Dr. Melanie Ott / PhD 1997 Senior Investigator, Gladstone Institute for Virology and Immunology

Dr. Melanie Ott earned an MD from the University of Frankfurt/Main, Germany, and a PhD in Molecular Medicine from the Picower Graduate School in 1997. After receiving her PhD, Dr. Ott started her own research group at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, Germany. In 1999 and 2000, Dr. Ott was honored with the Young Researcher Award at the European Conference on Experimental AIDS Research. In 2002, Dr. Ott joined Gladstone Institute for Virology and Immunology in San Francisco as a Visiting Investigator, and later became a Staff Research Investigator and then a Senior Investigator. In 2006, she won the Hellman Award, established by F. Warren Hellman at UCSF to support the research of promising assistant professors with the capacity for great distinction in their research. She is also a recipient of the Chancellor’s Award for Public Service with UCSF for her work as founder and co-chair of the student-outreach committee at Gladstone. Dr. Ott serves as a permanent member of the AIDS Molecular Cellular Biology study section at the National Institutes of Health and is a member of scientific advisory boards of several scientific institutions, including the Pette Institute of Virology and the Helmholtz organization in Germany.

Research Interests: Dr. Ott’s research focuses on two pathogens, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) and hepatitis C virus (HCV), and how they interact with cells in a host. She studies the molecular mechanisms by which HIV infects and replicates in CD4 T cells, and how it wreaks havoc on part of the body’s immune system. In HCV research, Dr. Ott is examining ways by which HCV viral particles assemble within liver cells, in an attempt to understand the interactions between viral proteins, fat metabolism, and mitochondria in these infected cells.

Dr. Marina Bianchi / PhD 1997 Research Fellow, Laboratory for Mother and Child Health Department of Public Health Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche “Mario Negri Milan, Italy

Marina Bianchi obtained an MD degree from the University of Milan, Italy, and a PhD in Molecular Medicine from the Picower Graduate School in 1997. As part of her graduate work, Dr. Bianchi discovered a new compound, CNI-1493, that exerts potent anti-inflammatory activity as a result of its ability to inhibit macrophage activation. The efficacy of CNI-1493 has since then been studied in numerous animal models of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Dr. Bianchi returned to Italy in 2000 to take a position as Research Scientist at the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research in Milan. She is currently a member of the Laboratory for Mother and Child Health, Department of Public Health at the Mario Negri Institute where she studies pediatric chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases from an epidemiological perspective.

Research Interests: Dr. Bianchi’s current research focuses on childhood chronic diseases, including asthma and celiac disease, and associated co-morbidities. Studies include identifying risk factors and biomarkers of childhood asthma, evaluating the appropriateness of therapy and disease management in childhood asthma, determining the correlation between appropriate ambulatory care and hospitalization for asthma in asthmatic children, and identifying the burden, causes and consequences of non-adherence to guidelines and development of strategies and interventions to enhance patient care.

Dr. Ulrich Mahlknecht / PhD 1999 Head of the Department of Hematology/Oncology at St. Lukas Klinik in Solingen, Germany

Dr. Ulrich Mahlknecht received his medical doctorate from the University of Tübingen in 1995 and did postgraduate medical training in internal medicine at the University of Freiburg in Freiburg in

Breisgau. Dr. Mahlknecht earned a PhD in Molecular Medicine from the Picower Graduate School in 1999. After receiving his PhD, Dr. Mahlknecht completed specialist training in internal medicine and hematology/oncology at the Goethe University Frankfurt in Frankfurt am Main, where he became an Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine. From 2004 until 2007 he was an Associate Professor at the University Hospital Heidelberg where he headed the Acute Leukemias and Myelodysplastic Syndromes Task Force. In 2007 Dr. Mahlknecht became a Professor of Medicine at the Saarland University, where he currently heads the Division of Immunotherapy and Gene Therapy within the Department of Internal Medicine. Dr. Mahlknecht is president of the Clinical Epigenetics Society (CLEPSO), a non-for-profit international organization, which supports basic, translational and clinical research within the field of epigenetics. In 2009 Dr. Mahlknecht founded and became editor-in-chief of the Clinical Epigenetics journal. Since 2012 Dr. Mahlknecht has served as Head of the Department of Hematology/Oncology at the St. Lukas Klinik in Solingen, Germany.

