Kelly Arnold is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan. Her research integrates systems engineering principles with immunology to investigate variability in immune responses across infection, vaccination, and injury, with a focus on computational modeling and clinical translation. Research Focus Systems-level immune response modeling Vaccination and antibody functionality Vaginal microbiome-host interactions Chronic lung disease progression Computational serology and proteomics Recent Work Her 2025 studies examine SARS-CoV-2 vaccination responses in cancer patients and computational frameworks for vaginal probiotics. Earlier works (2024-2007) span COPD progression, lupus fibrosis, HIV susceptibility, and tissue engineering for fertility preservation. Methodologies include proteomic profiling, network modeling, and microfluidic systems.
Chi Liu is a Professor of Radiology & Biomedical Imaging at Yale School of Medicine . He serves as Associate Director of Biomedical Imaging Technology at the Yale Biomedical Imaging Institute and Director for Research Faculty Affairs in the Radiology & Biomedical Imaging department. Education : PhD from Johns Hopkins University (2008) Postdoctoral Training : University of Washington (2010) Certification : American Board of Science in Nuclear Medicine (Nuclear Medicine Physics and Instrumentation) His research focuses on quantitative cardiac and oncological PET/CT and SPECT/CT imaging , emphasizing deep learning algorithms , reconstruction algorithms , data correction , and dynamic imaging . Key clinical applications include early detection of chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity , multimodality imaging of heart failure , and motion variability elimination in therapy response assessment . The 15 most recent publications reveal a strong emphasis on deep learning techniques for low-dose imaging , motion correction , and cross-tracer generalizability in PET/SPECT systems. These works span applications in cardiac imaging , neuroscience , oncology , and theranostics . Scientific Award : Bruce Hasegawa Young Investigator Medical Imaging Science Award (2012) Contact: chi.liu@yale.edu | ORCID 0000-0002-7007-1037
Dr. Justin Belsky is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Yale School of Medicine, serving as the COVID-19 Safety Officer and Co-Director of Resident Research in Emergency Medicine. He holds an MD from Wayne State University School of Medicine (2011) and an MPH from Harvard School of Public Health (2016). His research focuses on sepsis diagnosis and treatment, including biomarkers, clinical trials, and risk stratification tools. He led the Yale site for the VICTAS trial evaluating vitamin C, thiamine, and hydrocortisone in septic shock. Dr. Belsky directs the Yale Emergency Medicine Specimen Biobank, collecting samples from critically ill patients for future research. His awards include the Partners in Excellence Team Award (2016) and an Outstanding Poster Award (2015). He is actively involved in resident research training and clinical guideline adherence studies. Education: MD: Wayne State University School of Medicine (2011) Emergency Medicine Residency: Henry Ford Hospital (2014) Research Fellowship: Massachusetts General Hospital (2016) MPH: Harvard School of Public Health (2016) Research Interests: Early sepsis identification and treatment Biomarker development for critical illness Fluid management strategies in septic shock Micronutrient therapies in sepsis Emergency department quality improvement Recent Work Focus: Fluid resuscitation protocols and guideline adherence Long-term outcomes of sepsis therapies Actin cytoskeleton as a sepsis biomarker Antibiotic timing in sepsis Awards: 2016: Sepsis Care Redesign, Partners in Excellence Team Award 2015: Outstanding Poster Award (Shock Symposium) Grants & Mentorship: Principal investigator for CLOVERS trial (fluid management in sepsis) Co-Director of Yale’s Emergency Medicine Research Training Program Leadership in resident research mentorship and biobank initiatives
Jan Dijkstra is an Associate Professor at Wageningen University specializing in Animal Nutrition . His research focuses on dairy cattle nutrition, methane emissions, and nutrient efficiency. Academic Rank: Associate Professor Department: Animal Nutrition His work emphasizes: Mathematical modelling of methane production Phosphorus and nitrogen balance optimization Feed supplementation strategies for reduced emissions Genotype-environment interactions in dairy systems Recent publications highlight advancements in methane mitigation , nutrient cycling , and rumen microbiome dynamics . He serves as a promotor for multiple PhD projects and contributes to datasets on equine microbiomes and rumen metabolites. Scientific Awards American Feed Industry Association Award (2015) Publicatieprijs ASG (2013) Supervision PhD candidates: Kozorezov, Henry, Koning, Vivares Martinez EngD candidate: Holshof
