The Biomedical Alcohol Research Training Program
Past Trainees
2010-2014 Past Trainees
Whitney Nichols (Mentor: Angela Amedee, PhD)
Megan Armstrong, PhD (Mentor: Patricia Molina, MD, PhD)
Matthew Dean (Mentor: Krzysztof Reiss, PhD)
Spencer Robichaux (Mentor: Angela Amedee, PhD)
Tracy Dodd (Mentor: Patricia Molina, MD, PhD)
Paige Katz, PhD (Mentor: Patricia Molina, MD, PhD)
Jaques Mayeux (Mentor: Patricia Molina, MD, PhD)
Annie Whitaker, PhD (Mentor: Patricia Molina, MD, PhD)
Emily Roltsch (Mentor: Nicholas Gilpin, PhD)
Alan Mouton (Mentor: Jason Gardner, PhD)
2009-2010 Past Trainees
Annie Whitaker (Mentor: Patricia Molina, MD, PhD)
Jesse Sulzer (Mentor: Patricia Molina, MD, PhD)
J.Nick Melvan (Mentor: Ping Zhang, MD, PhD
and Gregory Bagby, PhD)
Mary Worrel (Mentor: Peter Winsauer, PhD)
2006-2009 Past Trainees
Front row:
Rosa Lopez-Pedrajas (Mentor: Patricia Molina, MD, PhD)
Sun Mi Choi (Mentor: Jay K. Kolls, MD)
Tanya Johnson, PhD (Advisor: Jay K. Kolls, MD)
Back row:
Xu Sophie Teng (Mentor: Kyle Happel, MD and Gregory Bagby, PhD)
Annie Whitaker (Mentor: Patricia Molina, MD, PhD)
Julia Hormes, PhD (Advisor: Richard Scribner, MD & Katherine Theall, PhD)
Ryan Viator, PhD (Advisor: Gregory Bagby, PhD)
J.Nick Melvan (Mentor: Ping Zhang, MD, PhD and Gregory Bagby, PhD)
Edith Walker (Mentor: Patricia Molina, MD, PhD)
Jesse Sulzer (Mentor: Patricia Molina, MD, PhD)
Mary Worrel (Mentor: Peter Winsauer, PhD)
Postdoctoral Fellows Chronological Order
Gerak, L., Ph.D.
Years in Program: 2000 - 2001
Current position:
Project: Acute alcohol intoxication suppresses neutrophil migration by altering the
lung chemokine response to S. pneumoniae.
Phelan, H., M.D.
Years in Program:2000
Current position: Assistant Professor of Surgery Univ of Texas, Southwestern
Project: Impact of alcohol intoxication on hemorrhage counterregulation
Zambell, K., Ph.D.
Years in Program: 2000 - 2002
Current position: Clinical Research Dietician at the National Institutes of Health
Clinical Center
Project: Chronic alcohol and SIV infection
Happel, K., M.D.
Years in Program: 2002 - 2003
Current position: Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine,
Section of Pulmonary/Critical Care, LSUHSC, New Orleans,
LA
Project: Alcohol, cytokines and chemokines
Shahbazian,M., Ph.D.
Years in Program: 2002 - 2003
Current position: Instructor, Gateway Community College, Tempe, AZ
Project: Alcohol, pulmonary host defense, and bacterial infections
Steele, C., Ph.D.
Years in Program: 2002
Current position: Alcohol, pulmonary host defense, and bacterial infections
Project: Role of alcohol on mucosal epithelial cells in host defense against C. albicans
Leonard,S., Ph.D.
Years in Program: 2002 - 2004
Current position: Postdoctoral Fellow,
Departmental of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics,
LSUHSC, New Orleans, LA (LSUHSC-NO)
Project: The interactive effects of ethanol and endocrine function on learning and
memory
Badewa, P.,M.D., Ph.D.
Years in Program: 2003 - 2004
Current position: Emergency Medicine, Cooper Green Mercy Hospital, Birmingham, AL
Project:Alcohol and pulmonary chemokines production in tuberculosis and P. carinii
Gamble, L., Ph.D.