Research Interests: Clinical Epigenetics, Hematology/Oncology and Gastrontereology, Nutritional Medicine

Dr. Minghuang Zhang / PhD 1999 Founder and CEO, Therapeuticure Inc. Tianjin, China

Dr. Minghuang Zhang earned an MD from the Union Medical College in China, and a PhD in Molecular Medicine from the Picower Graduate School in 1999. After receiving his PhD, Dr. Zhang joined pharmaceutical companies Eisai and Nova Nordisk from 2000-2010, and founded TherapeutiCure Inc. in Tianjin, China in 2010. Dr. Zhang is currently serving in the TherapeutiCure Inc. as the President and CEO

Research Interests: Inflammation and Cancer Therapeutics

Dr. Giovanni Franchin / PhD 1999 Chief of Rheumatology and Associate Program Director in Medicine, Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center and Assistant Investigator, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research

Dr. Giovanni Franchin earned an MD from Brazil Triangulo Mineiro School of Medicine, Brazil in 1993, an MSc in Immunology/Parasitology from Federal University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1996 and a PhD from The Picower Graduate School of Molecular Medicine in 1999. After receiving his PhD, Dr. Franchin completed a Residency in Internal Medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine – Montefiore Division and a Fellowship in Rheumatology at Columbia University. Dr. Franchin is board certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology and is a member of the American College of Rheumatology and the American Medical Association. Dr. Franchin is currently Chief of Rheumatology and Associate Program Director in Medicine, Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center, Attending Physician at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital and Montefiore Medical Center and Assistant Investigator, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research.

Research Interests: Rheumatologic Diseases, Clinical Trials for Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis

Dr. Günter Fingerle-Rowson / PhD 2002 Associate Group Medical Director Hoffmann LaRoche, Basel, Switzerland

Dr. Günter Fingerle-Rowson earned an MD from the Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany, in 1993 and a PhD in Molecular Medicine from the Picower Graduate School in 2002. After receiving his PhD, Dr. Fingerle-Rowson completed training as physician in hematology/oncology and internal medicine at the Universities of Munich and Cologne, Germany. Dr. Fingerle-Rowson then worked as adjunct professor in hematology/oncology at Cologne University from 2006-2008. In addition to his clinical appointments, Dr. Fingerle-Rowson headed the

laboratory of tumor biology at the Clinic I of Internal Medicine of University Hospital Cologne from 2004 – 2010, and was an active member of the German CLL Study Group (GCLLSG). In 2008, Dr. Fingerle-Rowson joined the pharmaceutical company Janssen, Neuss, Germany, as Medical Manager in the department of Medical Affairs and in 2011, F. Hoffmann-LaRoche, Basel, Switzerland, as Medical Director in Clinical Development. At present, Dr. Fingerle-Rowson works as Associate Group Medical Director in Clinical Development at Roche and leads the development of Obinutuzumab (Gazyva) in B cell malignancies. During his leadership, worldwide approvals for Obinutuzumab in frontline treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL-11 Ph3 trial) and rituximab-refractory indolent Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) (Gadolin Ph3 trial) were achieved and Obinutuzumab is being developed in innovative combinations for the treatment of B cell malignancies and immunological diseases.

Research Interests: Tumor immunology and biology, Clinical development of novel drugs in the field of B cell malignancies

Dr. Maowen Hu / PhD 2002 Radiologist, UCSF Medical Center, Kaiser Hospital, North Valley, CA

Dr. Maowen Hu earned an MD from Shandong University, China in 1991, an MSc in Pharmacology from Shandong University in 1994, an MSc in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Rhode Island in 1999, and a PhD in Molecular Medicine from the Picower Graduate School in 2002. From 2002-2007, Dr. Hu was a Research Fellow/Scientist in the Department of Surgery, North Shore-LIJ Health System, New York. After receiving her PhD, Dr. Hu joined Feinstein Research Institute for Medical research, focusing on acute lung injury. Then she completed the radiology residency at Mount Sinai Medical Center Miami, and the women’s imaging fellowship at University of California San Francisco. Dr. Hu is currently a diagnostic radiologist working in the North Valley Kaiser Permanente Medical Group California. She specializes in mammography and breast procedures.

