Approved MARC U*STAR and MBRS-RISE Mentors

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Biology Mentors
	Bernard P. Arulanandam, Ph.D. Professor of Microbiology & Immunology, UTSA Bernard.Arulanandam@utsa.edu Mucosal Immunity Research Group: Focuses on understanding host-microbe interactions and identifying approaches to induce optimal mucosal protection and immunity.
	Edwin J. Barea-Rodriguez, Ph.D. Department Chair of Biology, UTSA Associate Professor of Neurobiology, UTSA Edwin.Barea@utsa.edu The focus of my research is on the neurobiology of aging. The central hypothesis of my aging research program proposes that aged related impairments in cognition and synaptic plasticity share similar underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms. According to our model, oxidative stress causes impairment in neuronal excitability and maintenance of long-term potentiation (LTP), a form of synaptic plasticity believed to mediate learning and memory processes. The impairment in these physiological processes ultimately impairs spatial learning and memory in aged animals.
	G. Jilani Chaudry, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Molecular & Cellular Biology, UTSA Jilani.Chaudry@utsa.edu Current focus of research is in two areas: Intoxication of mammalian cells by anthrax toxin. A major focus is to identify the mammalian genes important for intoxication and, ultimately, to decipher the mechanisms by which these genes confer resistance or sensitivity to the toxin. A second equally important focus is to study the toxin receptors and how the toxin employs them to enter cells. The second focus of this current research is to identify novel genes that confer drug resistance in mammalian cells through a collection of breast, colon, and prostate cancer cell lines resistant to a particular drug.
	Thomas G. Forsthuber, M.D./Ph.D. Professor of Immunology, UTSA Adjunct Professor of Pathology, UTHSCSA Thomas.Forsthuber@utsa.edu Cellular immunology, T cell immunity, autoimmune diseases: The immune system plays a fundamental role in the defense against microbial pathogens. However, erroneous activation of the immune system can lead to autoimmune diseases. This laboratory pursues several lines of investigation to understand how T cells contribute to autoimmune diseases and protection from infection, and how to modulate T cell immunity for therapeutic purposes in humans.
	Matthew J. Gdovin, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Evolutionary Biology, UTSA Matthew.Gdovin@utsa.edu Current research is designed to examine the developmental aspects of the neural control of respiration, focusing on central pattern generation and central respiratory chemoreception. Recent developments include an in vitro brainstem preparation of the bullfrog tadpole Rana catesbeiana that is well oxygenated throughout and more importantly, retains robust, spontaneous respiratory rhythmicity and central chemoreception. Ongoing research is directed at describing the cellular and molecular changes which take place in both central respiratory pattern generating and chemoreceptor neurons during development.
	Luis S. Haro, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology, UTSA Luis.Haro@utsa.edu Program centers on the identification, isolation and characterization of new human pituitary and placental hormones (growth hormones / cytokines / chemokines) and delineation of their biological roles in normal physiology (metabolism, growth, differentiation, aging, immunology, brain function) and abnormal physiology (cancer, diabetes, HIV infection). The hormones studied include synthetic mutants (site-directed mutants, deletion mutants), naturally occurring hormones and post-translational or alternatively spliced hormones. After isolation of these hormones, their structures are determined and their biopotencies were tested in a variety of in vitro (cell culture and organ explant culture) and in vivo bioassays that measure the immunologic, lactogenic, metabolic, physiologic, and anatomic affects associated with these hormones.
	Hans W. Heidner, Ph.D. Professor of Virology, UTSA Hans.Heidner@utsa.edu Design and development of alphavirus-based vaccines: Alphaviruses are small RNA viruses that are spread to humans and other vertebrates through the bites of infected mosquitoes. Several alphaviruses (e.g. Venezuelan, Eastern, and Western equine encephalitis viruses) are significant human pathogens and are classified as Category B select agents by the CDC based on a number of criteria including a history of being developed as bioweapons.
	David B. Jaffe, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Neurobiology, UTSA David.Jaffe@utsa.edu Research focuses on synaptic integration and neuronal excitability in young, adult, and aged neurons of the hippocampal formation—a region of the brain important for certain aspects of learning and memory and one of the first areas of the brain affected by Alzheimer’s disease. Using a combination of single-channel patch-clamp recording methods, whole-cell recording techniques, fluorescence calcium imaging, and computer modeling we are studying how voltage-gated channels are distributed within the dendritic tree and how this interacts with synaptic inputs to drive a neuron to fire. Other interests of the lab include how intracellular calcium dynamics in neurons, and its effects on membrane excitability, are affected in the aging brain and how these changes affect the computations made by neurons in aging animals.
