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Photo: Faith Ninivaggi
The Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at UMass Chan Medical School recognized 91 PhD candidates who completed their qualifying exam during the 2025-‘26 academic year during the Qualifying Exam Recognition Ceremony held on Sept. 16.
In a lighthearted moment, Anthony Imbalzano, PhD, associate dean for academic affairs for the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and professor of biochemistry & molecular biotechnology, joked that he had never read that many names at this ceremony before thanks to the two cohorts in attendance.
“In successfully passing your qualifying exam, you’ve demonstrated that you can formulate a problem, propose a way forward, defend your ideas and respond to criticism. And that is why we now call you candidates, and we celebrate you,” said Mary Ellen Lane, PhD, the Donna M. and Robert J. Manning Chair in Biomedical Sciences, professor of neurobiology and dean of the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.
Dean Lane acknowledged the faculty, who have spent more than 11,000 hours on the students’ formal education and scholarly development, and noted that at UMass Chan, and nationally through the Association of American Medical Colleges, basic science faculty are discussing how to ensure that the qualifying exam is meeting the needs of its stakeholders: students, faculty and the public.
Students at the ceremony received a bag containing their lab coat and a fleece jacket. PhD candidates Meghan Brassil, Guoyun Chen, Alijah (Ami) Griffith and Fangyi (Coco) Zhai received the Zelda Haidak Scholarship in Cell Biology. The late Gerald Haidak, MD, established the scholarship to honor his wife, Zelda Haidak, and to enhance training for women launching research careers in cell biology.
Photo: Faith Ninivaggi
PhD candidate Josh Velasco was among the students recognized for passing the qualifying exam. Inspired by his high school physics teacher, Velasco investigates ways in which the aging process is regulated in the lab of Heidi Tissenbaum, PhD, professor of molecular, cell & cancer biology. The goal is to find ways to promote healthy aging while extending the lifespan.
“Advancements in modern medicine have led to overall increased life expectancy by prevention of early mortality from diseases, but the amount of time in which we retain the capacity to be physically active and independent has stagnated,” Velasco said.
Velasco hopes to explore opportunities in the biomedical/pharmaceutical industry after earning his PhD. He has a biochemistry degree from State University of New York at Fredonia.
Velasco and Emma Mohlmann are in the largest pathway to a PhD in biomedical sciences at UMass Chan, the Basic Biomedical Sciences Umbrella Pathway, and the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program, one of eight graduate programs of study.
Mohlmann, who also passed the qualifying exam, studies alterations in the mTOR (mechanistic target of rapamycin) pathway, a central regulator of cell growth, in the lab of David Guertin, PhD'02.
“Understanding how changes in mTOR function impact energy expenditure in adipose tissue is a novel avenue for combatting metabolic diseases like obesity,” said Mohlmann, a Boston College graduate who wants to become a professor.
“I’ve been interested in science since as long as I can remember but I started doing research my sophomore year of college. From there I was hooked!” Mohlmann said.
