Expert Directory
---
Dr. Vijay Jotwani is board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine in family and sports medicine. He completed his medical training at the University of Illinois College of Medicine. He completed a residency in family medicine at the University of Chicago. Jotwani completed a fellowship in primary care sports medicine at Indiana University. His main clinical focus on the prevention and treatment of sports-related injuries. Jotwani is a consulting physician for the Houston Astros and the Houston Ballet. He is also a primary care physician for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and Rice University Athletics.
sports medicine orthopedics, Professional Athlete Care Team, Tommy John Surgery, Orthopedic Surgeon, sports medicine; pitcher injuries
Neuroendocrine Tumors, Thyroid Cancer, parathyroid tumors, Pancreatic Cancer, Liver Cancer, Minimally Invasive Surgery
Steven K. Libutti, MD, FACS, was appointed as Director of Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and Vice Chancellor for Cancer Programs, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences in January 2017. In addition to his leadership roles within Rutgers University, Dr. Libutti also serves as Senior Vice President of Oncology Services for RWJBarnabas Health, further strengthening the university’s partnership with the healthcare system. He is also a Professor of Surgery at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and an Affiliated Distinguished Professor in Genetics at the Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences Department of Genetics. Most recently, Dr. Libutti served as Director for the Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care in New York City and was a Professor and Vice Chairman of the Department of Surgery and Professor in the Department of Genetics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System. A surgical oncologist, Dr. Libutti is an internationally known expert in endocrine surgery and the management of neuroendocrine tumors. He is the immediate Past President of the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons. His clinical practice focuses on gastrointestinal malignancies including cancers of the liver and pancreas. The recipient of funding from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for the past 20 years, Dr. Libutti is also a researcher whose work focuses on developing novel cancer therapies through an understanding of the tumor microenvironment and blood vessel formation in tumors. He is studying tumor neovascular formation and the interaction between tumor cells, endothelial cells and the components of the tumor microenvironment including fibroblasts and cancer stem cells. His work also focuses on a better understanding of the tumor suppressor genes MEN1 and FILIP1L. After graduating magna cum laude from Harvard College, Dr. Libutti received his medical degree from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University. He remained at Presbyterian Hospital in New York where he completed his residency in surgery, followed by a fellowship at the NCI in surgical oncology and endocrine surgery. He continued at the NCI where he became a tenured Senior Investigator and Chief of the Tumor Angiogenesis Section in the Surgery Branch. He has published over 280 peer reviewed journal articles, is Editor-in-Chief of the Nature Journal Cancer Gene Therapy, and holds seven U.S. patents. Clinical Expertise: Neuroendocrine tumors, thyroid cancer, parathyroid tumors, pancreatic cancer, liver cancer, gastrointestinal (GI) cancers, minimally invasive surgery, and clinical trials.
Alessandro Grattoni, PhD
Chair, Houston Methodist Research Institute Department of Nanomedicine
Houston Methodist---
Alessandro Grattoni obtained his bachelor's and master's degrees in Mechanical Engineering at the Politecnico of Torino. Grattoni also completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in nanomedicine and biomedical engineering at The University of Texas Health Science Center. His research focuses on the development and clinical translation of implantable nanofluidic technologies for drug delivery, molecular sieving and cell transplantation. Grattoni areas of expertise are nanomedicine, nanofluidics, drug delivery, implantable devices, silicon technologies, and space medicine.
Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, Group A streptococcus
Biography
Following postdoctoral research at the Institute of Molecular Evolutionary Genetics, Pennsylvania State University, and residency training in laboratory medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Musser joined the pathology department, Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. He advanced through the academic ranks from 1991 to 1998, when he was promoted to professor. Dr. Musser served as the chief of the Laboratory of Human Bacterial Pathogenesis at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from 1999-2003. He joined Houston Methodist Research Institute in 2005 and served as co-director and executive vice president until 2010. In addition to holding the Fondren Presidential Distinguished Chair, Dr. Musser is also the chair of the Department of Pathology and Genomic Medicine and the director of the Center for Molecular and Translational Human Infectious Diseases Research. His research focuses on the molecular basis of host-pathogen interactions in group A Streptococcus and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. He serves on several editorial boards, has received many national and international honors and awards, and has published more than 300 research articles and book chapters.
Description of Research
The goal of Dr. Musser's research is to advance our understanding of pathogen-host interactions, broadly defined. His laboratory uses a highly integrated interdisciplinary research strategy that employs state-of-the-art techniques such as genome sequencing, expression microarray analysis, molecular population genetic analysis, relevant in vivo model systems, and analysis of host factors to gain new information about the molecular basis of infections caused by the human pathogenic bacterium group A Streptococcus (GAS) and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. All of the laboratory's work involves extensive collaboration with local, national, and international investigators with diverse areas of expertise.
