Members

CBR members are active biomedical researchers who are affiliated with OU. Members are expected to publish biomedical research regularly in professional journals and have external support for their research or be actively applying for external support.

Mohamed Al-Shabrawey
Director of the Eye Research Institute and V. Everett Kinsey Endowed Professor

Al-Shabrawey's research interest is in the molecular and cellular mechanisms of neurovascular injury in retinal diseases such as diabetic retinopathy, retinopathy of prematurity and age-related macular degeneration.

Adam William Avery
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry

Avery studies the cytoskeletal mechanisms that support neuronal morphogenesis and maintenance, and to determine how these mechanisms are disrupted in disease.

Amy Banes-Berceli
Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences

Banes-Berceli studies the molecular mechanisms of hypertension and diabetes with a focus on the JAK/STAT signaling pathway. She investigates the role of this pathway with other known pathways in these disease states, focusing on their effects and regulation in the kidney and in vascular function. She currently is the Interim Associate Provost for Operations.

Fabia Battistuzzi
Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences

Battistuzzi’s research focuses on understanding the evolutionary mechanisms at the basis of pathogenicity. Using the genus Plasmodium, i.e. the agent of malaria, as a model system, her team employs bioinformatics methods to study variability in genome complexity and identify regions of purifying and positive selection.

Rasul Chaudhry
Professor, Department of Biological Sciences

Stem cells provide a renewable resource for basic research, tissue engineering and clinical applications. Chaudhry is investigating the molecular mechanisms of neurogenesis and osteogenesis; therapeutic applications of stem cells for treating spinal cord injuries, neurological and degenerative diseases including disc, retinal, and nerve degeneration, Multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

Ferman Chavez
Professor, Department of Chemistry

Chavez's current research aim is to develop synthetic models for active sites of various metalloenzymes. Such models will be used to probe enzymatic mechanisms and as catalysts for organic transformations and bioremediation. He is also interested in the controlled release of nitric oxide (NO) from synthetic materials for biomedical applications.

Elizabeth Delorme-Axford
Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences

Current work in the Delorme-Axford lab focuses on identifying the molecular mechanisms regulating cellular autophagy in the model organism  Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Our studies apply a “yeast to human” approach of identifying conserved targets in yeast and expanding to relevant models of human disease. The long-term goal of the lab is to understand the multifaceted roles that autophagy plays in the cell, and to develop new strategies targeting autophagy as a therapeutic.

Roman Dembinski
Professor, Department of Chemistry

Dembinski is pursuing the synthesis of nucleosides analogues, particularly their coordination complexes. It is expected that such compounds may exhibit interesting biological properties. The ultimate goal is to synthesize materials that exhibit antiviral, anticancer properties, serve as bio-probes, and also to develop new synthetic methodologies.

Sumit Dinda
Associate Professor, School of Health Sciences

Dinda’s research focuses on the effects and molecular mechanisms of endocrine disruptor compounds (EDC) on steroid receptors and tumor suppressor genes in breast cancer cells. He also focuses on the action of flavonoids (plant based chemicals) with hormones and anti-hormones in breast cancer cells.

Frank Giblin
Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Biomedical Sciences, Eye Research Institute

Giblin studies metabolic and biochemical properties of the lens, with focus on oxidative and free radical processes in the formation of nuclear cataract, a common type of maturity-onset human cataract that affects the lens, causing blindness. He also investigates unusually active antioxidant mechanisms present in the epithelium of the lens.

Andrew Goldberg
Professor, Eye Research Institute

The molecular pathologies involved in the great majority of inherited retinal degenerations remain largely unknown, despite identification of the genes involved. Goldberg's efforts are focused on understanding disease at the molecular level by studying affected protein structure and function. Ongoing studies address mechanisms of photoreceptor outer segment renewal and stability.

Douglas Gould
Professor in the Department of Foundational Medical Studies

Doug Gould is the Chair of the Department of Foundational Medical Studies at OUWB School of Medicine. He teaches neuroscience and gross anatomy to medical students and is the chair of the Department of Foundational Medical Studies.

Chhabi Govind
Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences

Govind strives to discover the molecular mechanisms regulating gene expression. His lab utilizes powerful yeast genetics and biochemistry to understand mechanisms involved in recruiting chromatin modifying and remodeling complexes, and their role in transcription elongation. He is currently investigating how histone acetylation modulates chromatin plasticity during RNA polymerase II elongation.

Lan Jiang
Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences

The Drosophila tracheal system is an excellent model to study the morphogenesis of mammalian branched structures, such as the vertebrate airway, circulatory system, kidney ducts, and excretory epithelia. Jiang’s research interests center around identifying novel genes and studying the functions of these novel genes during tubular organ formation.

Rumit Kakar
Associate Professor, School of Health Sciences

Kakar’s research interests include adaptations to movement mechanics of the spine, pelvis and lower extremities associated with age, neuromuscular disorders and sports injuries. The overarching goal of his research is to promote safe physical activity in individuals with a variety of movement disorders including spine deformities (scoliosis and spinal fusion surgeries), back and pelvis pain, cancer rehabilitation, ACL reconstruction/ return-to-sports, early-onset Parkinson’s disease.

Evgeniy Khain
Associate Professor, Department of Physics

Biological multicellular systems present an exciting example of stochastic non-equilibrium systems. Khain investigates collective behavior of a large number of living cells, in the context of wound healing and tumor growth. His primary goal is modeling the growth of malignant brain tumors, which are not treated effectively by current therapies.

Ravindra Khattree
Professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics

Khattree’s current research interests lie in the area of multivariate statistical methods for biomedical research. In particular, he is interested in the repeated measures data, clinical trials and problems involving the determination of bioequivalence. Presently, Khattree is studying the interconnections between spirituality and various neuropsychological measures for breast cancer patients.

Andrea Kozak
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology

Kozak’s research program investigates factors associated with excess weight (e.g., low distress tolerance, food addiction), ways to help people lose weight and keep it off (e.g., diet and activity change interventions), and the consequences of overweight and obesity (e.g., poor quality of life, cardiovascular disease, diabetes).

Shailesh Lal
Professor, Department of Biological Sciences

Transposable elements constitute a large proportion (44%) of the human genome and are linked to a number of genetic disorders and cancer. Lal is using maize as a model to study Helitrons, a novel superfamily of recently discovered transposable elements to study their mechanism of transposition and gene capture.

Zijuan Liu
Professor, Department of Biological Sciences

The focus of Liu's research is to study arsenic detoxification mechanisms using zebrafish as a new vertebrate model. She intends to elucidate the metabolic pathways, identifying the transporters and enzymes involved in arsenic uptake. Her long-term goal is to validate zebrafish as a model to study arsenic associated human diseases.

Tianle Ma
Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering

With advanced biotechnologies, we can measure multimodal molecular features at the single-cell resolution, already generating petabytes of data. Dr. Ma's research focuses on developing efficient computational and machine learning methods to analyze and integrate single-cell multi-omics data. By marrying state-of-the-art AI and single-cell technologies, Ma lab hopes to reconstruct molecular and cellular networks to understand human biology and disease mechanisms.

Gerard Madlambayan
Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences

Madlambayan focuses on defining how different cancers (solid and liquid) exploit normal stem and progenitor cell activity to foster their growth and subsequent relapse post-therapy. The ultimate goals are to identify promising cellular and molecular targets for cancer treatment, prevention of relapse and disease monitoring.

Kenneth Mitton
Associate Professor, Eye Research Institute

Mitton's initial work at Oakland revolved around the control of gene expression in photoreceptor development and maturation in the mammalian retina, including generating the first map of RNA-Polymerase-II distribution in genes activated in maturing rod cells in vivo. In addition to his own primary lab (412 DH), Dr. Mitton directs the Pediatric Retinal Research Laboratory (PRRL, 402 DH), the ERI DNA-Sequencing and Molecular Biology Core (430 DH), and the Summer Undergraduate Program in Eye Research. Dr. Mitton recently initiated translation research from "bench to bedside" through the NIH STTR/SBIR program, by developing bacterial production of Noregen (TM), a protein therapeutic based on the Human Norrin protein, in collaboration with Caeregen Therapeutics. (Dr. Mitton is not an employee nor an investor of Caeregen.) In addition to NEI-funded studies of VEGF-isoform effects on intracellular signaling in primary human retinal endothelial cells, Dr. Mitton's group developed a targeted DNA sequencing test panel for very rare (orphan) inherited pediatric retinal diseases including, Norrie Disease, FEVR, Retinoschisis, and Persistent Fetal Vascular Syndrome. The PRRL activated the first human genetic disease sequencing service at Oakland University in collaboration with Associated Retinal Consultants of Michigan, which has uncovered the molecular variants responsible for blindness in at least 10 families since 2020. This research service continues and also provides applied clinical human genetics training to OU science and bioengineering students and OUWB medical students. 

Christina PapadimitriouAssociate Professor, School of Health Sciences

Papadimitriou is a sociologist and rehabilitation researcher who uses a social justice/ equity approach (www.ccghr.ca) to study peer support interventions for persons with physical disabilities in the USA. She works with various groups, including CARF International, to implement person-centered care best practices.

Lakshmi Raman
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology

Raman explores our understanding of biological and psychological concepts such as the origins of illness and the impact of nutrition on mind-body interactions. Her interests include examining if and when children and adults think biological and psychological factors impact health issues, and assessing how healthy/unhealthy nutrition affects growth and mood.

Bradley Roth
Professor Emeritus, Department of Physics

Roth's research focuses on bioelectric phenomena, such as the electrical activity of nerves and muscle. His particular interests are electrical stimulation of the heart, pacemakers and defibrillation, magnetic stimulation of nerves, biomagnetism, and using the Lorentz for imaging current or electrical conductivity.

