Home Research People Publications Lab location Lab Art

Former Graduate Students

Liz Goley, MS 2002 Sabrina Andersen, PhD 2010 Danielle Rognstad, PhD 2017
Özlem Yιldιz, PhD 2003 Matt LaFave, PhD 2011 Simon Brady, PhD 2017
Hunter Blanton, PhD 2005 Kathryn Kohl, PhD 2013 Kale Hartmann, PhD 2019
Sarah Radford, PhD 2006 Stephanie Bellendir, PhD 2015 Talia Hatkevich, PhD 2019
Kirsten Trowbridge, MS 2007 Noelle Romero, PhD 2016 Juan Carvajal-Garcia, PhD 2021
Jan LaRocque, PhD 2007 Greg Zapotoczny, PhD 2016
Sushmita Mukherjee, PhD 2008 Julie Korda Holsclaw, PhD 2017
 
Juan Carvajal-Garcia defense PhD Defense: March 18, 2021

Dissertation: Mechanisms and Genetics of Polymerase Theta-Mediated End Joining

*Co-mentored by Dale Ramsden (Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Ctr)

Publications: Honors and Awards:
  • Graduate Fellow Award, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center (2018)
Leadership Positions:
  • Triangle Fly Symposium, Organizing Chair (2018)
  • Early Career Reviewer, Genetics (2019-2021)
Subsequent Positions:
Talia Hatkevich PhD Defense: August 12, 2019

Dissertation: Meitic Prophase I: From Homolog Pairing to Crossover Regulation

Publications: Honors and Awards: Leadership Positions:
  • Triangle Fly Symposium, Organizing Chair (2016)
  • Frank Porter Graham Honor Society, President (2017-2018)
  • Gordon-Kenan Research Conference on Meiosis, Chair (2016)
Subsequent Positions:
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Ting Wu lab, Harvard Medical School (2019-2020)
  • Scientific Consultant, Eva Garland Consulting (2020-2021)
  • Sabbatical in Sekelsky lab (2021)
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Blanche Capel lab, Duke University
Kale Hartmann PhD Defense: June 18, 2019

Dissertation: Meiotic Crossover Patterning in Drosophila melanogaster

Publications: Honors and Awards: Subsequent Positions:
Simon Brady PhD Defense: June 22, 2017

Dissertation: Meiotic Crossover Patterning in the Absence of ATR

Publications: Honors and Awards:
  • Genetics and Molecular Biology Training Grant (2011-12)
Subsequent Positions:
  • Postdoctoral Fellow at U. Rochester (lab of Anne Meyer).

Danielle Rognstad PhD Defense: April 5, 2017

Dissertation: GENerating a Greater Understanding of Resolvases in DNA Damage Repair

*Co-mentored by Dorothy Erie (UNC Chemistry)

Publications: Honors and Awards:
  • National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (2013-16)
  • Dissertation Completion Fellowship (2016-17)
Subsequent Positions:
  • Regional Institute Coordinator of the Regional Training Institute of the Atlantic States.

Julie Korda Holsclaw PhD Defense: March 14, 2017

Dissertation: Novel Roles for the Drosophila melanogaster Ortholog of SMARCAL1 in DNA Damage Repair

Publications: Honors and Awards:
  • Genetics and Molecular Biology Training Grant (2011-12)
  • NRSA F31 fellowship from National Institute of General Medical Sciences (2015-16)
Subsequent Positions:
  • Postdoctoral Fellow at Duke University, Center for Human Disease Modeling (2017-2019).
  • Postdoctoral Fellow in Sekelsky lab (2019-2021).
  • Genomic Variant Scientist, Quest Diagnostics.

Greg Zapotoczny PhD Defense: November 22, 2016

Dissertation: Contributions of DNA Helicases to Genome Stability

Publications: Subsequent Positions:
  • Postdoctoral Fellow at Univ. Southern California, lab of Irene Chiolo.
  • Staff Scientist, Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine of USC

Noelle Romero PhD Defense: August 16, 2016

Dissertation: Biochemical Activities and Genetic Functions of the Drosophila Fancm Helicase in DNA Repair

*Co-mentored by Steve Matson (Biology)

Publications: Honors and Awards:
  • Genetics and Molecular Biology Training Grant (2010-11)
  • National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (2011-14)
  • Royster Society of Fellows Dissertation Completion Fellowship (2014-15)
Subsequent Positions:
Stephanie Bellendir PhD Defense: October 30, 2015

Dissertation: Genetic and Biochemical Characterization of Drosophila Gen during DNA Repair and Recombination

Publications: Honors and Awards:
  • Genetics and Molecular Biology Training Grant (2008-9)
Talks at conferences:
  • "Substrate specificity of the Drosophila Holliday junction resolvase GEN"
    Genetics/GMB Retreat at the Beach, Sept. 28, 2013.
Subsequent Positions:
Kathryn Kohl PhD Defense: March 8, 2013