Research Interests: Radiology, Breast Imaging, Ultrasound

Dr. Jianlin Xie / PhD 2002 Assistant (Clinical) Professor, Mount Sinai School of Medicine; Attending Physician & Director, Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Flushing Queens

Dr. Jianlin Xie graduated from Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University in China in 1989, and pursued a master’s degree in Gastroenterology and Hepatology in Shanghai Second Medical University, graduating in 1992. He was an attending physician in GI division in Shanghai Ruijin Hospital for 3 years. Dr. Xie earned his PhD in Molecular Medicine from the Picower Graduate School in 2002. Upon finishing his residency training in Internal Medicine at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in 2005, Dr. Xie started his GI Fellowship initially at University of Chicago in 2005, and then completed his GI Fellowship training in 2008 at The Mount Sinai Medical Center. He was an attending physician and the Director of GI and Hepatology Clinic at Elmhurst Hospital, as well as an Assistant Professor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Dr. Xie established a Gastroenterology & Hepatology practice in 2011 and currently is a GI attending physician in several hospitals in Queens, NY.

Research Interests: Colorectal Cancer Screening and Prevention, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Chronic Hepatitis C and B Management

Dr. Max Brenner / PhD 2006 Assistant Professor, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell; Assistant Investigator, The Feinstein Institute; Director of Drug Discovery, TheraSource LLC, Manhasset, NY

Dr. Max Brenner earned an MD from the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (Porto Alegre, Brazil) in 1996, completed residency training in Internal Medicine (1998), was chief-resident for one year (1999), and completed a fellowship in Rheumatology (2001) at the Hospital de Clinicas de

Porto Alegre (Brazil). In 2006, Dr. Brenner earned a PhD in Molecular Medicine from the Elmezzi Graduate School. After receiving his PhD, Dr. Brenner received postdoctoral training with Percio S. Gulko, MD, at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research. Between 2011 and 2013, Dr. Brenner was an Assistant Investigator in Dr. Gulko’s Laboratory of Experimental Rheumatology. In 2011, he became Assistant Professor at the Zucker School of Medicine and in 2013 he became Assistant Investigator at the Center for Translational Medicine (now Center for Immunology and Inflammation). In 2013, Dr. Brenner also joined TheraSource LLC (Manhasset, NY), as Senior Research Scientist, and was then promoted first to Principal Scientist, and then Director of Drug Discovery.

Research Interests: Dr. Brenner’s main research goal is to discover and develop better treatments for patients with autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The core focus is on developing better therapeutic agents towards their clinical use by thorough testing in preclinical models of human diseases, determining their pharmacokinetic properties, and investigating their safety profiles. Dr. Brenner is particularly involved in developing novel therapeutic agents for rheumatoid arthritis, acute kidney injury, acute radiation injury, sepsis, and hemorrhagic shock.

Dr. Mauricio Rosas-Ballina / PhD 2008 Sr. Post-doctoral Fellow University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland

Dr. Mauricio Rosas-Ballina earned an MD from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in 2000, and an MSc degree in Experimental Biology from the same institution in 2003. Dr. Rosas-Balina received a PhD in Molecular Medicine from the Elmezzi Graduate School in 2008, where his thesis work focused on the elucidating the mechanisms by which the vagus nerve modulates systemic and local inflammation. After a short post-doctoral fellowship in Dr. Tracey’s lab, and with support of a Human Frontiers Science Program fellowship, Dr. Rosas-Balina moved to the laboratory of Prof. Dirk Bumann at the University of Basel where he is currently studying immune cell metabolism during sepsis.

Research Interests: Health and disease occur in a highly integrated physiological system: the whole human body. Dr. Rosas-Ballina’s research interests are centered on understanding inflammation from a system-wide point of view. His ultimate goal is to find cures against inflammatory diseases through a better understanding of how the nervous system and immune cell metabolism determine disease progression.

