Dr. Robert T. Chatterton received the PhD from Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. He spent 2 ½ years as a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard Medical School with Prof. Roy O. Greep, then worked as a Research Associate at the Institute for Steroid Research, New York for 5 years. He rose from Assistant to Associate Professor at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, Department of Ob/Gyn, and came to Northwestern as full Professor in 1979. He has secondary appointments at Northwestern in Physiology and Pathology. Past research was conducted on mammary gland development, the process of lactogenesis, and hormonal control of galactopoiesis. Studies have been completed on effects of stress on reproductive function and an in vivo assay for adrenergic activity was developed based on salivary 945;-amylase.

Current work is on endocrine aspects of breast cancer. Biomarkers associated with high risk of breast cancer have been identified in nipple aspirate fluid.

Dr. MIcheal A. Kirbyreceived his PhD in neurosciences from University of California.He worked as research assistant in California state University for 2 yearsand then as research associate for 4 years. He rose from Assistant to Associate Professor at the Department of Pediatrics and Anatomy and the Center for Perinatal Research, Loma Linda University and came to Departments of Pathology and Human Anatomy as full Professor in 2002. he worked as Associate vice chair, Chair, Associate vice chancellor and has Secondary Appointment at Department of Surgery, Neurosurgery.

Neuroscience (Neurophysiology and neuroanatomy) with special concentration in Developmental Neurobiology,neural mechanisms in labor and parturition

Rand S. Swenson, DC, MD, PhD received a chiropractic degree in 1976 from the National University of the Health Sciences, a PhD in anatomy from Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine in 1981 and an MD degree with honors from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in 1989. He had postdoctoral training in neurophysiology at Loyola and was a visiting professor of physiology at the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, where he studied autonomic nervous system neurophysiology from 1983 to 1986. He completed a neurology residency at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in 1993 and subsequently joined the staff of the medical center and received an academic appointment at Dartmouth Medical School. At the present time, he is Professor of Anatomy and Neurology and Chairman of the Department of Anatomy. His academic interests are in the neurobiology of pain, in complementary and alternative medicine and in medical education.

Neuroanatomy; headache; evaluation and management of pain

I obtained MD and PhD degrees from Tokyo University, Japan, with my investigation on cardiac developmental biology. There, I had identified and reported a novel gene, Midori, which works at a very early stage of myocyte differentiation. Subsequently, I joined Dr Piero Anversa’s laboratory in 2004 to investigate on tissue-specific stem cells. More specifically, I have been involved in studies characterizing the mechanism of proliferation, differentiation, migration, and senescence of bone-marrow, cardiac, and lung stem cells and thereby contributed to the following publications. I am planning to work further to pursue the potential clinical applications of these cells for the treatment of numerous human diseases.

Tissue-specific stem cells, Cardiac stem cells, Myocardial regeneration, Heart failure, Myocyte turnover, Aging.

Dr. William G. North is currently working as Professor in Physiology, one Medical Centre drive, Lebanon.

Neuropeptides in breast cancer, in small-cell carcinoma, and in Alzheimers disease.

William C. Roberts was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on September 11, 1932. His father (1878-1941) was Clinical Professor of Medicine at Emory University, and President of the American Heart Association in 1933. In 1958, Dr. Roberts graduated from Emory University School of Medicine. His internship was in internal medicine at the Boston City Hospital and his medical residency was at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and the National Institutes of Health. He also trained in anatomic pathology at the National Institutes of Health. From July 1964 to March 1993, he was Chief of Pathology in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland. He has published over 1500 articles, authored or edited 25 books, and lectured in over 2,000 cities throughout the world. He has contributed information on many major cardiovascular conditions.During the past 37 years, Dr. Roberts has been program director for the Williamsburg Conference on Heart Disease held every December in Williamsburg, Virginia. The conference has been sponsored by the American College of Cardiology Foundation, Imedex, Inc., and the A. Webb Roberts Center for Continuing Medical Education of Baylor Health Care System. Since March 1993, he has been executive director of the Baylor Heart and Vascular Institute at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. He is also the editor in chief of the Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings and Dean of the A. Webb Roberts Center for Continuing Education at Baylor Healthcare System. He has been the editor in chief of The American Journal of Cardiology since June 1982 He has received many honors including the 1978 Gifted Teacher Award of the American College of Cardiology, the 1983 College Medalist Award of the American College of Chest Physicians, the Richard and Hilda Rosenthal Foundation Award for 1984 from the Council of Cardiology of the American Heart Association, the Public Health Service Commendation Medal in 1979, an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Far Eastern University, Manila, Philippines, in 1995, and in 2004 the designation of Master American College of Cardiology Award.

She received Her PhD in Medical Science from Medical Academy, Warsaw, Poland in 1980. She worked as Visiting Fellow form 1980-83 and as Visiting Associate from 1983-85 in Lab. of Clinical Science, NIMH/NIH, Bethesda. She went to Georgetown University as Assistant Professor in Dept. of Physiology & Biophysics in 1985 then promoted as Associate professor in 1991.She worked as Founder and Director to Stress Physiology and Research Center, Georgetown University Medical Center from 2006-2010. She is currently working as Professor in Dept. of Physiology & Biophysics, Georgetown University and Professor and Vice-Chair in Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, Founding Director to Stress Physiology Center, University of Minnesota.

Her research focuses on determining the effects of stress on cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, and the role of neuropeptide Y (NPY) in these processes. They were the first to determine that Y1 receptors mediate stress-induced prolonged vasoconstriction and NPY’s vascular mitogenic actions, and now study pro-atherosclerotic effect of stress and the role of platelet-derived NPY in this process. They also discovered that NPY is potently angiogenic via its Y2 receptors, and contributes to neovascularization in ischemia, retinopathy and tumors. Recently, we found that NPY is angiogenic and de-novo adipogenic by activating the same receptor, Y2, which stimulates fat accretion and accelerates diet-induced to obesity and metabolic syndrome. Current investigations seek to determine if NPY plays a role in stress-induced programming for obesity and atherosclerosis across the lifetime of one or more generations, and if epigenetic mechanisms are involved.

She is David Lawrence Stein Professor of Psychiatry in Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in Northwestern University.

Behavioural science

Dr. Pelosi received his PhD in Medical Biotechnology from University of Bologna, Italy in 2006. He joined the Laboratory of Genetics – Human Genetics Section – at NIA/NIH in Baltimore as a postdoctoral Visiting Fellow under the direction of Dr. Schlessinger. He received the “Nathan Shock” award in 2008 from the NIA/NIH, and the “Premio Cattaneo” award for young scientists in Italy in 2009. He recently accepted the position of Research Fellow at NIA/NIH.

His research efforts have focused on the genetic bases of sex-determination, ovarian development, premature ovarian failure (POF), and menopause. He is also actively involved with a population-based study focusing on genetic factors determining age of menarche and menopause.  Studies also seek to determine the role and function of specific genes in the hypothalamic pituitary gonadal axis involved with POF and menopause. Additional efforts will then characterize the genes outside ovarian function.
 