One project is to identify key vaccine candidates against group A Streptococcus. This work is performed in collaboration with investigators in the private sector. GAS causes >700 million cases of human disease each year globally, yet no licensed vaccine is available, despite decades of study. Dr. Musser's goal is to use a multi-modality experimental strategy involving molecular dissection of the pathogen and host immunologic response, in vivo disease models, and analysis of clinical material to identify one or more protein antigens that protect humans against GAS pharyngitis and invasive disease.
A second project is designed to elucidate the molecular genetic events contributing to epidemics of GAS infection. This work is done in collaboration with several groups of investigators. The team uses a comprehensive, population-based sample of serotype M3 strains recovered over 16 years from patients with invasive infections as a model system. The project involves extensive (“deep”) comparative genome resequencing and genetic polymorphisms analysis using GAS strains from patients with well-defined clinical phenotype. The goal of this line of research is to understand precise temporal and geographic patterns of strain spread. In addition, the team seeks to define genetic polymorphisms and virulence regulatory circuits in the pathogen that influence clinical phenotype. Recent work has identified a novel virulence circuit involved in the pathogenesis of necrotizing fasciitis, also known as the “flesh-eating” disease. The research also has vaccine and public health implications.
Finally, Dr. Musser has a longstanding interest in the genetic epidemiology of human susceptibility to tuberculosis disease. Using a cohort of extensively defined human tuberculosis patients and controls, his team seeks to define human genetic factors that help to determine why some individuals get tuberculosis disease whereas others who have been exposed to the organism do not. A combination of single nucleotide polymorphism analysis and deep candidate gene resequencing is used, as well as other contemporary human genetic analysis methods.
Areas Of Expertise
Mycobacterium tuberculosis Group A StreptococcusEducation & Training
Residency, University of Pennsylvania Health SystemMD, University of Rochester
---
Dr. Randall Wright completed his medical training at Emory University School of Medicine. Wright also completed a residency in neurology and a fellowship in clinical neurophysiology at Baylor College of Medicine. He is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology and the American Board of Sleep Medicine. His main clinical focus is in stroke and dementia prevention, sleep disorders and brain health. Wright's other clinical focus are dementia, neck and back pain, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy.
Gavin Britz, MD, MBA, MPH, MBBCh
Director of the Houston Methodist Neurological Institute
Houston Methodist---
Dr. Gavin Britz completed his medical training at the University of Witwatersrand. He completed a residency in and fellowships in cerebrovascular and interventional neuroradiology at the University of Washington. Britz also completed a fellowship in general surgery at John Hopkins Hospital. Britz is board certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery. Britz conducts scientific research that seeks to understand the cerebral microcirculation. His clinical research includes evaluating new and novel tools to treat a wide variety of problems such as brain aneurysms and skull base tumors. His clinical areas of expertise include neurological tumors and surgeries.
---
Dr. Kenneth Podell is board certified in Neuropsychology by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Podell completed his medical training at New York University School of Medicine and a fellowship in neuropsychology at the Medical College of Pennsylvania. His clinical areas of expertise are in the treatment of brain injury/disease, particularly sports-concussion, traumatic brain injury and dementia. Podell's research interests focus on traumatic brain injuries and neuroscience. Podell serves as a concussion consultant for the Houston Astros, Rice University Athletics, Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo and the Houston Texans. He also consults for more than 20 area high schools and middle schools.
---
Dr. William A. Zoghbi is board certified in cardiovascular disease by Subspecialty Certification in Echocardiography. Zoghbi completed his medical training at Meharry Medical College School of Medicine. He also completed a residency in internal medicine and fellowship in cardiology at the Baylor College of Medicine. His research focuses on cardiovascular imaging, emphasizing echocardiography. Zoghbi's clinical areas of interest include cardiac imaging, echocardiography, heart failure, myocardial hibernation and function of the valvular and ventricular.
Otolarygology, head neck surgery, Skull Base Surgery, Sleep Apnea, Sinus
Dr. Mas Takashima is board certified in Otolaryngology, Otology/Neurotology and Sleep Medicine by the American Board of Otolaryngology. Takashima completed medical training and a residency at the Baylor College of Medicine. He also completed a fellowship in Endoscopic Sinus and Skull Base Surgery and a fellowship at the American Academy of Otolaryngic Allergy, Houston. Takashima's clinical areas of expertise include the treatment of sleep medicine, tumors, sleep apnea, sleep medicine and surgery of the head, neck and skull.