Dr. Yael Tobi Harris / PhD 2009 Chief, Division of Endocrinology, Northwell Health

Dr. Yael Tobi Harris earned an MD from NYU School of Medicine in 2002, and completed a residency in Internal Medicine at Long Island Jewish Medical Center. She earned a PhD in Molecular Medicine from the Elmezzi Graduate School in 2009, in conjunction with a clinical fellowship in Endocrinology at North Shore-LIJ, which she completed the following year. Dr. Harris then joined the Endocrine faculty at Northwell Health, where she now serves as Chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism.

Research Interests: Medical Management of Obesity, Diabetes and Breast Cancer, Medication Adherence in Type 2 Diabetes and the Prevention Diabetes Complications

Dr. Michael McGraw Yeboah / PhD 2009 Assistant Professor, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI

Dr. Michael McGraw Yeboah earned his Medical Degree from the University of Ghana Medical School, Accra, Ghana in 1997, and a PhD in Molecular Medicine from the Elmezzi Graduate School in 2009. After receiving his PhD, Dr. Yeboah undertook Nephrology Fellowship training at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School. Dr. Yeboah is board certified in Nephrology. Dr. Yeboah is currently an Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Nephrology at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI. In 2015, Dr. Yeboah was awarded the Jacob Lemann Jr., MD Clinical Scientist Award.

Research Interests: Dr. Yeboah’s research focuses on the cellular, molecular, and physiologic mechanisms of Chronic Kidney Disease. The long-term goal is to help to develop therapeutic agents to prevent the progression of Chronic Kidney Disease.

Dr. Chris Chengke Tang / PhD 2009 Assistant Investigator, Center for Neurosciences, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research

Dr. Chris Chengke Tang graduated with an MD from Beijing Medical University, China, in 1995 and earned a PhD from the Elmezzi Graduate School of Molecular Medicine in 2009. In his PhD thesis study, Dr. Tang investigated brain imaging biomarkers for the assessment of disease progression in Huntington’s disease (HD) and discovered an abnormal brain network that is specifically related to the progression of HD during the preclinical period. His research has focused on studying abnormal metabolic brain networks related to motor and cognitive symptoms in Parkinson’s disease (PD), Huntington’s disease, and other neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Tang is currently an Assistant Investigator in the Center for Neurosciences. His current research interests include 1) Imaging biomarkers of disease progression and treatment effects for PD and HD; 2) Image-based early differential diagnosis of PD and parkinsonian disorders; and 3) Imaging biomarkers and treatment assessment for other neurological disorders. Dr. Tang’ work has led to first-author publications in prestigious journals, such as Lancet Neurology and Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Research Interests: Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, brain imaging biomarkers

Dr. Kiyokazu Koga / PhD 2010 Chief surgeon, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Fukuoka Wajiro Hospital, Higashiku, Fukuoka

Dr. Kiyokazu Koga earned an MD from the Saga Medial School in 2000, and a PhD in Molecular Medicine from the Elmezzi Graduate School in 2010. After receiving his PhD, Dr. Koga went back to Japan in 2011 and worked at Fukuoka Tokushukai Hospital and Sin Koga Hospital as a cardiovascular surgeon. Dr. Koga is a board certified specialist of The Japanese Board of

Cardiovascular Surgery. Dr. Koga is currently treating patients with heart valve disease, ischemic heart, adult congenital heart disease, aortic disease, peripheral arterial disease.

Research Interests: Inflammation during cardiac surgery, ischemia reperfusion injury, age related inflammation

Dr. Emil Nashi / PhD 2011 Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Experimental Medicine, McGill University

Biography

Dr. Emil Nashi earned an MD from University of Alberta, in 1998, and a PhD in Molecular Medicine from the Elmezzi Graduate School in 2011. After receiving his PhD, Dr. Nashi returned to Montreal where he is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Immunology at the McGill University Health Center.