She received her doctorate in Anatomy in 1988 from New York Medical College, Valhalla, New York, and began her research studies as a postdoctoral fellow in the field of inner ear development at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York. In 1991, she was appointed Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and in 1993 as Assistant Professor in the Department of Anatomy Structural Biology. She became Associate Professor in these departments at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1997. She currently hold appointments at Albert Einstein College of Medicine as Professor of Otorhinolaryngology Head Neck Surgery and of Anatomy Structural Biology since 2003, and as Research Professor in Cell Biology Anatomy and in Otolaryngology at New York Medical College since 2010. She has served as Director of Otorhinolaryngology Research at Albert Einstein College of Medicine 20012010, and teaches Clinical Developmental Anatomy 2001present and Histology 2009present laboratories at Einstein.

A primary focus of her research is the inner ear, which originates from a simple otic vesicle that ultimately gives rise to the complex organs of hearing and balance. Periotic mesenchyme surrounds the otic vesicle, giving origin to the cartilaginous otic capsule, which presages the formation of the endochondral bony capsule of the mature inner ear. Her research interests lie in the inductive tissue interactions that govern otic capsule morphogenesis, focusing on where in the embryonic inner ear molecular signals act, how they act, and the consequences of their inactivation. In addition, a recent interest focuses on the generation of brown adipose tissue from ectopic lineages in the mouse embryo.

Sergey Zaets received MD degree from Moscow Medical Institute and PhD and DSc degrees from Bakoulev Center for Cardiovascular Surgery (Moscow, Russia), and used to work as a pediatric cardiac surgeon until relocation to the USA in 1999. During the years 1999-2005, performed research studies on red blood cell dysfunction in trauma-hemorrhagic shock, burn, gut ischemia, and pancreatitis at the UMDNJ – New Jersey Medical School. In 2005, joined Novo Nordisk Inc. Investigated the role of coagulation Factor XIII in prevention of multiple organ dysfunction after experimental trauma-hemorrhagic shock, burn, gut ischemia, and cardio-pulmonary bypass. Since 2009, is involved in clinical development of new recombinant factors to be in hemophilia and FXIII congenital deficiency.

trauma-hemorrhagic shock, sepsis, coagulation disorders, congenital “open-heart” surgery. Author of more than 200 publications.

Dr. Yu received his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Tianjin University of China. He had postdoctoral training in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Pennsylvania. After postdoctoral training, he joined the Center for Biomedical Engineering (CBME) at the University of Kentucky (USA) as a faculty member. He now serves as director of the Biomedical Optics Laboratory in the USA CBME.

Dr. Yu’s research, built on years of previous work, has culminated in the development and clinical application of near-infrared diffuse optical spectroscopies for noninvasive quantification of deep tissue hemodynamics. For example, His lab has designed a novel portable diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS) based flow-oximeter capable of simultaneous measurement of tissue blood flow and blood oxygenation at the bedside of clinic. Using newly developed optical techniques, his lab has successfully monitored blood flow and oxygenation in a variety of deep tissues, including adult brain, skeletal muscle and head/neck tumor. The ultimate goal is to develop and transfer the portable, fast, inexpensive, and noninvasive optical instruments to clinic for diagnosing tissue diseases and assessing the effects of various treatments.

Dr. Wayne L. Monsky, MD, PhD first received a Masters Degree in Physiology at Georgetown University before earning his MD and PhD at Georgetown University from the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology were his Thesis focused on mechanisms of neoplastic cell invasion and metastasis characterizing cell surface proteases. He then completed a Surgical Internship, Radiology Residency and Fellowship in Vascular and Interventional Radiology, all at Harvard University’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He also conducted Post-Doctoral studies at Massachusetts General Hospital with Dr. Rakesh Jain, investigating tumor microvascular physiology. Translational research then focused on minimally invasive tumor therapies, such as radiofrequency ablation, intratumoral drug delivery and imaging based assessment of tumor response to therapy. Currently an Academic Interventional Radiologist at The University of California Davis Medical Center, he continues studies focused on functional and volumetric tumor imaging, minimally invasive tumor therapies and device design.

His current research focuses is on volumetric and functional imaging of hepatic tumors, breast cancer, and Sarcoma to evaluate response to therapy such as chemoembolization, adjuvant and anti-angiogenic therapies. He continues to investigate strategies to optimize image guided minimally invasive tumor therapies such as radiofrequency ablation and intratumoral infusion. Investigations are also being conducted to evaluate the affect of angiography and chemoembolization on renal physiology. Device design and optimization has focused on intravascular thrombectomy, thrombolysis as well as intratumoral delivery of therapeutics.

Dr Jerrold Petrofsky holds is a PTA and holds a Ph D in neurophysiology from Saint Louis University. He has an AB in Biology and a BS in Computer Engineering from Washington University and a BS in Systems Engineering from Wright State University. He has Honorary PhDs from Pennsylvania State and the University of Humanistic Studies. He also has a JD from Western State University and is licensed as an attorney in California. He was the former director of the National Center for Rehabilitation Engineering and operated a Physical Therapy outpatient practice for 12 years. He is presently a professor at Loma Linda University in Physical Therapy.

His research interests are endothelial dysfunction exercise, diabetes, gait and balance and the physiology of nutrition and weight loss.

I did my B.Sc. (Honors) in 1988 and M.Sc. in 1990 both on Physiology with 1st Class from University of Calcutta, India. I received my PhD in Biochemistry from University of Calcutta, India with six 1st author and three 2nd author publications in peer-reviewed international journals. I did my postdoctoral training in Pharmacology at Georgetown University and later in Molecular Biology at University of Maryland. During my time at Maryland I successfully cloned a new TRP channel from Limulus (invertebrate) ventral photoreceptors. I continued to work on TRP channel physiology at NIDCR and characterized several multimeric TRP channels and made a number of important contributions to the areas of membrane biology, cell and tissue research. I have been working on calcium signaling for last 8 years and have excellent track record of publication (27) in top notch journals. My areas of interests are membrane transport in salivary duct and kidney proximal tubule, Calcium stone disease and Biomineralization. I am working as a Principle Investigator of Calcium Signaling Laboratory at Washington Veterans Affair Medical Center and as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, George Washington University School Of Medicine, Washington DC.

The mechanism(s) how Ca2+ reabsorption operated in absorptive epithelia like salivary gland major ducts is not known. Recently we have shown that Ca2+ channels are localized at the apical membrane of the salivary ducts. We hypothesize that Ca2+ in primary saliva (secreted from the acinar cells) activates the Ca2+-sensing receptor (CSR). Such activation of CSR further activates TRPC3 (a Ca2+ influx channel) and initiate a Ca2+ influx into the ductal cells through the luminal membrane. This would results in a transepithelial Ca2+ flux across the salivary ductal epithelia. We suggest that such regulation of saliva [Ca2+] plays an important role in calcium stone formation in salivary gland. Studies are directed towards the identification of (i) molecular components, and (ii) the mechanism of Ca2+ transport in salivary ductal cells. Presently, we are utilizing a variety of approaches (such as biochemistry and molecular biology as well as physiology) to determine whether the newly identified TRPC sub-families of ion channel proteins are involved in regulating/mediating Ca2+ transport in ductal epithelial cells. We are also studying the role of this mechanism in kidney proximal tubule to find out its implication in calcium nephrolithiasis (stone formation) during the course of change in such regulation. Recently we have received funding from NIH and NKF to continue these research projects. My long term goal is to understand the fundamental principle of calcium biomenaralization in the biological system.

