Graduate Mentors
Nov. 2, 2022
Adrienne Ohler
Dr. Adrienne Ohler is FRI’s Associate Director of Policy Research and an Associate Professor of Agricultural and Applied Economics at the University of Missouri. Her research and teaching focus on environmental, energy, and water economics, with particular emphasis on regulatory economics, energy policy, water quality, and utility systems. Her work examines how public policy, institutional design, and technological change shape energy and water security, environmental quality, infrastructure resilience, and economic outcomes. Her research includes energy markets, advanced metering and residential electricity demand, water quality, distressed water systems, and the non-market valuation of environmental amenities. Using a combination of econometric…
July 17, 2022
Zachary Berndsen
The Berndsen Lab focuses on utilizing and developing state-of-the-art cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) techniques in combination with other biochemical, molecular, and computational tools to interrogate the structure and function of important biomolecular systems within the context of human disease. Our aim is to create bridges between basic and translational science with the goal of making discoveries that will both strengthen our fundamental understanding of these systems and accelerate the development of potentially life-saving therapies. To do so, we will not only rely on internal expertise but engage in extensive collaboration with other research laboratories both on the Mizzou…
Dec. 19, 2021
Clarissa Durie
Cells must interface with and adapt to the outside world, and one critical way they achieve this is through the dynamic and specific action of secretion systems that transport molecules in and out of cells. Over the last several decades, scientists have identified numerous cellular secretion systems from bacteria to human. However, there are still many unanswered questions about precisely how and when they function. The goal of my research program is to integrate biochemical, biophysical, and genetic approaches to understand the structure, regulation, and function of bacterial secretion systems in their physiological contexts. Bacterial pathogens represent a…
July 13, 2021
Abed G. Rabbani
Rabbani is an associate professor and CFP Board-Registered Program Director in the Personal Financial Planning program at the University of Missouri. He received a BS degree from Khulna University, Bangladesh, and an MS from James Cook University, Australia. He also earned an MS from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and a PhD in Financial Planning at the University of Georgia. He is a Certified Financial PlannerTM. Educational background Courses taught…
July 13, 2021
Rui Yao
Rui Yao’s research focuses on consumer and family financial decision-making and well-being. Specific topics include financial resilience, debt management, saving and investment behavior and motives, risk tolerance, financial capability, consumption patterns, employment-leisure decisions, as well as mental and physical health outcomes of financial events. Her interdisciplinary work targets at providing implications to stakeholders of consumer and family well-being and impacted millions of consumers and families through her publications, presentations, and media interviews. She received the best paper award from the CFP Board, AARP, American Council on Consumer Interests, and American Association of Family & Consumer Sciences. She is the…
June 29, 2021
Jacqueline Limberg
Specific areas of interest include:
June 29, 2021
Jaapna Dhillon
Educational background…
June 29, 2021
Katherene Osei-Boadi Anguah
Educational background…
June 29, 2021
Victoria Vieira-Potter
The Vieira-Potter laboratory studies sex differences in adipose tissue metabolism, and how sex hormones (namely, estrogen) and exercise affect fat cell metabolism. This is done via use of a variety of animal models and state-of-the-art molecular tools. Our goal is to determine adipose (i.e., fat) tissue-specific mechanisms by which hormone shifts and obesity affect cardiometabolic disease risk, and to discover novel interventions to mitigate this risk by specifically targeting adipose tissue. Our work has demonstrated that female hormone loss adversely affects adipose tissue both directly, via loss of the protective effects of estrogen receptor signaling, and indirectly, via brain-specific…
June 29, 2021
R. Scott Rector
Dr. Rector is actively involved in graduate and medical student education at the University of Missouri. In addition, Dr. Rector has an active research program focused on prevention and treatment of many chronic diseases, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Dr. Rector’s lab takes a translational approach to examine these chronic conditions, employing strategies in cell culture systems, small and large animal models, and intervention studies in humans. One of his primary research interests involves examining the causes of the development and progression of NAFLD, a chronic liver disease comprised of a spectrum…