Maher Y. Abdalla, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology and Microbiology
Research focus:  Oxidative stress and free radical biology; microbial infections; tumor immunology; cancer biology.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPID

Iqbal Ahmad, PhD
Professor, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
Research focus:  Molecular and cellular mechanisms of neural stem cells/progenitors maintenance and differentiation.

Associated Doctoral Program:  NSC

Yazen Alnouti, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Research focus:  Drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK), with a focus on the application of Bioanalytical Chemistry, in vitro and in vivo animal models to support ADMET (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicity) and pharmacokinetic (PK) studies; Biomarkers for hepato-biliary diseases based on bile acid metabolism by sulfation.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, CR and IPID

Daniel R. Anderson, MD, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine - Cardiology
Research focus:  Molecular and cellular immunology; innate immunity (preexisting immunity) and how such immune responses contribute to the mechanisms of cardiovascular disease processes, specifically focused on underlying mechanisms of viral myocarditis, atherosclerotic disease and the impact inflammation has on cardiac rhythm abnormalities.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPMM

Rebecca Anderson, JD, MS, CGC
Associate Professor, College of Public Health
Research focus:  Legal and ethical issues in clinical genetics; religious traditions and medical care; medical jurisprudence/public health law.

Associated Doctoral Program:  MGCB

Ann Anderson Berry, MD, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics - Newborn Medicine
Research focus:  Fat soluble vitamins & relation to food deserts, security and inflammation; vitamin A, E and D impact in maternal-fetal dyads; placental transfer of vitamins A, E, D; vitamin D response to infection.  Nutrition in the ELBW infant, protein requirements, growth.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPMM

Jyothi Arikkath, PhD
Assistant Professor, Munroe-Meyer Institute
Research focus:  Molecular mechanisms that regulate neuronal structure and plasticity and elucidate how these mechanisms influence neural circuit formation and function.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, MGCB and NSC

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Lorena Baccaglini, DDS, PhD
Associate Professor, Collge of Public Health - Epidemiology
Research focus:  Clinical research; evidence-based medicine; systematic reviews; epidemiological methods; genetic epidemiology, oral and systemic diseases; wound healing; growth factors; head and neck injuries.

Associated Doctoral Programs: CR and MGCB

Hamid Band, MD, PhD
Professor, Eppley Cancer Institute
Research focus:  Regulation of receptor signaling by endocytic traffic; Cbl-family and CHIP ubiquitin ligases; EHD-family endocytic recycling regulators; mouse genetic models.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  CR, IPID and MGCB

Vimla Band, PhD
Professor and Chair, Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy
Research focus:  Delineate molecular mechanisms of early steps in transformation of mammary epithelial cells with the goal of identifying novel molecular diagnostic/prognostic markers and potential therapy targets of breast cancers.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, CR and MGCB

Janina Baranowska-Kortylewicz, PhD
Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology
Research focus:  Auger electron emitters in therapy and diagnosis of cancer; radioimmunotherapeutics and radiolabeled nucleic acid precursors for cancer therapy; imaging agents; investigational new drugs.

Associated Doctoral Program:  CR

Surinder K. Batra, PhD
Professor and Chair, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Research focus:  Structure/function analysis of tumor-associated genes; cancer diagnostics, cancer vaccines; monoclonal antibodies, genetic engineering of antibodies.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB and CR

B. Timothy Baxter, MD, FACS
Professor, Department of Surgery
Research focus:  Use of doxycycline to slow or stop the growth of aneurysms.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  IPID and IPMM

Kenneth W. Bayles, PhD
Professor, Department of Pathology and Microbiology
Research focus:  Bacterial infections and antibiotic resistance; characterization of a novel regulatory system that controls the peptidoglycan hydrolase activity produced by bacteria.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPID

Robert Bennett, PhD
Professor, Department of Internal Medicine - Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism (DEM)
Research focus:  Antifibrotic effects of the hormone relaxin and related peptides; expression and signaling of relaxin receptors; internalization and degradation of relaxin, insulin and related hormones; the role of insulin-degrading enzyme in diabetes, Alzheimer's disease and other amyloidoses.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, IPMM and MGCB

Ann Berger, PhD, APRN-CNS, AOCNS, FAAN
Professor, College of Nursing
Research focus:  Symptom management, in particular fatigue and sleep/wake disturbances, in individuals with cancer; use of wrist actigraphy.

Associated Doctoral Program:  CR

Tadayoshi Bessho, PhD
Associate Professor, Eppley Cancer Institute
Research focus:  Molecular mechanism of DNA interstrand crosslink repair in mammalian cells.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  CR and MGCB

Kishor K. Bhakat, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy
Research focus:  Mitotic gene bookmarking:  A novel dimension of epigenetic memory in cancer for post-mitotic transcriptional reactivation; APE1 and its acetylation: A potential prognostic and predictive biomarker in cancer.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  CR and MGCB

Keshore Bidasee, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience
Research focus:  Molecular and cellular mechanisms responsible for cardiovascular complications in individuals with diabetes mellitus (DM), and identify therapeutic strategies that could be used to slow their progression.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  IPMM and NSC

Philip Bierman, MD
Professor, Department of Internal Medicine – Oncology and Hematology
Research focus:  Hodgkin disease; non-hodgkin lymphoma; neuro-oncology.

Associated Doctoral Program:  CR

Adrian Black, PhD
Assistant Professor, Eppley Cancer Institute
Research focus:  Tissue sciences; molecular biology; cell cycle; transcription; protein kinase C signaling in intestinal cells; endometrial cancer.

