Health

Frank A von Hippel

Professor, Public Health
Professor, Clinical Translational Sciences
Member of the General Faculty
Member of the Graduate Faculty
Primary Department
Department Affiliations
Contact
(520) 621-8447

Work Summary

I conduct research at the nexus of ecotoxicology, mechanisms of toxicity, and health disparities. I study wildlife and laboratory animals as models for human exposure and disease, as well as to solve problems in conservation biology. I am especially interested in health disparities experienced by vulnerable populations and I employ a Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) approach. I integrate a variety of methods to establish routes of exposure and mechanisms of developmental disruption ranging from the genome to the whole organism and its environment.

Research Interest

Frank von Hippel, Ph.D., is a professor of environmental health sciences in the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health and the lead of the college's One Health Research Initiative. He conducts research at the nexus of ecotoxicology, mechanisms of toxicity, and health disparities. He uses locally occurring wildlife and laboratory animals as models for human exposure and disease. He is especially interested in health disparities experienced by vulnerable populations, and he employs a community-engaged approach. Examples of current projects include investigations of endocrine disruption and disease in Yupik people due to exposure to persistent organic pollutants originating from Cold War military installations in the Arctic and health effects associated with pesticide and perchlorate exposure in migrant Mexican farmworkers on the U.S. border. His lab integrates a variety of approaches to establish routes of exposure and mechanisms of developmental disruption ranging from the genome to the whole organism and its environment. From 2015-2018 he served as Associate Editor of the Elsevier journal Environmental Pollution, where he now serves on the editorial board. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Science Communication Network (http://sciencecommunicationnetwork.org/), which brings media attention to environmental health. He is also the creator and host of the Science History Podcast (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/science-history-podcast/id1325288920) and the author of The Chemical Age, published by the University of Chicago Press in 2020.

Shu Fen Wung

Professor, Nursing
Associate Professor, BIO5 Institute
Member of the Graduate Faculty
Primary Department
Department Affiliations
Contact
(520) 626-4305

Work Summary

Dr. Wung is an Associate Professor in the College of Nursing and an acute care nurse practitioner. She has more than 20 years of clinical research experience in the effective and safe use of health technologies and big data to provide precision monitoring strategies for cardiovascular and acute illnesses.

Research Interest

Dr. Wung's areas of expertise include: 1. Precision Physiological Monitoring of Cardiac Ischemia and Arrhythmia, including myocardial infarction, acquired long QT syndrome, life-threatening arrhythmia, and atrial fibrillation. 2. Appropriate and Safe Use of Medical Technology (Human Factors) To Improve Work Environment and Patient Safety. These efforts include evidence-based interventions for false alarms to decrease alarm fatigue, human-technology interface simulation, and usability testing of medical monitoring technologies. 3. Determine Risk and Protective Genetic Factors that Influence Symptoms and Outcomes of Cardiovascular Conditions 4. Use Big Data to Predict Patient Deterioration During Acute Illness

Sriram Iyengar

Associate Professor, Research Scholar Track - Internal Medicine
Director, Clinical Outcomes Research
Associate Professor, BIO5 Institute
Primary Department
Contact
(602) 827-2002

Research Interest

Much of my research work has been focused on improving community health and addressing health inequity, in global and US contexts by technology mediated tools including mHealth on smart phones. In 2009 I was the recipient of a global award from Microsoft Research to develop and test media-rich smartphone systems to improve the performance of community health workers in Colombia that resulted in statistically significant improvements in errors and protocol adherence. More recent work has included research in the use of such tools to increase health literacy, self-efficacy and self-management, among veterans with Congestive Heart Failure in the Pittsburgh area, and Diabetics (Type II) in rural Louisiana. A related area of research concerns health behavior change. Here, my work is in the vibrant emerging discipline of Persuasive Technology that is concerned with designing technologies, especially information and communications technologies, for health promotion and development of behavioral interventions. As smart and connected health systems continue to play an increasing part in everyone’s lives, especially younger people, such research will grow in importance. In addition, I am especially qualified in the important area of healthcare analytics, including biostatistics and data science, due to a unique combination of training, experience, and scientific interests. My education is interdisciplinary and includes Computer Science (PhD), Statistics (MS), Electrical Engineering (MSc), and 8+ years of experience as statistical consultant in the College of Medicine, The Ohio State University.

Purnima Madhivanan

Associate Professor, Public Health
Associate Professor, Medicine
Associate Professor, Family and Community Medicine
Associate Professor, Psychology
Director, Global Health and MCH Programs
Member of the Graduate Faculty
Associate Professor, BIO5 Institute
Primary Department
Department Affiliations
Contact
(520) 626-6317

Work Summary

Purnima Madhivanan is an epidemiologist and biomedical researcher examining the intersection of infectious diseases and cancer using -omics technology. Her current work is examining the vaginal and gut microbiome and their role in women's reproductive health. She has conducted several large mixed methods epidemiological studies in the US and internationally.

