Matriculating 2022

Anna Aristarkhova graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in 2020 with a degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. At UMass, she was part of Dr. Rolf Karlstrom’s lab and studied the role of the Hedgehog signaling pathway in neurogenesis. She also spent her summers at Massachusetts General Hospital participating in research which focused on how presenilin-1 impacts Alzheimer’s pathogenesis in Dr. Oksana Berezovska’s lab, and how complex cognitive processes are carried out at the neuronal level in Dr. Ziv William’s lab. After graduation, Anna joined Dr. Denise Faustman’s lab at Massachusetts General Hospital, where she worked on a Phase II clinical trial that investigated how the TB vaccine, BCG, can impact the progression of type I diabetes.

Anna is currently interested in neurodegeneration and the role of neuroinflammation in these processes. She completed her first research rotation in the summer of 2022 in Dr. Robert Brown’s lab, where she worked to develop an antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) therapy for hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy 1 (HSAN1).

In her free time, Anna likes to cook, read and go to spin class!

Anna.Aristarkhova@umassmed.edu

Originally from Wilton, Connecticut, Jeromy DiGiacomo graduated from Williams College in 2020 with a chemistry major and minors in Spanish, public health, and biochemistry and molecular biology. As an undergraduate researcher, he spent the Summer before his senior year in the Sahni Lab at Burke Neurological Institute studying transcription factors that control the differentiation of corticospinal neurons during development. Next, during his senior year, he completed his honors chemistry thesis in Dr. Amy Gehring’s lab. Here, he investigated the biochemical regulation of secondary metabolite biosynthesis via phosphopantetheinyl transferase enzymes in the soil-dwelling organism Streptomyces avermitilis. After graduating in 2020, he worked in the Bandopadhayay Lab at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for two years. His primary project in the lab focused on characterizing the mechanisms of oncogenic transformation in FGFR-altered pediatric low-grade gliomas with the ultimate goal of defining novel targeted genetic therapies for affected patients. 

Jeromy maintains a strong interest in cancer genomics at University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School. He hopes to continue using cutting-edge genomics to characterize drivers of tumor formation, define novel genetic therapies, and study how cancers evolve and respond to become resistant to treatment. He completed his first research rotation at UMCMS in Dr. Eric Baehrecke’s lab where he studied the role of the E3 ubiquitin ligase Keap1 in regulating autophagic clearance of different cellular cargo. Outside of the lab, he loves to hang out with his cats and compose music either on his keyboard, or when he has the chance, on marimba.

Jeromy.DiGiacomo@umassmed.edu

Boris Dimitrov graduated from Bowdoin College in 2020, where he majored in biochemistry and history. As an undergraduate, he completed an Honors Thesis in the lab of Dr. Jack Bateman studying epigenetic silencing during the development of Drosophila melanogaster and worked in Dr. James Mitchell’s lab at the Harvard School of Public Health studying the integrated stress response during dietary interventions. After graduating from Bowdoin, Boris worked in the lab of Dr. Yana Pikman at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, where he studied novel precision medicine approaches for the treatment of pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemias. In his free time, Boris likes to be in the outdoors, backpack and cook.

Since starting the MD/PhD program at UMass, Boris completed a research rotation in the lab or Dr. Katherine Fitzgerald in the Department of Medicine, where his project focused on characterizing the role of NINJ1 in Plasma Membrane Rupture during pyroptosis.

Boris.Dimitrov@umassmed.edu

Originally from Chicago, Lauren graduated from the University of Michigan in 2021 with a B.S. in cellular and molecular biology, and again in 2022 with a M.S.E in biomedical engineering. Over her first and second undergraduate summers she joined Dr. Hossein Ardehali’s lab at Northwestern University where she helped to study the effects of mitochondria-hexokinase binding on the metabolic fate of glucose. During the rest of her time at Michigan, Lauren was a part of Dr. Kenneth Cadigan’s lab where she studied Wnt signaling and its regulation via phase separation.

Lauren is currently interested in many research areas including immune regulation, development, and the mechanisms behind genetic disorders. She had a great time exploring some of these interests in her first research rotation in Dr. Read Pukkila-Worley’s lab where she explored how different components of the innate immunity p38 MAPK pathway are regulated.