Associated Doctoral Program:  CR

Jennifer Black, PhD
Professor, Eppley Cancer Institute
Research focus:  Colon cancer; endometrial cancer; cell signaling; cell cycle regulation; protein kinase C.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, CR and MGCB

Erika I. Boesen, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology
Research focus:  Iron-mediated kidney damage in lupus nephritis; renal control of salt and water homeostasis.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPMM

Stephen Bonasera, MD, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine -  Geriatrics
Research focus:  Age related changes in brain function.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, IPMM and NSC

Gloria Borgstahl, PhD
Professor, Eppley Cancer Institute
Research focus:  Structural biology, superoxide dismutase and double-strand DNA repair by homologous recombination.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB and CR

Julia A. Bridge, MD
Professor, Department of Pathology and Microbiology
Research focus:  Cytopathology, tumor cytogenetics.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPID

Shilpa Buch, PhD
Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience
Research focus:  Therapeutic strategies that may enhance neural function and survival in NeuroAIDS, with possible implication in other neurodegenerative diseases.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, IPID and NSC

Shannon Buckley, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy
Research focus:  Molecular mechanisms regulating stem cell fate decisions that may also be linked to cancer.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  CR and MGCB

Keely Buesing, MD
Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery
Research focus:  Adult respiratory distress syndrome.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  IPID and IPMM

Siddappa Byrareddy, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology & Experimental Neuroscience
Research focus:  HIV/SIV/SHIV, neuroAIDS, transmission, drugs of abuse, HIV cure, gut homing molecules.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  IPID and NSC

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W. Scott Campbell, MBA, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology and Microbiology
Research focus:  Health informatics and pathology informatics.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  CR and IPID

Steve Caplan, PhD
Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Research focus:  Molecular mechanisms regulating the recycling of cell surface proteins and other molecules back to the plasma membrane.

Associated Doctoral Program:  BMB

Mark Carlson, MD, FACS
Professor, Department of Surgery
Research focus:  Cancer; regenerative medicine; hemostasis; wound healing.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  CR, IPMM and MGCB

Pamela K. Carmines, PhD
Professor, Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology
Research focus:  Renal microcirculation, vasoactive agents and intracellular signaling events regulating renal arteriolar tone, diabetes mellitus.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPMM

Steven D. Carson, PhD
Professor, Department of Pathology and Microbiology
Research focus:  Blood coagulation (tissue factor), coxsackievirus receptor.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPID

Adam J. Case, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Cellular & Integrative Physiology
Research focus:  Redox signaling and function of T-lymphocytes during hypertension; examining the interplay between the autonomic nervous and immune systems.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  IPID and IPMM

Carol A. Casey, PhD
Professor, Department of Internal Medicine - Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Research focus:  Biochemistry of alcoholism and digestive system diseases.

Associated Doctoral Program:  BMB

Kishore Challagundla, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Research focus:  Role of exosomes and non-coding RNA's in developing therapy resistance and escaping tumor surveillance in pediatric cancers.

Associated Doctoral Program:  BMB

Claudia Chaperon, PhD, RN, APRN-NP, BC
Associate Professor, College of Nursing
Research focus:  Effects of sleep-disturbing environments on late life health maintenance: water and electrolyte balance and blood pressure regulation; effects of sleep deprivation during the perimenopause in female mice; neurotrophin gene regulation of rhythms.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  IPMM

Yiannis S. Chatzizisis, MD, PhD
Associate Professor, Internal Medicine - Cardiology
Research focus:  Integrated micro- and meso-scale mechanobiology of atherosclerosis; targeted lipid nanoparticle drug delivery; cardiovascular simulations; solid and fluid mechanics and stent restenosis/thrombosis; theranostics using advanced invasive and non-invasive cardiovascular imaging.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPMM

Pi-Wan Cheng, PhD
Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Research focus:  Regulation of mucin glycan biosynthesis in lung disease and cancer metastasis; Golgi structure and function: Golgi targeting and retention, and recycling of glycosyltransferases; mechanism of stress-induced Golgi fragmentation.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, CR and MGCB

Vinai Chittezham Thomas, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology and Microbiology
Research focus:  Staphylococcal physiology and metabolism; staphylococcus stress response.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB and IPID

Sanjib Chowdhury, PhD
Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Research focus:  Awaiting information.

Associated Doctoral Program:  BMB

Pawel Ciborowski, PhD
Professor and Director of Mass Spectometry and Proteomics Core Facility, Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience
Research focus:  Protein structure and functions; proteomics.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  MGCB and NSC

Dahn Clemens, PhD
Professor, Department of Internal Medicine - Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Research focus:  The effects of ethanol metabolism on liver and pancreas cellular functions and replications.

Associated Doctoral Program:  CR

Samuel M. Cohen, MD, PhD
Professor, Department of Pathology and Microbiology
Research focus:  Urologic pathology, carcinogenesis and toxicology.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  CR and IPID

Martin Conda-Sheridan, PhD
Assistant Professor, College of Pharmacy
Research focus:  Design of complex multifunctional biomaterials and bioactive small molecules for medicinal applications.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, CR and IPID

Leah Cook, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology and Microbiology
Research focus:  Metastasis-associated bone disease; prostate cancer; role of immune system in bone metastasis and tumor-bone microenvironment; in-vivo and in-silico models of tumor progression.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  CR and IPID

Kenneth Cowan, MD, PhD
Director and Professor, Eppley Cancer Institute
Research focus:  Tumor suppressor genes, breast cancer; mechanisms associated with development of multi-drug resistance and the regulation of expression of drug resistance genes in human tumor cells.

Associated Doctoral Program: CR

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Kaustabh Datta, PhD
Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Research focus:  Molecular mechanisms of cancer progression and metastasis.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, CR and MGCB

John S. Davis, PhD
Professor, Director of Research and Development - Olson Center for Women's Health, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Research focus:  Reproductive endocrinology and oncology.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, CR and IPMM

Paul Davis, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Biology (UNO)
Research focus:  Studying the formation of Toxoplasma gondii intra-tissue bradyzoite cyst using genomic and genetic approaches, both in vitro and in vivo.