Elin Org is a Professor of Microbiomics at the University of Tartu's Institute of Genomics, where she also serves as Head of the Estonian Genome Centre and Vice Director of the Institute. Her academic career spans over two decades with significant contributions to microbiome and genomic research. Education: PhD in Genetics, University of Tartu (2006) Master's Degree in Molecular Biotechnology and Biomedicine, University of Tartu (2000) Bachelor's Degree, University of Tartu (1997) Classical Singing, Heino Eller Tartu Music School (1996) Professor Org's research primarily focuses on the intricate relationships between host and gut microbiota and their influence on metabolism and common complex diseases. Her work bridges microbiomics, genomics, and complex disease research, with particular emphasis on understanding how gut microbiome composition affects human health. She has pioneered research connecting long-term antibiotic usage with microbiota-dependent effects and has made significant contributions to understanding the role of gut microbiome in conditions such as gestational diabetes, endometriosis, and polycystic ovary syndrome. Her approach integrates advanced computational methods with comprehensive health data to uncover causal relationships in microbiome research. Her recent publications demonstrate a strong trend toward integrating microbiome data with extensive digital health metrics, using machine learning approaches to identify microbial predictors of health outcomes. This work is increasingly focused on translating microbiome research into clinical applications for disease prediction and personalized medicine approaches, particularly in the context of the Estonian Biobank initiative. Major Scientific Recognition: 2025 National Science Award in medical and health sciences 2023 and 2022: Recognized among the world's top 1% most cited researchers by Clarivate Analytics 2020: Member of AcademiaNet, a portal for top female researchers 2017: EMBO Installation grant 2013: Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship Professor Org has secured substantial research funding as principal investigator for multiple significant projects, including 'DISCERN - Discovering the causes of three poorly understood cancers in Europe' (€245,466, European Commission) and 'Improving colorectal cancer screening and prediction using microbiome-based biomarkers' (€760,450, Estonian Research Council). She has served as an opponent for numerous PhD theses across European institutions, contributing to the development of emerging researchers in her field. As Head of the Estonian Genome Centre, Professor Org leads a multidisciplinary research team that plays a crucial role in Estonia's transition from biobanking to personalized medicine applications. She is actively involved in international collaborations through COST networks including INFOGUT (focused on in vitro colon models) and ML4Microbiome (statistical and machine learning techniques in human microbiome studies), positioning her at the forefront of global microbiome research initiatives.
Jeremy Wang, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Genetics at the UNC School of Medicine . His research focuses on applying high-performance computational methods and machine learning to analyze high-throughput sequence data using long-read technologies (e.g., Oxford Nanopore) to advance precision personalized medicine . Key disease areas include Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) Respiratory Infectious Diseases His lab specializes in microbiome analysis , host-pathogen interactions , and computational genomics , working with collaborators in clinical, translational, and computational domains. His publications demonstrate expertise in long-read sequencing applications for Pediatric cancer classification SARS-CoV-2 genomic epidemiology Microbiome spatiotemporal dynamics Murine disease models Drosophilid genome assemblies Metagenomic bias analysis Collaborations span UNC and global institutions, with current work extending to clinical laboratory partnerships for pathogen sequencing and oral microbiome sampling methodology.
Prof. Dr. Dr. Elisabeth Binder is the Director of the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry and leads the Max Planck Research Group "Genes and Environment" in Munich, Germany. Her research focuses on molecular mechanisms underlying psychiatric disorders, particularly how genetic and environmental factors interact in disease development. Education: Medicine (University of Vienna), Neuroscience (Emory University) Affiliations: Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, International Max-Planck Research School Translational Psychiatry, Graduate School of Systemic Neuroscience Research Interests: Elisabeth Binder investigates gene-environment interactions in psychiatric disorders, emphasizing early trauma and stress response. Her work employs next-generation sequencing, epigenetic analysis, and induced pluripotent stem cells to identify biological markers for disease prevention and treatment. Scientific Awards: Theodore Reich Young Investigator Award (2010) Max Hamilton Memorial Prize (2012) Eva King-Killam Research Award (2016) Carus Medal (2017) Ron the Kloet Award for Stress Research (2019) Leadership Roles: She is a member of the German National Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina), a Fellow of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, and serves on multiple international advisory committees and executive boards in psychiatry and neuroscience.