Photo: Faith Ninivaggi
The following students became PhD candidates in the 2025-2026 academic year:
Basil Allen, Li Li lab
Alan Ardelean, Kate Lapane lab
Kylie Arnold, Wenwen Fang lab
Narayani Ballambat, Rajani Sadasivam lab
Sofia Baptista, Ann Rothstein and Siva Karthik Varanasi labs
Daniel Barnes, Joel Richter lab
Kairo Baylor, Ana Maldonado-Contreras lab
Sarah Blossom, Roger Davis lab
Meghan Brassil, Marcus Ruscetti lab
Maxwell Campbell, Zhiping Weng lab
Jessica Caouette, Stephenie Lemon lab
Mary Capps, Summer Thyme lab
Michael-Anthony Card, Leslie Shaw Lab
Benjamin Chang, Qi Tang and Anastasia Khvorova labs
Hau-Chian (Ethan) Chang, Jason Pitarresi lab
Rhea Chatterjee, Erik Sontheimer and Jonathan Watts labs
Guoyun Chen, Job Dekker lab
Mandy Chen, Dan Wang lab
Eric Cucchi, Allan Walkey lab
Christopher Dahlke, Julia Alterman lab
Alexander D'Amico, Danny Winder lab
Lilia Dean, Wen Xue and Erik Sontheimer labs
Sarah Fett, Lee Quinton lab
Havi Fisher, Mary Munson lab
Weng Ian (Jaidyn) Fok, Michael Brehm lab
Matthew Funk, Lingfei Wang lab
Noelia Genao-Garcia, Daryl Bosco lab
Delaney Giguere, Claudio Punzo lab
Aliece Goodman-Khan, Megan Orzalli lab
Jessica Gordon, Li Li lab
Alijah (Ami) Griffith, Nikolaus Grigorieff and Andrei Korostelev labs
Joshua (JT) Harvey, Kate Lapane lab
Duy Hoang, Kuang Shen lab
Julia Hobaugh, Brian Kelch and Josue Flores Kim labs
Hillary Hoyt, Allison Keeler lab
Margaret Huston, Paul Greer lab
Michael Jameson, Milka Koupenova and Tammy Nguyen labs
Jussekia Jean, Meng-Ju Wu lab
Elizabeth Johnson, James Munro lab
Gabriella Kastrunes, Mark Johnson lab
Samuel Kingsley, Heidi Tissenbaum lab
David Kostyra, Silvia Corvera lab
Anthony Lau, Raluca Gordan lab
Shirley Lee, Jonathan Watts lab
Jennifer (Yun) Li Ordonez, Kensuke Futai lab
Qiaoming Li, Lee Quinton lab
Mushi Li, Sarah Whitley lab
Mary Likhite, Jill Moore lab
John (Johnny) Lucas, Anastasia Khvorova lab
William (Ned) Martenis, Egil Lien lab
Holly McEachern, Jonathan Watts lab
Hailey McKillop, Haley Melikian lab
Emily McNaughton, Andrea Reboldi lab
Megan McNeil, Francesca Massi lab
Anisha Mhatre, Zhiping Weng lab
Emma Mohlmann, David Guertin lab
Itthipun (Deeow) Munkong, Rene Maehr lab
Tiana Naylor, Michael Lee lab
Timothy Nelson, Kiera Clayton lab
Sumaira Perez, Emma Watson and Jolanda Van Leeuwen labs
Andrew Petti, Wen Xue lab
Colleen Phelan, Kate Fitzgerald lab
Anna Prater, Eric Baehrecke lab
Omar Rachid, Julia Alterman lab
Irina Radu, Carolina Ionete and Beth McCormick labs
Vijayalalitha Ramanarayanan, Andrei Korostelev lab
Daniel Richards, Qing Yu Lab
Elizabeth Rucki, Li Li and Anastasia Khvorova Labs
Anahita Saeedi, Bruce Barton Lab
Janhavi Sawant, Daniel Bondeson Lab
Binoy Shah, Apurv Soni lab
Claire Shamber, Jessica Spinelli lab
Elizaveta Shiltseva, Nikolaus Grigorieff and Johannes Elferich labs
Evelien Simonis, Marian Walhout lab
Richa Singh, Richard Gregory and Lucio Castilla labs
Ryan Tarpey, Sally Kent lab
Dayong (Michael) Tian, Raluca Gordan lab
Hoang Tran, William Flavahan and Nezar Abdennur labs
Nhi Le Tran, Kuang Shen lab
Tenzin Tseyang, Lina Marcela Carmona lab
Ines Urquizo Velasco, Jessica Spinelli lab
Jonathan Valeros, Jessica Spinelli lab
Sylvia Van Beem, Dohoon Kim lab
Emma Vanderleeden, Jennifer Wang lab
Joshuel (Josh) Velasco, Heidi Tissenbaum lab
An Vo, Li Li lab
Paula Vo, Jessica Spinelli and Jason Pitarresi labs
Brianna Wachter, Chinmay Trivedi lab
Mika Wesley, Michael Lee lab
Fangyi (Coco) Zhai, Qing Yu and Roger Davis labs
Hanbo Zhang, Danny Winder lab