Associated Doctoral Program: IPID

Rebecca Oberley-Deegan, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Research focus:  Role of free radicals signaling to transform fibroblasts and inflammatory cells in normal tissue, which results in damage to these tissues; understanding the mechanisms by which ROS promote radiation induced fibrosis and prostate cancer progression.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB and CR

Cyrus Desouza, MBBS
Professor, Department of Internal Medicine – Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism (DEM)
Research focus:  Improving outcomes in diabetes and obesity patients using treatment algorithms; mechanisms of diabetes and metabolic syndrome on vascular  and brain function.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPMM

Punita Dhawan, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Research focus:  Role of TJs in colorectal cancer progression and metastasis.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB and CR

Jixin Dong, PhD
Associate Professor, Eppley Cancer Institute
Research focus:  Hippo signaling and cancer.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, CR and IPID

Terrence Donohue, Jr, PhD
Professor, Department of Internal Medicine - Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Research focus:  Alcohol consumption and protein degradation in the liver and brain.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB and IPID

Bin Duan, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine - Cardiology
Research focus:  Integrate novel biomaterials, advanced biofabrication of tissue engineering to create multi-scale complexity within engineered tissue to understand the fundamentals of cell-material interactions and mimic the native tissue for tissue regeneration.

Associated Doctoral Program:  MGCB

Andrew Dudley, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy
Research focus:  Mechanisms that regulate the development and homeostasis of musculoskeletal tissue using methods from embryology, molecular biology, cell biology, genetics and tissue engineering, with the goal of generating novel therapies for regenerative medicine.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, IPMM and MGCB

Anna Dunaevsky, PhD
Professor, Munroe-Meyer Institute
Research focus:  Learning induced structural and functional synaptic plasticity, neuron glia interactions and neurodevelopmental disorders.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, MGCB and NSC

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James Eudy, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy
Research focus:  Next Generation DNA Sequencing strategies for rare Mendelian disease gene identification and functional genomic technologies; biomedical interest in cancer, cardiovascular disease and virology.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  CR and MGCB

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Paul D. Fey, PhD
Professor, Department of Pathology and Microbiology
Research focus:  Staphylococcal biology and pathogenesis; antibiotic resistance of clinical relevant pathogens.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPID

Howard S. Fox, MD, PhD
Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience
Research focus:  Neurodegeneration, brain dysfunction and viral infections of the brain.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  IPID and NSC

Jeffrey French, PhD
Professor and Director, University of Nebraska at Omaha Neuroscience Undergraduate Program.  Appoint with the UNMC Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience
Research focus:  Reproductive physiology and behavior, vocal communication.

Associated Doctoral Program:  NSC

Kai Fu, MD, PhD
Professor, Department of Pathology and Microbiology
Research focus:  Hematopathology, lymphoma research.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  CR, IPID and MGCB

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Lie Gao, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology
Research focus:  Neural control of circulation and autonomic function; pancreatic islet function and diabetes; skeletal muscle function and exercise intolerance in heart function.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPMM

Jered Garrison, PhD
Associate Professor, College of Pharmacy
Research focus:  Targeted molecular imaging and radiotherapeutic agent design; development of cancer-specific drugs; polymer based drug delivery systems.

Associated Doctoral Program:  CR

Catherine Gebhart, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology and Microbiology
Research focus:  Histocompatibility testing for solid organ and bone marrow transplantation, infectious disease monitoring of immunocompromised individuals.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPID

Howard E. Gendelman, MD
Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience
Research focus:  Investigate Th1 and Th2 cell responses in Parkinson's disease; study the role of mononuclear phagocytes in neurotoxicity and neuroregeneration in HIV dementia.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  IPID and NSC

Gargi Ghosal, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy
Research focus:  Replication stress response in cancer and premature ageing.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  CR and MGCB

Santhi Gorantla, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience
Research focus:  Mouse models for HIV; humanized mouse model to study HIV vaccine strategies to induce protective immune responses and immune-based therapeutics to enhance HIV immune responses; HIV pathogenesis.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  IPID and NSC

Karen Gould, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy
Research focus:  The role of estrogen receptor alpha signaling in autoimmunity and intestinal tumorigenesis.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  CR, IPMM and MGCB

Timothy C. Greiner, MD
Professor, Department of Pathology and Microbiology
Research focus:  Etiology and progression of lymphoma by examining the mutational spectra of oncogenes and tumor suppresser genes.

Associated Doctoral Program: IPID

Chittibabu (Babu) Guda, PhD
Professor, Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy
Research focus:  Development and application of computational methods for genomic data analyses including cancer genomics, functional annotation of proteins, pathways, networks and systems in biomedical research.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  CR, IPID and MGCB

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Frederick G. Hamel, PhD
Professor, Department of Internal Medicine - Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism (DEM)
Research focus:  Degradation of insulin and its relationship to insulins mechanism of action; polypeptide hormone metabolism; diabetes mellitus.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPMM

Curtis Hartman, MD
Associate Professor, Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Rehabilitation
Research focus:  Management of infected hip and knee replacements.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPMM

Steven H. Hinrichs, MD
Chair and Professor, Department of Pathology and Microbiology
Research focus:  Molecular pathogenesis and diagnostics of infectious organism, antimicrobial drug discovery and bioterrorism preparedness information technology.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  CR, IPID and MGCB

Michael A. (Tony) Hollingsworth, PhD
Professor, Eppley Cancer Institute
Research focus:  The molecular biology and genetics of MUC1 glycoproteins in pancreatic cancer.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  CR and MGCB

Sarah Holstein, MD, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine - Oncology and Hematology
Research focus:  Development of novel agents for the treatment of multiple myeloma with a particular focus on Rab inhibitors and inhibitors of the isoprenoid biosynthetic pathway.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB and CR

Karen Honeycutt, Med, MLS (ASCP) SM
Associate Professor, College of Allied Health Professions – Clinical Laboratory Science Education
Research focus:  Effective and efficient educational methodologies; computer-based and multimedia education platforms; incorporation of professionalism in CLS education.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPID

Corey Hopkins, PhD
Associate Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences
Research focus:  Design, synthesis and optimization of biologically active small molecules as in vivo probes, drug discovery lead compounds and preclinical candidates.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  IPID and NSC

Sung-Ho Huh, PhD
Assistant Professor, Munroe-Meyer Institute
Research focus:  Understanding mechanisms by which signaling pathways regulating sensory and nephron progenitor cells generation and maintenance during development and regeneration and use these findings as tools for regenerative medicine.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  IPMM, MGCB and NSC

