Our graduate students and fellows

Recent Graduates and Their Current Positions

Ping Ma (PhD 2012)

• Thesis Title and Major Adviser: Drug-loaded nanoparticles for improved cancer treatment: engineering, in-vitro, and in-vivo evaluation (Dr. Mumper)
• Current Employer: Hospira Inc.

Lan Feng (PhD 2012)

• Thesis Title and Major Adviser: Oil-filled Lipid Nanoparticles Containing Docetaxel Conjugates for Controlled Drug Release (Dr. Mumper)
• Current Employer: Novartis

Elizabeth Vasievich (PhD 2011)

• Thesis Title and Major Adviser: LIPID-BASED CANCER VACCINES (Dr. Huang)
• Current Employer: Genentech

Bo He (PhD 2011)

• Thesis Title and Major Adviser: Delivery of MG53 for muscle membrane repair attenuates congestive heart failure and muscular dystrophy (Dr. Xiao)
• Current Employer: IRTA Fellow at NIEHS

Saurabh Wadhwa (PhD 2011)

• Thesis Title and Major Adviser: Intracellular delivery of reactive oxygen species generating polypeptide-drug conjugates for cancer therapy (Dr. Mumper)
• Current Employer: Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, NY

Michael Hackett (PhD 2011)

• Thesis Title and Major Adviser: Paclitaxel-2`O-pentadecylhemiglutarate: A Chemical Strategy for Albumin Based drug Delivery (Dr. Cho)
• Current Employer: Postdoc research associate at UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy

Matthew Dufek (PhD 2011)

• Thesis Title and Major Adviser: The Effect of the Dynamic Interplay of P-Glycoprotein and Cytochrome P450 3A on Intestinal Absorption (Dr. Thakker)
• Current Employer: Scientist in the Department of Clinical Pharmacology at Genentech in San Francisco, CA.

Claudia Generaux (PhD 2010)

• Thesis Title and Major Adviser: Effects of Parasitic Infection on the Pharmacokinetics and Disposition of Pentamidine Analogs (Dr. Thakker)
• Current Employer:

Hailin Sheena Wang (PhD 2010)

• Thesis Title and Major Adviser: Novel Delivery Systems for Nasal Delivery of Anthrax Vaccine (Dr. Hickey)
• Current Employer: Scientist in Technical Development-Pharmaceutical Sciences at Novartis Vaccine & Diagnostics Inc. in Holly Springs, NC

Chenchen Wang (MS 2010)

• Thesis Title and Major Adviser: Pulmonary Delivery of Isoxyl Particles to Treat Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Dr. Hickey)
• Current Employer:

Zhen Xu (PhD 2010)

• Dissertation Title and Major Adviser: Heterogeneous Particle Deaggregation and Its Implication for Therapeutic Aerosol Performance (Dr. Hickey)
• Current Employer:

William R. Proctor, III (PhD 2010)

• Dissertation Title and Major Adviser: A Novel Mechamism for Intestinal Absorption of the Type II Diabetes Drug Metformin: Role of Cation-Selective Apical Transporters in Paracellular Absorption (Dr. Thakker)
• Current Employer:

Shuai Shi (PhD 2010)

• Dissertation Title and Major Adviser: Rational Design, Manufacture and Evaluation of Respirable TB Subunit Vaccine (Dr. Hickey)
• Current Employer:

Yunching Chen (PhD 2010)

• Dissertation Title and Major Adviser: Self-Assembled Nanoparticles for Cancer Gene Therapy (Dr. Huang)
• Current Employer: Postdoc at Harvard Medical School

Jiexin Deng (MS 2009)

• Thesis Title and Major Adviser: Understanding Paclitaxel / F127 Nanocrystals Prepared by the Stabilization of Nanocrystal (SNC) Method (Dr. Huang)
• Current Employer:

Melanie Joy (PhD 2010)

• Dissertation Title and Major Adviser: Disposition of Mycophenolic Acid and its Glucuronide Metabolites in Subjects with Glomerulonephritis: Implications of Genes and Effects on Kidney Outcomes (Dr. Smith)
• Current Employer: UNC-Chapel Hill

Roland Cheung (PhD 2009)

