Search for Mentors by Keyword | INBRE | University of Nebraska Medical Center

Mentors for INBRE program

Name	Position	Department	Research Interests
UNMC
Surinder Batra	Chairman	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	tumor-associated genes; cancer diagnostics, cancer vaccines; monoclonal antibodies, genetic engineering of antibodies
Ken Bayles	Professor	Pathology & Microbiology	biofilm, metabolism, antibiotic resistance, cell death, pathogenesis
Erika Boesen	Assistant Professor	Cellular & Integrative Physiology	kidney, renal physiology, lupus, endothelin, collecting duct
Gloria Borgstahl	Professor	Eppley Institute	Crystallography, Micro-gravity, Virtual Reality, Protein Structure, Drug Discovery
Steve Caplan	Professor	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	membrane trafficking, vesicular transport, endocytosis, recycling, organelle biogenesis
Sujata S. Chaudhari, PhD	Assistant Professor	Pathology & Microbiology	Staphylococcus aureus, metabolism, reactive oxygen species, superoxide dismutase, oxidative stress
Martin Conda-Sheridan	Assistant Professor	COP - Pharmaceutical Sciences	drug delivery, antibacterials, drug design, nanotechnology, cancer
Kaustub Datta	Professor	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Cancer, Metastasis, Therapy resistance, Drug development, Animal model of cancer.
Punita Dhawan	Associate Professor	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	colon cancer, metastasis, therapeutics, biomarker, Claudins.
Jixin Dong	Associate Professor	Eppley Cancer Center	Hippo-YAP, mitosis, cancer, paclitaxel, protein kinase
Andrew Dudley	Associate Professor	Genetics, Cell Biology & Anatomy	cartilage, bone, regeneration, tissue engineering, developmental and systems biology
Paul Fey	Professor	Pathology & Microbiology	bacterial pathogenesis, metabolism, biofilm, antibiotic resistance, genetics
Howard Fox	Professor	Neurological Sciences	neurodegeneration, HIV, mitochondria, Parkinson's, pathogenesis
Jered Garrison	Associate Professor	COP - Pharmaceutical Sciences	radiation, cancer, imaging, drug delivery and therapy
Howard Gendelman	Professor	Pharmacology & Experimental Neuroscience	Nanotechnology, neurodegenerative disease, neuroprotective immunity, human immunodeficiency virus, CURE
Deepta Ghate	Assistant Professor	Ophthalmology	glaucoma, driving, simulator, peripheral vision, field defects
Gargi Ghosal	Assistant Professor	Genetics, Cell Biology & Anatomy	Genome Instability, Replication stress response, DPC repair, Progeria and Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Stacey Gilk, Ph.D.	Associate Professor	Pathology and Microbiology	microbiology, cell biology, microscopy, lysosome, lipid
Karen Gould	Associate Professor	Genetics, Cell Biology & Anatomy	genetics, immunology, autoimmunity, cancer, estrogens
Babu Guda	Professor	Genetics, Cell Biology & Anatomy	bioinformatics, computational biology, cancer genomics, systems biology, metagenomics
Dalia ElGamal	Assistant Professor	Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center	cancer, leukemia, immune system, lymphoma, and mouse models
Kyle J. Hewitt	Assistant Professor	Genetics, Cell Biology & Anatomy	hematopoiesis, stem cells, transcription, anemia, and leukemia/lymphoma
Corey Hopkins	Associate Professor	COP - Pharmaceutical Sciences	medicinal chemistry, drug discovery, infectious disease, neuroscience
Ricia "Kate" Hyde	Assistant Professor	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	leukemia, hematopoiesis, transcription factors, cancer, gene expression
Maneesh Jain	Associate Professor	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	pancreatic cancer, mucin, radioimmunotherapy, diagnostics, and therapeutics, cell signaling
Vikas Kumar	Director, Mass Spectrometry & Proteomics Core	VCR Cores	Nrf2/Keap1; Skeletal muscle; Exercise training; Aging; Proteomics
