Breanna Caruso
B.A. in Cellular Neuroscience; Colgate University
A. Moran Lab

Breanna was born and raised in New Jersey before moving to upstate New York to attend Colgate University, where she earned a B.A. in Cellular Neuroscience. During her time at Colgate, Breanna worked in a lab focusing on the role of glial cells in the progression of Multiple Sclerosis. After graduation, Breanna was accepted into the National Institutes of Health Post-baccalaureate IRTA program. She joined the lab of Dr. Steven Jacobson where she developed novel digital PCR technology for monitoring clinical trial patient samples. After her tenure at the NIH, Breanna accepted a position in Dr. Pepper Schedin’s lab at Oregon Health and Science University where she contributed to projects that sought to identify the factors driving postpartum breast cancer. In 2017, Breanna joined the Program in Molecular and Cellular Biology, which led her to Dr. Amy Moran’s lab. She is currently studying the role of inhibitory receptors in T cell development. When she’s not in the lab, Breanna can be found attending local poetry slams and concerts.

Isabel English
B.A., Human Biology, Scripps College (2015)
M.Sc. Cellular Biology, Sorbonne University, (2018)
R. Sears Lab

Isabel is a Portland native who graduated from Scripps College with a B.A. in Human Biology in 2015. As a research assistant in the Druker lab, under Dr. Elie Traer, she studied FGF2’s involvement in therapeutic resistance in leukemias and in head and neck cancer. She then pursued a master’s degree in cellular biology at the Sorbonne University in Paris, France, working on the effect of blood flow and shear stress on endothelial cells in HHT, a rare cardiovascular disease, in the Eichmann lab. Since returning to Portland and joining the Sears lab in 2018, she has been studying the role of tumor-stromal cross-talk during pancreatic cancer progression.

Setareh Sharzehi
M.D., Tehran Azad University
M.S., Public Health Sciences, Penn State University
E. Traer Lab

Setareh was born in Lawrence, Kansas, and grew up in Shiraz, Iran. She received her MD degree from Tehran Azad University in 2009. She worked as a research associate and clinical trial coordinator at Hershey Medical Center studying pancreatic and colon cancer from 2012-2018. In 2018 She graduated from Penn State University with her Master’s in Public Health Sciences.  She joined the Cancer Biology program and lab of Dr. Elie Traer in spring 2019 where she now studies how the bone marrow microenvironment mediates drug resistance in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). When not in the lab, she loves playing the piano, visiting nature areas and beaches, spend time with friends and family and watch movies.

Gabe Cohn
B.S., Biochemistry, University of Vermont
R. Sears Lab

Gabriel grew up in the woods of Vermont dabbling in backyard chemistry and pyrotechnics. In-between turns on the ski mountain, he completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry at the University of Vermont. As an undergraduate, Gabriel worked under Dr. Jessica Heath where he investigated the regulatory network between two important transcription factors, IKAROS & RUNX1, in the pathogenesis of myeloid malignancies. Currently, Gabriel is a Ph.D. candidate in OHSU’s Cancer Biology Department working under Dr. Rosalie Sears. His research focuses on the temporal and spatial regulation of the transcription factor, c-MYC, in response to environmental cues and aberrant cellular signaling. Outside of the lab, Gabriel enjoys stone carving, snowboarding, and tending to his roses.

Homma Khosroyani
B.S. Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, minor in Microbiology; University of Washington
M. Heinrich Lab

Homma grew up in Mukilteo, Washington, and attended the University of Washington where she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and a minor in Microbiology. During her time at the University of Washington, she worked as an undergraduate researcher in Dr. Ben Kerr’s lab, studying the evolution of antibiotic resistance in E. coli by using a model called collateral sensitivity. After graduating in 2016, she worked at Phoenix Central Laboratories as a Microbiology Lab Assistant in Veterinary Medicine. In 2018, Homma began her graduate training at OHSU in the Program of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences. Homma is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Cancer Biology in the lab of Dr. Michael Heinrich at the Portland VA Medical Center, where she studies the mechanism of cancer cell quiescence in gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs). Outside of the lab, she enjoys painting, going to comic cons, cooking, and drinking copious amounts of tea.

