https://centerforgeroscience.ouhsc.edu/Programs Parent Page: Programs id: 36672 Active Page: Current Trainees id: 36505

Current postdoctoral trainees

Matthew McDougal 

Mentored by Wan Hee Yoon, PhD

Matt is a postdoctoral scientist in the Yoon Lab at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation in the Aging & Metabolism Research Program. After earning his PhD from UT Southwestern Medical Center, he joined the Yoon Lab in 2024 to investigate how pathogenic mutations in nuclear-encoded mitochondrial genes disrupt cellular metabolism and organelle function in the brain. His current research focuses on understanding the consequences of dysfunction of the mitochondrial protein ATAD3A, a regulator of aging-related processes that has been associated with neurological disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease. Matt’s research seeks to define the mechanisms underlying cellular stress due to ATAD3A dysfunction to inform therapeutic strategies that can ameliorate diseases of the brain.

Publications

Pehlivan D, Sandoval A, Maroofian R, Lecoquierre F, Al Shamsi AM, Lee GS, Yesilbas O, Taylor P, McDougal MB, Bahrambeigi V, Aryani O, Ramirez JF, Salih KH, Al Alam C, Morsy H, Hussien H, Omar T, Abdelrazek IM, Brehin AC, Marafi D, Kalayci T, Rahma JA, Talbeya JK, Dabbah H, Verspyck E, Moosavian T, Fatih JM, Mitani T, Akay G, Calame DG, Guerrot AM, Chung WK, Houlden H, Lupski JR, Shalata A, Yoon WH. Bi-allelic variants in NRDC cause a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by neonatal lethality, microcephaly, and brain abnormalities. The American Journal of Human Genetics. 2026 Mar 5. PMID: 41734767. DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2026.01.017

Lauren Miller

Mentored by Veronica Galvan, PhD

Dr. Miller earned her PhD from the University of Oklahoma Harold Hamm Health Campus in the lab of Dr. Shannon Conley. Her dissertation studies focused on the contribution of IGF-1-dependent signaling in vascular smooth muscle cells to vascular cognitive impairment and dementia in aging mouse models. She joined the Galvan lab as a postdoctoral fellow to study age-related dementias. Her current research is focused on the regulation of tau-induced astrocyte senescence.

Publications

Miller LR, Bickel MA, Tarantini S, Runion ME, Matacchiera Z, Vance ML, Hibbs C, Vaden H, Nagykaldi D, Martin T, Bullen EC, Pinckard J, Kiss T, Howard EW, Yabluchanskiy A, Conley SM. IGF1R deficiency in vascular smooth muscle cells impairs myogenic autoregulation and cognition in mice. Front Aging Neurosci. 2024;16:1320808. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2024.1320808. eCollection 2024. PubMed PMID: 38425784; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10902040.

Miller LR, Bickel MA, Vance ML, Vaden H, Nagykaldi D, Nyul-Toth A, Bullen EC, Gautam T, Tarantini S, Yabluchanskiy A, Kiss T, Ungvari Z, Conley SM. Vascular smooth muscle cell-specific Igf1r deficiency exacerbates the development of hypertension-induced cerebral microhemorrhages and gait defects. Geroscience. 2024 Jun;46(3):3481-3501. doi: 10.1007/s11357-024-01090-7. Epub 2024 Feb 23. PubMed PMID: 38388918; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11009188.

Huston CA, Milan M, Vance ML, Bickel MA, Miller LR, Negri S, Hibbs C, Vaden H, Hayes L, Csiszar A, Ungvari Z, Yabluchanskiy A, Tarantini S, Conley SM. The effects of time restricted feeding on age-related changes in the mouse retina. Exp Gerontol. 2024 Sep;194:112510. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2024.112510. Epub 2024 Jul 5. PubMed PMID: 38964431; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11425985.

Van Skike CE, Miller LR, Hernandez SF, Hussong SA, Makhlouf H, Muppala A, DeRosa N, Jahrling JB, Dineley KT, Galvan V. mTOR drives cerebrovascular dysfunction and blood-brain barrier breakdown in a model of Alzheimers disease with cerebral amyloid angiopathy. bioRxiv. 2026 Sep 7;. doi: 10.64898/2026.06.23.733858. PubMed PMID: 42395350; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC13320779.