Karoly Mirnics, MD, PhD	Professor	Munroe-Meyer Institute	Gene expression, maternal immune activation, transgenic animal models, schizophrenia, autism
Scot Ouellette	Associate Professor	Pathology and Microbiology	Chlamydia, bacterial physiology, metabolism, evolution and genes
Rebecca Oberley-Deegan	Assistant Professor	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Free radicals, antioxidants, SOD, cancer, fibrosis
Moorthy Ponnusamy	Assistant Professor	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Cancer stem cells, metastasis, pancreatic cancer, drug-resistance and glycosylation
Joshi Shantaram	Professor	Genetics, Cell Biology & Anatomy	chronic lymphocytic leukemia, tumor microenvironment, molecular basis of leukemic progression, experimental therapeutics, lymphoma, neuroblastoma
Sukhwinder Kaur	Assistant Professor	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Pancreatic cancer, biomarkers, ultrasensitive technologies, mucins, Luminex, exosomes
Tammy Kielian	Professor	Pathology & Microbiology	immunology, infectious disease, Staphylococcus aureus biofilm, neuroimmunology, host-pathogen interactions
Robert Lewis	Professor	Eppley Cancer Center	cell signaling, colon cancer, obesity, metabolism, tumorigenesis
Ming-Fong Lin	Professor	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	prostate cancer, carcinogenesis and metastasis, steroid hormones, signal transduction, experimental therapy
Justin Mott	Associate Professor	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	apoptosis, cancer, fatty liver, obesity, steatohepatitis
Amar Natarajan	Professor	Eppley Cancer Center	chemical biology, kinase inhibitors, protein-protein interactions, drug discovery
Greg Oakley	Associate Professor	COD - Oral Biology	cancer, replication stress, DNA damage, cell cycle, biochemistry
Michel Ouellette	Associate Professor	Internal Med GI	telomere, telomerase, pancreatic cancer, Ras signaling, Rac1 GTPase
Youri Pavlov	Professor	Eppley Cancer Center	mutation, cancer replication, recombination, genome stability
Satyanarayana Rachagan	Assistant Professor	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Animal models, miRNAs, Mucins, cancer metabolism, microbiome in cancer
Eleanor Rogan	Professor	CoPH - Environ	Agricultural and Occupational Health, estrogens, breast cancer, estrogen-DNA adducts, cancer prevention
Elizabeth A. Rucks	Associate Professor	Pathology & Microbiology	Chlamydia trachomatis, SNARE protein, Golgi trafficking, Cellular microbiology, Chlamydial-host interactions
Amar Singh	Associate Professor	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	Epithelial Barrier, Colitis, Cancer, Growth Factor, Signaling.
Pankaj Singh	Associate Professor	Eppley Cancer Center	cancer metabolism, systems biology, pancreatic cancer, chemotherapy resistance, metastasis
Rakesh Singh	Professor	Pathology & Microbiology	host-tumor interaction, tumor microenvironment, progression and metastasis
Joyce Solheim	Professor	Eppley Cancer Center	immunology, cancer, therapy, treatment, vaccine
Paul Sorgen	Professor	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	gap junctions, heart disease, phosphorylation, cell signaling, intercellular communication
Melissa Teoh-Fitzgerald	Assistant Professor	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology	breast cancer, redox signaling, antioxidants, tumor microenvironment, tumor-stroma interactions
Vinai Chittezham Thomas	Assistant Professor	Pathology & Microbiology	Staphylococcus aureus; Infectious disease; Bacterial metabolism; Nitric oxide synthase; and Programmed cell death
Wallace Thoreson	Professor	Ophthalmology	synaptic transmission, vision, retina, imaging, electrophysiology
Jonathan Vennerstrom	Professor	COP - Pharmaceutical Sciences	medicinal chemistry, organic chemistry, antimalarial, antiparasitic, drug discovery