Years in Program: 2003 - 2005
Current position: Assistant Professor,
Medicine/Pulmonary/ Critical Care, LSUHSC,
Earl K. Long Hospital, Baton Rouge, LA
Project:Epithelial cells, alcohol and host defense
Quinton, L., Ph.D.
Years in Program: 2003 - 2004
Current position: Postdoc Physiol Program,
Harvard July 08 Instructor, Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical
Care Med, Sch of Medicine, Boston Univ
Project:Effect of alcohol on selective decompart-mentalization of cytokines in the
lung
Barstow, D., M.D.
Years in Program: 2004 - 2005
Current position: Private practice in California
Project:Murine stain differences in P. Carinii infection
Jain, S., M.D.
Years in Program: 2004
Current position: Ochsner Foundation Hospital, New Orleans, LA
Project: Alcohol, TB, & Dendritic Cells
Johnson, S., Ph.D.
Years in Program: 2004
Current position: Director of Undergraduate BA Program, Graduate Program in International
Studies, Univ of Denver
Project: Development of pharmacist delivered alcohol and HIV intervention strategies
in community healthcare centers serving predominantly inner-city, indigent, African
Americans.
Jagneaux,T, M.D.
Years in Program: 2004 - 2005
Current position: Earl K. Long Medical Center, LSUHSC, Baton Rouge, LA
Project: Lung permeability and host defense
Theall, K., Ph.D.
Year in Program: 2005
Current position: Assistant Professor, Epidemiology, LSUHSC-NO, School of Public Health
Project: Investigations of the health consequences of alcohol use and the neighborhood
alcohol environment
Greiffenstein, P., M.D.
Years in Program: 2005 - 2006
Current position: LSUHSC-NO, Surgery
Project:Alcohol Intoxication and Outcome from Hemorrhagic Shock
Engel, L. , M.D., Ph.D.
Year in Program: 2006
Current position: Assistant Professor,
Clinical Medicine and Infectious Disease, and Associate
Program Director,
Internal Medicine Residency,
Department of Medicine, LSUHSC-NO
Project: How bacterial virulence factors in conjunction with ethanol intoxication
modulate the host immune response to infection
Olga Gurkovskaya, Ph.D.
Years in Program: 2004 - 2008
Ph.D. - 2008
Current position: 3rd year Medical School student LSUHS
Robert Siggins, PhD
Years in Program: 2007-2010
Ph.D. - 2006
Current position: Instructor of Physiology, LSUHSC - NO
Nicole LeCapitiane, PhD
Years in Program: 2007-2010
Ph.D. - 2006
Current position: Instructor of Physiology, LSUHSC - NO
Tanya Johnson, PhD
Years in Program: 2009-2011
Ph.D. - 2007
Current position: PostDoctoral Fellow, LSUHSC - SOM
Julia Hormes, PhD
Years in Program: 2010-2012
Ph.D. - 2010
Current position: Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of Albany, NY
Paul Thevenot, PhD
Years in Program: 2010-2012
Ph.D. - 2010
Current position: Post-Doctoral Fellow Stanley S. Scott Cancenr Center, LSUHSC -
NO
Flavia Souza-Smith, PhD
Years in Program: 2011-2012
Ph.D. - 2008
Current position: Instructor of Physiology, LSUHSC - NO
Emily Roltsch, PhD
Years in Program: 2011-2013
Ph.D. - 2011
Current position: PostDoctoral Fellow in Texas
Tracy Dodd, PhD
Years in Program: 2011-2013
Ph.D. - 2011
Current position: Medical School LSUHSC
Megan L. Armstrong, Ph.D.
Years in Program: 2012-2014
Current position: Industry
Email: marms3@lsuhsc.edu
Paige Katz, Ph.D.
Years in Program 2012-2015
Current position: Industry
Christy Itoga, Ph.D.
Years in Program: 2014-2016
Current position: Postdoctoral Research; University of California, Irvine Medical School Dept, of Anatomy
and Neurobiology
Annie Whitaker, Ph.D.
Years in Program: 2012-2015
Current position: High School Teacher
Karina Villalba, Ph.D.
