Emory University School of Medicine
Emory University School of Medicine
Department of Medicine

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Department of Medicine

Meet our Trainees



Predoctoral Trainees

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Dana Battle

RESEARCH TITLE:
Lipotoxic Tubular Injury in Diabetic Kidney Disease

MENTOR: Dr. Xueying Zhao

Dana's research is geared toward investigating the pathways through which Free Fatty Acids cause renal tubular atrophy, thereby advancing our understanding of Diabetic Kidney Disease.

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Priscilla Delgado

RESEARCH TITLE:
A Bio-Inspired Diagnostic Platform for Continuous Measurement of Blood-Based Biomarkers

MENTOR: Dr. David Myers

Priscilla's research works towards enabling continuous real-time blood biomarker measurements to give an accurate representation of patient states when in acute critical conditions.

Annika Gompers

RESEARCH TITLE:
Examining multilevel determinants of kidney transplant access in the US

MENTOR: Dr. Jessica Harding

Annika's research uses large, national registeries that outline the complex steps patients must navigate to receive a transplant to better understand the multilevel determinants of kidney transplant access in the US.

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Jennifer Okalova

RESEARCH TITLE:
Development of a Non-genotoxic Conditioning Approach for Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation of Genetically Engineered Hematopoietic Stem Cells

MENTOR: Dr. Trent Spencer

Jennifer's dissertation research focuses on hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy for Hemophilia A and Sickle Cell Disease, with a specific aim to develop a novel non-genotoxic conditioning regimen to prepare patients for hematopoietic stem cell transplantations.

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Audrey Wang

RESEARCH TITLE:
A Low-Cost, “Physics-Based” Point-of-Care Platelet Counter for Thrombocytopenic Patients

MENTOR: Dr. Wilbur Lam

Audrey's research aims to develop a low-cost POC device to estimate platelet count using blood clot biophysics, enabling accessible and affordable monitoring for patients with low platelet count.



Postdoctoral Trainees

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Ryan Allen, PhD

RESEARCH TITLE:
Detection of Heme Storage and Trafficking Proteins and Pathways Throughout Erythropoiesis

MENTOR: Dr. Amit Reddi

Dr. Allen's research encompasses understanding how THE large amount of potentially cytotoxic heme is trafficked and stored in developing erythrocytes.


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Matthew Gillen, MD

RESEARCH TITLE:
Post-operative Acute Kidney Injury in Surgical Neonates

MENTOR: Drs. Larry Greenbaum & Stella Shin

Dr. Gillen's research is focused on better understanding risk factors that contribute to post-operative acute kidney injury in surgical neonates, in addition to evaluating the utility of a pre-operative urine biomarker as a predictor of post-operative acute kidney injury.

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Jamie Hamilton, PhD

RESEARCH TITLE:
Delineating Vascular Endothelial Dysfunction in Transplant-Associated Thrombotic Microangiopathy Utilizing Transwell Methodology

MENTOR: Dr. Shuichi Takayama

Dr. Hamilton's research is focused on developing an in vitro model of TA-TMA to determine the key factors promoting vascular endothelial damage and delineate biomarkers for TA-TMA.

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Elizabeth Iffrig, MD, PhD

RESEARCH TITLE:
Red Blood Cell Aggregation in Sepsis - Not an Innocent Bystander

MENTOR: Dr. Wilbur Lam

Dr. Iffrig's research is focused on how acute critical illnesses like sepsis in adults affect changes in red blood cell biomechanics and microcirculatory fluid dynamics to cause microvascular endothelial cell damage.

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Melissa McGranahan, PhD

RESEARCH TITLE:
Impact of Comorbid Post-traumatic Stress Disorder on Sympathetic Activity in Chronic Kidney Disease

MENTOR: Dr. Jeanie Park

Dr. McGranahan's research explores PTSD's effect on SNS activity in CKD patients and aims to improve cardiovascular outcomes through sleep and exercise intervention.

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Tyrome Sweet, PhD

RESEARCH TITLE:
Pilot Study for the Role of Bacteriophages in Viral Infections Among Kidney Transplant Patients

MENTOR: Drs. Vicki Stover Hertzberg & Christian Larson

Dr. Sweet’s research is aimed towards exploring the impact of bacteriophages on renal transplant patients through machine learning techniques.

Adaysha Williams, PhD

RESEARCH TITLE:
Elucidate the link between sickle cell trait and the development of chronic kidney disease

MENTOR: Dr. Andrew Hong

Dr. William's research is focused on exploring how sickle cell trait (SCT) contributes to chronic kidney disease by studying molecular pathways in SCT kidneys throughout development.



ATLANTIS Trainee Alumni

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Carter Brzezinski

RESEARCH TITLE:
Repurposing of Approved Pharmaceuticals to Discovery Novel Antibacterial Drugs

MENTOR: Dr. Bill Wuest

As a former ATLANTIS predoctoral trainee, Carter's focused on antibiotic resistance research, combatting multi-drug-resistant infections, a crucial response to the public health crisis.

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Benjamin Deprez

RESEARCH TITLE:
Total Synthesis and Target Identification of the Antibacterial Natural Product Pestalachloride B

MENTOR: Dr. Bill Wuest

As a former ATLANTIS predoctoral trainee, Ben’s research focused on the discovery of novel chemical tools to better understand antimicrobial resistance in urinary tract pathogens via total synthesis of bioactive natural products and related chemical probes.

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Ryan Zenhausern

RESEARCH TITLE:
Identifying Novel Lipid Nanoparticles that Deliver mRNA to Hematopoietic Stem Cells in Vivo

MENTOR: Dr. James Dahlman

As a former ATLANTIS predoctoral trainee, Ryan's research focused on advancing mRNA delivery to blood stem cells using lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). Identifying new particles that deliver mRNA specifically to these cells opens the door for delivering gene editing reagents and other nucleic acids to treat genetic blood disorders.