Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Fellows - Pharmacology and Toxicology

What Starts Here Changes the World

The University of Texas at Austin’s Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology attracts top students and postdoctoral fellows from all over the world. We are proud to build a culture where everyone has opportunities and a sense of belonging.

Current Graduate Students

Current Postdoctoral Fellows

Dr. Astrid Cardona Acosta smiling in an indoor setting

Astrid Cardona Acosta, Ph.D.

Lab: Natividad Lab
Education: Ph.D., Texas A&M University
Contact: Email Astrid | Astrid's LinkedIn

Research Interests:
My research interests focus on understanding the molecular and neural mechanisms underlying vulnerability to relapse, including the cognitive deficits associated with chronic alcohol use. I am particularly interested in using operant self-administration models to investigate and characterize behavioral phenotypes associated with alcohol use disorder.

Dr. Lavender Hackman smiling in an outdoor setting

Lavender Hackman, Ph.D.

Lab: DiGiovanni Lab
Education: Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin
Contact: Email Lavender | Lavender's LinkedIn

Research Interests:
Prostate cancer metabolic reprogramming, drug resistance, nutritional oncology

Emily Hilz

Emily N. Hilz, Ph.D.

Lab: Gore Lab
Education: Ph.D.
Contact: Email Emily 

Research Interests:
Endocrine disrupting chemicals, brain development, intergenerational inheritance of cognitive-behavioral disruption

Nadia McLean smiling and wearing a white sweater

Nadia McLean, Ph.D.

Lab: Mangieri Lab
Education: Ph.D., Washington State University
Contact: Email Nadia | Nadia's LinkedIn

Research Interests:
Characterizing neuroadaptations from chronic alcohol use and identifying novel pharmacological treatments/treatment targets for alcohol use disorder

Tyler Milewski smiling in an outdoor setting

Tyler Milewski, Ph.D.

Lab: Gore Lab
Education: Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin
Contact: Email Tyler

Research Interests:
My research interests lie in the interaction between endocrine-disrupting chemicals and the endocrine system. I investigate how prenatal exposure to these chemicals can lead to long-lasting genomic changes in both the brain and peripheral tissues.

Christy Lite

Christy Lite Samuel, Ph.D.

Lab: Richburg Lab
Education: Ph.D., SRM University
Contact: Email Christy | Christy's LinkedIn

Research Interests:
Male Reproductive Biology and Immunology

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Meenu Sharma

Lab: Kim Lab
Education: Ph.D.
Contact: Email Meenu

Research Interests:
My research interest focus to studying the role of non canonical G4 DNA in transcription and genome stability. 

Nishant Sharma

Nishant Sharma, Ph.D.

Lab: Mukhopadhyay Lab
Education: Ph.D., National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research-Ahmedabad, India
Contact: Email Nishant | Nishant's LinkedIn

Research Interests:
I am interested in exploring the pathobiology of Manganese-induced motor disease, and how SLC30A10 is expressed and functions in neuron-specific subtypes to develop a tailored medicine approach.

Jada Walker smiling in front of a tree

Jada Walker, Ph.D.

Lab: Natividad Lab 
Education: Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin
Contact: Email Jada

Research Interests:
I use mass spectrometry-based methods to identify proteins linked to cortical dysregulation caused by chronic alcohol exposure.

wanjie

Wanjie Yang, Ph.D.

Lab: Kim Lab
Education: Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin
Contact: Email Wanjie | Wanjie's LinkedIn

Research Interests:
G-quadruplex DNA and its role in gene transcription regulation.