A large group of students smiling together outdoors

MSTP Current Students

Students in the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) at UW–Madison come from a variety of backgrounds and life experiences. The program includes students from all over the United States.

We are committed to bringing diversity of interests and background to each incoming class. The training that our students receive and the personal and professional friendships that they make during their time in Madison should last a lifetime.

Learn more about our current students, including their research interests and publications.

MD-PhD Student Directory

Name	Year Joined	Grad Program	Mentor	Research Interest(s)	Research Links	Undergrad
Kailyn Anderson	2023			Neuroscience, Dementia, Health Disparities, Neurodegeneration	ORCID	University of Minnesota - Morris
Chris Carchi	2023			Brain Injury, Neuroregenerative Medicine, Neurodegeneration, Neuroimaging, Neuromodulation	LinkedIn ORCID	University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Jordan Ewald	2023			Pediatrics, Nephrology, Neuroendocrine Tumors, Radiation Biology and Oncology	LinkedIn ORCID	University of Iowa
Sophie Karp	2023			Stem Cell, Organoid, Regenerative Medicine, Tissue Engineering	ORCID	Colgate University
Ethan Willbrand	2023			Cognitive Neuroscience, Neuroimaging, Neuroanatomy, Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Neurodegenerative Diseases	LinkedIn Google Scholar ORCID	University of California - Berkeley
Andrea Lucia Alfonso	2022			Biomedical Engineering (BME), Tissue Engineering, Biomaterials, Biomechanics, Patient-Specific Models	LinkedIn ORCID	Cornell University
Kellen Biesbrock	2022			Gut Microbiome, Microbe-Host Interactions, Systems Biology	LinkedIn ORCID	The Ohio State University
Jared Boyce	2022			Early life Trauma, Molecular Neurobiology, Epigenetics, Depression/PTSD	LinkedIn Google Scholar ORCID	Dartmouth College; Brown University
Jordan Bramble	2022			Statistics, Bayesian Analysis, Epidemiology, Infectious Disease	ORCID	University of Kansas
Matthew Chrostek	2022			Cancer Biomarkers, Breast Cancer, Clinical Biomarkers, Targeted Therapies	LinkedIn ORCID	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
Sophia Doerr	2022			Clinical Informatics, Health Equity, Computer Vision, Systems Engineering	LinkedIn Google Scholar ORCID	Johns Hopkins University
Evan Dray	2022			Pediatric Oncology, Pediatric Glioma, Neuroblastoma, Epigenetics, CAR T-Cells	LinkedIn Google Scholar ORCID	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Mariza Francis	2022			Neuroscience, Neurodevelopment, Systems Neuroscience, Psychosocial Factors of Health	LinkedIn ORCID	Tulane University
Jin Komerska	2022			Microbial Genetics	LinkedIn ORCID	Grinnell College
Alissa Kunczt	2022			Neurodegenerative Disease, Drug Targeting, Drug Delivery	ORCID	University of Chicago
Michaela Morhaus	2022			Metabolism, Mitochondria, Genetic Polymorphisms, Inborn Errors of Metabolism	ORCID	Washington University in St. Louis
Kim Phan	2022			Structural Biology, Protein Structure, Drug Discovery, Structural Mechanisms	ORCID	Augustana College
John Shuster	2022			Aging, Orthopedics, Metabolism, Diabetes	Google Scholar ORCID	Washington University in St. Louis
William Stump	2022			Cancer Biology, Cancer Immunology, Cell Signaling, Targeted Therapy	LinkedIn ORCID	University of Alabama in Huntsville
Michael Fromandi	2021			Data Science, Neuroradiology, Genomics, Mathematics, Big Data	LinkedIn ORCID	University of Colorado - Boulder