R. Katherine (Kate) Hyde, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Research focus:  Control of gene expression in leukemia and normal hematopoiesis.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, CR and MGCB

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Javeed Iqbal, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Pathology and Microbiology
Research focus:  Molecular signatures to improve diagnosis and outcome prediction in Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma; gene expression profiling and pathway targeted therapy in peripheral T-cell lymphoma; characterization of key molecular signatures in natural killer cell malignancies.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  CR and IPID

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Maneesh Jain, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Research focus:  Targeted therapy of pancreatic cancer - tumor vaccines, antibody engineering and modulation of tumor microenvironment.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB and CR

Keith R. Johnson, PhD
Professor, Eppley Cancer Institute
Research focus:  The role the cell adhesion molecules (cadherins) play in metastasis.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB and MGCB

Shantaram S. Joshi, PhD
Professor, Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy
Research focus:  Biology and therapy of human B-Cell malignancies.  Functional genomics of human chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and cellular/immunotherapy of human mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).

Associated Doctoral Program:  MGCB

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Peter Kador, PhD
Professor, College of Pharmacy
Research focus:  Design and synthesis of multifunctional antioxidants and enzyme inhibitors; the mechanism of action drugs and development of agents as they relate to the inhibition of diabetic complications; age related macular degeneration, cataract development and neurodegeneration, including Alzheimer’s disease; basic cellular mechanisms that lead to the initiation of diabetic complications and the development of disease-associated animal models.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPMM

Georgette D. Kanmogne, PhD, MPH
Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience
Research focus:  HIV/AIDS, vascular biology and cell signaling.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  IPID, MGCB and NSC

Adam R. Karpf, PhD
Associate Professor, Eppley Cancer Institute
Research focus:  Cancer epigenetics and DNA methylation, ovarian cancer.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  CR, IPID and MGCB

Sukhwinder Kaur, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Research focus:  Awaiting information.

Associated Doctoral Program:  BMB

Kusum Kharbanda, PhD
Professor, Department of Internal Medicine - Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Research focus:  Alcohol liver study.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, IPMM and MGCB

Tammy L. Kielian, PhD
Professor, Department of Pathology and Microbiology
Research focus:  Immunology of infectious diseases, focus on how Staphylococcus aureus biofilms evade immune mediated clearance; Juvenile Batten Disease, focus on mechanisms leading to neuron loss in this pediatric lysosomal storage disease.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  IPID and NSC

Woo-Yang Kim, PhD
Associate Professor, Munroe-Meyer Institute
Research focus:  Brain development, particularly neural stem cell/neurogenesis, neuron migration and differentiation; pathogenic mechanisms underlying neurodevelopmental disorders including autism and intellectual disability.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, MGCB and NSC

David Klinkebiel, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Research focus:  Dynamics associated with changes in the genome and epigenome of human disease.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  CR and MGCB

Zeljka Korade, DVM, PhD
Professor, Department of Pediatrics
Research focus:  Cholesterol metabolism in the central nervous system; study of an inborn error of metabolism Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome; desmosterolosis; development of neuronal cell lines with defects in different enzymes of cholesterol biosynthesis pathway and their characterization.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB and NSC

Max Kurz, PhD
Associate Professor, Munroe-Meyer Institute
Research focus:  How the sensorimotor cortices reach a decision threshold, integrate sensory feedback and produce a motor action; motor control and learning of children and adults with cerebral palsy; role of genetic factors for neuroplasticity and memory consolidation.

Associated Doctoral Program:  NSC

Shelby Kutty, MD
Associate Professor, Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology
Research focus:  Microbubble mediated therapeutic ultrasound applications for thrombus dissolution in pig models of venous and arterial thrombi; molecular mechanisms of right ventricular failure in rat and pig models of adaptive right ventricular stresses, and in the human right ventricle in congenital heart disease.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPMM

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Marilynn Larson, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology and Microbiology
Research focus:  Development of diagnostics and therapeutics for pathogen identification and treatment; respectively; determining the molecular mechanisms that allow pathogens to replicate and persist.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB and IPID

Tricia LeVan, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine - Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep & Allergy
Research focus:  Genetic and pathogen associated microbial product influences on respiratory diseases, functional genomic studies, gene by environment association studies, host pathogen interactions with bronchial epithelial cells.

Associated Doctoral Program:  MGCB

Robert Lewis, PhD
Professor, Eppley Cancer Institute
Research focus:  Identification and targeting of Ras-driven, tumor-specific pathways; molecular mechanisms controlling cellular and organismal energy balance.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  CR and IPMM

Yulong Li, MD
Associate Professor, Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology
Research focus:  Dysfunction of baroreceptor neurons in heart failure and diabetes: cellular and molecular mechanisms.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  IPMM and NSC

Ming-Fong Lin, PhD
Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Research focus:  Mechanism of cell growth regulation by steroids via cross-talk of ROS and tyrosine phosphorylation signaling.

Associated Doctoral Program:  CR

Steven Lisco, MD
Professor, Department of Anesthesiology
Research focus:  Critical Care Management, thoracic and vascular anesthesioloyg, management of complex airways, blood management.

Jianuo Liu, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience
Research focus:  HIV-1 associated neurological disorders.

Associated Doctoral Program:  NSC

Yutong Liu, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Radiology
Research focus:  Neuroimaging and image processing.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  CR, IPID and NSC

Oksana Lockridge, PhD
Professor, Eppley Cancer Institute
Research focus:  Mass spectrometry to diagnose exposure to organophosphates; production of human butyrylcholinesterase.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, CR and IPID

Brian Lowes, MD, PhD
Professor, Department of Internal Medicine - Cardiology
Research focus:  Novel education clinical trainees and education program with a goal to develop clinicians and scientists in sub-Saharan Africa.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, IPMM and MGCB

Matthew Lunning, DO, MD
Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine – Oncology and Hematology
Research focus:  Rare hematologic malignancies with a focus on early drug development and experimental correlates that leads to enhanced knowledge of how to treat hematologic malignancies.

