Michelle Ward

Principal Investigator | Assistant Professor | CPRIT Scholar

Michelle Ward received her M.Sc. from the University of Cape Town where she studied the mis-regulation of the LAP2 gene in cervical cancer while funded by MRC and DAAD Scholarships. For her Ph.D., she joined Duncan Odom’s group at the University of Cambridge as a Commonwealth Scholar to study global transcriptional regulation in mammals. Her thesis work demonstrated the regulatory potential of transposable elements in specific contexts. To further investigate the context-dependent regulation of human and non-human primate genomes using a flexible induced pluripotent stem cell-based system, she joined Yoav Gilad’s group at the University of Chicago as an EMBO Long-Term Postdoctoral Fellow. She was recruited to UTMB as an Assistant Professor and CPRIT Scholar in 2020 to start her own research group.

 E-mail: miward {at} utmb {dot} edu

UTMB Faculty | CPRIT Scholar | GCC Faculty | Google Scholar | Twitter

Jose Gutierrez

Research Associate

A native of the Texas border town of Laredo, Jose Angel Gutierrez received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Biology from Texas A&M International University. Jose worked as an undergraduate student assistant researcher for Drs Mandal, Kidd and Ynalvez, and completed his Master’s degree studying metal tolerance in microalga under Dr. Ynalvez’s tutelage. He also worked as a Biology tutor and later as an adjunct instructor of multiple teaching labs. Jose decided to expand his horizons by joining the Ward Lab in 2020 as a Research Associate. He strives to master stem cell culturing, RNA-seq and ChIP-seq techniques. During his spare time, Jose is attempting to catalogue the species diversity of Galvestonian mushrooms, and is collecting water samples for microscopic analysis.

E-mail: josgutie {at} utmb {dot} edu

E. Renee Matthews

Postdoctoral Fellow

Renee was a native Oklahoma resident and initially graduated from Oklahoma State University with a degree in music. She later settled into the Bay Area and made Texas her home state. After many years of public school teaching, she desired to learn more about DNA which led to a degree in Biochemistry from the University of Houston. After working in the lab of Dr. Robert Schwartz alongside Dr. Peggy Zhang, she developed a deep interest in cardiac development and cardiac regeneration. This led her to completion of a Ph.D. in Biochemistry under Dr. Yu Liu at the University of Houston. Her work focused on CRISPR-mediated miRNA knockout effects on cardiac development and cell fate choice. She is currently working on understanding iPSC-derived cardiac cells and cardiotoxicity. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, listening to podcasts, and really inefficient gardening.

E-mail: ermatthe {at} utmb {dot} edu

Omar Johnson

MD-PhD Student

Omar received his B.A. in Philosophy with minors in Biology and Biochemistry from The University of Texas at Arlington prior to joining UTMB’s MD-PhD program. During his undergraduate studies, he joined Dr. Wei Chen’s Nanobiophysics group where he designed, synthesized and characterized various nanoparticles to be applied in photodynamic therapy and nananomaterials for agricultural applications. In the Ward Lab, Omar plans to acquire skills in iPSC culture, computational biology and functional genomics to later apply in his career as a physician-scientist, as well as to garner a deeper appreciation for the complexity of biological processes. Omar is a Jeane B. Kempner Predoctoral Fellow and Sigma Xi Grant in Aid of Research award holder.

E-mail: omdjohns {at} utmb {dot} edu

Emma Pfortmiller

PhD Student

Emma Pfortmiller received her B.S. in Biology/Pre-Med with minors in Chemistry, Physics, and Social Work from William Woods University in 2021. She is now a David and Janet Niesel Presidential Scholarship holder and proud member of UTMB’s Pharmacology & Toxicology PhD program where she hopes to develop her skills as a scientist and gain knowledge pertaining to her interests in genetics, toxicology, and cancer. She is particularly fascinated by the toxicology of various compounds pertaining to genetic and epigenetic responses, which she aims to research in the Ward Lab. She plans to hone skills in iPSC culture work, cardiomyocyte differentiation, and various genetic/genomic techniques over the course of her PhD. When not completing coursework or spending time in the Ward Lab, Emma enjoys singing, studying various languages, and baking.

