzatul Mursalin | | Department of Microbiology & Immunology |  Bacillus S-Layer Contributes to the Pathogenesis of Endophthalmitis by Triggering TLR2/4-Driven Inflammatory Responses

Defense Date:   Tuesday, April 21, 2020 | 1.30 pm | Zoom:   https://ouhsc.zoom.us/j/267175845    Meeting ID 267175845

Committee in Charge: Michelle Callegan, PhD, Chair; Allison F. Gillaspy, PhD; Zachary D. Dalebroux, PhD; Darren J. Lee, PhD; Michael H. Elliott, PhD

Kathleen A. N. Aithinne | Department of Occupational & Environmental Health | Determination of anaerobic endospore-forming bacteria cultivability losses and evaluation of novel media collection efficiencies using impingersDetermination of anaerobic endospore-forming bacteria cultivability losses and evaluation of novel media collection efficiencies using impingers

Defense Date:  Tuesday, 21 April 2020, 1 pm | Location: Hudson College of Public Health, Room 144 & Zoom:  https://ouhsc.zoom.us/j/697286218

Committee in Charge:  David L. Johnson, PhD., Chair; Margaret L. Phillips, PhD; Robert A. Lynch, PhD; Bradley S. Stevenson, PhD; Chao Xu, PhD  

Agnieshka Maneesha Agasing | Department of Microbiology & Immunology | The Impact of Type 1 Interferon on B Cells in Two Distinct Neuroninflammatory  disorders:  Neuromylitis Optica & Multiple Sclerosis

Defense Date:  Friday, April 17, 2020 | 9:15 am | Location:  BRC109 | Zoom:  https://omrf.zoom.us/j/894523879?pwd=d0RKLzZpUXl0SEZnaEFKakRlb1l0dz09

Committee in Charge: Robert C. Axtell, PhD; Lauren A. Zenewicz, PhD; Madeleine W. Cunningham, PhD; William H. Hildebrand, PhD; Robert H. Scofield, MD

Micah Denay McCumber | Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology |  Venous thromboembolism surveillance in Oklahoma County: Using multiple surveillance methods and data sources to improve case identification and description of VTE disease among patients with cancer history

 Defense Date:  Thursday, January 16, 2020 | 3:00 pm | Hudson College of Health Building, Room 144

 Committee in Charge:    Aaron M. Wendelboe, Ph.D., Chair, Dale Bratzler, D.O., M.P.H., Janis E. Campbell, Ph.D., Kai Ding, Ph.D., Gary E. Raskob, Ph.D. 

Nana Safoah Twum-Ampofo | Department of Allied Health Sciences |  POSTURAL SWAY VELOCITY AND SITTING ACQUISITION AMONG INFANTS WITH AND WITHOUT THE RISK FOR CEREBRAL PALSY

 Defense Date:  Thursday, December 5, 2019 | 4:00 pm | Allied Health Building, Room 3025

Committee in Charge:    Thubi H.A. Kolobe PT, PhD, FAPTA; Carol P. Dionne DPT, PhD; Andrew Fagg PhD; Elizabeth Hile PT, PhD; Nicholas Stergiou PhD

Gavin Pharaoh | Department of Physiology |  Targeting Hydroperoxides in Neurogenic Atrophy

 Defense Date:  Thursday, December 5, 2019 | 9:00 am | Biomedical Research Center, Room 109

Committee in Charge:  Holly Van Remmen, PhD, Chair Willard M. Freeman, PhD; Kenneth M. Humphries, PhD; Scott M. Plafker, PhD; Arlan G. Richardson, PhD; Kevin R. Short, PhD

 Michael George Machiorlatti | Department of Biostatistics & Epidemiology |  EXPLORATION OF SELECTION BIAS, THE HECKMAN CORRECTION AND MISSING DATA IMPUTATION

 Defense Date:  Friday, November 22, 2019 | 12:30 pm |  College of Public Health, Room 144

Committee in Charge:  Sixia Chen, PhD, Co-Chair, Sara Vesely, PhD, Co-Chair, Janis Campbell, PhD, Kai Ding, PhD, and James George, MD. 

