UW Medicine

Current Trainees

Post-Doctoral:

Joe Armstrong

Dr. Armstrong is a postdoc in Maitreya Dunham’s lab in the department of Genome Sciences at the University of Washington. His research focuses on using baker’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and modified continuous culture systems known as aging chemostats to evolve yeast cells to extend replicative lifespan. In the wild, there is little evolutionary pressure to…

Continue Reading

Gavin Pharaoh

Dr. Pharaoh’s research is focused on the role of mitochondria in aging and disease using a multifaceted approach that integrates physiological, pharmaceutical, genetic, molecular, and mitochondrial bioenergetic techniques. Dr. Pharaoh’s research specifically focuses on the role of mitochondrial dysfunction in skeletal muscle and cardiac aging. Dr. Pharaoh received his Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma…

Continue Reading

Arjune Dhanekula

Dr. Dhanekula is a current cardiothoracic surgical resident at UW and a postdoc in Dr. Marcinek’s lab. He is studying aging in the aorta; specifically, he seeks to understand the interplay between mitochondrial dysfunction, senescence, and pathology in the aging aorta. He received his MD from Wayne State School of Medicine in Detroit, MI.

Continue Reading

Arianna Gómez

Dr. Gómez is a postdoc in the Musculoskeletal Systems Biology Lab in the Department of Orthopedics and Sports Medicine and the Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine where she is advised by Dr. Ronald Young Kwon. Dr. Gómez’s work integrates genetics, aging, and bone biology. She seeks to develop zebrafish as a discovery platform…

Continue Reading

Matt Pomaville

Dr. Pomaville is a postdoc in Dr. Philip Abitua’s lab in the Department of Genome Sciences at UW. His research uses the extraordinarily short-lived African killifish to examine the mechanisms regulating the balance of apoptosis and senescence in aging animals. Matt is interested in using cell biology approaches and unique model organisms to explore multiple…

Continue Reading

Liza Severs

Dr. Severs is a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Aakanksha Singhvi, in the Basic Sciences Department at Fred Hutch Cancer Center. She is interested in studying how glia communicate with neurons to impact behavior, and how this changes with age. Specifically, Dr. Severs is examining how sense-organ glia in the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans…

Continue Reading

Kristine Tsantilas

Dr. Tsantilas is a postdoctoral fellow in Michael MacCoss’ laboratory in the Genome Sciences Department. She completed her PhD in the laboratory of James B. Hurley in the UW Biochemistry Department, where she studied metabolic activity in young, healthy retinas and examined how aging affects these norms. Her research as a postdoctoral fellow uses different…

Continue Reading

Pre-Doctoral:

Kira Evitts

Ms. Evitts is a Bioengineering graduate student performing her Ph.D. thesis studies in the labs of Jessica Young and Ying Zheng.  Her thesis project is focused on developing a stem cell based model of the human neurovascular unit (NVU) to study neurovascular interactions in the brain and investigate neurovascular dysfunction in age-related neurodegenerative diseases. Her…

Continue Reading

Rene Coig

Mr. Coig is a graduate student in the M3D Ph.D. program in the Promislow lab, conducting dissertation research on the genetic and molecular basis of sex differences in aging and metabolism, with a focus on biological heterogeneity in big data (metabolomics). The primary pathways at the focus of his research are Kynurenine and Lipid metabolism,…

Continue Reading

Cristina Gildee

Cristina Gildee is a PhD student in the department of Anthropology.  She studies osteological health and aging in humans through her joint work with the Primate Evolutionary Biomechanics Lab (PEBL) and the Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology (CSDE) Biodemography Lab. Her work investigates the influence of reproductive effort, physical activity, and immune function…

Continue Reading

Luana Paleologu

Luana Paleologu is working in the Berg Lab on uncovering the signaling pathway of chitinase-like proteins, a class of proteins found to be upregulated in age-associated and inflammatory diseases. She works with fly eggs as a model system to test for genetic interactions and to image protein dynamics.

Continue Reading

Emily Teets

Emily is a PhD candidate in the lab of Dr. Aakanksha Singhvi. Emily studies the effect of Parkinson’s Disease-related genes on glia-neuron interactions. They use C. elegans as a model organism to study the mechanism behind the glial engulfment of the thermosensory neuron, the AFD. They are interested in identifying how Parkinson’s Disease-related genes change…

Continue Reading

Lindsey Ulmer

Lindsey is a PhD candidate in the Bush lab. Lindsey Ulmer’s research involves developing novel crosslinking mass spectrometry methods through working with the Bush Lab in the UW chemistry department and applying these methods to study small heat shock proteins (sHSPs). sHSPs are chaperones that prevent aging associated protein aggregation. Using the reagent benzoylphenylalanine, she…

Continue Reading

Image of: <?php the_title(); ?>
Reappointment Requirements

Appointments to the BMHA are one-year appointments and require progress documents and director approval for reappointment annually. Required documents: Updated IDP (may request template from administration). Statement of progress about your project with an emphasis on how it contributes to the biology of aging. Mentor Annual Evaluation (mentor writes a review about trainee progress over […]

Read More…