Journal of Case Reports and Studies

Preet M. Chaudhary, M.D., Ph.D. is chief of the Jane Anne Nohl Division of Hematology and Center for the Study of Blood Diseases in the Department of Medicine and Associate Director for Translational Research and coleader of the leukemia-lymphoma program at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and Hospital. Dr. Chaudhary comes to USC from the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, where he is professor of medicine, director for translational research, leader of the hematologic malignancies program and co-leader of the cancer stem cell program. As a physician-scientist dedicated to hematologic oncology, Dr. Chaudhary has research interests in several areas of cancer, including AIDS-associated cancers, cancer drug resistance, biology of normal and leukemic hematopoietic stem cells, programmed cell death and cellular signaling. Dr. Chaudhary holds six U.S. patents and has published in some of the top scientific journals, including Cell, Immunity, JNCI, PNAS and Blood. He has served as a peer-reviewer for several national and international cancer research funding agencies and has been elected to the prestigious American Society for Clinical Investigations, an honor society of the top physician-scientists in the country.

Research: Hematology study of blood diseases leukemia lymphoma research

Dr. Sara Shumway was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana and grew up in Minnesota and California. She attended Stanford University and graduated from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Dr. Shumway stayed at Vanderbilt for her general surgical training and then went to Johns Hopkins for cardiothoracic training. She is board certified in surgery and thoracic surgery. Dr. Shumway has been at the University of Minnesota since 1988. She became full professor in 1996. Additionally she has been surgical director of heart transplantation as well as surgical director of lung transplantation.

Research: Immunology Chronic Rejection of Heart, Lung Heart Transplantation Lung Transplantation Ventricular Assist Devices

Yunbo Li (Y. Robert Li) received his MD from Shandong Medical University, MPH from Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, and PhD from Johns Hopkins University. He completed postdoctoral fellowships at University of California at Berkeley/ Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Li’s previous working institutions include University of Sydney/National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety (NIOHS) of Australia, UC Berkeley/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University Medical Institutions, St. John’s University College of Pharmacy, Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health, and Ohio State University College of Pharmacy, Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, and Virginia Tech-Wake Forest School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences. He joined Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine in January 2013 as Professor and Chair of Department of Pharmacology and Assistant Dean for Biomedical Research. He is currently Adjunct Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences at Virginia Tech-Wake Forest University School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences, and Adjunct Professor of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology at Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Dr. Li is an author of over 100 peer-reviewed publications, three monographs (Antioxidants in Biology and Medicine: Essentials, Advances, and Clinical Applications; Free Radical Biomedicine: Principles, Clinical Correlations, and Methodologies; and Biomedical Research: Strategic Planning for Success), and numerous chapters in respected books.His laboratory currently focuses on investigating oxidative and inflammatory stress mechanisms of disease process and developing mechanistically-based preventive and therapeutic modalities against oxidative/inflammatory injury underlying such common diseases as cardiovascular disorders, obesity/metabolic syndrome, and cancer. The research in his laboratories has been supported by grants from NCI, NHLBI, NIDDK, AICR, and HPRF. Dr. Li has been a mentor for over 30 graduate students, medical/pharmacy students, postdoctoral fellows, research scientists, and assistant professors. He serves as a reviewer for Johns Hopkins NIEHS center grants, NIH grants, and over 30 respected scholastic journals. Dr. Li is Co-Editor-in-Chief for Toxicology Letters, a well-respected and widely read biomedical journal that receives about one thousand manuscripts annually. He has also served as board member for several other respected journals, including Experimental Biology and Medicine, Cardiovascular Toxicology, Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, Spinal Cord, and Neurochemical Research. Dr. Li has over 20 years of teaching experience in the areas of biomedical sciences, free radical biology, toxicology, and pharmacology.