Nicholas Garcia	2021			Immunology, Immunotherapy, Regenerative Medicine, & Adaptive Immunity	LinkedIn ORCID	Indiana University
James Haddad	2021			Bioinformatics, Multi-Omics, Data Integration	ORCID	University of Pittsburgh
Angela Hsu	2021				LinkedIn ORCID	University of Michigan
Sidra Jabeen	2021			Synaptic Plasticity, Neurodevelopment and Degeneration, Neuromodulation	ORCID	City University of NY - Queens College
Dawid Maciorowski	2021	NIH OxCam	Jeffrey Cohen, MD Mark Howarth, PhD	Protein Design, Synthetic Biology, Vaccinology, Virology, Biosecurity	LinkedIn Google Scholar ORCID	Loyola University Chicago
Vivian H. Nguyen	2021			Microbiology, Infectious disease, Bacterial pathogenesis, Gut microbiota	LinkedIn Google Scholar ORCID	University of Texas - Dallas
Andrew Norton	2021			Viral Pathogenesis, Infectious Diseases, Virology, Arteriviruses	LinkedIn ResearchGate ORCID	University of Minnesota
Jarron Roy	2021			Biomaterials and Drug Delivery	LinkedIn ORCID	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Leela Shah	2021			Pediatric Neuroimaging, Neurodevelopment, Neonatology, Perinatology	LinkedIn ORCID	University of Virginia
Sophie Vrba	2021			Neuroimmunology, Immunology, Multiple Sclerosis, Tuberculosis	LinkedIn Google Scholar ORCID	University of Minnesota
Monica I. Duran	2020	Neuroscience	Brittany Travers, PhD	Autism/ADHD, Neurodevelopment, Brain Structure, Neuroimaging (MRI; DWI), Behavioral Assessments	ORCID	University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras
Ashley Holt	2020	Microbiology	Jeniel Nett, MD, PhD	Emerging Pathogens, Host-Microbe Interactions, Neutrophils, Microbiology	ORCID	Texas A&M University
Rachel Kirchner	2020	Cellular and Molecular Biology	Jane Churpek, MD	Telemere biology disorders, rare disease, medical genetics	LinkedIn ORCID	The Ohio State University
Ajinkya Limkar	2020	Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology	William Ricke, PhD	Immunology, Inflammation, Wound Healing, Urology, BPH	LinkedIn Google Scholar ORCID	University of Minnesota
Gabriella Mamlouk	2020	Cellular and Molecular Pathology	Ozioma Okonkwo, PhD	Sex Differences, Alzheimer’s, Dementia, Health Disparities, Neuroscience	LinkedIn ORCID	North Carolina State University
Eleanna Melcher	2020	Population Health Sciences	Amy Kind, MD, PhD	Health Disparities, Social Exposome, Alzheimer's Disease, Area Disadvantage, Population Health	LinkedIn ORCID	University of Pittsburgh
Rodrigo Antonio Montoro	2020	Cellular and Molecular Biology	Laura Knoll, PhD	Obesity, Host-Pathogen Interactions, Toxoplasma gondii, Gut-Brain Axis, Gut Microbiome	LinkedIn Google Scholar ResearchGate ORCID	Towson University
Jenny Piciw	2020	Cellular and Molecular Biology	Anita Bhattacharyya, PhD	Stem cells, Down syndrome, Neurodevelopment	LinkedIn OrcID	University of Richmond
Ryan Risgaard	2020	Cellular and Molecular Biology	Andre Sousa, PhD	Developmental Neuroscience	ORCID	University of Wisconsin-Madison
Erin Schaeffer	2020	Cellular and Molecular Pathology	Giulio Tononi, MD, PhD	Temporal Interference, Brain Stimulation, Electroencephalography, Sleep, Mental Health	ORCID	Brown University
Nicholas Arp	2019	Cellular and Molecular Biology	Jing Fan, PhD	Metabolism, Immunometabolism, Macrophage, Mass Spectrometry	LinkedIn Google Scholar ORCID	Wartburg College
Austin Feeney	2019	Biomedical Engineering	Sean Palecek, PhD	Stem Cell Bioengineering, Cardiomyocyte Biomanufacturing, Single-Cell Sequencing, Heart Disease	LinkedIn Google Scholar ORCID	University of Wisconsin-Madison
