Donovan Watza
(Graduated 04/22/2018)

Dissertation Mentor: Ann G Schwartz, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Research Focus:
Understanding the genetic and genomic features of lung tumors which predispose patients for differential outcomes to identify candidates for therapeutic intervention.

Grants, Awards, Scholarships:

2018    National Cancer Institute - Research Showcase
2017 - 2018 Ruth L. Kirschstein Research Training Recipient (T32-CA009531), Wayne State University
2016    Graduate Research Assistantship, Wayne State University
2015    Medical Student Research Scholarship, Wayne State University School of Medicine
2014    Medical Student Research Scholarship, Wayne State University School of Medicine
2014    Board of Governors Full Tuition Scholarship, Wayne State University School of Medicine
2012    Graduated with Honors, Lyman Briggs Michigan State University
2012    Microbiology & Molecular Genetics Gerhardt Student Award, Michigan State University
2008 2012    Dean's List, Michigan State University
Microbiology & Molecular Genetics Gerhardt Student Award, 2012
Graduated with Honors from Lyman Briggs - Michigan State University, 2012
Board of Governors Full Tuition Scholarship, 2014
Rumble Fellowship, 2015

Publications:

Richards A.L., Watza D., Findley A., Alazizi A., Wen X., Pai A., Pique-Regi R., and Luca F. Environmental Perturbations Lead to Extensive Directional Shifts In RNA Processing. PLOS Genetics. 2017;12;13: e1006995

Lusk C.M., Wenzlaff A.S., Dyson G., Purrington K.S., Watza D., Land S., Soubani A.O., Gadgeel S.M., and Schwartz A.G. Whole-exome sequencing reveals genetic variability among lung cancer cases subphenotyped for emphysema. Carcinogenesis. 2016;37:139-44.

Schwartz A.G., Lusk C.M., Wenzlaff A.S., Watza, D., Pandolfi S., Mantha L., Cote M.L., Soubani A.O., Walworth G., Wozniak A., Neslund-Dudas C., Ardisana A.A., Flynn M.J., Song T., Spizarny P.A., Kvale R.A.C. and Gadgeel S.M. Risk of Lung Cancer Associated with COPD Phenotype Based on Quantitative Image Analysis. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2016;25:1341-7.

Moyerbrailean G.A., Richards A.L., Kurtz D., Kalita C.A., Davis G.O., Harvey C.T., Alaziz A., Watza D., Sorokin Y., Hauff N., Zhou X., Wen X., Pique-Regi R., and Luca F. High-throughput allele-specific expression across 250 environmental conditions. Genome Research. 2016;12:1627-38.

Moyerbrailean G.A., Davis G.O., Harvey C.T., Watza D., Wen X., Pique-Regi R., and Luca F. A HighThroughput RNA-seq Approach to Profile Transcriptional Responses. Scientific Reports. 2015;5:14976.

Karnkowska A., Bennett M.S., Watza D., Kim J.I., ZakryÅ› B., and Triemer, R.E. Phylogenetic Relationships and Morphological Character Evolution of Photosynthetic Euglenids (Excavata) Inferred from Taxon-rich Analyses of Five Genes. J. Eukaryot. Microbiol. 2015;62:36273.

Education:
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Bachelor of Science in Molecular Genetics/Genomics
Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics
Lyman Briggs College of Science
Dean's List (2008 2012)
GPA: 3.89 Graduated with Honors

Hometown: Marysville, MI