Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences celebrates largest class at qualifying exam ceremony

A standing room-only crowd watched as 73 PhD candidates and MD/PhD students in the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at UMass Chan Medical School were recognized on Wednesday, Sept. 11, for passing the exam needed to begin thesis work and transition from student to candidate for a doctoral degree. This is the school’s largest qualifying class.

“With the passage of this milestone, your roles have evolved. You’re no longer just students. You’re actually scholars that are shaping the future of the institution in a broader scientific community,” Mary Ellen Lane, PhD, the Donna M. and Robert J. Manning Chair in Biomedical Sciences, professor of neurobiology and dean of the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, told the honorees during the 2024 Qualifying Exam Recognition Ceremony.

PhD candidates Zhané Adamson, Emma Austen-Holt, Trang Ho and Jessica Peura received the Zelda Haidak Award in Cell Biology. The late Gerald Haidak, MD, established the scholarship before his death to honor his wife, Zelda Haidak, and to enhance training for women launching research careers in cell biology.

Adamson, who is studying in the lab of James B. Munro, PhD, associate professor of microbiology, is focused on how the antiviral effector protein interferon-induced transmembrane protein 3 (FITM3) prevents HIV infection. Austen-Holt is studying mutations in membrane-spanning 4-domains, subfamily A (MS4A), in the lab of Paul L. Greer, PhD, assistant professor of molecular medicine.

Ho studies cell biology processes in a pathogenic bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae, the leading cause of pneumonia and other life-threatening conditions such as meningitis, in the lab of Josué Flores Kim, PhD, assistant professor of biochemistry & molecular biotechnology. Peura is working on deleting a specific gene in a pancreatic cancer mouse model in the lab of Jason Pitarresi, PhD, assistant professor of medicine.

Madison Marasco, a Wellesley local who graduated from Clemson University with a degree in biology and a minor in microbiology, is one of the MD/PhD students who was recognized. Working with mentor Mark Johnson, MD, PhD, the Maroun Semaan Chair in Neurosurgery, chair and professor of neurological surgery and senior consulting vice provost for mentorship, leadership and transformation, Marasco is researching meningioma, the most common primary intracranial tumor in adults.

“I am particularly interested in identifying what molecular pathways these tumors rely on to survive and understanding if these pathways can be targeted for therapeutic benefit,” Marasco said.

Emmanuella Asiedu, MPH, came to UMass Chan and the Population Health Sciences Pathway after growing up in Ghana and Senegal. She majored in environmental science at Northern Kentucky University before earning a Master of Public Health degree from the Brown University School of Public Health. Mentored by Jennifer Tjia, MD, MSCE, professor of population & quantitative health sciences, and Sarah Forrester, PhD, assistant professor of population & quantitative health sciences, Asiedu is researching how structural factors such as neighborhood resources impact health outcomes among people with type 2 diabetes and the roles that self-identified race and depressive disorder status play in these relationships.

“Being surrounded by kind people is really important to succeed in a PhD program,” Asiedu said.  “The students, faculty and staff in the Population Health Sciences program have really felt like a family.”

Leo DeOrsey, a PhD candidate in the lab of Paul Thompson, PhD, professor of biochemistry & molecular biotechnology, who majored in clarinet performance and biology at Rhode Island College, applied to UMass Chan’s Basic Biomedical Sciences Umbrella Pathway after working as a research technician for Scot Wolfe, PhD, professor of molecular, cell & cancer biology. DeOrsey is focused on understanding the mechanisms that drive the pathological neuron degeneration in disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer’s disease, traumatic brain injuries and peripheral neuropathies.

“To me, officially becoming a PhD candidate means that we are dedicated to the process and share a passion for working together to advance the science that contributes to human health,” DeOrsey said.