The Georgetown-Howard Universities Center for Clinical and Translational Science (GHUCCTS) is proud to introduce our 2024-2025 Translational Biomedical Science (TBS) program scholars.
The goal of the TBS program is to prepare pre-doctoral students and post-doctoral fellows (MDs and PhDs) to serve as the critical link in advancing the translation of basic science into improved outcomes for health, aging and disease. The primary aim of the TBS program is to provide the training necessary for scientists to become the next generation of leaders in translational biomedical research. Emphasis is placed on teaching trainees how to build interdisciplinary collaborative research programs by providing them with dual mentored training experiences in preclinical and clinical research. The TBS Program leverages the rich partnerships that GHUCCTS has established among Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC), Howard University College of Medicine (HUCM), MedStar Health Research Institute (MHRI), the Washington, D.C. Veterans Affairs Medical Center (DC VAMC) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).
PRE-DOCTORAL STUDENTS:
Zeeba Manavi is a PhD candidate in the Georgetown University Department of Biology. Her TL1 project focus is currently examining cellular senescence in an animal model of Multiple Sclerosis. Her mentors are Jeffrey Huang, MD at Georgetown University and Daniel Reich, MD, PhD at the National Institute of Health.
Arthur Patrick McDeed is a PhD candidate in the Georgetown University Department of Biostatistics, Bioinformatic, & Biomathematics. His TL1 project explores novel statistical methods for the analysis of methylated cfDNA in serial liquid biopsy samples. His mentors are Jaeil Ahn, PhD, Ming Tan, PhD, Anton Wellstein, MD/PhD at Georgetown University.
Mark D. Hatcher is a PhD candidate in the Howard University Department of Physiology and Biophysics. His TL1 project looks at the role of PPARα on the expression and activity of renal sodium transporters during high dietary salt consumption. His mentors are Dexter L. Lee, Ph.D. at Howard University and Kathryn Sandberg, Ph.D. at Georgetown University.
Meghan Bullard is a PhD candidate in the Georgetown University Department of Biology. Her TL1 project will investigate the role of the neuronal membrane proteasome in experience-dependent neuroplasticity and neurodegenerative disease. Her mentors are Ronda Rolfes, PhD and Brent Harris, MD, PhD, at Georgetown University.
Destiny Lawler is a PhD candidate in the Howard University Department of Pharmacology. Her TL1 project looks at calcium channel blockers as a novel treatment for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer. Her mentors are Robert L. Copeland PhD at Howard University and Mary Beth Martin, PhD at Georgetown University
Emily Stahl is a PhD candidate in the Georgetown University Depatment of Tumor Biology. Her TL1 project will focus on the role of Aurora Kinases in the Fanconi Anemia DNA damage repair pathway. Her mentors are Gary Kupfer, MD and Huadong Pei, PhD at Georgetown University.
POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWS:
Sarah Phillips, PhD is a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University Department of Neurology. Her TL1 project consists of prosody processing and related deficits acquired post-stroke. Her mentors are Anna Greenwald, PhD; Abigail Marsh, PhD and Andrew DeMarco, PhD, CCC-SLP at Georgetown University
Max Stevenson, PhD is a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University Department of Neuroscience. His TL1 project consists of using senolytic therapies as treatments for post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE). His mentors are Patrick Forcelli, Ph.D. and Mark Burns, PhD at Georgetown University.
Sadaf Ghaderzadeh, PhD is a post-doctoral fellow at Howard University College of Medicine. Her TL1 project, "Systemic Administration of miR-451 Improves Autophagy Response," explores the intricate interplay between autophagy and microRNAs in the progression of DKD, providing valuable insights into potential therapeutic avenues for this prevalent diabetes complication. Her mentors are Maurice Fluitt, PhD at Howard University and Sergei Nekhai, PhD at Howard University.
Ryan Staples, PhD is a post-doctoral fellow at the Georgetown University Department of Neurology. His TL1 project consists of examining how damage to a reading model relates to neural correlates of phonological and semantic contributions to reading using voxel-based lesion symptom mapping (VLSM), and connectome-based lesion-symptom mapping (CLSM). His mentors are Peter Turkeltaub, MD, PhD at Georgetown University and Andrew DeMarco, PhD, CCC-SLP at Georgetown University.
For more information on our new and past scholars, please visit the TBS website.