Research Interests: B Cell Signaling, Autoimmunity

Dr. Daniel Griffin / PhD 2012 Clinical Instructor of Medicine Department of Medicine; Associate Research Scientist Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, NY, NY

Dr. Daniel Griffin earned an MD from New York University School of Medicine and a PhD in Molecular Medicine from the Elmezzi Graduate School in 2012. After receiving his PhD, Dr. Griffin completed a fellowship in Infectious Diseases at Northwell Health. Upon completion of his fellowship,

Dr. Griffin took a position at Columbia University where he currently works in the laboratory of the Howard Hughes funded retroviral researcher Stephen Goff and serves as a Clinical Instructor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases. In addition to his research efforts, Dr. Griffin does outpatient infectious disease precepting for Infectious Disease fellows one day per week and serves as teaching attending on the Infectious Disease Service 2 months per year. Dr. Griffin’s research currently focuses on HIV-1 restriction in human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells and on the growing issue of malignancy in the HIV-1 infected population. His clinical time is split between care for HIV infected patients and general infectious disease. He is one of the cohosts of the ASM supported podcast This Week in Parasitism and spends part of his time practicing tropical medicine in Africa, South America, India, Thailand and Cambodia.

Research Interests: HIV, HIV-associated malignancies, hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, tropical and parasitic diseases

Dr. Cletus Cheyuo / PhD 2012 Neurosurgery Resident, West Virginia University

Dr. Cletus Cheyuo earned an MD from University of Ghana Medical School in 2005, and a PhD in Molecular Medicine from the Elmezzi Graduate School in 2012. After receiving his PhD, Dr. Cheyuo completed a post-doctoral research fellowship at the Feinstein Institute, working on the role of MFGE8 on neural stem cell biology. Following his post-doctoral fellowship, he completed a 1-year clinical research fellowship with the Neurosurgery Department, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. He subsequently completed a pre-residency endoscopic neurosurgery fellowship at University at Buffalo. Dr. Cheyuo is currently a Neurosurgery Resident at West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV. Dr. Cheyuo’s clinical interests include skull base surgery, cerebrovascular surgery and neuroendovascular surgery.

Research Interests: Neural stem cells and neuroregeneration, neuroendoscopy, neuro-oncology and cellular neuro-imaging

Dr. Manuela Woelfle-Guter/ PhD 2012 Assistant Professor, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany

Dr. Manuela Woelfle-Guter earned an MD from University of Ulm in 2002, and a PhD in Molecular Medicine from the Elmezzi Graduate School in 2012. After receiving her PhD, Dr. Woelfle-Guter completed a Fellowship in Hematology and Oncology in the Department of Hematology and Oncology at Ulm University in Ulm, Germany. Dr. Woelfle-Guter is currently an Attending Physician in the Department of Hematology and Oncology at the University of Ulm.

Research Interests: Leukemia, B Cell Receptor

Dr. Preetesh Jain / PhD 2012 Resident, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas, Health Science Center, Houston, TX

Dr. Preetesh Jain earned an MBBS degree from Vijaynagar Institute of Medical Science (VIMS) Bellary in Karnataka, India in 2000, an MD from University of Rajasthan, Ravindra Nath Tagore Medical College in Udaipur, Rajasthan, India in 2003, a DM in Medical Oncology from Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai, India in 2008, and a PhD in Molecular Medicine from the Elmezzi Graduate School in 2012. After receiving his PhD, Dr. Jain completed a two-year clinical fellowship in Leukemia at University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center. Currently, Dr. Jain is doing an Internal Medicine residency in the Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, TX.

Research Interests: Clinicopathological studies of lymphoid tissue microenvironments and cytokine biology in CLL, CML, Hairy Cell leukemia, T-Lymphoid leukemias and analysis of prognostic and diagnostic marker assessment by flow cytometry cytogenetics, immunohistochemistry and/or novel molecular diagnostics in chronic leukemia’s, lymphoproliferative disorders and other

hematolymphoid malignancies.

