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Lab alumni


Postdoctoral Fellows

Dr. Thomas Hamilton, 1973 ‑ 1974.  CIA biomedical scientist and Professor of Biology, University of Virginia, Falls Church.

Dr. Larry Sewell, 1973 ‑ 1974.  Patent attorney and biomedical consultant, University of Texas Medical School, Dallas.

Dr. Samuel Velez, 1975 ‑ 1976.  Professor of Biology, Dartmouth.

Dr. Bonnie Templeton, 1975 ‑ 1976.  Research Associate, Washington University, Department of Biology, St. Louis, MO.

Dr. Thomas Anderson, 1977 ‑ 1979.   Director of the CNS Trauma Research Center, General Motors Corp.

Dr. David Falk, 1978.  Current position unknown.

Dr. Robert Grossfeld, 1976 ‑ 1979.   Professor Emeritus of Zoology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh.

Dr. Douglas Baxter, 1981.  Mechanism of pre-synaptic inhibition of transmitter release in crayfish axons.  Senior Staff Scientist at Sensory Sciences Center, Baylor Medical School.

Dr. Terry A. Viancour, 1982 ‑ 1984.  Professor of Zoology, University of Maryland, Baltimore.

Dr. Richard A. Friedman, 1983 ‑ 1985.   Professor of Biophysics and Physiology, Vanderbilt University.

Dr. Kalpathi Seshan, 1982 ‑ 1986.  Research Associate,  MD Anderson.

Dr. Steven Halls, 1986 – 1987.  Current position unknown.

Dr. Bruce Winegar, 1986 ‑ 1988.   Research Associate, Department of Pharmacology, University of California Medical School, San Francisco, CA.

Dr. Scott Poehlman, 1988 – 1989.   MD. Neurology, University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Dr. Alvin Lyckman, 1991 – 1992.    Research Associate. NIH.

Dr. Jay Blundon, 1987 ‑ 1993.  NIH, NIAAA postdoctoral fellowships.  Professor, Department of Biology, Rhodes College, Memphis, TN.

Dr. Rebecca Sheller, 1990 – 1994.  NIAAA postdoctoral fellowship.   Professor at Southwestern University, Georgetown, TX.

Dr. Todd Krause, 1993 – 1994.  NIAAA fellowship.  Co-directed with Dr. Harvey Fishman (UTMB, Galveston) Dept of Biophysics.  Patent attorney. Boston, MA..

Dr. Eric Detrait.  1998 – 2000. Molecular mechamims of plasmalemmal sealing. Co –directed with Dr. Fishman. Currently a Research Scientist at University of Rochester Medical School.

Dr. Ronda Stavisky. 2002 – 2005. Role of PEG in axonal repair. Current position unknown.

Dr. Van Herd. 2010 – 2013.  Current position unknown.

Dr. Solomon Raju Bhupanapadu Sunkesula. 2013 – 2015. Role of PEG in axonal repair; Biochemical pathways of membrane sealing. Research Scientist, MD Anderson

Dr. Cameron Ghergherehchi. 2021- 2021. Polyethylene glycol fusion repair of rat peripheral nerves. Post-doctoral fellow with Dr. Jaimie Shores. Johns Hopkins Medical School.

Dr. Tyler Smith. 2021- 2021. Immunosuppressive Effects of PEG-fusion in Peripheral Nerve Allografts. Post-doctoral fellow with Dr. Jennifer Wu, Northwestern University.


Ph.D students

Milton P. Charlton.  1975.  Parameters of transmitter release in squid synapses.  Professor  Emeritus of Physiology at Toronto University.

Lawrence W. Powers.  1975.  Physiological and ecological correlates of burrowing behavior in fiddler crabs.  Professor and Chairman, Department of Medical Technology, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL.

Mark E. Meyer.  1977.  Histological and biochemical studies of trophic dependencies in crayfish giant axons.  Professor of Biology at University of Washington (Seattle).

Stewart C. Birse.  1979.  Mechanism and specificity of  giant axon regeneration in the earthworm central nervous system.  Practicing M.D.

Claire E. Hulsebosch.  1979.  Regeneration of axons and cell bodies in the central nervous system of annelids: a test of the neuron addition hypothesis.   Professor of Anatomy at U.T. Medical School, Galveston, TX.

Douglas A. Baxter.  1981.  Mechanism of pre‑synaptic inhibition of transmitter release in crayfish axons.  Senior Staff Scientist at Sensory Sciences Center, Baylor Medical School.

Rebecca Sheller.  1989.  Molecular mechanisms for long term survival of severed crayfish nerve axons.   Professor, Southwestern University, Georgetown, TX.

Shobhana Sivaramakrishnan.  1989.  Biophysical mechanisms of calcium and membrane depolarization in synaptic facilitation.  Research Scientist, University of Connecticut.

Alvin Lyckman.  1990.  Mechanisms of neuritic outgrowth, neuritic guidance, and specific functional reconnection of severed giant axons in earthworms.  Current address unknown.

Stephen Massia.  1992.  Surface modifications of synthetic materials for the promotion of cell adhesion.  Co-directed with Dr. Jeffrey Hubbel of Chemical Engineering.  Research Scientist in a private biotechnology firm.

Jeffery Moehlenbruck.  1993.  Biochemical mechanisms for long term survival of severed goldfish axons.  Professor, St. Edwards Univeristy, Austin, TX.

Todd Krause.  1993.  Cellular mechanisms for rapid repair of severed giant axons.  Patent attorney, Boston, MA .

