Our Alumni
Jihad Aljabban, MD
Mentor: Shehzad Sheikh
Dates covered by T32: 7/1/2023-6/30/2025
Current Position: Clinic Gastroenterology Fellow
Topic of T32 Research Project: Biochemical pathways that influence myofibroblast activity in fibrostenotic and penetrating disease.
Anna Salvador, RD, PhD
Mentor: Shehzad Sheikh and Aadra Bhatt
Dates covered by T32: 7/1/2023-6/30/2025
Current Position: Postdoc Research Fellow
Topic of T32 Research Project:Role of the diet in the etiology of inflammatory bowel diseases
Courtney Rivet-Noor, PhD
Mentor: Janelle Arthur, PhD; Juliane Nguyen
Dates covered by T32: 7/31/2023-8/1/2025
Current Position: Postdoc Research Fellow
Topic of T32 Research Project: The role of HNF4a in transcriptional regulation of intestinal programs in inflammatory disease, viral infection, and microbiome/mucus disruption
Valerie Gartner, PhD
Mentor: Terry Furey
Dates covered by T32: 7/1/2023-6/30/2025
Current Position: Postdoc Research Fellow
Topic of T32 Research Project: Functional genomics methods to identify molecular characteristics of IBD phenotypes
Tyler Culpepper, MD, PhD
Mentor: Janelle Arthur, PhD; Juliane Nguyen
Dates covered by T32: 7/1/2022-6/30/2024
Current Position: Clinic Gastroenterology Fellow
Topic of T32 Research Project: Live biotherapeutics for the prevention of inflammation-associated colorectal cancer
Kendall Lough, PhD
Mentor: Scott Williams, PhD
Dates covered by T32: 7/1/2024-6/30/2024
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow – Williams Lab
Topic of T32 Research Project: Embryonic development of gut-brain sensory circuits.
Simon Gray, MD, PhD
Mentor: R. Balfour Sartor, MD
Dates covered by T32: 7/1/2021-6/30/2023
Current Position: Instructor, Dept. of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Topic of T32 Research Project: Bacterial functions and community dynamics in intestinal homeostasis and inflammation. Physiologic induction and maintenance of IBD remission with live biotherapeutics
Vivian Lee, MD
Mentor: Ajay Gulati, MD
Dates covered by T32: 7/1/2021-6/30/2023
Current Position: Clinical Gastroenterology Fellow
Topic of T32 Research Project: Investigate the role of the gut microbiome in mucosal inflammation and healing
Alfredo Blakely-Ruiz, PhD
Mentor: Manuel Kleiner, PhD and Casey Theriot, PhD
Dates covered by T32: 7/1/2021-6/30/2023
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow – Manuel Kleiner Lab NCSU
Topic of T32 Research Project: Effect of diet on the metabolic function of gut microbiota
Elaine M. Glenny, PhD
Mentor: Stephen D. Hursting, PhD, MPH; Co-Mentor: Jatin Roper, MD
Dates covered by T32: 6/1/2020-5/30/2022
Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow – Stephen Hursting Lab
Topic of T32 Research Project: Metabolic and dietary regulation of intestinal stem cell biology to identify candidate adipose-derived carcinogenic factors and their molecular/metabolic targets
Gabriel Suarez, PhD
Mentor: R. Balfour Sartor, MD; Co-Mentors: Aadra Bhatt, PhD; Shehzad Sheikh, MD, PhD
Dates covered by T32: 7/1/2020-6/30/2022
Current Position: Start-up biotech company
Topic of T32 Research Project: Genetic regulation of intestinal bacterial conversion of taurine-conjugated bile acids to hydrogen sulfid
Matt Foley, PhD
Mentor: Casey Theriot, PhD; Co-Mentors: Matt Redinbo, PhD and Rodolphe Barrangou, PhD
Dates covered by T32: 7/1/2019-6/30/2021
Current Position: Director of Academic Collaborations – Ancilia Biosciences
Topic of T32 Research Project: Functional characterization of Lactobacillus bile salt hydrolases (BSHs) for the rational design of the gastrointestinal bile acid pool and the treatment of Clostridioides difficile infection.