• Dissertation Title and Major Adviser: Antibody Carriers of CpG Oligodeoxynucleotides for Solid Tumor Immunotherapy (Dr. Cho)
• Current Empoyer: UNC-Chapel Hill

Martin Telko (PhD 2009)

• Dissertation Title and Major Adviser: Investigation of Electrostatic Charging Phenomena in Dry Powder Inhalers (Dr. Hickey)
• Current employer: Novartis

John An (PhD 2008)

• Dissertation Title and Major Adviser: Utility of two distinct Macromolecular carriers for nucleic acid delivery (Dr. Cho)
• Current employer: PPT

Xin Ming (PhD 2008)

• Dissertation Title and Major Adviser: Roles of Basolateral Transporters in Intestinal Absorption of Drugs and Prodrugs (Dr. Thakker)
• Current employer: UNC-Chapel Hill

Hsin-I Hung (MS 2008)

• Thesis Title and Major Adviser: Combined Gene Therapy of RNA polymerase II Drive siRNA and Apoptosis Inducing Factor in a Melanoma Model. (Dr. Huang)
• Current employer: PhD student at the Medical University of South Carolina

Shyh-dar Li (PhD 2008)

• Dissertation Title and Major Adviser: Targeted Delivery of Nucleic Acids for Cancer Therapy (Dr. Xiao)
• Current employer: UC-San Diego

Ryan Klein (PhD 2007)

• Dissertation Title and Major Adviser: Regulation of tight junction barrier function by phospholipase C. (Dr. Thakker)
• Current employer: GlaxoSmithKline

Dongmei Lu (PhD 2007)

• Dissertation Title and Major Adviser: Aerosol delivery of recombinant antigen 85B in microparticle vaccine systems for protection against tuberculosis. (Dr. Hickey)
• Current employer:

Jin Lee (PhD 2007)

• Dissertation Title and Major Adviser: Polymeric nanogels as gene carriers. (Dr. Cho)
• Current employer: Hamner Institute

Amanda Mathis (PhD 2007)

• Dissertation Title and Major Adviser: Accumulation and intracellular distribution of aromatic diamidines in African trypanosomes. (Dr. Hall)
• Current employer: GlaxoSmithKline

Robert Garmise (PhD 2007)

• Dissertation Title and Major Adviser: Novel dry powder preparations of whole inactivated influenza virus for nasal vaccination. (Dr. Hickey)
• Current employer: Bristol Myers Squib

Timothy Tippin (PhD 2006)

• Dissertation Title and Major Adviser: Novel Approaches to assess the efficacy and toxicity of intestinal absorption enhancers. (Dr. Thakker)
• Current employer: GlaxoSmithKline

Enzo Palma (PhD 2006)

• Dissertation Title and Major Adviser: Antibody-mediated systemic delivery of CpG oligodeoxynucleotides for solid tumor immunotherapy. (Dr. Cho)
• Current employer: Genentech

J. Cory Kalvass (PhD 2006)

• Dissertation Title and Major Adviser: Predicition of brain extracellular fluid concentrations: application to understanding central nervous system pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. (Dr. Pollack)
• Current employer:

Richard Graham (PhD 2006)

• Dissertation Title and Major Adviser: Biochemcial and molecular characterization of beagle dog CYP4A. (Dr. Thakker)
• Current employer: GlaxoSmithKline

Giulia Ghibellini (PhD 2006)

• Dissertation Title and Major Adviser: In vivo and invitro methods to determine biliary clearance of drugs in humans. (Dr. Brouwer)
• Current employer: Alleantis (UK)

Melanie Tallman (PhD 2006)

• Dissertation Title and Major Adviser: The role of intestinal UDP-gucuronosyltransfereases in 7-ethyl-10-hydroxy-camptothecin (SN-38) conjugation and toxicity. (Dr. Smith)
• Current employer: Gilead Inc. in Research Triangle Park, NC

Maciej Zamek-Gliszczynski (PhD 2006)

• Dissertation Titl and Major Adviser: Mechanisms of hepatic transport of sulfate and glucuronide metabolites. (Dr. Brouwer)
• Current employer: Eli Lilly