Madison Sikorski Named 2027 Pelotonia Graduate Scholar
Congratulations to Madison Sikorski on being selected as a 2027 Pelotonia Graduate Scholar for the research proposal, “Enhancing B Cell Responses to Promote Anti-tumor Immunity in Pancreatic Cancer.” Chosen through an exceptionally competitive selection process, Madison was recognized for the quality and potential impact of their research, as well as their commitment to advancing cancer research. The Pelotonia Scholars Program's support reflects its belief that there are No Limits to what can be achieved when passionate researchers pursue bold ideas to accelerate discoveries in the fight against cancer. The award will support this research from January 1 through December 31, 2027.
Blake Wang Earns Presidential Travel Award and Oral Presentation at SITC Annual Meeting
Congratulations to Blake on the recognition of his innovative cancer immunotherapy research. His abstract, “Dual Targeting of GARP on Tumor and Regulatory T Cells with Bispecific T Cell Engagers for Effective Cancer Immunotherapy,” has been selected for both a Presidential Travel Award and an Oral Abstract Presentation at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) 41st Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. Chosen from a highly competitive pool of submissions, Blake will present his work during the prestigious Presidential Session on November 8, highlighting the impact and promise of his anti-GARP T cell engager research in advancing cancer immunotherapy.
Evangeline Schott Awarded NIH F31 Predoctoral Fellowship
Congratulations to Evangeline Schott on receiving a prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) F31 Predoctoral Fellowship Award in support of her research project, “A Novel Role for Lipocalin 2 in Ozone-Driven Susceptibility to Bacterial Pneumonia.” This competitive fellowship will support Evangeline's work investigating how environmental exposures influence susceptibility to infectious disease, advancing our understanding of the mechanisms that contribute to bacterial pneumonia. The award recognizes both the scientific merit of the project and Evangeline's promise as an emerging biomedical researcher.
2026 American Association of Immunologists (AAI)
We are proud to share that four I2GP graduate students: Zachary Miller, Mohamed Wahba, Alexa Aubrey, and Ziyu (Blake) Wang, attended IMMUNOLOGY2026 the annual meeting of the American Association of Immunologists (AAI). Held in Boston, this premier international conference brings together immunologists at all career stages. Our students represented I2GP by presenting posters and delivering short talks, showcasing their research, and engaging with the global immunology community.
Candidacy Milestone Achieved- Congratulations I2GP Students!
We are proud to announce that four of our I2GP students have successfully passed their candidacy exams, marking a major milestone in their doctoral journeys!
Congratulations to Michael Parthun, Evangeline Schott, Madison Sikorski, Ziyu (Blake) Wang, Alexa Aubrey, and Jiacheng (Alex) Jin. Their hard work and dedication have set the stage for exciting dissertation research ahead. Please join us in celebrating their achievements as they advance to the next phase of their PhD training!
Evangeline Schott, received the Best PhD Platform Presentation award at the Ohio Valley Regional Chapter of the Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting in November 2025 and was appointed as the Chapter’s Graduate Student Representative.
Alexa Aubrey, a Graduate Research Assistant in Purnima Dubey’s Lab, has been awarded the prestigious John Wallace Fellowship at the Autumn Immunology Conference held in Chicago, Illinois, in November 2025.
Ziyu (Blake) Wang, a Graduate Research Assistant in Dr. Zihai Li’s lab, has co-authored two recent publications. The first, titled “Proteotoxic stress response drives T cell exhaustion and immune evasion,” appeared in the October 1, 2025, issue of Nature. The second, “Targeting TGFβ docking receptor Glycoprotein A Repetitions Predominant (GARP) via novel chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell platform to treat glioblastoma,” was published in the August 27, 2025, issue of Neuro-Oncology (noaf195).
Zachary Miller, a Graduate Research Assistant in Mauricio Rojas' lab, is the lead author of the paper titled "Mechanisms and markers of lung ageing in health and disease" published in the July 2025 issue of European Respiratory Review (Volume 34, Issue 177).
Jiacheng (Alex) Jin, a Graduate Research Assistant in Gang Xin's lab, is the lead author of the paper titled "The NAE1-mediated neddylation operates as an essential post-translational modification checkpoint for effector CD8+ T cells," published in the March 2025 issue of PNAS (Volume 122, Issue 10).
Michael Parthun, a Graduate Research Assistant in Emily Hemann's lab, has co-authored the paper titled "Established and Emerging Roles of DEAD/H-Box Helicases in Regulating Infection and Immunity," published in the January 2025 issue of Immunological Reviews (Volume 329, Issue 1).
Evangeline Schott, Graduate Research Assistant in Kymberly Gowdy Lab, won first place for the “PhD Poster Presentation” category at the Ohio Valley Chapter of the Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting on Friday, October 25th, 2024.