Faculty & Research

List of Regular and Adjunct Faculty

Mahesheema Ali Ph.D. | Metro Health CWRU
Clinical chemistry, toxicology, POCT, rapid response labs.

Ashok Agarwal, Ph.D. | CCF
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.

David Anderson, Ph.D.,DABCC | CSU
Novel HPLC-MS techniques to measure biological compounds in diagnosis/treatment and in understanding diseases, including proteins, peptides, gangliosides, and drugs. Developed gradient chromatofocusing technique in the separation of proteins by pH gradients on ion-exchange columns. Research in chromatographic theory involving fundamental parameters of mobile phase and compounds chromatographed predicting separation.

Suneel Apte, M.B.B.S, Ph.D. | CCF
Extracellular matrix and matrix-degrading proteases in osteoarthritis and inflammatory arthritis, heart disease, aortic aneurysms; genetic disorders affecting heart, eyes, and limbs; biochemistry, cell biology, genetic and proteomic technologies.

Mark Aronica, M.D. | CCF
Components of the extracellular matrix in development and pathogenesis of asthma.

Mekki Bayachou, Ph.D. | CSU
Functional biomaterials; antithrombotic surfaces; electron transfer; nitric oxide synthases; metalloproteins; metalloenzymes; cyt P450s; bio-electrochemistry; DNA sensors; DNA-protein interaction; small molecule metabolite sensors; nanotechnology.

Anthony Berdis, Ph.D. | CSU
The Berdis lab is developing novel diagnostic and therapeutic agents against several types of cancers, including glioblastoma multiforme, breast, pancreatic, and various leukemias.  His research involves developing artificial nucleosides that increase the efficacy of existing anti-cancer agents with the goal of effectively killing cancer cells while leaving normal cells unaffected. 

Kathleen Berkner, Ph.D. | CCF
Gamma-glutamyl carboxylation of vitamin K-dependent proteins in hemostasis, calcification, apoptosis, signal transduction and growth control; mouse models; proteomics; mutagenesis; cellular systems; biochemical studies.

Warren Boyd, Ph.D. | CSU
Coordination chemistry of azodioxides, transition metal-catalyzed organic reactions, and metal-based anticancer agents.

Mark Brown, Ph.D. | CCF
Diet-microbe-host interactions in obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer; diet and gene interactions non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and alcohol-associated liver disease; nutrition and obesity mechanisms in gastrointestinal cancers.

Tatiana Byzova, Ph.D. | CCF
Neoangiogenesis; angiogenesis in wounds, cancer, ischemia; vascular dysfunction in aging and neurodegenerative diseases; cancer and inflammation-associated vascular pathologies and thrombosis; ex vivo and in vitro cell and molecular biology; advanced imaging; analysis of model and clinical samples.

Jan Claesen, Ph.D. | CCF
Defining signaling systems used as intra-and inter-bacterial communication in the gut and skin, and understanding the interactions between dietary components and the microbiota in the context of disease prevention. Identifying therapeutic targets that modulate the microbe–microbe and microbe–host cell interactions; microbiology; bacterial genetics; synthetic biology; small molecule biosynthesis; biochemistry.

Timothy Collier, Ph.D. | Cleveland HeartLab
Novel diagnostic and prognostic assays aimed at identifying risk of cardiovascular, metabolic, and endocrine disease.

Jessica Colon-Franco, Ph.D., DABCC | CCF
Endocrinology; special chemistry; leadership.

Serpil Erzurum, M.D. | CCF
Mechanisms of lung inflammation and remodeling that lead to lung disease; mechanisms of abnormalities in redox balance, signal transduction, accelerate arginine metabolism and impact nitric oxide (NO) production.

Paul Fox, PhD. | CCF
IFN-gamma signaling; mechanisms of blood vessel formation; ferroxidases in iron metabolism in inflammatory diseases and chronic renal failure.

Valentin Gogonea, Ph.D. | CSU
Computational chemistry; enzyme reactivity; nitric oxide synthase; hydrogenase; cholesterol transport; deuterium exchange; quantum mechanical molecular mechanics; molecular dynamics; protein folding.

Baochuan Guo, Ph.D. | CSU
Focus on the development of mass spectrometric-based technologies for qualitative and quantitative analysis of various biomolecules ranging from small drug molecules to large proteins as well as application of the technologies developed for medical use.

Stanley Hazen, M.D., Ph.D. | CCF
Inflammation in cardiovascular diseases; myeloperoxidase in oxidant stress and cardiovascular diseases; HDL structure and function; intestinal microbiota in cardiometabolic disease; bench-to-bedside; basic/genetic, cellular, animal model, and human clinical investigations; variety of analytical methods including mass spectrometry.

Christopher Hine, Ph.D. | CCF
Hormonal and nutritional regulation of endogenous hydrogen sulfide (H2S) production and metabolism; H2S effects in biological pathways; regulation and function of H2S generating enzymes; diet, exercise, and pharmaceuticals harnessing endogenous H2S production for increased stress resistance, metabolic fitness, and lifespan.

Kamran Kadkhoda, Ph.D., DABMLI | CCF
Immunopathology; serology; allergy; cellular immunology.

Michael Kalafatis, Ph.D. | CSU
Blood Coagulation and Thrombosis. Thrombosis is the primary cause of death worldwide and one of two major focuses of my research. My laboratory has a great deal of expertise in the biochemistry of coagulation.
Cancer and Apoptosis. Cancer is the second cause of death worldwide. The traditional way to treat cancer today is "cut, poison, and burn" which correlates to surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation respectively with the known devastating side effects. My laboratory is striving to establish a treatment for cancer that uses natural non-toxic substances.

Babal Kant Jha, Ph.D. | CCF
Functional basis of cancer promoting genetic and epigenetic defects in humans. Defects in cancer cells and develop therapeutic strategies to eliminate cancer. Translational research to protect and preserve normal cells while restricting/ eliminating cancer cell growth (Therapeutic targeting of TET dioxygenase deficiency, transient and reversible TET inhibition and expansion of stem and progenitor cells, heightened ER Stress Response as a targetable vulnerability in multiple myeloma).

Sadashiva Karnik, Ph.D. | CCF
Angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1R) structure, function, physiology, genetics and signaling; hypertension; cardiac hypertrophy; heart failure (HF); Approaches include transgenesis, molecular pharmacology, ligand design, membrane protein biochemistry, protein-protein interaction, signal transduction, gene regulation, micoRNA regulation, proteomics and post-translational modifications.

Grace Kroner, Ph.D.,DABCC | CCF
Special chemistry; diabetes testing; laboratory test utilization; data analytics.

Daniel Lindner, M.D., Ph.D. | CCF
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. | CCF
Lipid mediators, in the innate immune or inflammatory system; phospholipid PAF activation of inflammatory cells in cardiovascular and renal systems; oxidized phospholipids in apoptosis, affecting platelets in thrombosis and vascular disease; acute kidney disease.

Adam McShane, Ph.D., DABCC | CCF
Automated chemistry; cardiovascular disease; blood gases

Marvin Natowicz, M.D., Ph.D. | CCF
Biochemical genetics; metabolic diseases

Ina Nemet, Ph.D. | CCF
Gut microbial metabolism and relationship between microbial metabolites and disease risks; conventionally raised and/or germ free host colonized with genetically engineered human commensals to demonstrate direct effects of particular enzyme/metabolite on the host; metabolomics (mass spectrometry) and clinical studies in tandem with mechanistic studies.

Richard Padgett, Ph.D. | CCFMechanisms of post-transcriptional RNA processing, pre-mRNA splicing; myelodysplastic syndrome or acute myeloid leukemia; mutations in a small RNA (RNU4ATAC) resulting in growth retardation, microcephaly and skeletal deformities; genetic signals promoting correct splicing of giant introns.

Eugene Podrez, M.D., Ph.D. | CCF
Inflammation and oxidative stress in atherosclerosis and thrombosis via lipid peroxidation and formation of bioactive lipids; induced platelet hyper-reactivity associated with dyslipoproteinemia; platelet scavenger receptors type B targeted for new therapies; mechanisms of lipid oxidation products impairing cholesterol efflux inducing intracellular cholesterol accumulation.

Jun Qin, Ph.D. | CCF
Protein-protein interactions in heart failure, diabetes, and cancer; integrins in cell adhesion, morphology, and motility; mechanisms of integrin-mediated protein interaction in signaling; structural biology techniques of NMR and crystallography.

Sujata Rao, Ph.D. | CCF
Circadian regulation of neuronal and vascular development in the eye; circadian regulation of endocrine function; role of circadian clock in inflammation in the retina.

Edmund Z. Reineks, M.D., Ph.D., DABCC | CCF
Point of care testing; quality; lab directorship; special topics.

