Education

PhD Dissertation

Thesis Committee and Committee Meetings

After the qualifying exam is completed, a thesis committee should be formed of three individuals with committee meetings that assess the progress of the research. Committee meetings should take place every six months or more frequently dependent on the results of meetings.

The Dissertation

The graduate dissertation is the all-encompassing document describing original research carried out by the PhD student. The historical background, the scientific context of the experiments, and the data are presented and discussed extensively in the dissertation. It is expected that the research carried out to generate the dissertation will also result in published papers in recognized scientific journals, for which the student is the first author. Each chapter should indicate which publications (if any) are represented by the described work. At least one first-authored manuscript should be submitted for publication before a student may defend the dissertation. If a manuscript is not yet accepted for publication, a submitted draft must be appended to the dissertation, even if this draft ultimately requires additional experimental results. The manuscript should be written in the style of a specific (indicated) journal. A co-first authorship paper meets the requirement.

Dissertation Defense details   dissertation format sample


List of Theses

Student

Mentor

Title

 2022 Graduates 
Thomas HuertaPeter DaviesVagus Nerve Contributions to Metabolic Health and Immune Sensing
 2020 Graduates 
Carter SomervilleMarc Symons and Valentin PavlovTargeting Tumor-Associated Macrophages in Pancreatic Cancer
Christopher PapayannakosBettie M. SteinbergKeratinocytes Communicate Through Extracellular Vesicles Dependent on Pathogenic Challenge
Joshua StrohlPatricio HuertaSepsis, Cognition and Brain Dynamics
 2019 Graduates 
Yun LiuNicholas ChiorazziAntigens and Their Impact on the Evolution of B Cell Receptor IGS of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Subset
 2018 Graduates 
Justine CaliseBetty DiamondFunctional Studies of Interferon Regulatory Factor 5 and It's Systemic Lupus Erythematous-Associated Risk Alleles in Human B Cells
Harold SilvermanKevin TraceySensory Vagus Nerve Signaling in Inflammation
Stefano VerganiNicholas ChiorazziB cell development in aged people and patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
 2017 Graduates 
Joseph CarrionAshesh MehtaImaging Gender-Specific Metabolic Differences Using the Formalin Pain Assay
Todd GoldsteinDaniel GrandeTissue Engineering of Hylaine Cartilage Using 3D Bioprinting Technology
Megan WoodsAnne DavidsonRegulation of Antigen Activated Autoreactive B Cells in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus