Affiliated Faculty Information

I. Affiliated Faculty 

Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic

• Ashok Agarwal, Ph.D. Biological markers of oxidative stress; proteomic and bioinformatics in DNA damage, apoptosis and preserving fertility in patients with cancer; laboratory and clinical studies assessing the efficacy of certain antioxidants in improving male fertility.
   
• Suneel Apte, M.B.B.S, Ph.D. Extracellular matrix; proteolysis; metalloproteinases; ADAMTS proteases; ADAMTS-like proteins; proteomics; morphogenesis; cardiovascular; musculoskeletal; birth defects; fetal-maternal medicine; eye disorders; neural tube; craniofacial development; smooth muscle; post-translational modification; inherited connective tissue disorders; osteoarthritis; primary cilium.
   
• Mark Aronica, M.D. Mechanisms by which specific ECM proteins contribute to the onset of asthma.
   
• Kathleen Berkner, Ph.D. Vitamin K; vitamin K-dependent protein carboxylation; hemostasis; anticoagulation; calcification; vitamin K-dependent clotting factors deficiency (VKCFD); pseudoxanthoma elasticum; warfarin resistance; gamma-glutamyl carboxylase; vitamin K oxidoreductase (VKOR).
   
• Mark Brown, Ph.D. Lipid metabolism; lipoprotein metabolism; atherosclerosis; obesity; diabetes; reverse cholesterol transport; triacylglycerol; nutrition.
   
• Tatiana Byzova, Ph.D. Angiogenesis; endothelial cells; integrins; extracellular matrix; cell adhesion; tumor progression; vascular biology; signal transduction in endothelium and platelets; oxidative stress and vasculature; toll-like receptors in angiogenesis.
   
• Donna Driscoll, Ph.D. RNA biology; mRNA translational control; nutritional regulation of gene expression; selenium.
   
• Serpil Erzurum, M.D. Asthma; pulmonary vascular disease; hypoxia; metabolism.
   
• Stanley Hazen, M.D., Ph.D. Inflammation; atherosclerosis; asthma; myeloperoxidase; cardiovascular diseases; HDL; peroxidases; airway remodeling; intestinal microbiota; gut flora; cardiometabolic disease.
   
• Christopher Hine, Ph.D. Dietary restriction; aging; lifespan extension; stress resistance; exercise; hydrogen sulfide (H2S) production and metabolism; sulfur amino acid metabolism; endocrine signaling and longevity.
   
• Sadashiva Karnik, Ph.D.  GPCRs; angiotensin receptors; ARBs; biased signaling; cardiac hypertrophy; hypertension; heart failure; structure-function of GPCRs; transmembrane signaling; microRNA; gene expression; chromatin protein modifications; STAT3 and U-STAT3 signaling; RGS proteins.
   
• Xiaoxia Li, Ph.D. Signal transduction in innate and adaptive immunity.
   
• Daniel Lindner, M.D., Ph.D. Mechanisms of acquired drug resistance in renal cancer, development of more effective drugs to treat myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myelogenous leukemia.
   
• Thomas McIntyre, Ph.D. Lipid mediators; inflammatory signaling; platelet biology; biochemistry; acute kidney injury.
   
• Richard Padgett, Ph.D. Transcription; RNA processing; RNA splicing; splicing factors; relation to cancer and developmental diseases; gene structure and function; genomics; evolution of genomes; RNA biochemistry.
   
• Eugene Podrez, M.D., Ph.D. Atherosclerosis; thrombosis; atherothrombosis; platelets; macrophage; scavenger receptors; LDL; HDL; cholesterol; phospholipids; oxidative stress; lipid peroxidation.
   
• Jun Qin, Ph.D. Signal transduction; integrin; cell adhesion; cell migration; kinase; heart disease; cancer; structural biology; protein NMR; protein crystallography.
   
• Sujata Rao, Ph.D. Eye; developmental biology; circadian clock; neurovascular development; thyroid hormone signaling; cone photoreceptors; vascular remodeling.
   
