Pathology | Research Interests

Name	Email	PhD Program
Vetreno, Ryan EMAIL PUBLICATIONS	PHD PROGRAM Neuroscience, Pharmacology RESEARCH INTEREST Addiction/Alcohol Research, Aging/Alzheimer's, Behavior, Biochemistry, Brain Development, Developmental Biology, Disease, Epigenetics & Chromatin Biology, Immunology, Microbiome, Molecular Biology, Molecular Mechanisms of Disease, Neurobiology, Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Neuropharmacology, Pathology, Pharmacology, Regenerative Medicine	My research interests involve investigation of proinflammatory neuroimmune and epigenetic mechanisms in animal models of developmental neurobiology and neurodegeneration, including (1) alcohol pharmacology, (2) alcohol responsivity and tolerance, (3) adolescent neurodevelopment, (4) cholinergic system and neurocircuitry, (5) microglial function, and (6) Alzheimer’s disease. A major focus of the laboratory is elucidation of neuroimmune and epigenetic mechanisms underlying adolescent binge alcohol-induced disruption of basal forebrain cholinergic neurocircuitry in adulthood. A second major focus of the laboratory is investigation of lasting adolescent binge drinking-induced neuroimmune priming as a novel etiological factor contributing to the onset and progression of basal forebrain neuropathology in Alzheimer’s disease. Our laboratory combines ex vivo and in vivo rodent models of alcohol abuse and Alzheimer’s disease with innovative molecular techniques.
Robles, Celeste EMAIL	PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST Pathogenesis & Infection, Pathology, Virology	“Pathogenesis and pathology are the areas of research I find myself most interested in. I’m interested in researching the cellular and molecular mechanisms of disease, especially a disease that disproportionately affects underrepresented populations. I have a broad range of diseases I’d be open to researching!”
Sapienza-Lundie, Lauren EMAIL	PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST Pathology, Toxicology, Translational Medicine	“I’m interested in toxicology research as it relates to the type of particulates or pollutants in the environment and how these health-threatening chemicals affect and alter the biology of humans through their environments. I would be open to studying pathology of disease from these chemicals and ways to mitigate, prevent, or even treat these chemicals from causing disease in at-risk communities on the fence line of industries that impact the environment and subsequent public health.”
Ogrodniczuk, Marcin EMAIL	PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST Bacteriology, Pathogenesis & Infection, Pathology	“I’m interested in microbiology and infectious disease research. I am particularly interested in the use of animal models to understand immune system mechanisms.”
Soerianto, Winny EMAIL	PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST Pathology, Toxicology	“I am interested in looking at molecular mechanisms that are effected by environmental stress, such as heat stress. I am also interested in taking a more population health and epidemiology approach to see how environmental stressors related to climate change effect human health.”
Scoville, Deena EMAIL	PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST Genetics, Pathology, Translational Medicine	“I am interested in studying genetics, specifically epigenetics in cancer and disease. I am specifically interested in endometrial cancer, infertility, and other female diseases. I also have interested in translational medicine.”
Ackermann, Sarah EMAIL	PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST Cancer Biology, Pathology, Translational Medicine	“I am interested most interested in cancer biology. My background had been primarily within the realm of cancer genetics and disease modeling frequently with a translational lens. I would like to continue to study cancer preferably with some translational aims but am happy to branch away from genetics as the primary focus and potentially focus on immunology, metabolism or epigenetic as examples. “
Frazier, Leah EMAIL	PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST Cancer Biology, Genetics, Pathology	“I am interested in mechanisms that underlie tumor growth, progression, and metastasis. I am fascinated by topics such as meiotic and mitotic recombination, gene regulation, chromatin biology, and cell polarity regulation. I am also interested in the regulation of tumorigenesis and generalized drug discovery.”
Fedoriw, Yuri WEBSITE EMAIL PUBLICATIONS	PHD PROGRAM Pathobiology & Translational Science RESEARCH INTEREST Cancer Biology, Immunology, Pathology, Translational Medicine	Our research interests focus on the immunologic and genetic mechanisms of lymphomagenesis, particularly in the setting of HIV infection. While hematologic malignancies and lymphoproliferative disorders in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) arise under intrinsic and extrinsic pressures very different from those in the United States, comprehensive analyses of these diseases have not been performed. We use advanced sequencing, immunophenotypic and cellular analyses to address gaps in our understanding of lymphomagenesis and tumor microenvironment in the context of HIV-associated immune dysregulation, with the goal of translation to clinical care and future clinical trials.
Jacox, Laura WEBSITE EMAIL PUBLICATIONS	PHD PROGRAM Oral & Craniofacial Biomedicine, Pathobiology & Translational Science RESEARCH INTEREST Behavior, Developmental Biology, Molecular Biology, Pathology, Translational Medicine	The Jacox Lab aims to improve patient care and outcomes in oral health. This goal takes shape via several tracks of interdisciplinary human studies: -A primary focus of the lab has been on outcomes of jaw surgery patients, who suffer from Dentofacial Disharmonies (DFD). Patients with DFD have severe skeletal disproportions with underbites or open bites, necessitating orthodontics and jaw surgery for full correction. Roughly 80% of our patients with DFD exhibit speech distortions, compared to 5% of the general population, which negatively impact their self-confidence and quality of life. Despite patients pursuing invasive surgery, it is unknown whether jaw surgery is palliative for articulation errors. We are using ultrasound, audio and video imaging to explore the mechanism of articulation errors among patients with DFD. Furthermore, our lab is conducting a longitudinal study of DFD patients to determine if jaw surgery improves speech distortions, in collaboration with oral surgeons, linguistics and speech pathology. -An additional focus of our lab has been studying use of Animal Assisted Therapy for management of anxiety and pain in dentistry. Dental anxiety effects 21-50% of patients and is associated with poor long-term oral health outcomes and need for urgent care due to dental avoidance. Non-pharmacological behavior interventions like dog therapy holds promise for reducing pain and anxiety perception for patients, and therefore improving dental experiences and promoting improved health outcomes. The lab is conducting a randomized controlled trial to evaluate best practices for canine therapy in pediatric dentistry, in collaboration with pediatric dentists, a psychology professor whose expertise is anxiety, and the UNC Biobehavioral Lab. -As part of the COVID-19 research response, we are studying FDA-approved antiseptic mouth rinses for their ability to limit salivary viral infectivity to reduce risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission. If an oral rinse is found to be efficacious at inactivating the SARS-CoV-2 virus, it could be a valuable preventative measure in settings where masks are removed, such as dental care, social settings, eating out, or work presentations. This study is conducted in collaboration with leading virologists and infectious disease experts at UNC.

Research Interest: Pathology