PIBBS Spotlights

Edie Bucar joined the PIBBS program in the fall of 2016. She is currently enrolled in the medical biology PhD program

Silvia Cervantes Cortes joined PIBBS in fall 2015 and is currently part of the Medical Biophysics PhD program, working with her mentor Ansgar Siemer, PhD. She is inspired by science because of how it gives people a chance to engage in the process of exploration and discovery.

Jessica DeWitt, PhD Development, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Jessica DeWitt is a scientific writer for Integrated DNA Technologies. Jessica decided that she wanted a career in the industry, midway through completing her graduate degree.

Daniel “DJ” Fernandez joined the PIBBS program in fall 2017 and is currently part of the Medical Biology PhD program working with his mentor, W. Martin Kast, PhD. He is from Pennsylvania and chose USC because he was curious about living in Los Angeles.

Sathish Kumar Ganesan joined the PIBBS program in fall 2016 and is currently in the Cancer, Biology and Genomics PhD program. In the future, he would like to pursue research that uses genomics to benefit patients’ health and would like to continue his community activism.

Rong Lu, PhD, has been a part of the Trojan family since 2014. She lectures in SCRM517: Historical and Contemporary Research: Hematopoietic Progenitor and Stem Cells (HPSCs). Lu wanted to become a scientist because she liked to learn how things worked.

Rosanne Melikian is the director of regulatory affairs at Johnson & Johnson Surgical Vision. Her favorite aspect of the PIBBS program was the opportunity to rotate through different research labs.

Marilena Melas joined the PIBBS Program in 2015 and is currently part of the Cancer Biology and Genomics PhD Program. She started her career at USC in March 2013 working with Stephen Gruber, MD, PhD, MPH, as a research lab assistant.

Shannon Mumenthaler, PhD, has been a part of the Trojan Family since 2009. She started as a postdoctoral fellow and obtained her faculty appointment in December 2012. Her advice to those interested in obtaining a PhD is that it is a challenging experience, yet extremely rewarding.

Travis Nielsen, PhD, joined the PIBBS program in May 2016 while working in the lab of Brad Spellberg, MD, in the Medical Biology PhD program. He is grateful for the guidance he received from his principal investigator and the PIBBS department.

Lisa Nguyen joined the PIBBS program in 2013 and is currently part of the Development, Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine PhD program with her mentor Rong Lu, PhD. She chose to attend USC because of its close-knit research community.

Marie Rippen, PhD ’15, is the CEO of Lab Launch Inc. Marie believes the PIBBS program is great and encourages each student to take advantage of the various opportunities that may come their way.

Maxwell Serowoky started the program in Fall 2016 and is currently part of the Development, Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine program working with his mentor Dr. Francesca Mariani. Max completed his Masters in Physiological Sciences at the University of Arizona in 2014.

Christopher Schafer joined the PIBBS program in 2004 and was mentored by Dr. Robert Maxson. Chris enrolled in the Genetic, Molecular, and Cellular Biology (GMCB) Ph.D. program while at the same time enrolled in the Masters of Business Administration program at Pepperdine University.

Joseph Skeate joined the PIBBS program in fall 2015 and is currently part of the Medical Biology PhD program. What inspires him the most about science is witnessing a student suddenly understand a scientific concept that they had been struggling to grasp.