Faculty Profiles Miller School of Medicine

Anis Ahmad, Ph.D.

Research Asst. Professor
Publications
Biography: Over the past decade, Dr. Ahmad has demonstrated remarkable expertise and skills in various scientific research and biomedical discovery domains. His knowledge encompasses fundamental scientific principles and practical applications, complemented by well-developed administrative, communication, and leadership abilities essential for successful research endeavors. With...
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Hassan A. Ali, Ph.D.

Associate Professor
Publications
Biography: Hassan is an Associate Professor (tenure-track) of Neurological Surgery and Medicine at the University of Miami (UM), and Director of High Content Screening Core for Phenotypic Drug Discovery. He is a member of the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, the Katz Drug Discovery Center, and the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. Hassan's primary research interest is understanding...
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Julio C. Barredo, M.D.

Professor of Pediatrics, Medicine, and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Pediatric Hematology & Oncology
Clinical Profile | Publications
Biography: Dr. Julio Barredo is a Professor of Pediatrics, Toppel Family Endowed Professor in Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, and Director of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology and Children's Cancer Programs at the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. With over 30 years of medical experience, Dr. Barredo has dedicated his efforts and expertise toward cancer care...
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Antonio Barrientos, Ph.D.

Professor of Neurology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Publications
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Ernesto Bernal-Mizrachi, M.D.

Professor, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
Clinical Profile | Publications
Biography: His research over the last 15 years has focused on the regulation of pancreatic beta cell mass and function, with a particular interest in Akt and mTOR signaling pathways in beta cell proliferation. His laboratory has made major contributions to our understanding of signaling pathways that regulate beta cell expansion and survival. The long term goal of these signaling...
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Eleonore Beurel, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
Publications
Biography: I earned my Ph.D. in 2005 from the University Pierre and Marie Curie in Paris, France, studying the role of glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK3) in regulating apoptosis associated with the use of chemotherapy drugs in the treatment of liver cancer. I then joined the laboratory of Dr. Richard Jope, at the University of Alabama at Birmingham as a postdoctoral fellow. In Dr....
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Sanjoy K. Bhattacharya, M. Tech., Ph. D., FARVO

Sanjoy K. Bhattacharya, Ph.D.

Professor of Ophthalmology Bascom Palmer Eye Institute
Publications
Biography: Sanjoy Bhattacharya is a tenured Professor at University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA. Professor Bhattacharya completed master’s degrees, in Biotechnology, in Bioengineering from Banaras Hindu University, and a PhD degree in Bioengineering from Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi, India. He subsequently did fellowships in Pharmacology and Structural Biology at McGill University,...
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Luisa Cimmino, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
Publications
Biography: Dr. Luisa Cimmino is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine. She received a Bachelor of Science (with Honours) from the University of Melbourne, Australia, and a PhD from Columbia University in New York City, followed by post-doctoral training at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute...
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Emiliano Cocco, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
Publications
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Sylvia Daunert, Pharm.D., M.S., Ph.D.

Professor and Lucille P. Markey Chair, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Publications
Biography: Sylvia Daunert, PharmD, MS, PhD, is the Lucille P. Markey Chair of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Miller School of Medicine and the Director of the JT Macdonald Foundation Biomedical Nanotechnology Institute, and Director of hte Frost Institutes and University STEM Centers and Institutes of the University of Miami. Prior to joining the University of Miami, Dr....
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Sapna Deo, Ph.D.

Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Publications
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Shanta Dhar, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Biography: Our research is at the interface of chemistry and biology with particular emphasis on nanocarrier mediated intracellular delivery of payloads for potential applications in various diseases. Our research is directed to develop organelle targeted nanoparticles and to study nanoparticle assisted targeted delivery for possible applications in cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative...
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Juan Dominguez-Bendala, Ph.D.

Research Professor of Surgery, Cellular Transplantation
Publications
Biography: Dr. Domínguez-Bendala obtained his undergraduate degree (BSc) in Biological Sciences at the University of Seville (Spain) in 1993. After his graduation, he served as an officer (second lieutenant) in the Spanish Air Force, in the context of a special military service program for outstanding college students. He got an MSc degree from University College London (UCL)...
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Maria E. Figueroa, M.D.

