Postdoc Advisory Committee (PAC)
- The PAC consists of postdocs from MCW and the BRI.
- The PAC assists the Office of Postdoctoral Education in identifying the needs of postdoctoral fellows by starting initiatives to create a better fellowship experience while at MCW. They plan and execute yearly activities that support postdoc networking and career building. They also draft new policies that enhance the life experience of MCW postdocs.
- The PAC meets once per month.
- If you are interested in joining, please contact Amanda Booker (abooker@mcw.edu)
Postdoc Advisory Committee (PAC) Members

Julie E. Tetzlaff, PhD
Associate Dean for Postdoctoral Affairs and Graduate Career Development; Associate Professor of Pediatric Pathology; Catalyst BioConsulting (formerly PICO) Faculty Advisor

Jennifer Stancill, PhD
Mentor: John Corbett, PhD
Research Interests: Pancreatic beta-cells, Diabetes, Oxidative stress, Inflammatory cytokines, Nitric oxide | PAC designation: PAC Co-chair, Postdoc research symposium

Rachel A. Jones Lipinski, PhD
Mentor: Brian C. Smith, PhD
Research Interests: Design and synthesis of small molecules to study biological systems, Molecular modeling and bioinformatics, Mass spectrometry | PAC designation: PAC Co-chair

Akankshya Shradhanjali, PhD
Mentor: Brandon J. Tefft, PhD
Research Interests: Cardiovascular Devices, Vascular Graft, Heart Valves, Biomedical Nanotechnology, Biomaterials, Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Cardiomyocyte regeneration, 3D bioprinting | PAC subcommittee: Website design (Chair), Awards, Slack

Ankan Gupta, PhD
Mentor: Ramani Ramchandran, PhD
Research Interests: Cerebrovascular inflammation, T cell immunology, Tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte, Autoimmunity, Infectious diseases | PAC subcommittee: Awards (Chair)

Barbara Palkovic, MD
Mentor: Astrid G. Stucke, MD
Research Interests: Anesthesiology, Neurophysiology and Respiratory physiology | PAC subcommittees: Onboarding, Mentoring

Boran Katunaric, MD
Mentor: Julie Freed, MD, PhD
Research Interests: Microcirculation, Sphingolipids, Cardiovascular Disease

Christine A. Klemens, PhD
Mentor: Alexander Staruschenko, PhD
Research Interests: Renal ion transport in normal and pathological conditions, particularly hypertension, Diabetic kidney disease, Polycystic kidney disease

Chuck Hay, PhD
Mentor: Jeffrey Medin, PhD
Research Interests: Tinkering with nature's toolbox in order to develop protein therapeutics and gene therapies | PAC subcommittee: Onboarding

Daria Golosova, MD, PhD
Mentor: Alexander Staruschenko, PhD
Research Interests: Renal physiology, Hypertension, Opioid-induced kidney damage

Deepak Parashar, PhD
Mentor: Pradeep Chaluvally-Raghavan, PhD
Research Interests: Cancer Biology and Therapeutics | PAC subcommittee: Awards

Ernest Kwesi Ofori, PhD
Mentor: Jacquelyn Kulinski, PhD
Research Interests: Interventions to improve cardiovascular health and physical fitness

Haidy Nasief, PhD
Mentor: Allen Li, PhD, DABMP, FAAPM
Research Interests: Biomarkers for treatment response predictions using radiomics and machine learning | PAC subcommittees: Mentoring (Co-chair), Timeline, Onboarding, Social Media

Javier A. Gomez Vargas, PhD
Mentor: Curt D. Sigmund, PhD
Research Interests: Neurogenic Hypertension, Control of the Renin Angiotensin System in the brain | PAC subcommittee: Mentoring (Co-chair)

Kaitlin Johnson, PhD
Mentor: Nita Salzman, PhD
Research Interests: Gut Mucosal Immunity, Microbial Infection

Kate Sadler, PhD
Mentor: Cheryl Stucky, PhD
Research Interests: Neuroscience, Chronic pain, Somatosensation | PAC Subcommittee: Postdoc research day

Kirthikaa Balapattabi, PhD
Mentor: Justin L. Grobe, PhD
Research Interests: Neurophysiology, G protein signaling mechanisms and its contribution to prolonged obesity | PAC subcommittee: Awards

Luisa Bohorquez , PhD
Mentor: Josepth S. Goveas, MD
Research Interests: Task dependent functional MRI, Cerebral blow flow, Diffusion Tensor Imaging

Michael Flinn, PhD
Mentor: Caitlin O’Meara, PhD
Research Interests: Heart failure, Fibrosis, and Cardiac Regeneration | PAC subcommittee: CVC representative

Mohammad Zarenia, PhD
Mentor: Kevin M. Koch, PhD
Research Interests: Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Image Processing, Condensed Matter Physics

Nikola Sekulovski, PhD
Mentor: Kenichiro Taniguchi, PhD
Research Interests: Use of stem cells to investigate molecular and cellular mechanisms of amnion development

Ryan J. Adam, PhD
Mentor: Alison J. Kriegel, PhD
Research Interests: Renal Pathology, Imaging | PAC subcommittees: National Postdoctoral Association Representative for MCW, Awards, Postdoc Research Symposium
Former PAC Members
Milwaukee School of Engineering
Assistant Professor
John Dasinger
Augusta University
Postdoctoral Fellow
Dusanka Djoric
Medical College of Wisconsin
Postdoctoral Fellow, Director of Training for SUPREMES
Lisa Frazer
Medical College of Wisconsin
Postdoctoral Fellow
Francie Moehring
Boston Strategic Partners
Medical Communications Consultant
Emily Siebers
GE Healthcare
Global Modality Research Manager, X-ray
Moua Yang
Harvard University
Postdoctoral Fellow
Dan Bretl
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
Assistant Professor
Daria Ilatovskaya
Medical University of South Carolina
Assistant Professor, Division of Nephrology
Savitha Sethumadhaven
Clarios
Inventory Manager
Yilang Chen
Medical College of Wisconsin
Assistant Professor
Katarzyna Bronoiwska
StrideBio, Inc.
Senior Scientific Project Manager at Preclinical
Vidhya Arumugam
Genentech
Senior Manager-Group Lead
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Kala Schilter
Medical College of Wisconsin
Senior Clinical Genomics Analyst
Greg Blass
Western Kentucky University
Instructor
Sushma Kommineni
Merck Research Labs-Exploratory Science Center
Associate Principal Scientist
Pui Kei Wu
Medical College of Wisconsin
Instructor
Gang Xin
The Ohio State University College of Medicine
Assistant Professor
Justine Abais-Battad
Medical College of Georgia
Instructor
Vindhya Udhane
Medical College of Wisconsin
Research Scientist I
Karima Ait Aissa
University of Iowa
Associate Professor of Internal Medicine
Audrey Torcaso
Astellas Pharma
Associate Medical Writing Program Manager
Savo Bou Zein Eddine
Massachusetts General Hospital
Surgery Resident
Ujala Rana
Sarah Schmitt
Katie LittsGenetech
Scientist