Dissertation Defense Announcements

Justin Garland, Pathology

Molecular Targets and Therapeutic Innovations in HPV-Associated Cancers: Implications for Treatment and Patient Prognosis

Date and Time: May 8, 2025, 1:00PM, Location: BRC 109

Committee in Charge: Doris Benbrook, PhD; Elizabeth Wellberg, PhD; Jody Summers, PhD; Wei-Qun Ding, PhD; Chao Xu, PhD.

 

Matthew Baier, Biochemistry & Physiology

Deciphering the Role of Cellular Senescence in Age-Related Cognitive Heterogeneity

Date and Time: May 6, 2025, 10:00AM, Location: BRC 109

Committee in Charge: Sreemathi Logan, PhD; Carlos Manilo Diaz Garcia, PhD; Veronica Galvan, PhD; Kenneth Humphries, PhD; David Sherry, PhD

 

D. Annie Doyle, Microbiology & Immunology

Investigating the Environmental Determinants of Clostridioides Difficile Toxin B Function

Date and Time: May 2, 2025, 10:00AM, Location: BRC 109

Committee in Charge: Jimmy D. Ballard, PhD; Rodney Tweten, PhD; Kevin Brown, PhD; Maureen Cox, PhD; Paul DeAngelis, PhD

 

Harris Blankenship, Physiology

Hyperexcitable Dopamine Neurons in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease

Date and Time: April 28, 2025, 9:30AM, Location: OMRF Wileman Auditorium & Zoom

Committee in Charge: Michael J. Beckstead, PhD; Willard M. Freeman, PhD; Tommy L. Lewis Jr., PhD; Heather C. Rice, PhD; Carlos M. Diaz-Garcis, PhD

 

Laura Mortan, Pathology

Biomarkers and Mechanisms of Ovarian Cancer Metastases Recurrence and Drug Resistance

Date and Time: April 28, 2025, 2:00PM, Location: SCC Seminar Room 5058 & Zoom

Committee in Charge: Doris Benbrook Ph.D., Anthony Burgett Ph.D., Maureen Cox Ph.D., Kamiya Mehla Ph.D., Elizabeth Wellberg Ph.D.

 

Justin C. Harris, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

Explainable Machine Learning in the Field of V(D)J Recombination

Date and Time: May 1, 2025, 2:00PM, Location: BRC 109 & Zoom

Committee in Charge: Karla Rodgers, PhD; Franklin Hays, PhD; Jialing Lin, PhD; Jonathan Wren, PhD; Paul DeAngelis, PhD; Susannah Rankin, PhD

 

 

Marisa Bickel, Cell Biology

The Role of IGF-1 signaling in Smooth Muscle Cells in Age-Related Brain Microvascular Fragility

Date and Time: April 30, 2025, 2:00PM, Location: BRC 109 & Zoom

Committee in Charge: Shannon Conley, PhD; Anna Csiszar, PhD; Eric Howard, PhD; Dave Sherry, PhD; Audrey Cleuren, PhD

 

Bujana Allushi, Microbiology & Immunology

Immune Dynamics in Multiple Sclerosis: Evaluating MS Treatments in the Context of Respiratory Viral Infections

Date and Time: April 30, 2025, 10:30AM, Location: BRC 109 & Zoom

Committee in Charge: Robert C. Axtell, PhD; Umesh Deshmukh, PhD; William Hildebrand, PhD; Maureen Cox, PhD, Scott Plafker, PhD

 

 

 

Ana Clara da C.P. Langley, Nutritional Sciences

Dietary Interventions to Improve Endothelial Function in Aging

Date and Time: April 30, 2025, 1:00 PM, Location: College of Allied Health AHB 1117 and Zoom

Committee in Charge: Andriy Yabluchanskiy, MD, PhD; Norman Hord, PhD; Stefano Tarantini, PhD; Yan Daniel Zhao, PhD; Leah Anderson, PhD

 

 

 

Rahul Rajala, Cell Biology

On Par: A Tale of Two Protease-Activated Receptors on the Vascular Endothelium

Date and Time: Monday, April 14th, 2025, 2:00 PM, Location: Library Auditorium

COMMITTEE IN CHARGE: Courtney Griffin, Ph.D., Kenneth Humphries, Ph.D., Rodger McEver, M.D., Lorin Olson, Ph.D., Satish Srinivasan, Ph.D., Leonidas Tsiokas, Ph.D.

