{"id":5019,"date":"2026-09-03T13:16:43","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T17:16:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/mcbb\/?page_id=5019"},"modified":"2026-09-03T13:28:39","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T17:28:39","slug":"dissertations-and-theses","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/mcbb\/programs\/dissertations-and-theses\/","title":{"rendered":"Recent Dissertations and Theses"},"content":{"rendered":"

2026<\/h3>
<\/p>\n

Hellen Huang, PhD<\/b>
\nSingle-cell Characterization and Optimization of Bacterial Optogenetic System for Precise Cellular Regulation<\/span><\/i>
\nAdvisor: Dunlop<\/span><\/p>\n

Yudan Li, PhD<\/b>
\nEngineering Adaptive Biosensors for Multiplexed Nucleic ACID Detection in Complex Biological Samples<\/span><\/i>
\nAdvisor: Green<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

2025<\/h3>
<\/p>\n

Milad Babaei, PhD<\/b>
\nProgrammable Detection and Modification of Nucleic Acids<\/span><\/i>
\nAdvisor: Green<\/span><\/p>\n

Alison Brack, PhD<\/b>
\nUnraveling Schizophrenia Risk: Contributions\u00a0 Of High-Risk Genes and the Impact of\u00a0 Early-Life Stress<\/span><\/i>
\nAdvisor: Cruz-Martin<\/span><\/p>\n

Cameron Dixon, PhD<\/b>
\nModeling Female Reproductive Disturbances Post-Traumatic Injury In Drosophila Melanogaster<\/span><\/i>
\nAdvisor: McCall<\/span><\/p>\n

Gyeung Yun Kim, PhD<\/b>
\nRoles of the Small Nuclear Riboprotein U1 in Transcriptional Regulation<\/span><\/i>
\nAdvisor: Fiszbein<\/span><\/p>\n

Alexandra Lion, PhD<\/b>
\nDevelopmental Timing and Teratogenesis: Examining Embryonic Development Through the Lenses of Timing and Environmental Toxicity<\/span><\/i>
\nAdvisor: Bradham<\/span><\/p>\n

Ndidiamaka Obi, PhD<\/b>
\nBiochemical and Computational Investigation of the Pparg and Fabp4 Binding Interface<\/span><\/i>
\nAdvisor: Whitty<\/span><\/p>\n

Samantha Patalano, PhD<\/b>
\nImplementation of High-Throughput Screening Approaches to Delineate Immune and Pluripotency Gene Regulatory Networks<\/span><\/i>
\nAdvisor: Fuxman Bass\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Amanda Pinhiero, PhD<\/b>
\nThe Dlk1-Dio3 Noncoding Rna Locus Coordinately Regulates Mitochondrial Respiration nd Chromatin Structure To Establish Proper Cell State For Muscle Differentiation<\/span><\/i>
\nAdvisor: Naya<\/span><\/p>\n

Michael Zulch, PhD<\/b>
\nCharacterizing the Quantitative Relationship Between Plants and Microbes<\/span><\/i>
\nAdvisor: Larkin<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

2024<\/h3>
<\/p>\n

Anna Berenson, PhD<\/b>
\nPaired Yeast One-Hybrid Assays to Detect DNA-Binding Cooperativity and Antagonism Across Transcription Factors<\/span><\/i>
\nAdvisor: Fuxman Bass<\/span><\/p>\n

Alexandra Chasse, PhD<\/b>
\nCharacterization of Hemocyte Dynamics in the Ovary of Drosophila Melanogaster<\/span><\/i>
\nAdvisor: McCall<\/span><\/p>\n

Imron Chaudhry, PhD<\/b>
\nImmunomodulation Strategies for the Tumor Microenvironment and Type I Diabetes<\/span><\/i>
\nAdvisor: Vegas<\/span><\/p>\n

Rita Chen, MA<\/b>
\nDe Novo Designs of Programmable Toehold-mediated Transcriptional Attenuators<\/span><\/i>
\nAdvisor: Green<\/span><\/p>\n

John Patrick Cleary, PhD<\/b>
\nDissecting Molecular Consequences of Opioid Use Disorder Using Single-Cell RNA Sequencing<\/span><\/i>
\nAdvisor: C. Cheng<\/span><\/p>\n

Abigail Descoteaux, PhD<\/b>
\nCalcium-Binding Fluorochromes Reveal Skeletal Triradiate and Elongation Dynamics in Sea Urchin Larvae<\/span><\/i>
\nAdvisor: Bradham<\/span><\/p>\n

