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Dr. Koulen's Lab Members
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Scott Duncan, M.A., Senior Research Assistant
scduncan@hsc.unt.edu
Scott received a B.S. in Microbiology in 1996 from the University of Texas at Arlington and an M.A. degree in 1999 from the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Biology at the University of Texas at Austin. Scott worked in the Pharmaceutical/ Medical Device industry as a Microbiologist from 1999 to 2002. His research interests are the functional characterization of associated proteins of intracellular calcium channels and of genetic changes in intracellular calcium channels. Scott has begun graduate studies in Pharmacology & Neuroscience. |
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Toyin Mafe, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Researcher
omafe@hsc.unt.edu
Toyin received a B.S. in Applied Biology from the University of Hertfordshire, UK and an M.S. in Biochemical Pharmacology at the University of Southampton, UK. She received her Ph.D in Biopharmacy from the Department of Pharmacy, Kings College, University of London where she worked on the metabolism of 2-aminobenzimidazole and its derivatives. She has worked as a postdoctoral researcher as well as a project officer at both education and government levels. Toyin’s current research interest is to functionally characterize intracellular calcium channels using mouse retinal ganglion cells in primary in cell culture systems. |
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Everett Nixon, B.S., Graduate student
enixon@hsc.unt.edu
Everett received a B.S. in Biology from Southern University in Baton Rouge , Louisiana . Everett 's project focuses on the mechanisms of action of intracellular calcium signaling in neurons of the mouse retina. |
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Angela Peterson-Ford, Ph.D., postdoctoral associate
aford@hsc.unt.edu
Angela's research involves identifying regulation of intracellular calcium channels by novel neuroprotective plant-derived compounds in the mammalian central nervous system. Understanding the possible pharmacological modulation of these small molecule compounds on calcium response is essential for developing treatments of neurodegenerative processes, such as seen in Alzheimers’s Disease. Angela's graduate research at Texas Woman’s University explored the effects of estrogen’s modulation of serotonin 1A receptor agonist, 8-OH-DPAT, on stimulated cAMP accumulation in hypothalamic brain slices. |
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Nataliya Rybalchenko, M.S., Senior Research Assistant
nrybalch@hsc.unt.edu
Nataliya received her M.S. Degree at the Ukrainian National University of Biotechnologies, Kiev . She has got expertise in advanced chemical analysis methods, working for a decade at the Ukrainian National Institute of Food Products and Additives. During the years 2002-2004, she contributed to DNA recombination studies at the Genetics Department at Yale University School of Medicine. In our lab, Nataliya works on the molecular biology and protein biochemistry of associated proteins of intracellular calcium channels. |
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Volodymyr Rybalchenko, Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor
vrybalch@hsc.unt.edu
Volodymyr received an M.S. Degree in Physical Chemistry from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology ("Russian MIT"). He has been trained in electrophysiology at Bogomoletz Institute of Physiology, Kiev (Ukraine) and received his Ph.D. in biology at the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Ukrainian Natl. Acad. Sc. Volodymyr is author of several innovative technical approaches in electrophysiology of fast ligand-gated receptors. His post-doctoral work in cellular electrophysiology at Louis Pasteur University, Strasbourg (France), at the University of Science and Technology, Lille (France) and at Yale University, New Haven (USA), resulted in a series of publications in major journals. His focus in our lab is on pharmacological and biophysical properties of intracellular membrane receptors. |
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Martha E. Stokely, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Research Associate
mstokely@hsc.unt.edu
Martha trained as NIH fellow in Neurobiology of Aging at Univ. of Florida. She holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences (UNT Health Science Ctr.), M.S. in Environmental Sciences (Texas Christian Univ.), and B.A. in Chemistry ( Univ. Tex. at Arlington ). Her intense interest in anterograde fast axonal transport attracted mentoring from that field's foremost expert, Dr. Scott T. Brady, Ph.D. Her subsequent studies into receptors regulating anterograde fast axonal transport and lipid raft trafficking led her to develop two novel experimental paradigms and resulted in research publications suggesting possible receptor-mediated neuropathies. In our lab, Martha's focus is receptor-mediated calcium signaling and its effects on axonal transport, lipid raft trafficking, and neuroprotection. |
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Hua Xin, M.D., Postdoctoral associate
shxin@hsc.unt.edu
Hua Xin received his medical training in Shanghai Medical University, China and has extensive research experience both in basic and clinical science. Since 1996 he worked at the Medical College of Georgia as a research associate in Dr. Atherton's ocular research lab. His latest project was about the immunological mechanism of MCMV infection in retina. In our lab, Hua will investigate possible protection mechanisms for the retina, especially for retinal ganglion cells, both in vivo and in vitro. |
RAD Winners 2006
Former Lab Members
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Andrea Barrera, one of our 2006 summer McNair students, receives an award from Dean Yorio for the presentation of her research project. |
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Betty Fan, from Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science, University of North Texas, worked in the lab for a summer research project in 2005. "Getting the chance to learn and work in the labs was an experience of a lifetime. I learned so much during the summer I was there. The people are incredible to talk to. Everyone was always friendly and willing to help me out whenever I needed it. Their passion for their work was truly inspiring to me. I can’t even express how glad I am for having this opportunity." |
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Michael Grillo received a B.S. in Biology in 2000 from the Texas Wesleyan University at Fort Worth. His research project focused on the electrophysiology of intracellular calcium channels. He has now joined the graduate program at UT Austin.
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Simon Kaja came to the lab from the University of Durham, United Kingdom and worked on the localization of Vesl-IL proteins in the mouse and rat retina using immunohistochemistry, fluorescence, electron and confocal microscopy. He is now a researcher at Leiden University in the Netherlands.
