Defenses: Master's and Doctoral

Natalia Allen

Date: May 14, 2026, 10:00 a.m.

Virtual Defense, Coral Gables Campus. Please contact cphekoo@miami.edu to request virtual access via Zoom. 

Dissertation Title: The Competitive Classroom: Evaluating Forensic Pedagogy as a Framework for College and Career Readiness

Gulum Yenisehirli

Date: May 15, 2026, 9:00 a.m.

Hybrid Defense, Medical Campus. In-Person: RMSB, 3rd Floor Auditorium. Virtual: Please contact gxy141@miami.edu to request virtual access via Zoom.  

Dissertation Title: Elucidating and Targeting the Epigenetic Changes in Uveal Melanoma

Sophia Hon

Date: May 15, 2026, 11:00 a.m.

Virtual Defense, Coral Gables Campus. Please contact sxh2781@miami.edu to request virtual access via Zoom. 

Dissertation Title: Lived Experiences of Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma in a Patient Navigation Program: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis

Leo G Nicolau Ferreira Teles

Date: May 20, 2026, 10:00 a.m.

Location: Medical Campus, Diabetes Research Institute, First Floor Conference Room. 

Dissertation Title: Engineering Immune Tolerance using Stromal Cells and Physiomimetic Biomaterials

Celia Romero

Date: May 20, 2026, 10:00 a.m.

Virtual Defense, Coral Gables Campus. Please contact celiaromero@miami.edu to request virtual access via Zoom. 

Dissertation Title: Associations Between Language Background, Executive Function and Peer Interaction in Preschool Children with Autism and Developmental Delay

Diona Espinosa

Date: May 20, 2026, 11:00 a.m.

Location: Coral Gables Campus, Merrick Bldg., Room 210.02. 

Dissertation Title: Movements of Contemporary Documentary Theater in the Digital Era: The Case of Cuba and Puerto Rico

Caroline Dodson

Date: May 20, 2026, 1:30 p.m.

Hybrid Defense, Medical Campus. In-Person: Rosenstiel Medical Science Bldg., Room 6018. Virtual: Please contact cxd967@miami.edu to request virtual access via Zoom.  

Dissertation Title: Identifying Profibrotic Transcriptomic Profiles and Mechanisms in Skin Following Radiation Injury

A.J. Simmons

Date: May 20, 2026, 2:00 p.m.

Virtual Defense, Medical Campus. 

Dissertation Title: Development and in vivo Proof-of-Concept of a Chimeric Virus-Like Nanoparticle Platform Expressing Self-Amplifying RNA for Vaccination against Infectious Disease and Cancer

Aliyah True

Date: May 22, 2026, 12:00 p.m.

Hybrid Defense, Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric and Earth Science Campus. In-Person: Rosenstiel Library, Maps & Chart Room. Virtual: Please contact abt87@miami.edu to request virtual access via Zoom.  

Dissertation Title: Cellular Mechanisms of Resilience in Hexacorallia and Ctenophores

Lauren Bystrom

Date: May 28, 2026, 10:00 a.m.

Location: Medical Campus, Lois Pope, 7th Floor Auditorium. 

Dissertation Title: The Role of Parabrachial CGRP Neurons in Opioid Reinforcement, Withdrawal, and Protracted Abstinence

Shayna Guttman

Date: May 28, 2026, 10:00 a.m.

Virtual Defense, Coral Gables Campus. 

Dissertation Title: From Cheating to Healing: Understanding Help-Seeking Couples and the Efficacy of Online Relationship Interventions

Kyrah Williams

Date: June 25, 2026, 11:00 a.m.

Hybrid Defense, Coral Gables Campus. In-Person: McArthur Engineering Bldg., Dean's Conference Room 289. Virtual: Please contact k.williams19@umiami.edu to request virtual access via Zoom.  

Dissertation Title: ...with Liberty and Water for All: Overcoming Water Scarcity through the Implementation of Water Conservation within the Urban Landscape

Nataly Pastor

Date: June 25, 2026, 12:00 p.m.

Virtual Defense, Coral Gables Campus. Please contact napastor25@gmail.com to request virtual access via Zoom. 

Thesis Title: Designing Assembly: Urban Form, Protest, and the Civic Landscape of Washington, D.C.