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Postdoctoral Researcher(s)
Roxanne Bérubé, Ph.D.Dr. Roxanne Bérubé is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Institute of Environmental Health Sciences at Wayne State University. She completed her PhD at the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique, in Québec city, Canada. Her work aimed to evaluate the toxicity of conventional and unconventional oils on freshwater fish. Her MSc was completed at Laval University, where she worked on the accumulation and persistence of UVB-induced DNA damage in the human skin. She is interested in assessing the effects of various contaminants (oils, pesticides, endocrines disruptors) during early development and on cellular division and differentiation.
Outside of the lab, Roxanne is practicing or teaching yoga. She also loves dancing, reading, drawing or soap making! |
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Research Assistant(s)
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Brooklynn MurrayBrooklynn Murray is a Research Assistant in the Institute of Environmental Health Sciences at Wayne State University. She graduated from Michigan State University with a B.S. in Physiology. During her undergraduate years she studied reward seeking pathways in the brain as well as pancreatic islet formation. Brooklynn is interested in understanding how consumer chemicals affect our endocrine system.
Brooklynn enjoys going to the gym and spending time with her family and friends outside of the lab. |
Graduate Student(s)
Samantha HeldmanSamantha Heldman is a third year graduate student in the Pharmacology Ph.D. program. She obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and a Life Science Teacher Certification at Texas A&M University. She's currently continuing her rotation project, investigating the endocrine disrupting potential of liquid crystal monomers released by liquid crystal display (LCD) devices. While she still plans to teach, Samantha hopes a career in environmental toxicology research will seamlessly incorporate her passions for education, scientific inquiry, and environmental advocacy.
In her free time, Samantha enjoys rock climbing, dance, volunteering at the Detroit Zoo, and getting lost in the woods taking pictures for iNaturalist. |
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Kyle SiegelKyle Siegel is working towards a PhD in Wayne State University SOM’s Department of Pharmacology. He completed a BS in Biology at The College of New Jersey, researching the physiological effects of climate change on acorn barnacles. Following ~2 years as a PhD student/frog boy in developmental biology at Northwestern University, Kyle joined a Chicago-based contract research organization specializing in cardiovascular pharmacology and toxicology. He’s mostly interested in how endocrine disrupting chemicals affect heart development and function, with some undercurrents of EDC-dysregulated metabolism and hormone receptor evolution.
Outside of science places, Kyle can usually be found distance running, cooking + baking, and playing an electric guitar unplugged. |
Praneeth Goli, Pharm.D.Praneeth Goli is a Masters’s student in Pharmacology at Wayne State University in his second year. He previously completed his Pharm.D degree from JNTU University in India. He has broad research interests in better understanding the impacts of EDCs. In his free time, Praneeth enjoys playing cricket, exploring new places, and spending quality time with his friends. He finds these activities to be a great way to recharge and maintain a healthy work-life balance.
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Rachelle HechtRachelle Hecht is a 4th year PhD candidate in the Pharmacology Department. Rachelle obtained dual bachelor’s degrees from the University of Michigan in Molecular Biology/Biotechnology and Medical Technology. In 2019, she completed her master’s degree from the University of Michigan focused on understanding the mechanistic characteristics of phospholipid fatty acids associated with IFNα production in plasmacytoid dendritic cells and the effects of dietary omega-3-fatty acids as potential therapeutic options for autoimmune diseases with an IFN signature.
Rachelle joined the WSU cancer biology department in 2019 where her dissertation work investigated the role of G1 checkpoint deficiencies and the mechanisms that drive platinum tolerance in DNA-repair deficient non-small cell/small cell lung carcinomas as well as the mechanism in which ATR mediates platinum tolerance by utilizing ATR inhibitors as a novel therapy to target G1 checkpoint/DNA repair deficient lung carcinomas. She has since transferred to the Pharmacology department where her interests are focused on how EDCs impact our overall health. Outside of her PhD work, Rachelle is an adjunct lecturer instructing anatomy and physiology, microbiology, and chemistry for nursing students. In her free time, you will catch her doing anything outdoors, at the gym, running around like a crazy person with her 6 kiddos, or relaxing with her fiancé and her new black lab puppy, Maverick. |
Undergraduate Researcher(s)
Victoria Fasakin |
Darya Aminioroomi |
Laboratory AlumniDestiny Johnson - Undergraduate Researcher; 9/21 - graduated 12/2021
Yu-Ting (Tiffany) Chiang - Research Assistant; 11/20 - 8/22 Master of Nursing program at Emory University, 8/2022+ Matthew LeFauve - Postdoc; 6/21 - 11/22 Started as Toxicologist at US EPA, 11/2022 Jake Holloway - Undergraduate Researcher; 5/2022 - 7/2023 (graduated; started medical school 8/2023) Aicha Khalaf - Undergraduate Researcher; 8/2021 - 8/2023 |
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