Erin Steinbach, PhD
Mentor: Shehzad Sheikh, MD, PhD; Co-Mentor: Scott Commins, MD, PhD
Dates covered by T32: 7/1/2019-6/30/2021
Current Position: Assistant Professor of Medicine, UNC
Topic of T32 Research Project: Developing Intestinal Organoid Cultures to Study Food Allergy
Joseph Burclaff, PhD
Mentor: Scott Magness, PhD
Dates covered by T32: 4/1/2018 – 3/31/2020
Current Position: Assistant Professor Biomedical Engineering – UNC
Topic of T32 Research Project: Sox9 function in intestinal stem cells
Joshua Fletcher, PhD
Mentor: Casey Theriot, PhD; Co-Mentor: Rita Tamayo, PhD
Dates covered by T32: 4/1/2018 – 3/31/2020
Current Position: Assistant Professor NCSU College of Veterinarian Medicine
Topic of T32 Research Project: Cytotoxin production by C. difficile benefits the pathogen of increasing the availability of amino acids
Jennifer K. Heppert PhD
Mentor: John F. Rawls, PhD; Co-mentor: Susan J. Henning, Ph.D.
Dates covered by T-32: October 1, 2017-October 1, 2019
Current Position: Postdoctoral trainee, Heidi Goodrich-Blair Lab – University of TN – Knoxville
Topic of T32 Research Project: Investigating microbial control of a host transcription factor in the intestinal epithelium using the zebrafish as a model system
Amanda L. Ziegler, DVM, PhD
Mentor: Anthony Blikslager, DVM, PhD, DACVS; Co-Mentor: Scott T. Magness, Ph.D.
Dates covered by T-32: July 1, 2017 – June 30, 2019
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Comparative Medicine Institute, NCSU
Topic of T32 Research Project: Age-dependent mechanisms of intestinal barrier repair in a neonatal porcine model of intestinal ischemic injury
Dana M. Hardbower, Ph.D.
Mentor: Jenny Ting, Ph.D., Department of Genetics
Dates covered by T-32: July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018
Current Position: Scientist, Translational Medicine, Locus Biosciences
Topic of T32 Research Project: The Interplay between NLRP12, an innate immune receptor, and the Gut Microbiome during Obesity-associated Colorectal Cancer
Muyiwa Awoniyi, MD, Ph.D.
Mentor: Balfour Sartor, MD
Dates covered by T-32: July 1, 2016-June 30th, 2018
Current Position: Assistant Professor Digestive Disease Institute, Learner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic
Topic of T32 Research Project: Understanding bi-directional interactions between resident microbiota alterations and primary sclerosing cholangitis associated with IBD.
Jasmine Barrow, MD
Mentor: Shehzad Sheikh, MD, PhD
Dates covered by T32: July 1, 2016-June 30, 2018
Current Position: Gastroenterologist MedStar Health
Topic of T32 Research Project: Exploratory mechanisms of IBD pathogenesis
Eric Bankaitis, PhD
Mentor: Scott Magness, PhD; Co-Mentor: Susan J. Henning, Ph.D.
Dates covered by T-32: July 1, 2016-June 30, 2017
Current Position: Senior Scientist Xilis
Topic of T32 Research Project: Sox9 Function in Intestinal Stem Cells
Jeremy Wang, PhD
Co-Mentors: Terrence Furey, PhD and Shehzad Sheikh, PhD
T32 Appointment: 6/1/2016-5/31/2018
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Dept of Genetics UNC
Topic of T32 Research Project: Pathway-based diversity analysis of existing microbiome data from CD/nonIBD study. Nanopore-Based rapid Identification/Filtering of Metagenomes
Aadra Bhatt, PhD
Mentor: Matt Redinbo, PhD; Co-mentor: Scott Bultman, PhD
T32 Appointment: 1/1/2016-12/31/2018
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Dept. of Medicine (GI) UNC
Topic of T32 Research Project: Pharmaceutical control of the microbiome to improve human health
Grants: P30DK034987 CGIBD P/F; Travel Award; FASEB Conferences; Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation Career Development Award; R35GM155168
Adam Gracz, PhD
Mentor: Scott Magness, PhD
T32 Appointment: 7/1/2014-6/30/2016
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Dept. of Medicine Emory University
Topic of T32 Research Project: Sox 9 regulation of intestinal stem cells
Allison Rogala, DVM
Mentor: Ajay Gulati, MD
T32 Appointment: 6/1/2014-5/31/2016
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Dept. of Pathology UNC
Topic of T32 Research Project: IRGM regulation of intestinal stem cells