Mentors
The U-RISE@NSU theme is chronic disease, which covers the major disease-related causes of death. Cancer, cardiovascular disease, and neurological disease are common examples of chronic diseases. There are over 20 U-RISE@NSU mentors, described below, whose lab research aspects of these diseases including breast and skin cancer, Alzheimer’s Disease, immunological, and cardiovascular. Specific aspects of these diseases that are investigated include immunotherapies, neurodegeneration/protection, inflammation, and health disparities. Each mentor’s quad chart, research description, and contact information can be accessed by selecting a mentor from the options, below. To read the mentor's quad chart, please click on the link below.
Dr. Benedict Albensi
Chair/Professor
B & J Silverman College of Pharmacy
Balbensi@nova.edu
Dr. Albensi's research centers on factors involved in aging, memory impairment, and Alzheimer's disease. Also a large part of his work focuses on mechanisms of mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammatory responses (eg., NF-kB), and novel interventions to reverse dysfunction. Several types of interventions have been tested including nutrients, transplantation/transfusion approaches, repurposed drugs, and new drugs.
Dr. Vladimir Beljanski
Associate Professor - Medical Education
K. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine
Vbeljanski@nova.edu
Dr. Beljanski works in the Cell Therapy Institute working on developing research projects aimed at using stem cells for tissue repair, examining the role of autophagy in stem cell maintenance and rejection, and examining the role of autophagy in secretion of exosomes.
Click here to view Dr. Beljanski's Quad Chart
Dr. Regina Graham
Associate Professor
K. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine
rgraham1@nova.edu
Information coming soon!
Dr. Taravat Ghafourian
Associate Professor
B & J Silverman College of Pharmacy
tghafour@nova.edu
Dr Ghafourian is an associate professor in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the B&J Silverman College of Pharmacy, NSU. She is a Doctor of Pharmacy, and a pharmaceutical scientist/ chemoinformatician (PhD from Liverpool John Moores University, UK). Her research is focused on various aspects of drug discovery using computer-based modeling and in-vitro bioassays. These include prediction of chemical compounds and drugs’ behaviors including their toxicity, side effects, pharmacokinetics, and therapeutics effects for drug repurposing using data-driven approach. The compounds of interest are those targeting Alzheimer’s disease, depressive disorders, inflammation. She has supervised many PhD and PharmD students and led various research projects.
Dr. Lauren Tabor Gray
Assistant Professor
K. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine
lauren.taborgray@nova.edu
Dr. Tabor Gray is an Assistant Professor in the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine and Director of the Cathy
J. Husman ALS Center at Nova Southeastern. She has 14 years of experience as a clinical researcher in the
field of bulbar science working with patients with ALS. The mission of her current research is to develop and
validate clinical screening tools and optimize clinical interventions to mitigate the decline of speech, swallowing
and airway protection in patients with ALS. The development of validated bulbar outcomes are necessary to
track disease decline, optimize the timing of intervention and determine the efficacy of interventional clinical
trials in ALS. Specifically, her research has sought to determine the impact of a novel respiratory exercise
regimen on pulmonary and cough function in pALS, repurpose approved drugs (i.e., Nuedexta) to determine
the impact on speech and swallowing function and characterize and optimize oral hygiene.
Click here to view Dr. Tabor Gray's quad chart.
Dr. Narasimman Gurusamy
Assistant Professor - Pharmacy
B & J Silverman College of Pharmacy
ngurusam@nova.edu
Dr. Gurusamy’s laboratory employs multidisciplinary approaches to elucidate the role of long non-coding RNAs in the epigenetic regulation of various cardiac diseases and during the intervention-mediated repair. The team is also investigating the cardioprotective roles of induced mesenchymal stem cells and their exosomes in the protection against ischemic cardiomyopathy. Furthermore, they are delving into gene-environment interactions by examining how diet and environmental toxins contribute to epigenetic changes that lead to cardiac diseases. Additionally, the lab is exploring the effectiveness of various interventions, including pharmacological agents, and lifestyle modifications, in altering epigenetic markers and improving outcomes in human diseases.