Yana Sandlers, Ph.D., DABCC | CSU
Clinical chemistry; mass spectrometry; inborn errors of metabolism; metabolomics; induced stem cells derived cardiomyocytes (iPSCM); Barth syndrome; cardiomyopathy.

Sarah Schumacher Bass, Ph.D. | CCF(Cardiovascular and Metabolic Sciences)
Mechanisms that underlie the transition from adaptive to adverse remodeling, including changes in cardiac structure, function, metabolism, fibrosis, and arrhythmogenesis in various models of human disease. Cell culture, pharmacology, proteomics, histology, structure-based drug design, and transgenic models are techniques used.

Dahai Shao Ph.D. | CCF
Clinical/analytical chemistry, instrumental analysis, mass spectrometry, biochemistry, method development and validation

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

Jonathan Smith, Ph.D. | CCF
Genes altering atherosclerosis susceptibility in a mouse model; HDL metabolism, reverse cholesterol transport;  genetics and functional genomics of atrial fibrillation; cell/molecular biology; biochemistry; genetics/genomics.

George Stark, Ph.D. | CCF
Cell signaling mechanisms underlying innate immunity and cancer; insertional mutagenesis; responses to interferon; interferon synthesis in cancer; PD-L1 modulation of cellular response to IFN-1; novel therapies.

Dennis Stuehr, Ph.D. | CCF
Regulation of nitric oxide (NO) biosynthesis, impact of NO synthesis on cells and tissues; NO synthase chemistry, structure-function relationship, interaction with cellular proteins controlling activity; NO regulation of heme insertion into cellular proteins; protein nitration; protein nitration, its regulation, and its control of protein function.

Bin Su, Ph.D. | CSU
Drug development, Cancer pharmacology, Endocrinology, African trypanosomiasis, Synthetic medicinal chemistry, Pharmacokinetic study.

Xue-Long Sun, Ph.D. | CSU
Glycan-based antiviral and anti-inflammation drug development, immunomodulation, targeted drug delivery, nanomaterial, and biosensor applications.
Biomimetic synthesis of native anticoagulant biomolecules for compensation of their loss in the pathological site as an on-demand therapeutic strategy.
Profiling and modulating cell surface glycosylation pattern and cell function.

Wai Hong Wilson Tang, M.D. | CCF
Mechanistic determinants of inflammation and cellular processes in heart failure and cardiomyopathy; genetic, proteomic, and metabolomic links to pathogenic pathways in human heart diseases and heart failure; metabolites and proteins measured by mass spectroscopy techniques or immunoassays; enzyme expression in explanted human hearts.

Bruce Trapp, Ph.D. | CCF
Cellular/molecular biology of myelination; pathogenesis of neurological disability in multiple sclerosis.

John F Turner, Ph.D. | CSU
Raman spectroscopy; fluorescence; infrared; IR; near infrared; NIR; visible; chemical imaging; multivariate analysis; chemometrics; mineral; biomineral; bone; teeth; biomaterials; implant materials; bioanalysis; spectral imaging; hyperspectral imaging; multispectral imaging; liquid crystal tunable filter; LCTF; acousto-optic tunable filter; AOTF; CCD; charge coupled device, spectroscopy; gemology; gemstone; miner- alogy; geology; Raman database; poly-llactide.

Oliver Wessely, Ph.D. | CCF
Kidney development and kidney diseases; molecular mechanisms governing the formation and maintenance of a functional kidney and pathophysiology in diseases; polycystic kidney disease; focal segmental glomerulosclerosis; renal cell carcinoma.

Yan Xu, Ph.D. | CSU
Clinical and preclinical pharmacokinetics; analytical method development for drugs and metabolites; lipidomic profiling and quantitation of biomarkers of human diseases; metabolic flux analysis of biochemical pathways; metabolomics of multicomponent formulations; mass spectrometry; liquid and gas chromatography; enzyme immunoassay; capillary electrophoresis; electroanalytical techniques.

Bin Zhang, Ph.D. | CCF
Protein secretion dysregulation in disease development, cargo receptors impact on bleeding disorders; vesicle formation, COPII, and human disease; engineering gene therapies.

Aimin Zhou, Ph.D. | CSU
Investigating the role of RNase L, a key enzyme in interferon action against viral infection and cell proliferation, in immune cell functions and the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases such as diabetes, non-alcohol fatty liver disease, and acute kidney injury by using cell and animal models.