Dr. Heng Hong graduated from Shanghai Medical University in 1982 and received Ph D degree in biochemistry in University of Southern California in 1996.  After finishing pathology residency and fellowship training in Indian University and Duke University, he became an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in Brody School of Medicine in East Carolina University in 2005.    Dr. Hong is currently the director of Cytopathology Fellowship Program in East Carolina University.

Dr. Hong’s previous and current research interests include transcriptional coactivators of nuclear receptors and their biological rules in the pathogenesis of hormone-related cancers, such as prostate cancer and breast cancer.

Professor George Tsao received his Ph.D from the University of London, Institute of Cancer Research: Royal Marsden Hospital. After postgraduate training, he joined the Department of Anatomy, Chinese University of Hong Kong as a faculty member. In 1987, he went to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard Medical School to receive postdoctoral training in cell and molecular biology. Subsequently, he became the Laboratory Director of the Gynecological Oncology Division, Brigham and Women Hospital and Assistant Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Harvard Medical School. Professor Tsao is currently a faculty member in the Department of Anatomy and the Director of the Center for Cancer Research at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong.

Professor Tsao\'s research interests are mainly focused on mechanisms in cell immortalization and malignant transformation. Specifically, he is interested in the immortalization and transformation properties of Epstein-Barr virus in nasopharyngeal epithelial cells and cancer. Prof. Tsao is currently one of the ten elected members in the Governing Board of the International Association for Research on Epstein-Barr virus and Associated Diseases.

He received his PhD in Physiology from Louisiana State University in 1986.He worked as instructor in Dept. of Cellular & Structural Biology, Univ. of Colorado School of Medicine from 1988-1990. Then he worked as Lecturer, Research Assistant Professor in Dept. of Biology Washington University. He went to Georgetown University Medical Center as Assistant Professor and promoted to Associate Professor in Departments of Physiology and Biophysics, and Psychology. He worked as vice chair for research from 2006-2008 in Georgetown University Medical Center. Currently he is working as External Professor in George Mason University and as an Associate Professor in Departments of Neurology, Neuroscience and Psychology in Georgetown University Medical Center.    
 

understanding the neural basis of species-specific audiovocal behaviors, including the neural origins of speech and music. The major goal of our research is to elucidate the cortical networks, coding and computational strategies, and neural mechanisms for the perception of species-specific communication sounds. Using bats as animal models, we study the basic mechanisms that underlie stimulus driven neural integration and plasticity, hemispheric lateralization, combination-sensitivity and multifunctionality of cortical neurons. We are especially interested in the functional organization of the cortex and in neurodynamics at the cellular and systems levels.

I received my PhD degree in reproductive physiology in 2008 from Banaras Hindu University (BHU), India and a Master degree in Biotechnology from Agra University, India in 2002.  After completing my PhD degree, I moved USA to continue my research work and joined School of Pharmacy, University of Colorado Denver as a Visiting Research Associate in Cancer and Skin Biology.

(a) Numerous genes have been identified as essential components of follicle rupture but specific roles of the genes in follicle rupture remain largely unknown.  For example, while progesterone receptors (PR) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) are the two most extensively studied LH-induced genes in the ovary and are required for follicle rupture as was shown by the lack of follicle rupture (and the presence of unruptured follicles) in their respective knockout mouse ovaries. However, the mechanistic roles of these genes in the follicle rupture is not known.  My interest to elucidate the mechanism of endothelin -2 in follicle rupture.
(b) Sulfur mustard is a continued major military threat, and has grown to become also a chemical-terrorism threat against civilians in post-9/11 era. These threats combined require approaches and strategies for 1) the measurement of injuries, and 2) prophylactic and therapeutic countermeasures. My interest is to assess sulfur mustrd-induced biological alterations such as MAPKs, PI3K/Akt pathways, NF-kB family, AP1 family and proinflammatory molecules such as COX-1/2, iNOS, MMPs, PCNA etc. and associated mechanisms in skin tissue of SKH-1 hairless mouse model for efficacy study.
 

Dr. Salvador Soriano is an Associate Professor of Anatomy at Loma Linda University. He received a PhD in Cell Biology from the University of Glasgow, UK and continued his scientific training with postdoctoral fellowships in Biochemistry at the University of Bristol and in Neuroscience at the University of California, San Diego, where he carried out research on Alzheimer’s disease. He then moved to King’s College London as a Senior Lecturer, where he developed further his research on neurodegeneration using animal models of dementia and NiemannPick type C disease.

His current research interests at Loma Linda University are a continuation of those earlier studies with a special emphasis on the role of the neuronal cell cycle as a pathogenic factor in a variety of neurodegenerative diseases.

Dr. Juming Zhong received his DVM from Southwest University for Nationalities in China in 1982 and served as a lecturer equivalent to Assistant Professor in USA at the same university till 1990. He moved to USA to pursue his graduate study at University of Missouri, and received his PhD there in 1995. He was a postdoctoral fellow with Drs. Joseph Hume and Kathleen Keef at University of Nevada School of Medicine and was promoted to a Research Assistant Professor there in 1999. He joined Auburn University with a tenure track position in 2001, and currently serves as a tenured Associate Professor at the Department of Anatomy, Physiology Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University. His main teaching responsibility is the Course Coordinator of microanatomy for professional program. He also participates in the graduate teaching for biomedical sciences.

Dr. Zhong’s research interests include cardiac and vascular smooth muscle electrophysiology and pharmacology. One of the primary goals of his research is to investigate the signaling pathways underlying ion channel regulation in both cardiac and vascular smooth muscle cells under normal and pathophysiological conditions. Ion channels play a central role in the excitation-contraction coupling of these cells, and thus directly control cardiac function and vascular tone. Abnormal activity of these channels directly contributes to the heart diseases and abnormal blood pressure. Application of patch clamp technique allows us to study these channels in the freshly isolated cardiac and vascular smooth muscle cells. Another primary focus of his laboratory is to investigate the cellular mechanisms underlying myocardial dysfunction resulted from various patho-physiological conditions. Specifically, they try to understand the mechanisms that influence intracellular calcium homeostasis and cell contraction of cardiac myocytes taken from different animal disease models.

I received my Ph.D. degree at the University of Nebraska in 2000 and was trained as a molecular cellular biologist. My postdoctoral research at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine focused on studying the role of HOX genes in mammary gland development and breast tumorigenesis, which was supported by two of my fellowship grants from Susan Komen Foundation and Department of Defense Breast Cancer Program respectively. As a Research Faculty at Johns Hopkins, I generated an MMTV-HOXB7 transgenic mouse model to investigate how overexpression of HOXB7 regulates Her2/neu-induced mammary tumorigenesis. This work was rewarding and resulted in a few publications and an ACS Research Scholar Grant award also expanded my research into the HER2/neu signaling study.  In 2008 I joined the University of South Carolinaas a tenure-track faculty member. During the past few years I had carried out a proteomic analysis to identify HER2-downstream genes, performed high throughput screening to find novel PI3K/AKT pathway inhibitors, utilized in vitro and in vivo assays to isolate and characterize cancer stem cells from primary tumors of MMTV-Her2 transgenic mice and optimized the culture condition to grow cancer stem cells in vitro. My current research is supported by grants from National Institute of Health (NIH), American Cancer Society (ACS) and Elsa Pardee Cancer Research foundation.

