Kathy Gould, Ph.D.
Amanda Connolly
VISP Second-Year Students
 Ankita Burman |
I am Ankita Burman from Calcutta, which is a large metropolitan city in the eastern part of India. I completed my bachelors in zoology from Lady Brabourne College and my masters in Biophysics, Molecular Biology and Genetics from University of Calcutta. I entered the IGP in Fall 2011 and in May 2012, I joined Timothy Blackwell's lab and the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology. Timothy Blackwell is a professor of Medicine, Cell and Developmental Biology and Cancer Biology. His group works in the broad areas of Lung Cancer and Pulmonary Fibrosis. After four rotations in different labs in different departments, I found this lab to be the perfect fit for me. I wanted to focus on a particular disease for my thesis reseach and probe its etiology, the molecular biology underlying its progression and potential therapeutic approaches - and I got the wonderful opportunity of studying pulmonary fibrosis in this lab. Moreover, during my rotation I found Tim to be an excellent mentor and also, the lab environment was extremely congenial. I joined the department of Cell and Developmental Biology (CDB) primarily because I am studying epithelial mesenchymal interactions in the lung which play a role in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and the courses offered by CDB are most suited to my research interests. Also, the seminars that CDB conducts would be in sync with my academic and research interests. I am looking forward to the exciting research that I would be doing, during the next few years in grad school. What surprised me most as soon as I reached the US was the pristine beauty of Nashville. It is a green, quiet, beautiful city with undulating roads here and there! And the people here are really nice, friendly and very helpful. I am looking forward to living the dream which has been fulfilled... to begin my life as a full time PhD student, to learn to comprehend science with a more critical mindset, to find a lab where I can passionately and comfortably do science, to interact with so many different people and make new friends, and to work and relax in this huge and beautiful campus of Vanderbilt. |
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 Ramya Chandrasekaran |
Hi, I am Ramya Chandrasekaran and I grew up in Chennai, India. I have a Bachelor’s in Industrial Biotechnology from Anna University, India and a Masters in Microbial Engineering from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. I joined Vanderbilt in 2011 to pursue my Ph.D. in the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Biomedical Sciences (IGP). I have been impressed with IGP’s curriculum and the amount of resources that they spend in recruiting the best graduate students into the program and the individual departments. Having rotated through multiple labs and departments, I decided to join the lab of Dr. Borden Lacy in the Microbiology and Immunology department. Borden is an excellent mentor and her research in the area of bacterial pathogenesis aligns perfectly with my interests. Together, we hope to understand and elucidate the mechanism of action of Clostridium difficile toxin A in humans. I have grown to love Nashville in the time I have been here. As for research, Vanderbilt provides an extremely collaborative and flexible environment to conduct great science. I look forward to exploring the possibilities that Nashville and Vanderbilt has to offer. |
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 Raaj Gowrishankar |
My name is Raaj Gowrishankar and I am from a coastal city in the South of India called Chennai. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology from SASTRA University, India and a Masters degree in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Florida. I entered Vanderbilt through the IGP in Biomedical Sciences.
Beginning the summer of 2012, I have joined Randy Blakely’s lab in the Neuroscience Graduate Program. My work will employ molecular, biochemical and physiological techniques to elucidate dopamine transporter function with the use of rare ADHD dopamine transporter coding variants isolated from patients. Dopamine is a critical neurotransmitter in the mammalian brain involved in important functions such as motivation and reward and a disruption in its signaling has been shown to be an important feature in neurodevelopmental (like ADHD) and psychotic disorders. Hence a study of the dopamine transporter, being the gateway into the dopaminergic realm of the brain, would help answer key questions pertaining to disturbances in dopaminergic signaling in diseased states. Nashville is a small, progressive and vibrant city with something fun to do every single day of the week. Nashville is also Music City, U.S.A and having a deep interest in music, I hope to pursue my musical interests as well in the coming years. |
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 Bishal Paudel |
I’m currently a second year graduate student in CPB. I am originally from Nepal and did my undergraduate from The College of Idaho. After my undergraduate, I decided to come to Vanderbilt because of its collaborative research atmosphere. Vanderbilt has not disappointed me so far. At the end of the first year, I joined the lab of Dr. Vito Quaranta where I will be working on quantitative and modeling aspects of cell motility and invasion in cancer cells. |
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 Gokhan Unlu |
I am from a Mediterranean coastal city called Mersin, in Turkey. I completed both my Bachelor and Master’s studies in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics of Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey. In 2011, I joined IGP program at Vanderbilt. After my first year in IGP, I have joined Cell & Developmental Biology graduate program. Currently, I have been pursuing my thesis research in Ela Knapik’s lab, where the primary research interest is the role of protein trafficking machinery on the development of zebrafish. What I like the most about Vanderbilt and Nashville is the welcoming environment and having people around that are always ready to help. I look forward to not only being involved in the vibrant research life in VUMC but also exploring the amazing landscape and natural beauties of Southern US. |
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 Xiaohan Wang |
I am now a second year student in Neuroscience Graduate Program. Originally from China, I earned my Bachelor’s degree of Physics (Biophysics) from Nanjing University, and joined Vanderbilt bioscience umbrella program IGP in 2011. Under the mentoring of Dr. Roger Colbran, I will focus my interest in the molecular aspects of the important post-synaptic kinase CaMKII, as well as its physiological role in synaptic plasticity and in motor habit formation. Nashville is really an amazing place to live and study. I am pretty sure that every VISP student has his or her own stories to tell you about the extremely nice and helpful people here and about the great funs we have had, and I do encourage you to come here and experience your own! |
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 Xia Yan |
My name is Yan Xia. I'm from China. Going to the second year of grad-school, I have just joined Dr. Jens Meiler's lab in Chemistry Department, and got accepted in CPB program. I am interested in Structure Biology and my research focuses on de novo membrane protein structure prediction with sparse experimental data. Dr. Meiler's expertise in computation methods development and a hybrid training in both experimental biology and programing attracted me to join his lab. I finished my undergraduate training in Biological sciences in Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. I love Vanderbilt for its vibrant research environment, its strong faculty, and the degree of freedom offered by IGP/VISP. |
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 Paula Zamora |
My name is Paula Zamora and I am from Santiago, Chile. I studied Biochemistry in Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, where I obtained my BS degree and a Professional Biochemist degree. I am enrolled in the IGP Program and my interest areas are related to pathogenesis of microbial diseases. I just joined the Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology (PMI) department and I hope I will obtain my PhD degree in Microbiology and Immunology. I am working in Terry Dermody's lab where we study the molecular pathogenesis of mammalian reovirus and Chikungunya virus infections. I make the best decision joining this lab and this department; and I am sure that I will receive a great training for becoming an independent scientist. This is my first time living in another country and in a small city, so it has been very different from what I was used to. People in Nashville are so nice; everyone seems to take care about you. This city has a very good atmosphere and if you enjoy nature you will be delighted with all the beautiful places that are around here. I am hoping to take the best of this experience, meet a lot of people, make contact networks and enjoy all the opportunities that Vanderbilt offers to their students. |
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