Research: Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology & Toxicology Cardiovascular Medicine Cancer Biology and Discovery & Development of Anticancer Drugs Neuroscience and Neuroprotection Oxygen Radicals and Inflammation in Human Degenerative Diseases Drug Discovery & Development for the Intervention of Oxidative and Inflammatory Tissue Degeneration Natural Products, Nutraceuticals, and Nutritional Biochemistry Inflammation, Immune Cell Differentiation, and Cell Signaling

Richard W. Bianco is Director of Experimental Surgery and Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of Minnesota. He has 30+ years of experience in the management of Experimental Surgical projects and has authored numerous refereed journal articles and book chapters on the topics of animal model development and the assessment of new or modified medical devices with a major emphasis in the area of cardiovascular prostheses. His particular research interest is in the development of accurate and humane animal models that predict safe clinical performance and efficacy. Experimental Surgery at the University of Minnesota is the premier GLP facility in the world and is recognized both domestically and internationally as the leading facility conducting pre-clinical safety evaluations. Professor Bianco has served on various committees of the International Standards Organization (ISO) and is currently is expert member of several working groups and sub-committees including Animal Welfare, Cardiac Valves, and Vascular Grafts (Co-Chair). Finally , Professor Bianco has been a national leader in promoting the humane use of animals in medical research and has served on the Boards of both the National Organization for Biomedical Research (NABR, Americans for Medical Progress (AMP), and the National Marine Mammal Advisory Board)

Dr. Nallasivam Palanisamy scientific training is in the field of molecular biology and cytogenetics. Prior to joining the Michigan Center for Translational Pathology (MCTP), he was a group leader in cancer biology at the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) where he established the molecular cytogenetics laboratory and conducted research on the identification and characterization of molecular markers (gene fusions) in solid tumors, with particular emphasis on breast cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma. Prior to joining GIS, he was the founding scientist and director of research and development, in the Genomics Research Services division at Cancer Genetics, Inc. (CGI, Milford, MA). During his tenure he introduced novel approaches in FISH probe development for the routine diagnosis of recurrent chromosome translocations in cancer at high specificity and sensitivity. Based on the new approaches, he filed three patent applications on novel probe development, one of which was granted in September 2009. He developed and commercialized 40 probes for the detection of non-random chromosome translocations and other recurrent chromosome abnormalities present in lymphomas and leukemias. His research work at CGI was supported by three Phase I and one Phase II SBIR grant applications (~$2 million) funded by NCI.

Research: Specializing in the application of karyotyping, fluorescence in situ hybridization, high density array comparative genomic hybridization (chromosome and array based), and spectral karyotyping in cancer research. Application of next‐generation sequencing and related technologies to understand the genetic basis of epithelial cancers at coding and non‐coding RNA level with particular focus on discovery of gene fusions and non‐coding RNA Systems biology approach for the discovery of cancer biomarkers in personalized medicine perspective

Dr. Hong Zhu earned her MD and MPH degrees from Shandong Medical University. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship at The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. Dr. Zhu has worked in several major research universities/institutes including The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Rockefeller University, North Shore Long Island Jewish Hospital, and Davis Heart and Lung Institute at Ohio State University. Dr. Zhu has extensive research experience in the field of free radical biology and medicine. Her research projects focus on the study of oxidative stress mechanisms in the pathogenesis of diseases and the development of anti-oxidant based modalities in the prevention and treatment of such diseases. Dr. Zhu has published over 50 peer-reviewed scientific articles and numerous book chapters. Her research was supported by NIDDK of NIH. She currently serves on the editorial board for two well-respected journals Toxicology Letters and Cardiovascular Toxicology. Dr. Zhu has over 20 years of teaching experience. She taught pharmacology and physiology at Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine before joining in Campbell University as Associate Professor of Physiology in June 2013.

Dr. Shen Hu is Associate Professor at the UCLA School of Dentistry and Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. He also directs the Oral Biology MS Program. His main research interests are in Cancer Proteomics and Metabolomics as well as in Single Cell Analysis.

Dr. Hayes is a toxicologist with over 35 years of experience in industry and academics. He is Principal Advisor, Spherix Health Sciences, providing strategic, scientific and regulatory guidance. Dr. Hayes also holds an appointment with Harvard School of Public Health as a Visiting Scientist and with the School of Public Health, University of Massachusetts, Amherst as a Research Professor. Previously, Dr. Hayes held the position of Vice President and Corporate Toxicologist for RJR Nabisco with responsibility for all regulatory and toxicology issues related to the safety of ingredients and food contact substances for food and drink products worldwide. Subsequently, as Corporate Vice-President of Product Integrity at the Gillette Company, he had management responsibility for the safety evaluation and regulatory compliance of a variety of consumer products, plant safety, environmental stewardship, and quality control. While at Gillette, Dr. Hayes was responsible for managing regulatory and toxicology issues worldwide. All contact substances used in Gillette products (including personal care products) were cleared within his division. Dr. Hayes previously served on the CTFA Research Council, addressing issues related to flavors and fragrances. Dr. Hayes has interacted with regulatory bodies worldwide including Canada, Japan, South Korea, EU and Latin America as well as the US FDA. the US EPA and the US DOD.