Kimberly Perrella Veirs | Allied Health Sciences |  EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTS OF FIRST METATARSOPHALANGEAL JOINT MOBILITY ON THE YOUNG BALLET DANCER’S ABILITY TO ASSUME THE EN POINTE POSITION USING A MULTI-SEGMENT FOOT MODEL

Defense Date:  Monday, November 18, 2019 | 7:00 am | College of Allied Health Building, Room 3025

Committee in Charge:   Carol P. Dionne, DPT, PhD, Chair; Andrew Fagg, PhD; Amgad Haleem, MD, PhD; Lynn Jeffries, PT, PhD; Kenneth E. Randall, PT, PhD; Susan Sisson, RD, PhD

Erich A. Schnell | Department of Radiological Sciences |  High Dose Rate Brachytherapy for the Treatment of Gynecologic Cancers

Defense Date:  Wednesday, November 6, 2019 | 12:30 pm | Stephenson Cancer Center, Room 6036

Committee in Charge:  Tania De La Fuente Herman, PhD, Chair; Salahuddin Ahmad, PhD; Spencer Thompson, MD; Hosang Jin, PhD; Daniel Zhao, PhD; Jagadeesh Sonnad, PhD

Hooman Yari | Graduate Pharmaceutical Sciences |  Prostate Specific Membrane Antigen-Targeted Theranostic Liposomes for Active Targeting of Prostate

Defense Date:  Monday, November 4, 2019 | 10:00 am | College of Pharmacy Building, Room 339 

Committee in Charge: Vibhudutta Awasthi, PhD, Chair; Nathan Shankar, PhD; Michael A. Ihnat, PhD; Alamdar Hussain, PhD; Rheal A. Towner, PhD

James Quinn | Microbiology and Immunology | Characterizing and Assessing the Role of Follicular T Helper Cells and BCL6 in Th17-EAE Disease Progression

Defense Date:  Thursday, September, 26, 2019 | 10:00 am | Biomedical Research Center, Room 109

Committee in Charge: Robert C. Axtell, PhD, Daniel J. Carr, PhD, Mark L. Lang, PhD, Lauren A. Zenewicz, PhD, Christopher J. Lessard, PhD

Ngoc Quyen Thi Duong | Biostatistics and Epidemiology | Bayesian Posterior Kernel Density Estimation Using a Conjugate Gamma Prior

Defense Date:  Thursday, August, 15, 2019 | 9:00 am | Hudson College of Health Building, Room 204

Committee in Charge: Michael P. Anderson, PhD; Sara K. Vesely, PhD; Ying Zhang, MD, PhD; Janis E.Campbell, PhD; Clara H. Song, MD

Sarah Ann Colijn | Department of Cell Biology |  Cell-Specific Regulation and Function of RIPK3 in the Embryonic and Postnatal Vasculature

Defense Date:  Monday, August, 19, 2019 | 2:00 pm | Biomedical Research Center, Room 109

Committee in Charge: Courtney T. Griffin, PhD; Lawrence I. Rothblum, PhD; Lorin E. Olson, PhD; Florea Lupu, PhD; Rodger P. McEver, MD

Sapana Kadel | DEPARTMENT of MICROBIOLOGY AND IMMUNOLOGY | Sex Differences In Group 2 Innate Lymphoid Cells in homeostasis and influenza virus infection

Defense Date:  Tuesday, July 23, 2019 | 10:00 am | Biomedical Research Center, Room 109

COMMITTEE IN CHARGE:  Susan Kovats, PhD; Daniel JJ Carr, PhD; Lauren A. Zenewicz, PhD; Mark L. Lang, PhD; Karla K. Rodgers, PhD

YUE LI | DEPARTMENT of PHYSIOLOGY | THE REGULATION AND FUNCTION OF DTMEM214 IN THE CONTROL OF GLUCOSE HOMEOSTASIS IN DROSOPHILA

Defense Date:  Thursday, July 25, 2019 | 1:00 pm | Biomedical Sciences Building, Room 631

COMMITTEE IN CHARGE::  Hui-Ying Lim, PhD, Chair; Raju V.S. Rajala, PhD; Weidong Wang, PhD; Paul L. DeAngelis, Ph.D;  Ann Louise Olson, PhD

Yifan Xu | Department of Pathology | Exosomal Micrornas in Pancreatic Cancer: Mechanisms of Selective Enrichment and the Potential for Biomarker Development

Casey Cooper | Occupational and Environmental Health | Development, Evaluation, and Demonstration of Air Sampling Methods to Assess Airborne Transport of Clostridium difficile Spores in the Healthcare Environment

Click the sections below to view list of students,  then click the hyperlinks for details.