MSTP Team
Ronald J. Koenig, MD, PhD
Director of the MSTP and Professor of Internal Medicine
Dr. Koenig is a graduate of Yale University (B.S. in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry) and the Rockefeller University - Cornell University Medical College M.D./Ph.D. program. Dr. Koenig undertook residency training in internal medicine and a fellowship in endocrinology at the Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston MA. He has been a faculty member at the University of Michigan since 1988 and Director of the MSTP since 1995. Dr. Koenig is active in basic research, the clinical practice of endocrinology, and the teaching of medical and graduate students. Research in the Koenig lab focuses on the regulation of transcription by nuclear hormone receptors, with an emphasis on thyroid hormone receptors and thyroid cancer.
Juanita L. Merchant, MD, PhD
Associate Director of the MSTP and Professor of Internal Medicine and Molecular & Integrative Physiology
Dr. Merchant is a graduate of Stanford University (B.S. in Biology) and the Yale University MSTP. Dr. Merchant undertook an Internal Medicine residency and a research fellowship in Gastroenterology at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and clinical fellowship training in Gastroenterology at UCLA.. She has been a faculty member at the University of Michigan since 1991 and Associate Director of the MSTP since 2008. Dr. Merchant is active in basic research, the clinical practice of gastroenterology, and the teaching of medical and graduate students. Her primary research interests include transcriptional control mechanisms regulating cell growth and differentiation and microbial-host interactions in the upper GI tract.
Theodora S. Ross, MD, PhD
Associate Director of the MSTP and Associate Professor of Internal Medicine
Dr. Ross is a graduate of Kalamazoo College (B.A. in Biochemistry and Music) and the Washington University, St. Louis MSTP. Dr. Ross undertook residency training in internal medicine at the Brigham and Women's Hospital and a fellowship in hematology/oncology at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston MA. She has been a faculty member at the University of Michigan since 1999 and Associate Director of the MSTP since 2007. Dr. Ross is active in basic research, the clinical practice of oncology, and the teaching of medical and graduate students. Research in the Ross lab focuses on the biology of chromosomal translocations and deletions in myelodysplastic syndromes and leukemias.
Ellen Elkin, Assistant Director
Ellen is responsible for the overall management of the MSTP Office and student services..
Hilkka Ketola, Financial Analyst
Hilkka is the MSTP's financial guru. She is responsible for all matters relating to student funding, payments, travel money, etc.
Laurie Koivupalo, Administrative Assistant
Laurie is responsible for administrative and secretarial duties for the MSTP. She is the primary contact for the Admissions process.