Dr. Jason Rights is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology within the Faculty of Arts at the University of British Columbia. His office is located in Kenny Room 2017 at 2136 West Mall, Vancouver, BC. He leads The Rights Lab, a quantitative methods research group dedicated to improving statistical practice in scientific research. His educational background includes: B.S. in Psychology and Mathematics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2011) M.S. in Psychology (Quantitative Methods) from Vanderbilt University (2015) Ph.D. in Psychology (Quantitative Methods) from Vanderbilt University (2019) Dr. Rights' research focuses on addressing methodological complexities in multilevel/hierarchical data contexts where observations are nested (e.g., patients within clinicians, students within schools). His work spans several interconnected programs including developing R-squared measures for multilevel models, addressing issues with level-specific effects, exploring connections between multilevel and mixture models, and advancing latent variable model selection techniques. Analysis of his publication record reveals a consistent focus on methodological innovations in quantitative psychology, with particular emphasis on improving statistical techniques for hierarchical data structures. His work bridges theoretical statistical development with practical applications across psychology and related fields. Dr. Rights actively develops open-source software in R to implement his methodological contributions, making advanced statistical techniques accessible to researchers. The Rights Lab serves as the hub for his ongoing research program in quantitative methods development.
Malcolm von Schantz is a Professor and Deputy Faculty Pro Vice-Chancellor at Northumbria University, affiliated with the HLS Faculty Management and Administration. Previously, he held leadership roles at the University of Surrey, including Associate Dean (International) and acting Pro-Vice Chancellor (International Relations). He is also an Honorary Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. He holds a PhD in Zoology from an unspecified institution (awarded 10 Dec 1994). His research focuses on human circadian rhythms and sleep, their molecular determinants, and links to physical/mental health. He has secured over £6.4M in research funding from bodies like the MRC, Wellcome Trust, and NIH. Key research areas include sleep architecture, chronotype variability, HIV-related sleep disruptions, and cardiometabolic health correlations. His work has been published in high-impact journals and widely featured in media. He actively participates in international conferences and public outreach, including translating sleep education materials into multiple languages. Notable collaborations include the BioClocks UK initiative and the Baependi Heart Study in Brazil. His recent articles address daylight saving policies, gender-specific sleep-cardiovascular links, and light sensitivity in bipolar disorder. He supervises PhD students and engages in editorial roles across journals. Public impacts include translating educational comics and participating in community health events. His research emphasizes global health equity, particularly in low-resource settings.
João F. Mano is a Full Professor at the Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, and Director of the Doctoral Program on Biotechnology. He leads the COMPASS Research Group and serves as Vice-Director at CICECO - Aveiro Institute of Materials. His academic appointments include Invited Professor at University of Lorraine (France), Visiting Professor at KAIST (South Korea), and Adjunct Professor at Ajou University (South Korea). Education: PhD in Chemistry (1996, Technical University of Lisbon); D.Sc. in Tissue Engineering, Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cells (2012, University of Minho) Research Interests focus on Biomaterials for Regenerative Medicine , integrating Nanotechnology , Microtechnology , and Biofabrication . His group develops Bioinspired Materials using polymer chemistry, Decellularized Extracellular Matrix , and 3D Bioprinting to engineer Cell Microenvironments for therapeutic applications. Recent Publications highlight advancements in Human-Derived Hydrogels , Photopolymerizable Scaffolds , Magneto-Responsive Biomaterials , and Programmable Bioinks . Trends show emphasis on Organ-on-a-Chip integration, Smart Living Materials , and Green Bioprinting methodologies. Scientific Awards include: European Research Council Advanced Grants (2015, 2020) Fellow at IUPAC, European Academy of Sciences, and American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering ERC Proof of Concept Grants Doctor Honoris Causa from University of Lorraine and Utrecht UNESCO Chair on Biomaterials George Winter Award (European Society for Biomaterials) Supervisions & Collaborations encompass 74+ MSc, 26+ PhD students, and 40+ postdocs. He co-founded METATISSUE and CELLULARIS Biomodels , and serves as Editor-in-Chief of Materials Today Bio .