Anqi Gao	2019	Cellular and Molecular Pathology	Huy Dinh, PhD	Cancer Immunology, Genomics, Tumor Microenvironment, Neutrophil Biology	LinkedIn ORCID	Emory University
Emma Graham	2019	Biomedical Data Science	Matthew Churpek, MD, PhD, MPH	Precision Medicine, Causal Inference, Clinical Informatics, Machine Learning	LinkedIn Google Scholar ORCID	Yale University
Sam Krabbenhoft	2019	Cellular and Molecular Biology	Melissa Harrison, PhD	Cancer Epigenetics, Chromatin, Developmental, Pediatric glioma	LinkedIn ORCID	University of Wisconsin-Madison
Margot Katz	2019	Cellular and Molecular Pathology	James Gern, MD	Cell Death, Rhinovirus, Innate Immunity, Secondary Bacterial Pneumonia, Wheezing Illness	LinkedIn Google Scholar ORCID	Colby College
Tung H. Nguyen	2019	NIH OxCam	Pietro Sormanni, PhD	SARS-COV2, Evolution, Computational	LinkedIn Google Scholar ORCID	Brown University
Katrina Ruedinger	2019	Biomedical Engineering	Paul Laeseke, MD, PhD	Histotripsy,Interventional Oncology, Cone-beam Computed Tomography (CBCT), Ultrasound, Translational Research	LinkedIn Google Scholar ResearchGate ORCID	University of Wisconsin-Madison
Jon Schrope	2019	Biomedical Engineering	David Beebe, PhD	Biomedical Engineering, Microfluidics, Cell Migration, Immunology	LinkedIn ORCID	University of Minnesota
Mayra Betancourt Ponce	2018	Cellular and Molecular Pathology	Lisa Barroilhet, MD, MS	Ovarian Cancer, Cancer Immunology, Combination Therapy, Stress Response	LinkedIn ORCID	University of Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras
Hailey Bussan	2018	Microbiology	Federico Rey, PhD		LinkedIn Google Scholar ORCID	University of Wisconsin-Madison
Daniel Y. Chu	2018	Neuroscience	Vivek Prabhakaran, MD, PhD	Neuroimaging, Epilepsy, Connectome, Focal Cortical Dysplasia, Diffusion Weighted Imaging	LinkedIn Google Scholar ORCID	University of California - Santa Barbara
Matthew Freeman	2018	Cellular and Molecular Biology	JD Sauer, PhD	Bacterial Pathogenesis, Metabolism, Cytosolic Pathogens, Innate Immunity	LinkedIn Google Scholar ORCID	University of Minnesota
Jake Khoussine	2018	Cellular and Molecular Biology	Mrinalini Hoon, PhD	Vision Neuroscience, Retinal Circuits, Retinal Physiology, Cellular Imaging, Adaptive Optics	ORCID	University of Oklahoma
Jorgo Lika	2018	Cellular and Molecular Biology	Jing Fan, PhD	Neutrophil, Metabolism, Immunometabolism, Innate Immunity	LinkedIn ORCID	University of Wisconsin-Madison
Angela Olvera	2018	Cellular and Molecular Biology	Dawn Davis, MD, PhD	Diabetes, Beta-Cell Mass Dynamics	LinkedIn Google Scholar ORCID	University of Iowa
Ashley Scott	2018	Cellular and Molecular Biology	Kristyn Masters, PhD	Sex Differences, Tissue Engineering, Calcific Aortic Valve Disease, Biomaterials	LinkedIn	University of Maryland Baltimore County
Ajay P. Singh	2018	Cellular and Molecular Biology	JP Yu, MD, PhD	Radiology, Genetics, Diffusion MRI, Neuropsychiatric Disease	ORCID	Harvard University
Maya Amjadi	2017	Cellular and Molecular Biology	Miriam Shelef, MD, PhD	Immunology, COVID-19, Antibody Response, Autoimmune Diseases	ORCID	University of Iowa
Sarah M. Boutom	2017	Biomedical Engineering	Sean Palecek, PhD	Blood-Brain Barrier, Vascular Biology, Endothelial Cells, Stem Cells, Tissue Engineering	LinkedIn Google Scholar ORCID	University of Michigan
Josh Choe	2017	Biomedical Engineering	William Murphy, PhD	mRNA Delivery, Biominerals, Tissue Engineering, Musculoskeletal Regeneration	LinkedIn Google Scholar ORCID	University of Wisconsin-Madison