Michelle Nguyen

Mentored by Arlan Richardson, PhD

Michelle Nguyen is a postdoctoral research fellow in Dr. Arlan Richardson’s laboratory. Her research interests center on understanding how mitochondrial haplotypes can influence the aging process using the OKC-HET rat model. Specifically, she investigates how naturally occurring variations in mitochondrial DNA can affect mitochondrial function, healthspan, and lifespan. Most of her work has focused on multi-omics approaches, integrating metabolomics, proteomics, lipidomics, 16S analyses, and epigenetics to identify mechanisms that may explain why individuals age differently. She aims to bridge findings in OKC-HET rats with human aging biology to support the development of strategies that promote healthy aging.

Publications

Nguyen HVM, Hu F, Shakya E, Fender C, Lee K, Schindler J, Garcia‐Jaramillo M, Ahsan N, Siebert JC, Borengasser SJ, Hord NG. Mitochondrial‐Haplotype Influences Plasma Metabolome, Lipidome, and Proteome in a Sex Specific Manner in the Genetically Heterogenous OKC‐HETB/W Rat. The FASEB Journal. 2026 May 31;40(10):e71736.

Nguyen HVM, Cabello E, Dyer D, Fender C, Garcia-Jaramillo M, Hord NG, Austad S, Richardson A, Unnikrishnan A. Age, sex, and mitochondrial-haplotype influence gut microbiome composition and metabolites in a genetically diverse rat model. Aging (Albany NY). 2025 Feb 27;17(2):524.

Ahn B, Wei T, Pettit-Mee R, Kim E, Musci RV, Wanagat J, Nguyen HVM, Richardson A, Kim H. Mitochondrial haplotype and sex modulate responses to endurance exercise training. J Physiol. 2025-05-31.

Current predoctoral trainees

Jillian Cox

Mentored by Sarah Ocañas, PhD

Jillian E. J. Cox is a PhD candidate in the Neuroscience Program at the University of Oklahoma Harold Hamm Health Campus. She conducts her dissertation research in the laboratory of Dr. Sarah Ocañas at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. Her work focuses on elucidating the mechanisms underlying sex differences in Alzheimer’s disease, with particular emphasis on sex chromosome–mediated regulation of microglial responses in aging and neurodegeneration.

Publications

Cox JEJ, Pham KD, Keck AW, Wright Z, Thomas MA, Freeman WM, Ocañas SR. Flow Cytometry Analysis of Microglial Phenotypes in the Murine Brain During Aging and Disease. Bio Protoc. 2024 Jun 20;14(12):e5018. doi: 10.21769/BioProtoc.5018. PMID: 38948260; PMCID: PMC11211077.

Santín-Márquez R, Fornalik M, Janovic SR, Isola JVV, Biswas S, Sathiaseelan R, Cox JEJ, Ocanas SR, Stout MB. 17α-Estradiol: A mildly feminizing estrogen with sex-specific metabolic and lifespan benefits. Ageing Res Rev. 2026 Jul;119:103182. doi: 10.1016/j.arr.2026.103182. Epub 2026 May 15. PMID: 42142594; PMCID: PMC13570712.

Badillo S, Poljanska E, Ray S, Kilani H, Cox JEJ, Ko S, Biswas S, Benbrook DM, Stout MB, Ocañas SR. Tamoxifen transiently disrupts estrous cyclicity without altering long-term ovarian aging trajectories. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2026 Sep 8:2026.09.03.749251. doi: 10.64898/2026.09.03.749251. PMID: 42818318; PMCID: PMC13622568.

Eric Moore

Mentored by Archana Unnikrishnan, PhD

Eric Moore’s research examines the intersection between developmental biology and aging, specifically investigating the effects of maternal obesity on aging in offspring. He focuses on characterizing the long-term phenotypes observed in offspring of maternal obesity and on uncovering the mechanisms through which these changes are transmitted from mothers to their offspring. His comprehensive approach integrates mouse behavioral studies with cutting-edge techniques in biochemistry and bioinformatics, providing a unique, integrated perspective necessary for addressing key questions in the developmental origins of health and disease.