Dr. Oluwabunmi (Bunmi) Olaloye is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Neonatology at Yale School of Medicine. She holds appointments in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine and is affiliated with the Janeway Society. Her academic background includes an MD from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, pediatrics residency at University of Texas Medical Branch, and neonatology fellowship at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Dr. Olaloye's research focuses on immune dysfunction underlying neonatal intestinal diseases such as necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) and spontaneous intestinal perforation (SIP). Using cutting-edge techniques like single-cell RNA sequencing and mass cytometry, her work identifies biomarkers and therapeutic targets to improve outcomes for premature infants. Key research areas include fetal immune system maturation, placental immune interactions, and gestational age-specific inflammatory responses. Her publication record spans 12 peer-reviewed articles between 2019-2025, emphasizing translational immunology and neonatal pathophysiology. Notable contributions include defining immune cell trajectories in preterm infants and developing gating guidelines for high-dimensional cytometry data. Current projects involve constructing immune cell atlases across human lifespans and investigating nutritional interventions for intestinal disorders. Laboratory affiliations include the Laboratory for Surgery, Obstetrics & Gynecology where she explores neonatal mucosal immunity. Her work integrates clinical observations with systems immunology approaches to address critical gaps in understanding prematurity-associated gastrointestinal pathologies.
Kimberly Keil Stietz is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Comparative Biosciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine. Her research focuses on environmental toxicology, neurotoxicology, and urology, particularly examining how developmental exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) affects urinary function. Education: B.S. in Biology, St. Norbert College (2010) Ph.D. in Comparative Biosciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2014) Postdoctoral research in neurotoxicology, University of California-Davis (2015-2019) Stietz's lab investigates the effects of environmental contaminants on the lower urinary tract, emphasizing PCB exposure during development. Using in vitro and in vivo mouse models, the lab studies disruptions in bladder epithelium organization, nerve fiber patterning, inflammation, and peripheral-central nervous system crosstalk. Key projects include analyzing PCB impacts on bladder barrier function, innervation patterns, inflammatory responses, and dorsal root ganglia signaling. Recent publications highlight her work on PCB effects across multiple domains: adult female bladder contractility (2023), prostatic collagen changes (2023), machine learning-aided metabolite analysis (2023, 2022), and developmental PCB exposure links to voiding physiology (2022). Her 2021 studies explored behavioral phenotypes in PCB-exposed mice, dendritic effects, and bladder inflammation, while 2019 work included host-microbe interactions and open-source uroflowmetry tools.
Professor Charlotte Kloft is Head of the Department of Clinical Pharmacy & Biochemistry at the Institute of Pharmacy, Free University of Berlin since 2011, and spokesperson for the interdisciplinary Graduate Research Training Program PharMetrX 'Pharmacometrics and Computational Disease Modelling' since 2008. She previously served as Professor and Head of the Department of Clinical Pharmacy at Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg (2005-2011) and as Scientific Assistant/Senior Assistant at Freie Universität Berlin (1999-2005). Her academic credentials include a habilitation in Clinical Pharmacy from Freie Universität Berlin (2003) and a Dr. rer. nat. (summa cum laude) from the same institution (1997). She earned her license as a pharmacist in 1992 after completing pharmacy studies at Johannes Gutenberg-University, Mainz (1987-1991). Professor Kloft's research focuses on pharmacometrics, computational disease modeling, and therapeutic drug monitoring across multiple therapeutic areas. Her work bridges pharmaceutical sciences with clinical practice, with particular emphasis on personalized dosing strategies for oncology, antimicrobial resistance, and inflammatory bowel diseases. She has pioneered research in optimizing drug dosing through pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic modeling, with applications in both antibiotic and cancer therapies. Her recent publications demonstrate a strong evolution toward integrating advanced computational approaches with clinical pharmacology, including machine learning applications in pharmacometrics, personalized dosing strategies for biologics during pregnancy, and developing nationwide infrastructure for therapeutic drug monitoring in cancer therapy through the ON-TARGET study. Academic Center of Excellence of Pharsight (now Certara), USA (since 2000) Habilitationsreisestipendium of Dr. August and Dr. Anni Lesmüller-Stiftung (2002) Ernst-Reuter-Preis of Ernst-Reuter-Gesellschaft (1998) Joachim-Tiburtius-Preis of Berlin Senate (1998) Young Investigator Award of EORTC-PAMM (1997) Professor Kloft has successfully supervised numerous doctoral students whose research spans diverse areas including CAR-T cell therapy, antimicrobial resistance, inflammatory bowel disease treatment optimization, and pharmacokinetic modeling of novel therapeutic agents. Her research group has secured significant funding for projects including GlobalResist, ON-TARGET, ABIMMUNE, COMBINATORIALS, and TAIN. She leads a vibrant research ecosystem at the Free University of Berlin with strong collaborations across Europe and internationally, maintaining state-of-the-art laboratory facilities including Biosafety Level 2 certified labs for infectious disease research.