Associated Doctoral Program:  CR

Jiangtao Luo, PhD
Assistant Professor, College of Public Health - Biostatistics
Research focus:  Statistical genetics and genomics; statistical methods in clinical genetics and genetic epidemiology; statistical and mathematical modeling; optimal treatment in clinical trials, esp. application of optimization and optimal control; longitudinal data analysis and functional data analysis; Bayesian statistics.

Associated Doctoral Program:  MGCB

Xu Luo, PhD
Associate Professor, Eppley Cancer Institute
Research focus:  Regulation of mitochondria-dependent cell death.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  CR and IPID

Richard Lutz, MD
Associate Professor, Munroe-Meyer Institute
Research focus:  Birth defects; mental retardation; autism; enzyme replacement therapy; pediatric growth problems.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  IPMM and MGCB

Yuri Lyubchenko, PhD, DrSc
Professor, College of Pharmacy
Research focus:  Nanoscale structure, dynamics and interactions – seeing and manipulating biomolecules.

Associated Doctoral Program:  CR

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Richard G. MacDonald, PhD
Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Research focus:  Transmembrane signaling and regulation of cell growth.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB and CR

Muzafar Macha, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Research focus:  Awaiting information.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, CR and MGCB

Luis Marky, PhD
Professor, College of Pharmacy
Research focus:  Biophysical chemistry and molecular forces that control the conformational stability and flexibility of nucleic acids, including Okazaki fragments, hairpin loops, intramolecular triplexes, G-quadruplexes, C-quadruplexes, and three- & four-arm DNA junctions and their interaction with drugs.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  CR and MGCB

Thomas McDonald, PhD
Professor, Department of Pathology and Microbiology
Research focus:  Immunology; antigen isolation and purification; acute phase proteins; inflammation; immunoassays.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPID

David McMillan, PhD
Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience
Research focus:  Mechanisms of toxicity of drugs and environmental chemicals; mechanism underlying pro-oxidant drug-induced hemolytic anemia , and in the metabolism and toxicity of the environmental contaminant, trichloroethylene.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPMM

Benita McVicker, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine - Gastroenterology-Hepatology
Research focus:  Alcohol liver injury and mechanisms.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, CR and IPID

Parmender P. Mehta, PhD
Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Research focus:  Connexins and cell-to-cell contact-dependent intercellular communication.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, CR and MGCB

Jane Meza, PhD
Professor, College of Public Health - Biostatistics
Research focus:  Statistical issues related to small-area estimation. These methods have been extended to disease mapping applications and combining national and state data to estimate the probability of a rare event.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB and CR

Karoly Mirnics, MD, PhD
Director, Munroe-Meyer Institute
Research focus:  Transcriptome changes across human brain disorders; effects of maternal immune activation on the brain and behavior; animal models of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders; effects of Gene "Environment and Environment" Environment interactions on the developing brain; peripheral biomarkers of neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders and neuroprotection by activity.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB and NSC

Paras Kumar Mishra, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology
Research focus:  MicroRNomics of cardiovascular diseases and diabetic cardiomyopathy.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  IPMM and MGCB

Aaron Mohs, PhD
Assistant Professor, College of Pharmacy
Research focus:  Development of new florescent imaging contrast agents to guide surgical removal of tumors; developing new drug delivery systems that target tumor metabolism.

Associated Doctoral Program:  CR

Daniel T. Monaghan, PhD
Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience
Research focus:  Development of drugs for modulating NMDA receptor activity for treating schizophrenia and autism.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  IPMM and NSC

R. Lee Mosley, PhD
Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience
Research focus:  Regulation of T Lymphocyte function; T cell-mediated immunity in neurodegenerative disorders.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  IPID, IPMM and NSC

Justin L. Mott, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Research focus:  MicroRNA regulation of apoptosis in liver cancer or alternatively, bile duct injury in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB and CR

DJ Murry, PharmD
Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice
Research focus:  Development of analytical techniques for the determination of diethylcarbamize, albendazole and ivermectin, along with pharmacokinetic data analysis.

Associated Doctoral Program:  CR

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Prabagaran (Praba) Narayanasamy, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology and Microbiology
Research focus:  Drug design, discovery and development (including drug delivery by nanomedicine) for infectious diseases; study of physiology and pathogenesis of bacteria and virus towards drug discovery; design, synthesis and characterization of substrates, inhibitors, intermediates, products and mechanisms for drug discovery and development.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  IPID and IPMM

Naava Naslavsky, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Research focus:  Development of new strategies to treat diseases involving traffic and recycling events related to the control of receptor localization to the plasma membrane that is central to normal cell function, and dysregulation as the underlying cause for diseases as diverse as atherosclerosis, diabetes and cancer.

Associated Doctoral Program:  BMB

Amarnath (Amar) Natarajan, PhD
Professor, Eppley Cancer Institute
Research focus:  Chemical probes for protein-protein interactions and kinases.

Associated Doctoral Program:  CR

Ali Nawshad, PhD
Associate Professor, College of Dentistry
Research focus:  Transforming Growth Factor (TGF) ß signaling during palate development; mechanisms of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) by TGFß in HNSCC; role of TGFß signaling during dentinogenesis.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  CR and MGCB

Scott Nawy, PhD
Professor, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
Research focus:  Understanding of information processing in the retina at the level of individual synapses and receptors; molecular mechanisms by which synaptic information is modified by short and long-term changes in the visual scene in the healthy retina; how synapses are altered by diseases of the retina.

Associated Doctoral Program:  NSC

Caroline Ng, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology & Microbiology
Research focus:  Biology and pathogenesis of Plasmodium falciparum, genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying drug resistance.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  IPID

Robert B. Norgren, PhD
Professor, Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy
Research focus:  Genomics; neurogenetics; developmental neurobiology; neurodegeneration.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  IPMM and MGCB

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Gregory Oakley, PhD
Associate Professor, College of Dentistry – Oral Biology
Research focus:  DNA damage and repair involving signal transduction pathways that regulate the cellular response to DNA damage and how alterations in these pathways contribute to mutagenesis and, ultimately, carcinogenesis.

