Graduate School of Medical Sciences
A partnership with the Sloan Kettering Institute

Thesis Defenses

Assembly of Human Anatomy in Cancer: From Cells to Niches, Anatomical Structures, Organs and Beyond
Junbum Kim
Date: Monday, April 22, 2024 - 9:00am

Junbum Kim
Physiology, Biophysics and Systems Biology

Chairperson: Dr. Iman Hajirasouliha
Major Sponsor: Dr. Olivier Elemento
Minor Sponsors: Dr. Ashley Laughney and Dr. Robert Schwartz

From the Perception of Features to Representation of Objects
Suniyya A. Waraich
Date: Monday, April 22, 2024 - 10:30am

Suniyya A. Waraich
Neuroscience

Chairperson: Dr. Keith Purpura
Major Sponsor: Dr. Jonathan Victor
Minor Sponsors: Dr. Amy Kuceyeski and Dr. Conor Liston

Modeling Glioma-Associated Macrophages Using Human Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived Microglia
Kelsey L. Hopland
Date: Monday, April 22, 2024 - 3:00pm

Kelsey L. Hopland
Neuroscience

Chairperson: Dr. Li Gan
Major Sponsor: Dr. Viviane Tabar
Minor Sponsors: Dr. Josef Anrather and Dr. Lorenz Studer

Development and Mechanism of Autophagy Modulators for Treatment of Neurodegenerative Diseases
Jessica R. Falci
Date: Thursday, April 25, 2024 - 12:00pm

Jessica R. Falci
Pharmacology

Chairperson: Dr. Lonny Levin
Major Sponsor: Dr. Yueming Li
Minor Sponsors: Dr. John Blenis and Dr. Xuejun Jiang

Additional Member: Dr. David Scheinberg (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center)

Decoding the Molecular Determinants for Target Selectivity and Cargo Traffic in the Functional Mechanism of the Cellular Sterol Transporter Stard4 with Molecular Dynamics Simulations and Machine Learning-Based Analysis
Hengyi Xie
Date: Thursday, April 25, 2024 - 2:00pm

Hengyi Xie
Physiology, Biophysics and Systems Biology

Chairperson: Dr. Alessio Accardi
Major Sponsor: Dr. Harel Weinstein
Minor Sponsors: Dr. George Khelashvili and Dr. Frederick Maxfield

Engineered Il-18 Secretion and Multi-Antigen Targeting Enable Car T cells to Eliminate Multiple Myeloma With Low Antigen Expression in an Immunocompetent Mouse Model
Brandon D. Ng
Date: Friday, April 26, 2024 - 10:00am

Brandon D. Ng
Pharmacology

Chairperson: Dr. Monica Guzman
Major Sponsor: Dr. Marcel van den Brink
Minor Sponsors: Dr. David Scheinberg and Dr. Joseph Sun

Additional Member: Dr. Renier Brentjens (Roswell Park)

High-Speed Atomic Force Microscopy Single-Molecule Biophysics and Structural Biology
Yining Jiang
Date: Friday, April 26, 2024 - 3:00pm

Yining Jiang
Biochemistry and Structural Biology

Chairperson: Dr. Crina Nimigean
Major Sponsor: Dr. Simon Scheuring
Minor Sponsors: Dr. Olga Boudker and Dr. George Khelashvilli

Additional Member: Dr. Jeremy Dittman (Weill Cornell Medicine)

CD8 T cell Somatic Mutations Involved in the Progression of Human Autoimmune Myositis
Lorien Shakib
Date: Monday, April 29, 2024 - 11:00am

Lorien Shakib
Physiology, Biophysics and Systems Biology

Chairperson: Dr. Carl Blobel
Major Sponsor: Dr. Laura Donlin
Minor Sponsors: Dr. Morgan Huse and Dr. Dan Landau

Epigenetic and Transcriptional Regulation of Anxiety Following Early Life Adversity
Anika Nabila
Date: Tuesday, April 30, 2024 - 3:00pm

Anika Nabila
Neuroscience

Chairperson: Dr. Anjali Rajadhyaksha
Major Sponsor: Dr. Miklos Toth
Minor Sponsors: Dr. Christine Mayr and Hagen Tilgner

Type I Interferon Exacerbates Mycobacterium tuberculosis Induced Monocyte-Derived Macrophage Cell Death
Angela Lee
Date: Wednesday, May 1, 2024 - 1:00pm

Angela Lee
Immunology and Microbial Pathogenesis

Chairperson: Dr. Sabine Ehrt
Major Sponsor: Dr. Carl Nathan
Minor Sponsors: Dr. Lionel Ivashkiv and Dr. Justin Perry

Weill Cornell Medicine Graduate School of Medical Sciences 1300 York Ave. Box 65 New York, NY 10065 Phone: (212) 746-6565 Fax: (212) 746-8906