Sandy Tanner.  1994.  Protein transport and turnover in crayfish medial gaint axons.   Research Director, Nymox Corporation (retired)..

Sterling Wright.  1995.  Biophysical/electrophysiological mechanisms of synaptic plasticities at crayfish neuromuscular junctions.   Professor, Murray State University, Ky.

Tim Raabe.  1995.  Mechanisms which determine protein turnover in intact and anucleate axons in vertebrates.   Professor, St. Mary’s University, San Antonio, TX.

Curtis Herbert. 1996.  Effect of inhibitors of fibrinogen proteolysis on neuritic outgrowth from dorsal root ganglia.  Co-directed with Dr. Jeffrey Hubble of Chemical Engineering.  Associate  Professor,  University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn.

Chris Eddleman. 1999.  Biophysics and molecular biology of plasmalemmal sealing.  Co-directed with Dr. Harvey Fishman, UTMB Galveston.  Currently a practicing MD

Soonmoon Yoon. 2003. Molecular mechanisms of axonal sealing. Co-directed with Dr. Harvey Fishman. Current position unknown

Michael Nguyen. 2006. Role of calcium in neurite sealing and cell degeneration. Co-directed with Dr. Harvey Fishman. Currently a practicing MD

Chris Spaeth.  2011.  Molecular mechanisms of plasmalemmal sealing.  Research Scientist, Houston

Aleksej Zuzek. 2012. Biochemical pathways of plasmalemmal sealing. Postdoctoral Fellow at Texas A&M Medical School (Temple, TX)

Tyler Smith. 2021. Immunosuppressive Effects of PEG-fusion in Peripheral Nerve Allografts. Post-doctoral fellow with Dr. Jennifer Wu, Northwestern University

Cameron Ghergherehchi. 2021. Polyethylene glycol fusion repair of rat peripheral nerves. Post-doctoral fellow with Dr. Jaimie Shores. Johns Hopkins Medical School


Master’s Students

R.T. Kopanda.  1973.  Trophic interactions in the crayfish, Procambarus clarkii.  Deputy Director of ADAMHA.

L. Boone.  1973.  Trophic dependencies in a crustacean muscle. Currently a practicing M.D.

M. Nitzberg.  1973.  Ultrastructural changes in transplanted segments of crustacean peripheral nerves.  Currently a science advisor to a computer firm.

Obichere Nwabuko.  1976.  The roles of calcium in vertebrate muscle contraction. Current position unknown.

M.S. Bouton.  1980.  Mechanisms of axonal regeneration in crayfish motor axons. Currently a practicing M.D..

Todd Miller.  1990.  Role of synapsin in neurotransmitter release.  Current position unknown. 

Melva Avalos.  1990.  The effect of pentobarbital on pre- and postsynaptic channels at crayfish neuromuscular junctions.  Current Position Unknown.

Guillermo Espinoza.  1992.  Morphological correlates of longterm potentiation at hippocampal synapses.  (Co-directed with Dr. Abraham Amsel of Psychology).

Tonya Thompson.  1992.  Neurochemistry of monoamine oxidase enzymes and neurotoxins.  (Co-directed with Dr. Creed Abell, Department of Pharmacology).  Practicing MD.

Qi-Quan Huang.  1993.  Molecular biology of muscle development. (Co-directed with Kuan Wang of Biochemistry).  Research associate in Canada.

Tia Sea.  1993.  Effect of temperature on survival of severed distal stumps of mammalian axons. Currently a practicing nurse.

Cecilia Smith.  1994.  Neurite outgrowth in organ culture. Current Position Unknown

Chris Godell.  1995.  Calpain-induced sealing of severed nerve axons.  Practicing MD.

Arisa Sunio.  1995.  The immunosuppressant cyclosporin A retads the degeneration of distal segments of mammalian axons.  Research Associate, Southwestern Medical School, Dallas, TX.

Adam Blanchette. 1998.  Changes in configuration and location of  membranous structures  that seal the cut ends  of  earthworm giant axons.  Currently a Research Associate at UT Medical School, San Antonio, TX


Undergraduate Students

Cameron Ghergherehchi

Christopher Driscoll

Robert Hastings

Chris McGill

Colton Riley

Ti Ha

Nicholas Munoz

Andrew Poon

Monika Pyarali

Michael Bounajem

Alex Mazal

Aakarshita Bansal

Patrick Dunne

Maui Guitterrez

Nicole Wong

Amir Ali

Zach Burgess

Adrian Gorszawski

Sarah Nguyen

Matthew Hooper

Karthik Jagannath

Edward Kang

Milki Negeri

Meghana Gogineni

Kenneth Pham

Ted Zhao

Bryan Nyakiti

Shruti Kumar

Sara Vargas

Monzer Alatrach

Grace Massamillo

Sruja Arya

Mario Carrera

Razan Hussein

Vanessa Nuval

Marshal Mencel

Anirudh Sudarshan

Rhea Sachdeva

Menizhe Mohsin

Anish Pandya

Yessennia Montoya

Alexa Olivarez

Karthik Venkudusamy

Jesus Jimenez

Stone Nwamadi

Anaya Sampathkumar

*Varun Gokhale

Zeal Pathak

*Guhan Periyasamy

*Rhea Sood

*Arjun Agarwal

Seo yun (Christina) Kim

*Yiming (Grace) Hao

*Neha Nagarajan

*Sreekriti Sista

*Sushant Sanklipur

2011-2015

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2022

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