Dr. Eitan Giat / PhD 2013 Rheumatology Fellow, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel HaShomer, Ramat Gan, Israel

Dr. Eitan Giat earned an MD from Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School, Ein Karem, Jerusalem in 2003, and a PhD in Molecular Medicine from the Elmezzi Graduate School in 2013. After receiving his PhD, Dr. Giat was Senior in Internal Medicine at Chaim Sheba Medical Center in Jerusalem. Dr. Giat is currently a Rheumatology Fellow in the Rheumatic Disease Unit at Chaim Sheba Medical Center.

Research Interests: Rheumatologic Disease

Dr. Ben Lu / PhD 2013 Professor, Department of Hematology, 3rd Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China

Dr. Ben Lu earned an MD from the Central South University, P.R. China in 2008, and a PhD in Molecular Medicine from the Elmezzi Graduate School of Molecular Medicine in 2013. After receiving his PhD, Dr. Lu started his own research group as a Professor at The 3rd Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, P.R. China. Dr. Lu has published his original findings in the journals Nature, PNAS and Mol Med as both the first author and the co-corresponding author and has received several prestigious grants from Chinese government, including the “One thousand people plan” project and the “Excellent Young Investigator Award”.

Research Interests: Dr. Lu’s major research focus is on the pathogenesis of sepsis and the molecular mechanisms of inflammation. He also studies the role of High mobility group protein 1 (HMGB1), a proinflammatory mediator released by damaged cells or activated immune cells, in the physiological conditions and diseases.

Dr. Sergio Ivan Valdes-Ferrer / PhD 2013 Head, Laboratory of Neurobiology and Systemic Illness and Investigator in Medical Sciences, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Mexico City, Mexico

Dr. Sergio Ivan Valdes-Ferrer earned an MD from the National University of Mexico, and specialized in Clinical Neurology before obtaining a PhD in Molecular Medicine from the Elmezzi Graduate School in 2013. After receiving his PhD, Dr. Valdes-Ferrer completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Feinstein institute studying the biological role of HMGB1 in sepsis survivors, where he found a previously unknown role for HMGB1 as inducer of anemia of inflammation. Dr. Valdes-Ferrer was recently appointed Head of the Laboratory of Neurobiology and Systemic Illness at the Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán in Mexico City where his laboratory focuses on 1) cholinergic mechanisms to reverse persistent immune activation in HIV infection; 2) the role of microglia in cognitive dysfunction in sepsis; and 3) CNS dysfunction in systemic lupus erythematous. Dr. Valdés-Ferrer is the leading investigator on an investigator-generated study of the utility of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEI) to improve T cell homeostasis in people living with HIV infection. The Pfizer Scientific Institute (Mexico) recently awarded Dr. Valdés-Ferrer with the “2016 Clinical Research Prize”, providing also initial funding for a pilot study of AChEI in HIV infection.

Research Interests: Sepsis, HIV infection

Dr. David Rosenthal / PhD 2014 Medical Director, Center for Young Adult, Adolescent & Pediatric HIV Northwell Health

Dr. David Rosenthal earned a DO from the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2002. Dr. Rosenthal completed an Allergy/Immunology Fellowship at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center, The Long Island Campus for Yeshiva University, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, graduating in 2006. Between 2006 and 2010, Dr. Rosenthal was an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, Bronx, NY. Dr. Rosenthal earned a PhD in Molecular Medicine from the Elmezzi Graduate School in 2014. After receiving his PhD, Dr. Rosenthal took a position as Attending Physician in the Division of Allergy and Immunology at Northwell Health. Dr. Rosenthal is currently Medical Director, Center for Young Adult, Adolescent and Pediatric HIV at Northwell Health.

Research Interests: Clinical research in HIV perinatal and behaviorally infected adolescent/young adult populations

Dr. Sehba Husain-Krautter / PhD 2014 Resident, Psychiatry, Delaware Psychiatric Center, New Castle, DE

Dr. Sehba Husain-Krautter earned an MD from Karnatak University, Dharwad India, and a PhD in Molecular Medicine from the Elmezzi Graduate School in 2014. After receiving her PhD, Dr. Husain-Krautter worked as post-doctoral fellow under the mentorship of Dr. Thomas Rothstein and Dr. Anil Malhotra combining her training in immunology with her interest in psychiatry. Dr. Husain-Krautter is currently in a psychiatry residency program at the Delaware Psychiatric Center, and is also continuing her research on immune dysfunction in schizophrenia.