Joseph Vetro	Assistant Professor	COP - Pharmaceutical Sciences	drug delivery, vaccines, cancer, virus, nanomedicine
James Wahl	Associate Professor	COD - Oral Biology	oral cancer, epithelium, cell migration, live cell microscopy, cadherins, desmosome
Elizabeth Wellsandt	Assistant Professor	College of Allied Health Professions	biomechanics, rehabilitation, sports, knee, surgery
Nick Woods	Assistant Professor	Eppley Cancer Center	mass spectrometry, bioinformatics, DNA damage, proteomics, domainomics
Todd Wyatt	Professor	CoPH - Environ	Agricultural & Occupational Health,cigarettes, alcohol, lungs, dusts, agriculture
Jingwei Xie	Associate Professor	Department of Surgery	Biomaterials, Regenerative Medicine, Tissue Engineering, Stem Cells, Drug Delivery
Matt Zimmerman	Assoc Professor	Cellular & Integrative Physiology	neuroscience, hypertension, neurons, reactive oxygen species, antioxidants
Irving Zucker	Chairperson	Cellular & Integrative Physiology	cardiovascular, heart failure, neural control, hypertension, oxidative stress
CUMC
Peter Abel	Professor	Pharmacology	vascular and airway smooth muscle function, nerve stimulation, pulmonary hypertension, asthma
Jason Bartz	Professor & Vice Chair	Medical Microbiology & Immunology	prions, strains, pathogenesis
Michael Belshan	Associate Professor	Medical Microbiology & Immunology	HIV, virus-host interactions, molecular virology, proteomics, genomics
Travis Bourret	Assistant Professor	Medical Microbiology & Immunology	Lyme disease, relapsing fever, tick-borne diseases, gene regulation, microbial pathogenesis
Laura Bruce	Associate Professor	Biomedical Sciences	amygdala, brain, evolution, fear behavior, genetics
Shashank Dravid	Assistant Professor	Pharmacology and Neuroscience	glutamate, electrophysiology, mouse behavior, NMDA receptor, neuropharmacology
Kristen Drescher	Professor	Medical Microbiology & Immunology	multiple sclerosis, creatine, virus, type 1 diabetes
Richard Goering	Professor and Chair	Medical Microbiology & Immunology	strain typing, epidemiology, whole-genome sequencing, MRSA, C. difficile
Laura Hansen	Professor	Biomedical Sciences	Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Papilloma, Skin neoplasms, Epidermal growth factor receptors, and Keratinocytes
Jee Yeon Hwang	Assistant Professor	Pharmacology and Neuroscience	Neuroscience, Aging, Epigenetics, Neurodegeneration, Neuroinflammation
David He	Professor	Biomedical Sciences	neuroscience, gene regulation, inner ear, mechanotransduction, prestin
Tejbeer Kaur	Assistant Professor	Biomedical Sciences	Auditory Neuron, Ribbon Synapse, Innate-Immune System, Inflammation Macrophage
Kenneth Kramer	Assistant Professor	Biomedical Sciences	zebrafish, development, balance, ear, glycan
Sandor Lovas	Professor	Biomedical Sciences	proteins, polypeptides, structural bioinformatics, molecular dynamics simulations, circular dichroism
Brian J. North	Assistant Professor	Biomedical Sciences	Aging, protein homeostasis, Cancer, Cardiac Conduction, Parkinson’s
Kristina Simeone	Assistant Professor	Pharmacology and Neuroscience	epilepsy, neurobiology, cell-signaling, electrophysiology, behavior
Timothy Simeone	Assistant Professor	Pharmacology and Neuroscience	epilepsy, neurophysiology, electrophysiology, therapeutic mechanisms, ketogenic diet
D. David Smith	Associate Professor	Biomedical Sciences	peptides, amino acids, solid phase peptide synthesis, chromatography, CGRP
Holly Stessman	Assistant Professor	Pharmacology and Neuroscience	genetics, autism, cancer, molecular and cellular neuroscience, drug discovery
Patrick Swanson	Professor	Medical Microbiology & Immunology	V(D)J recombination, autoimmunity, cancer, antibody selection, receptor editing
Garrett Soukup	Professor	Biomedical Sciences	microRNA, hearing, inner ear, hair cell, sensory neuron