• Nima Sharifi, M.D. Prostate cancer; androgens; metabolism; steroids; castration-resistant prostate cancer; androgen receptor; hormone therapy; medical oncology; dihydrotestosterone; enzymes; biochemistry.
   
• Robert Silverman, Ph.D. Interferon; rnase l; antiviral innate immunity; oncolytic virotherapy, DNA methyltransferase inhibitor.
   
• Jonathan Smith, Ph.D. Atherosclerosis; HDL metabolism; atrial fibrillation; genetics; genomics; eQTL; gene expression; reverse cholesterol transport; dysfunctional HDL; RNAseq; allelic expression imbalance; ABCA1; mouse models; zinc finger nuclease.
   
• George Stark, Ph.D. Interferons; IL-6; NFkB; STAT3; EGFR; drug resistance; DNA repair; lung cancer; breast cancer; prostate cancer; glioblastoma; septic shock.
   
• Dennis Stuehr, Ph.D. Inflammation; nitric oxide; heme transport; soluble guanylate cyclase; electron transfer.
   
• Wai Hong Wilson Tang, M.D. Heart failure; cardiomyopathy; nitrative stress; metabolomics; cardio-renal syndrome.
   
• Bruce Trapp, Ph.D. Multiple sclerosis; glia; oligodendrocytes; astrocytes; neuroprotection; myelin, autism.
   
• Bin Zhang, Ph.D. Mechanism of intracellular trafficking in human disease development; protein secretion; endoplasmic reticulum stress; hemophilia; alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency, cardiovascular diseases; cancer.

II. Affiliated Faculty, Doctoral Clinical Laboratory Scientists

A. Robert J. Tomsich Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Institute, Cleveland Clinic

• Edmund Z. Reineks, M.D., Ph.D., DABCC Point of care testing; quality; lab directorship; special topics.
   
• Adam McShane, Ph.D., DABCC Automated chemistry; cardiovascular disease; blood gases.
   
• Marvin Natowicz, M.D., Ph.D. Biochemical genetics; metabolic diseases.
   
• Jessica Colon-Franco, Ph.D., DABCC Endocrinology; special chemistry; leadership.
   
• Kamran Kadkhoda, Ph.D., DABMLI Immunopathology; serology; allergy; cellular immunology.
   
• Grace Kroner, Ph.D. Special chemistry; diabetes testing; laboratory test utilization; data analytics.

B. Department of Pathology, Metrohealth Medical Center

C. Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Children's Hospital Medical Center of Akron

D. Quest Diagnostics Cleveland Hearthlab Center of Excellence

• Deborah Sun, Ph.D. Clinical laboratory operations and management.

III. Affiliated Faculty Case Western Reserved University or MetroHealth/Case Western Reserve University

*Faculty with Primary position at MetroHealth Medical Center

• Romani Andrea M.D., Ph.D. Regulation of magnesium homeostasis and transport in mammalian cells.
   
• Ge Jin, Ph.D. Mechanism of cancer cell-derived cytokines and/or metabolites; immune response and role of HIV-infection in development/progression of non-AIDS-defining cancers.
   
• *Jeffrey Schelling, M.D. (MetroHealth Medical Center/Case Western Reserve University) Mechanisms of chronic kidney disease progression; in vitro molecular and cellular methods, animal models and human studies investigating glomerular and tubulointerstitial pathophysiology.
   
• *Bing-Cheng Wang, Ph.D. (MetroHealth Medical Center/Case Western Reserve University) Roles of Eph receptor tyrosine kinases in invasive growth and distal metastasis of cancer cells.
   
• Wen-Quan Zou, M.D., Ph.D. Protein aggregation in the conformational diseases; pathologic prion proteins (PrPC and PrPSc) in prion diseases (PrD); neurotoxic amyloid β (Aβ) in Alzheimer disease (AD); Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD).

IV. Affiliated Faculty, Cleveland State University

• Jamila Hirbawi, Ph.D. Manager, Freshman Chemistry Program, Department of Chemistry.

V. Affiliated Faculty, NASA

• James L. Smialek Ph.D. High-temperature oxidation; coatings.