Robert Thomas | Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny (CARTA)

I was born in San Diego, California. I attended Santa Clara University and majored in Chemistry. In 2007, I entered the MD/PhD program at UCSD. I am currently working towards my PhD in Dr. Åsa Gustafsson’s laboratory. We are interested in mitochondrial integrity and autophagy in the setting of heart disease. Mitochondrial research lends itself readily to questions about human origins, prompting me to join the anthropogeny specialization track in 2012. I am interested in mitochondrial polymorphisms that affect human disease susceptibility. Evolutionary medicine and comparative biology have the potential to explain the incidence and pathophysiology of illnesses facing modern humans. Ultimately, understanding our origins may highlight new therapeutic opportunities.

Graduate Program:

Biomedical Sciences

MOCA Topic Author

Listed here are the 7 MOCA topics for which this person is an author.

Topic	Domain
Absolute Lymphocyte Count	Pathology
Adult Play	Behavior
Cholera	Medical Disease
Deciduous Teeth Development/Morphology	Dental Biology and Disease
Emotional Flushing (Blushing)	Skin Biology and Disease
Healing the Sick	Culture
Intentional Deception	Behavior