Curricula Vitae in Drug Discovery & Biomed Sci.

Name	Personal Focus	Summary
Dr. Eugenia Broude, PhD Professor		Our laboratory studies the effects of anticancer drugs and ionizing radiation on the mammalian cell cycle, including the role of cell cycle checkpoints in tumor cell susceptibility to treatment and damage-induced perturbations of the cell cycle, especially mitosis.
Dr. Phillip Joe Buckhaults Professor	Cancer Research	Dr. Buckhaults is an experienced molecular biologist and cancer geneticists with extensive experience with next-gen sequencing applications for global gene expression analysis and gene mutation detection.
Nageswara Rao Chintada Research Assistant Professor	Potential role of natural products-based drugs in cancer research, Development of natural/unnatural small molecules targeting neurodegenerative diseases, Medicinal chemistry	Chintada Nageswara Rao, Ph.D., joined in the Department of Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences, University of South Carolina as a Research Assistant Professor in May 2022. Dr. Rao has more than 18 years of experience in the field of synthetic organic chemistry.
Dr. Alexander A Chumanevich Research Assistant Professor		Dr. Alexander A Chumanevich is Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Drug Discovery & Biomed Sci., College of Pharmacy.
Jing Fang Associate Professor	Pharmacy, Hematopoiesis	Jing Fang is and Assistant Professor for the College of Pharmacy, University of South Carolina.
Dr. T. Chase Francis Assistant Professor	refining brain stimulation protocols, develop novel and targeted drug therapeutics to treat emotion-related psychiatric disorders	Chase Francis, Ph.D., joined the Department of Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences at the College of Pharmacy in 2022 as an assistant professor of pharmacology. His research career began at Appalachian State University where he graduated with honors and summa cum laude with degrees in biology and psychology studying the effects of audiogenic seizures on emotional states in rats under the mentorship of Dr. Mark Zrull.
Dr. Lorne John Hofseth Professor		Currently there are two goals in my lab. We aim to better understand the mechanisms of inflammatory-mediated carcinogenesis through the identification of key cancer proteins and pathways dysregulated by free-radicals. This is done at multiple levels (cell culture, animal models of inflammation and analysis of chronically inflamed human tissues). Second, we aim to translate this into chemopreventive strategies to decrease the cancer burden in patients with these 'oxyradical overload diseases"
Professor Hippokratis Kiaris Professor	Mouse models of cancer, Microenvironment	Our laboratory is interested on how context specificity affects the kinetic profile, the morphology and the properties of malignant tumors. This context specificity primarily refers to the effects of the stromal microenvironment in the cancer cells as well as to how the differentiation state of a given cell affects its sensitivity to oncogenic transformation. For our study we use extensively transgenic and mutant mice.
Juan Leon Oyola Assistant Professor	evaluation of extracts/fractions/pure compounds for their ability to interact with different targets, opioid and cannabinoid receptors with the goal of identifying new agents for pain treatment, opioid and cannabinoid receptors with the goal of identifying new agents for neurological disorders	Dr. León received his degree in Chemistry from National University of Colombia, Bogota, Colombia. He obtained his doctoral degree in organic chemistry at La Laguna University, Tenerife, Spain. Afterwards, he held several positions at European University of Madrid, Spanish National Research Council and University of Mississippi. Most recently, he was a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Florida.
Yangmei Li Assistant Professor	design and synthesis of novel chemical compounds for use in biological systems, exploring potential therapeutic applications of the compounds for the treatment of drug abuse, etc, develop safer & more potent pain modulator without undesired side effects (respiratory despression)	Li's research focuses on the design and synthesis of novel chemical compounds for use in biological systems. She is exploring the potential therapeutic applications of the compounds for the treatment of drug abuse, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and infectious diseases.
Dr. Sajish Mathew Assistant Professor	Significance of NAD+ Metabolism and Signaling in the Maintenance of Cellular Homeostasis, understand and to explore the potential of NAD+ metabolism and signaling	Sajish Mathew, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Drug Discovery & Biomedical Sciences (DDBS), College of Pharmacy.