Research Interest

Purnima Madhivanan, MBBS, MPH, PhD, is an Associate Professor with Tenure in the Department of Health Promotion Sciences at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health at the University of Arizona. Dr. Madhivanan holds a joint appointment in the College of Medicine, and is a member of the UA Cancer Center. She is the Director of the Global Health Training Program at University of Arizona and serves as a co-PI for the GHES consortium in collaboration with Stanford, Yale and University of California, Berkeley. She is also the Founding Director of Public Health Research Institute of India and the Medical Director of Prerana Women's Health initiative in India. For the last 20 years, her research has focussed on disadvantaged populations, elucidating the dynamics of poverty, gender and the social & environmental determinants of health, in particular the impact on women and children living in rural communities. Her current research focusses on the intersection of infectious diseases and cancer. Dr. Madhivanan serves as an advisor to a number of state departments of Public Health, non-profit as well as governmental research organizations. In 2007, she received the prestigious International Leadership Award from the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation for her work on HIV prevention. Dr. Madhivanan’s global health research credentials and clinical service has brought unique opportunities for collaborations; most recently benefiting students and faculty interested in learning about Global Health and service in a developing world setting.

Nancy C Horton

Professor
Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry - Med
Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry-Sci
Professor, Genetics - GIDP
Member of the Graduate Faculty
Professor, BIO5 Institute
Primary Department
Contact
(520) 626-3828

Work Summary

The Horton lab uses biophysical, biochemical, and molecular biology to study protein-DNA interactions and filament formation by enzymes. Current projects include the investigation of mechanisms of disease caused by the Human Parvovirus B19, and advantages of filament formation by enzymes such as the sequence specific DNA endonuclease SgrAI, and the important metabolic enzyme PFK.

Research Interest

The Horton lab uses a variety of biochemical and biophysical methods to investigate DNA binding proteins. Recent projects include the discovery of a novel mechanism of regulation of enzyme activity using filamentation. Filamentation, or self-association into polymers of varied lengths, by enzymes has only recently been appreciated as a widespread phenomenon, although the purpose of filamentation is not known in most cases. We discovered this phenomenon in 2010 in a sequence specific endonuclease, SgrAI, and have now determined its high resolution structure via cryo-electron microscopy. We have also performed a full kinetic analysis showing that filamentation greatly expedites the activation of the enzyme, and also allows for the sequestration of enzyme activity onto only a subset of available substrates. The other major project in the lab concerns the triggering of autoimmune diseases in genetically susceptible individuals. We study proteins from the human parvovirus B19, a virus which often precedes the development of autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune hepatitis, and lupus. We study how these proteins interact with cellular components to modulate the immune system into loss of self-tolerance.

Jianqin Lu

Assistant Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences
Member of the Graduate Faculty
Assistant Professor, BIO5 Institute
Primary Department
Contact
(520) 626-1786

Research Interest

Jianqin Lu, B.Pharm., PhD, Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Pharmaceutics and Pharmacokinetics, College of Pharmacy. The overarching goal of the Lu lab is to apply synthetic chemistry, nanoparticle engineering, and tumor immunology to develop efficacious nanotherapeutics to address the pressing unmet needs in current cancer therapy. Dr. Lu’s graduate research focused on developing functional nanocarriers for synergistic tumor targeted delivery of chemotherapeutics for improved anticancer efficacy and reduced side effects for treating breast, prostate, and cervical tumors. During his postdoctoral training, Dr. Lu developed a nano-enabled cancer immuno-therapeutics platform via instigating the immunogenic cell death (ICD) and inhibiting the immunosuppressive IDO metabolic immune checkpoint. Dr. Lu was the recipient of the Norman R. and Priscilla A. Farnsworth Award at University of Pittsburgh, and USHHS Ruth L. Kirschstein Institutional National Research Service Award in Tumor Immunology among others. Dr. Lu has published 26 research articles, 1 book chapter, and 4 patent applications as well as been the invited speaker in the prestigious 41st Controlled Released Society Annual Meeting & Exposition. Dr. Lu received a PhD degree in Pharmaceutics from University of Pittsburgh (2014), and completed Postdoctoral training at Department of Chemistry, The University of Chicago (2015), and in Nanomedicine/Tumor Immunology at California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA (2019), respectively. Lu Lab website: https://caoabgail.wixsite.com/jianqinlu

Xinxin Ding

Head, Pharmacology and Toxicology
Professor, Pharmacology and Toxicology
Professor, Cancer Biology - GIDP
Member of the Graduate Faculty
Professor, BIO5 Institute
Primary Department
Department Affiliations
Contact
(520) 626-9906

Work Summary

Xinxin Ding, PhD, department head, Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy—studies enzyme function, regulation and genetics as applied to translational research for drug safety and efficacy and genetic and environmental risks for chemical toxicity. Author of nearly 200 peer-reviewed papers, book chapters and articles, he serves as associate editor for “Drug Metabolism and Disposition” and “Acta Pharmaeutica Sinica B.” Grants from the National Cancer Institute and National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences of the National Institute of Health fund his work, in part. Former chair of the NIH XNDA study section (2016-2018), he currently chairs (2018-19) Drug Metabolism and Disposition Division of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics..

