Biochemistry Alumni

The Class of 2005 marked the first graduating class for the Biochemistry program at Eastern Connecticut State University. Since 2005 more than 36 percent of the students graduating with a B.S. in biochemistry have gone on to pursue professional and/or graduate degrees. In addition, more than 81 percent of students within one year of graduation have obtained quality employment in this demanding technical field. A sampling of alumni publications and post-graduate pursuits listed below demonstrates our students’ success and the diverse application of their biochemistry degree.

Justin Piro ’05

PhD Biochemistry 2011 Dartmouth College, Senior Scientist at Pfizer

Piro, J.R., D.I. Benjamin, J.M. Duerr, Y. Pi, C. Gonzales, K.M. Wood, J.W. Schwartz, D.K. Nomujra, and T.A. Samad. “A Dysregulated Endocannabinoid-eicosanoid Network Suports Pathogenesis in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease.” Cell Reports. U. S. National Library of Medicine, 6/2012.

Brenna Traver ’06

PhD Entomology 2011 Virginia Tech, Assistant Professor of Biology at Penn State Schuylkill Juliana Rangel, Kristen Baum, William L. Rubink, Robert N. Coulson, J. Spencer Johnston, and Brenna E. Traver. “Prevalence of Nosema Species in a Feral Honey Bee Population: A 20-year Survey.” SpringerLink. Springer Paris, 11/2015; Feazel-Orr, Haley K., Katelyn M. Catalfamo, Carlyle C. Brewster, Richard D. Fell, Troy D. Anderson, and Brenna E. Traver.

“Effects of Pesticide Treatments on Nutrient Levels in Worker Honey Bees (Apis Mellifera).” Insects. MDPI, 3/2016

Marc Rigatti ’07

MD, PhD University of Connecticut School of Medicine

Rigatti, M. J., Verma, R., Belinsky, G. S., Rosenberg, D. W. and Giardina, C. (2012), Pyharmacological inhibition of Mdm2 triggers growth arrest and promotes DNA breakage in mouse colon tumors and human colon cancer cells. Mol. Carcinog., 51: 363-378

Christopher Carmean ’08

PhD University of Chicago: Molecular Metabolism and Nutrition 2015 International Postdoctoral Researcher Kobe University: Division of Cellular and Molecular Medicine: Seino Lab Japan

Kobe Carmean, Christopher M., Y. Hanna Huang, and Matthew J. Brady. “Glycogen Repletion in Brown Adipose Tissue upon Refeeding is Primarily Driven by Phosphorylation-Independent Mechanisms.” PLOS ONE. Public Library of Science, n.d. Web. 5/2017.

Brisa Palikuqi ’09

Division of Regenerative Medicine, Department of Medicine, Ansary Stem Cell Institute Schachterle, W., C.R. Badwe, B. Palilkuqi, B. Kunar, M. Ginsberg, R. Lis, M. Yokoyama, O. Elemento, J.M. Scandura, and S. Rafii. “Sox17 Drives Functional Engraftment of Endothelium Converted from Non-vascular Cells.” Nature Communications.

U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1/ 2017.

Kari Hernandez ’10

PharmD, Doctor of Pharmacy, Western New England University 2016, Staff Pharmacist at Walgreens, Manchester, CT

Nicholas Shoenfelt ’11

Senior Manufacturing Associate, Sanofi Genzyme, Framingham, MA

Lindsey Maxwell ’13

MS Fairleigh Dickinson University-Metropolitan Campus Cosmetic Science 2015, Microbiologist at Stryker Orthopaedics

Jacob St. Germain ’13

Scientist at Eurofins Lancaster Laboratories Professional Scientific Services, CT

Jacqueline Lagasse ’14

Associate Scientist at Alcami Corporation Wilmington, North Carolina

Kirby Madden-Hennessey ’15

Graduate Student PhD Biomedical Sciences Program/Graduate Assistant at UConn Health, The University of Connecticut Health Center

M., De Feyter Henk, Kevin L. Behar, Jyotsna U. Rao, Kirby Madden-Hennessey, Kevan L. Ip, Fahmeed Hyder, Lester R. Drewes, Jean-Francois Geschwind, DeGraaf Robin A., and Douglas L. Rothman. “A Ketogenic Diet Increases Transport and Oxidation of Ketone Bodies in RG2 and 9L Gliomas without Affecting Tumor Growth. “ Neuro-Oncology, Oxford University Press, 5/2016

Zane Lombardo ’16

Graduate Student Wesleyan University