Success Stories

Dr. Timothy Bamgbose

Dr. Habtamu Abera Goshu

Habtamu is a Lecturer/Senior Researcher in Animal Genetics and Molecular Breedingworks at the Bio and Emerging Technology Institute and has worked for the Oromia Agricultural Research Institute as an Associate Researcher at Bako Agricultural Research Center for 15 years. He graduated with a Ph.D. degree in Animal Genetics, Breeding, and Reproduction from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and his thesis project was entitled “Study on the Copy Number Variations of the CHKB, KLF6, GPC1, and CHRM3 Genes Associated with Growth Traits and Gene Expression in Chinese Domestic Yak (Bos grunniens)”. In agriculture, he works on genetics and breeding of livestock and has technical skills in genetic estimation (heritability, breeding value, direct additive, and material heritability). He has experience in the accurate detection of CNVs and SNPs for integrating genomics into breeding programs and in identifying and utilizing DNA-based markers in breeding programs.

Dr. Elif Karagöz

Elif majored Molecular Biology and Genetics with a minor in Chemistry at the Middle East Technical University in Turkey. She got her Master’s degree in Molecular Biology at the Max Planck Research School in Göttingen. After completing her PhD at Utrecht University in the group of Stefan Rüdiger, she did a postdoc at Peter Walter’s lab at the University of California San Francisco.

Dr. Julia Mack

Julia is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology at UCLA. She received her Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from UCLA and then work in the aerospace industry at Teledyne Scientific. After developing an interest in biomaterials for tissue engineering applications, she decided to return to UCLA to study vascular biology as a Postdoctoral Fellow. As a postdoc, she discovered that endothelial NOTCH1 is a mechanosensor that functions to maintain arterial homeostasis and prevent vascular inflammation. Julia became faculty at UCLA in July 2018 where her research lab studies modes of endothelial cell mechanotransduction to discover how blood flow forces control cardiovascular health and function. To this end, the lab utilizes bioreactor systems to control the microenvironment and investigates how cells organize and communicate using high resolution live cell and confocal imaging techniques.

Dr. Tiroyaone Albertinah Matsika

Albertinah is a biodiversity conservation researcher and professional at the Botswana University of Agriculture & Natural Resources. She has a passion for natural resource conservation through sustainable development, education, awareness, and stakeholder engagement. She aims to make a significant contribution to species conservation, minimizing human-wildlife conflict, and contributing to successful food security goals. She enjoys working with vulnerable communities or remote villages (where many subsistence farmers are based), women and girls, and school children. She has dedicated her time to actively working with Women for Conservation Botswana and in national ecosystem assessment and species management projects. Albertinah envisions a Botswana with (1) more educated women and girls, (2) communities who can sustainably harvest biodiversity and ecosystem resources, and (3) communities who can devise and work hard towards achieving sustainability in food security and zero hunger. 

Dr. Bernard Mbwele

Bernard is an Epidemiologist and Clinical Researcher. He trained in Medicine at UDSM, Clinical Research at Tumaini University, KCMUCo, and then quality of care at Radboud University, the Netherlands, and Multidisciplinary Health sciences at Stellenbosch University in Cape Town, South Africa. He is a research fellow for Patient-Centered Outcome Research (PCOR) at MUHAS and Northwestern University. He is a research collaborator at University College London (UCL) for Obstetric Haemorrhage management as a Co-PI for the London – Mbeya Obstetric Project. He is a senior program manager for the C-Sage Program and a national Lead in Tanzania, in collaboration with the Indian team through the WHO Collaborating Centre for Women’s Health at Birmingham University. A national lead for the African Surgical Outcome studies in Tanzania in collaboration with the University of Cape Town. He has published over 20 articles on Reproductive Maternal Newborn and Child Health and Surgical Outcome studies in Africa. He has recently led Chapter 4 and Chapter 25 of the Tanzanian Standard Treatment Guideline and National Essential Medicine List (STG & NEMT) using AMR reports in Tanzania. He has also collaborated with Antwerp University and the Northumbria University Newcastle for Global PPS use in AMS – Mbeya, Tanzania.

Dr. Marina Tristao

Marina studies the role of platelets during pregnancy complications, such as pre-eclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction. Our research aims to understand changes in PDGF-B and platelet function alter pregnancy outcomes. Dr. Matthew Rondina, MD, MS, supervises this project.  In her spare time, she enjoys reading about Feng Shui, hiking, and sharing good food with friends.

