Key Opinion Leaders

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Cheminformatics
Nanomedicines
ML/AI

Hao Zhu, PhD

Expertise
Dr. Zhu is a Professor of Biomedical Informatics and Genomics at the Tulane University Medical School. His major research interest is to use cheminformatics tools to develop predictive models to predict the chemical efficacy and toxicity of drugs based on the public big data and molecular structure information. His current research interests also include data-driven modeling, artificial intelligence algorithm development and computer-aided nanomedicine design.
PubMed
Bioinformatics
Osteoporosis
ML/AI

Hong-Wen Deng, PhD

Expertise
As Director of the Tulane School of Medicine Center for Biomedical Informatics & GenomicsDr. Hong-Wen Deng is a researcher/educator with extensive multi-/inter-disciplinary expertise in biostatistics and bioinformatics methodology research, big data, genomics, transcriptomics, epigenomics, proteomics, genetic epidemiology, complex traits and diseases (especially osteoporosis, sarcopenia, and obesity), system biology, endocrinology, bone biology and recently metabolomics and metagenomics. Dr. Deng’s work is published in nearly 600 peer-reviewed publications including journals such as Nature, New England Journal of Medicine, American Journal of Human Genetics, Endocrine Review, Plos Genetics, Human Molecular Genetics, Molecular Psychiatry, Bioinformatics, and Molecular Cell Proteomics.
PubMed
Lymphatic dysfunction
Bioimaging
Computational analysis

Jorge Castorena-Gonzalez, PhD

Expertise
Dr. Jorge Castorena-Gonzalez, an Assistant Professor at Tulane University, is a leading researcher in lymphatic system function and dysfunction. With a strong foundation in physics and bioengineering, his work focuses on understanding how lymphatic system abnormalities contribute to diseases, utilizing advanced techniques like confocal microscopy and computational analysis. His research aims to uncover insights into lymphatic roles in cardiovascular health, obesity, and aging.
PubMed
Surgery
Anatomy
Clinical

Shane Tubbs, PhD

Expertise
Dr. R. Shane Tubbs is a clinical anatomist and practiced in pediatric neurosurgery at Children’s Hospital in Birmingham for 25 years. Dr. Tubbs’ research interests are centered around what his lab has termed “reverse translational anatomy research” where clinical/surgical problems are identified and addressed with anatomical studies. This investigative paradigm has resulted in over 1,500 peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Tubbs’ lab has made novel discoveries in human anatomy and many anatomical feasibility studies from his lab have been used by surgeons from around the world. He has been a visiting professor at major institutions in the U.S. and worldwide. Dr. Tubbs has authored/edited over 50 books including Gray’s Anatomy Review, Gray’s Clinical Photographic Dissector of the Human Body, Netter’s Introduction to Clinical Procedures, Anatomy for Plastic Surgery of the Face, Head, and Neck, Nerves and Nerve Injuries, A History of Human Anatomy, and Bergman’s Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Human Anatomic Variation. He is an editor for the 41st and 42nd editions of Gray’s Anatomy, the 5th through 7th editions of Netter’s Atlas of Human Anatomy and is the editor-in-chief of the journal Clinical Anatomy, which is the official journal of the American and British Associations of Clinical Anatomists. Dr. Tubbs was recently named chair of the Federative International Programme on Anatomical Terminologies.
PubMed
Sex Differences
Renal Physiology
Hypertension

Heddwen Brooks, PhD

Expertise
Research in Dr. Brooks' laboratory include work in sex differences physiology, integrating cross-disciplinary expertise in hypertension, diabetes, menopause and renal physiology, and examining the molecular signaling pathways involved in postmenopausal accelerated aging. Her more recent efforts focus on the role of inflammation, T cells and macrophages in hypertension onset and metabolic syndrome.
PubMed
Fibrosis
Gene Therapy
Pulmonary

Victor Thannickal, MD

Expertise
Dr. Thannickal’s research is focused on cellular and molecular mechanisms of lung repair and regeneration. Active studies in his research lab involve elucidating mechanisms of cellular senescence, oxidative stress, and aging in the context of chronic lung diseases, in concert with the development of therapeutics and biomarkers for complex lung diseases. The clinical impact of his work is evidenced by current and emerging anti-fibrotic therapies in pre-clinical/clinical development, including inhibitors of FAK/Akt, MRTF-A/ROCK, BRD4, and NOX4.
PubMed
Andrology
Male Reproduction
Urological Disorders