E-mail: empfortm {at} utmb {dot} edu

John Hurley

PhD Student

Greetings, my name is John Hurley and I am a PhD student in the Biochemistry, Cell, and Molecular Biology Program, studying within the Cell Biology Track. I am originally from Southern Ohio but did my Undergraduate and Graduate school at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. I have had the opportunity to work under several PIs, research that focused on using capsaicin as an additive in lung cancer chemotherapy, the effect of high fat diet on bone growth in adolescent mice, and the exploration of cell signaling surrounding the NaK-ATase. Since joining UTMB I have had a fascination with understanding the mechanisms surrounding DNA regulation and DNA stability, and plan to learn more about the role Transposable Elements play in these dynamic processes. When not in class or the lab, I am most likely reading a book at home, enjoying some musical theatre or opera, or trying to convince my friends to host a board game night!

E-mail: jdhurley {@} utmb {dot} edu

Kandace Horn

MD Student

Kandace Horn received her B.S. in Biology with a minor in Spanish from the University of Houston in 2016. She received her M.S. in Medical Physiology in 2020 from Case Western Reserve University and is now attending John Sealy School of Medicine at UTMB. She is a proud recipient of the TL1-Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) and is currently a member of the Scholarly Concentration in Translational Research at the UTMB Institute for Translational Sciences. Her current interests include oncology, vascular neurology, and orthopedics with a particular focus in hand and upper extremity surgery. In the Ward Lab, Kandace plans to acquire research and development skills and deepen her scientific perspective before joining an academic residency. When she is not busy studying, she enjoys patio time with her cat “Booker”, paddleboarding, rock-climbing, and gardening at Seeding Galveston.

E-mail: kjhorn {@} utmb {dot} edu

Sayan Paul

Postdoctoral Fellow

Sayan Paul received his M.Sc. from Bangalore University, India in Applied Genetics. For his Ph.D. Sayan joined Dr. Sudhakar lab at Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, a state government university in India. His thesis demonstrated the role of stem cell markers and growth factors in the regeneration and organogenesis of annelid earthworms. The project was funded by the University grants commission project grant. During his Ph.D. Sayan went to UCLA as a visiting researcher and joined Dr. Vaithi Arumugaswami lab to understand the role of Zika virus infection in dysregulating the Hippo signaling pathway. At Ward lab Sayan is currently working on the iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes and understanding the cardiotoxicity in response to the breast cancer drugs.

E-mail: saypaul {@} utmb {dot} edu

Samuel Chang

MD Student

Samuel Chang received his B.S. in Biology with Honors from The University of Texas at Dallas in 2021. He is now attending the John Sealy School of Medicine and is part of the Scholarly Concentration in Translational Research. He aspires to become a cardiothoracic surgeon-researcher with a particular focus on regenerative and preventative medicine. In the Ward Lab, Samuel plans to gain a deeper understanding of the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases as well as the wonders of stem cell technology. Outside of lab and classes, you can find him either volunteering at St. Vincent’s, singing as part of Syncope, or attempting overly ambitious recipes in his rice cooker - yes, in his rice cooker!

E-mail: sschang {@} utmb {dot} edu

Raodatullah Abodunrin

Post-Baccalaureate Research Education (PREP) Scholar

Raodatullah (Raodah) Abodunrin recieved her BSE in Biomedical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University in 2023. Currently, she is at UTMB as a PREP Scholar. During her time at Case Western, she had the opportunity to work in a Pre-Clinical MRI lab where she tested the effects of long term exercise on insulin resistance and mitochondrial dysfunction. She is particularly interested in the computational side of research dealing with data modeling, processing, visualization, and optimization. Following her term as a PREP Scholar, Raodah intends to pursue a PhD in pharmaceutical engineering related field. In her spare time, Raodah loves Photography, True Crime, Cooking, and telling others she's a New Yorker by chance and Houstonian by Choice.

E-mail: roabodun {@} utmb {dot} edu