About Cell and Molecular Biology

Substantial external funding and state of the art equipment enable cutting edge research in molecular and cellular understanding of biological processes to identify therapeutic targets relevant to reproductive health, aging, heart disease, infectious disease, and cancer.

Full-Time Faculty

Dr. G. Valentin Boerner

Professor
Office: SR 280B
Email: g.boerner@csuohio.edu
Expertise: Molecular Genetics - functional analysis of chromosome dynamics
 

Dr. Kailash Gulshan

Assistant Professor
Office: SI 319
Email: k.gulshan@csuohio.edu
Expertise: cardiovascular disease, lung cancer, autophagy, inflammation, interleukins, sphingolipids
 

Dr. Peng Jiang

Assistant Professor
Office: FH 468
Email: p.jiang@csuohio.edu
Expertise: data science, computational biology, bioinformatics, biostatistics, machine learning, gene regulation, developmental & regenerative biology
 

Dr. Anton A. Komar

Professor
Office: SR 259, 258
Email: a.komar@csuohio.edu
Expertise: molecular biology: translational regulation of gene expression
 

Dr. Roman Kondratov

Professor
Office: SR 270
Email: r.kondratov@csuohio.edu
Expertise: molecular mechanisms of aging and circadian rhythms
 

Dr. Bibo Li

Professor
Office: SR 261
Email: b.li37@csuohio.edu
Expertise: Molecular biology - telomere functions; pathogenesis of Trypanosoma brucei (a protozoan parasite causing sleeping sickness in humans and Nagana in cattle) in relation to telomere function and regulation of surface antigen switching to avoid immune responses
 

Dr. Barsanjit Mazumder

Professor
Office: SI 263
Email: b.mazumder@csuohio.edu
Expertise: Molecular biology - molecular mechanisms of cardiovascular disease; post-transcriptional regulation of pro-inflammatory gene expression in endothelial cells, monocytes, and macrophages
 
 

Dr. Tobili Y. Sam-Yellowe

Professor
Office: SI 213
Email: t.sam-yellowe@csuohio.edu
Expertise: microbiology, immunology, and parasitology: mechanisms of erythrocyte invasion in malaria; role of apical complex organelles in merozoite invasion in Plasmodium falciparum and P. chabaudi
 

Dr. Aaron Severson

Associate Chair 
Office: SR 280C
Email: a.severson@csuohio.edu
Expertise: meiosis, DNA replication, generation of sister chromatid cohesion, homolog pairing, and crossover recombination, and unique pattern of chromosome segregation
 

Dr. Girish Shukla

Professor
Office: SR 262
Email: g.shukla@csuohio.edu
Expertise: molecular biology of RNA - in vivo and in vitro mechanisms of nuclear pre-mRNA splicing, structure-function of small RNAs, understanding the role of miRNAs in prostate cancer, modulation of androgen receptor by miRNAs in prostate cancer
 

Dr. Jackson Taylor

Assistant Professor
Office: SI 230
Email: j.taylor60@csuohio.edu
Expertise: genetic regulation of aging and lifespan
 

Dr. Crystal Weyman

Professor & Chair
Office: SR 266, 267
Email: c.weyman@csuohio.edu
Expertise: Cell biology - signaling pathways regulating proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, and transformation of skeletal myoblasts

Cleveland Clinic Faculty

_{Dr. William Baldwin, MD, PhD}

Inflammation & Immunity
Expertise: cardiac and renal allograft rejection; vascular inflammation


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_{Dr. Cornelia Bergmann, PhD}

Neurosciences
Expertise: regulation of and function of CD8 T cells during viral infections of the central nervous system (CNS) associated with demyelination


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_{Dr. Kathleen L. Berkner, PhD}

Neurosciences
Expertise: homeostasis and the physiology of vitamin K


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_{Dr. Vera Bonilha, PhD}

Ophthalmic Research
Expertise: ophthalmology, retina pigment epithelium biology


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_{Dr. Tatiana Byzova, PhD}

Neurosciences
Expertise: cell adhesion molecules (integrins) in thrombosis, vascular biology and cancer; vascular endothelial growth factors, angiogenesis, extracellular matrix


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_{Dr. Abhishek Chakraborty, PhD}

Cancer Biology
Expertise: molecular and biological processes associated with hypoxia

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_{Dr. Peiwen Chen, PhD}

Cancer Biology
Expertise: molecular and biological processes of primary & metastatic brain cancers


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_{Dr. Feixiong Cheng, PhD}

Genomic Medicine
Expertise: Alzheimer's Network Medicine Laboratory


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_{Dr. Margot Damaser, PhD}

Biomedical Engineering
Expertise: urological biomechanics; the nature of maternal birth injuries and the post-injury healing process; application of stem cell technology to facilitate injury recovery


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_{Dr. Ranjan Dutta, PhD}

Neurosciences
Expertise: multiple sclerosis (MS); differences between relapse-remitting and progressive phases of MS; molecular changes underlying neuronal degeneration in MS and possible therapies


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_{Dr. Mohammed Dwidar, PhD}

Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences
Expertise: microbes & microbiome dysbiosis in cancer, metabolic, and inflammatory diseases


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_{Dr. Brian Gastman, MD}

Immunotherapy & Precision Immuno-Oncology
Expertise: Tumor Immunology - induction of suppressor cells and immune evasion; cancer therapy resistance - oncogenes with anti-apoptotic and anti-senescent functions rendering tumors chemotherapy resistant