Mammary gland development, mammary stem cells, cancer stem cells, breast tumorigenesis, oncogene and tumor suppressor gene, endocrinology, estrogen receptor and HER2/Erbb2 signaling

Dr. Guo got her Ph.D. in Computer and Information Science in 2004 and B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 1997. She is Program Assistant Director of West Virginia Clinical & Translational Science Institute for Biomedical Informatics.  She had 21 peer-reviewed publications in the past three years.  Her work in lung cancer gene signatures was nominated for 2007 CDC Excellence in Science Awards. Her work in breast cancer gene signatures was selected to feature the cover of Clinical Cancer Research [April, 2007] which received national news coverage from Newswise, Medical News Today, NewsRx, etc. She has five pending patents for the gene signatures she identified for personalized therapy. She was awarded a $1M R01 grant from National Library of Medicine (LM009500) in 2008 and a $1M NIH stimulus grant to advance translational research (NCRR P20 RR16440) in 2009.
 

Traditional prognostic factors for cancer are imperfect.  In part, they lack the information about the biological diversity of cancer and have not reflected the complexity of molecular mechanism of the diseases. In addition, they focus on predicting for populations instead of for individuals.  Recent advances in the knowledge of human genomics and proteomics, as well as bioinformatics, have revolutionized the ways in which researchers are able to identify molecular signatures of cancer recurrence and metastases. Genome-wide studies will guide hypothesis-driven experimentation and aid clinical decision-making. Bioinformatics is the key to identifying new disease biomarkers and making accurate predictions in molecular diagnosis and prognosis.  My research interests include applying bioinformatics methods to clinical research, specifically, to the identification of novel biomarkers for the diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutics prediction of human diseases.  Furthermore, we will employ genomic and proteomic analysis of clinical specimens to validate the biomarkers identified in genome-wide association studies. We are also interested in constructing disease-mediated genome-wide co-expression networks. Identifying gene products within one or a few specific pathways could potentially enhance the prognostic value and reveal therapeutic targets for intervention.

I received my Master of Medicine from Xi’an Jiaotong University, China in 2001, and at the same University I earned my PhD in Physiology in 2006. During my PhD, I received a two-year research scholarship from German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for joint PhD training in German Institute of Human Nutrition (DIfE). After PhD, I continued my postdoctoral training in neuroscience at University of Louisville, USA. Currently I am studying the roles of neurotrophins in taste development, and I am the member of Association for Chemoreception Sciences.

My current research focuses on the roles of neurotrophins in regulating taste bud formation, taste neuron survival and taste targeting during development.

Professor Michael Hoffmann MD, FCP(SA), FAHA, FAAN received his initial medical degree, MBBch, at the University of Witwatersrand Johannesburg, South Africa, followed by a neurological registrarship at the University of Natal, Durban, South Africa with subsequent subspecialty fellowship training in Stroke at Columbia University Neurological Institute and Presbyterian Medical Center, New York. Currently, he is working as director of Cognitive Neurology and Stroke at the James A Haley VA Medical Center in Tampa, Florida and affiliate Professor of Neurology with the University Central Florida. He is serving as an editorial member of several reputed journals and has authored over 200 research abstracts and manuscripts. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Neurology and American Heart Association Stroke Section.

cognitive neurology, cerebrovascular disease, frontal lobe function, Neuro archeology.

Dr. Ranade received her MD in Anatomical and Clinical Pathology from the University of Pune, India in 2007. She studied M.B.B.S. at the same University prior to her MD. Currently, she is an MD at the Department of Pathology, St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital Center (SLRHC), Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York. She will soon be pursuing a fellowship in Surgical Pathology at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York after completing her ongoing 4th year of residency in Anatomical and Clinical Pathology at SLRHC, New York. She is serving as a reviewer for reputed journals like Pathology Research and Practice and has also authored several research/clinical articles. She has been invited as a guest speaker in her field of interest at various international conferences. Dr. Ranade is a member of American Society of Clinical Pathology, College of American Pathologist and a member of the Graduate Medical Education Committee at her current institute.

Brest and Gynecological Pathology

Dr. Qin is a senior scientist of the Retinal Disease Research at the Department of Biological Sciences at Allergan Inc., Irvine, California, USA.  He received his Bachelor degree in Pharmacy in 1987 from the School of Pharmacy and Master degree in Cancer Biology in 1990 from the Department of Biochemistry, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University (formerly known as Shanghai Medical University), Shanghai, China.  He was employed as staff scientist from 1990 to 1993 by the same University.  He further pursued advanced education and obtained his PhD degree in Biochemistry in 1998 at the School of Medicine, Fukui University and Kobe University, Japan.  Dr. Qin was then employed as a Research Associate at the Laboratory of Biochemistry at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute from 1998 to 2002 (Bethesda, Maryland).  Dr. Qin is serving as the Associate Editor for PPAR Research and the Editorial Board member for World Journal of Biological Chemistry and World Journal of Gastrointestinal Pharmacology and Therapeutics.
 

Dr. Qin\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s research interest focuses on signaling pathways and molecular mechanisms involved in oxidative stress signaling.  Current research is directed toward addressing how redox imbalance and inflammatory signaling leads to dysfunctions and death of retinal pigmented epithelial cells that is key factor in the pathogenesis and progression of age-related macular degeneration.  The major goal is to provide novel opportunities for therapeutic interdiction and prevention by manipulating ROS productions and their signaling transduction pathways, rather than pursuing a generic antioxidant approach.

Michel Modo graduated in Psychology from Royal Holloway University of London and spend 1 year as an undergraduate at the Psychology Department at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He then furthered his interests in the neural correlates underlying behavioural functions during an M.Sc. in Neuroscience at the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London, where he also continued his research efforts leading to a PhD in Neurosciences. Post-doctoral and lectureship appointments at Kings College London further established Dr Modos interest in the restorative neurobiology following brain damage, with a particular interest in cerebral ischaemia and neurodegeneration. An interdisciplinary approach encompassing in vivo and ex vivo methods probes the functional, immunological, and histological consequences of brain damage. The ultimate aim of his research is to stimulate and/or supplement the potential of endogenous repair mechanisms to promote improvements in behavioural impairments. To this end, we also study the neurobiology of brain development/degeneration and its relation to neoplastic formations. Recently, Dr Modos laboratory relocated to the University of Pittsburghs McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine and also its Department of Radiology.

Neural Stem Cells, Stroke, Huntington’s Disease, Neuroimaging, Molecular Imaging, Tissue Regeneration, Cell Transplantation

He is an Assistant Dean in Education and an Associate Professor in the Department of Anatomyand the Institute of Medical and Health Sciences Education, at the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong. He received his medical degree from The University of Hong Kong and his PhD in Anatomy from Duke University, before his orthopaedic training in Hong Kong.

