Recent Graduate Student Bios


	Maurice Butler, who is from Upper Marlboro, Maryland, earned his BS degree in Biology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where he was a member of the Meyerhoff Scholarship Program. In 2008, he received his PhD in Genetics as part of the Biological and Biomedical Sciences, and continued as a postdoctoral fellow in his dissertation lab. He is now a medical writer at BGB New York.
	James Carothers, from Franklin, Tennessee, graduated from Yale with a degree in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry. In 2005, he received his PhD degree in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology as part of the Biological and Biomedical Sciences program. James conducted research in Dr. Jack Szostak's lab on in vitro selection and directed evolution. He is currently a Research Fellow at the University of California Berkeley and the Joint BioEnergy Institute, a U.S. Department of Energy research center in Emeryville, CA.
	Bradley Carthon hails from Fort Valley, Georgia, and received his BA in Biology from Hampton University. He participated in SHURP in 1995 and then entered the Harvard MD/PhD program. Brad's research focused on the specificity of D type cyclin proteins in development and breast cancer, where he used in vivo mouse models to help determine the importance of these proteins. He is a Fellow of the Albert J. Ryan Foundation and has been active in the Student National Medical Association. Brad received his MD/PhD in 2005, completed residency in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and is a hematology oncology fellow at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.
	Angel Custodio is from Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, and graduated from the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez with a degree in Biology. Angel was in SHURP in 1997. He entered the PhD program in Biological and Biomedical Sciences, where his specific dissertation project was to study genes and metabolic pathways that can modify the control of body iron stores. Angel received his PhD in 2005 and is presently an assistant professor of natural sciences and agricultural technology at the University of Puerto Rico at Utuado.
	Seth Frietze, from Las Cruces, New Mexico, graduated in 2000 from New Mexico State University, where he double-majored in Chemistry and Biochemistry. Seth was a SHURP participant in 1999 and entered the PhD program in Biological and Biomedical Sciences, where he studied intra-cellular movement of macromolecules in Dr. Pamela Silver's lab. Seth received his PhD in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology in 2007 and is presently a postdoctoral research fellow at the Genome Center at the University of California, Davis.
	Elizabeth Glater graduated from Swarthmore College in 1997 with High Honors in Biology, and earned her MA in Neuroscience from Brown University in 2001. Elizabeth’s dissertation project involved the study of genetic, biochemical, and functional aspects of synaptic transmission. She received her PhD in Neuroscience in 2006 and is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Rockefeller University in New York City.
	Originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan, Misao Higashi graduated from Brown University in 1996 with a degree in Neuroscience. She worked as a research technician in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Michigan School of Medicine before entering the PhD program in Neuroscience. Misao received her PhD in 2009, and plans to continue research in Boston.
	Victoria Love, from San Diego, California, graduated from San Diego State University in 1999 with a BS in Biology. She enrolled in the PhD program in Immunology, where she did her dissertation research in Dr. Andrew Lichtman's lab, which studies the regulation of T-cell mediated immune responses. After receiving her PhD in 2006, Victoria was a postdoctoral fellow in Boston and is presently a senior scientist a Pfizer, Inc. in southern California.
	Arindel Maharaj, originally from Trinidad, received his degree in Biochemistry and Anthropology from SUNY Stony Brook in 2001. He was a member of the SHURP program in 2000, and for several years thereafter was an active peer mentor for the program. Arindel enrolled in the MD/PhD program and did his dissertation research on the role of vascular endothelial growth factor in adult tissues. He received his PhD 2008 and his MD in 2009. Arindel is continuing training in ophthalmology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.
	Christov Roberson earned his BS degree in microbiology from Northern Arizona University and entered the PhD program in Neuroscience, where he received his PhD in 2005. He conducted research on various aspects of ion channel regulation by G protein-coupled receptors. His primary research interests revolve around processes that take place at the cell surface of excitable cells to control the overall patterns of electrical excitability and behavior. He has remained at Harvard as a preceptor in the department of Molecular and Cellular Biology.
	Carolyn Rodriguez is a 1996 graduate of Harvard with a degree in Computer Science. As a student in the MD/PhD program, she conducted research in neuroscience developing novel genetic techniques to track neuronal migration. After receiving her MD/PhD degree in 2004, Carolyn was a resident in psychiatry (and chief resident) at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. Currently, Dr. Rodriguez is a NIMH Research Fellow under the mentorship of Dr. Blair Simpson. Her research focus is developing novel treatment strategies for patients suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder by integrating neuroscience with clinical research.
	Hailing from Baldwin, NY, Patrick Safo graduated from SUNY Stony Brook in 1999 with a BS in Pharmacology and Chemistry. After entering the Harvard MD/PhD program, he conducted research in the Neuroscience program on the role of endocannabinoids in synaptic plasticity at the granule cell to purkinje cell synapse. Patrick received his PhD in 2007 and his MD in 2008. He is continuing his clinical training in dermatology at the University of Pittsburgh.
	Cheryll Sanchez-Irizarry comes from San Juan, Puerto Rico, and earned her degree in Chemistry from the University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras in 1999. She entered the PhD program in Biological and Biomedical Sciences and conducted her dissertation research on the role of the LNR domain in Notch signaling in the same lab where she was as a SHURP student in 1998. Cheryll received her PhD in 2006, and is now a postdoctoral research fellow at Genentech, Inc., developing high thruput RNAi for products effecting Notch signaling.
	Jamil Scott is from Lansing, Michigan, and received her BS in Biology from Tennessee State University in 2000. As a student in the program in Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Jamil conducted her dissertation research on tissue interactions and molecular factors involved in indifferent gonad specifications in the avian embryo. She received her PhD in Cell and Developmental Biology in 2008, and is presently a postdoctoral fellow and student at the Harvard School of Public Health.
	Michelle Soriano, from Mexico City, Mexico, entered the PhD program in Biological and Biomedical Sciences, after working at Harvard as a research assistant for Dr. James Hogle and Dr. Pamela Silver. Her 1998 BSc in Biomedical Research is from the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Michelle received her PhD in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology in 2008 and is a consultant for McKinsey & Company.
	Cheryl Thompson is from Los Angeles, California, and graduated from the University of Southern California with a BS in Biology. After entering the PhD program in Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Cheryl conducted her dissertation research on signaling mechanisms that control presynaptic morphogenesis at the Drosophila neuromuscular junction. She received her PhD in 2009.