Dr. Campbell McInnes, PhD Professor	medicinal chemistry, cancer research, drug discovery	The McInnes laboratory at the University of South Carolina, Department of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences is engaged in the development of novel anti-cancer drugs based on inhibition of protein kinases involved in regulation of the cell cycle.
Vladislav Mogila Visiting Assistant Professor		Vladislav Mogila is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Drug Discovery & Biomed Sci., College of Pharmacy.
Dr. Douglas Pittman Associate Professor	Genetics, Cancer, DNA repair	Research in our laboratory focuses on the maintenance of chromosome stability by homologous recombination (HR) DNA repair mechanisms. Accumulation of chromosome rearrangements is often observed during cancer progression, and using the laboratory mouse as a model system, we are studying mutations in HR genes.
Professor Alessandra Porcu Assistant Professor	study the role of neuroplasticity and circadian rhythm in regulating brain functions and behaviors	Dr. Porcu received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree at University of Cagliari, Italy. She then received her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from University of Cagliari and University of Basel, Switzerland. She performed her postdoctoral research training in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California San Diego. In 2020, Dr. Porcu received the K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award from the NIH-NCCIH to study the effect of light on amygdala plasticity and emotion-related behaviors.
Dr. Igor Roninson Professor	Pharmacy	Our laboratory studies the molecular and cellular effects of cancer chemotherapy,including the determinants of drug sensitivity, drug resistance, and side effects of DNA-damaging drugs. Our principal current emphasis is on damage-induced paracrine activities that influence the outcome of therapy, tumor growth and metastasis. These paracrine effects are consequential to transcriptional changes that are induced by DNA damage and also those cells that become senescent as a result of damage/aging.
Gary Paul Schools, PhD Research Associate Professor	expression of protein markers in and around tumors, interaction between Cyclin Dependent Kinase 8 and Cyclin C in cancer cells under oxidative stress	Gary Schools, Ph.D., has research experience in the mechanisms of cell adhesion, gene expression induced by oxidative stress, characterization of glial cells in the developing rodent brain, and the cell and molecular biology of cancer cells. He has directed Microscopy Cores at two institutions and worked for a major research microscope manufacturer. For fun outside of work, Schools enjoys mountain biking, skiing, kayaking, trail building, and photography.
Dr. Michael Shtutman Associate Professor	Pharmacy	Shtutman was recently selected to be part of a project that is known for biomedical excellence. The goal of the program is to stimulate interest in the application of genomics and bioinformatics methods by supporting research and student training, which supports INBRE’s overall goal to increase National Institutes of Health (NIH) research capacity of South Carolina.
Dr. Vitali Sikirzhytski Research Assistant Professor		Dr. Vitali Sikirzhytski earned his Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from University at Albany - State University of New York in 2011. He earned his M.S. in Biophysics from Belaruski Dziarzhauny Universitet in 2000.
Dr. Michael Wyatt, PhD Professor	DNA repair, cancer chemotherapy	My research expertise focuses on how DNA repair contributes to the mechanism of action for chemotherapeutics that damage DNA. We uncover how DNA repair pathways work, how cancer chemotherapy damages DNA, and how DNA repair renders cancer cells sensitive or resistant to chemotherapeutic agents that damage DNA.
Dr. Peisheng Xu Professor	Biomaterial, Targeted drug and gene delivery, nanomedicine	The primary interests of our lab are design and synthesis of biomaterials, and exploring their biomedical applications. The long-term goals of our research are to develop cancer targeted nano-sized drug carrier to eradicate cancer and to design novel drug formulation to alleviate central nervous system (CNS) diseases.
Dr. Jun Zhu Professor	role of central dopaminergic pathways in brain function; specific focus on behavior related nicotine, Prefrontal microRNA expression and nicootine dependence	Dr. Zhu's research focuses on understanding the role of central dopaminergic pathways in brain function, with a specific focus on behavior related nicotine addiction. The long-term research goal is to understand molecular and neurobiological mechanisms of behavior related individual differences in vulnerability to drug abuse.