Matriculating 2014
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Philip A. Feinberg
Philip graduated Ithaca College with a B.S. in Biochemistry in 2011. His thesis focused on characterizing changes in autonomic neurons that control cardiac function during chronic heart disease in Dr. Jean Hardwick’s lab. After graduation, he spent three subsequent years conducting research in New York City. At Rockefeller University with Paul Greengard PhD, he studied microRNA 128’s role in regulating motor behavior in mice. In addition, he worked with Anne Schaefer MD PhD at Mount Sinai and studied repressive histone modifications and their role in neurodegenerative disease. Philip moved to Worcester and joined the UMass Chan Medical School MD/PhD program in July 2014.
Philip completed laboratory rotations with 1) Lawrence Hayward MD PhD on epigenetics in ALS 2) Philip Zamore PhD on microRNA during gametogenesis, 3) Leslie Berg PhD on T cell receptors 4) Dori Schafer PhD on microglia during development.
As an aspiring physician scientist, Philip’s long-term research and career goals are to develop a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying neuropsychiatric disease and through collaborative research efforts, translate newfound knowledge into better patient outcomes. Philip joined the Dori Schafer’s lab in 2016 with an interest in studying the role microglia play in regulating excitatory-inhibitory balance in the brain. In his thesis research, Philip studies how microglial inflammatory state modulates neural activity in mice and humans. His current projects focus on neuropsychiatric disorders i.e. Autism and neurodegenerative disease i.e. multiple sclerosis.
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Michael Frisoli
Michael Frisoli is a graduate of Boston University with a BS in Business Administration. Following his graduation Michael first explored medical research studying the impact of environmental chemicals on vitiligo skin disease in the laboratory of John Harris, and this experience inspired him to pursue a career as a physician-scientist.
Since matriculating in 2014, Michael rotated in the labs of Gyongyi Szabo, Read Pukkila-Worley, and John Harris, where he respectively studied the impact of macrophage polarization to alcoholic liver disease, innate immune pathways involved in host defense to Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and melanocyte ability to stimulate innate immune cells in co-culture.
Michael is currently pursuing a thesis in translational skin research under the mentorship of John Harris, and he is primarily studying basic mechanisms of skin inflammation in allergic and irritant contact dermatitis.
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Oghomwen E. Igiesuorobo
Oghomwen E. Igiesuorobo graduated from The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a BSc. in Neuroscience. Before entering UMassMed as an MD/PhD Candidate, she conducted research at UCLA’s Department of Neurology in the lab of Dr. Peyman Golshani, investigating how alterations in neural connectivity results in sensory dysfunction in a mouse model of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Following her graduation, she completed a two-year research fellowship at the National Institutes of Health in the lab of Dr. Mihaela Serpe, investigating the intracellular interactions that regulates the recruitment and stabilization of ionotropic glutamate receptors (iGluRs) at the neuromuscular junction of Drosophila.
She is currently pursuing her Ph.D in the lab of Dr. Christelle Anaclet (thesis advisor), in the Department of Neurobiology. Oghomwen studies the role of slow-wave-sleep in memory consolidation in aging and Alzheimer’s disease. She completed her rotations in the labs of Dr. Kensuke Futai, Dr. Joel Richter, Dr. Jose Lemos, and Dr. Christelle Anaclet. -
Katelyn McCann
Katelyn McCann is a graduate of Dickinson College with a BS in biology. Before entering UMassMed as an MD/PhD candidate she spent 3 years working as a clinical/translational research coordinator in Dr. Scott Snapper’s mucosal immunology lab, in the Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Center at Boston Children’s Hospital. She studied patients with rare, monogenic, immunodeficiencies presenting with inflammatory bowel diseases to understand the interactions between genetics, environment and microbiome that contribute to the pathophysiology of more common forms of IBD.
After matriculating as a MD/PhD candidate at UMassMed in 2014 she completed rotations in the labs of Dr. John Harris studying tissue resident memory T cells in vitiligo, Dr. Michael Czech studying adipocyte metabolism and Drs. Scot Wolfe and Peter Newburger developing a CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing strategy for chronic granulomatous disease.
Her current interests continue to employ the strategy of studying patients with rare monogenic disorders causing primary immunodeficiency syndromes to understand the mechanisms and consequences of the metabolic reprogramming in immune cell activation. She has two thesis mentors as part of a graduate partnership program with the NIH: Dr. Steve Holland (NIH/NIAID) and Dr. Beth McCormick (UMass/MAPS).