Yaping Tu	Professor	Pharmacology and Neuroscience	signal transduction, G protein-coupled receptor, tyrosine kinase receptor, tumor progression and metastasis, lung diseases
UNL
Arthur “Trey” Andrews	Assistant Professor	Psychology	Latino mental health disparities, interventions
Peter Angeletti	Associate Professor	School of Biological Sciences	human papillomavirus (HPV), cervical cancer, dysplasia, HIV, Tanzania
Audrey Atkin	Associate Professor	School of Biological Sciences	RNA biology, regulation of gene expression, mRNA decay, signaling, bioactive dietary RNAs
Paul Blum	Professor	School of Biological Sciences	pain control therapeutics, anti-cancer cytokines, synthetic biology, cytokine glycosylation
Heriberto Cerutti	Professor	School of Biological Sciences - Ctr for Biotechnology	epigenetics, RNA interference, genomics, biotechnology, biofuels
Hernan Garcia Ruiz	Assistant Professor	Plant Pathology	plant-virus interactions, antiviral RNA silencing, antiviral immunity
Eileen Hebets	Professor	School of Biological Sciences	animal communication, sensory systems, mating systems, behavioral evolution, arachnids
Qingsheng Li	Professor	School of Biological Sciences	HIV-1, transmission, vaccine, mucosal immunology, emerging infectious disease
Colin Meiklejohn	Assistant Professor	School of Biological Sciences	Evolution, genetics, speciation, Drosophila, gene regulation
Kristi Montooth	Associate Professor	School of Biological Sciences	Physiological genetics, Mitochondrial biology, Evolutionary genetics, Functional Drosophila genetics, Metabolism
Etsuko Moriyama	Professor	School of Biological Sciences - Ctr for Biotechnology	bioinformatics, genomics, molecular evolution, protein functions, chemoreceptors
Hideaki Moriyama	Associate Professor	School of Biological Sciences	cancer, electrophysiology, hypoxia, influenza, structural biology
Carl Nelson	Professor	Mechanical & Materials Engineering	robotics, medical devices, mechanical design, dynamic systems, kinematics of machinery
Ken Nickerson	Professor	School of Biological Sciences	microbial physiology, fungal dimorphism, quorum sensing, candida albicans, farnesol, glyoxalase and methyl glyoxal, biotin
Angela Pannier	Associate Professor	Therapeutic Nanoparticles	gene therapy, tissue engineering, biomaterials, developmental biology, DNA delivery
Jessica L. Petersen	Associate Professor	Animal Sciences	animal genetics
Hernan Garcia Ruiz	Assistant Professor	Plant Pathology	Antiviral immunity, virus-host interactions, small RNA biology, antiviral RNA silencing, bioinformatics
James van Etten	Professor	Plant Pathology	algal viruses, chloroviruses, large dsDNA viruses, virus encoded glycosylation, algae
Rebecca Wachs	Assistant Professor	Biological Systems Engineering Department	low back pain, invertebral disc, orthopedic pain, targeted biomaterial therapeutics, nerve growth, sensitization
Karrie Weber	Associate Professor	School of Biological Sciences	microbial ecology, virus ecology, environmental microbiology, microbial physiology
Matthew Wiebe	Associate Professor	Veterinary & Biomedical Sciences	virology, immunity, signal transduction, DNA replication, cancer biology
Charles Wood	Professor	School of Biological Sciences	HIV/AIDS, AIDS associated cancer, neuroAIDS
Shi-hua Xiang	Assistant Professor	Veterinary & Biomedical Sciences	HIV envelope glycoproteins, structure-based design of vaccines or drugs, commensal bacterial therapy, virus-host interactions, viral entry
Janos Zempleni	Willa Cather Professor of Molecular Nutrition	Nutrition & Health Sciences	exosomes, gene regulation, human nutrition, non-coding RNA, vesicles
Limei Zhang	Assistant Professor	Biochemistry	Structural Biology, Redox Sensing, Metalloprotein, Transcriptional Regulation, Antibiotic Resistance
Luwen Zhang	Professor	School of Biological Sciences	Epstein Barr virus, Zika virus, flavivirus, herpesvirus, cancer