Dr. Horgan is Head of the Academic Unit of Surgery. The Unit concentrates on translational clinical research in surgery, particularly in colorectal and pancreatic cancer. The list of publications linked from the home page attests to the success of the Unit in this field. His clinical work is as a member of the colorectal services based in Glasgow Royal Infirmary with special interests in advanced metastatic colorectal cancer. The Unit offers diagnosis, staging and resection of primary and secondary colorectal cancer particularly liver secondary disease. This Unit is unique in offering synchronous colon and hepatic resections and the research profile reflects this practice.

Research: Dr. Chantal Tallaksen's research interests are currently primarily hereditary rare neurodegenerative disorders. Most of my studies have concerned hereditary ataxias and spastic paraplegia. Her clinical work involves most hereditary neurological disorders (neuropathies, myopathies, etc). In addition neuromuscular disease, particularly myasthenia gravis (epidemiology, clinical aspects, immunogenetic aspects). Dr. Chantal Tallaksen is still interested in nutrition role in disease etiology, have mostly worked with thiamin and disease.

Dr. George K. Paraskevas is presently working as Associate Professor of Anatomy at Department of Anatomy, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), Thessaloniki, Greece. He received the Medical degree from Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, attained the Ph.D. degree in 2000 and gained full qualification as specialist in Orthopaedic Surgery in 2005. He is also a Member of Various Organizing Committees and Scientific Committees. He is also as Editorial Board Member for almost 53 International Medical Journals. He has published more 170 articles in International Journals and 23 abstract in various International Congresses.

Research: His research interest includes Surgical anatomy and embryology of gastrointestinal tract, Congenital anomalies of bones and muscles, Entrapment syndromes of nerves and neuropathies, Variational anatomy of vascular system, Trauma and surgery, History of Anatomy, Anatomical nomenclature, Anthropometric studies

Dr. Annabella Vitalone is presently working as Assistant Professor in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at University of Rome, Itlay. Since 2003, she has been involved in teaching Pharmacognosy, Phytotherapy, Pharmacology and Toxicology in the Schools of Medicine, Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Biotechnology and Applied Pharmaceutical Sciences (of various University), as well as in various post-graduated training programs sponsored by the Pharmacist Association and the European Union. She also worked as Research Assistant at the University of Bari and Parma, Italy (2004-2006 and 2006-2007, respectively). She has been Visiting Scientist at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA, USA (2000-2002). She has also collaborated in the translation of various books.

Research: Her research interest includes the safety of plant-derived products (e.g. nutraceuticals, dietary supplements). Particular attention is devoted to “natural” products used in weight control.

Gregory Murphy (PhD, Monash) is Professor of Rehabilitation Psychology within the School of Public Health, La Trobe University. His main research interests are in health psychology and applied psychology, particularly return to work following serious injury.

Cameron completed his PhD in organisational psychology at The University of Queensland focusing on organisational culture, work stressors and employee well-being. Cameron is an Associate Professor at the School of Management at Queensland University of Technology. He is actively involved in research related to occupational stress, organisational culture, and identity and effectiveness including employee, volunteer and governance issues. Cameron is also actively involved in objective measures of strain, in particular, heart rate variability in workplace decision making contexts. Cameron is both a registered psychologist and a supervisor for the Psychology Board of Australia, overseeing the practice of intern psychologists. Cameron is regularly invited to speak at industry and professional events relating to issues such as employee stress and performance, governance, and other human resource management issues.

Research: • Occupational stress • Organisational culture • Biofeedback Cameron’s research focuses on the occupational stress measured using both subjective and objective (heart rate variability/biofeedback) methods. His research examines occupational stress in combination with a variety of theoretical frameworks related to organisational culture and identification. He is actively involved in scale development activities, particularly related to the assessment of workplace values and governance effectiveness. Cameron is the recipient of a number of small and large grants including an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant.

