Alumni and Former Lab Members

Rosemary Dong, BS (Jan. 2022 - Jan. 2023)

• Education: Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
• Kim Lab: Technologist
• Current: Prep for Medical School
• Project: Vasculature Damage in the Ovary by Chemotherapy
• Achievements:
  • Book Chapter (Molecular mechanisms determining mammalian oocyte quality with the treatment of cancer therapy. Dong R., et al. 2023. Spring Nature)
  • Selected to present work in Poster Symposium/Rapid Fire Presentations at CHRI Conference (Nov. 4, 2022)
  • Selected 3^rd place for poster presentation, the MSPS 2022, Vermillion, SD (Oct 7-8, 2022)
  • A judge for the State Science and Engineering Competition at the Nebraska Junior Academy of Sciences (Apr. 21, 2022)
  • 14 posters in total

Maya Eldani, BS (Nov. 2018 – Aug. 2020)

• Education: Wichita State University
• Kim Lab: Technologist
• Current: Master's Student at Wichita State University
• Project: Ovarian Damage by Chemotherapy
• Achievements:
  • Eldani M, Luan Y, Xu PC, Barger T, Kim SY. Continuous treatment with low-dose cisplatin induces the oocyte death of primordial follicles without activation. 2020 Aug 23. The FASEB Journal (PMID: 32830364)
  • 19 posters in total
  • 2 papers

Ibrahim Elesh, PhD (Oct. 2021 – Aug. 2022)

• Education: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Damanhour University, Egypt
• Kim Lab: Postdoctoral Fellow
• Current: Lecturer, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Damanhour University
• Project: Cachexia
• Achievement:
  • Judge for the State Science and Engineering Competition at the Nebraska Junior Academy of Sciences (Apr.21.2022)
• 6 posters in total
• 1 paper

Education: UNMC College of Medicine, Omaha, NE, 2023

Yi Luan, MS (Sept. 2019 – Dec. 2022)

• Education: Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL
• Kim Lab: PhD student
• Current: Senior Scientist, AstraZeneca
• Project: Role of TAp63 in the oocyte
• Achievements:
  • Selected to present work in Poster Symposium/Rapid Fire Presentations at CHRI Conference on Nov. 4th
  • Selected 1^st place for Poster presentation, the MSPS 2022, Vermillion, SD (Oct 7-8)
  • Outstanding Poster Presentation Award (post-comprehensive) at the 2022 Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Annual Research Symposium
  • Outstanding Performance Award (Best Comprehensive Examination) at the 2022 Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Annual Research Symposium
  • An Outstanding Abstract Award in conjunction with ENDO 2022, Atlanta, GA (June 11-14)
  • Judge for the State Science and Engineering Competition at the Nebraska Junior Academy of Sciences (Apr.21.2022)
  • Trainee Travel Award, Society for the Study of Reproductive 54^th Annual Meeting in 2021
  • 1^st place for poster presentation (graduate student category) at the Midlands Society for Physiological Sciences in 2021
  • Endocrine Society Outstanding Abstract Award, ENDO EXPO 2021
  • Top viewed paper in 2019; Journal of Endocrinology 2020
  • 47 posters in total
  • 10 papers
  • 1 book chapter

Wend Kuni Rodrigue Oeudraogo, BS (Summer, 2019)

• Education: University of Nebraska – Lincoln
• Kim Lab: Volunteer Student

Amelia Podolny (June – Aug. 2021)

• Education:  Olaf College
• Kim Lab: SURP summer student
• Project: Role of KIT in ovarian reserve
• Achievement:
  • 1 poster (Role of oocyte-specific cKIT on development of ovarian reserve. Summer Undergraduate Research Program. Aug. 12. 2021.)

Macy Thonen, BS (June – Aug. 2022)

• Education: University of Nebraska Medical Center
• Kim Lab: SURP summer student (M1)
• Current: University of Nebraska Medical Center (M2)
• Project: The Ovarian Toxicity Of Busulfan And Cyclophosphamide In Mouse Model
• Achievements:
  • 2022 Research Experience for Graduate and Medical Students award from the ENDOCRINE SOCIETY
  • Medical Student Summer Research Program award from UNMC
  • 2 posters (MSBRF, ACOG)

Pauline C. Xu, BS (Mar. 2019 – Feb. 2022)

• Education: University of Maryland
• Kim Lab: PhD student
• Current: University of Nebraska Medical Center (M3)
• Project: PDAC-driven cancer cachexia
• Achievements:
  • 1^st place for Oral presentation in the MD, PhD Category at Child Health Research Institute Conference at UNMC
  • UNMC Graduate Studies Program of Excellence Assistantship
  • Trainee Travel Awardee, Gilbert S. Greenwald Symposium on Reproduction
  • 40 posters in total
  • 5 papers

Seok-Yeong Yu, PhD

• Education:
  • PhD - Area of Study: Public Health
  • MS - Area of Study: Nutrition
• Kim Lab: Postdoctoral Research Associate
• Selected for Presidential Poster Award Candidate, the ENDO 2023, Chicago, IL (Jun 15-18) 
• Judge for the State Science and Engineering Competition at the Nebraska Junior Academy of Sciences (NJAS) (Apr.20.2023) 
• Selected Oral presentation (1st place), the MSPS 2022, Vermillion, SD (Oct 7-8)                                  
• Selected for Presidential Poster Award Candidate, the ENDO 2022, Atlanta, GA (Jun 11-14) 
• An Outstanding Abstract Award in conjunction with ENDO 2022, Atlanta, GA (Jun 11-14) 
• Judge for the State Science and Engineering Competition at the Nebraska Junior Academy of Sciences (NJAS) (Apr.21.2022) 
• Postdoctoral Representative at the MSPS Conference 
• 1st place for poster presentation (postdoctoral category) at the Midlands Society for Physiological Sciences (MSPS) in 2021 
• Oral Presentation at Greenwald symposium (2021)