Our Scholars

Year Recruited:

2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2006 2005 2004 2003 2000 1999 1998
Year Recruited: 2021
( 5 Scholars )

Maria Coronel, PhD

mcoronel@umich.edu
Univeristy of Florida
Affiliation(s):
Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests

TBA

Joshua Emrick, DDS, PhD

jjemrick@umich.edu
University of California, San Francisco - School of Dentistry (PhD & DDS), National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (Dental Clinical Research Fellow/Postdoc)
Affiliation(s):
School of Dentistry›Department of Biologic and Materials Sciences & Prosthodontics
Research Interests
The mouth provides us with remarkable sensations.
We bite into, adeptly manipulate, and crunch foods without inflicting self-injury. Our dentition and supporting structures routinely tolerate extreme forces of mastication, yet they also allow us to discern minuscule changes in bite and unanticipated hard particulates in food. We hardly notice these forces in normal chewing function; however, if the teeth are damaged and the dental pulps become inflamed, their sensory input is altered and we begin to experience excruciating pain – the toothache.
In thinking about these phenomena, we also wonder: What makes the tongue and lips profoundly sensitive to touch? How do common components (i.e., sensory neurons) provide us with unique sensations from distinct tissues? What makes our mouth feel dry? Why is tooth pain exquisite? And how do we inherently “know” the position of our teeth, jaws, and tongue when we eat and speak?
 
The Emrick lab is interested in answering these types of questions (and others) by studying the molecules, cells, and circuitry of the sensory nervous system innervating the mouth, head, and neck. In essence, we want to understand how it all encodes oral and craniofacial information, contributes to normal tissue function, and ultimately drives reflexes and perceptions.

Chelsey Spriggs, PhD

cspriggs@umich.edu
Northwestern University Ph.D.
Affiliation(s):
Cell and Developmental Biology, Life Sciences Institute, Microbiology and Immunology
Research Interests

Despite their impact on public health, mechanisms of virus entry are often poorly understood. Our lab seeks to understand the cell biology of oncogenic and oncolytic viral infections. Specifically, we investigate the virus-host interactions mediating DNA viral entry with particular interest in the steps required for these viruses to gain entry into the nucleus. Our lab uses a combination of classical biochemistry and molecular biology techniques with advanced microscopy to clarify the relationship between virus infection and cancer. 

Lauren Surface, PhD

lsurface@umich.edu
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Affiliation(s):
School of Dentistry›Department of Biologic and Materials Sciences & Prosthodontics
Research Interests

Not only is the weakening of bones during aging a growing public health concern, the skeletal system helps coordinate metabolism via secreted hormones. Our lab leverages genome-wide screening methods, followed by molecular, cellular and organismal investigations to understand the responses of bone cells, both to osteoporosis drugs, and how they sense and response to altered serum levels of mineral ions, a key aspect of how bone cells coordinate organismal metabolism. Using these findings, we aim to better identify and tailor treatments for patients with skeletal-related diseases.

 

Chase Weidmann, PhD

cweidman@umich.edu
University of Michigan, Biological Chemistry
Affiliation(s):
Biological Chemistry, Center for RNA Biomedicine
Research Interests

RNA-protein complexes represent an untapped well of potential therapeutic targets. My laboratory employs chemical probing and multi-omics technologies coupled with cell-based phenotypic assays to characterize how noncoding RNA-protein interaction networks drive diverse fundamental biology and how their dysfunction contributes to disease, especially cancer

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