---
Dr. Joshua D. Septimus is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Clinical Lipidology. He completed his medical training and a residency in internal medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. Septimus' research interests include lipidology and investigations of novel prevention strategies for atherosclerosis. His clinical areas of expertise include diabetes, wellness, preventative medicine in atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease, internal medicine and lipidology.
Ophthalmologist, Corneal Transplant, Glaucoma, Cataract, dry eye disease,
Dr. Rahul Pandit is board certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology. Pandit completed his medical training at Rush Medical College. He completed a residency and a fellowship in Cornea, External Diseases, and Refractive Surgery at the University of Iowa. His research interests include dry eye and other ocular surface diseases, corneal diseases and cataract surgical outcomes. Pandit's clinical area of interest include dry eye, corneal disease and transplantation, cataract surgery and glaucoma.
Neurology, Neurogenerative, neurogeneration
Philip J. Horner received a Ph.D. in physiology from Ohio State University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at The Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Horner's research is focused on the interaction between glial and neural cells following central nervous system challenge. His area of expertise is in regenerative medicine for multiple sclerosis, neural trauma, stroke and more.
Dolores Cimini, PhD
Director and Senior Research Scientist, Center for Behavioral Health Promotion and Applied Research
University at Albany, State University of New YorkPsychology, Mental Health, Suicide Prevention, Alcohol, Drugs, Counseling, College Student Health, Social Justice, Disabilites
M. Dolores Cimini is a New York State licensed psychologist who has provided leadership for comprehensive efforts in research-to-practice translation at the University at Albany since 1992 with over $9 million in support from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Justice, and New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports. The screening and brief intervention program developed by Dr. Cimini, the STEPS Comprehensive Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention Program, has earned 13 national awards for best practices and innovation in behavioral health care. Cimini is the director of the Middle Earth Peer Assistance Program at UAlbany, an agency recognized as a model/exemplary program in alcohol and other drug prevention by both the U.S. Department of Education and the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She has published two books and numerous professional articles in both national and international refereed journals in the alcohol and substance use field and has earned two awards for excellence from the White House for her contributions to STEM mentoring. Cimini is a member of the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association and was the Past Chair of the APA Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest, where she has had leadership for reviewing and disseminating APA’s practice standards focused on serving diverse and underrepresented groups and the addressing of issues related to psychology and social justice.
Kristen Corbosiero, PhD
Associate Professor, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences
University at Albany, State University of New YorkTropical Cyclone, Hurricane, Cloud Behavior, Monsoons
Corbosiero studies the structure and intensity change of tropical cyclones using both observational data sets, such as aircraft reconnaissance, and lightning, and high-resolution numerical models. She is interested in understanding the physical processes responsible for the formation of hurricane rainbands and secondary eyewalls, and how tropical cyclones respond to, and evolve in, vertical wind shear. In addition, Corbosiero is leading an ongoing research collaboration between the National Weather Service and UAlbany’s Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, which is providing valuable insights into extreme weather as it trains the next generation of forecasters. The project focuses on the occurrence and prediction of high-impact weather events in the Northeastern United States. Such events, which include damaging winds and hail, widespread and localized flooding, and heavy snow and ice accumulations, have the potential to cause substantial societal and economic disruption. The research has shed light on such subjects as hurricane-related heavy rainfall, the distribution of small-scale heavy snow bands, and the processes that govern the occurrence and location of severe weather. Research findings are transferred directly into daily NWS forecasts and operations.
Victoria Kisekka, PhD
Assistant Professor, School of Business
University at Albany, State University of New YorkInformation Security, Cybersecurity, digital forensics, Security
Dr. Kisekka is an assistant professor in the Department of Information Security and Digital Forensics. She earned her doctoral degree from the University at Buffalo’s School of Management, where she received the “PhD Student Achievement Award."She is also a recipient of the Pacesetter Award from Argonne National Lab, for her research contributions in Information Security. Dr. Kisekka teaches Security Risk Analysis, Security Policies, and Fraud Detection. Dr. Kisekka has published her research in high quality information systems journals and has also presented at several conferences and workshops such as the International Conference on Information Systems and the Americas Conference on Information Systems. Her research interests areas are: 1) Information security and privacy, where she studies users’ online security behaviors, and employees’ security behaviors. 2) Health information technologies, specifically, improving the utility of HITs for patients. 3.) A relatively new research area is communication on social media, specifically, the spread of information and misinformation. Dr. Kisekka employs both qualitative and quantitative methodologies in her research. Prior to earning a doctoral degree, Dr. Kisekka worked as a software consultant, working on projects for big companies such as Pfizer and Diageo. She has since gained extensive hands-on experience in the area of information security from working at Argonne National Lab, and managing a digital forensics lab at the University at Buffalo. Her work has been recognized outside of academia by news media such as Spotlight News and the Albany Business Review.
