We are excited to welcome over 50 speakers at NERIC2023! To learn more about our speakers view their bios here (Ordered alphabetically by first name):
| Andrea Culhane is a Grants Management Specialist at the NIH. Andrea has experience in grants management including direct management of prime and sub awards, pre and post award negotiations, training and capacity building in the areas of grant management and regulatory compliance, and program management and implementation. Andrea received a Master’s from the University of Pittsburgh. Source |  |
| Angela Maggio is a Biomedical Data Scientist & HealthTech Product Manager at Deloitte Consulting. Angela is a Data science professional with skills in data cleaning, mining, analysis, statistical techniques and visualization. Angela received a M.S. in Bioinformatics and Biochemistry from The George Washington University. Source |  |
| Anjana Bhat is a professor in the Physical Therapy department at the University of Delaware. Dr. Bhat is also the Director of Delaware INBRE’s Developmental Research Pilot Program. Dr. Bhat’s research investigates the relationships between motor, social communication, and cognitive development in children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and uses this knowledge to develop effective multisystem treatments for autistic children/adolescents. After receiving her PhD in Movement Science from the University of Delaware, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Autism at the Kennedy Krieger Institute. Source |  |
| Benjamin King is an associate professor of bioinformatics at the University of Maine. Dr. King is also a co-director of the Maine INBRE Bioinformatics Core where he works with the Core to develop cloud-based resources for biomedical data science research training. As part of the new COBRE in Regulation of Cellular Behavior in Response to Extracellular Cues, Dr. King’s research laboratory utilizes genomic, computational and experimental approaches to understand how the innate immune system responds to virus infection. Dr. King received a Ph.D. in Biomedical Science from the University of Maine. Source |  |
| Chris Hemme is a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Rhode Island and Rhode Island INBRE Director of Molecular Informatics Core (MIC). As the MIC Director he handles bioinformatic, molecular modeling, VR/AR, and general data science needs. Dr. Hemme received a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Missouri-Columbia and was a postdoctoral researcher at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of Southern California. Source |  |
| Chris Smith is the Director of Courses, Conferences, and Evaluation at MDI Biological Laboratory, Maine INBRE. Chris became director with the goal of building further research training efforts for scientific learners at all levels. She received a BA in Biochemistry and English from Bowdoin College. Source |  |
| Christopher Schmid is Professor of Biostatistics and founding member of the Center for Evidence Synthesis in Health in the Brown School of Public Health at Brown University. Dr. Schmid also directs the Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Research Design (BERD) Core of Advance-RI Clinical and Translational Research (CTR) and the Evidence Synthesis Academy. His research focuses on methods and applications for meta-analysis, particularly Bayesian methods and software, on predictive models derived from combining data from different sources and on clinical trials, particularly N-of-1 trials, single person multiple crossover studies. Dr. Schmid received his Ph.D. in Statistics from Harvard University. Source |  |
| Claudia Fallini is an Assistant Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of Rhode Island. Dr. Fallini’s current research is focused on the role of the cytoskeleton and nucleocytoplasmic transport of mRNA and mRNA-binding proteins in the development of neurodegenerative disease, with an emphasis on ALS and FTD. Dr. Fallini received a Ph.D. in Molecular Medicine from Università degli Studi – Milano, Italy and completed her postdoctoral training at Emory University and the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Source |  |
| Claudine Jurkovitz is the Director of Clinical Research in iREACH at ChristianaCare and the lead for the Biostatistics Epidemiology Research Design (BERD) Core with the Delaware ACCEL-Center for Translational Research (CTR). Dr. Jurkovitz helps Physicians, Residents, and young investigators to develop their research projects and analytical plans and to work with the iREACH Data Analytics team. She received her MPH from Emory University and M.D. from Medical School, Grenoble, France. Source |  |
| David Chen is a hospitalist/pediatric hospitalist with Christiana Care Health System. Dr. David Chen is the medical director for Empowering Victims of Lived Violence (EVOLV) and a physician-scientist with the Institute for Research on Equity and Community Health (iREACH). Dr. Chen received a M.D. and MPH from Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Source |  |
| Douglas Sawyer joined Maine Medical Center in 2014 as Chief of Cardiac Services and Physician Leader of the Cardiovascular Services line and assumed his current role of Chief Academic Officer in 2019. Dr. Sawyer is also the Co-Director of the Myocardial Biology & Heart Failure Research Lab and and the Director of the Center for Biomedical Research Excellence in Acute Care and Rural Health Disparities at MaineHealth Institute for Research. He received his M.D. from Weill Medical College of Cornell University, completed his residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Internal Medicine as well as his fellowship in Cardiovascular Disease. Source |  |
| Eddie Billingslea is the small business strategy coordinator at the Office of the Director, NIGMS. Dr. Billingslea is responsible for coordinating the National Institute of General Medical Sciences small business program, as well as identifying and developing new opportunities for the Institute’s commercialization and entrepreneurial activities, especially those related to capacity building, training, mentoring, and diversity. He earned a B.A. in psychology from Virginia Union University and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from Georgetown University. He conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Pennsylvania. Source |  |
| Elias Klemperer is an assistant professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Vermont. Dr. Klemperer’s research addresses drug use from a behavioral framework and uses a variety of research methodologies including randomized controlled trials, meta-analysis, fine-grained longitudinal research, and cross-sectional surveys. Dr. Klemperer received a Ph.D. from the University of Vermont. Source |  |
| Emil Hernandez-Pagan is an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Delaware. Dr. Pagan’s research focuses on the synthesis and characterization of functional inorganic materials. Dr. Pagan received a Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University. Source |  |
| Ericka Boone is theDirector of the NIH Office of Extramural Research (OER) Division of Biomedical Research Workforce. Dr. Boone has distinguished herself as an advocate of biomedical and behavioral workforce diversity and a steadfast supporter of early-stage investigators. Dr. Boone received a Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience from Penn State University, continued as a Postdoctoral Fellow at UNCF-Merck and then a Research Fellow at University of Illinois at Chicago before joining the NIH. Source |  |
| Heather Driscoll is a research associate professor in biology at Norwich University & Program Coordinator for the Vermont Biomedical Research Network (VT-INBRE). She provides bioinformatics support and hands-on training in genomic and transcriptomic data analysis for faculty and students at VBRN baccalaureate partner institutions. Heather received a M.S. from the University of Vermont. Source |  |
| Jessica Molesworth is the Executive Director for EPSCoR/IDeA Foundation. Jessica manages the day-to-day operations, including all administrative, managerial, and programmatic activities. She has extensive knowledge of federally sponsored research programs in areas ranging from defense and energy to health, water quality, and science education curriculum development. Jessica received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Michigan. Source |  |
| John McDowell is an instructor at Delaware Technical Community College in Biology and Biotechnology. Dr. McDowell is also a Delaware INBRE Institutional PI. Dr. McDowell received a Ph.D. from the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. Source |  |
| Jon Lorsch is the Director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. In this position, Dr.Lorsch oversees all of the Institute’s mission-related activities, supporting basic research that increases understanding of biological processes and lays the foundation for advances in disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. Dr.Lorsch received a B.A. in chemistry from Swarthmore College and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Harvard University in 1995. Source |  |
| Karl Miletti-Gonzalez is an associate professor in Biological Sciences at Delaware State University and PI for the U-RISE DSU STAR Program. Dr. Miletti-Gonzalez’s research interest is the CD44-mediated signaling pathway in cancer cells. He received a Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology from UMDNJ/Rutgers and completed postdoctoral research at the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey. Source |  |
| Kelley Thomas is the Director of the Hubbard Center for Genome Studies and Professor in the department of Molecular , Cellular and Biomedical Sciences at the University of New Hampshire. Dr. Thomas is a leader in comparative and environmental genomics with a special emphasis on novel model species. The research in his lab also focuses on the response of organisms to environmental change and genome evolution using various DNA sequencing technologies and bioinformatics. Dr. Thomas received his Ph.D in Biology from Simon Fraser University. Source |  |
| Kelly Peck is an assistant professor Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Vermont. Dr. Peck’s research interests include the development and evaluation of novel treatments for opioid misuse and use disorder and the delivery and evaluation of cognitive-behavioral treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder in individuals with concurrent substance use disorders. Dr. Peck received a Ph.D. from the University of Mississippi. Source |  |
| Krishan Arora is a chief of the Networks and Development Programs Branch in the Division for Research Capacity Building, where he oversees the IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research (INBRE) and IDeA Regional Entrepreneurship Development (I-RED) Program, and manages grants for the INBRE, the Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE), IDeA Regional Entrepreneurship Development (I-RED), and Native American Research Centers for Health (NARCH) programs. His research interests have included glucose metabolism in cancer cells, and signal transduction of G-protein coupled receptors. Dr. Arora received a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the Australian National University and he conducted postdoctoral research at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Source |  |
| Laura Bellavia is the business manager for Rhode Island INBRE at the University of Rhode Island. Laura is also the Treasurer and Secretary of the Professional Staff Association at the university. Laura received a Masters of Education, Library Science from Plymouth State University. Source |  |
| Laura Lessard is the Program Coordinator and Evaluation Director for Delaware INBRE. Dr. Lessard is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Behavior and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Delaware and Senior Advisor for Wellbeing at the Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood. Dr. Lessard earned her MPH in epidemiology and biostatistics from Tufts University and her PhD in Behavioral Sciences and Health Education from Emory University. |  |
| Lisa Jaremka is an associate professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of Delaware. Dr. Jaremka is also the Director of Delaware INBRE’s Education & Professional Development Core. Dr. Jaremka’s primary research aims to understand how experiencing interpersonal stress affects health, and the peripheral physiological mechanisms that might explain how this process unfolds. She also has a secondary line of work about impostor syndrome and burnout in academia. Dr. Jaremka received a Ph.D. from the University of California Santa Barbara with postdoctoral work being completed at The Ohio State University. Source |  |
| Mary Boggs is the Lead Scientist at the Delaware Center for Musculoskeletal Research, University of Delaware. Dr. Boggs received a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the University of Delaware. Source |  |
| Mary Ottolini is a Professor of Pediatrics at Tufts University School of Medicine. Dr. Ottolini is also a pediatrician and is affiliated with Maine Medical Center. She received a M.D. from Wayne State University School of Medicine. Source |  |
| Melinda Duncan is an Associate Vice President for Research and Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Delaware. Dr. Duncan is also the Principal Investigator for Delaware INBRE. Dr. Duncan research is focused on lens and cataract pathophysiology as well as ocular wound healing. Dr. Duncan received a Ph.D. from Rutgers and completed a postdoc program at the National Eye Institute. Source |  |
| Melissa Harrington, PhD is the Associate Vice President for Research at Delaware State University, Director of the Delaware Institute of Science and Technology (DSU’s research institute), and the Director of the NIH-funded Delaware Center for Neuroscience Research, a virtual center linking neuroscientists at Delaware State University and the University of Delaware. In 2022 she and her co-PI Sangeeta Gupta were awarded an NIH “Research Centers at Minority Institutions” grant to start a health disparities research center at DSU. Melissa Harrington received BS with honors, in molecular biology from Purdue University, and a PhD in Neuroscience from Stanford University School of Medicine. She has been a faculty member in DSU’s Department of Biological Sciences since 2021. |  |
| Michael Whitfield is chair and professor of Biomedical Data Science, professor of Molecular and Systems Biology, and professor of Medicine at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine. He is Director of the Center for Quantitative Biology (CQB) Phase I COBRE, which is dedicated to building experimental and computational capacity in single cell and spatial omics. Dr. Whitfield’s research uses genomic tools and tissue culture models to study the systemic sclerosis (SSc), a rare systemic autoimmune disease. Dr. Whitfield received his PhD from University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in Biochemistry and Biophysics and then performed post-doctoral training at Stanford University School of Medicine in Genomics and Bioinformatics. Source |  |
| Natalie Cartwright is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at Norwich University. Dr. Cartwright is currently the Principal Investigator of an AIM-AHEAD Pilot Project studying firearm injury within the context of addressing health equity and health disparities. The objectives of this project are to 1) assess utility of primary care data to conduct firearm injury research and 2) apply artificial intelligence / machine learning to understand behavioral health and medical sequela of firearm violence exposure. Dr. Cartwright received a PhD in mathematics from the University of Vermont. Source |  |
| Nathan Fried is an Assistant Teaching Professor, Assistant Director for Undergraduate Research/Education and Assistant Director of the RUC NIH MARC-U-STAR program at Rutgers University. Dr. Fried studies chronic pain and sleep in drosophila and rodents. Dr. Fried received a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Jefferson Health. Source |  |
| Paul Cao is a Genomics Data Scientist at Brown University. His research interests include computer science education, and machine learning in a distributed manner. Paul received a M.S. in Analytics from the Georgia Institute of Technology. |  |
| Paul Murphy is a professor in the department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Murphy is also Co-Director of SuRE Resource Center. He is a researcher in the areas of aging and neurodegenerative disease. Dr. Murphy received a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Toronto and completed his postdoctoral training at Mayo Clinic Jacksonville. Source |  |
| Ruth Fabian-Fine is the Director of the Neuroscience Program and associate professor of Biology and Neuroscience at Saint Michael’s College. Dr. Fabian-Fine’s areas of expertise are Neuroscience, Sensory Systems, Electron Microscopy, Immunocytochemistry, and Three Dimensional Reconstructions. Dr. Fabian-Fine received a Ph.D. from Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt. Source |  |
| Sandra Wong is William N. and Bessie Allyn Professor of Surgery, Chair of the Department of Surgery at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, and senior vice president of the Surgical Service Line at Dartmouth Health. Dr. Wong’s professional interests are surgical oncology and health services research. Dr. Wong received a M.D. from Northwestern University Medical School and a M.S. in Clinical Research Design and Statistical Analysis from University of Michigan. She completed a residency at the University of Louisville and fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Source |  |
| Scott Seville is the current president of the National Association of IDeA Principal Investigators (NAIPI) and PI of Wyoming INBRE. Dr. Seville’s research interests include parasitology; taxonomy and systematics; evolution and science education. He earned a B.S. in Zoology from San Diego State University, B.S. in Secondary Education from the University of Wyoming, M.S. in Parasitology from the University of Wyoming, and a Ph.D., in Zoology and Physiology from the University of Wyoming. Source |  |
| Shannon Soucy is Co-director of the Center for Quantitative Biology COBRE Genomic Data Science Core at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine. Dr. Soucy’s academic work focused on the genetic consequences of symbiotic interactions between partners and she has extensive experience analyzing a multitude of genomic data types. Dr. Soucy received a Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut and was a postdoctoral researcher at Dartmouth College. Source |  |
| Sharon O’Connor is a Senior Research Scientist at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine and Associate Director of the Center for Program Design & Evaluation at Dartmouth. She is the Internal Evaluation Manager for Rhode Island INBRE and the Vermont Biomedical Research Network (VBRN). She received a master’s from The Dartmouth Institute of Health Policy & Clinical Practice and an MBA from Boston University. Source |  |
| Sharon Rounds is the Associate Dean for Translational Science, Professor of Medicine, Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Brown University. Dr. Rounds is also Program Director/Principal Investigator of the Rhode Island Center for Clinical Translational Science (Advance-Ri-CTR). Her basic science research interests include mechanisms of endothelial cell injury and effects of post-translational processing on small GTPase function. Her clinical research interests are pulmonary hypertension and factors impairing compliance with therapy of lung diseases. Dr. Rounds received her M.D. from Tufts University School of Medicine. Source |  |
| Shawn Polson is an associate professor in the departments of Computer & Information Sciences, Department of Plant & Soil Sciences and Biological Sciences at the University of Delaware. Dr. Polson is also the Director of the Bioinformatics Core Facility & Director of Delaware INBRE’s Data Science Core. Dr. Polson has a diverse research background in cell and molecular biology, microbiology, genomics, and data sciences. Dr. Polson received a Ph.D. from Medical University of South Carolina and completed a postdoctoral program at the University of Delaware in Viral Metagenomics. Source |  |
| Stephen Higgins is a Professor of Psychology, Professor of Psychiatry & Director of Vermont Center on Behavior and Health at the University of Vermont. Dr. Higgins’ research uses the concepts and methods of behavioral economics and behavioral pharmacology to investigate tobacco, illicit drugs, and other health-related risk behaviors in vulnerable populations. Dr. Higgins received a Ph.D from the University of Kansas. He completed a postdoctoral program at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Source |  |
| Sue Giancola is Senior Associate Director for the Center for Research in Education and Social Policy (CRESP) as well as Program Director for Interdisciplinary Evaluation Science at the University of Delaware. Dr. Giancola is also Delaware-CTR ACCEL’s Core Lead for Tracking and Evaluation. Dr. Giancola has over 20 years of experience as an evaluator in education, human services, engineering, and health care. She received a Ph.D. in Education from the University of Pennsylvania. Source |  |
| Susan Gregurick is the Director of the Office of Data Science Strategy (ODSS) at the National Institutes of Health. Under Dr. Gregurick’s leadership, the ODSS leads the implementation of the NIH Strategic Plan for Data Science through scientific, technical, and operational collaboration with the institutes, centers, and offices that comprise NIH. Dr. Gregurick’s research interests include dynamics of large biological macromolecules, and her areas of expertise are computational biology, high performance computing, neutron scattering and bioinformatics. Dr. Gregurick received her Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Maryland. Source |  |
| Suzanne McCahan is an assistant research scientist at Nemours Children’s Health. She is also a research assistant professor at Thomas Jefferson Medical College. Dr. McCahan is the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) Navigator for the Delaware CTR. In this role, she guides CTR investigators in developing and participating in projects which use the N3C Data Enclave, a secure cloud-based platform containing harmonized EHR data and analysis tools. She has contributed to the Researcher’s Guide to N3C, a comprehensive resource for those who use the Enclave. She received her Ph.D. from Princeton University and completed her postdoctoral training at Fox Chase Cancer Center. Source |  |
| Thomas M. Powers is associate professor at the University of Delaware in the Department of Philosophy and in the Biden School of Public Policy and Administration. He also directs the Center for Science, Ethics & Public Policy. His research focuses on the ethics of information technology and on the philosophy of technology. He has published on machine ethics, computer agency, the ethics of AI, and on other philosophical issues involving emerging technologies. |  |
| Timothy Bunnell is the director of the Nemours Center for Pediatric Auditory and Speech Sciences (CPASS) and head of the Speech Research Laboratory within the CPASS. Dr. Bunnell also served as director of the Biomedical Research Informatics Center (BRIC). BRIC maintains computing resources for Nemours Biomedical Research, and provides expertise in applications development, biostatistics, data mining, and numerical analysis. Dr Bunnell is presently the Nemours Institutional Co-PI for PEDSnet, and Institutional PI for the NIH-funded CTR Consortium N3C project as well as the NIH-funded RECOVER EHR project. Dr. Bunnell received a Ph.D. in Psychology from Pennsylvania State University. Source |  |
| Timothy Sullivan is a Research Scientist at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine and a bioinformaticist in the CQB COBRE Genomic Data Science Core. Timothy has skillsets in genomics and transcriptomics to the analysis of bacteria, viruses, and CRISPR-edited cells. Timothy received a B.S. in Mathematics and Biology from Northeastern University. Source |  |
| Tyler Erath is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Vermont, Vermont Center on Behavior and Health. His projects include a contingency management intervention to promote stimulant abstinence in a community-based syringe exchange program and a laboratory-based study assessing the abuse liability of several e-cigarette devices among individuals who smoke cigarettes. Dr. Earth received a Ph.D. in Behavioral Psychology from the University of Kansas. Source |  |
| Victoria Heimer-McGinn is an Assistant Professor in Neuroscience at Roger Williams University. Dr. Heimer-McGinn has expertise in the areas of molecular neuroscience, behavioral neuroscience, and cognitive neuroscience (learning and memory). She received her Ph.D. from University College Cork in Ireland and completed postdoctoral studies at Brown University and Providence College. She is the recipient of several awards, including the Fulbright Research Award (Norway ’03) and the Next Generation Award (’19) granted by the Society for Neuroscience. She is also co-founder and president of Brain Week Rhode Island, a non-profit organization that promotes science outreach, education, and advocacy. Source |  |
| Yina Huang is an associate professor of Microbiology and Immunology as well as Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine. She is also the Director of NH-INBRE Developmental Research Projects Program (DRPP). Dr. Huang studies the signals that regulate T cell migration and activation to ensure protective immunity while preventing autoimmunity and immunodeficiency disease. Dr. Huang received a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. Source |  |
| Yvonne Jonk is the Deputy Director of the Maine Rural Health Research Center and Associate Research Professor at the University of Southern Maine’s Muskie School of Public Service. Dr. Jonk’s areas of specialization include rural health, access to care, health insurance coverage, program evaluation, and cost and cost effectiveness analyses. She received a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. Source |  |