Dr. Ana Castejon
Associate Dean/Associate Professor
B & J Silverman College of Pharmacy
Castejon@nova.edu
Dr. Castejon is investigating the cellular mechanisms involved in neuroprotection mediated by oxytocin. These effects may have implications in neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders such as autism and Alzheimer’s disease.
Click here to view Dr. Castejon's Quad Chart
Dr. Amanpreet Cheema
Director/Researcher/Assistant Professor
K. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine
Acheema@nova.edu
Dr. Cheema's experience and research interest lies in finding multi-mechanistic outcomes-oriented treatments rooted in supplements/natural bioactive products and functional foods for complex multi-symptom illnesses.
Dr. Kenneth Dawson-Scully
Senior VP/Research & Economical Development Associate Provost
Department of Research & Economic Development
Dawsonscully@nova.edu
Dr. Dawson-Scully is also affiliated faculty in the NSU Department of Psychology and Neuroscience. Previously, he served for (3) years as the head of institutional partnerships at the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience with a joint appointment as associate Vice President for STEM partnerships at FAU.
Click here to view Dr. Dawson-Scully's Quad Chart
Dr. Richard Deth
Professor
B & J Silverman College of Pharmacy
Rdeth@nova.edu
Dr. Richard Deth's research interests are focused on the role of oxidative stress and impaired methylation reactions in neurodevelopmental, neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders, including the important role of epigenetic regulation. In recent years his work has focused understanding the factors contributing to the autism epidemic. This ongoing work includes investigations of the status of the antioxidant glutathione and vitamin B12, the influence of gluten and casein-derived opioid peptides on redox and methylation status, and the role of neuroinflammation.
Dr. Stephen Grant
Professor
K. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine
Grast01@nova.edu
Dr. Stephen Grant is a geneticist and toxicologist and Professor of Public Health in the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine. He has spent the last 40 years investigating environmental and occupational causes of cancer, primarily through the development and application of blood-based biomarkers. He has published 95 scientific papers and two books, made almost 300 presentations, brought in almost 19 Million dollars in grant funding and mentored 76 students over his career.
Dr. Alireza Heidari
Assistant Professor of Research
College of Dental Medicine
Aheidari@nova.edu
Dr. Toshihisa Kawai
Chair/Professor
College of Dental Medicine
Tkawai@nova.edu
Dr. Kawai's research is involved at the molecular and cellular levels, with a focus on immunology, microbiology, and bone biology, to understand the pathogenesis of bone destructive oral diseases, including periodontitis and osteonecrosis of jaw, and related other inflammatory bone lytic diseases. A strong body of evidence supports the idea that periodontitis is a risk factor for a variety of systemic diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Rheumatoid arthritis and cancer. This can be attributed to the pathogenic property of periodontitis that permits bacteria to penetrate into the circulation and deliver bacterial virulent factors to remote organs. His group, for the first time, discovered that over-activation of bacteria-reactive lymphocytes leads to pathogenic bone destruction by the production of RANKL, a pivotal factor that activates osteoclasts (cells destroy bone), opening a new paradigm of osteoimmunology in periodontitis research.
Dr. Jean Latimer
Director/Associate Professor
B & J Silverman College of Pharmacy
Jl1543@nova.edu
Dr. Latimer's group works on DNA repair as an etiological factor in sporadic breast cancer and also as a part of treatment resistance in advanced stage breast cancer. At the AutoNation Institute for Breast Cancer Research and Care, she and Dr. Stephen Grant work on projects that involve somatic mutation in cancer and on environmental causes of cancer.
Dr. Dmitriy Minond
Associate Professor
B & J Silverman College of Pharmacy
Dminond@nova.edu
Dr. Minond's research focuses on drug discovery for cancer and other diseases. His research group has expertise in molecular biology, enzymology, biochemistry, high-throughput screening assay development and implementation, medicinal chemistry support, and in vivo studies. Their current research efforts focus on melanoma, breast, and prostate cancer drug discovery where they are using multiple approaches and techniques to achieve their objectives. He has successfully mentored students and junior faculty. He has also supervised and mentored the research for undergraduate, graduate, and professional students (e.g., DO, MD, PharmD). Several of Dr. Minond's publications are co-authored by undergraduate students.