 

 

Aleksandra Bylinska, Pathology  

Single cell multiomic evaluation of transcriptomic and proteomic signatures for characterizing preclinical SLE

Date and Time: April 11, 2025, 10.30am, Location: Biomedical Research Center BRC109 and Zoom

COMMITTEE IN CHARGE: Joel Guthridge, PhD; Judith James, MD PhD; Joe Zhao, PhD; Asish Ghosh, PhD; Jacquelyn Gorman, PhD

 

 

Ozair Naqvi, Epidemiology

Investigating the Epidemiology of COVID-19 and Influenza Co-Infection Among Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults in the United States Using the National COVID Cohort Collaborative

Date and Time: March 10, 2025, 9:00 AM, Location: Hudson College of Public Health, Room 144

Committee in Charge: Aaron Wendelboe, PhD; Amanda Janitz, Phd; Kai Ding, PhD; Katrin Kuhn, PhD; Donna Tyungu, MD

 

 

James Regun Karmoker, Physiology

Role of Choroidal Immune Cell Activation in Retinal Pigment Epithelium Injury

Date and Time: February 10, 2025, 10:00 AM, Location: BRC 109 & Zoom

Committee in Charge: Jiyang Cai, PhD; Michelle C. Callegan, PhD; Kevin Fuller, PhD; Michael C. Rudolph, PhD; Xin A. Zhang, MD, PhD

 

Joshua S. Mytych, Microbiology & Immunology

Bacillus Anthracis Peptidoglycan Inhibits Human Macrophage Efferocytosis: An Investigation of Potential Molecular Mechanisms

Date and Time: December 12, 2024, 11:00 AM, Location: BSEB, Room 272 & Zoom

Committee in Charge: A. Darise Farris, PhD; Darrin Akins, PhD; Lauren Zenewicz, PhD; Joe Zhao, PhD; Susan Kovats, PhD

 

 

Josiah Rippetoe, Rehabilitation Sciences

Measuring Cognitive Impairment and Associations with Walking with Head Turns in Women with Cancer

Date and Time: December 12, 2024, 1:00 PM, Location: AHB Room 1117 & Zoom

Committee in Charge: Elizabeth Hile, PhD; Carrie Ciro, PhD; Hazem Refai, PhD; Chao Xu, PhD; Andriy Yabluchanskiy, PhD; Yo Shih, PhD

 

 

Joshua Seaberg, Pathology

Aurniosoves: RNA Therapy Through Iterative Delivery

Date and Time: December 11, 2024, 1:30 PM, Location: Bird Library Inasmuch Foundation Atrium & Zoom

Committee in Charge: Priyabrata Mukherjee, PhD; Wei-Qun Ding, PhD; Ashish Ghosh, PhD; Maria Jesus-Echevarria, PhD; Stefan Wilhelm, PhD

 

Kritisha Bhandari, Pathology

Protein Arginine Methylation in PDAC: Biology and Potential Applications

Date and Time: December 10, 2024, 9:00 AM, Location: BRC 109 and Zoom

Committee in Charge: Wei-Qun Ding, PhD; Bethany Hannafon, PhD, Jie Wu, PhD; Ralf Janknecht, PhD; Rajagopal Ramesh, PhD

 

Margaret Bourlon, Pharmaceutical Sciences

Inhalable OHet72 Nanostructured Microparticles for the Treatment of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis

Date and Time: December 9, 2024, 12:00 PM, Location: College of Pharmacy Building Room 101 and Zoom

Committee in Charge: Lucila Garcia-Contreras, PhD; Doris Benbrook, PhD; Randle Gallucci, PhD; Michael McShan, PhD; Susan Kovats, PhD

 

Katie Babin, Biochemistry & Physiology

Kinetic Analysis of CGRP and Adrenomedullin Receptor Signaling

Date and Time: December 6, 2024, 11:00 AM, Location: BRC 109 & Zoom

Committee in Charge: Dr. Augen Pioszak, Dr. Blaine Mooers, Dr. Guangpu Li, Dr. Paul DeAngelis, Dr. Sathish Srinivasan

