2023 Scholars

Dr. Susan Gueble is a physician-scientist and Assistant Professor of Therapeutic Radiology. She received her MD and PhD degrees as part of the medical scientist training program (MSTP) at Yale School of Medicine and completed her residency in radiation oncology at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Her clinical focus is in caring for patients with gynecologic, prostate, or genitourinary malignancies using radiation treatment. Her primary clinical practice is in Trumbull, CT. Her research focuses on the mechanisms of novel DNA modifying agents and DNA damage response pathways, with the goal of translating her findings into therapeutic strategies for the treatment of cancer.

I am from Boulder, Colorado and studied Biomedical Engineering & Biology during my undergraduate time at Duke University. I went on to complete an MD/PhD at the University of Michigan, studying how perception of the environment regulated neuropeptidergic signaling pathways, metabolism, and aging. I then came to Yale for my Psychiatry residency as part of the Neuroscience Research Training Program (NRTP). Here at Yale I have studied how stress and resilience influence obesity, metabolic disease, and aging with Drs. Rajita Sinha and Ke Xu. I further specialized with a clinical fellowship in the psychiatric care of the medically ill (Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry, formerly Psychosomatic Medicine), and have now joined faculty, with plans to continue studying the complex interactions between physical and mental health.

Built on a strong foundation of academic training as a pulmonologist in Japan and the United States, Dr. Ishikawa has an enduring passion for pioneering innovative treatments for pulmonary fibrosis. After completing his clinical training in Japan, Dr. Ishikawa sought to broaden his medical expertise in the United States. He honed his research skills and expanded his knowledge base by earning a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree from Emory University. Driven by his relentless pursuit of excellence, Dr. Ishikawa further bolstered his credentials by undertaking an Internal Medicine Residency and a Fellowship in Pulmonary Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York. During this comprehensive clinical training, he faced the harsh realities of pulmonary fibrosis — a relentless, fatal form of progressive interstitial lung disease (ILD). This impactful experience galvanized Dr. Ishikawa to dedicate his career to devising innovative treatments for this severe condition. Committed to advancing his mission, Dr. Ishikawa embarked on a postdoctoral fellowship at Yale University under the expert guidance of the esteemed Dr. Erica L. Herzog. As part of his role, he also has the privilege of caring for ILD patients at the Yale Center for Interstitial Lung Diseases, an experience that lends practical insights to his research work. Currently, within the intellectually stimulating environment of Dr. Herzog's laboratory, Dr. Ishikawa is investigating a recently discovered neuro-innate fibrotic mechanism. This intriguing mechanism entails complex interactions between nerve-derived noradrenaline and lung macrophages that express alpha-1 adrenoreceptors. Guided by a vision to transform the treatment landscape for pulmonary fibrosis, Dr. Ishikawa's ultimate goal is to translate these intricate scientific findings into potent, effective therapies. He remains staunchly dedicated to this pursuit, propelled by the hope that his research will contribute significantly to advancing patient care.

Dr. Orfano is an Associate Research Scientist in the department of Epidemiology and Microbial Diseases at Yale School of Public Health. She receive her master's degree (2012) and Phd (2016) in Health Sciences from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Brazil. During her PhD program she received an one year fellowship to develop part of her PhD training outside of Brazil and she spent one year at Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research- NIH. After finishing her PhD, she continued her training as post doc and in 2019 she joined the Yale School of Public Health as a postdoctoral associate, and in 2021 she became a junior faculty at the EMD-YSPH. Dr. Orfano's research is focused on understanding the parasite vector interaction dynamic. She is currently working on Genetic diversity of Plasmodium falciparum and how this can affect the transmission to the Anopheles mosquito.

I am an evolutionary anthropologist that focuses on human biology, and the evolution of health and disease in modern populations. My research aims are to better understand how  immune and metabolic responses, in association with poverty and gendered pressures, construct non-communicable and infectious diseases in women, and perpetuate poor health outcomes. My background is in Applied Biological Anthropology, Public Health, and African Studies. Currently I work with Yale University's Olaga Research Lab in Samoa studying inflammation, non-communicable diseases, and physical activity. My previous work has taken me to Brazil to study the interactions between parasitism and reproductive health in women of the Kalunga quilombo, and to Tanzania to study the impact of HIV on children and family structures.

Dr. Rodwin completed her clinical fellowship in pediatric hematology/oncology at Yale in 2020, and subsequently conducted research in childhood cancer survivorship as a Pediatric Scholar and post-doctoral fellow in the Cancer Prevention and Control T32 Program. She has also served as director of the HEROS Childhood Cancer Survivorship Clinic since 2021. She looks forward to continuing her research aimed at minimizing treatment-related toxicities in childhood cancer survivors and leading the HEROS survivorship program.

Dr. Rogne is a medical doctor and researcher who focuses on perinatal epidemiology. Some of the ongoing projects includes evaluating how climate change affects pregnancy, the role of modifiable risk factors on reproductive health and adverse pregnancy outcomes, and how being born preterm affects the risk of cardiovascular and infectious diseases in adulthood. To tackle clinically relevant questions and providing robust results, he applies modern methods ranging from negative controls and inverse-probability weighting to genetic epidemiological methods and genome-wide association analyses. Dr. Rogne places emphasis on using high-quality data, in particular by use of data from population based cohorts and national registries.

Dr Mancy Tong is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at Yale School of Medicine. Dr Tong received a BSc (Hons) in Biomedical Sciences in 2012 and was awarded her Ph.D. in Obstetrics and Gynecology in 2017, both from The University of Auckland, New Zealand. She arrived at Yale School of Medicine to continue her training as a postdoctoral associate in 2017 and in 2020, she became faculty in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the Yale School of Medicine.Dr Tong's research focuses on understanding the impact of viral infection and inflammation on endometrial function and their downstream effects on placental development and pregnancy outcome. Dr Tong is an active member of the Society for Reproductive Investigation and the International Federation of Placenta Associations, and serves as an ad hoc reviewer for numerous journals within the Reproductive Sciences field.