His current work focuses on anatomy education, clinical anatomy, and Problem-based Learning.

Dr. Chang received his BSc training in Biochemistry in Hong Kong. Then he furthered my MPhil training in neurochemistry and neuroanatomy at the same university. He received a research scholarship by German Academic Exchange Service DAAD to pursue his doctoral training in neurophysiology and clinical neuroscience at the University of Munich, Munich, Germany. Afterwards, he continued his postdoctoral training in neuropharmacology and molecular neuroscience at NIEHS/NIH, USA. During that time, he received the Visiting Research Fellowship Award and the NIH Fellow Award for Research Excellence by the National Institutes of Health. He has published over 70 peerreviewed publications and book chapters in neurodegeneration, neuroimmunology and drug discovery in these areas. Dr. Chang is now the Scientific Advisory Board member in International Alzheimer’s / Parkinson’s diseases Symposium, editorial board member in many different journals. Dr. Chang is also the Founder and Secretary of HKU Alzheimer’s Disease Research Network.

Dr. Chang’s research interest is to investigate molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, ALS, glaucoma and aging-related macular degeneration (AMD) so that pharmacological targets can be found. Dr. Chang has studied neuronal apoptosis. He and his colleagues are among the first to discover a stress kinase, called double-stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase (PKR), plays important role in beta-amyloid peptide-induced neuronal apoptosis. He then investigated the damage of intracellular organelles, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and mitochondria, in neurodegeneration and how their damage triggers autophagy (self-eating process) to struggle for survival. His group discovered the aggregation of the ER stimulate the nucleation step of autophagy. His group is now focusing how risk factors, depression and systemic inflammation, affect the synapses. He is also investigating how ER-stress responses and phosphorylation of tau protein propagate neurodegeneration. All these studies can be extended to neurodegeneration in glaucoma and AMD.

Professor Wu received his medical degree in Sun YatSen University of Medical Sciences, Guangdong, China in 1975 and a Master Degree in Neuroanatomy in the same institute in 1981. He was a clinician and later a teacher for medical students for more 10 years in Mainland China and went to US for his oversea study and work. Prof. Wu received his PhD degree in Neuroscience in 1991 and continued to work in Eastern Virginia Medical School till 1996. Prof Wu joined the Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong in Jan. 1996 as an assistant professor, promoted to associate professor in 1997 and professor in 2008. Prof Wu ’s research is well recognized. His contributions include: 1 A total of over 100 original peer review articles with more than 2000 citations received; 2 Initiation of 14 active international and local collaborative studies with a few of outstanding research groups Centers; 3 A total of 29 research grants 23 as principal investigator and 6 as coinvestigator with total of over HK 20 millions awarded; 4 More than 40 invited lectures, visiting professorship

1. Gene expression changes of motoneurons after axonal injury and their potential roles in neuronal degeneration and regeneration.
2. Experimental studies on surgical treatment of avulsed spinal nerve roots in brachial plexus injury.
3. Potential treatments for spinal cord injury.
4. Research in other areas: A) to explore the potential use of neural stem cells in replacing died neurons due to CNS injury or disorder. B) to investigate a possible application of nano-materials in neuronal injury. C) to investigate new drugs for the treatment of neural degenerative disease.

Jianbo Yue received his PhD from Penn State University, and spent six years at Stanford University with Jim Ferrell as a postdoctoral fellow working on cell cycle regulation. He then returned to China as an assistant professor at Department of Physiology of University of Hong Kong. He is currently studying cell cycle regulation and calcium signaling in embryonic stem cells. He was the recipient of a Special Fellowship from The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and a postdoctoral fellowship from American Heart Association.

Currently, the lab is studying the target differentiation of embryonic stem cell by manipulating cell cycle regulators and calcium signaling molecules.

After obtaining undergraduate degree at Imperial College, University of London, UK, He continued his PhD training at University of Dundee, UK. Then, He had his postdoctoral training in Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and the University of Hong Kong. Since 2007, He has been appointed as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anatomy, The University of Hong Kong.

His research focus on the study of the molecular mechanisms that lead to cancer formation and metastasis. Particularly, we are interested in how the dysregulation of Rho GTPase pathways contributes to the pathogenesis of liver cancer. Recently, They found that centrosome overduplication plays an important role in HTLV-I virus-mediated adult T-cell leukaemia. Thus we would like to understand further how centrosome overduplication contributes to the development of other cancers.

Dr Wei Liu has received her PhD in Harbin Medical University during the period of Sep 2003 to June 2006. She worked as postdoc. in department of Pathology during Sep. 2009 through Sep. 2010. Currently, she is working as .associate professor in Harbin Medical University. She has successfully completed his Administrative responsibilities as Chief of coronary heart disease unit. she is serving as an editorial member of several reputed journals like Chinese Clinical doctor journal, etc. She has authored ten research articles/books. she is a member of Chinese Medical Association.

cardiovascular disease

Dr Ahmed H El-Hashash has received his PhD from Manchester University, UK during the period of 2001-2005, and postdoctoral trainings at Mount Sinai School of Medicine,New York University and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Currently, he is working as Instructor of Research at the University of Southern California and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. He has authored 15 research articles/books. He is a member of Society of Developmental Biology and American Thoracic Society.

vertebrate organogenesis, epithelial/ mesenchymal morphogenesis, cell cytoskeleton, cell-cell adhesion and signaling, cell polarity and mitotic spindle fiber orientation, cell fate specification and determination, balancing stem cell self renewal and differentiation

I am currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Alberta. My undergraduate degree was in biology, first master’s in fish physiology, second master’s in business administration, doctorate in olfactory neurotoxicity, and post-doctoral fellowship in behavioural neuroscience.
 

Environmental physiology and toxicology of fishes,olfaction, neurophysiology, maternal effects, fish health, risk assessment

Dr. Zan Pan has received his PhD in vision science in State University of New York, College of Optometry during the period of 2004-2010. Currently, he is working as postdoctoral fellow in Weill Cornell Medical College. He is serving as an invited reviewer for several reputed journals like Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Current Eye Research, Cutaneous and Ocular Toxiology, Journal of Membrane Biology. He has authored over 10 research articles/book chapters in ophthalmic and biophysiology journals. He/she is a member of Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, American Society of Physiology, Sigma Xi. He has received William C. Ezell Fellowship from American Optometric Foundation, ARVO travel fellowship, Ocular Surface Society Travel fellowship and Minnie Flora Turner Memorial Research Fund for the Impaired Vision.
 

My research focuses on hormonal and ion channels regulation of corneal wound healing and development. Specifically, I investigate the localization, activation, cell signaling of growth factors (EGF, NGF, VEGF) and ion channels/transporters (TRP channel, KCC, NKCC transporters) during corneal wounding, and their impacts on wound recovery including cell proliferation, migration, ocular surface inflammation, neurogenesis. The main goal is to develop therapeutic approaches to enhance corneal wound recovery and to reduce associated ocular complications.
 

Dr. Sun received his Ph.D degree in Chemistry from Fudan University, Shanghai, China, and continued his scientific training with postdoctoral fellowships in Pharmacology at Beijing Medical University from 1996-1998 and in Biomechanics at Mayo Clinic, Minnesota from 1998-2004. Then he worked as a Research Associate at the same institute. Since 2006, he has been working as an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering in Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Mayo Clinic. Rochester, Minnesota.
 