Dr. Lubov Nathanson
Director of Genomics/Associate Professor
K. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine
Lnathanson@nova.edu
Dr. Nathanson's research focuses on translational genomics. Her combined expertise in bioinformatics, molecular biology, biochemistry, and systems biology allows her to evaluate complex disease states that impact multiple organ systems and have complicated mechanisms of disease onset, activity, and progression. Her current research efforts focus on gaining insight into the epigenomic and transcriptional changes involved in multi-symptom disorders including Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and Gulf War illness (GWI). Specifically, her ongoing research involves identifying biomarkers and mechanisms of ME/CFS and GWI using approaches such as RNA-seq, DNA methylation and single-cell transcriptomics to identify transcriptional regulators that result in characteristic symptomatology associated with ME/CFS and GWI. Dr. Nathanson has successful experience mentoring students and guiding them onto the next stage of their research career, including undergraduate and medical students. She is teaching three courses in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences, namely Genetics, Cell Molecular Biology and Cancer Biology. She also has several publications that are co-authored by undergraduate students.
Dr. Raymond Ownby
Chair/Professor of Psychiatry
K. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine
Ro71@nova.edu
Dr. Ownby's current research focuses on digital therapeutics for cognition and chronic disease self-management in older persons. His team is also recently working on creating innovative methods to evaluate patients' health literacy. His research and clinical interests include examination of the ways in which stress, mood, and inflammation interact in older adults.
Dr. Alexandra Perez
Associate Professor
B & J Silverman College of Pharmacy
Alperez@nova.edu
Dr. Perez conducts medication use trends to evaluate health disparities in disadvantaged populations with diabetes and cardiovascular disease. She uses large, existing or secondary databases as a source for her research.
Dr. Lisa Robison
Assistant Professor
College of Psychology
Lrobiso1@nova.edu
Dr. Robison's current research investigates the influence of environmental factors, such as diet, exercise, and brain injury, on the risk and progression of dementia. Additionally, she is working towards identifying novel pharmacological interventions for dementia and is particularly interested in repurposing medications that are currently used for treating cardiometabolic diseases.
Dr. Manuel Salinas
Assistant Professor
College of Computing & Engineering
Msalinas@nova.edu
Dr. Manuel Salinas specializes in cardiovascular mechanics, thermal systems, and engineering education. He regularly attends national and international research conferences and publishes in biomedical related journals. He manages the biomedical engineering concentration program at the college of Computing and Engineering.
Dr. Robert Smith
Associate Professor/Research Scientist
K. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine
Rsmith@nova.edu
Dr. Smith uses a combination of experimentation and mathematical modeling to understand how bacteria cooperate to resist antibiotics. In the short term, we are trying to understand how bacteria can work together to resist antibiotics as a collective. In the long term, we hope to develop novel treatments to increase the efficacy of existing antibiotics.
Dr. Robert Speth
Professor
B & J Silverman College of Pharmacy
Rs1251@nova.edu
Dr. Speth's research focus is primarily on how angiotensin acts in the brain to regulate the cardiovascular system. Some of his other research activities include the first report of the benzodiazepine binding site in the human brain, the first report of the distribution of angiotensin receptor substypes in the rodent brain, the discovery of receptors for angiotensins in the ovary and epididymis, the identification of the mas oncogene protein as a receptor for a truncated angiotensin analog, and the discovery of a novel angiotensin binding protein.
Click here to view Dr. Speth's Quad Chart
Dr. Maiko Suzuki
Associate Professor of Research
College of Dental Medicine
Msuzuki@nova.edu
Dr. Suzuki completed DDS and PhD at Tohoku University in Japan. She has broad research experience in her field of expertise, including oral cancer, periodontitis, and tooth malformation caused by environmental pollutants. Dr. Suzuki’s current research projects are supported by NIH/NIDCR, 1) titled “'Epigenetic and non-epigenetic role of SIRT1 in fluoride-induced cell stress (R01)”, and 2) titled “Health Effects of the Fluorinated Pollutants; PFAS (per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances) on Enamel Development (K02)”.
