Yash Pershad is an MD–PhD student in the Human Genetics Graduate Program at Vanderbilt University and a trainee in the laboratory of Alexander G. Bick, MD, PhD. His research focuses on understanding how inherited genetic variation shapes the development of clonal hematopoiesis, a condition in which blood stem cells acquire mutations that allow certain clones to expand over time. In the study “Inherited resilience to clonal hematopoiesis by modifying stem cell RNA regulation,” Pershad contributed to research examining how germline genetic factors can influence stem cell RNA regulation and protect against the expansion of mutated blood cell clones. By integrating population genetics with single-cell transcriptomic approaches, his work helps uncover how inherited variation can modulate disease risk and resilience in aging blood systems. Alexander Bick, MD, PhD, is Director of the Division of Genetic Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology in the Department of Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and a physician-scientist whose research focuses on the genetic basis of human disease. His laboratory studies clonal hematopoiesis, a condition that becomes increasingly common with age and is associated with elevated risk for blood cancers and cardiovascular disease. In the study “Inherited resilience to clonal hematopoiesis by modifying stem cell RNA regulation,” Dr. Bick and collaborators investigated how inherited genetic variants can alter stem cell RNA regulatory pathways to reduce the likelihood that mutated blood cell clones expand. By combining human genomics, population genetics, and functional studies, his work aims to identify the biological mechanisms that drive clonal hematopoiesis and to inform strategies for preventing or treating age-associated diseases linked to this condition.

Monica E. Brown is a Ph.D. candidate in the Cell and Developmental Biology Graduate Program at Vanderbilt University and a trainee in the laboratory of Ken S. Lau, Ph.D. Her research focuses on understanding cellular plasticity and the mechanisms that drive cell-state transitions within the intestinal epithelium, with particular interest in how developmental programs shape specialized cell populations. In the study “Pancreatic islet β-cell subtypes are derived from biochemically-distinct and nutritionally-regulated islet progenitors,” Brown contributed to research examining how distinct islet progenitor populations give rise to functionally different β-cell subtypes and how those differences are influenced by maternal nutrition. By integrating in vivo models with single-cell and epigenetic approaches, her work helps uncover the regulatory logic that governs endocrine cell differentiation, function, and disease susceptibility.

Katy Bunn, PhD, was a graduate student in the Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology in the Pua Lab at Vanderbilt University Medical Center at the time of this work. Her research focused on understanding how T helper 2 (Th2) cell–derived extracellular vesicles regulate allergic inflammation. Specifically, her work examined how cytokine cargo on the surface of extracellular vesicles, including IL-3, promotes eosinophil survival in both in vitro systems and in vivo mouse models of asthma. Through this research, Dr. Bunn contributed to uncovering new mechanisms of immune cell communication that may help explain persistent inflammation in patients whose asthma is not fully controlled by existing therapies. Heather Pua, MD, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology whose laboratory studies how extracellular vesicles and extracellular RNAs regulate chronic tissue inflammation. Her research focuses on diseases with long-term impact and limited treatment options, such as asthma. By combining mechanistic studies of immune cell–derived extracellular vesicles with translational disease models, Dr. Pua’s work aims to identify alternative inflammatory pathways that may contribute to disease persistence and therapeutic resistance. Her lab’s findings seek to expand current treatment paradigms and improve outcomes for patients with chronic inflammatory diseases.

Hi. My name is Sarah Worthan and I'm a postdoc in Megan Beringer's lab in the Department of Biological Sciences.