Kyle Flippo passed his Ph.D. examination on Friday, April 7, 2017.  His thesis title was "Phosphoregulation of Drp1 at the Mitochondria in vivo Regulates Ischemic Sensitivity in the Brain and Memory".  Members of his thesis committee were the chair, Stefan Strack from the Departments of Pharmacology and Pathology; Yuriy M. Usachev from the Departments of Pharmacology and Anesthesia; Andy Frank from the Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology; John Wemmie from the Department of Psychiatry; and D.P. Mohapatra from the Department of Anesthesia at Washington University, St. Louis.

Dr. Flippo’s thesis research investigated the regulation of mitochondrial dynamics in neuronal injury and plasticity, focusing on knockout mice that lack activators and inhibitors of the mitochondrial fission enzyme dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1). Dr. Flippo’s work not only provides fundamental insights into regulation of mitochondrial function in the brain, but also suggests novel therapeutic interventions into stroke and other neurological conditions. Dr. Flippo received his B.S. in Biology from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, M,I and entered the Biosciences program at the University of Iowa in 2011. He then joined the Department of Pharmacology and Dr. Strack’s research group for his Ph.D. training. Dr. Flippo has published extensively and received numerous awards, including the prestigious Ballard Seashore Dissertation Fellowship. He has accepted a postdoctoral position in the laboratory of Dr. Matthew Potthoff at the University of Iowa starting in October 2017. Please join us in congratulating Dr. Flippo!