Victor Asal, PhD
Director of the Center for Policy Research, rockefeller college of Public Affairs & Policy
University at Albany, State University of New YorkTerrorism, Homeland Security, Political Science, International Affairs, Public Administration
Victor Asal is Director of the Center for Policy Research and a Professor in the Department of Political Science. He is also an editor of the American Political Science Association Journal of Political Science Education. He received his PhD from the University of Maryland, College Park. He is also, along with R. Karl Rethemeyer, the co-director of the Project on Violent Conflict. Dr. Asal is affiliated with the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), a Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence. Asal’s research focuses on the choice of violence by nonstate organizational actors as well as the causes of political discrimination by states against different groups such as sexual minorities, women and ethnic groups. In addition, Asal has done research on the impact of nuclear proliferation and on the pedagogy of simulations. Asal has been involved in research projects funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the Department of Homeland Security, the National Science Foundation, and the Office of Naval Research. Asal teaches courses on world and comparative politics, political violence and oppression, negotiation and research design. He has worked as a negotiation trainer in a variety of academic, governmental and military settings, and in conjunction with the ICONS Project, created simulations on varied topics. Asal also is a past director of the Center for Policy Research.
Sociology, Political Economy, China, China - U.S Relations, Hong Kong, Protests, Coronavirus
Ho-Fung Hung is a professor of Political Economy at the Johns Hopkins University's Sociology Department and the Paul H Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. His scholarly interest includes global political economy, protest, nation-state formation, social theory, and East Asian Development. He received his bachelor's degree from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, his master's degree from SUNY-Binghamton, and his doctorate in Sociology from Johns Hopkins. Prior to joining the Hopkins faculty, Hung taught at the Indiana University-Bloomington. Ho-fung Hung is the author of the award-winning Protest with Chinese Characteristics (2011) and The China Boom: Why China Will not Rule the World (2016), both published by Columbia University Press. His articles have appeared in the American Journal of Sociology, the American Sociological Review, Development and Change, Review of International Political Economy, Asian Survey, and elsewhere. His research publications have been translated into seven different languages, and are recognized by awards from five different sections of the American Sociological Association, Social Science History Association, and the World Society Foundation of Switzerland. His analyses of the Chinese political economy and Hong Kong politics have been featured or cited in The New York Times, The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News, BBC News, Die Presse (Austria), The Guardian, Folha de S. Paulo (Brazil), The Straits Times (Singapore), Xinhua Monthly (China), People’s Daily (China), among other publications.
Mark Stapp, EEd
Executive Director, MRED/Fred E. Taylor Professor in Real Estate
Arizona State University (ASU)Real Estate, Real Estate Development, community planning, Sustainable Development, Investing
Mark Stapp has been involved in planning, investing in, developing, and consulting on real estate for more than 30 years, with a focus on sustainable development. Stapp is the Fred E. Taylor Professor in Real Estate at the W. P. Carey School of Business, and Director of the Master of Real Estate Development program. In addition to his appointments within the W. P. Carey School, Stapp is a faculty associate in the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts. Stapp is also the managing member of the investment and development firm Pyramid Community Developers, LLC, and president of U.S. operations for the Swiss investment company Naef International Management since 1995.
Nursing, Diabetes, Teaching, Chronic Disease, Research, clinical work
Michelle Litchman, PhD, FNP-BC, FAANP, is an expert in diabetes care and using social media and other online resources to monitor how people with diabetes manage their own health in the real world. Litchman is an Assistant Professor at the College of Nursing and School of Medicine. Her position includes research, teaching, and clinical work at the Utah Diabetes and Endocrinology Center. She is passionate about teaching and precepts health sciences students and teaches didactic courses at the College of Nursing. Dr. Litchman’s program of research emphasizes the social context of chronic disease management across the lifespan with a particular emphasis on diabetes and technology. Her research examines online environments to understand the influence of peer support on health outcomes and diabetes management in the “real-world”. Dr. Litchman also examines family dynamics to understand how diabetes management is supported or derailed, and how technology might be helpful.
Please enter your username and
password to login
-
News keyboard_arrow_right
Latest News Coronavirus News Currently Embargoed News Research News Releases Google Fact Check Research Alert Preprints Marketplace News with Video/Audio Multimedia
RSS
Medicine keyboard_arrow_right
Sciencekeyboard_arrow_right
Life keyboard_arrow_right
Business keyboard_arrow_right
Journal News keyboard_arrow_right
By Location keyboard_arrow_right
Meetings, Grants, and Events keyboard_arrow_right