Alexander Rusakov
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry

Rusakov's research focuses on the predictive modeling of simple compounds of the halogen group's penultimate member, astatine (At) - Isotope At-211 is one of the most promising radionuclides for targeted alpha-particle therapy in oncology.

Michael Sevilla
Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Department of Chemistry

Sevilla's current research interest is the chemistry of free radical species produced by the irradiation of biomolecules, including mechanisms for radiation damage to DNA. He established that the initial effect of radiation is to produce ion radicals on the DNA bases, which lead to strand breaks and biologically relevant damage.

Mohammad-Reza Siadat
Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering

Siadat’s interests are medical image and signal analysis, and medical informatics. His curvature and shape analysis of the gray-white matter interface in the deep perisylvian area (DPSA) is an attempt to fully utilize MRI data. The DPSA and insula harbor hidden epileptogenic foci that cannot be localized by conventional means.

Mi Hye Song
Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences

Song studies the molecular mechanisms of centrosome assembly and function in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans model with the three focuses: RNA-binding roles, protein phosphorylation, and proteolysis. She applies a combination of biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, proteomics, CRISPR/Cas9 genome-editing, and high-resolution confocal imaging to the study of centrosome biology.

Amany Tawfik
Associate Professor of Biomedical Sciences, Eye Research Institute

Tawfik's current work focuses on age-related macular degeneration, pathological ocular angiogenesis, and diabetic retinopathy. In a recent paper ( Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(12), 6259), Dr. Tawfik and her co-investigators established the relationships between hyperhomocysteinemia and the development of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and eye diseases, and age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy in elderly people.

Alexey Tonyushkin
Assistant Professor, Department of Physics

Tonyushkin's research interests include the Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI), which is a new noninvasive medical imaging and therapeutic (theranostic) modality that could answer clinical and research needs for a safe diagnostic technique without ionizing radiation or toxic tracers in such applications as an angiography; cancer detection and staging; therapeutic stem cell tracking to sites of pathology; cancer therapy by heating nanoparticles at the site (hyperthermia); and real-time tracking of interventional instruments.

Luis G. Villa-Diaz

Villa-Diaz’s research focuses on understanding and elucidating the self-renewal properties of hPSCs, which are influenced by the microenvironment in which they are cultured, in particular the extracellular matrix (ECM). The ECM is a multifunctional regulator of cellular behavior serving functions beyond those as a scaffold for the organization of cells into tissues. ECM proteins modulate the activity and bioavailability of growth factors, cytokines, and chemokines via direct binding and signaling via cell-surface receptors including integrins and matricellular proteins, to regulate cellular functions.

Zhe Wang
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry

Wang's current project focuses on the interfacial material and phenomena study, particularly on the molecular reactions at the electrode/liquid/gas interface. In particular, the projects in his lab include the small molecules electrochemical green synthesis and conversion derived in the ionic liquids, the predictable and tunable bio-interface to design a highly specified small molecule and biomarker quantification for in vivo and in vitro testing and diagnosis, and sensor array system and detection integration.

Randy Westrick
Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences

The genetic contributors to arterial and venous thrombosis are largely unknown. The Westrick laboratory uses mouse models to identify and characterize the genes involved in thrombotic disease. They are using whole genome mutagenesis screens and other inbred mouse models to identify major thrombosis suppressor mutations and pathways.

Keith Williams
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology

Williams explores the behavioral and biological components that modulate drug-taking behavior and addiction. His interests include the pharmacological and behavioral mechanisms of drug reinforcement and craving, drug discriminative stimulus properties, hormonal influences on drug self-administration, and contribution of food intake mechanisms on drug consumption.

Colin Wu
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry

Wu's primary research focus is to dissect the molecular mechanisms by which DNA repair enzymes function because their defects often contribute to the early onset of genetic diseases. In particular, I am interested in how the FANCJ DNA helicase and the BRCA1 tumor suppressor assemble onto damaged DNA structures. Malfunctions of FANCJ and BRCA1 are strongly linked to breast and ovarian cancers, Fanconi anemia and congenital heart failure.

Yang Xia
Distinguished Professor, Department of Physics

Xia develops multidisciplinary microscopic imaging techniques (µMRI, PLM, FTIRI) and their novel applications in biomedicine, with a current research focus on molecular activities in articular cartilage, its degradation plays a major role in the development of osteoarthritis.

Xiangqun Zeng
Distinguished Professor, Department of Chemistry

Zeng directs a chemical and biosensor research group that focuses on developing non-labeled biosensors and chemical sensors for rapid detection of biomarkers and pollutants in complex clinical and environmental samples by exploring new strategies for surface design and new applications for emerging interesting materials for chemical and biological sensing.

Dao Qi Zhang
Associate Professor, Eye Research Institute

Dopaminergic neurons are widely distributed throughout the central nervous system and play vital roles in sensory functions, motor control, and motivation. The most accessible dopaminergic neurons are located in the vertebrate retina. Zhang is interested in understanding how retinal dopaminergic neurons are regulated by light and the biological clock.