Publications

Moore E, Selvarani R, Kurup K, Chan M, Saminathan M, Pazhanivel N, Ding K, Ford A, Taylor BM, Jonscher K, Richardson A, Friedman JE, Unnikrishnan A. Maternal obesity decreases offspring lifespan. Mol Metab. 2026 Mar;105:102333. doi: 10.1016/j.molmet.2026.102333. Epub 2026 Feb 10. PubMed PMID: 41679435; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC12945535.

Kurup K, Chan M, Moore E, Ranjo-Bishop M, Pham K, Stanford DR, Freeman WM, Unnikrishnan A. Late-Life Short-Term Dietary Restriction Improves Intestinal Stem Cell Function and Alters Intestinal Stem Cell Deoxyribonucleic Acid Methylation in Mice. J Nutr. 2025 Aug;155(8):2568-2581. doi: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2025.05.044. Epub 2025 May 31. PubMed PMID: 40456408; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC12346696.

Michaela Vance

Mentored by Shannon Conley, PhD

Michaela Vance is a fourth-year PhD candidate in the Department of Cell Biology in Dr. Shannon Conley’s lab. Her lab investigates the cellular mechanisms underlying age-related vascular fragility in the brain and its contribution to cognitive decline. Her project specifically examines how endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition, a cellular transdifferentiation process, becomes more prevalent with aging and exacerbates vascular fragility.

Publications

Vance ML, Nagy D, Brunner E, Morkotinis V, Black JL, Refai LH, Csiszar A, Conley SM. Endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition in the central nervous system: A potential therapeutic target to combat age-related vascular fragility. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2025-10-10; 392(11):103747.

Travis Pennington

Mentored by Tommy Lewis, PhD

Travis Pennington is a native Oregonian who graduated from Oregon State University in December 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology. He and his wife moved to Oklahoma for him to attend graduate school, and they have since had two children. His research interests focus on the links between neurodevelopmental disorders and neurodegenerative disease, which has led him to develop a project studying the role of Fragile X Messenger Ribonucleoprotein in Alzheimer’s disease.

Publications

Strucinska K, Kneis P, Pennington T, Cizio K, Szybowska P, Morgan A, Weertman J, Lewis TL. A role for Fis1 in dendritic development. Sci Rep. 2025-12-23.

Clara Hibbs

Mentored by Lindsay Hayes, PhD

Clara Hibbs is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Cell Biology in Dr. Lindsay Hayes' lab. Her research investigates how prenatal immune challenges influence brain aging, focusing on microglia and the mechanisms that promote resilience to age-related cognitive decline in female offspring. She is particularly interested in understanding how estrogen receptor signaling in microglia supports healthy cognitive aging and may inform future therapies for neurodegenerative diseases.

Publications

Miller LR, Bickel MA, Tarantini S, Runion ME, Matacchiera Z, Vance ML, Hibbs C, Vaden H, Nagykaldi D, Martin T, Bullen EC, Pinckard J, Kiss T, Howard EW, Yabluchanskiy A, Conley SM. IGF1R deficiency in vascular smooth muscle cells impairs myogenic autoregulation and cognition in mice. Front Aging Neurosci. 2024;16:1320808. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2024.1320808. eCollection 2024. PubMed PMID: 38425784; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10902040.

Huston CA, Milan M, Vance ML, Bickel MA, Miller LR, Negri S, Hibbs C, Vaden H, Hayes L, Csiszar A, Ungvari Z, Yabluchanskiy A, Tarantini S, Conley SM. The effects of time restricted feeding on age-related changes in the mouse retina. Exp Gerontol. 2024 Sep;194:112510. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2024.112510. Epub 2024 Jul 5. PubMed PMID: 38964431; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11425985.

Pinckard J, Negri S, Huston CA, Bickel MA, Vance ML, Milan M, Hibbs CL, Budda M, Chandragiri SS, Pipkin K, Tarantini S, Conley SM. Functional ultrasound as a quantitative approach for measuring functional hyperemia in aging models. Neuroimage. 2025 Aug 1;316:121313. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121313. Epub 2025 Jun 12. PubMed PMID: 40513179; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC12257925.

Camfield S, Gaona-Gamboa A, Hibbs CL, Hayes LN. Generation of the Early-Gestational Maternal Immune Activation Mouse Model to Assess Prenatal Inflammation on Neurodevelopment. J Vis Exp. 2026 Mar 24;(229). doi: 10.3791/70352. PubMed PMID: 41973698.