Dissertation: Identification and Characterization of the Drosophila melanogaster Meiotic MCM Complex

Publications: Honors and Awards:
  • Life Sciences Research Foundation postdoctoral fellowship (declined).
  • Genetics Society of America's Larry Sandler Award for outstanding dissertation in Drosophila, runner up (2014).
  • Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award (2013).
  • Kenan-Hobgood Dissertation Fellowship for outstanding student in GMB (2011).
  • Genetics and Molecular Biology Training Grant (2006-7)
  • National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, honorable mention (2008)
Talks at conferences:
  • "Identification of a Novel MCM Complex Involved in Meiotic Crossover Formation"
    Gordon-Kenan Research Seminar, June 12, 2010.
  • "Functions of a Meiotic MCM Complex in Generating Crossovers"
    Genetics/GMB Retreat at the Beach, Sept. 17, 2011.
  • "Identification of a Novel MCM Complex Involved in Meiotic Crossover Formation"
    Gordon-Kenan Research Seminar, June 2, 2012.
  • "The role of the Drosophila meiotic MCM proteins in crossover formation"
    GSA Drosophila Research Conference, April 5, 2013.
  • "The role of the Drosophila meiotic MCM proteins in crossover formation"
    Harold Weintraub Symposium, Seattle, WA, May 3, 2013.
Subsequent Positions:
Matt LaFave PhD Defense: April 6, 2011

Dissertation: Detection and Analysis of Common Fragile Sites in Drosophila melanogaster

Publications: Honors and Awards:
  • National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, honorable mention (2007)
  • Cell and Molecular Biology Training Grant (2007-8)
Subsequent Positions:
Sabrina Andersen PhD Defense: March 8, 2010

Dissertation: DmBLM's Functions in DNA Repair and Recombination

Publications: Honors and Awards:
  • Best student talk, Genetics Retreat at the Beach (2008)
  • Kenan-Hobgood award for outstanding graduate student in GMB (2009)
Subsequent Positions:
  • NRSA Postdoctoral Fellow with Tom Petes, Duke University
  • Laboratory of Simon Gregory, Duke University, Kanapolis.
  • Senior Medical Writer, 21 Grams

Sushmita Mukherjee PhD Defense: August 1, 2008

Dissertation: DNA Damage Response to Lesions Involving Both Strands of the Double-Helix
 
Publication: S. Mukherjee, M.C. LaFave, and J. Sekelsky (2009) DNA damage responses in Drosophila nbs mutants with reduced or altered NBS function. DNA Repair 8: 803-812.

Subsequent Positions:
  • Postdoctoral Fellow at Cleveland Clinic
  • Clinical Project Manager, Quintiles IMS
  • Clinical Operations Portfolio Lead, Global Clinical Trial Strategy & Operations, Bristol Myers Squibb

Kirsten Trowbridge MS: May, 2007 Thesis: Overlapping Functions of MUS81 and DmBLM Helicase in Drosophila melanogaster

Publications: Current Position:
  • Environmental Health Sciences PhD program, UNC-Greensboro.
  • Lecturer, UNC-Greensboro.

Jan LaRocque PhD Defense: May 18, 2007

Dissertation: DNA Damage Response in Drosophila melanogaster: Orchestrating Repair with Cell Cycle Checkpoints

Publications: Honors and Awards: Subsequent Positions:
  • NRSA Postdoctoral Fellow at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (Maria Jasin)
  • Associate Professor, Georgetown University (Jan's website)

Sarah Radford PhD Defense: November 10, 2006

Dissertation: Heteroduplex DNA and Meiotic Recombination in Drosophila.

Publications: Honors and Awards: Subsequent Positions:
  • Postdoctoral research with Kim McKim, Rutgers University
    Helen Hay Whitney postdoctoral fellowship
  • Program Development Specialist, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey

Hunter Blanton PhD Defense: October 26, 2005

Dissertation: Cloning and Characterization of recombination defective in Drosophila melanogaster.

Publications: Honors and Awards:
Ozlem Yildiz PhD Defense: May 6, 2003

Dissertation: The Functions of Two Interacting Proteins, MEI-9 and MUS312, in DNA Repair and Meiotic Recombination pathways

Publications: Honors and Awards:
  • Platform talk, Drosophila Research Conference (2001)

Subsequent Positions:
  • Postdoctoral research with Doug Bishop, University of Chicago (06/2003-06/2005)
    Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Postdoctoral Fellowship
  • Laboratory of Kenan Onel, University of Chicago (07/2005-06/2008)

Liz Goley MS: May, 2002

Thesis: Targeting the Ercc1 DNA Repair Gene in Drosophila

Publications: Subsequent Positions:
  • MBS, Sloan School of Management, MIT (2006)
  • Senior Product Manager, Thermo Fisher Scientific
  • Product Management at NanoString Technologies, Inc.