Horizons Fall 2015

36 NSU HORIZONS AROUND NSU NSU cancer researcher Appu Rathinavelu, Ph.D., has been selected for the prestigious J. William Fulbright award to conduct cancer research and training in India. Rathinavelu is associate dean for institutional planning and development at NSU’s College of Pharmacy and executive director of NSU’s Rumbaugh-Goodwin Institute for Cancer Research. The Fulbright Program, the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange project, is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. The NSU cancer researcher will use the grant to develop and validate new genomics-based tests that could help during the treatment of breast and prostate cancers. During the two three-month endeavors, he also will help establish research collaborations and train graduate student researchers at VRR Institute of Biomedical Science in Chennai, India, which is affiliated with University of Madras, where Rathinavelu completed his graduate training. n CANCER RESEARCHER EARNS FULBRIGHT AWARD Paula A. Faria Waziry, Ph.D., assistant professor at NSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine and researcher at the Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine, and her research team recently were awarded an $805,882 grant from the U.S. Department of Defense’s Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs to investigate the genomic and cellular mechanisms that cause Gulf War illness. “Little is known about what causes the onset and progression of Gulf War illness,” said Waziry, shown above left. “Our aim is to identify specific disease targets that will lead to an improved diagnosis and more effective therapeutic interventions for patients. It is our duty to help those who served their country in any way we can, and this is one way we can make a major difference.” In addition to Waziry, who will serve as primary investigator, the research team consists of faculty members from the College of Osteopathic Medicine’s Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine, including Lubov Nathanson, Ph.D., assistant professor and genomics expert; Nancy Klimas, M.D., professor of medicine and director of the institute; Mariana Morris, Ph.D., professor and director of Gulf War illness research; and Gordon Broderick, Ph.D., professor and director of computational biology. n This work was supported by the Department of Defense Gulf War Illness Research Program under Award No.W81XWH-15-1-0163. NSU RESEARCHERS RECEIVE $800,000 GRANT TO RESEARCH GULF WAR ILLNESS The Princeton Review has named NSU’s Shepard Broad College of Law as one of the nation’s most outstanding law schools. The education services company features the college in the new 2015 edition of its annual book, The Best 169 Law Schools . The Princeton Review ’s survey asked 19,500 students at the 169 law schools their opinions of their school’s academics, student body, and campus life as well as about themselves and their career plans. In the profile on NSU, the Princeton Review editors describe the college as: “having a strong emphasis on legal writing,” and “a hands-on approach to legal education.” It also said NSU students “learn how to be good legal practitioners.” n SHEPARD BROAD COLLEGE OF LAW NAMED ONE OF THE BEST