Faculty

DBBS mentors and educators are key to our training mission. Those who serve as primary mentors are DBBS Program Members, and others who participate in the educational mission are General Members. Learn about DBBS Faculty Membership »

To provide a supportive learning environment for our trainees, many DBBS-affiliated faculty have completed eight or more hours of CIMER-based mentorship training with a trained facilitator, as indicated below with a profile badge.

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Find faculty of interest by entering a name, program or expertise keyword in the search bar; selecting a PhD program from the drop-down menu; or selecting the last name initial from the A-Z filter.

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Erica Schmitt, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor

Program affiliation
Immunology

Research summary
My research interests are in the genetics of immune-mediated diseases and the fundamental mechanisms of immune cell activation, immune dysregulation, and immunological tolerance. My current work focuses on delineating the mechanisms underlying a monogenic syndrome of early-onset autoimmunity caused by gain-of-function (GOF) mutations in STAT3.

Key words
Immune dysregulation, inborn errors of immunity, Treg, STAT, Pediatric

Robert Schreiber, PhD

Alumni Endowed Professor

Program affiliation
Immunology
Cancer Biology

Research summary
Cytokine receptor signaling and immunological protection against tumor development

Key words
cancer, lymphocyte, cytokine, signal transduction, tumor editing

Laura Schuettpelz, MD, PhD

Professor

Program affiliation
Developmental Regenerative and Stem Cell Biology
Immunology
Molecular Genetics and Genomics

Research summary
Regulation of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) by inflammation

Key words

Alan Schwartz, PhD, MD

Alumni Endowed Professor

Program affiliation
Molecular Cell Biology

Research summary
Receptor-mediated protein targeting and protein degradation

Key words
proteins, receptor, endocytosis, metabolism

Drew Schwartz, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor

Program affiliation
Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis
Computational and Systems Biology
Molecular Genetics and Genomics

Research summary
Pediatric gut microbiome and immune disruption in serious bacterial infections

Key words
Microbiome, sepsis, bacteremia, infectious diseases, immune response, pediatrics

Julie Schwarz, MD, PhD

Professor and Vice Chair of Research

Program affiliation
Cancer Biology
Molecular Cell Biology

Research summary
Studying cancer therapy resistance mechanisms in humans and preclinical models

Key words
Tumor metabolism, glycolysis, glutaminolysis, imaging, microenvironment, HPV, immunology, radiation therapy

Rebecca Schwarzlose, PhD

Assistant Professor

Program affiliation
Neurosciences

Research summary
Neuroimaging studies of sensory processing and atypical sensory responding in children

Key words
functional MRI, development, anxiety, autism, sensory

Clay Semenkovich, MD

Irene E. and Michael M. Karl Professor

Program affiliation
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology
Molecular Genetics and Genomics

Research summary
Molecular and cell biology of atherosclerosis and diabetes

Key words
aging, atherosclerosis, diabetes, lipids, obesity

Ikbal Sencan-Egilmez, PhD

Assistant Professor

Program affiliation
Neurosciences

Research summary
Development and use of advanced optical microscopy solutions for preclinical imaging studies in brain and beyond

Key words
optical microscopy, neuroimaging, biomedical optics, oxygenation, neurovascular coupling, cerebral energetics

Lori Setton, PhD

Professor & Chair

Program affiliation
Developmental Regenerative and Stem Cell Biology
Molecular Cell Biology

Research summary
Understanding the mechanisms for degeneration and regeneration of soft tissues of the musculoskeletal system, including the intervertebral disc, articular cartilage, and meniscus

Key words

Jieya Shao, PhD

Associate Professor

Program affiliation
Cancer Biology
Molecular Cell Biology
Molecular Genetics and Genomics
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology

Research summary
Molecular mechanisms and therapeutic potential of novel cancer targets

Key words
cancer, genome stability, targeted therapy, proteostasis, autophagy, DNA replication stress, DNA damage response, phosphorylation

Jin-Yu Shao, PhD

Associate Professor and Associate Chairman

Program affiliation
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology

Research summary
Cellular and molecular engineering

Key words
blood coagulation, cell/tissue mechanics, inflammation, modeling, molecular biomechanics, protein-protein interaction

Vijay Sharma, PhD

Associate Professor

Program affiliation
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology
Neurosciences

Research summary
Design and Development of Small Organics and Metalloprobes for Radiological Molecular Imaging in Biomedical Science

Key words
Molecular Imaging, PET and SPECT Agents, Myocardial Perfusion, Alzheimer`s Disease, Multidrug Resistance

Paul Shaw, PhD

Associate Professor

Program affiliation
Neurosciences
Molecular Genetics and Genomics

Research summary
Molecular/genetic analysis of sleep function

Key words
neurobiology, genetics, sleep, gene expression, memory, plasticity, Alzheimer`s disease,

Lavinia Sheets, PhD

Associate Professor

Program affiliation
Neurosciences
Developmental Regenerative and Stem Cell Biology
Molecular Cell Biology

Research summary
We use zebrafish as a model for human hearing and balance with the goal of protecting and repairing inner ears from damage.

Key words
zebrafish, sensory neuroscience, hearing, balance, synaptic physiology, regeneration

Chen Shen, PhD

Assistant Professor

Program affiliation
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology
Computational and Systems Biology
Immunology
Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis

Research summary
Understand the structural mechanisms of host-pathogen interactions and the inflammasome signaling

Key words
structural biology, innate immunity, pattern recognition receptors, immune recognition, inflammasomes

Jie Shen, PhD

Associate Professor

Program affiliation
Developmental Regenerative and Stem Cell Biology
Molecular Cell Biology
Molecular Genetics and Genomics

Research summary
Focused on injury, repair, and regeneration of musculoskeletal tissues with the goal to understand the progenitor cell population, signals, and role of inflammation on tissue injury and regeneration at the cellular and molecular level

Key words

Mengcheng Shen

Assistant Professor

Program affiliation
Developmental Regenerative and Stem Cell Biology
Molecular Cell Biology
Molecular Genetics and Genomics
Immunology
Neurosciences

Research summary
My research program integrates cardiovascular physiology, stem cell biology, developmental biology, functional genomics, and cardio-oncology to investigate molecular mechanisms of congenital and acquired cardiovascular diseases. My laboratory specializes in developing innovative protocols for generating authentic cardiovascular cell types from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), advancing cardiovascular precision medicine. We aim to bridge basic science and clinical translation through disease modeling, therapeutic target identification, and adverse outcome prevention.

Key words
iPSC, CRISPR, organoid, cardiovascular, precision medicine, cardio-oncology

Joshua Shimony, MD, PhD

Professor

Program affiliation
Neurosciences

Research summary
Translational Brain MRI Clinical Applications; Neurophysiology Modeling Using MRI Methods

Key words
brain, imaging, magnetic resonance imaging, fMRI, DTI, perfusion, mathematical modeling

Marwan Shinawi, MD

Professor

Program affiliation
General

Research summary
Clinical genomics and the application of exome and genome sequencing as well as microarray analysis for disease gene discovery

Key words
genomic medicine, disease gene discovery, metabolic disorders, and skeletal dysplasias

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