Alisha’s research focuses on innovative approaches that use small molecules to mimic viral infections and combine them with natural killer (NK) cell-based immunotherapy, enhancing the immune system’s ability to recognize and eliminate resistant cancers.
Michael Alcaraz Michael’s work focuses on understanding the epigenetic changes that occur in humans as we age and how these changes lead to higher cancer incidence.
Nahal Azimi, DDS Nahal is interested in refractory subtypes of acute myeloid leukemia, and focuses on the mechanisms that drive these tumors and mediate resistance to therapy.
Aaliyah Balagtas Aaliyah investigates novel kinase regulators of macropinocytosis to target this critical nutrient scavenging mechanism driving pancreatic cancer’s aggressive growth and therapeutic resistance.
Carolina Cano Macip Carolina’s research focus is on deciphering the mechanisms that long-lived species possess to maintain epigenetic stability and deter age-related diseases.
Maria Cavarlez Maria studies extracellular vesicles in the brain to understand their role in cellular communication and impact on neurological diseases.
Win Ning Chen, MS Win Ning’s work investigates TREM2 dysfunction in human microglia on tau pathology in Alzheimer’s disease.
Savio Chow, MS Savio’s work investigates gene regulatory mechanisms and their perturbations in human diseases, using computational modeling and machine learning approaches to study drug responses.
Alyssa Cruz Alyssa develops deep learning algorithms and bioinformatic pipelines to investigate mechanical force transduction in cardiac developmental disorders.
Cheska Maria Galapate Cheska is working on identifying new ways that cancer cells regulate their pH homeostasis and how targeting organellar acidification might represent a novel therapeutic approach for cancer.
Marcos Garcia Teneche Marcos seeks to elucidate the mechanisms of leukemia initiation and progression with age.
Shea Grenier, MS Shea’s work explores metabolic adaptations that promote the development and progression of Ras-mutant cancers.
Gabriele Guarnaccia, MS Gabriele is interested in muscle regeneration and 3D bio-printing. His research focuses on finding new therapies to recover great muscle damages and slow the progression of degenerative diseases like dystrophies.
Laurence Haddadin Laurence is uncovering the role of epigenetic alterations that command the progression of glioblastoma and mediate the transcriptional interactions in-between.
Patrick Hagan Patrick studies how autophagy and ULK1/2 contribute to cancer therapy resistance and seeks to develop and test inhibitors to these targets to improve treatment outcomes.
Sophie Hao Sophie focuses on understanding Notch signaling and its role in liver regeneration with applications to diseases such as Alagille Syndrome.
Erik Hultenius Erik is researching novel therapeutic interventions which target the biological mechanism of aging to treat neurodegeneration and age-related cognitive decline.
Alisha Kirkland Alisha’s research focuses on innovative approaches that use small molecules to mimic viral infections and combine them with natural killer (NK) cell-based immunotherapy, enhancing the immune system’s ability to recognize and eliminate resistant cancers.
Evodie Koutouan, MS Evodie is interested in investigating the relevance of EPHA2 mutations found in cases of cholangiocarcinoma and ultimately discovering the role of EPHA2’s canonical and noncanonical signaling in the development and progression of cholangiocarcinoma.
Aashna Lamba, MS Aashna’s research focuses on characterizing cell fate stabilization using cell painting and HTS to profile cell morphology during cancer cell transformation.
Caitlin Lange Caitlin’s research focuses on the role of autophagy in inter-tissue communication and its impact on proteostasis, aiming to shed light on its broader significance in neurodegenerative diseases.
Brightany Li, MS Brightany is working to decipher how the metabolic reprogramming during muscle repair is shifted in aged individuals, and how the shifted metabolic reprogramming contributes to the onset of sarcopenia.
Texia Loh Texia uses small module degrades to understand the role of epigenetic regulators in DNA damage repair.
Katya Marchetti Katya explores the underlying genetic mechanisms involved in heart development and congenital heart disease using the fruit fly and zebrafish as model organisms.
Joshua Minyard Josh investigates novel treatments for acute myeloid leukemia through the synthesis and testing of kinase inhibitors.
Lauren Molony Lauren’s work focuses on optimizing and assessing PROTACs for neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders.
Tatiana Moreno Tatiana explores how autophagy is regulated upon hormetic stress and aging in the nematode C. elegans and mammalian/human systems.