Suresh C. Sikka, PhD

Expertise
Dr. Sikka successfully developed andrology research programs focused on areas of male reproduction, ED, and PD. His current research interests center around understanding the role of oxidative stress and genitourinary inflammation related to such urological disorders, employing many technologically advanced cellular and molecular tools.
PubMed
Colorectal Surgery
Robotic Surgery

Jacquelyn Turner, MD

Expertise
Colorectal surgeon Dr. Turner is focused on leveraging technology to improve patient outcomes and medical education for trainees.
PubMed
Diabetes
Cardiovascular Disease
Gene Therapy

Vivian Fonseca, MD, FRCP

Expertise
Dr. Fonseca’s research interests include the prevention and treatment of diabetic complications and risk factor reduction in cardiovascular disease, particularly on the role of inflammation and other novel risk factors. He has a research program evaluating inflammation in diabetes and using technology to improve diabetes care in underprivileged populations, especially the use of a new diabetes risk engine in clinical practice.
PubMed
Immunology
Vaccine Development
Adjuvants

James McLachlan, PhD

Expertise
An expert in mucosal immunity, Dr. McLachlan is interested in how the body responds to antigens at the mucosa and ways to modify vaccines and develop adjuvants to ensure protection against mucosal infections, especially intracellular bacteria like Salmonella. He also studies sex-based differences.
PubMed
Liver Disease
Cancer Therapy
Autophagy

Xiao-Ming Yin, MD, PhD

Expertise
Yin’s research is focused on the molecular mechanisms of autophagy in tissue injury, cell death, and the translational aspect in tissue repair, and cancer therapy. He successfully launched a genomic medicine initiative using next-generation sequencing within the entire Indiana University Health System. His research projects have continuously been funded by NIH and other agencies.
PubMed
Lyme Disease
Microbiology
Immunology
Vector-Borne Diseases

Monica Embers, PhD

Expertise
An expert on Lyme disease pathogenesis, vaccines, and therapeutics and a member of federal Tick-Borne Disease Working Group, Dr. Embers is often sought out as one of the key national experts on Lyme disease, especially therapeutics to eradicate the bacterium which causes Lyme disease from the body, and persistent Lyme disease.
PubMed
Brain Injury
Neurological Care
Orthopaedics

Gregory Stewart, MD

Expertise
In addition to co-directing the Center for Sport, Dr. Stewart currently spends most of his time working with former professional athletes. As Medical Director of the Professional Athlete Care Team at Tulane University, he leads the NFL Benefits Neurological Care Program, NFL Player Care Foundation Healthy Body and Mind Screening Program, and the Trust (powered by the NFLPA) Brain and Body and Milestone Wellness Assessment programs.
PubMed
Thyroid Cancer
Breast Cancer
Systemic Lupus

Eman Toraih, MD, PhD

Expertise
Toraih’s work has shed light on the utility and benefits of new thyroid cancer biomarkers for active surveillance. She identified a prognostic molecular panel that accurately predicts the risk of tumor specimens developing aggressive behavior. Her findings assist clinicians in determining the frequency and modality of follow-up studies to better serve patients with thyroid cancer, with the goal of making a significant positive impact on thyroid cancer survival rates and reducing the aggregate cost of thyroid cancer treatment in the United States.
PubMed
Cardiovascular
Hypertension
Health Equity

Keith Ferdinand, MD

Expertise
Focuses largely on cardiac risk factor evaluation and control, especially hypertension and hyperlipidemia, including communities of racial and ethnic minorities. Expertise includes improving patient care and eliminating health disparities by race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or gender.
PubMed
Transposons
Genetics
Cancer
Evolution

Victoria Belancio, PhD

Expertise
Broadly recognized for her original contributions to understanding the impact of retrotransposons on genome stability and disease. Her primary research interests are focused on genetic instability and cellular responses associated with the activity of mammalian retroelements.
PubMed
Opioid Use Disorder
Analgesics

James Zadina, PhD

Expertise
Dr. Zadina’s research interests include the neurobiology of opioids and their role in alleviating pain and producing adverse effects, particularly opioid abuse. A current focus is on the development of novel, safer analgesics based on modifications (analogs) of naturally occurring opioids discovered in our laboratory (endomorphins). Our current generation of analogs has been shown in animal models to provide analgesia equal to or greater than morphine with substantial reduction or absence of several major side effects. Reduction of immunomodulatory effects appears to contribute to acceleration of recovery from chronic pain compared to morphine, which has been shown to delay recovery. Several studies have shown reduced or absent abuse liability relative to morphine and oxycodone, and the potential for treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD).
PubMed
Cardiovascular
Women's Health

Sarah Lindsey, PhD

Expertise
Sex is a major determinant for CV health, and Dr. Sarah Lindsey is an expert in the role of sex hormones like estrogen in maintaining vascular function.
PubMed
Sex-Based Medicine
Diabetes
Obesity

Franck Mauvais-Jarvis, MD, PhD

Expertise
Dr. Mauvais-Jarvis is known globally for his work in sex-based biological research and the role of sex hormones in diabetes, obesity, and COVID-19. He is the Director of Tulane's Center of Excellence in Sex-Based Biology & Medicine, where his expertise in basic research, translational approaches, and clinical studies come together with the goal of developing sex-based tools and therapies.
PubMed
Vaccine Development
Adjuvants
Microbiology

Lisa Morici, PhD

Expertise
An expert bacteriologist with an interest in vaccine development. Dr. Morici has developed a vaccine platform and adjuvant system (T-vant) with her long-time close collaborator Dr. McLachlan.
PubMed
Diabetes
Chronic Kidney Disease
Cardiovascular Disease

T. Cooper Woods, PhD

Expertise
Cooper Wood's research aims to elucidate the impact of co-morbidities such as Diabetes Mellitus and Chronic Kidney Disease on the progression of cardiovascular disease. The focus of this research is on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the increased intimal thickening seen in the diabetic population. These studies are currently examining how the presence of diabetes promotes the acceleration of vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration, two components of intimal thickening, through increases in specific microRNAs
PubMed
Nephrology
Hypertension

Robert S. Hoover, Jr. MD

Expertise
Section Chief of Nephrology and Hypertension Dr. Hoover is focused on dietary and lifestyle interventions that can improve hypertension and stave off kidney disease. He is also focused on medical education.
PubMed
Aerobiology
Model Systems
Microbiology
Select Agents

Chad Roy, PhD

Expertise
A career aerobiologist focused on respiratory health and the aerobiology of airborne infectious diseases; specifically, on gaining a better understanding of aerosol infection in the context of the development and application of preclinical disease models; including nonhuman primate models.
PubMed
Diagnostics
Nanomaterials

Tony Hu, PhD

Expertise
Dr. Hu's work focuses on the development of highly sensitive diagnostics for diseases like pediatric TB and assorted cancers. He is Tulane's Weatherhead Presidential Chain in Biotechnology Innovation, and a prolific scientist and inventor.
PubMed
Virology
Emerging Infectious Diseases
SARS-CoV-2

Robert Garry, PhD

Expertise
A leading expert in virology, and served as part of the team decoding the genome of the coronavirus to determine its origins and how it possibly evolved from bats and pangolins. Garry leads Tulane’s Center of Excellence in the Global Virus Network, an organization of leading medical virologists from 25 countries dedicated to fighting pandemic viral threats through collaborative research, training and advocacy.
PubMed
Pulmonary Infection
Microbiology
Immunology
Vaccine Development
CF

Jay Kolls, MD

Expertise
Physician-Scientist Dr. Kolls focuses his research on the immunobiology of lung diseases and infections. His special expertise is in lung fibrosis and the interplay between fibrotic disease and infection.
PubMed
Microbiology
Immunology
Allergy
Fungal Biology

Chad Steele, PhD

Expertise
Chair of Microbiology and Immunology Dr. Steele is an expert in fungal sensitization leading to asthma.
PubMed
Stroke
Neuroscience
Neurovascular Disease

Greg Bix, MD, PhD

Expertise
Cerebrovascular diseases like stroke are the major area of focus for Dr. Bix, Tulane's Vada Odom Reynolds Chair in Stroke Research and Director of the Clinical Neuroscience Research Center.
PubMed

