Current Post-doctoral Fellows
Clarissa Johnson
Dr. Johnson holds an MD degree from Case Western Reserve University and a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Tuskegee University. She completed residency training in pediatrics at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, and is now a pediatric hematology-oncology fellow in the Department of Pediatrics at Duke University Medical Center.
Her research interests are centered on hemoglobinopathies including sickle cell disease. Her current project explores the effects of hydroxyurea on biomarkers of sickle cell disease including red blood cell adhesion.
Emmanuel Okocha
Dr. Okocha received his undergraduate medical training from the University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria from 1980-85. He commenced his postgraduate medical training in 1994 and graduated in 1999 as a fellow of the College of Pathologist of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria. Before coming to Duke, he taught as a senior Lecturer at Nnamdi Azikiwe University and served as a consultant Hematologist to the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital.
His research interests include Sickle Cell Disease and Malaria. He has published both locally and internationally in these areas. While at Duke University Medical Center, he is researching into the expressivity of Sickle Cell Disease using genomic markers with the aim of making individualized therapeutic care for these patients possible. Aside from his professional life, Emmanuel is also very interested in sports, relationships and the philosophy of life.
Nisha Philip
Nisha Philip is a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Genomic Sciences & Policy. Her research explores the role of miRNAs in the host-pathogen interaction between the malarial parasite, Plasmodium falciparum and red blood cells in sickle cell disease. Additionally, she is examining the targets of these small RNAs in the P. falciparum to elucidate the mechanism by which they affect the parasite.
Nisha received her BSc (Hons) in Biochemistry at the University of Delhi and MSc(Hons) in Biotechnology at Indian Institute of Technology. She received her PhD (Pharmacology) at Duke University where she examined the interaction of phosphorylation and ubiquitin pathways in Plasmodium. She utilized mass spectrometry and chemoproteomic tools to identify novel antimalarial targets in the parasite kinome.
Outside of lab, she enjoys the outdoors in beautiful NC weather and also dabbles in judo and pottery.
Damian Silbermins
Dr Silbermins received his MD degree from the University of Buenos Aires. He did his residency in Internal Medicine in Albert Einstein Medical Center and is currently a fellow in Hematology/Oncology Program at Duke University with the 2009 class. His main focus of research is in genomics and hemoglobinopathies, specifically on complications of sickle cell disease.