Dr. Sun’s research interests mainly focus on biomechanics of soft tissues and biopolymers, mechanobiology of soft tissues, soft tissue injuries, wound healing, postsurgical adhesion prohibition, regeneration medicine, and biomaterial.
 

Prof. Salomon Esquenazi has received his MD in Universidad del Rosario in Colombia during the period  of 1979 to 1985. Later he underwent a residency in ophthalmology and fellowship in cornea, refractive surgery and external diseases at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, LA.  Currently,  he is working as cornea specialist at South Florida Eye Associates and Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology and Neuroscience Research in Louisiana State University.  He is serving as reviewer for several peer-reviewed journals.  He  has authored almost 50 research articles/books. He is a member of American Academy of Ophthalmology, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology and American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery. He has honored as chief resident at Clinica Barraquer in Colombia in 1988 and chief resident at Louisiana State University in 2004. Additionally he was distinguished with diploma as best medical student and best intern at Universidad del Rosario in Colombia in 1985.
 

Corneal wound healing after refractive surgery, dry eye and tissue adhesives.

Dr. Biggs graduated from the National University of Ireland, Galway in 2003 with a B.Sc in anatomy, and an M.Sc in biomedical science, completing a research into the fabrication of bioscaffolds for soft-tissue regeneration. Dr. Biggs was awarded a Ph.D in January 2008 from the University of Glasgow,withfunding secured from the AO Research Institute, Switzerland. His research was concerned with the effects of nanoscale topography on osteoblast adhesion and progenitor cell function. While preparing to submit his thesis for the degree of Ph.D, Dr.Biggs was awarded postdoctoral funding for six months to further investigate mechanotransduction in endothelial cells.In 2009 Dr. Biggs was invited to commence postdoctoral research at Columbia University, where he is currently engaged in the development of novel adoptive immunetherapies through the use of small technologies, with a goal to modulating differential function in human T-cell populations.
 

Nanofabrication and small technologies
Cellular adhesion
Biomaterials
Osteospecific differentiation through mechanotransduction
Osteospecific signalling pathways
T-cell differentiation through mechanotransduction
Dynamics of the immunological synapse
 

Dr. Maxim Dobretsov has received his PhD in Physiology in Saint-Petersburg State University (Saint-Petersburg, Russia) during the period of 1983-1986. Currently, he is working as Associate Professor in University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (Little Rock, USA). He has successfully completed his Administrative responsibilities as a member of the Abstract and Organizational Committees of the 6th Annual Conference of the International Society for the Prevention of Tobacco Induced Diseases (Little Rock, 2007) and the editor of the book “Mechanisms of Pain in Peripheral Neuropathy” (Research Signpost, 2009). He is serving as a post-hoc reviewer of several reputed journals like Brain, Journal of Physiology, Neuroscience etc. He has authored 40 research articles and 6 review articles and book chapters. He is a member of the Society for Neuroscience (since 1999), American Diabetes Association (since 2004), Peripheral Nerve Society (since 2009) and International Association for the Study of Pain (since 2011).

Neurobiology of physiological and neuropathic pain, Diabetes and diabetic neuropathy; Sensory-motor systems, Neuronal excitability and isoforms of the Na+,K+-ATPase

Dr. Adrienne Black received her Ph.D. in Toxicology from the joint program at Rutgers University and UMDNJ-RWJMS and was funded by a Predoctoral fellowship from the New Jersey Commission on Cancer Research for research on ultraviolet-induced dermal toxicity. Afterwards, she worked as a research associate, developing in vitro skin models for toxicity testing of vesicating agents. At the present time, she is working as a Principal Scientist and board certified toxicologist for a nanotechnology consulting company, with an emphasis on development of toxicity profiles of nanomaterials with topical applications.  Her experience also includes several years as a certified medical technologist in the clinical laboratory of a major trauma and regional cancer center and as a safety toxicologist for a consumer product company. She has an adjunct appointment with the University of Maryland and currently serves as the Secretary/Treasurer for the Society of Toxicology Dermal Toxicology Specialty Section.

Dermatoxicology, in vitro skin and eye models, toxicity of environmental agents, nanotoxicology

Sabzali Javadov received his M.D. degree in medical biochemistry from the Russian Medical University (1983), a Ph.D. in biochemistry and cardiology from the Cardiology Research Center, Moscow (1986) and a D.Sc. in experimental cardiology from the Moscow State University (1993). He had postdoctoral training in biochemistry and experimental cardiology at the Magdeburg Medical Academy in Germany, the National Institute of Cardiology in Hungary and the University of Bristol, England among others. He won the Royal Society award three times to conduct collaborative research in the Department of Biochemistry of the University of Bristol, UK. Since 2003, Dr. Javadov worked as a Research Scientist at the University of Western Ontario, Canada. At the present time he is Associate Professor in the Department of Physiology at the School of Medicine, University of Puerto Rico.

Dr. Javadov elucidates the role of mitochondrial permeability transition pores (PTP), the non-specific pathological channels which are created in the inner mitochondrial membrane in response to oxidative stress, in cardiac dysfunction. His group is currently investigating a regulatory role of the AMPK/PGC-1α pathway in PTP formation during ischemia/reperfusion and heart failure. In addition, his lab examines the relationship between mitochondrial protein acetylation and PTP opening in response to oxidative or hormonal stress to further clarify the contribution of mitochondrial SIRT3 to PTP-mediated cell dysfunction. A main goal of these studies is to develop different pharmacological and conditional strategies targeting the PTP to further inhibit mitochondria-mediated cardiac dysfunction in ischemia/reperfusion and heart failure.

Dr. Steven J. Fliesler is the Meyer H. Riwchun Endowed Chair Professor of Ophthalmology and Vice-Chairman and Director of Research in the Department of Ophthalmology, University at Buffalo/The State University of New York (SUNY-UB). He concurrently holds a Research Health Scientist staff position at the Buffalo VA Medical Center (Veterans Administration Western New York Healthcare System). Dr. Fliesler obtained a B.A. in Biochemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Rice University (Houston, TX). Following postdoctoral research in retinal biochemistry and cell biology at the Cullen Eye Institute, Baylor College of Medicine, he subsequently held faculty positions at Baylor College of Medicine (1984-85), the University of Miami School of Medicine (1985-88; Bascom Palmer Eye Institute and Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology) and Saint Louis University School of Medicine (1988-2008; Departments of Ophthalmology, Biochemistry, and Pharmacological & Physiological Science) prior to moving to Buffalo in July, 2008. He is the author of approximately 100 peer-reviewed research publications, in addition to 14 review articles and book chapters, >165 abstracts, and has edited two books, with primary focus on lipid metabolism (particularly cholesterol) in the retina and animal models of hereditary human retinal degenerations. Dr. Fliesler’s research has been funded for more than 30 years, included grants from the NIH, March of Dimes, the Foundation Fighting Blindness, and Research to Prevent Blindness.

