Each year, the MSU BEST program welcomes a new cohort of BEST Trainees, a group of driven and highly-skilled biomedical Ph.D. students and post-docs in engineering the programs part of MSU’s Biomolecular Science Program. These trainees are interested in enhancing their academic training with professional development and new competencies, which will then position them to pursue a variety of careers both inside and beyond the academy. The advisors and mentors support BEST by providing parallel mentoring in the disciplines, and by actively supporting co-curricular exploration of career options.
Meet The MSU Best Trainees
| Name | Department | Degree Status | Advisor | Year | |
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Neco Wilson | CMIB | Graduate Student | Adam Moeser | 2016-2017 |
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Kathryn Wierenga | Human Nutrition Food Science | Graduate Student | Jim Pestka | 2016-2017 |
| Liang Wang | Epidemiology | Graduate Student | Zhehui Luo | 2016-2017 | |
| Alyssa Vanderziel | Epidemiology | Graduate Student | David Barondess | 2016-2017 | |
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Ted Van Alst | Microbiology and Molecular Genetics | Graduate Student | Vic DiRita | 2016-2017 |
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Ashley Severance | Genetics | Graduate Student | Keith Lathom | 2016-2017 |
| Heather Selheimer | Microbiology and Molecular Genetics | Graduate Student | Shannon Manning | 2016-2017 | |
| Peter Schall | CMIB | Graduate Student | Keith Lathom | 2016-2017 | |
| Vickie Ruggiero | CMIB | Graduate Student | Paul Bartlett | 2016-2017 | |
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Meghan Ruebel | Animal Science | Post Doc | Keith Lathom | 2016-2017 |
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Thassyo Pinto | Chemical Engineering and Materials Science | Graduate Student | Xiaobo Tan | 2016-2017 |
| Alberto Perez-Medina | Pharmacology and Toxicology | Graduate Student | Jim Galligan | 2016-2017 | |
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Sean Nguyen | Cell and Molecular Biology | Graduate Student | Peggy Petroff | 2016-2017 |
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Natalia Martin | Microbiology and Molecular Genetics | Post Doc | Vic DiRita | 2016-2017 |
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Bingyao Crystal Li | Plant Biology | Graduate Student | Jonathan Walton | 2016-2017 |
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Chao Huang | Physiology | Graduate Student | Julia Busik | 2016-2017 |
| Peter Hsueh | Cell and Molecular Biology | Graduate Student | 2016-2017 | ||
| Sandra Hammer | Physiology | Post Doc | Julia Busik | 2016-2017 | |
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Nomar S. González-Santini | Electrical and Computer Engineering | Graduate Student | Dr. Fang Zheng Peng | 2016-2017 |
| Kibrom Alula | Pharmacology and Toxicology | Graduate Student | Jim Galligan | 2016-2017 | |
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Aaron Garoutte | Plant Biology | Post Doc | Kevin Childs | 2016-2017 |
| Alyssa Fedorko | Ob/Gyn and Genetics | Graduate Student | 2016-2017 | ||
| Daniel Claiborne | Microbiology and Molecular Genetics | Graduate Student | Dr. Linda Mansfield | 2016-2017 | |
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Kevin Chen | Chemical Engineering and Materials Science | Graduate Student | Dr. S. Patrick Walton | 2016-2017 |
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Debrup Chakraborty | Pharmacology and Toxicology | Post Doc | Dr. Jamie Bernard | 2016-2017 |
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Amrita Oak | Chemical Engineering and Materials Science | Graduate Student | Christina Chan | 2016-2017 |
| Julienne Brock | Physiology | Graduate Student | Jose Texeira | 2016-2017 | |
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Anne-Sophie Bohrer | Biochemistry and Molecular Biology | Post Doc | Hideki Takahashi | 2016-2017 |
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Vanessa Benham | Pharmacology and Toxicology | Doctoral Student | Dr. Jamie Bernard | 2016-2017 |
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Mariana Desireé Reale Batista | Chemical Engineering and Materials Science | PhD Student | Larry Drzal | 2016-2017 |
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Aparajita Banerjee | Biochemistry and Molecular Biology | Post Doc | Bjoern Hamberger | 2016-2017 |
| Sara Adelman | Chemistry | PhD Student | Dr. Jim McCusker | 2016-2017 | |
| Mark Aupperlee | Physiology | Post-Doc | Rich Schwartz | 2014-2015 | |
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Nadia Ayala-Lopez | Pharmacology and Toxicology | Ph.D. Student | Stephanie Watts | 2014-2015 |
| Elizabeth Baird | Microbiology and Molecular Genetics | Ph.D. Student | Richard Lenski | 2014-2015 | |
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Kevin Baker | BMS | Graduate Student | John LaPres | 2015-2016 |