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James Zanewicz, JD, LLM, RTTP

Chief Strategy Officer

Bio

James Zanewicz, JD, LLM, RTTP, (’95, Tulane Law) returned to Tulane in 2015 after establishing the open science functions for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Janelia Research Campus, one of the most innovative experiments in scientific research. His career also includes functioning as a chemist for Rhône-Poulenc Rorer, launching the “new media” division for the syndicated daily news show EXTRA, elevating knowledge transfer and corporate partnerships at the University of Illinois, and founding the Innovation and Engagement functions at the University of Louisville. With a career defined by creating new divisions that propel organizations forward, he could not pass up the chance do so for the institution (and in the city) that is always closest to his heart. As Chief Strategy Officer, he serves as the principal biotech business development strategist and connectivity officer to industry, venture capital and other external collaborators; as well as overseeing marketing & communications, working on change-oriented special projects, and crisis management. Currently on the executive committee of the AAIH Board and co-chair for BIO's technology transfer committee, his former service includes Chair of the Board of ATTP (the international organization for knowledge transfer professional accreditation), as well as the Boards of AUTM, NACRO and The BioJudiary Project. Seeing the world through the collaborative and forward-thinking lens of “What if we…”, he works closely with all other departments at Tulane to develop win-win endpoints and ensure an optimal enterprise experience.

Elaine Hamm, PhD

Executive in Residence

Bio

Elaine Hamm, PhD, is the CEO of the pharmaceutical accelerator, Ascend BioVentures where she manages early stage life science startups and evaluates the commercial potential of life science technologies, and as the Executive in Residence for the Tulane SoM she shares her expertise to elevate the connectivity between the Tulane and our corporate and investor community. Prior to joining Tulane and Ascend BioVentures, Dr. Hamm was the COO of Accele BioPharma and served as management for a portfolio of early stage pharmaceutical companies ranging from diabetes to hearing loss to infectious disease. Dr. Hamm has 13 years of professional leadership experience in the commercialization of early stage pharmaceutical therapeutics and diagnostics with experience in technology transfer, market analysis, and commercialization of preclinical and clinical stage products. She has designed and served as the Director for several, statewide start-up accelerator programs. Dr. Hamm also has experience in equity and nonequity funding of early stage companies and has been directly involved in closing almost $30M in equity investment deals, with a focus in the pharmaceutical industry and recently closed a $100M+ deal with a large pharmaceutical partner. In addition to her commercialization experience, Dr. Hamm has also worked a Senior Protein chemist in discovery and pre-clinical development of new chemical entities. Dr. Hamm received her PhD in Microbiology from the University of Oklahoma and holds several licensed US and International patents.

Carolyn Scofield, MPS

Asst. Director, Marketing & Communications

Bio

Carolyn Scofield, MPS, (’21, Tulane School of Professional Advancement) joined Tulane University in 2015 after more than 14 years as a television news reporter. Her initial role in public relations often brought her to the School of Medicine to cover stories about groundbreaking research and connect media with leading experts. As the Assistant Director for Marketing and Communications at the School of Medicine, Carolyn is continuing that work overseeing the team that reports on research and expertise and ensures that departments, programs and people share their discoveries and solutions with the world. She has a special talent for bringing science to life through a variety of media and ensuing that everyone (from business development executives to the general public) can understand what the latest groundbreaking research at Tulane could mean for them. Carolyn has a master’s degree in emergency management, a field that studies everything from natural disasters to reputational crises. She has an extensive background in television and radio broadcasting, journalism and social media.

Nicholas Pashos, PhD

Entrepreneur in Residence

Bio

Nicholas Pashos, PhD, Founder and CEO at BioAesthetics is the Entrepreneur in Residence, Advising Faculty, Staff and Students on how to best achieve their Entrepreneurial goals.

Alexis Ducote, PhD

Business Development Associate

Bio

Alexis Ducote, PhD, joins the Business Development team from the lab of the SoM's own Ricardo Mostany, PhD.

Eric Malamud

Business Development Fellow

Bio

Havland Alexander

Business Development Intern

Bio

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Is it urgent? Call us:

James Zanewicz (+1 504.919.3800),

Alexis Ducote (+1 337.540.4025),

Carolyn Scofield (+1 504.881.4542).