Elise S. Cowley	2017	Microbiology	Karthik Anantharaman, PhD	Microbial ecology, Human Gut Microbiome, Human Reproductive Microbiome, Family Planning, Abortion Education with Medical Trainees	Google Scholar ORCID	Oregon State University
Caroline Kerr	2017	Cellular and Molecular Biology	Zachary Morris, MD, PhD	Targeted Radionuclide Therapy, Immunotherapy, Anti-Tumor Immunity, Radiation Therapy	ORCID	University of Virginia
Brady Lundin	2017	Biomedical Engineering	Randolph Ashton, PhD	Neurodevelopmental Modeling, Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering, Biomaterials	LinkedIn ORCID	University of Wisconsin-Madison
Liz Townsend	2017	Microbiology	Anna Huttenlocher, MD	Skin Microbiome, Wound Healing, Immunology, Host-Microbe Interactions	LinkedIn ORCID	St. Olaf College
Ravi Chandra Yada	2017	Cellular and Molecular Biology	David Beebe, PhD	Microfluidics, Disease modeling, Cancer Biology	LinkedIn Google Scholar ORCID	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Susan Zelasko	2017	Microbiology	Federico Rey, PhD	Human Microbiome, Antimicrobials, Drug Discovery, Microbiology	ORCID	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Monica Cho	2016	Cellular and Molecular Biology	Christian Capitini, MD	Cancer Immunotherapy, Pediatric Tumor, Osteosarcoma, Cell Therapy, Checkpoint Inhibition	LinkedIn ORCID	University of Pennsylvania
Max Frenkel	2016	Cellular and Molecular Biology	Vatsan Raman, PhD	Functional Genomics, Single-Cell Sequencing, Genetic Architecture of Disease, Synthetic Biology	ORCID	Harvey Mudd College
Joseph Lalli	2016	Cellular and Molecular Biology	Donna Werling, PhD	Human Genetics, Sex-Specific Differences, Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Autism, Gene Regulation	LinkedIn Google Scholar ORCID	Macalester College
Claire Laubacher	2016	Psychology	Melissa Rosenkranz, PhD	Psychoneuroimmunology, Neuroimaging, Adolescence	LinkedIn ResearchGate ORCID	Pomona College
Bo Peng	2016	Cellular and Molecular Biology	Darcie Moore, PhD	Central Nervous System Regeneration, Axon Regeneration, Transdifferentiation, Hippocampal Neurogenesis, RNA Biology	LinkedIn ORCID	Duke University
Tyler Reich	2016	Cellular and Molecular Biology	Peter Lewis, PhD	Cancer Biology, Chromatin, Epigenetics	Google Scholar ORCID	University of Pennsylvania
Nakul Aggarwal	2016	Neuroscience	Ned Kalin, MD	Childhood Anxiety, Brain Development, Cross-Species Modeling, Structural Neuroimaging	LinkedIn Google Scholar ORCID	University of Minnesota
Truman J. Do	2015	Cellular and Molecular Biology	Peter Lewis, PhD	Chromatin, Epigenetics, Histone Mutations, Cancer Biology	LinkedIn Google Scholar ORCID	University of California - Los Angeles
Grace Schaack	2015	Cellular and Molecular Biology	Andrew Mehle, PhD	Virology, Influenza, Host-Virus Interactions, IFIT2, IFIT3, Proximity Biotinylation	LinkedIn ORCID	University of Texas - Austin
Laura Steenberge	2015	Biochemistry	Jason Cantor, PhD	Mitochondrial Biochemistry, Chemical Biology, Oxidative Phosphorylation, Drug Targeting, Mitochondrial Medicine	ORCID	Illinois Wesleyan University
Andrew Sung	2015	Cellular and Molecular Biology	Jim Keck, PhD	Mitochondria, Complex I, Variant Screening	ORCID	Yale University
Jonathan Tai	2014	Biochemistry	Dave Pagliarini, PhD	Mitochondria, Systems Biology, Biochemistry, Membrane Proteins, Transporters	Google Scholar ORCID LinkedIn	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign