Science Talks

Stress is a constant factor in the daily lives of many. BIO5 researchers are working to assess the risks affecting us when feeling overwhelmed and understand the connection between health and emotions. BIO5 member Dr. Esther Sternberg is a Professor of Medicine, Professor of Psychology, and the current Director of Research at the University of Arizona's center for integrative medicine. She is recognized by the national library of medicine as one of 339 influential women “who changed the face of medicine.  Dr. Sternberg's research investigates the interconnected aspects of health such as the mind, body, and environment.

Dr. Dongkyun Kang is an Assistant Professor of Optical Sciences, and Biomedical Engineering. Dr. Kang is currently leading an NIH-sponsored research project for developing a smartphone confocal microscope and diagnosing Kaposi's sarcoma in Uganda. Through hard research and development, Dr. Kang's lab just might create the next big medical technology.

Links:

BIO5 Institute: https://bio5.org/

$1 Million Project to Fight Vision Loss: https://www.ophthalmologytimes.com/view/university-of-arizona-engineer-leads-1-million-project-to-fight-vision-loss

Mobile Health Microscope: https://www.fic.nih.gov/News/GlobalHealthMatters/january-february-2020/Pages/mobile-health-innovative-microscope-enables-early-cancer-diagnoses.aspx?fbclid=IwAR2rNDfUfYpTi4sITJDq_oIRM_wJ7HH1U6I_PCFgVgU343RPJIXySplrhHM

UA Gynecological Endoscopes:  https://tucson.com/news/local/seeking-new-ways-to-detect-gynecological-cancers-ua-teams-building/article_711a3d56-6c50-5ef2-90a6-126a2c20693a.html

Infertility is the inability to get pregnant after one year of trying to conceive. It is estimated that 15% of couples will have trouble conceiving, and globally, nearly 50 million couples experience infertility every year. Many factors can contribute to female infertility, including exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDC), which are highly present in many of our everyday products. Reproductive toxicologist Dr. Zelieann Craig is working towards reducing the incidence of infertility by improving our understanding of how these chemicals interact with the female reproductive system. Dr. Craig is a BIO5 member, associate professor of physiological sciences, as well as the assistant dean for research in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Neuropsychiatric illnesses are mental disorders which include schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder. These illnesses are rooted in identifiable problems within the brain. They are complex conditions whose origins aren’t well-understood, and they are a leading cause of disability in the United States. Physician-scientist Dr. Amelia Gallitano is the Director of Women in Medicine and Science at the UArizona College of Medicine - Phoenix, as well as a professor of basic medical sciences, psychiatry, and neuroscience, and is a member of the BIO5 Institute. She’s a board-certified psychiatrist who studies how the environment interacts with genes to influence risk for neuropsychiatric illnesses.

Infectious diseases are the leading cause of death in developing countries and ignite grand challenges like pandemics. BIO5 researchers are working to develop better prevention, diagnostic, and treatment strategies to decrease the global burden of these diseases. BIO5 member Dr. Deepta Bhattacharya is a professor of immunobiology, and associate professor of surgery, genetics, and cancer biology. Dr. Bhattacharya merges stem cell biology and immunology to understand the development of white blood cells and to devise novel strategies to fight illnesses such as COVID-19, influenza, and Dengue virus.

Residents of the sunniest state – Arizona – are no strangers to ample sunshine. While sun exposure is beneficial to our wellbeing, it’s also a major cause of skin cancer, the most common type of cancer in the U.S. At least 5 million people in our country are treated for skin cancer annually, resulting in more than $8 billion in medical expenses. Physician-scientist Dr. Clara Curiel-Lewandrowski is a professor of medicine and Director of the Multidisciplinary Cutaneous Oncology Program at the UArizona Skin Cancer Institute. Dr. Curiel-Lewandrowski is also the interim chief of the Division of Dermatology, member of both the BIO5 Institute and UArizona Cancer Center, and Program Director for the Dermatology Residency Program. Her research and innovative approaches to solution-based translational science addresses important clinical gaps in skin cancer prevention and early detection.

Some of science’s most difficult challenges like solving world hunger and curing disease involve more than just traditional science fields such as plant and cell biology. Data science brings together computational, statistical, and mathematical techniques to expand our knowledge from big datasets collected from the bench, field or computer. Handling these large datasets can pose a challenge, especially to researchers who might not be familiar with or have the infrastructure to handle big data. Nirav Merchant is the co-principal investigator for CyVerse and Director of the UArizona Data Science Institute. Nirav is an expert in developing computational platforms and enabling technologies towards improving research productivity and collaboration for interdisciplinary teams and virtual organizations.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in both the U.S. and world. To lessen this large disease burden, researchers are actively investigating why and how people develop heart disease. Cardiovascular researcher Dr. Jared Churko takes a single-cell approach to studying the mechanisms of heart disease. Dr. Churko is an assistant professor of cellular and molecular medicine, physiological sciences, genetics, and biomedical engineering, as well as BIO5 member and Director of the iPSC Core.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of death and disability for individuals under age 44 with an estimated 1.7 million cases occurring in the U.S. every year, and concussion is dubbed a silent epidemic. TBI dismantles circuits in the brain, leading to short and long-term cognitive dysfunction. Dr. Kaveh Laksari utilizes biomechanics to study the underlying processes of TBI and model the injury to aid in prevention and accurate diagnosis. Dr. Laksari is an assistant professor of biomedical engineering, aerospace-mechanical engineering, and neuroscience, as well as a BIO5 member.

Breathing, sleeping, and good health go hand in hand. People with lung diseases and allergies often have problems getting a quality, healthy night’s sleep which in turn can lead to further health challenges. Physician-scientist Dr. Sairam Parthasarathy is a BIO5 member who works at the intersection of chronic illness and sleep. Dr. Parthasarathy is a professor of medicine and clinical translational sciences at the University of Arizona, as well as the College of Medicine’s Division Chief of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine. He’s also the medical director of the Banner – University Medical Center Tucson Center for Sleep Disorders and director of the UA Health Sciences Center for Sleep and Circadian Sciences.