Luiza Nogaj

Luiza Nogaj is a Professor and Co-Director of the Gwstem program at Mount Saint Mary's University, where she leads research in biological sciences. Her work focuses on protein interactions, cancer progression, and neurodegenerative diseases. She holds a PhD in Biochemistry from Brown University, an MS from Oakland University, and a BS in Biology from St. Mary’s College. Nogaj is a Principal Investigator on multiple NIH grants (R15 AREA and others) and has pioneered interdisciplinary research linking biology with global health equity, particularly in breast cancer outcomes. Her lab collaborates with Loyola Marymount University to develop amyloid inhibitors and uses modern techniques like RNA-seq and cell imaging. Students in her program co-author publications, contributing to cancer biomarker identification and natural product drug discovery.

Research Themes:

• Protein-DNA/Protein-Protein Networks in Breast Cancer Progression
• Neurodegenerative Disease Mechanisms via Amyloid Aggregation
• Plant Extracts as Therapeutic Agents
• Global Health Disparities in Cancer Care

Funding Highlights: Over $3M secured through NIH grants since 2006, including recent R15 DK112172 grants. Active collaborations span universities and disciplines, emphasizing undergraduate research training. Publications (12+) appear in journals like Protein and Peptide Letters and Plant Physiology.

Teaching Innovations: Developed active-learning approaches for molecular biology labs, integrating bioinformatics tools to simulate research environments. Her pedagogical work has been published in Journal of College Science Teaching.