Years in Program: 2015-2016
Current position: PostDoctoral Fellow Florida International University
Anthony Duplanty, Ph.D.
Years in Program: 2015-2017
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Kinesiology, College of Health
Sciences, Texas Woman's University
Elizabeth Avegno, Ph.D.
Years in Program: 2016-2017
Current position: F32 Award recipient for project entitled: Brain Reward and Stress
System Interactions in Alcohol Dependence
Elizabeth Delery, PhD
Years in Program 2018-2020
Current Position:
Elizabeth Fucich, PhD
Years in Program: 20 -2020
Current Position:
Predoctoral Fellows
Darren Boe, M.D., Ph.D.
Years in Program: 2000 - 2002
Ph.D. - 2001 M.D. - 2003
Current position: Pulmonary/Critical Care Fellow, Dept of Medicine, Univ Colorado
Health Sciences Center
Project: Acute alcohol intoxication suppresses neutrophil migration by altering the
lung chemokine response to S. pneumoniae.
Keisa Mathis, Ph.D.
Years in Program: 2004 - 2008
Ph.D. - 2008
Current Position: University of Mississippi Medical Center, Department of Physiology
and Biophysics
Position: Postdoctoral Fellow
Research Interest: Blood Pressure, Renal Hemodynamics, and Hypertension
Specific project: The role of the sympathetic nervous system in lupus-induced hypertension
using a mouse model of systemic lupus erythematosus.
Postdoctoral Advisor: Michael Ryan, PhD
Jessica Thomas, M.D., Ph.D.
Years in Program: 2000 - 2002
Ph.D. - 2008 M.D. - 2010
Current position: 3rd year Medical School LSUHSC
Caroline Raasch Alquist, MD., Ph.D.
Years in Program: 2004 - 2008
Ph.D. - 2008
Current position: Pathology Fellow - Dartmouth -
ASCP's New “40 Under 40” Program Recognizes Young Lab Pioneers
Jesse Sulzer, M.D., Ph.D.
Years in Program: 02/01/09 - 07/31/10
Ph.D. - 2010; MD- 2013
Current position: Resident in Surgery LSUHSC - NO
J. Nick Melvan, M.D., Ph.D.
Years in Program: 02/01/09 - 01/31/10
Ph.D. - 2010; MD - 2013
Current position:Resident PGY-2,
Integrated Thoracic Surgery
Emory University, Atlanta, GA
Years in Program: 02/01/09 - 01/31/10
Ph.D. - 2010
Current position:Emory Medical School Neurosurgery Resident
Mary Worrell Hul in, M.D., Ph.D.
Years in Program: 2009-2010
Ph.D. - 2012
Current position:Graduated with M.D., Ph.D.
Sun-Mi Choi , M.D., Ph.D.
Years in Program: 2009-2011
Ph.D. - 2012
Current position:Graduated with M.D., Ph.D.
X. Sophie Teng, Ph.D.
Years in Program: 2010-2011
Ph.D. - 2013 M.D. - expected 2016
Current position:PhD candidate
Travis Doggett, Ph.D.
Years in Program: 2011-2012
Current Position:Biological Scientist; Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology;
University of South Florida
Greg In Lee, MPH
Years in Program: 2011-2012
Ph.D. - 2015 expected
Current position: MD/PhD student currently in PhD portion at LSUHSC
Myles Ketchum, PhD
Years in Program: 2011-2012
Ph.D. - 2015
Current position: Transitioned to F30
John Maxi
Years in Program: 2015-2015
Ph.D. - 2017 expected
Current position: Transitioned to F30
Alan Mouton
Years in Program: 2012-2014
Ph.D. - 2017 expected
Current position: Transitioned to F30
Whitney Nichols, PhD
Years in Program: 2013-2015
Ph.D. - 2016
Current position: MD/PhD student currently in MD portion at LSUHSC
Spencer Robichaux
Years in Program: 2013-2016
Ph.D. - 2017 expected
Current position: Transitioned to F30
Jacques Mayeux, MS
Years in Program: 2016
Ph.D. -2016
Current position: Industry
Van Ninh, PhD
PhD - 2019
Current position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Pharmacology, University of
California San Diego