Katie Kaplan, PhD<\/b>
\nCharacterization of Dystrophin and Dystrophin-Associated Proteins in Vascular Smooth Muscle<\/span><\/i>
\nAdvisor: Morgan<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

2023<\/h3>
<\/p>\n

Ethan Addlestone, MA<\/b>
\nDevelopment of CETSA-MS as a Tool for Target Discovery<\/span><\/i>
\nAdvisor: Emili<\/span><\/p>\n

Hannah Sutton, MA<\/b>
\nOptimization of Adeno-Associated Virus Production for Misexpression of Dlk1-Dio3 Noncoding RNAs in Cardiac and Skeletal Muscle Analysis in Vivo<\/span><\/i>
\nAdvisor: Naya<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

2022<\/h3>
<\/p>\n

Megan Bragdon, PhD<\/b>
\nCooperative Assembly Confers Regulatory Specificity and Promotes Evolution<\/span><\/i>
\nAdvisor: Khalil<\/span><\/p>\n

Elena Forchielli, PhD<\/b>
\nMetabolic Phenotypes of Marine Heterotrophic Bacteria<\/span><\/i>
\nAdvisor: Segr\u00e8<\/span><\/p>\n

Margaret O’Connor, PhD<\/b>
\nThe Role of Autism Gene Nexmif in Neuronal Development, Synapse Formation, and Autistic Behaviors<\/span><\/i>
\nAdvisor: Man<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

2021<\/h3>
<\/p>\n

Paula Ortet, PhD<\/b>
\nExploring Structurally Constrained Peptides as Protein-Protein Interaction Modulators<\/span><\/i>
\nAdvisor: Whitty<\/span><\/p>\n

Andressa Mota, PhD<\/b>
\nForkhead Box R1-Mediated Stress Response Linked to a Case of Human Microcephaly and Progressive Brain Atrophy<\/span><\/i>
\nAdvisor: Ho<\/span><\/p>\n

Patrick Stoiber, PhD<\/b>
\nThe Anti-Cancer Compound Factor Quinolinone Inhibitor 1 Impacts Cell Morphology and Migration by Destabilizing Microtubules in Interphase Cells<\/span><\/i>
\nAdvisors: Hansen and Cooper<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

2020<\/h3>
<\/p>\n

Adam Camblin, PhD<\/b>
\nElucidating Mechanism of Action for Clinical Candidate Therapeutic Antibodies<\/span><\/i>
\nAdvisor: Whitty<\/span><\/p>\n

William Clarke Gasper, PhD<\/b>
\nCharacterization of Ketohexokinase as a Therapeutic Target for Hereditary Fructose Intolerance and Metabolic Syndrome<\/span><\/i>
\nAdvisor: Tolan<\/span><\/p>\n

Luis Ortiz, PhD<\/b>
\nHigh-Throughput Functional Screening of Oxidase Enzymes<\/span><\/i>
\nAdvisor: Densmore<\/span><\/p>\n

Sandy Serizier, PhD<\/b>
\nSignaling Mechanisms Between Dying Cells and Non-Professional Phagocytes in the Drosophila Melanogaster Ovary<\/span><\/i>
\nAdvisor: McCall<\/span><\/p>\n

Sarah Yunes, PhD<\/b>
\nNon-Transcriptional Role for LSF in Regulating Stable Kinetochore-Microtubule Attachment During Mitotic Progression<\/span><\/i>
\nAdvisor: Hansen<\/span><\/p>\n

Daniel Zuch, PhD<\/b>
\nThree-Dimensional Patterning of The Primary Mesenchyme Cell Population During Sea Urchin Embryogenesis<\/span><\/i>
\nAdvisor: Bradham<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

2019<\/h3>
<\/p>\n

Albert Mondragon, PhD<\/b>
\nInvestigation of Non-Autonomous Control of Cell Death and Corpse Clearance in the Ovary of Drosophila Melanogaster<\/span><\/i>
\nAdvisor: McCall<\/span><\/p>\n

Nicholas Rossi, PhD<\/b>
\nNoise and Information in Bacterial Multigene Stress Response Systems<\/span><\/i>
\nAdvisor: Dunlop<\/span><\/p>\n

Cameron Vergato, MA<\/b>
\nImmunogenic Potential of Medium-Dose Intermittent Cyclophosphamide Therapy in Murine Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Tumor Lines 4T1 and E0771<\/span><\/i>
\nAdvisor: Waxman<\/span><\/p>\n

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