Associated Doctoral Program:  CR

Stephen Obaro, MD, PhD
Professor, Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases
Research focus:  Pneumococcal disease and vaccine, meningococcal disease adn vaccine, HIV infections in children, typhoid fever in children, community pneumonia and invasive bacterial infections in Nigerian children.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPID

Ann Haskins Olney, MD
Professor, Munroe-Meyer Institute
Research focus:  Dysmorphology; molecular etiology of multiple congenital anomaly syndromes; overgrowth syndromes; syndrome delineation.

Associated Doctoral Program:  MGCB

Natalia Osna, MD, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine – Gastroenterology and Hepatology (GI)
Research focus:  A member of the Alcohol Liver Study Unit conducting research on how alcohol consumption affects protein degradation in the liver; HCV- and HBV- infection pathogenesis and alcoholic liver disease; innate immunity, cytokine signaling, cell-to-cell communication via apoptotic bodies and exosomes.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPID

Michel M. Ouellette, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine - Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Research focus:  Molecular mechanisms that determine the lifespan of human cells, including telomeres and telomerase.  Role of the small GTPases K-Ras and Rac1 in the development of pancreatic cancer and its response to conventional therapies.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, CR and MGCB

Scot Ouellette, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology & Microbiology
Research focus:  Chlamydial microbiology: bacterial cell division, gene regulation, host-pathogen interactions.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPID

David Oupicky, PhD
Professor, College of Pharmacy
Research focus:  Nanomedicine with emphasis on the development of novel approaches to deliver drug combinations to better treat various diseases; design of multifunctional nanoparticles with application in the treatment of metastatic cancer and inflammatory conditions like Crohn’s disease.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB and CR

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Babu Padanilam, PhD
Professor, Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology
Research focus:  Cellular, biochemical and molecular analysis of the pathophysiology of acute ischemic renal injury and chronic kidney disease.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, IPMM and MGCB

Kaushik P. Patel, PhD
Professor, Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology
Research focus:  Neural control of fluid balance in normal and disease states.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  IPMM and NSC

Youri Pavlov, PhD
Professor, Eppley Cancer Institute
Research focus:  Cellular systems of mutagenesis and antimutagenesis.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, CR and MGCB

Gurudutt N. Pendyala, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesiology
Research focus:  Neuroinflammation at the synapse associated with chronic drug abuse and HIV synergy, sex differences, Prenatal drug exposure and synaptic development; application of high throughput technologies (genomics, mass spectrometry-based proteomics and metabolomics).

Associated Doctoral Program:  NSC

Aimin Peng, PhD
Associate Professor, College of Dentistry
Research focus:  Cell cycle regulation and the DNA damage response (DDR); cellular recover process from DNA damage; protein phosphatase-dependent cell cycle and DDR regulation and its implication for cancer progression and therapy.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, CR and MGCB

Thomas Petro, PhD
Professor, College of Dentistry
Research focus:  Using molecular immunobiology approaches to explore intrinsic pathways to or novel therapeutics for expression and control of cytokines to prevent chronic viral infections, autoimmune disease and/or inflammatory diseases.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  CR and IPID

Armen Petrosyan, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Research focus:  Mechanism of Golgi alteration in advanced prostate cancer: focus on aberrant glycosylation; role for non-muscle Myosin IIA in alcohol-induced Golgi fragmentation.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, CR and IPMM

Iraklis Pipinos, MD, PhD
Professor, Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology
Research focus:  Regeneration of adult skeletal muscle with the use of exercise, medications, adult stem cells and revascularization operations; mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative damage and inflammation in the leg muscle of patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD); Atrophy in the leg muscles of patients with PAD; biomechanical analysis of the gait of PAD patients; developmental biology and its role in regenerative medicine.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPMM

Larisa Poluektova, MD, PhD
Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience
Research focus:  Pathogenesis and treatment of HIV-1 associated dementia; translational mouse models for human-specific diseases.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  CR, IPID and NSC

Moorthy Ponnusamy, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Research focus:  Characterization of cancer stem cells; mucins in ovarian cancer.

Associated Doctoral Program:  BMB

Thomas Porter, MD
Chair and Professor, Department of Internal Medicine - Cardiology
Research focus:  Targeted blood brain barrier permeability changes with ultrasound and microbubbles.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPMM

Bunny Pozehl, PhD, RN, APRN-NP, FAHA, FAAN
Professor, College of Nursing
Research focus:  Exercise training interventions and promoting adherence to exercise in hear t failure.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPMM

Sundaralingam Premaraj, BDS, MS, PhD, FRCD(C)
Associate Professor, College of Dentistry
Research focus:  Cranial suture biology; (TGF) ß cell signaling in osteoblasts; molecular biology of tooth movement.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  IPMM and MGCB

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Satyayanarayana Rachagani, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Research focus:  Awaiting information.

Associated Doctoral Program:  BMB

Prakash Radhakrishnan, PhD
Assistant Professor, Eppley Cancer Institute
Research focus:  Glycobiology of pancreatic cancer; autocrine and paracrine cell signaling mechanisms; developing therapeutics for pancreatic cancer.

Associated Doctoral Program:  CR

St. Patrick Reid, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology and Microbiology
Research focus:  Molecular virology of novel functions of proteins encoded by highly pathogenic viruses; Elucidating host-pathogen interactions of emerging highly pathogenic viruses including Ebola, Chikungunga and Zika.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPID

Stephen I. Rennard, MD
Professor, Department of Internal Medicine - Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep and Allergy
Research focus:  Molecular and cellular mechanisms of lung remodeling.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPMM

Angie A. Rizzino, PhD
Professor, Eppley Cancer Institute
Research focus:  Molecular mechanisms that regulate the proliferation of cancer stem cells and pluripotent stem cells.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  CR and IPID

Matthew Rizzo, MD, FAAN
Professor, Department of Neurological Sciences
Research focus:  Memory disorders; behavioral consequences of aging and neurological disorders.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  NSC

William Rizzo, MD
Professor, Department of Pediatrics
Research focus:  Sjogren-Larsson Syndrome and other inherited metabolic diseases.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, IPMM and MGCB

Kerry Rodabaugh, MD
Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Research focus:  Gynecologic oncology.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  CR and MGCB

Eleanor G. Rogan, PhD
Professor, College of Public Health
Research focus:  Metabolic activation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and catechol estrogens to form DNA adducts, generate oncogenic mutations and initiate cancer.

