Matriculating 2018
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Julianna E. Buchwald
Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA
Undergraduate College: University of Pittsburgh, 2017
Thesis Research Lab: Dr. Anastasia Khvorova
Clinical Interests: Cardiothoracic Surgery, Transplant Surgery
Hobbies: Kayaking, reading, hiking -
Carly Herbert
Hometown: Atlanta, GA
Undergraduate College: Washington University in St. Louis
Thesis Research Lab: Dr. Apurv Soni
Clinical Interests: Infectious disease, hospital epidemiology, internal medicine, and pediatrics
Hobbies: Yoga, jigsaw puzzles, reading, cooking, playing with my cats -
Ethan Loew
Ethan graduated from Union College where he earned a BS in chemistry and a minor in economics. Prior to matriculating as an MD/PhD candidate at UMassMed in 2018, he conducted research under Dr. Sharad Ramanathan at Harvard University where he studied the dynamics of cell signaling and cell state transitions during mammalian development.
He is currently interested in the molecular basis of how our environments shape development and disease. He has completed research rotations with Dr. Craig Mello studying the role of Piwi Argonaut pathways in regulating germline gene expression, with Dr. Beth McCormick on designing new molecular tests to monitor the spread of infectious diseases, and with Dr. Oliver Rando studying the role of epigenetic information in transmitting information about ancestral experiences to offspring. -
Pryce Michener
Pryce Michener graduated from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee with a BA in German Studies and a BS in Biology. He did undergraduate research in evolutionary botany and genomics on the Australian plant family Goodeniaceae. He is currently interested in doing public health research on the social and structural determinants of health, and the healthcare of people who use drugs and/or experience homelessness. His first rotation was in Dr. Kate Lapane’s lab, working on a review of segregation in nursing homes. He also rotated in Dr. Robin Clark’s lab studying quality of healthcare for patients with opioid use disorder. He has not decided on a thesis advisor.
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Benjamin Sallis
Benjamin Sallis is a graduate of Boston College where he received a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy. Before entering the MD/PhD program at UMass Chan Medical School in 2018, he worked at Boston Children’s Hospital , where he studied the molecular mechanisms of IgE signaling in mast cell and dendritic cells with Dr. Edda Fiebiger and designed transcriptional profile based diagnostic algorithms for eosinophilic esophagitis with Dr. Samuel Nurko.
He has finished rotations in the labs of Dr. Gyongi Szabo screening for novel miRNA regulators of autophagy as potential targets for treatment of alcoholic steatosis, Dr. Andrea Reboldi studying the role of the mucosal IgA immune compartment in regulation of the microbiome, and Dr. Ann Moormann investigating the role of dendritic cells in endemic Burkitt’s lymphoma in children exposed to Epstein Barr Virus. -
Claire Tocheny
Claire Tocheny is a graduate of The College of William & Mary where she received a Bachelor of Science in Biology. Before entering the MD/PhD program at UMass Chan Medical School in 2018, she was an intramural research training award (IRTA) fellow at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases where she investigated innate immune responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the lab of Dr. Katrin Mayer-Barber.
She has finished rotations in the labs of Dr. Kate Fitzgerald studying the role of STING in autoimmune disorders, Dr. Chris Sassetti studying innate immune responses to M. tuberculosis, Dr. Beth McCormick studying endocannabinoid signaling in intestinal epithelial cells, and Dr. Read Pukkila-Worley studying the role of lipids in innate immune responses. Her current research interests include understanding mechanisms that regulate homeostatic and pathogen-driven innate immune responses. She plans to join the lab of Dr. Read Pukkila-Worley. -
Simon A. Wentworth
Simon is a graduate of The George Washington University with a BS with Honors in Biological Sciences. Before entering UMassmed as an MD/PhD candidate, he conducted research at George Washington in the fields of physiology and transcriptomics in the lab of Dr. Randall Packer. He also investigated the innate immune function of tumors in the context of virotherapy while in the lab of Prof. Leonard Seymour at the Univeristy of Oxford.
His current interests surround targeted therapeutics for cancer including immunotherapy, virotherapy, and nucleotide therapeutics. He has finished rotations at UMass in the labs of Dr. Sam Behar on T-cell response to TB, Dr. Michael Brehm on humanized immune system mouse models, Dr. Wen Xue on genes conferring resistance to PD-1 blockade in hepatocellular carcinoma, and Dr. Miguel Esteves on anti-sense oligonucleotide targeting of diffuse infantile ponctine glioma, but has yet to decide on a thesis lab.