 

 

 

Roshini Sathiaseelan, Nutritional Sciences

Evaluating Mechanisms By Which 17a-estradiol Elicits Health Benefits Across Species

Date and Time: December 5, 2024, 10:00 AM, Location: AHB 1047 and Zoom

Committee in Charge: Michael Stout, PhD; Arlan Richardson, PhD; Archana Unnikrishnan, PhD; Amanda Sharpe, PhD; Sreemathi Logan, PhD

 

Emily P. Hardy, Cell Biology

Defining PKD1 as a WNT-Activated G Protein-Coupled Receptor

Date and Time: December 4, 2024, 10:30 AM, Location: BRC 109

Committee in Charge: Leonidas Tsiokas, PhD; Mary Beth Humphrey, MD, PhD; Eric Howard, PhD; Mohiuddin Ahmad, PhD, Augen Pioszak, PhD

 

 

 

Hoang Van Michelle Nguyen, Nutritional Sciences

Role of phosphodiesterases in Toxoplasma gondii lytic growth and motility

COMMITTEE IN CHARGE: Kevin Brown, PhD; Zachary Dalebroux, PhD; Xi-Qin Ding, PhD; David Dyer, PhD; Kevin Fuller, PhD

 

 

 

 

Michael Townsend Cooper Jr., Epidemiology

SPOTTED FEVER GROUP ILLNESS IN OKLAHOMA: ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATIONS AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRINCIPLE TRANSMITTING TICK IDENTIFICATION AND PREDICTIVE MODELING

Date and Time: November 19, 2024, Location: Hudson College of Public Health, Rm 144

COMMITTEE IN CHARGE: Janis Campbell, PhD; Michael Wimberly, PhD; Tabitha Garwe, PhD; Amanda Janitz, PhD; Michael Anderson, PhD; Bruce Noden, PhD

 

Santny Shanmugarama, Pathology

Novel, Engineered Fusogenic Liposome-Based Antioxidant Delivery System to Improve Cerebrovascular Health in Aging

Date and Time: November 11, 2024, 9:00 AM, Location: BRC 109 or Zoom

Committee in Charge: Anna Csiszar, MD, PhD, Doris Benbrook, PhD; Maria J. Ruiz Echevarria, PhD; Priyabrata Mukerjee, PhD; Shannon Conley, PhD

 

 

 

Shweta Kulkarni, Epidemiology

Tobacco Policy, Retail Characteristics and Smoking Outcomes in Lao People's Democratic Republic, 2024

Date and Time: November 5, 2024, 12:00 PM, Location: Hudson College of Public Health Room 144 or Zoom

Committee in Charge: Laura A. Beebe, PhD; Thanh C. Bui, MD, DrPH; Amanda Janitz, PhD; Sydney Martinez, PhD; Summer Frank-Pearce, PhD

 

Joanna Papinska, Microbiology & Immunology

Innate Immunity and Oxidative Stress in the Pathogenesis of Sjogren's Disease

Date and Time: September 25, 2024, 1:00 PM, Location: BRC 109

Committee in Charge: Umesh S. Deshmukh, PhD; Madeleine Cunningham, PhD; William Hildebrand, PhD; Robert Axtell, PhD; Arlan Richardson, PhD

 

Clayton Sandel, Microbiology & Immunology

Autoimmunity in Cardiomyopathy: From Myocarditis to Heart Failure

Date and Time: July 29, 2024, 3:00 PM, Location: BRC 109

Committee in Charge: Madeleine W. Cunningham, PhD; William H. Hildebrand, PhD; David W. Dyer, PhD; Stavros Stavrakis, MD, PhD; Patrick M. Gaffney, MD; Carol F. Webb, PhD

 

Jorge L. Berrios-Rivera, Pharmaceutical Sciences

Structure-Activity Relationships of Oxysterol-Binding Protein (OSBP/ORP)-Targeting Compounds for Anticancer and Antiviral Drug Development

Date and Time: July 26, 2024, 1:00 PM, Location: College of Pharmacy Room 101

Committee in Charge: Anthony W.G. Burgett, PhD; Hariprasad Gali, PhD; Vibhudutta Awasthi, PhD; Dongin (Donoven) Kim, PhD; Priyabrata Mukherjee, PhD, FRSC, FAIMBE, FAAAS, FNAI