Research Interest

Xinxin Ding, PhD, department head, Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy—studies enzyme function, regulation and genetics as applied to translational research for drug safety and efficacy and genetic and environmental risks for chemical toxicity. Author of nearly 200 peer-reviewed papers, book chapters and articles, he serves as associate editor for “Drug Metabolism and Disposition” and “Acta Pharmaeutica Sinica B.” Grants from the National Cancer Institute and National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences of the National Institute of Health fund his work, in part. Former chair of the NIH XNDA study section (2016-2018), he currently chairs (2018-19) Drug Metabolism and Disposition Division of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics..

Gerald M Maggiora

Adjunct Professor, Pharmacology and Toxicology
Primary Department
Department Affiliations
Contact
(520) 626-5905

Research Interest

Dr. Gerald (‘Gerry’) Maggiora, PhD, received a Bachelor of Science in chemistry and a PhD in biophysics from the University of California, Davis. He has more than 20 years experience in academia as a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Kansas, as well as five years as a professor in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Arizona. He has a comparable amount of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, where he served as the Director of Computer-Aided Drug Discovery for three different companies. His early work spanned numerous fields related to the development of quantum mechanical and molecular mechanics methods and their application to problems of mechanistic organic chemistry, vision, photosynthetic energy conversion, and the structural chemistry of drugs, biomolecules, and proteins. After joining the pharma industry, he directed his efforts towards the development and application of similarity and diversity methods and the analysis of biologically relevant chemical space to drug research. His recent work expands the concept of chemical space to include activity landscapes, which extend chemical spaces by including data on the activity of compounds in these spaces. This led to the notion of activity cliffs, which arise when two similar compounds exhibit significantly different activities, a phenomenon that runs counter to the well-known ‘Similarity-Property Principle’ that similar compounds tend to exhibit similar properties. Although relatively rare, activity cliffs provide significant information on structure-activity relationships that lie at the heart of drug design. He has also developed network-based representations of chemical space that circumvent many of the issues associated with the representation of these very high-dimensional spaces. He is currently continuing his work in this area. In recognition of his work in chemical informatics he received 2008 Herman Skolnik Award in Chemical Informatics presented by the Division of Chemical Information of the American Chemical Society.

Daniela C Zarnescu

Professor, Cellular and Molecular Medicine
Professor, Neuroscience
Professor, Applied BioSciences - GIDP
Professor, Neurology
Professor, Genetics - GIDP
Professor, Molecular and Cellular Biology
Professor, Neuroscience - GIDP
Member of the Graduate Faculty
Professor, BIO5 Institute
Primary Department
Contact
(520) 626-1478

Work Summary

We are working to uncover the molecular mechanisms of aging and neurodegenerative diseases using a combination of genetic, computational and pharmacological tools, and a diverse array of experimental models. We also seek to develop therapies for ALS and related neurodegenerative diseases.

Research Interest

Fragile-X syndrome, which includes mental and physical defects and is the most common form of inherited mental retardation. Keywords: Neurodegeneration, ALS, Aging

Jeong-Yeol Yoon

Professor, Biomedical Engineering
Professor, Agricultural-Biosystems Engineering
Professor, Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences
Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry-Sci
Professor, BIO5 Institute
Member of the General Faculty
Member of the Graduate Faculty
Primary Department
Department Affiliations
Contact
(520) 621-3587

Research Interest

Jeong-Yeol Yoon, PhD, is Associate Professor in Department of Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering, with joint appointment in Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Arizona. Dr. Yoon obtained his first PhD degree in Chemical Engineering from Yonsei University, South Korea, and his second PhD in Biomedical Engineering from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Dr. Yoon’s research is focused on the design and the development of micro- and nanotechnology-based biosensors, which can be applied to medical diagnostics, veterinary diagnostics, food safety and environmental monitoring. He is equally interested in designing better biomaterial surfaces with micro- and nanotechnology, which can be used for medical implants and tissue engineering applications.Dr. Yoon has published over 50 original peer-reviewed journal articles and authored a textbook “Introduction to Biosensors” published by Springer. He serves as associate editor or editorial board member for several journals, including Journal of Biological Engineering, Biological Engineering Transactions, and Resource Magazine.