• Romulo Albuquerque, M.D., Ph.D.

    Assistant Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, College Of Medicine

    Project Title: Novel nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor derivatives for chronic neuropathic pain

    Primary Mentor: Jayakrishna Ambati, M.D.

    Romulo Albuquerque, DDS, MD, PhD
  • Shanna Babalonis, Ph.D.

    Assistant Professor, Behavioral Science, College of Medicine

    Project Title: Utilizing translational models to develop opioid adjuvants: Analgesis interactions of cannabinoids and opioids

    Primary Mentor: Sharon Walsh, Ph.D.

    Shanna Babalonis
  • Keisa Bennett, M.D.

    Associate Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine

    Project Title: How social networks influence smoking behavior in rural Appalachian lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ) persons

    Primary Mentor: Nancy Schoenberg, Ph.D.

    K Fallin-Bennett
  • Matthew Bush. M.D., Ph.D.

    Associate Professor,  Department of Otolaryngology, ENT Surgery, College of Medicine

    Project Title: Bridging the Gaps: Assessment of pediatric hearing Loss in Appalachia

    Primary Mentor: Nancy Schoenberg, Ph.D.

    Professional headshot of Matthew Bush, a smiling, middle-aged white man with buzzed, dark hair and a closely-trimmed beard, wearing a dark blue suit jacket, white shirt, bow tie, and pocket square.
  • Meredith Duncan, PhD

    Assistant Professor, Department of Biostatistics, College of Public Health

    Project: The power of social determinants of health: An Avenue for eliminating race-based cardiovascular Disease 

    Mentors: Carrie Oser, PhD, Donna Arnett, PhD, Jeff Talbert, PhD

    Duncan
  • Sally Ellingson, Ph.D.

    Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Bioinformatics, College of Medicine

    Project Title: Development of "Gold Standard" next generation sequencing data sets

    Primary Mentor: Heidi Weiss, Ph.D.

    Ellingson
  • Sycarah Fisher, Ph.D.

    Assistant Professor, Department of Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology, College of Education

    Project Title: Adolescent substance use: School and community perspectives on school-based interventions

    Primary Mentor: Lisa Ruble, Ph.D.

    S Fisher
  • Brandon Fornwalt, M.D., Ph.D.

    Associate Professor, Department of Imaging Science and Innovation, Geisinger Health Care

    Project Title: Exploring the role of dyssynchrony in pediatric heart disease with MRI

    Primary Mentor: Susan Smyth, M.D., Ph.D.

    Dr. Brandon Fornwalt
  • Nathan Johnson, D.P.T., Ph.D.

    Assistant Professor, Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Health Sciences

    Project Title: Does aerobic training increase primary motor cortex cerebral blood flow and motor performance in healthy older adults?

    Primary Mentor: Charlotte Peterson, Ph.D.

    N Johnson
  • Mary (Beth) Lacy, PhD

    Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health

    Project Title: Developing and validating a prediction tool for diabetic ketoacidosis among diabetes patients

    Mentors:  Jeff Talbert, Ph.D., John Fowlkes, M.D.

    Beth Lacy
  • Ying Liang, Ph.D.

    Associate Professor, Toxicology and Cancer Biology, College of Medicine

    Project Title: Role of latex in Pathogenesis of myeloproliferative neoplasms

    Primary Mentor: Gary Van Zant, Ph.D

    Ying Liang, PhD
  • Steve W. Leung, M.D.

    Associate Professor, Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine

    Project Title: Differentiating athlete's heart and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with cardiac MRI

    Primary Mentor: Susan Smyth, M.D., Ph.D.

    Leung
  • Laurie McLouth, PhD

    Assistant Professor, Department of Behavioral Science

    Project: Piloting ‘mPAL’, a multilevel implementation strategy to integrate non-hospice palliative care into advanced stage lung cancer treatment​

    Mentors: Nancy Schoenberg, PhD; Pam Hull, PhD

    McLouth
  • Brandon Miller, M.D., Ph.D.

    Assistant Professor, Department of Neurosurgery, College of Medicine

    Project Title: Reducing pathological macrophage activation and white matter injury in neonatal intraventricular hemorrhage

    Primary Mentor: Edward Hall, Ph.D.

    Brandon Miller, MD, PhD
  • Brian Noehren, P.T., Ph.D.

    Associate Professor, Division of Physical Therapy, College of Health Sciences

    Project Title: Prolonged micro and macro alterations to muscle following knee surgery and physical therapy

    Primary Mentor: Charlotte Peterson, Ph.D.

    Noehren
  • Jill Roberts, PhD

    Assistant Professor, Department of Neurosurgery, Sanders Brown Center on Aging, College of Medicine

    Project Title: Optimization and translational validation of a novel mouse surgical model of Moyamoya Syndrome

    Mentors: Linda VanEldik, Ph.D., Justin Fraser, M.D.

    Jill Roberts, PhD
  • Elizabeth Salt, A.P.R.N., Ph.D.

    Associate Professor, College of Nursing

    Project Title: Pain sensitivity and mHealth therapy in acute to chronic back pain transition

    Primary Mentor: Suzanne Segerstrom, Ph.D.

    Salt
  • Michael Samaan, PhD

    Assistant Professor, UK College of Education, Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion

    Project: Hip Joint Bone and Cartilage Health and Mechanics in Patients with Femoroacetabular Impingement Syndrome

    Mentor: Tom Kelly, PhD

    Samaan
  • Quing-Bai She, Ph.D.

    Associate Professor, Department of Molecular and Biomedical Pharmacology, College of Medicine

    Project Title: Biological and therapeutic implications of AKT and AR cooperation in advanced prostate cancer

    Primary Mentor: B. Mark Evers, M.D.

    She
  • Rachel Stewart, D.O., Ph.D.

    Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, College of Medicine

    Project Title: MHC class II antigen presentation pathway and outcome in patients with triple negative breast cancer

    Primary Mentors: Katherine Varley, Ph.D. and C. Darrell Jennings, M.D.

    R Stewart
  • Christina R. Studts, L.C.S.W., Ph.D.

    Associate Professor, Department of Health Behavior, College of Public Health

    Project Title: Development of an ultra-rapid screening tool for disruptive behavior problems in preschoolers: First step toward a clinical intervention in primary care

    Primary Mentor: Carl Leukefeld, Ph.D.

    Christina Studts, PhD
  • Moriel Vandsburger, Ph.D.

    Assistant Professor, Bioengineering, University of California Berkeley

    Project title: Translational magnetization transfer MRI of myocardial fibrosis

    Primary Mentor: Susan Smyth, M.D., Ph.D

    Vandsburger
  • Tritia Yamasaki, M.D., Ph.D.

    Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, College of Medicine

    Project Title: Synuclein seed detection in synucleinopathies

    Primary Mentor: Greg Gerhardt, Ph.D.

    Yamasaki