Research Interests: Studying the role of B lymphocytes in Schizophrenia and other Psychotic Disorders

Dr. Madhu Gupta / PhD 2014 Research Fellow

Dr. Madhu Gupta earned an MBBS from Gajra Raja Medical College in Gwalior, India in 1998, an MS (post graduate) in Obstetrics and Gynecology from Gajra Raja Medical College in 2002, and a PhD in Molecular Medicine from the Elmezzi Graduate School in 2014. Currently she has taken some personal time for family and is looking forward to starting a project in collaboration with the research department at Baystate Medical Practice in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Research Interests: Metabolic Dysfunction and Altered Lipid Metabolism in Pregnancy

Dr. Malvika Solanki / PhD 2014 Pathology Resident, Northwell Health, Manhasset, NY

Dr. Malvika Solanki earned an MD from the Topiwala National Medical College in Mumbai, India, a Master’s in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University and a PhD in Molecular Medicine from the Elmezzi Graduate School in 2014. After receiving her PhD, Dr. Solanki joined the Northwell Health Pathology residency training program. Dr. Solanki is currently continuing her residency training at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, WI.

Research Interests: Dr. Solanki’s research interests include the role of nutritional deficiencies in drug toxicity in chemotherapeutic regimens for cancer patients

Dr. Carl Petrus Linge / PhD 2014 Assistant Professor, Lund University School of Medicine Lund, Sweden

Dr. Carl Petrus Linge earned an MD from Lund University School of Medicine, Sweden, and a PhD in Molecular Medicine from the Elmezzi Graduate School in 2014. After receiving his PhD, Dr. Linge completed a residency in rheumatology at Skåne University Hospital in Lund, Sweden. He then joined the research group of Anders Bengtsson at Lund University, where his research focuses on characterization of innate immune cells in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. Petrus Linge recently received an appointment as “amanuens”, a prestigious position in the clinic enabling a combination of teaching, research and clinical work.

Research Interests: Rheumatologic diseases, anti-inflammatory nuclear receptors, innate immunity in SLE

Dr. Anthony Hesketh / PhD 2015 Surgery Resident, Stony Brook School of Medicine, Stony Brook, NY

Dr. Anthony Hesketh earned an MS in Physiology from Georgetown University and an MD from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. After receiving his MD degree, Dr. Hesketh began a categorical general surgery residency at Stony Brook University. During his residency training, he took three years to complete a PhD in Molecular Medicine from the Elmezzi Graduate School in 2015. After receiving his PhD, Dr. Hesketh returned to Stony Brook where he is currently completing his general surgery residency training.

Research Interests: Pediatric solid tumors, Ewing’s Sarcoma, Tumor microenvironment, Pediatric surgery outcomes and training research

Dr. Ali Afzal Rana / PhD 2015 Postdoctoral Fellow, Feinstein Institute, Manhasset, NY

Dr. Ali Afzal Rana earned an MD from Hamdard University, Pakistan in 2006 and a PhD in Molecular Medicine from the Elmezzi Graduate School in 2015. Dr. Rana’s graduate work focused on the identification of mechanisms whereby papillomaviruses impair host antiviral immune responses. His discovery that papillomaviruses block the release of the cytokine IL-36 may explain why some people are unable to prevent recurrent disease caused by these viruses. After receiving his PhD, Dr. Afzal Rana began a post-doctoral fellowship in the Karches Center for Oncology Research at the Feinstein Institute. His current studies focus on the interplay of oncology, epithelial cell biology, virology and immunity in regulating HPV infection and activation. His hope is that gaining a better understanding of HPV-induced diseases at a molecular level will lead to the development of pharmacological therapies that improve patient outcomes.