Namratha Nadig Namratha’s research focuses on exploring Ubiquitin D (UBD) as a potential therapeutic target for liver diseases, including metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), fibrosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Her work aims to uncover UBD’s role in disease progression and its potential to improve outcomes in these conditions.
Ashley Neil Ashley’s work uses iPSCs to model neuronal dysfunction in neurological disease.
Monica Nicolau, MS Monica integrates molecular biology and bioinformatic tools to investigate muscular dystrophies onset and progression, aiming to identify therapeutic targets for regenerative medicine.
Aditi Pedgaonkar, MS Aditi’s research elucidates epigenetic mechanisms underlying the progression of acute myeloid leukemia.
Megha Raghunathan, MS Loss of DNA mismatch repair proteins have been implicated in increased metastasis and reduced survival in breast cancer but the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. My research is focused on uncovering these mechanisms that drive breast cancer metastasis, particularly in ER+ breast cancer which accounts for 80% of all breast cancer patients.
Daniel Rebibo Daniel’s research focuses on identifying novel aberrations in leukemia by integrating omics information through a computational approach.
Anis Shahnaee, PharmD Anis is interested in single-cell isoform sequencing and investigating reverse transcriptase activity within the context of Alzheimer’s disease.
Jeffrey Snowbarger Jeffrey is studying ways to make our immune system recognize cancer more robustly and efficiently.
Shiqi Su Shiqi’s research focuses on developing genetically engineered monocytes (reMoCs) that specifically activate MyoD at injured muscle sites, enabling their reprogramming into myogenic cells for targeted therapeutic applications in muscle regeneration, including conditions like Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Jessica Wang Jessica is investigating the role of extrachromosomal circular DNA (ecDNA) in pediatric brain cancer development.
Skye Xu Skye investigates the role of ATF6 in maintaining synaptic integrity through an EGR1 dependent pathway in Alzheimer’s disease.
Chenyu Zhou, MS Chenyu’s work examines the structure of various proteins under different physiological status using Cryo-EM and other imaging technologies.
“Sanford Burnham Prebys graduate students are bright and highly driven with a clear focus on their next career step. Upon graduation, most of our students have moved on to become successful biomedical researchers in both fields of industry and academia.”
Alessandra Sacco, PhDProfessor and Dean,
Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Select Profiles of GSBS Alumni
Mallika Iyer PhD
“I think our program is really unique. Its small size means that each student gets a lot of attention, and we have an Office of Education, Training and International Services (OETIS) that really offers us a lot of great resources to help us shape our careers.”
Marisa Sanchez PhD
“I chose to study at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute because it is leading the frontiers of translational biomedical research. I have always had a fascination for research and discovering new ways to improve the lives of people suffering from disease.”
Miguel Reina Campos PhD
“I was drawn to Sanford Burnham Prebys for its clinically oriented goals, state of the art facilities and the great talent that inhabits the institution. It appeared to me as the perfect blend of the will to cure and the genuine curiosity that drives the finest basic research.”
Paloma Sánchez Pavón PhD
Sanford Burnham Prebys graduate school alumna finds purpose in neuroscience and translational research
For Paloma Sánchez Pavón, science has always been driven by curiosity.
Growing up in Madrid, Spain, she was fascinated by biology, nature documentaries and the endless questions that science could help answer. “I was always asking myself how things really worked,” she said. “I wanted to know more than what was in the textbooks.”
That curiosity eventually brought her across the world to the Sanford Burnham Prebys Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.
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Paloma first came to the Institute as an undergraduate intern through a partnership between her university, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, and Sanford Burnham Prebys. She joined the laboratory of former dean Guy Salvesen, an experience she describes as transformative.
“He was my spark,” she said. “He encouraged me to pursue a PhD and helped me believe that I could do it.”
After returning to Spain for a year, Paloma applied to the graduate program with Salvesen’s encouragement and mentorship. She later completed her PhD at Sanford Burnham Prebys, where she says the Institute’s collaborative environment helped shape both her scientific and professional development.
“Sanford Burnham Prebys is small in the best possible way,” she said. “You could meet people across departments, learn outside your field and always find someone willing to help.”
In addition to technical expertise, she credits the graduate program with helping her become a stronger communicator and presenter. Frequent opportunities to speak at conferences, seminars and Institute events pushed students outside their comfort zones and prepared them for careers in science.