Simon received the 2002 Boulter Prize in Molecular Biology from the University of Durham, United Kingdom, for his work "Characterising alpha-Aminobutyric Acid-A Receptor Expression in the Cerebellum of Tottering Mutant Mice".
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Sung-Yong graduated from our program in 2006. He received a B.S. and a M.S. in Genetic Engineering from Kyungpook National University in Daegu, South Korea (Master's thesis: Search and Characterization of Cholesterol-Responding Genes from Rabbit Kidney). His Ph.D. thesis project focused on the modulation of ryanodine receptor activity by interaction with associated proteins. |
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Ji-yeon graduated from our program in 2006. She received her undergraduate degree from Kyungpook National University in Daegu, South Korea, where she had worked on effects of progesterone on intracellular calcium channels in neurons for her Master's thesis project.
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Crystal Kim, a Neuroscience major and undergraduate at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, worked in the lab for a summer research project in 2003.
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Jiyuan Liu received his Ph.D. in Optical Engineering from Saitama University, Saitama, Japan and has extensive research experience in both academic and industry environments. He worked at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Japan, at the School of Optometry, Indiana University and for Chorum Technologies Inc. In our lab, Jiyuan studied intracellular calcium channels using optical imaging techniques. He is now Senior Research Scientist at Arrow Electronics Bell Components. |
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Courtney Lockhart took part in the University of North Texas Health Science Center's SMART Program (Summer Multicultural Access to Research Training). During her 10-week research internship in our lab she developed assays for and investigated intracellular calcium signaling in Caenorhabditis elegans as a model system for polycystic kidney disease. Courtney studies Biology at Tuskegee University and plans to enroll in an M.D./Ph.D. program. For her academic achievements and research on polycystic kidney disease performed in our lab, Courtney recently became a member of USA TODAY's 2005 All-USA College Academic Third Team. For more info go to http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2005-02-15-college-2005-third-team_x.htm |
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Christian Madry, Pharm.D.
Christian, a visiting research scholar from the University of Halle, Germany, was funded in part by a scholarship of the German National Merit Scholarschip Foundation. His research focused on mechanisms of intracellular calcium signaling in retinal neurons and he plans to continue on in biomedical research as a researcher at the University of Halle, Germany.
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Wanda E. Medina-Ortiz, M.S.
Wanda received a B.S. in Biology in 1994 and M.S. degree in Biology with concentration in Molecular and Cellular Biology in 1999 from the Biology Department at the University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras Campus. Wanda worked as a Research Assistant in the Institute of Neurobiology at Medical Sciences Campus of the University of PR from 1999 to 2000 and as a Research Trainer/Consultant in the studies of regeneration process in invertebrates from 2000-2003. Her research interest was to functionally characterize intracellular calcium channels using mouse primary cell culture systems. Wanda is now pursuing a graduate degree in developmental biology at UT Southwestern. |
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Virginia "Ginny" Pearce, Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor
vpearce@hsc.unt.edu
Ginny's work involves the in vitro mediated effects of environmental compounds that may promote survival and/or immortalization of precursor cells. More specifically, she demonstrated that renewing human epithelial progenitor cells can exhibit deregulated telomerase activity upon exposure to the phytoestrogen, resveratrol, and immortalize. Identifying deregulated telomerase activity in precursor cells is relevant to the role of immortalization in cancer initiation and progression. Future work will include characterization of survival/proliferation-associated proteins such as progesterone receptor, Bcl-2, and E2F-1 in the immortalized progenitor cells. In addition, work will include the role of Bcl-2/Ca2+ in immortalized cells expressing high levels of hTERT (the catalytic subunit of telomerase). |
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Calvin Peters, an undergraduate from Hampton University, did research in the lab as a member of the University of North Texas Health Science Center's SMART Program (Summer Multicultural Access to Research Training) during the summer of 2003.
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Jiexia Quan, Ph.D., postdoctoral associate
jquan@hsc.unt.edu
Jiexia received a B.S. in Veterinary Medicine and Husbandry in 1993 and an M.S. in Animal Genetics in 1997. She received a Ph.D in 2000 from Marine Life Science College in Ocean University of Qingdao. From 2002 to 2004, she worked at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) of Japan , funded by a JSPS (Japan Society for the Promotion of Science) Fellowship to Foreign Researchers. Her research interest is to functionally characterize associated proteins of intracellular calcium channels using molecular biological methods. |
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Jiao Wei studied at Tianjin Medical University and received her Master of Medicine, Pathology and Cell Biology in 1998. She earned her Ph.D. in Polymer Science and Cell Biology at Nankai University in 2001. Jiao studied the pharmacological modulation of intracellular calcium channels and the effects of intracellular calcium channels on cellular calcium homeostasis. After her postdoctoral training in Dr. Koulen’s lab, she joined a research team at Harvard University. |
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Jens Westhoff, M.D. was a visiting research scholar from the University of Aachen, Germany. He did his doctoral thesis on the "Analysis of expression and function of latent transforming growth factor (TGF)--binding protein (LTBP) in inflammatory liver fibrosis" at the Institute for Clinical Chemistry and Pathobiochemistry, University Hospital Aachen, Germany. His research was funded in part by a scholarship of the German National Merit Scholarschip Foundation. His current research interest is the electrophysiology of intracellular calcium channels and their modulation by binding proteins. |
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Jo-Ann Yannazzo teaches Anatomy/Physiology, Chemistry and Microbiology at North Side High School - High School of Medical Professions in Fort Worth. During the summer of 2002, she did a research project funded by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. She developed and used calcium imaging techniques and videomicroscopy to analyze calcium signaling mechanisms in Caenorhabditis elegans as a model for Polycystic Kidney Disease.
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Life in Fort Worth:
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