Mona Mohammadhosseini
B.S., Biology, Portland State University
A. Agarwal

Originally from Iran, I moved to the U.S. in 2013. I received my bachelor’s degree in science from Portland State University in July 2018. While attending PSU, I received NIH BUILD EXITO scholarship, a unique opportunity for student from underrepresented background to perform research in lab setting. I had the chance to work with Dr. Agarwal on my undergraduate thesis researching the role of inflammation in acute myeloid leukemia progression. Deciding to stick around Portland, I began my PhD in fall 2018 at OHSU and joined Dr. Agarwal lab. I’m studying the role of inflammation in leukemia initiation in an inheritable disease with high chance of disease progression called familial platelet disorder. When not in lab (which happens rarely) I enjoy nature hikes in near and far places. 

Breanna Maniaci
B.S., Chemistry minor in Biology; University of Alaska Anchorage
J. Maxson Lab

Breanna is originally from Alaska and matriculated into PMCB in the fall of 2018. She graduated from the University of Alaska Anchorage in 2017 with a B.S. in Chemistry minor in Biology. She developed a passion for research working under Dr. Jason Burkhead, studying the protein structure and function of COMMD1 within the context of mammalian copper trafficking. A strong interest in cancer biology leads to her joining Dr. Julia Maxson’s laboratory, where she is currently studying the disease biology and mechanisms of drug resistance in Chronic Neutrophilic Leukemia. Long term she hopes to aid in the fight against cancer while pursuing a long-term career in academia. Her hobbies include gaming, ballroom dance, and loving two spectacular little dogs.

John McClatchy
B.S., Human Biology, Bioventinary Science
A. Agarwal Lab

Kathrina Onate
B.S., 2015, Genetics and Genomics, minor in English, University of California, Davis
M. Sherman Lab

Kathrina grew up in many places: born in Manila, Philippines, she moved to the Chicago-land area in 2000 then later moved to Palo Alto, CA in 2004, where she cultivated her love for genetics and biotechnology. While pursuing her degree at UC Davis, she worked for three years in the Langley Lab, studying Drosophila population genetics. She returned to the Bay Area to work as an Associate Data Wrangler for the ENCODE Data Coordinating Center in the Cherry Lab at Stanford University, pushing for standards and reproducibility in functional genomic studies. She joined the PMCB program in Fall 2018 and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Cancer Biology under Dr. Mara H. Sherman, investigating the mechanisms and TME of pancreatic cancer (PDAC). 
During her free time, Kathrina likes to explore Portland's hiking trails and restaurants, read books of all genres, and grow her CD/vinyl collection. If she weren't a graduate student, she would have worked for political campaigns. Feel free to follow her Twitter for ridiculous comments replying to the Crooked Media threads.

Adrian Baris
B.A., Biochemistry, Scripps College
S. Anand Lab

Adrian is a second year originally from Phoenix Arizona in Sudarshan Anand’s lab. She is studying nucleic acid sensors and how they can interact with endothelial cells to produce an anti-tumor immune response. Adrian is also the Vice President of External Relations of Graduate Researchers United. In her free time she enjoys reading, and playing with her cats.

Reed Hawkins
B.S., Biochemistry and Cellular & Molecular Biology
A. Moran Lab

Originally from Seattle, WA, Reed earned his Bachelor of Science in degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology from Seattle Pacific University. While an undergrad, Reed volunteered at Seattle Children’s Research Institute in the lab of Dr. Michael Jenson, where he aided in developing new chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) immunotherapy strategies to reinvigorate immune cell activity against cancer cells. After graduating from SPU in 2015, Reed joined as a Research Technician in the lab of Dr. Cameron Turtle at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. While at Fred Hutch, Reed studied CAR T cell immunotherapies at the clinical and pre-clinical levels to inform new therapeutic strategies with improved safety and efficacy. In 2019, Reed joined the Program in Molecular and Cellular Biology at OHSU, which eventually led him to join Dr. Amy Moran’s lab. Reed now studies the sex differences in T cell immune responses to infections and cancer, and the mechanisms by which sex hormones drive those differences. Outside of the lab, Reed enjoys going on cycling adventures, gaming, hiking, and reading.

Michelle Ozaki
B.A., Molecular Biology, Scripps College
P. Schedin Lab

Michelle grew up in Los Angeles and attended Scripps College where she received her B.A. in Molecular Biology. Tired of all the traffic, she left LA and did a post-bac at the NIH in D.C. where she studied ovarian cancer under Dr. Christina Annunziata. Michelle has continued to study women's health, joining Dr. Pepper Schedin's lab for her Ph.D studies. She is currently investigating mechanisms driving liver metastases in a postpartum breast cancer setting. In her free time she enjoys exploring new restaurants and breweries, hiking, playing video games, painting, and cooking.

Thomas Joaquín Fernández
University of Michigan School of Pharmacology
B. Lobingier Lab

I study Opioid Receptors!