Today, Paloma works at Aspen Neuroscience as a translational scientist in the company’s in vivo department. Her work focuses on cell therapy research, including transplanting therapeutic cells into animal models and analyzing data that supports clinical development.
Her background in neuroscience continues to inspire the questions she hopes science will eventually answer.
“Can we truly understand the brain?” she said. “Will we be able to better understand neurodegenerative diseases and help people suffering from them? That’s the big question for me.”
Although she has transitioned from academia to industry, Paloma says Sanford Burnham Prebys still feels like home.
“It pushed me to come here from across the world and build a life in science,” she said. “I’ll always be grateful for that.”
Select Profiles of GSBS Alumni
Mallika Iyer PhD
“I think our program is really unique. Its small size means that each student gets a lot of attention, and we have an Office of Education, Training and International Services (OETIS) that really offers us a lot of great resources to help us shape our careers.”
Marisa Sanchez PhD
“I chose to study at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute because it is leading the frontiers of translational biomedical research. I have always had a fascination for research and discovering new ways to improve the lives of people suffering from disease.”
Miguel Reina Campos PhD
“I was drawn to Sanford Burnham Prebys for its clinically oriented goals, state of the art facilities and the great talent that inhabits the institution. It appeared to me as the perfect blend of the will to cure and the genuine curiosity that drives the finest basic research.”
2026
Yu-Ling (Linda) Chang, PhD Thesis Title: Mechanisms of Cell Identity Maintenance in Cell Fate Reprogramming and Aging
Ruslan Nuryyev, PhD Thesis Title: Hypoxic-ischemic injury to the newborn brain reverts the penumbra transiently to a fetal, cerebrogenic state amenable to neuroprotection
Utkarsha Paithane, PhD Thesis Title: Honeybadger, a novel endogenous modulator of RAS/MAPK signaling in cancer
Hanxiao Zhang, PhD Thesis Title: Mechanistic Studies of Human 20S Proteasome Assembly and Development of a Recombinant Pf20S Drug Discovery Platform
2025
Ximena Diaz Olea, PhD Thesis Title: Tryptophan degradation by intestinal Bacteroides induces anti-tumor immunity and limits melanoma growth
Rema Iyer, PhD Thesis Title: Breaking Bad Fusions: Targeting the SS18::SSX Oncofusion in Synovial Sarcoma
Adarsh Rajesh, PhD Thesis Title: Targeting a Non-Canonical Cyclin D1-CDK6 Pathway to Mitigate Senescence-Driven Inflammation and Age-Associated Functional Decline
Michaela Romero, PhD Thesis Title: Discovery and Characterization of Fibroblast Identity Stabilizing Mechanisms That Restrict Therapeutic Cardiac Reprogramming
Ceda Stamenkovic, PhD Thesis Title: Pro-Regenerative Role of Senescent-Like Muscle Stem Cells during Skeletal Muscle Repair
Jiaqian (Emily) Wu, PhD Thesis Title: Fragment-based Drug Discovery of Small Molecular Modulators of Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases
Sviatlana Zaretski, PhD Thesis Title: Investigating novel roles of extracellular cytoplasmic chromatin fragments in secretion and intercellular signaling in cellular senescence
2024
Jordan Friedlein, PhD Thesis Title: The circRNA Derived Protein, FIREFOX Interacts with AUF1 to Upregulate the AKT/mTORC1 Pathway, Promoting MYC Expression in Cancer
Ryan Loughran, PhD Thesis Title: Non-canonical PI(4,5)P2 coordinates lysosome positioning through cholesterol trafficking
Rachael McVicar, PhD Thesis Title: Studying Airway Surfactant BPIFA1 in the Developing Human Lung: Novel Role in Regulating Neonatal Lung Homeostasis
Zong Ming Chua, PhD Thesis Title: Investigating novel mechanisms of cellular senescence
Stephen Sakuma, PhD Thesis Title: Targeting nuclear pore complex assembly to treat cancer
Zhouting Zhu, PhD Thesis Title: miR-25 Drives Cancer Immunotherapy Resistance by Suppressing Innate Immunity via Syndecan-3
2023
Aleksandr Arzamasov, PhD Thesis Title: Genomics-Driven Reconstruction of Carbohydrate Utilization Networks in Human-Residential Bifidobacteria
Meher Beigi Masihi, PhD Thesis Title: RREB1 is Required for Growth of Group 3 Medulloblastoma
Paloma Sanchez Pavon, PhD Thesis Title: LPA-dependent propagation of neuroinflammatory mechanisms in an optimized model of post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus
Benjamin Van Espen, PhD Thesis Title: RNF185 control of COL3A1 expression limits prostate cancer migration and metastatic potential
2022
Karina Barbosa Guerra, PhD Thesis Title: Chromatin Control of Cancer Stem Cells in Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Betsaida Bibo Verdugo, PhD Thesis Title: Caspase mechanisms in inflammatory cell death
Joe Fromm, PhD Thesis Title: Probing the Substrate Pocket of the Thioesterase Domain of Fatty Acid Synthase
James Kent, PhD Thesis Title: Pathogen Virulence Factors: Structural Biology at the Interface Between Host and Pathogen
Mallika Iyer, PhD Thesis Title: Studying protein conformational diversity and flexibility through the lens of experimentally solves structures
2021
Nicole Bata, PhD Thesis Title: The Discovery and Characterization of Small Molecule Modulators of Apoptosis and Autophagy for the Treatment of Cancer
Katja Birker, PhD Thesis Title: A novel role for mitoschondrial MICOS gene CHCHD6 in cardiac function and structure
J. Scotty Cadet, PhD Thesis Title: Mannose Supplement and SGK1 Attenuation Enhance EGFR-Targeted Therapy
Ayako Murao, PhD Thesis Title: Role of the Novel Cell Surface Hyaluronidase TMEM2 in Early Embryogenesis
Huiyu Ren, PhD Thesis Title: Discovery of Novel Cancer Therapeutics by Targeting the ULK1/2 Autophagy Initiation Complex
2020
Numana Bhat, PhD Thesis Title: Regnase-1 is essential for B cell homeostasis to prevent autoimmunity
Daniel Ojeda Juarez, PhD Thesis Title: Lipocalin-2 mediates neuronal damage and behavioral deficits in HIV-induced brain injury
Pavel Ryzhov, PhD Thesis Title: Structural Studies of Bcl-2 Family Proteins in Lipid Bilayers
Jessica Stupack, PhD Thesis Title: Novel roles for the AD risk factor SORLA in neurite outgrowth and synaptic protection
2019
Clyde Campbell, PhD Thesis Title: In vivo Lineage Conversion of Vertebrate Muscle into Early Endoderm-Like Cells
Alex Campos, PhD Thesis Title: TXNRD1 Mediated Regulation of the Wnt/β-catenin Pathway in Colorectal Cancer
Lisa Elmen, PhD Thesis Title: From Disease Promotion to Therapeutics – the Multifaceted Roles of Gut Bacteria
Anjali Gupta, PhD Thesis Title: CRTC Signaling in the Heart of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster
Cameron Pernia, PhD Thesis Title: Hyper-Excitable Neurons Produce Hypo-Functional Neuronal Networks: Evidence from Modeling CRMP2 in Bipolar Disorder
Miguel Reina Campos, PhD Thesis Title: Increase Serine and One-Carbon Pathway Metabolism by PKC Lambda/Iota Deficiency Promotes Neuroendocrine Prostate Cancer
Marisa Sanchez, PhD Thesis Title: Coordination of Adaptive and Pro-apoptotic Responses to Oxidative Stress at the mRNA Translation Level
2018
Francesca Boscolo Sesillo, PhD Thesis Title: Role of p53 in balancing self-renewal, myogenic commitment, and cellular transformation of muscle stem cells
Monica Gonzalez, PhD Thesis Title: The role of caspases in inflammation
Marco Maruggi, PhD Thesis Title: Elucidating the Mechanisms Underlying Resistance to Targeted Therapy in Pancreatic Cancer
Wesley McKeithan, PhD Thesis Title: Reengineering an Antiarrhythmic with Human Pluripotent Stem Cells
Róisín Puentes, PhD Thesis Title: Targeting the CNK1 PH domain to inhibit mutant KRAS cancer growth
Amir Razai, PhD Thesis Title: Biochemical Toolbox: New Strategies for the Characterization and Inhibition of Proteases
Tiara Wong, PhD Thesis Title: Using iPSC-derived mesenchymal stromal cells to study fibrosis in Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia/Cardiomyopathy
2017
Jinsha Liu, PhD Thesis Title: T-cadherin and Adiponectin in hippocampal synaptic functions and behaviors
Gianluigi Lichinchi, PhD Thesis Title: Dynamics of RNA methylation during HIV and ZIKV infections
Khooshbu Shah, PhD Thesis Title: Pathological Interactions of Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia/Cardiomyopathy (ARVD/C) Cardiomyocytes with ARVD/C Mesenchymal Stromal Cells
Victoria Thaney, PhD Thesis Title: Neuroprotection by IFN-beta in HIV/gp120 Brain Injury
2016
Paula Coutinho Toto, PhD Thesis Title: Regulation of Skeletal Muscle Cell Quiescence, Proliferation and Differentiation by Brahma-based SWI/SNF Chromatin-Remodeling Complex
Alessandra Dall’Agnese, PhD Thesis Title: MYOD-directed changes in the nuclear architecture during myogenic conversion of somatic cells
Mirco Guigli, PhD Thesis Title: Investigation of Structured Illumination Confocal Microscopy for High Content Screening
Stephen Soonthornvacharin, PhD Thesis Title: Systems-Level Analysis to Elucidate the Regulation of the RIG-I-Mediated Antiviral Innate Immune Response
Matthew Tierney, PhD Thesis Title: Regulatory mechanisms controlling muscle stem cell behavior during skeletal muscle repair
2015
Giuseppina Claps, PhD Thesis Title: Redefining AFT2 in Braf-driven melanoma
Yi Ding, PhD Thesis Title: Structural and Functional Studies of the Outer Membrane Protein Ail from Yersenia Pestis
Sara Gelino, PhD Thesis Title: Investigating the Mechanisms of Autophagy-Mediated Longevity During Dietary Restriction
Saumya Nagar, PhD Thesis Title: Role of MEF2 in photoreceptor degeneration
2014
Angel Bottini, PhD Thesis Title: Drug Discovery Studies on Influenza A Virus and Yersinia Outer Protein H (YopH)
Ryan Esquejo, PhD Thesis Title: Integration of Lipid Synthesis and Other Biological Processes via Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Proteins
Domenico Fasci, PhD Thesis Title: New Insights into the Regulation of SUMO Dynamics by the Human SUMO-specific Proteases (SENPs)
Lorenzo Giordani, PhD Thesis Title: Cell Fate Modulation in Skeletal Muscle Interstitial Cells: A Possible Approach in Muscular Dystrophy
Ryon Graf, PhD Thesis Title: The Regulation of Breast Cancer Metastasis by Caspase-8
Janna Hachmann, PhD Thesis Title: Activity and Specificity of the Human Paracaspase MALT1
Philip McQuary, PhD Thesis Title: Understanding the longevity of rsks-1/S6K C. elegant mutants
Goonho Park, PhD Thesis Title: Investigation of Aberrant Epigenetic Mechanisms in Parkinson’s Disease Pathogenesis
Judith Scheliga, PhD Thesis Title: Role of elf3e in mRNA Translation
Danhua Zhang, PhD Thesis Title: The Specification of Ductal Lineages in Liver and Pancreas
2013
Wenqing Cai, PhD Thesis Title: Stage-Specific Cell Fate Commitment During Cardiac Differentiation in mESCs
Xin Wang, PhD Thesis Title: Loss of Sorting nexin 27 Continues to Excitatory Synaptic Dysfunction Via Modulation of Glutamate Receptor Recycling in Down Syndrome
2012
Corrine Lee, PhD Thesis Title: Spinal Disinhibition in a Rodent Model of Painful Diabetic Neuropathy
Runquan Zhang, PhD Thesis Title: Novel Synthetic Ligands of CCR5 and CXCR4: Biochemical Characterization and Preclinical Studies
Johanna Samuelsson, PhD Thesis Title: DNA Demethylation of SST1 Pericentromeric Repetitive Elements in Human Cancer
Ying Zhang, PhD Thesis Title: Integrating Computational Structure-Function Analyses for the Genome-Scale Modeling of Metabolic Networks
2009
Lorena Puto, PhD Thesis Title: Epigenetic Control of Apoptosis and Autophagy Gene Expression and Promotion of Tumorigenicity by Nuclear Body Protein, Daxx
Annelies Zinkernagel, PhD Thesis Title: Exploring Bacterial Pathogen Interactions with Host Phagocytes to Identify Novel Approaches to Infectious Disease Therapy
