Given the current funding landscape, the Wisconsin Partnership Program (WPP) at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) is pleased to announce its enhanced and continued commitment to grow the next generation of promising scientists through a record 17 new Postdoctoral Grant Program awards.
The Postdoctoral Grant Program provides career development grants to enhance and expand postdoctoral research, education and professional development at SMPH. Grants are up to $20,000 each over one year.
Grant recipients will collaborate with their supervising mentor who nominated them for this award as they conduct a research or education project or pursue a professional development opportunity to advance their career with a focus on improving health in Wisconsin and beyond.
“The Wisconsin Partnership Program is proud to support the professional development of SMPH postdocs through our Postdoctoral Grant Program and by investing in this substantial cohort of recipients. Given the broader funding context, increasing the availability of WPP’s support is more important than ever. Through these awards, we make a commitment to next generation research and recognize its potential to impact health for all,” said Amy Kind, MD, PhD, associate dean for social health sciences and programs at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, and executive director, Wisconsin Partnership Program. “Postdoctoral trainees represent tremendous potential for Wisconsin’s health workforce, and this grant program provides essential resources to help them launch their careers and advance innovative research to improve health across our state.”
This year’s awards support research spanning cancer biology, infectious disease, metabolic and immune health, reproductive and maternal health, aging and health policy.
An In-vivo Genome Wide Screen and Validation for Influenza A Virus Host Determinant Factors
Chris Gelbmann, MD, PhD, research associate, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases; Supervising Mentor: Andrew Mehle, PhD, professor, Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology
Comparing the Effectiveness of Laryngeal Swabs Versus Biopsies for Microbial Sampling in Patients in Benign Vocal Fold Lesions
Anumitha Venktraman, PhD, research associate Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery; Supervising Mentor: Susan Thibeault, PhD, CCC-SLP, professor, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
Decoding KCNJ2 Variants: Mechanistic and Therapeutic Profiling of Kir2.1 Channel Dysfunction
Saba Munawar, PhD, postdoctoral fellow, Department of Medicine; Supervising Mentor: Lee Eckhardt, MD, professor, Department of Medicine
Determining the Impact of Innate Immunity on the Production of Cryptic Proteins from Defective Influenza Virus Genomes
Elizabeth Horton, PhD, research associate, Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology; Supervising Mentor: Andrew Mehle, PhD, professor, Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology
Development and Optimization of Cat Intestine Microphysiological Devices to Study T. Gondii Sexual Development
Andrew Gale, PhD, postdoctoral fellow, Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology; Supervising Mentor: Laura Knoll, PhD, professor and associate dean, Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology
Examining Health Policy Effects on Maternal Health Outcomes in Wisconsin and Nationally
Taehyun Kim, PhD, research associate, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology; Supervising Mentor: Jenny Higgins, PhD, MPH, professor and director of Population and Reproductive Health Division, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Fibroblast-Mediated Extracellular Matrix Remodeling as a Driver of Radiation Resistance in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Adeel Ahmed, PhD, research associate, Carbone Cancer Center; Supervising Mentor: David Beebe, PhD, professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Healthcare Experience Assessing Resilience, Toxic Stress and Prenatal Quality of Care (HEARTS-PQC)
Melissa Neal, PhD, MPH, postdoctoral trainee, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health; Supervising Mentor: Kara Hoppe, DO, PhD, professor (CHS) and vice chair of clinical research, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Improved Detection of Breast Cancer During Imaging and Surgery with a New Contrast Agent
S. A. Amali S. Subasinghe, PhD, research associate, Department of Medical Physics; Supervising Mentor: Mark (Marty) Pagel, PhD, professor, Department of Medical Physics
Mechanistic Dissection of Microbiome-mediated Effects of Dietary Arginine During IBD
Chi Yan, PhD, research associate, Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology; Supervising Mentor: Margaret Alexander, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology
Modeling the Diabetic Heart in Engineered Heart Tissue
Angela Greenman, PhD, postdoctoral fellow, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Cardiology; Supervising Mentor: J. Carter Ralphe, MD, professor and division chief, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Cardiology
Next-generation Radiotherapeutics: ¹⁶¹Tb-ART-101 Toward Curative Therapy for Advanced Prostate Cancer
Malick Bio Idrissou, PhD, research associate, Department of Medical Physics; Supervising Mentor: Reinier Hernandez, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Medical Physics
Nutritional Influence on Microbiota and Immune Responses During Crytosporidium Infections
Bethany Korwin-Mihavics, PhD, research associate, Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology; Supervising Mentor: Margaret Alexander, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology
Policy Impacts on Children’s Health and Academic Outcomes
Youngjin Stephanie Hong, PhD, MSW, post-doctoral trainee, Population Health Sciences; Supervising Mentor: Maureen Durkin, PhD, DrPH, department chair PHS and professor, Population Health Sciences
Regulation of Inflammatory and Wnt Signaling by LncRNA IL6-AS1
Xin He, PhD, research associate, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases; Supervising Mentor: Bruce Klein, MD, professor and division chief, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases
Understanding How Aging Affects the Health of Males and Females Differently
Cassandra McGill, PhD, postdoctoral trainee, Department of Medicine, Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology; Supervising Mentor: Rozalyn Anderson, PhD, professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology
Unraveling the Crosstalk Between Estrogen and Viral Immunoevasion in Murine Papillomavirus Infection Model
Umar Sheikh, PhD, research associate, Department of Oncology; Supervising Mentor: Paul Lambert, PhD, professor and chair of oncology and director of McArdle Laboratory for cancer research, Department of Oncology
View the grant descriptions on WPP’s Funded Projects web page.
The Wisconsin Partnership Program is a grantmaking program within the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health committed to improving health for all through investments in community partnerships, education and research initiatives.