Professor
Publications
Biography: Dr. Figueroa received her MD from Universidad del Salvador, School of Medicine in Buenos Aires, and a Degree in Hematology from University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. She completed her postdoctoral training in the field of epigenetics of myeloid malignancies at Weill Cornell Medicine under the mentorship of Dr. Ari Melnick. Dr. Figueroa’s research seeks to understand the...
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Flavia Fontanesi, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Publications
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Alessia Fornoni, M.D., Ph.D., FASN

Professor, Katz Family Division of Nephrology and Hypertension
Clinical Profile | Publications
Biography: Dr. Fornoni is a tenured Professor of Medicine and Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. She serves as Director and Chair of the Peggy and Harold Katz Drug Discovery Center. She is also the Co-Director of the MSTP program and of the CTSI/KL2 program and Assistant Dean for Research Training and Development.

Through...
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Karina Galoian, Ph.D.

Research Associate Professor, Ortho-Oncology
Publications
Biography: Dr. Galoian is a research associate professor in the Department of Orthopaedics at the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine. She is Vice President of Research and Biomedical Science for Chondrosarcoma Foundation (USA).
Dr Galoian also leads the departmental Institutional Review Board and is Research Director of the Sarcoma Disease Site Group...
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Sophia George, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Gynecological Oncology
Publications
Biography: Dr. Sophia George, PhD is an Associate Professor appointment in the Division of Gynecological Oncology within the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine and a full member of the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. She is a Department of Defense Ovarian Cancer Academy Awardee. Dr. George is a native of the Caribbean and is...
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Feng Gong, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Publications
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Shuanglin Hao, Ph.D.

Professor of Anesthesiology
Publications
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Joshua M. Hare, M.D., FACC, FAHA

Director, Donald Soffer Endowed Program in Regenerative Medicine, Cardiovascular Medicine
Clinical Profile
Biography: Dr. Hare graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and has a medical degree from Johns Hopkins University. He did his residency at Hopkins and fellowships at Hopkins, Harvard University and The Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Dr. Hare was Professor of Medicine and Biomedical Engineering and director of cardiac transplantation at Johns Hopkins, leading their...
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Thomas K. Harris, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

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Guy A. Howard, Ph.D.

Research Professor, Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine

Biography: I was (until 2019) the Deputy Director, as well as the founding Associate Director for Research of the Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC) at the Miami VA Healthcare System; one of only 20 such centers in the US, now 25+ years in existence. As part of that position, I oversaw and actively facilitated VA-university research interactions on both the...
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Jennifer J. Hu, Ph.D.

Professor of Epidemiology, Epidemiology & Population Health Sciences
Publications
Biography: As a trans-disciplinary cancer researcher, Dr. Hu has training in basic sciences and cancer epidemiology. Her research mainly focuses on the molecular and genetic mechanisms of breast cancer etiology and survival disparities as well as implication of DNA repair in precision medicine.
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Antonio Iavarone

Professor of Neurological Surgery & Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Publications
Biography: 12/90-8/94 Research Fellow, Molecular Oncology. Brain Tumor, Research Center UCSF, San Francisco

9/94-8/98 Research Fellow, Cell Biology and Genetics Program, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York

9/98-7/02 Active member, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

9/98-1/02 Assistant...
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Chaitanya Jain, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

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Joaquin Jimenez, M.D.

Research Professor of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery

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Norma Sue Kenyon, Ph.D.

Executive Director, Wallace H. Coulter Center for Translational Research, Cellular Transplantation
Publications
Biography: Norma Sue Kenyon, Ph.D. is The Martin Kleiman Professor of Surgery, Microbiology & Immunology, Biomedical Engineering and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at the Diabetes Research Institute, University of Miami. Dr. Kenyon and her research team have focused on ways to transplant insulin producing cells, in both clinically relevant islet transplant models and in...
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Byron L. Lam, M.D.

Professor of Ophthalmology
Clinical Profile | Publications
Biography: Byron L. Lam, M.D. is a clinician and a researcher with a focus in neuro-ophthalmology, hereditary retinal disease, and ophthalmic epidemiology. He is a professor of ophthalmology at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute of the University of Miami Miller School in Medicine and is the holder of the Robert Z. & Nancy J. Greene Chair in Ophthalmology.

Dr....
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Ralf Landgraf, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Publications
Biography: Dr. Landgraf earned his master's in Biochemistry in 1990 at the University of Tuebingen, Germany with additional research time in Enzymology at Queen Mary College, London. He received his PhD in Physiological Chemistry in 1995 at UCLA working on molecular recognition in Protein-DNA interactions, and he did a postdoc in structural studies and computational protein work...
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Giacomo Lanzoni, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Tenure Track
Publications
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Anna Lasorella, M.D.

Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Publications
Biography: Catholic University School of Medicine, Rome, Italy MD 1982 Medicine

Catholic University School of Medicine, Rome, Italy Post grad 1990-92
Pediatric OncologyCatholic

University School of Medicine, Rome, Italy Residency 1982-86 Hematology

Catholic University School of Medicine, Rome, Italy Residency 1986-90...
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Stephen Lee, Ph.D.

Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Publications
Biography: The laboratory studies mechanisms involved in the cellular adaptation to the adverse environmental conditions commonly found within the tumor microenvironment (hypoxia and extracellular acidosis). These extracellular stimuli alter fundamental cellular pathways by 1) activating an alternate translation apparatus that synthesizes proteins only in the absence of oxygen and...
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Fan Liu, Ph.D.

Research Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

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Zhao-Jun Liu, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor of Surgery, Vascular & Endovascular Surgery
Publications
Biography: Dr. Liu is Professor and Director of Vascular Research Laboratory at Department of Surgery, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. He is also the Associate Director of Vascular Biology Institute. He obtained his PhD. from Osaka University, Japan. His research interests span both vascular biology and cancer biology. His interest in the field of vascular biology...
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Xue Zhong Liu, M.D., Ph.D., FACS

Leonard M. Miller Professor of Otolaryngology, Otology
Clinical Profile
Biography: Dr. Liu is a surgeon scientist in the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Miami, where he holds the Hotchkiss Chair in Otolaryngology and is Vice Chair for Research. Under the leadership of Dr. Liu, the Center for Hereditary Deafness (CDH), including research and clinical programs, is currently studying mechanisms, diagnosis, and treatments of deafness caused...
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David Benner Lombard, M.D., Ph.D.

Clinical Professor
Publications
Biography: Dr. Lombard received his MD from Harvard Medical School, and his PhD at MIT, where he studied Werner syndrome and related progerias. After Pathology residency at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Dr. Lombard pursued postdoctoral work in the area of sirtuin biology, supported by an NIA/NIH K08 award. Dr. Lombard was the first to describe a central role for the...
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Izidore Lossos, M.D.

Professor, Hematology
Clinical Profile | Publications
Biography: Izidore Lossos, M.D., is a Professor of Clinical Medicine and Director of the Lymphoma Program at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, where he holds an endowed chair. He earned his medical degree from Hadassah School of Medicine at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and completed his residency and fellowship in hematology at Hadassah University Hospital, followed by a postdoctoral...
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Arun Malhotra, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

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Oliver Gene McDonald, M.D., Ph.D.

Associate Professor
Publications
Biography: Oliver McDonald is as a physician-scientist in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. He completed his MD and PhD degrees at the University of Virginia in 2007, Anatomic Pathology residency at Johns Hopkins in 2011, and a Gastrointestinal Pathology fellowship at Johns Hopkins in 2013. He was an Assistant Professor at Vanderbilt University from 2013-2020,...
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Richard Myers, Ph.D.

Senior Lecturer of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Publications
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Zafar Nawaz, Ph.D.

Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Publications
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Stephen D. Nimer, M.D.

Professor, Hematology
Clinical Profile | Publications
Biography: Stephen D. Nimer, M.D., is the director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. He is also the executive dean for research and a professor of medicine, biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Dr. Nimer's career spans more than 30 years in clinical care, research, administration...
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Min Seon Park, Ph.D.

Research Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Publications
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Pasquale Patrizio, M.D.

Professor
Clinical Profile
Biography: Dr. Patrizio is an internationally renowned reproductive medicine specialist Pasquale Patrizio, M.D., M.B.E., ,H.C.L.D., is joining the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine as Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences and Chief of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. Dr. Patrizio has made major contributions to the field...
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Daniel Pelaez, Ph.D.

Associate Professor
Publications
Biography: Dr. Pelaez is a scientist and biomedical engineer and an expert in stem cell and molecular biology, tissue engineering, biochemistry, and regenerative medicine. Originally from Colombia and as the son of two head and neck cancer surgeons, Dr. Pelaez experienced first-hand the frustrations that arise when suboptimal and non-curative treatments are the only available options...
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Sundaram Ramakrishnan, Ph.D.

