Participating Faculty
All faculty at the University of Pennsylvania are potential mentors. Faculty who have mentored students in recent years are listed below. Information on other faculty members at Penn can be found at the Graduate Group and Department Web sites.
Helen Aceto
Epidemiology of zoonoses in dairy cattle, environmental and foodborne transfer of pathogenic organisms between livestock and humans, the ecology of antimicrobial resistance in foodborne pathogens
Gustavo Aguirre
Molecular genetics of inherited eye diseases and treatment by gene therapy approaches
David Artis
Immuno-regulatory mechanisms that govern the initiation, regulation, and effector responses following gastrointestinal helminth infection
Michael Atchison
Determining the molecular mechanisms responsible for transcriptional regulation and the control of differentiation
Narayan Avadhani
Cancer biology, mitochondrial genetics, and regulation of mitochondrial membrane biogenesis in mammalian cells
Tracy Bale
Deciphering the role stress plays in disrupting homeostasis
William Beltran
Retinal degenerative diseases, retinal damage and modeling, neuroprotection, and gene therapy
Kendra Bence
Mouse models of obesity and diabetes with emphasis on protein phosphatases and neuronal control of metabolism
Erfei Bi
Development of cell polarity and control of cytokinesis in budding yeast
Margaret Casal
Genodermatoses (Inherited Skin Disorders), Collagen Defects (Osteogenesis imperfecta), Wolfhound Rhinitis and Epilepsy in the Irish Wolfhound
Margaret Chou
Mechanisms of malignant transformation, signaling by small GTPases, regulation of vesicular trafficking, ubiquitination
Gary Cohen
Herpes simplex virus entry mechanisms; Structure-Function of HSV viral Entry proteins vaccinia virus proteins involved in protection
Gudrun Debes
Effector and memory lymphocytes, unlike naïve lymphocytes, can efficiently enter non-lymphoid tissues as well as sites of inflammation and infection.
Robert Doms
HIV and emerging viral pathogens
Zhengxia Dou
Soil and environmental science. Environmental impact and management of agricultural wastes
Roselyn Eisenberg
Herpes simplex virus (HSV) entry into susceptible cells, and animal models of HSV-1 and HSV-2 disease in their human host
Peter Felsburg
Role of the common gamma chain in lymphoid development and function, and immune reconstitution following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and gene therapy
James Ferguson
Evaluation of nutrition and reproduction in dairy cows
Hannah Galentino-Homer
Epidermal stem cell function, hoof lamellar tissue composition, and laminitis
George Gerton
Spermatogenesis; fertilization; pre-implantation mammalian embryo development
Urs Giger
Hereditary disorders of companion animals in particular hematologic and metabolic defects; hematologic diseases and transfusion medicine
Kurt Hankenson
Cellular and molecular mechanisms of bone remodeling and regeneration
Ronald Harty
Virus-host interactions including virus budding and assembly
Mark Haskins
Lysosomal storage diseases; gene therapy
Paula Henthorn
Genetic diseases of dogs and cats
Meenhard Herlyn
Normal tissue homeostasis and tumor development
Rebecka Hess
Canine and feline diabetes mellitus and other endocrinopathies, acute pancreatitis
Erika Holzbaur
Microtubule-based motility
James Hoxie
Viral and cellular aspects of HIV and SIV entry into cells; mechanisms of viral resistance to the host immune response; neutralizing antibodies
Chris Hunter
The events that regulate protective immunity to the parasite Toxoplasma gondii
Olena Jacenko
Processes that control skeletal development
Gregory Kopf
Biochemistry of mammalian fertilization with specific emphasis on the mechanisms by which gamete maturation and activation occurs prior to and after sperm-egg fusion
Michaela Kristula
Dairy production medicine, bedding materials to prevent mastitis, and reproductive synchronization programs for dairy cows
Brett Kaufman
Regulation of mitochondrial chromatin structure, function, and gene regulation
James Lok
The endogenous mechanism governing developmental arrest and lifespan in parasitic nematodes
Frank Luca
Yeast and mammalian cell cycle regulation; Regulation of mitotic exit, cytokinesis, daughter cell-specific gene expression, and polarized growth
Nicola Mason
Immune approaches to cancer therapy
Robert Mauck
Bioengineering of musculoskeletal tissue, mesenchymal stem cell mechanobiology, signal transduction, and chondrocyte differentiation.
Michael May
Signal transduction pathways that control gene expression in immune and inflammatory responses and how deregulation of these mechanisms contribute to disease
Kathryn Michel
Nutritional requirements of critically ill patients, nutrient modulation of gastrointestinal and endocrine diseases
Adrian Morrison
Sleep research and behavior; arousal from rapid eye movement sleep (REM)
Lisa Murphy
Emergency preparedness and response; exotic and aquatic animal medicine
Tom Nolan
Epidemiology of parasites of companion small animals; Strongyloides stercoralis: Host modification of developmental decisions
Cindy Otto
Hypoxia and emergency critical care
Tom Parsons
Cellular and molecular mechanisms of neurotransmitter release
John Pehrson
Identifying and understanding mechanisms that regulate chromatin structure and function
Shelley Rankin
Surveillance and epidemiology of drug resistant bacteria in animals; the application of realtime molecular diagnostics for infectious disease
Dean Richardson
Equine connective tissue development and diseases
Dieter Schifferli
Mechanisms of how bacterial pathogens initiate their infectious process
Phil Scott
T-cells and cytokines in infectious disease, particularly Leishmania
Patricia Sertich
Equine reproductive biology
Bernard Shapiro
Growth hormone regulation of hepatic gender-dependent iso forms of CYP
Meg Sleeper
Inherited cardiomyopathies; biochemical markers of cardiac disease; real time 3D echocardiography
Gail Smith
Engineering principles to investigate the musculoskeletal system in both health and disease
Gary Smith
Epidemiology and population dynamics of infections disease in humans and wild and domestic animal species
Louis Soslowsky
Structure-Function Relationships of Tendons and Ligaments Models for Tendon Injury, Healing, Repair, and Regeneration Biomechanics
Larry Soma
Equine exercise physiology
Nancy Spinner
Human Genetics, Notch signaling in human disease, Alagille syndrome, human disease gene identification by mapping deletions
Oriol Sunyer
Role of the complement system of teleost fish in innate and adaptive immunity
Rebecca Syring
Hyperglycemia in the traumatized patient; ventilator management in acute lung injury; oxidative injury
Andrei Thomas-Tikhonenko
Mechanisms of neoplastic transformation by the Myc oncoprotein as well as host responses to malignant growth, in particular tumor surveillance based on anti-angiogenesis
Regina Turner
Molecular regulation of sperm motility; testicular degeneration in the stallion
Sigrid Veasey
Identification of drug therapies for obstructive sleep apnea and the neurobiological basis of residual sleepiness in obstructive sleep apnea
Charles Vite
Neurodegenerative disorders, lysosomal storage diseases, myotonia congenita.
Susan Volk
Mechanisms of progenitor cell homing to injury sites, matrix biology, and wound healing, and tissue regeneration
Susan Weiss
Murine coronavirus pathogenesis; SARS coronavirus gene expression and pathogenesis
Robert Whitlock
Johne's disease in dairy cattle
John Wolfe
Gene transfer in the central nervous system, genetic diseases, animal models, mechanisms of pathology