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Faculty Profiles

B.S. / Ph.D. in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Eleonore Beurel, Ph.D.

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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Sylvia Daunert, Ph.D.

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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Shanta Dhar, Ph.D.

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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Alessia Fornoni, M.D., Ph.D.

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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Guy A. Howard, Ph.D.

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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Antonio Iavarone

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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Byron L. Lam, M.D.

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.

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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Stephen Lee, Ph.D.

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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Xue Zhong Liu, M.D., Ph.D., FACS

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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Stephen D. Nimer, M.D.

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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Michal Toborek, M.D., Ph.D.

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 Velazquez, M.D.

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.

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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Yanbin Zhang, Ph.D.

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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Richard Jope, PhD

Richard Jope, Ph.D.

Professor, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences

Email: rjope@med.miami.edu

We study the neurochemical basis of behavior, especially how altered gene expression and neuronal plasticity affect mood and cognition. We focus on how the immune system interacts with the brain in depression, manic-depression (bipolar disorder), and neurodegenerative diseases, such as multiple sclerosis to understand mechanisms that regulate the activity of signal transduction systems and how these are dysfunctional in psychiatric diseases.

Joyce Slingerland, MD, PhD

Joyce Slingerland, M.D., Ph.D.

Associate Director, Translational Research
Director, Braman Family Breast Cancer Institute
Professor, Medicine

Email: jslingerland@med.miami.edu

Dr. Slingerland’s research interests include breast cancer, molecular mechanisms of signal transduction and hormone effects on cell cycle regulation and breast cancer cell growth, breast cancer stem cells as targets for therapy, and the role of estrogen receptors in breast cancer.

Feng-Chun Yang, PhD

Feng-Chun Yang, Ph.D.

Primary Appointment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Email: fxy37@med.miami.edu

The role of ASXL1 and NF1 in the pathogenesis of myeloid malignancies.
The role of ASXL2 mutations in the pathogenesis of myeloid malignancies.
To identify novel therapeutic targets and to develop rational therapies to treat myeloid malignancies.