Dr. Fliesler’s primary research focus concerns the role of lipid metabolism (particularly cholesterol) in the normal biology and pathobiology of the retina, and animal models of hereditary human retinal degenerations. He also has a longstanding interest in membrane structure and function, intracellular trafficking, and glycobiology.

Dr. Silvina Gutiérrez obtained her title of Specialist in Pathology at the National Hospital of Clinics, in Córdoba, Argentina. She continued her Ph.D. training at the Center for Electron Microscopy in the Faculty of Medical Sciences from the National University of Córdoba. She is currently appointed at the National Research Council of Argentina (CONICET) as an Assistant Research Scientist and as an Assistant Professor at the Center for Electron Microscopy.

Her research seeks to elucidate the cellular and molecular mechanisms contributing to regulate the proliferation and secretion of the lactotroph cell population in the pituitary gland; particularly those related to the estradiol effects through intracellular and membrane estrogen receptors alpha and beta. A combination of several cell and molecular biology approaches, including electron microscopy, immunocytochemistry, and biochemical techniques to quantify different parameters of lactotroph cells functional activity, are currently being used in her studies. Dr. Gutiérrez major reports have contributed to clarify the complex regulation implicated in the homeostasis of pituitary cells populations under physiological and pathological conditions.

Dr. Valarmathi M. Thiruvanamalai received his M.B.B.S. in Medicine & Surgery from Kilpauk Medical College and M.D. in Pathology from Postgraduate Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Madras, Madras, India as well as Ph.D. in Biotechnology from All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, India. He was appointed as Assistant Professor in Department of Pathology in SRMC & RI (Deemed University), affiliated to Harvard Medical International, Madras, India. He received a Visiting Scientist Fellowship from National Cancer Institute (NCI) at National Institute of Health (NIH) and spent two year with Dr. Ira Pastan in Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB), Centre for Cancer Research (CCR). At present he is working in University of South Carolina as Research Assistant Professor. His past research includes cancer genetics. Recently, he was the recipient of Scientist Development Grant Award from American Heart Association. He is serving as a member in various national and international scientific societies and organizations, ISSCR, TERMIS, AACR, ASIP and AHA.
 

Stem Cell Biology, Tissue Engineering, Regenerative Medicine, Biomaterials, Pathology. Currently his research focuses on creating vascularized tissue constructs using various types of adult and embryonic stem cells in three-dimensional (3-D) scaffolds that promise to lead to the generation of total replacement biologic products for various therapeutic purposes in regenerative medicine.

I came to the United States in August of 1995 as a Research Associate of Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. I worked in Dr. Bruce Beutler’s lab to clone an elusive mouse gene that mediates the response to the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge. After repeated failures with various approaches, we finally cloned the gene (now known as Toll-like receptor 4, TLR4) by positional cloning and massive sequencing in 1998. A single point mutation in this gene confers C3H/Hej mice resistance to the LPS toxicities. This discovery was published in Science and has been cited over 4400 times so far. After leaving HHMI, I spent three years working at Children’s Memorial Institute for Education and Research, Chicago, IL and ACGT, Inc., Northbrook, IL. In September of 2001, I joined my current university, The University of Illinois at Chicago. Based on a novel observation I made shortly after my arrival in Dr. William T. Beck’s lab, whose research interest was in the multidrug resistance of cancer for a long time, I started a new project to study alternative splicing and slicing factors in human ovarian and breast cancer. We have found that splicing factors polypyrimidine tract-binding protein (PTB) and SRp20 play critical roles in maintaining tumor cell growth and malignant properties.

My lab is interested in issues related to tumor development and tumor detection. Currently, we focus on the role of splicing factors and alternative splicing in ovarian and breast cancer. One project is to study how splicing factors polypyrimidine tract-binding protein (PTB) and SRp20 affect tumorigenic process. We attempt to address the issue at two levels: First, we investigate what cellular or subcellular processes are regulated by these two splicing factors; second, we examine what molecular events and signaling pathways are influenced by PTB and SRp20. Another project is to systematically investigate the functional significance of the splice variants of the genes that play a role in tumor development. The questions we attempt to answer are:  1) Are there any differences in splicing pattern of these genes between tumor cells and corresponding normal cells; 2) What different molecular functions do the splice variants have; and 3) What phenotypes do the splice variants confer. The third project is to explore the potential of PTB, SRp20 and their targets as biomarkers for cancer diagnosis, prognosis and response to therapy. We develop methods to detect these molecules in blood and/or tissues and correlate their levels with clinical data. Our ultimate goal is to identify sensitive and specific biomarkers to help management of ovarian cancer.

Dr. Jun Lin is an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at State University of New York - Downstate Medical Center.  He also serves as Attending Physician, Director of Obstetric Anesthesiology and Research Advisor in the Department of Anesthesiology at Downstate Medical Center at Long Island College Hospital.  Dr. Lin graduated from Sun Yat-sen University Medical School in 1984 and Graduate School in 1987.  He was awarded a Ph.D. in Biomedical Science from Mount Sinai School of Medicine of City University of New York in 1997.   He has completed his clinical training in anesthesiology at Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 2000.  Dr. Lin is a Diplomate of American Board of Anesthesiology.  He has extensive research experience in both basic sciences and clinical studies, including biochemistry and molecular biology of TRH degrading enzyme, pharmacology of anesthetics, physiology of atrial fibrillation and heart failure, clinical airway management and neuroprotection.
 

Pharmacology of anesthetics; pharmacology of ophthalmology drugs; experimental and clinical studies of neuroprotection; mechanism and physiology of atrial fibrillation and heart failure in experimental animals.

Elevated level of homocysteine, known as hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy), is frequently observed in patients with chronic kidney disease. Hcy also causes renovascular injury and glomerular-tubulointerstitial fibrosis leading to renal dysfunction. Three enzymes, cystathionine -synthase (CBS), cystathionine -lyase (CSE) and 3-mercaptopyruvate sulfurtransferase (3-MST) metabolize Hcy to produce hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Although the protective role of H2S in varieties of vascular diseases has been recognized, the regulatory role of H2S to mitigate Hcy-mediated renal dysfunction remains to be unveiled.

My research interests focus on to investigate the effects of HHcy on protein homocysteinylation, glomerular-tubulointerstitial matrix remodeling and in vitro signaling cascades of mitophagy leading to renal dysfunction. To ameliorate renal pathophysiological changes, we plan to supplement H2S or in vitro H2S will be generated by CBS, CSE and 3-MST cDNA transfection. The novelty of our hypothesis is that HHcy can be beneficial if the Hcy is converted to a vasoprotective gas H2S by gene therapy.

Dr. Yen-Yu Ian Shih received his Ph.D. degree in Biomedical Engineering from National Taiwan University in 2008. He has been honored as an ISMRM Junior Fellow, American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellow, and now serves as the Head of Animal MRI Section (Bruker Biospec 11.7T, 7T, and Pharmascan 7T) at Research Imaging Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. He is currently funded by American Heart Association, San Antonio Area Foundation, and three CTSA Imaging Supplement Awards.

Dr. Shih’s research interest is to develop and apply innovative MRI technologies to study neurovascular functions in the rodent brain and retina, with an ultimate goal of translating preclinical indications to successful clinical development.