 

 

Shondra McCage, Health Promotion Sciences

Exploring the Emotional Impact of Gestational Diabetes on American Indian Women's Pregnancy Experience: A Descriptive Study Using a Mixed Methods Approach

Date and Time: July 24, 2024, 10:00 AM, Location: Hudson College of Public Health, Room 144

Committee in Charge: Karla J. Finnell, PhD; Lancer D. Stephens, PhD; Kerstin M. Reinschmidt, PhD; Janis E. Campbell, PhD; Emily J. Jones, PhD

 

Pawan Acharya, Epidemiology

Variations in Treatment and Management Strategies Among Major Trauma Patients: Impact on Outcomes

Date and Time: July 19, 2024, 9:00 AM, Location: Hudson College of Public Health, Room 144

Committee in Charge: Tabitha Garwe, PhD; Amanda Janitz, PhD; Changjie Cai, PhD; Jennifer Peck, PhD; Sara Vesely, PhD

 

Lindsay Erin Denson, Epidemiology

Gastroschisis in Oklahoma

Date and Time: July 18, 2024, 1:00 PM, Location: Hudson College of Public Health, Room 144

Committee in Charge: Deirdra Terrell, PhD; Amanda Janitz, PhD; Jennifer Peck, PhD; Daniel Zhao, PhD; Stephanie Pierce, MD

 

 

Amber S. Anderson-Buettner, Health Promotion Sciences

Cancer Support Services for American Indian/Alaska Native Populations at National Cancer Institute Centers

Date and Time: July 16, 2024, 11:00 AM, Location: Hudson College of Public Health, Room 144

Committee in Charge: Lancer Stephens, PhD; Kerstin Reinschmidt, PhD; Lois Coleman, PhD; Kathleen Dwyer, PhD; John Chaney, PhD

 

 

 

Jacob Lynn, Pathology

Genotype-Phenotype Correlations in Inherited Retinal Diseases

Date and Time: July 15, 2024, 10:00 AM, Location: BRC 109

Committee in Charge: Lea Bennett, PhD; Maria Ruiz-Echevarria, PhD; Randle Gallucci, PhD; Michael Ihnat, PhD; Joe Zhao, PhD

 

Jessica Beetch, Epidemiology

Understanding the Indirect Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Routine Childhood Vaccination and Well-Child Visits in Populations with Lower Incomes

Date and Time: July 17, 2024, 9:00 AM, Location: Hudson College of Public Health Room 144 or Zoom

Committee in Charge: Katrin Kuhn, PhD; Amanda Janitz, PhD; Laura Beebe, PhD; Chao Xu, PhD; Mary Gowin, PhD

 

 

 

Chase Alan Brown, Neuroscience

The Shape of Knowledge: Algebraic Topology in Distributional Semantic Spaces - Applications in Bioinformatics & Scientific Discovery

Date and Time: July 1, 2024, 1:00 PM, Location: BRC 109 and Team Meeting

Committee in Charge: Jonathan D. Wren, PhD; Blaine H. M. Mooers, PhD; Willard M. Freeman, PhD; James D. Battiste, MD, PhD; David M. Sherry, PhD

 

Ramasamy Selvarani (Selva), Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

Using Novel Ripk3 And Mlkl Knock-In Mouse Models To Study The Role Of Chronic Liver Disease (CLD) And Liver Cancer

Date and Time: June 20^th, 2024, 1:30pm, Location: BRC Room 109 and Zoom 

COMMITTEE IN CHARGE: Dr. Arlan Richardson, PhD (Chair),  Dr. CV Rao, PhD, Dr. Deepa S. Sathyseelan, PhD, Dr. Karen Jonscher, PhD, Dr. Tiangang Li, PhD

 

 

Collyn Kellogg, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Major Histocompatibility Complex I and its role in microglial reactivity 

Date and Time: June 20^th, 2024, 9:00 AM, Location: BRC 109 and Zoom

Committee in Charge: Dr. Willard Freeman; Dr. Sarah Ocanas; Dr. Ann Olson; Dr. Archana Unnikrishnan; Dr. Heather Rice; Dr. Arlan Richardson