Associated Doctoral Program: CR

Debra Romberger, MD
Professor, Department of Internal Medicine
Research focus:  Agricultural/occupation/environmental lung disease; airway epithelial repair and injury mechanisms; clinical problems associated with COPD; rural health.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPMM

Shyamal K. Roy, PhD
Professor, Departments of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Cellular & Integrative Physiology
Research focus:  Endocrine regulation of follicular development, growth factors, signal transduction in ovarian cells and biochemistry of granulosa cells.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, IPMM and MGCB

Elizabeth Rucks, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Pathology & Microbiology
Research focus:  Host trafficking to the chlamydial inclusion, growth and development of chlamydia.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPID

Mark Rupp, MD
Professor, Department of Internal Medicine
Research focus:  Awaiting information.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPID

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Mariano Sanchez-Lockhart, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology and Microbiology (USAMRID)
Research focus:  Characterization of the humoral and cellular immune response to pathogen infection or vaccination challenge.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPID

Uriel Sandkovsky, MD
Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine
Research focus:  Awaiting information.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPID

Steven C. Sansom, PhD
Professor, Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology
Research focus:  Physiological mechanisms of ion transport in the kidney.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPMM

Harold D. Schultz, PhD
Professor, Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology
Research focus:  Sensory and motor functions of the autonomic nervous system.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPMM and NSC

Karen Schumacher, PhD, RN
Professor, College of Nursing
Research focus:  Family caregiving during cancer treatment with a focus on the transition into the family caregiving role at the beginning of cancer treatment, how the role changes over the course of treatment and what health effects caregivers experience over time; management of cancer pain by oncology outpatients and family caregivers.

Associated Doctoral Program:  CR

(John) Graham Sharp, PhD
Professor, Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy
Research focus:  Research on stem cells in normal tissues and tumors, particularly pediatric tumors.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  CR and MGCB

Polina Shcherbakova, PhD
Associate Professor, Eppley Cancer Institute
Research focus:  Mechanisms controlling genome stability in eukaryotic cells, particularly the functions of DNA polymerases, DNA replication fidelity and the relationship between DNA polymerase defects and cancer.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, CR and MGCB

Simon Sherman, PhD
Professor, Eppley Cancer Institute
Research focus:  Carcinogenic modeling, cancer informatics.

Associated Doctoral Program:  CR

Amar Singh, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Research focus:  Molecular mechanisms of mucosal inflammation and associated cancer; and Ciliogenesis, autophagy and renal diseases; understanding the causal role of the epithelial barrier in the regulation of mucosal inflammation and associated cancer; regulation of renal tubular epithelial cell morphogenesis and renal cancer.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB and CR

Pankaj Singh, PhD
Professor, Eppley Cancer Institute
Research focus:  Signal transduction in cancer, tumor-microenvironment interactions, therapy resistance, cancer metabolism and systems biology.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, CR and MGCB

Rakesh K. Singh, PhD
Professor, Department of Pathology and Microbiology
Research focus:  Host-tumor interaction in tumor progression, angiogenesis and metastasis, tumor immunology.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, CR and IPID

Joseph Sisson, MD
Professor, Department of Internal Medicine
Research focus:  Control of ciliary motility, which is critical host defense function of the airways; regulation of ciliary beating in primary cultures of ciliated tracheal epithelium; role that nitric oxide plays in stimulating protein kinases that cause cilia to beat faster; ethanol as a model agonist and the mechanism(s) by which ethanol desensitizes the ciliary apparatus to subsequent stimulation by physiologic agonists; kinase phosphorylation targets in the cilia axoneme to determine the mechanism(s) by which phosphorylation activates dyneins and other motor elements of the axoneme.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPMM

Shelley D. Smith, PhD, FACMG
Professor, Munroe-Meyer Institute
Research focus:  Identification of genetic influences on developmental language and learning disorders in children.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  MGCB and NSC

Joyce Solheim, PhD
Professor, Eppley Cancer Institute
Research focus:  Mechanisms regulating the immune response to tumors and infectious pathogens, and development of new immunotherapies.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, CR and IPID

Ghada Soliman, MD, PhD, RD, LMNT
Associate Professor, College of Public Health
Research focus:  A nutrient-sensing protein termed the mammalian Target of Rapamycin (m TOR) as a master regulator of metabolism, cell growth and proliferation; obesity, and related metabolic disorder, as well as the impact of micronutrient deficiencies among individuals, across populations and globally; optimal nutrition as an integral part of global health promotion and disease prevention; public health and social burdens of malnutrition.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPMM

Paul Sorgen, PhD
Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Research focus:  Advancing our understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of gap junction regulation in the heart, with particular interest and expertise in protein-protein interactions mediated by the carboxyl terminal domain of connexins.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, CR and MGCB

Laurey Steinke, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Research focus:  Biofilms:  Staphylococcus aureus, Microbiome and Thermophilic.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB and IPID

Wayne Stuberg, PT, PhD, PCS, FAPTA
Professor, Munroe-Meyer Institute
Research focus:  Effect of manual stretching in children with cerebral palsy; treadmill training to improve walking in children with developmental disabilities; neural basis of motor development and rehabilitation.