Dr Goultchira Chakirova received her medical degree including internship in Psychiatry in 2004 from the Novosibirsk State Medical University (NSMU) in Russia. During her studies she began her first research on the human consciousness which was acknowledged by numerous awards and nominated by the NSMU for the prestigious award from the Russian Academy of Science for young researchers. She worked as a Psychiatrist in Russia and in Zambia. This inspired her interests in cultural influences on Psychiatry. After completing her MSc in Neuroscience by Research with Distinction from the University of Edinburgh (Scotland) she continued as a PhD student at the Department of Psychiatry in the University of Edinburgh investigating orbitofrontal and cingulate morphology and their structural and functional associations in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and their unaffected relatives. She is currently a managing director of the Human Brain Research Foundation in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Consciousness including altered states of consciousness.
Memory, attention, decision making, impulsivity and violence.
The orbitofrontal and cingulate morphology.
Neuroimaging and Neuroimaging genetics.
Psychiatry especially schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, personality disorders, and cultural influences on Psychiatry.

Dr. Min Du earned his B.S. and M.S. in China, and his Ph.D. from Iowa State University in 2001. After postdoctoral training at the University of Alberta, Canada, he was hired as an Assistant Professor at the University of Wyoming (UW) in 2003 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2009. He moved to Washington State University as a professor and funded Chair in 2011.
 

His research focuses on the physiological conditions regulating skeletal muscle growth and development, and mechanisms governing differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into myocytes, adipocytes and fibroblasts during fetal development. He has been publishing actively and currently serving as reviewers for a number of funding agencies and journals.

Dr. Shan-Rong Shi is the inventor of the antigen retrieval technique that is a revolutionary breakthrough in immunohistochemistry Hissubsequent studies along the antigen retrieval based research field are continuing to create several novel areas for standardization of immunohistochemistry, establishing a protein-embedding model for study of molecular mechanism of antigen retrieval, protein extraction from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections and proteomics-oriented research, and cell/tissue sample preparation

Antigen retrieval technique in immunohistochemistry & molecular morphology
Retrieval of DNA, RNA and Protein from Archival Tissues
Standardization of immunohistochemistry & Quantitative Immunohistochemistry

Weizmann institute of science, department of molecular cell biology. Basic Science research work at Prof. Amsterdam laboratory. Ovarian cell apoptosis, Methods: Western blot analysis, Immunohistochemistry, fluorescence in situ hybridization, Radioimmunoassay, TUNEL.Biannual course of vulva,vagina and cervical diseases Israel Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology In Vitro Maturation workshop, McGill Reproductive Centre, McGill University Health Centre, Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal , Canada.Teaching workshop, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv university.Good Clinical Practice, ACRPs GCP course, GCP Clinical Studies Rosh Ha’Ayin, Israel Negotiation and conflict resolution, Post Graduate Medical Education, McGill university, Montreal Canada.

Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility

Antonio Di Ieva, born on 21th August 1977 in Italy. Degree in Medicine and Surgery cum laude at the Medical University “Federico II” of Naples (Italy) in 2002, specialization in neurosurgery at the University of Brescia (Italy) in 2007,  neurosurgeon in Milan (Italy) between 2003 and 2009. PhD in Clinical Neurosciences at the Medical University of Vienna (Austria) in 2011, researcher at the Center for Anatomy and Cell Biology of Vienna.  Author of about 50 scientific publications (14 as first author). Member of the Italian Society of Neurosurgery, Skullbase Italian Society, European Neurosurgical Society. Reviewer in the Editorial Board of 2 peer-review journals.

Neurosurgery
Neuroimage
Neurooncology
Neuroanatomy and physiology
Fractal analysis Magnetic Resonance

Dr. Higazi has received his PhD in Zoology from the University of Khartoum, Sudan in 1999 followed by postdoctoral training at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.  Currently, he is working as an assistant professor of Biological Sciences in Ohio University. He is a reviewer of several reputable journals like Anatomical Sciences Education where he recently published a novel teaching technique and awarded an appeared on the cover. He has authored over 20 research articles/books. He is a member of Human Anatomy and physiology Society among others.
 

Biology and control of tropical diseases, epidemiology of infectious agents in public places, and teaching and innovation.

Dr. Hansen Wang is a Research Scientist in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. He received his Ph.D. degree from Shandong University, China. Dr. Wang has been studying the neurobiology of human diseases by using genetic and pharmacological approaches. His research mainly focus on the molecular and cellular mechanisms of neurological disorders, such as Fragile X syndrome, Rett syndrome, neuropathic pain and neurodegenerative diseases. He believes that his research may ultimately help identify therapeutic targets for these neurological disorders. Dr. Wang has published and presented frequently for his basic study of neurological disorders.

Neurobiology of diseases, molecular and cellular mechanisms of neurological disorders, such as Fragile X syndrome, Rett syndrome, neuropathic pain and neurodegenerative diseases.

Dr. Bennani-Baiti, a former Howard Hughes Scholar and Human Genetics Fellow at University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, carried out research into the molecular mechanisms of gene regulation at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He later joined the faculty of St. Louis University School of Medicine wherein he continued this work. He currently leads several research programs at the Children’s Cancer Research Institute into the pathology of childhood cancers, with a particular interest in sarcomas and other mesenchyme-derived tumors. He is also interested in the deregulation of signaling pathways (e.g. p53, Notch) and miRNAs in cancer, in epigenetics and epigenomics, and in novel methods to inferring tumor biomarkers from Omics datasets. Dr. Bennani-Baiti is an active member of the American Association for Cancer Research, AACR Pediatric Cancer Working Group, Epigenetics Society, International Society for Systems Biology, and Society for Mathematical Biology.

Dr. Bennani-Baiti is interested in the mechanisms of tumor pathogenesis, as well as in tumor, metastasis, and prognosis markers, with a current focus in childhood cancers. He has recently developed bioinformatic and mathematical methods to uncovering genes significantly associated with particular disease states from small-size cohorts (which cannot be analyzed with conventional statistical methods for lack of statistical power), the only cohorts available for most childhood and adult cancers. Using such methods, he has for example discovered the first metastasis and prognosis molecular markers of Ewing’s sarcoma, a highly aggressive tumor of bone and soft tissues that afflicts mostly children and young adults. He is also interested in inferring signaling pathway status and connectivity directly from tumor specimen. He is also conducting investigations into the epigenetic mechanisms of tumorigenesis.

Antonios G. Angoules MD, PhD is currently a member of the adjunct academic staff at the Department of Essential Medical Subjects, Faculty of Healthcare Professions, Technological Educational Institute of Athens, Greece. Dr Angoules under went his medical training and later completed an orthopaedic and trauma residency in Greece. He has also obtained a PhD thesis from the Medical School of the Greek National University. Dr Angoules completed a clinical fellowship in Trauma and Orthopaedics at the Academic Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Leeds General Infirmary, Leeds, United Kingdom and has authored a number of peer reviewed publications at national and international level. His research interests include trauma, knee surgery, knee proprioception, dance medicine, wound healing and physical rehabilitation.

Orthopaedics and trauma, knee surgery, knee proprioception, Dance medicine, Wound healing and Physical rehabilitation.