Dr. Dave Bridges is an Associate Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Michigan School of Public Health . Trained as a molecular biologist and biochemist, his research focuses on the regulation of macronutrient metabolism with emphasis on obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The Bridges Lab employs Drosophila , mouse, and human clinical models to investigate nutrient sensing pathways like mTORC1, glucocorticoid signaling, and precision nutrition approaches. Education: PhD, University of Calgary (2005) BS, University of Calgary (2000) Research areas include nutrient signaling pathways , stress-hormone interactions , and precision nutrition through ketogenic diet studies. Collaborations with Dr. Brigid Gregg examine breastmilk lipid variability and maternal health impacts. Recent work explores Bayesian statistical approaches for nutritional research, advocating for brms package implementation. Contact: Email: davebrid@umich.edu Phone: 734-764-1266 Address: 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Raymond T. Ng is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and serves as Director of the Data Science Institute . In addition, he is the part-time Chief Informatics Officer at the PROOF Centre of Excellence for the Prevention of Organ Failures located at St Paul’s Hospital. Since 2016 he has held the prestigious Canada Research Chair in Data Science and Analytics. Education B.Sc. (Hons.) Computer Science, University of British Columbia, 1986 M.Math. Computer Science, University of Waterloo, 1988 Ph.D. Computer Science, University of Maryland, College Park, 1992 Research Interests Professor Ng’s research lies at the intersection of data mining , text mining , health informatics , sensor analytics , and databases . Over the past decade he has focused on two major domains: Genomics & Biomarker Discovery: Developing multi-omics biomarker panels for heart, lung and kidney transplant rejection and COPD exacerbations using transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics data. Natural Language Processing: Mining and summarizing conversational text such as emails, blogs and meeting transcripts to generate structured metadata and actionable insights. Scientific Awards Canada Research Chair in Data Science and Analytics (2016-2026) Best Paper Award, ACM SIGMOD 2004 Best Paper Award, ACM SIGKDD 2001 Selected among Best Papers of VLDB ’99 & ’98 Governor General’s Gold Medal, UBC (1986) Research Funding & Leadership Since joining UBC in 1992, Professor Ng has continuously secured major peer-reviewed funding from NSERC, CIHR, Genome Canada, CFI, MITACS and industry partners (Google, IBM, SAP). He leads or co-leads several large-scale initiatives: HEARTBiT multi-marker blood test for cardiac transplant rejection (CIHR 2018-2021) MERIDIAN ocean acoustic data infrastructure (CFI 2018-2021) Pan-Canadian Early Detection of Lung Cancer (Terry Fox 2018-2021) Business Intelligence Network (NSERC 2009-2014) Multiple Genome Canada programs on biomarker translation (2004-2018) Laboratories & Teams Professor Ng directs the Data Science Institute and works closely with the Natural Language Processing Research Group . At the PROOF Centre he heads a multidisciplinary team of statisticians, computer scientists and clinicians advancing computational biomarker pipelines from discovery to clinical implementation.