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Sarah Bodbyl | KBS | Post Doc | Andy Anderson | 2015-2016 |
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Lisa Boughner | Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences/Center for Microbial Ecology | Post-Doc | Jim Tiedje | 2014-2015 |
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Kirti Bhardwaj | Chemical Engineering | Ph.D. Student | Mark Worden | 2014-2015 |
| Jiao Chen | Computer Science | Ph.D. Student | Yanni Sun | 2014-2015 | |
| Daniel Claiborne | BMS | Graduate Student | John LaPres | 2016-2017 | |
| Jonathan Dannatt | Chemistry | Graduate Student | Rob Maleczka | 2015-2016 | |
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Sylmarie Davila-Montero | ECE | Graduate Student | Andrew Mason | 2015-2016 |
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Janice Diaz-Otero | Pharmacology and Toxicology | Ph.D. Student | Anne Dorrance | 2014-2015 |
| Peter Dornbos | Biochemistry and Molecular Biology | Ph.D. Student | John LaPres | 2014-2015 | |
| Josh Drost | Mechanical Engineering | Ph.D. Student | Tamara Reid Bush | 2014-2015 | |
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Megan Duffy | Neuroscience | Graduate Student | Caryl Sortwell | 2015-2016 |
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Taylor Dunivan | MMG | Graduate Student | Ashley Shade | 2015-2016 |
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Matthew Faber | Biochemistry and Molecular Biology | Ph.D. Student | Tim Whitehead | 2014-2015 |
| Nico Fernandez | Microbiology and Molecular Genetics | Ph.D. Student | Chris Waters | 2014-2015 | |
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Meredith Frie | Cell and Molecular Biology | Ph.D. Student | Paul Coussens | 2015-2016 |
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Colleen Friel | Plant Bio | Graduate Student | Maren Friesen | 2015-2016 |
| Nomar Gonzales-Santini | Electrical Engineering | Graduate Student | 2015-2016 | ||
| Nkrumah Grant | Microbiology and Molecular Genetics | Ph.D. Student | Richard Lenzi | 2014-2015 | |
| Katherine Halievski | Neuroscience | Graduate Student | Cindy Jordan | 2015-2016 | |
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Joseph Henriquez | Pharmacology and Toxicology | Ph.D. Student | Norbert Kaminski | 2014-2015 |
| Amanda Herzog | Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering | Ph.D. Student | Norbert Kaminski | 2014-2015 | |
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Alessandra Hunt | Microbiology and Molecular Genetics | Post Doc | Chris Waters | 2015-2016 |
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Nastassja Imus | Cell and Molecular Biology | Ph.D. Student | Tim Collier | 2014-2015 |
| Yining Jin | FSHN | Post Doc | Venu Gangur | 2015-2016 | |
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Kristina Kamensky | Mech Egr | Graduate Student | Dr. Ranjan Mukherjee | 2015-2016 |
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Sarah Keaton | Physiology | Graduate Student | Lena Brundin | 2015-2016 |
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Sarah Kelly | Cell and Molecular Biology | Ph.D. Student | Scott Counts | 2014-2015 |
| Jenny Kim | Neuroscience | Graduate Student | Cindy Jordan | 2015-2016 | |
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Laura Kirby | MMG | Graduate Student | Donna Koslowsky | 2015-2016 |
| Antonella Massafra | ME | Graduate Student | Sara Roccabianca | 2015-2016 | |
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Erin McKay | Neuroscience | Graduate Student | Scott Counts | 2015-2016 |
| Beth Norman | Microbiology and Molecular Genetics | Post-Doc | Ned Walker | 2014-2015 | |
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Naiomy Rios-Arce | CMIB | Graduate Student | Narayan Parameswaran | 2015-2016 |
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Rhyomi Sellnow | CMB | Graduate Student | Frederic Manfredsonn | 2015-2016 |
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Geoffrey Severin | Biochemistry and Molecular Biology | Graduate Student | Christopher Waters | 2014-2015 |
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Jagannath Silwal | Chem | Graduate Student | Honggao Yan | 2015-2016 |
| Marisel Villafane Delgado | Electrical Engineering | Ph.D. Student | Selin Aviyente | 2015-2016 | |
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Joel Soler | Neuroscience | Graduate Student | Lily Yan | 2015-2016 |
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Daniel Vocelle | CHEMS | Graduate Student | Pat Walton | 2015-2016 |
| Aaron Welsch | Neuroscience | Graduate Student | Marc Breedlove | 2015-2016 | |
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Maggie Williams | Microbial Ecology (Civil Engineering) | Graduate Student | Sayed Hashsham | 2015-2016 |
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Di Zhang | BMS | Graduate Student | Karen Liby | 2015-2016 |
| Huiqing Zheng | MMG | Graduate Student | Robert Abromovitch | 2015-2016 |