Dr. Christine Lalonde

Christine completed her PhD at Laurentian University and recently worked as a Post-Doctoral Fellow at Northern Ontario School of Medicine University and the underground neutrino laboratory in Sudbury, Ontario (SNOLAB), focusing on sub-background radiation on epigenetics.

Dr. Nicole Dubois

Nicole is an Associate Professor in the Department of Cell, Developmental and Regenerative Biology at Mount Sinai. She received her Ph.D. in Developmental Biology from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, studying the role of c-myc during embryonic hematopoiesis. During her postdoctoral work  at the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University Health Network in Toronto, Canada, she became interested in cardiogenesis, and specifically in the use of pluripotent stem cells to model cardiac development and disease. In 2013, Nicole started her lab at the  Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, where she continues to pursue her interest in the mechanisms of early heart formation and their translation to human disease. To this end, her group has studied early atrial-ventricular lineage segregation, the role of metabolism during cardiac maturation, the role of Notch signaling in cardiac specification, identification of patient-specific drug signatures, the mechanisms of early sarcomere assembly, and the role of RNA-binding protein during cardiac development.

Dr. Jacqueline Dikti Vildina

Jacqueline is a general parasitologist transitioning to clinical parasitology. As an early career researcher, my research focuses on infectious diseases of poverty such as onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, and leishmaniasis. I lecture in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Ngaoundere, Cameroon. I obtained my Ph.D. at the University of Ngaoundere in 2017 and have been a lecturer in the same institution as well as at the Catholic University Institute since 2018. I received many scholarships including the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). I hope to see people in the third world able to live and pursue their dreams without infectious diseases burden.

Ms. Andin Fosam

Andin is an MD-PhD student at Yale School of Medicine completing her graduate work in Cellular and Molecular Physiology in the Perry lab. She studies the metabolic phenotypes of post-surgical muscle injury/repair using blood flow restriction techniques. This focus combines her interest in orthopedics and rehabilitation with broader interests in translational metabolism, strength training, and chronic metabolic disease. Andin is excited to leverage her athletic background and the skills she’s building in basic and clinical settings to contribute to orthopedic research and become a future surgeon-scientist.

Mr. Merhawi Alemu Birhanu

Merhawi is a resident of Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. He holds a BSc. degree in Medical Laboratory Science and an MSc. degree in Medical Parasitology, both obtained from Mekelle University. He works as a Lecturer and Researcher at Adigrat University, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Medical Laboratory. In this capacity, his responsibilities encompass teaching, conducting research, and engaging in community services.

Ms. Phaedra Ghazi

Phaedra is a graduate student at the University of Utah pursuing her Ph.D. in oncological science and a master’s in clinical investigation. Her graduate work includes studying whether combined inhibition of KRAS and autophagy is a superior treatment strategy to either
single agent in pre-clinical models of lung cancer. She loves enjoying all the amazing outdoor recreation in Utah and reading in her spare time.

Dr. Belinda Waltman

Belinda is a primary care physician and the Director of Care Delivery Transformation within Population Health at the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. Previously, she was the Medical Director of Whole Person Care Los Angeles, a Medi-Cal waiver-funded initiative designed to create an integrated health delivery system that provides seamless, coordinated care to the most vulnerable Medi-Cal beneficiaries in the LA County system, including those experiencing homelessness, justice-involvement, serious mental illness, substance use disorder, or complex medical conditions. Dr. Waltman sees patients at LA General Hospital in the Continuity Care Clinic, which serves high-risk patients recently discharged from the hospital or undergoing complex outpatient diagnostic evaluations while they are connected to primary care. Before joining LA County Dept of Health Services, Dr. Waltman was a physician leader and clinical educator in the safety net clinic setting in San Francisco. Dr. Waltman is a graduate of Brown University and Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Maria Silveira

Dr. Silveira is a researcher, palliative care specialist, and ethicist at the University of Michigan and the Kettles Ann Arbor Veteran Administration Medical Center. Her research aims to improve the management of pain and other symptoms related to cancer or cancer treatment. She received career development funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Veterans Administration. Her research has been published in JPSM, JAGS, JAMA, and NEJM. In 2014, she was awarded fellow status by the AAHPM and was promoted to Associate Professor at the University of Michigan. She was on the Committee that created the first set of VA/DoD Evidence-Based Guidelines for Long-Term Opioid Therapy. She is the Director of Research for the UM’s Palliative Care Program. She teaches ethics, communication, and symptom management to students and trainees, and mentors fellows, junior faculty, and doctoral candidates in research. Areas of interest: Cancer pain and chronic pain, safe use of opioids in palliative care and oncology.