Dr Sun is an Associate Professor in medical imaging at Curtin University, Australia. He gained his M.B and PhD degrees in clinical medicine and medical imaging, respectively, from Harbin Medical University in China and University of Ulster, UK. He worked as a radiologist in the department of radiology at Peking Union Medical College Hospital for 9 years prior to taking up one-year medical fellowship during 1998-1999 in Japan. His research interests include diagnostic imaging, 3D medical image visualization and processing, and hemodynamic analysis of cardiovascular diseases. He has demonstrated a particular interest in the coronary artery disease by using CT modality with aid of 3D visualization tools to assist early diagnosis and prediction of disease outcomes. In addition, he has been studying the application of using computational fluid dynamics technique to improve understanding of the development of atherosclerosis, formation of plaques and effect of plaques on the hemodynamic changes to the coronary arteries. He has published over 100 refereed journal papers in medical/medical imaging journals. He serves as an editorial board member in 16 medical and medical imaging journals.

Research: Diagnostic radiology, medical image processing, visualization and analysis Radiation dose and image quality (CR/DR, CT imaging) 3D imaging of abdominal aortic aneurysm and endovascular stent grafts 3D imaging of coronary artery disease and coronary stents Haemodynamic analysis of cardiovascular diseases Virtual reality and simulation in cardiovascular diseases

Research: Clinical Health Psychology Personalilty Disorder Justice Sensitivity

Research: Assoc. Professor Kirk's expertise encompasses a broad range of techniques used in health technology assessment, health informatics, health services research and evaluation and policy based research. He has a special interest in evidence based health care and has presented widely at conferences on health technology assessment issues. His current and recent research grants include: • Low dose rate (LDR) Brachytherapy for localised prostate cancer • Evaluation of the Canterbury Initiative • Development of a eprocurement evaluation • Impact of Christchurch earthquakes on health of older people • Effectiveness of telehealth compared to face-to-face training for rural General Practitioners • Pain services - pain management approaches

Dr. Efimia Papadopoulou-Alataki is an Assistant Professor in Pediatrics/ Pediatric immunology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. She works  as paediatrician- clinical immunologist at Fourth Department of Pediatrics in Papageorgiou Hospital of Thessaloniki.  She has acquired clinical and research experience at  Medizinische Hochschule, Hannover, Germany and at  Great Ormont Street Hospital for children, London, United Kingdom. As an academic scientist, she is actively involved in  teaching  and research in the field of pediatric immunology. She served  as  a reviewer  for   International Archives of Allergy and Immunology ,  Pediatric Drugs,  BMC Gastroenterology , First Consult.

Research: Primary Immunodeficiencies Autoimmune -autoinflammatory diseases Pediatric Infections Vaccinations Familial Mediterranean Fever Hereditary Angioedema

Research: Dr. Alfonso Caracuel research interests include Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, Holistic Program of Rehabilitation after Acquired Brain Injury, Rehabilitation Technologies (SenseCam, Actiheart, Bluetooth biofeedback sensors to Android), Outcome measurement after Neuropsychological Rehabilitation Programs, Ecological Assessment of Executive functions, Rasch Model of Measurement applied to assessment (moral judgment, cognition and behaviour), Development and validation of software for cognitive stimulation.

DR. N.S. NEKI is presently working as Professor of Medicine at Government Medical College and Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, Amritsar, India. He is also Visiting Professor at Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Mannitoba, St. Boniface Hospital, Winnipeg, Canada and also Visiting Professor at James Cook Hospital, School of Medicine, Pharmacy and Health, Durham University, United Kingdom. He is also trained Endocrinologist and also Hony. Professor in Clinical Nutrition. He obtained 9 Oration awards till now and honored with 37 Fellowship awards. He is also life member of numerous medical societies. He has presented (Platforms and Posters) presentations and delivered lectures in National and International Conferences including APICON, HSICON, IMSACON, GSICON, IANCON, IACMCON, BPCON. He is also member of various Governing Bodies/Societies and also member Advisory Board of many Medical Journals. He has about 190 publications to and 15 book chapters in his name.

Dr. Zhuoxiao Cao received her MD from Shanxi Medical University, and PhD from St. Johns University. She completed postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She is currently a senior scientist at Novo Nordisk R&D. She served as a reviewer for Free Radical Research, Cardiovascular Toxicology, Journal of Health Science, Carcinogenesis, and Toxicology Letters.