Research Interests: Human papillomavirus (HPV)-induced malignant and pre-malignant diseases of the Head & Neck and skin, Innate Immunity in Patients with Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis

Dr. Adam Khader / PhD 2015 Surgery Resident, Northwell Health, Manhasset, NY

Dr. Adam Khader earned an MD from Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar in 2010, and a PhD in Molecular Medicine from the Elmezzi Graduate School in 2015 for his thesis “Sirtuin 1 stimulation in Ischemia-Reperfusion”. After receiving his PhD, Dr. Khader went back to resume his clinical training in General Surgery. Dr. Khader is currently a Senior Resident at Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell.

Research Interests: Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury and the modulation of energy metabolism in disease

Dr. Roman Sankowski / PhD 2016 Resident in Neuropathology, Institute of Neuropathology at the University of Freiburg, Germany

Dr. Roman Sankowski earned an MD from the Philipps University of Marburg, and a PhD in Molecular Medicine from the Elmezzi Graduate School in 2016. After receiving his PhD, Dr. Sankowski resumed his clinical training in Neuropathology. Dr. Sankowski is currently a Resident in Neuropathology at the Institute of Neuropathology at the University of Freiburg.

Research Interests: Dr. Sankowski is interested in the interaction between the immune system of the brain and memory. He hopes that his research will lead to a better understanding behind the mechanisms leading to memory failure in common brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and human immunodeficiency virus-induced dementia.

Dr. Amir Nazem / PhD 2016 Postdoctoral Fellow, Feinstein Institute, Manhasset, NY

Dr. Amir Nazem earned an MD from Mashhad University of Medical Sciences and a PhD in Molecular Medicine from the Elmezzi Graduate School in 2016. Dr. Nazem is currently a Research Scientist in the Functional Brain Imaging Laboratory at the Feinstein Institute where he is continuing his studies on applications of brain networks for early diagnosis of neurodegenerative dementias. Currently, he is involved in early differential diagnosis between Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia based on metabolic brain networks. His recent findings have shed light on the involvement of the brain default mode network in the pathology of frontotemporal dementia.

Research Interests: Neurodegenerative disorders, Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, brain networks, default mode network.

Dr. Ji Young Lee / PhD 2017 Ji Young Lee recently graduated from her pulmonary/critical care fellowship and is working as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of South Alabama. Under her mentor, Dr. Edmund Miller, Dr. Lee studied the mechanisms of the attenuating effect of N-ethylmaleimide sensitive factor inhibition on inflammation and oxygen desaturation following Gram positive pulmonary challenge. Dr. Lee’s current research interests are in pulmonary vascular biology. Her long term goal is to translate bench research into clinical practice. Dr. Lee credits her experience in the Elmezzi program as the contributing factor that helped her grow as a physician scientist.

Dr. Alexandra C. Bolognese / PhD 2018 Alexandra C. Bolognese grew up in Winchester, Massachusetts. She graduated from Columbia University in 2007 with a BA in Psychology and went on to receive her MD from the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 2012. After completing two years of residency training in general surgery at Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Dr. Bolognese entered the lab of Dr. Ping Wang as a postdoctoral fellow. Realizing she wished to make translational science a part of her surgical career, Dr. Bolognese enrolled at the Elmezzi Graduate School where her thesis project focused on elucidating the role of invariant natural killer T cells in neonatal sepsis. Dr. Bolognese will return to complete her clinical training in general surgery in July 2017, and aspires to pursue a career as a pediatric surgeon-scientist.

Dr. Caroline Maloney / PhD 2018 Dr. Maloney grew up in Hancock, NY and received her bachelor degree from Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland. She attended Stony Brook University School of Medicine before starting her residency in general surgery at Northwell Health. After 2 years of clinical training, Dr. Maloney enrolled in the Elmezzi School of Molecular Medicine at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research. Dr. Maloney completed her PhD in Molecular Medicine under the guidance of her mentors, Dr. Samuel Soffer, Dr. Bettie Steinberg and Dr. Marc Symons. Her thesis work focused on the role of macrophages in pediatric osteosarcoma and repurposing an FDA approved drug to block pulmonary metastasis by altering pulmonary macrophage phenotypes. After completion of her general surgery residency Dr. Maloney plans to pursue a career in academic

pediatric surgery where she hopes to have a lab that investigates pediatric solid tumors and develops strategies to block metastasis.