 

 

 

Amanda Jane Llaneza, Epidemiology

Addressing Epidemiologic Gaps in Primary Immune Thrombocytopenia: Pregnant and Minority Patients

Date and Time: June 18, 2024, 1:30 PM, Location: Hudson College of Public Health Room 144 or Zoom

Committee in Charge: Deirdra R. Terrell, PhD; Laura A. Beebe, PhD; Ying Zhang, PhD; Janis E. Campbell, PhD; Marshall K. Cheney, PhD

 

Kari Hall, Microbiology & Immunology

Characterization of the Translocation and Assembly Module Protein B

Date and Time: June 13, 2024, 2:00 PM, Location: BRC 109 & Zoom

Committee in Charge: Darrin Akins, PhD; Zachary Dalebroux, PhD; David Dyer, PhD; Kevin Fuller, PhD; Eric Howard, PhD

 

Jonthomas Box, Radiological Sciences

Defective Detector Element Dection in Flat Panel Radiography Using Machine Learning Techniques

Date and Time: June 7, 2024, 2:00 PM, Location: Garrison Tower, Suite 3G3210, Room 3211

Committee in Charge: Isaac B. Rutel, PhD; Salahuddin Ahmad, PhD; Dee Wu, PhD; Raman Rana, PhD; Dan Johnson, PhD

 

Rafal Gulej, Neuroscience

The Role of Systemic Milieu and Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 Signaling in the Mediation of Cerebrovascular Aging

Date and Time: Friday, June 7, 2024, 10:00 AM, Location: BRC 109 & Zoom

Committee in Charge: Anna Csiszar, MD, PhD; Heather Rice, PhD; Kelly Standifer, PhD; Shannon Conley, PhD; Rheal Towner, PhD

 

 

John Paul Woods, Cell Biology

The Effects of PDGFRα on Joint Development and Skeletal Regeneration

Date and Time: June 5, 2024, 3:00 PM, Location: BRC 109 or Zoom

Committee in Charge: Lorin E. Olson, PhD; Timothy Griffin, PhD; Mary Beth Humphrey, MD, PhD; Ralf Janknecht, PhD; Sathish Srinvasan, PhD

 

 

 

Gilberto Gonzalez Arellano, Radiological Sciences

Exploring Radiation-Induced Acoustics for Real-time Dose Monitoring

Date and Time: June 3rd, 2-4 PM, Location: Cancer Center Conference Room 6041 (HSC)

COMMITTEE IN CHARGE: Yong Chen, PhD, DABR, Salahuddin Ahmad, PhD, DABR, FACMP, FAAPM, Jagadeesh R. Sonnad, PhD, DABR, Mark Newpower, PhD, DABR, Liangzhong Xiang, PhD

 

Divya Patel, Allied Health Sciences - Nutritional Sciences

Comprehensive caregiver influences on preschool children’s energy balance-related behaviors

Date and Time: May 17, 2024, 12-2pm, Location: College of Allied Health, Room 1046

COMMITTEE IN CHARGE: Susan B. Sisson, PhD, Norman G. Hord, PhD, Katie Eliot, PhD, Sara K. Vesely, PhD, Dipti A. Dev, PhD

 

 

Cameron D. Owens, Biochemistry

Neurovascular Mechanisms and Biomarkers of Cognitive Impairment in Aging and Age-Related Disease

Date and Time: May 10, 2024, 12:00 PM, Location: Robert M. Bird Library Auditorium (299) and Zoom

Committee in Charge: Andriy Yabluchanskiy, MD, PhD; Ann L. Olson, PhD; Stefano Tarantini, PhD; Anna Csiszar, MD, PhD; Veronica Galvan, PhD; Guangpu Li, PhD

 

Toluwanimi Oni, Occupational & Environmental Health

Assessment and Mitigation of Occupational Exposures to Electronic Cigarette Emissions in Vape Shops

Date and Time: May 15, 2024, 4:30 PM Location: Hudson College of Public Health, Room 420

Committee in Charge: Evan Floyd, PhD; Changjie Cai, PhD; Janis Campbell, PhD; Balaji Sadhasivam, PhD; Sanjeewa Gamagedara, PhD