Professor, Oncology Molecular Therapeutics (OMT)
Publications
Biography: Dr. Ramakrishnan (Ramki) received his Ph.D. from the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India. He received his post-doctoral training in Immunotoxins at the University of Kansas and subsequently moved to Cetus, a biotechnology company in the Bay area of California. He then joined the faculty of the Duke University Medical Center. After three years, moved...
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Martin A. Rivas, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Publications
Biography: Education

M.S., Clinical Epidemiology & Health Services Research. Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Cornell University. New York, USA. 2019-2021.

Ph.D., Biological Chemistry. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, University of Buenos Aires. Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2006-2011.

B.S./M.S., Biological...
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Sabita Roy, Ph.D.

Professor of Surgery, Oncology Molecular Therapeutics (OMT)
Publications
Biography: Sabita Roy is a Professor and Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Surgery, at the University of Miami. She received her Ph.D. degree from the University of Kansas and pursued postdoctoral training in Pharmacology at the University of California, San Francisco. After completion of her post-doctoral training, she was recruited as an Assistant Professor and rose...
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Kurt Schesser, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Publications
Biography: After obtaining my Ph.D. at Oregon State University, I completed my postdoctoral training in host-pathogen interactions under the mentorship of Prof. Hans Wolf-Watz at Ume? University, Sweden. I then held a junior faculty position in the Immunology Section at Lund University, Sweden in which I developed an independent research program. In 2001 I moved to the Department...
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Stephan C. Schürer, Ph.D.

Professor of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology
Publications
Biography: Dr. Schürer studied chemistry at Humboldt University of Berlin and University of California Berkeley. Following his PhD from the Technical University Berlin, he built and directed the international operations to the develop life science information technology and scientific content products at Libraria and Eidogen-Sertanty Inc, two technology startups in San Jose...
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Michal Toborek, M.D., Ph.D.

Leonard M. Miller Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Publications
Biography: Dr. Toborek is the Miller Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Vice-Chair for Research in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine. Dr. Toborek is double Doctor Honoris causa by the Silesian Medical University and the Academy of Physical Education in his native Poland. He is proud to be an alumnus of the SRP, as...
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Omaida C. Velazquez, M.D., FACS

Professor of Clinical Surgery, Vascular & Endovascular Surgery
Clinical Profile
Biography: Omaida C. Velazquez, M.D., F.A.C.S., Professor of Surgery, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine; David Kimmelman Endowed Chair in Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, University of Miami
Dr. Omaida Velazquez is a nationally and internationally renowned surgeon-scientist, recognized within her field and the broader community of physician scientists,...
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Claes Wahlestedt, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Publications
Biography: Claes Wahlestedt is Leonard M. Miller Professor and Director of the Center for Therapeutic Innovation at the University of Miami where he also serves as Associate Dean for Therapeutic Innovation. A native of Sweden, Dr. Wahlestedt obtained his MD and PhD degrees from Lund University. Prior to joining the University of Miami, Dr. Wahlestedt was a founding Professor and...
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Yu-Ping Yang, Ph.D.

Research Assistant Professor

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Yanbin Zhang, Ph.D.

Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Publications
Biography: Dr. Zhang is a professor in the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. He is interested in understanding the causes of genome instability and how it contributes to cancer development. Dr. Zhang's group aims to determine how the proteins in the Fanconi anemia pathway affect DNA damage repair and breast cancer...
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Jean-Marc Zingg Ph.D.

Research Associate Professor
Publications
Biography: 1988 Diploma/Master in Biology II (Biocenter, University of Basel, Switzerland)
1993 PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (Biocenter, University of Basel, Switzerland)
2005 Habilitation (Private Lecturer) in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical Faculty, University of Bern, Switzerland

Academic:
1984-1988:...
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Ibolya Edit Andras, Ph.D.

Research Assistant Professor

Email: iandras@med.miami.edu

Murray Paul Deutscher, Ph.D.

Professor Emeritus, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

Email: m.deutscher@med.miami.edu

Ronald B. Goldberg, M.D.

Associate Director of Diabetes Research Institute
Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Director of Lipid Disorder Clinic
Professor of Medicine
Secondary Appointment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Phone: 305-243-6574
Email: RGoldber@med.miami.edu
Location: DRI Building Room #2006

Sakhrat Khizroev, Ph.D.

Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Secondary Appointment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Email: skhizroev@miami.edu

Research Interest: Novel Computing Paradigms – Neuromorphic Computing, Quantum Computing, Nanomedicine, Magnetic Recording Energy-efficient Spintronics