Associated Doctoral Program: NSC

Kaihong Su, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Pathology and Microbiology
Research focus:  Immunology and autoimmunity; understanding the molecular mechanisms for autoimmune disease such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA); developing new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for these diseases.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPID

Keer Sun, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology and Microbiology
Research focus:  Immunology; the impact of oxidative stress on the complex virus-host-bacterium interaction occurring during influenza and MRSA co-infection.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPID

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Tahir Tahirov, PhD
Professor, Eppley Cancer Institute
Research focus:  Reveal the structure basis of the mechanisms covering the key stages in the expression and duplication/repair of genes and to learn how the disease-related mutations in proteins disrupt these key processes.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  CR and MGCB

James E. Talmadge, PhD
Professor, Department of Pathology and Microbiology
Research focus:  Tumor biology, metastasis, immunotherapy, molecular and cellular immunology, hematology and oncology.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  CR and IPID

Melissa Teoh-Fitzgerald, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Research focus:  Redox signaling in cancer epithelial-fibroblast interactions.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB and CR

Sarah Thayer, MD, PhD
Professor and Chief, Department of Surgery - Surgical Oncology
Research focus:  Investigation of the genes that may contribute to the initiation, progression and regulation of pancreatic cancer.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  CR

Geoffrey M. Thiele, PhD
Professor, Department of Internal Medicine - Rheumatology
Research focus:  Autoimmunity, immune system disorders, immunopathology; infectious diseases/agents; Rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis, breast cancer and the immune system, bone loss and erosion, alcoholic liver disease.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, IPID and IPMM

Austin Thompson, MD
Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine
Research focus:  Pulmonary hypertension and clinical therapeutic investigations.

Associated Doctoral Program: CR

Wallace B. Thoreson, PhD
Professor, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
Research focus:  Visual information processing by the retina; electrophysiology and optical imaging techniques to study transmission at ribbon synapses of rod and cone photoreceptors.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  IPMM, MGCB and NSC

Myron L. Toews, PhD
Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience
Research focus:  Regulation of G protein-coupled receptors and their signaling pathways; lysophosphatidic acid and its receptors in lung disease; epidermal growth factor receptors and protease signaling in agricultural dust-induced lung disease, oxytocin receptors and signaling in primate social behavior.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  IPMM and NSC

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Matthew Van Hook, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
Research focus:  Mechanisms of synaptic transmission by retinal neurons and influence of neurodegenerative diseases (i.e. glaucoma) on retinal function. 

Associated Doctoral Programs:  IPMM and NSC

Trevor VanSchooneveld, MD
Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine
Research focus:  Antimicrobial resistance and clinical infectious disease, in particular, improving antimicrobial use through antimicrobial stewardship.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPID

Joseph Vetro, PhD
Assistant Professor, College of Pharmacy
Research focus:  Developing novel synthetic targeted drug and gene delivery nanocarriers for the anti-angiogenesis treatment of cancer; improving development paradigms for targeted bioimaging and drug delivery nanocarriers; developing subunit vaccines based on the novel adjuvant, EP67.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  CR, IPID and IPMM

Saraswathi Viswanathan, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology
Research focus:  Determine the link between obesity and cardiovascular disease.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB and IPMM

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James Wahl, PhD
Associate Professor, College of Dentistry
Research focus:  Understand the role of desmosomes play in maintaining the normal phenotype of squamous epithelial tissues and to determine if their alteration during tumorigenesis influences cell motility, metastasis and signaling.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  CR and MGCB

Guangshun (Gus) Wang, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Pathology and Microbiology
Research focus:  Biomolecular NMR; structural biology; signal transduction; antimicrobial peptides.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, CR and IPID

Hanjun Wang, MD
Assistant Professor, Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology
Research focus:  Cardiovascular reflexes during exercise; neural control mechanisms underlying the exaggerated cardiovascular response and hyperventilation during exercise in the chronic heart failure state.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPMM

Jing (Jenny) Wang, PhD
Associate Professor, Eppley Cancer Institute
Research focus:  Molecular mechanisms and therapeutic targets of colon cancer metastasis and chemoresistance.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, CR and MGCB

David Warren, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Neurological Sciences
Research focus:  Memory; amnesia, neuroimaging; neuropsychology.

Associated Doctoral Program:  NSC

Haitao Wen, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology and Microbiology
Research focus:  Innate immunity; immune-metabolism; mitochondrial metabolism; cell death; sepsis; colitis; colitis-associated cancer.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPID

Tony W. Wilson, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Neurological Sciences
Research focus:  Human cortical neurophysiology and imaging in healthy development, cognitive aging and neurodegenerative diseases.

Assocaited Doctoral Program:  NSC

Nicholas Woods, PhD
Assistant Professor, Eppley Cancer Institute
Research focus:  Systems biology based analysis of cancer signaling pathways.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, CR and MGCB

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Jingwei Xie, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery-Transplant.
Research focus:  Synthesis, surface modification, self-assembly of materials at nanometer scale to address problems in the field of tissue engineering, regerative medicine and drug/gene delivery.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  CR, IPID and MGCB

Huangui Xiong, MD, PhD
Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience
Research focus:  Molecular and cellular underlying HIV-1 associated neurocognitive disorders.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  IPID, IPMM and NSC

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Ying Yan, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology
Research focus:  Rho family of GTPases in cancer therapy resistance; Serine/Threonine phosphatase 2A in tumorigenesis and metastasis.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  BMB, CR and MGCB

Sowmya Yelamanchili, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience
Research focus:  MicroRNAs in neurodegenerative diseases, HIV, Parkinson's Disease.

Associated Doctoral Program:  NSC

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Hong Zheng, MD
Assistant Professor, Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology
Research focus:  Neural control of cardiovascular disease.

Associated Doctoral Program:  IPMM

Jialin Zheng, MD
Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience
Research focus:  Chemokines and neural chemokine receptors in neuropathogenesis of HIV-associated dementia.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  IPID, MGCB and NSC

Matthew C. Zimmerman, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology
Research focus:  Role of reactive oxygen species and redox signaling in the brain in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease; utilization of nanoformulated antioxidants for the improved treatment of cardiovascular disease.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  IPMM and NSC

Irving H. Zucker, PhD
Professor, Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology
Research focus:  Neural control of cardiovascular function; heart failure; hypertension; sympathetic function.

Associated Doctoral Programs:  IPMM and NSC

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