Research: Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology & Toxicology Oxygen Radicals and Inflammation in Human Diseases Cardiovascular Medicine Drug Discovery & Development in Autoimmune/ Inflammatory Disorders Translational Immunology and Biomarker Studies in Autoimmune/ Inflammatory Disorders Biologic Development in Human Disease Treatment

Dr. Ashik Hayat graduated from University of Jammu India in 1992. He successfully completed his M.D (Doctor of Medicine) Internal Medicine 1n 1998 followed by Fellowship of Nephrology (D.M) with honors in 2003 from highly reputed university (PGI Chandigarh India). He also successfully qualified National Board of Nephrology examination (DNB) in 2004. There after he completed an advanced Fellowship in the Nephrology and kidney transplantation from the internationally reputed university of Toronto Canada in 2007 and Fellowship of Royal Australasian college of Physcians ( FRACP). Dr. Hayat has been awarded the Fellowship of American Society of Nephrology (FASN) and Fellowship of American College of Physicians (FACP) for his significant contribution to the field of medical sciences. Dr Hayat was awarded young Scientist award by Indian society of nephrology for his research paper “Adverse Impact of BK Polyoma Virus in Renal Transplant Recipients” in 2002. Dr. Hayat has worked as consultant and Associate professor in various Universities in India and Saudi Arabia and is currently working as consultant at Taranaki base Hospital New Zealand. He has more than twenty five research papers published in internationally accredited medical and nephrology Journals. Dr Hayat has presented many research papers and delivered lectures on various nephrology topics in various nephrology forums and international conferences. Dr Hayat is on the editorial board of various internationally reputed Journals including journal of American society of nephrology.

Research: Dr. Hayat has special interest in teaching and research, his field of interest includes fluid and electrolyte disturbance, advances in Haemodialysis and Peritoneal dialysis and kidney transplantation

Dr. Konstantinos Papamichael received his MD and PhD from Medical School, University of Athens, Greece. He completed postdoctoral fellowships at Medical School, University of Athens, Greece and at Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, TARGID (Translational Research in Gastro Intestinal Disorders) and Laboratory for Therapeutic and Diagnostic Antibodies, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, KU Leuven, Belgium. He served as a reviewer for PloS ONE, Frontiers in Bioscience, Helicobacter, J Crohns Colitis, and Advances in Medical Sciences.

Research: Inflammatory Bowel Disease/ Crohn’s Disease/ Ulcerative Colitis Anti-TNFa therapy/ Infliximab/ Adalimumab/ Therapeutic Drug Monitoring Helicobacter pylori Cellular Stress Response/ Heat Shock Proteins/ S. cerevisiae

Professor Kiernan is a graduate of University College Dublin (M.B. B.Ch. B.A.O. 1999). He completed his medical residency and early cardiology training in Ireland and the USA. He was awarded his MD Thesis (Cellular therapies for Cardiovascular Disease) from Mayo Clinic, Minnesota USA. He then pursued a fellowship in Interventional and Structural Cardiology in Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston USA (2007-2009). He took up post of Consultant Cardiologist in Cork University Hospital, 2009 and moved to University Hospital Limerick 2012 where he was promoted to Clinical Lead for Cardiology, UL Hospitals Group and Associate Professor of Medicine Graduate Entry Medical School, University of Limerick. Since in post, he has spearheaded the introduction of 24/7 ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) service for the region as well as multi-disciplinary heart team meetings, structural heart disease programme for the region and development of a cardiology research team which partake in both national and international clinical trials and research projects.  

Beata Kosmider, PhD, Associate Professor of Microbiology, Immunology, and Inflammation at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine, is researching ways to stimulate certain cells in the lungs to regenerate so they can repair injury and slow the progression of emphysema.   

Research: Molecular mechanisms involved in the alveolar epithelial cells response to injury; Cancer cell biology; Protective role of antioxidant defense systems against alveolar cell injury.

Research: Skin oncology, with special interest in NMSC and non-surgical treatment modalities Biology of the species Malassezia and pathobiology of Malassezia-associated skin diseases Minimally invasive methods for the diagnosis and staging of skin diseases, including applications of image analysis Skin manifestations of systemic diseases

Research: Respiratory Infections