In her free time, Lauren loves to get outside to climb and hike.

lauren.goodman@umassmed.edu

A native of Chicago, IL, Tyler graduated summa cum laude from Wheaton College (IL) in 2020. While studying biology at Wheaton, Tyler’s research focused on bacterial (Vibrio fischeri – Tepavcevic lab) and parasitic (Baylisascaris procyonis – Page lab) host engraftment. He also performed research on plaque-aggregation in Alzheimer’s Disease (Siddique lab, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine) and patterns of antibiotic resistance during enteric infections (Hayden lab, Rush University Medical Center). After graduation, Tyler worked in the laboratory of Eugene Chang, MD at the University of Chicago. There, he studied mechanisms of host-specific microbiome engraftment in IBD and gained a lasting interest in the influence of the microbiome on human health and disease.

Tyler’s current research interests lie in host-microbe interactions. He completed his first research rotation in the laboratory of Egil Lien, PhD, where he studied the influence of bacterially-derived short-chain fatty acids on apoptotic immune processes. He is excited to continue developing his translational research skills, while enjoying life in Massachusetts. In his free time, Tyler enjoys staying active (soccer, frisbee, running), vocal performance, SCUBA diving, serving at church, and watching/reading good stories.

Tyler.long@umassmed.edu

Riya Mahesh graduated from UT Austin with degrees in Biology and Math in Spring of 2022. Previously she has conducted research at Los Alamos National Laboratory full time for four summers and part time for one school year working on projects relating to cancer mathematical models and COVID-19 epidemiological modeling. She has also worked in computational oncology labs at Dell Medical School and the National Cancer Institute.

Riya is interested in pursuing research related to cancer involving drug therapy research on both the wet lab and computational sides. She completed her first rotation with Dr. Michelle Kelliher and worked on a project to study mouse models of T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) to improve drug therapy outcomes for children with the disease.

In her free time she enjoys playing guitar and reading books.

riya.mahesh@umassmed.edu

Dylan Rice graduated from Harvard in 2020 with a degree in Psychology and a secondary in Global Health/Health Policy. At Harvard, Dylan completed his thesis with Dr. Jim Sidanius on sexual health stereotypes about sexual minority men and their consequences for patient-provider interactions and health outcomes. He also conducted research on HIV status disclosure experiences and adherence to ART in young adults at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in South Africa. Following graduation, Dylan worked at MGH Neurology with Dr. Farrah Mateen on a variety of projects implementing low-cost technological and pharmaceutical interventions in Sub-Saharan Africa and analyzing psychosocial aspects of these projects. He also worked on domestic projects for people with neuroimmunological disorders through mHealth technology, point-of-care approaches, and retrospective data analyses. Outside of MGH, he also worked with Dr. Cindy Veldhuis at Columbia characterizing healthcare delays/interruptions and understanding coping behaviors and social support, especially in the LGBTQIA+ community, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He is currently interested in the fields of population health and psychiatry and their intersection. Specifically, he is interested in utilizing mixed methods approaches to understand biopsychosocial factors contributing to mental, behavioral, and physical health disorders in marginalized populations and leveraging findings to improve patient-centered care. He completed his first rotation with Dr. Peter Friedmann on the qualitative research team for a clinical trial evaluating mobile van clinics for substance use disorders in rural New England.

In his free time, Dylan enjoys running, cooking, and binge-watching shows on Netflix.

Dylan.Rice@umassmed.edu

Originally from Saratoga, CA, Matt graduated from UCLA with a B.S. and M.S. in Bioengineering. While at UCLA, Matt investigated the use of aqueous two-phase systems to improve the sensitivity of paper-based point-of-care diagnostic tests for the early detection of infectious diseases. Following graduation, Matt worked at Stanford as part of the Glenn lab, where he performed research developing therapeutics against non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and viruses of pandemic potential, including influenza and SARS-CoV-2.

Matt’s current research interests center on immunology with a focus on autoimmune and cancer-related applications. He completed his first rotation in the lab of Michael Czech, where he studied how the inhibition of the enzyme fatty acid synthase enhanced the browning of white adipose tissue.

In his free time, Matt enjoys climbing, playing frisbee, and cooking. He also enjoys eating and watching food-related shows.

matthew.yee@umassmed.edu