Meet Our Researchers

Kevin Cook

Kevin Cook is a PhD candidate in neuroscience at Georgetown University, where he works to characterize a specialized form of memory called schema memory in children with autism.

Sikoya Ashburn is a doctoral candidate at Georgetown University in the Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience. She predominately has research experience within cognitive neuroscience and have worked on a range of projects including those investigating language processing, neuroimaging biomarkers for Alzheimer’s, structural MRI in adult dyslexia, and functional activation as well as connectivity in pediatric populations with learning disabilities.

Katherine G. Michel, PhD, MPH

Dr. Katherine "Kate" Michel PhD, MPH is a recent appointee in our KL2 Program. Her research ranges from studying trust in health systems to interactions between commensal microbes and the immune system...

Adam Caccavano, MS

Adam Caccavano is a PhD candidate in neuroscience at Georgetown University, with a long-term career goal of conducting interdisciplinary studies into the mechanism underlying memory loss due to aging...

Alana Lelo, PhD

Alana Lelo is a sixth-year MD/PhD student at Georgetown University School of Medicine. Alana's thesis project focuses on the role of STAG2 inactivation in papillary non-muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma..

Latifa Jackson, PhD

Dr. Latifa Jackson uses bioinformatics, functional genomics and evolutionary biology approaches to study genetic patterns that contribute to disease phenotypes…

Alejandra Hurtado de Mendoza, PhD

Dr. Alejandra Hurtado de Mendoza is an Assistant Professor at the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. She is a bilingual Social Psychologist with interdisciplinary training in Anthropology and Communication, Culture, and Technology...

Anna Greenwald, PhD

Dr. Anna Greenwald, PhD, began her scientific career while studying psychology at the University of Goettingen, Germany (BS 2003, MS 2006). She obtained her PhD in experimental psychology from the University of Giessen, Germany, in 2009. Parts of her doctoral research were performed as a Visiting Scholar at the University of Rochester, NY, and after completing her degree in Germany, she returned to the US for a postdoctoral...

Ihori Kobayashi, PhD

Ihori Kobayashi has been involved in research on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) since the beginning of her doctoral training at Kent State University. Her clinical research interests include roles of sleep in the development of and recovery from PTSD, and nocturnal autonomic nervous system activity in PTSD and resilience. In addition, working in collaboration with a basic scientist, she started a mouse sleep study to examine sex differences in...

Seble Kassaye MD MS

Seble Kassaye’s M.D., M.S., career has been driven by her clinical experiences taking care of HIV-positive patients. Her research interests in clinical and translational HIV research is primarily derived from a strong interest in increasing access to effective HIV prevention and treatment strategies to the most at risk and indigent populations. This is exemplified in her research on HIV treatment access and service delivery models in sub-Saharan Africa prior to ...

Adeyinka O. Laiyemo, MD, MPH

Adeyinka O. Laiyemo MD, MPH, FACP is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology at Howard University College of Medicine. During his time as a GHUCCTS KL2 scholar, he received funding and support to continue his study titled "Using Patients' Social Contact to Improve Out-Patient Endoscopy Among Blacks"...

Peggy Compton

Dr. Peggy Compton's areas of clinical expertise are neuroscience nursing, opioids, addiction and pain. She currently serves as Principal Investigator on an NIH-supported, active research program exploring pain and opioid addiction with a specific focus on opioid-induced hyperalgesia, addiction in chronic pain patients, and pro-inflammatory responses to pain and opioid administration...

Brian T. Walitt, MD

Brian Walitt, MD, MPH, FACR received funding from the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program to continue his study titled “The roles of serotonin (5-HT) and gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) in chronic pain and tinnitus: Objective characterization and drug treatment”...

Robert E. Ratner, MD, FACP, FACE

Dr. Robert E. Ratner is Professor of Medicine at Georgetown University Medical School and Senior Research Scientist at the MedStar Health Research Institute in metropolitan Washington, DC.

Thomas Obisesan MD, MPH

Dr. Obisesan’s current research focus is on the disentanglement of the overlap of cardiovascular disease with Alzheimer’s disease risk, and finding a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Obisesan has received grant support from the National Institute of Health, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid, Har ...

Jacqueline Jonklaas MD MPH PhD BSc

Dr. Jacqueline Jonklaas is an Associate Professor at Georgetown University in the Division of Endocrinology. She specializes in the treatment of thyroid disorders, including hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, and thyroid cancer. Involved in clinical care, teaching, and research in Endocrinology with a ...

Meet Martha Dee Gay, PhD

Martha Dee Gay, PhD, is an NIH TL1 GHUCCTS postdoctoral scholar studying gastroenterology and hepatology. Martha's research focuses on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common form of liver cancer, and how it disproportionately affects the Hispanic population.