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_{Dr. Zihua Gong, MD, PhD}

Cancer Biology
Expertise: DNA repair pathway choice of BRCA1 and BRCA2


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_{Dr. Neetu Gupta, PhD}

Inflammation & Immunity
Expertise: molecular mechanisms regulating B cell antigen receptor signaling, B cell proliferation, and fate, Role for ezrin


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_{Dr. Stanley Hazen, MD, PhD}

Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences
Expertise: cell biology - biochemistry of oxidative tissue damage


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_{Dr. Christopher Hine, PhD}

Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences
Expertise: aging, nutrition, metabolism, and stress resistance


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_{Dr. Trine Jorgensen, PhD}

Inflammation & Immunity
Expertise: autoimmunity; systemic lupus erythematosus; gender differences; role of interferons in autoimmunity


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_{Dr. Mihriban Karaayvaz, PhD}

Genomic Medicine
Expertise: early development stages of breast cancer and novel preventative measures


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_{Dr. Sadashiva Karnik, PhD}

Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences
Expertise: Molecular Cardiology - molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in blood pressure regulation


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_{Dr. Justin Lathia, PhD}

Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences
Expertise: tumor microenvironment and communication mechanisms used by cancer stem cells


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_{Dr. Michelle Longworth, PhD}

Inflammation & Immunity
Expertise: mechanism of DNA organization as it pertains to proper chromosome segregation during cell division as well as the regulation of transcription relevant to development, innate immune signaling and the pathogenesis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease


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_{Dr. Keith McCrae, MD}

Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences
Expertise: function of blood vessels in health and disease; antiphospholipid syndrome; microparticles--small pieces of cells that circulate in the blood, and promote blood clotting; role of kininogen in regulating vascular functions


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_{Dr. Thomas McIntyre, PhD}

Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences
Expertise: uncontrolled oxidation of phospholipids; trafficking of inflammatory cells leading to cardiovascular disease


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_{Dr. Christine Moravec, PhD}

Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences
Expertise: molecular cardiology: decreased contractility in heart failure: Ca cycling, sarcoplasmic reticulum function, gene expression


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_{Dr. Laura Nagy, PhD}

Inflammation & Immunity
Expertise: how chronic alcohol consumption contributes to chronic diseases, such as liver disease and diabetes


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_{Dr. Imad Najm, MD}

Epilepsy Neurology
Expertise: Molecular mechanisms of cell damage following seizures and status epilepticus 


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_{Dr. Edward Plow, PhD}

Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences
Expertise: Integrin signaling in leukocyte responses during inflammation and platelet aggregation


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_{Dr. Jun Qin, PhD}

Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences
Expertise: Structural Biology - relationships between protein structure and function in cellular signal transduction pathways


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_{Dr. Gunnar Poplawski, PhD}

Immunotherapy & Precision Immuno-Oncology
Expertise: in vitro culturing and in vivo models of neurodegeneration; neuronal rejuvenation; chronic spinal cord injury; inhibiting brain cancer cells from invading different brain areas


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_{Dr. Sujata Rao, PhD}

Ophthalmic Research
Expertise: Diurnal regulation and circadian disruptions


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_{Dr. Ofer Reizes, PhD}

Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences
Expertise: obesity, adipose tissue development and maintenance, syndecans and heparan sulfate proteoglycan


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_{Dr. Stephanie Schmit, PhD, MPH}

Genomic Medicine
Expertise: molecular epidemiology of colorectal cancer


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_{Dr. Sarah Schumacher Bass, PhD}

Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences
Expertise: molecular mechanisms underlying human cardiovascular disease processes


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_{Dr. Nima Sharifi, MD}

Cancer Biology
Expertise: metabolic processes, prostate cancer


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_{Dr. Robert H. Silverman}

Cancer Biology
Expertise: Cancer Biology - mechanism of action of interferons, particularly the role of RNase L


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_{Dr. Jonathan Smith, PhD}

Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences
Expertise: mechanisms and pathways relevant to human cardiovascular diseases, such as atherosclerosis, atrial fibrillation, and HDL metabolism  


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_{Dr. Apollo Stacy, PhD}

Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences
Expertise: how metabolites regulate microbiome-host interactions; oral microbiome; bacterial metabolism; inflammation


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_{Dr. George Stark, PhD}

Cancer Biology
Expertise: Molecular biology - protein and nucleic acid biochemistry, DNA amplification, molecular biology of signal transduction pathways


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_{Dr. Dennis Stuehr, PhD}

Inflammation & Immunity
Expertise: Immunology - biology and biochemistry of nitric oxide, a molecule involved in cell signaling and host defense


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_{Dr. Wai Hong Wilson Tang, MD}

Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences
Expertise: mechanistic determinants of cardiovascular disease, particularly in human heart failure and cardiomyopathy


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_{Dr. Bruce Trapp, PhD}

Neurosciences
Expertise: cellular/molecular events involved in glial cell development and myelin formation in the central and peripheral nervous systems (CNS and PNS); pathogenic mechanisms involved in permanent neurological disability in human diseases of myelin such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS).


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_{Dr. Jessica Williams, PhD}

Neurosciences
Expertise: neuroimmunology; autoimmunity; cytokine signaling in glia during multiple sclerosis


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_{Dr. Bin Zhang, PhD}

Genomic Medicine
Expertise: early secretory pathway deficiencies in human diseases such as hemophilia A and cancer


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