	Karl E. Klose, Ph.D. Professor of Microbiology, UTSA Karl.Klose@utsa.edu Research is focused on studying the molecular mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of Vibrio cholerae, the bacterium that causes cholera, and Francisella tularensis, the bacterium that causes tularemia. Cholera is a life-threatening diarrheal disease that remains a persistent problem for the developing world. Inside the host, the bacteria adhere to the surface of intestinal epithelial cells and produce a number of virulence factors. Another area of interest is the study of pathogenic mechanisms of Francisella tularensis, a potential bioweapon, with particular interest in determining how this bacterium evades killing within host macrophages.  The ultimate goal is the development of novel vaccines and therapeutics against this disease.
	Richard G. LeBaron, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Cell & Molecular Biology, UTSA Richard.LeBaron@utsa.edu Proteoglycans: examining the biological functions of a large chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan (versican). The amino acid sequence of versican contains several potential binding elements, to include a hyaluronan binding domain at the N-terminus and two EGF-life units, a lectin-like unit and a complement regulatory protein-like unit at the C-terminus. The presence of these structural motifs suggest that versican interacts with several molecules and may play a structural role in tissue by “linking” molecules together. Versican binds to hyaluronan with high affinity (Kd in the nM range). The role of versican in the central nervous system (CNS) is now being studied. Versican is synthesized by glial cells in the CNS and co-localizes with myelinated axons. The untrastructural localization of versican with myelin and with glial cells will be examined by light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy.
	Jose L. Lopez-Ribot, Pharm.D./Ph.D. Associate Professor of Biology, UTSA Jose.LopezRibot@utsa.edu Research focuses on opportunistic pathogenic fungus Candida albicans. C. albicans is part of the normal human microbiota. However, as an opportunistic pathogen it is capable of causing overt disease (candidiasis), but usually only in hosts with defective immunity. The frequency of candidiasis has increased dramatically in the last decades as a result of an expanding population of immunocompromised patients. As a result, candidiasis is now the fourth most common nosocomial infections. Even with treatment using available antifungal agents, mortality rates lie in the 30- 40% range for these infected patients. As an opportunistic pathogen, it is clear that mechanisms of host immunity and pathogen virulence intertwine, giving rise to the highly complex nature of host-fungus interactions. However, most investigations into these topics are overwhelmingly “one-sided” which has resulted in a dangerous dichotomy between “microorganism-centered” and “host-centered” views of candidal pathogenesis.
	Martha J. Lundell, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Molecular Genetics, UTSA Martha.Lundell@utsa.edu Current research is focused on elucidating a mechanism of differentiation for one particular neuronal cell type, the serotonergic neurons in the ventral nerve cord of Drosophila.  The sophisticated molecular and genetic techniques available in Drosophila allow one to ask specific questions on cellular differentiation that cannot be asked in any other model system.  A number of genes and cell signaling pathways have been charactertized, that are important to the development of the serotonergic lineage and are now examining how these molecules interact to specify serotonin cell fate. Another area of research in the laboratory is the relationship of genomic instability and aging. Investigation includes the genomic instability using a transgenic Drosophila lacZ-reporter system.
	Paul R. Mueller, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Cell & Developmental Biology, UTSA Paul.Mueller@utsa.edu The goal of his research is to elucidate the regulatory pathways that control eukaryotic cell proliferation, particularly in relation to embryogenesis and development. Eukaryotic cells, from yeast to human, divide by following a series of events known as the cell cycle. In turn, advancement through the cell cycle is driven by a family of cyclin dependent kinases (Cdks). Strict regulation of the Cdks ensures that cell proliferation takes place only in the proper temporal order and only under the proper conditions. For example, the cell cycle of a normal cell will stop or slow its progression in response to specific developmental signals or perceived damage to cellular components. When this regulation fails, developmental abnormalities and disease states such as cancer can arise. In our research, we use the model system Xenopus (African clawed frog) to study these problems. Xenopus offers the advantage of combining both biochemical and developmental approaches.
	Carlos A. Paladini, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Neuroscience, UTSA Carlos.Paladini@utsa.edu Research focuses on two broad approaches to study dopamine system physiology: 1) direct manipulation of receptor interactions on individual dopamine neurons in vivo and in vitro to investigate normal physiology and function; and 2) behaviorally-induced changes of receptor interactions via drug self-administration assays, which will determine the causal relationship between altered receptor interactions and drug-seeking behaviors. To achieve the first goal, we measure physiological responses (i.e., current, voltage and calcium fluxes) of dopamine neurons to electrophysiological stimulation and direct application of pharmacological agents. For the second goal, we use behavioral measures and electrophysiological techniques in tandem. Through combined electrophysiological, imaging, pharmacological, and behavioral methods we investigate dopamine neuron function to arrive at the functional contribution of this system in both normal and pathological states.
	George Perry, Ph.D. Dean, College of Science, UTSA Professor of Biology, UTSA George.Perry@utsa.edu Studies are focused on the mechanism of formation and physiological consequences of the cytopathology of Alzheimer disease. The lab has shown that oxidative damage is the initial cytopathology in Alzheimer disease, and is working to determine the sequence of events leading to neuronal oxidative damage and the source of the increased oxygen radicals. Current studies focus on (i) the mechanism for RNA-based redox metal binding; (ii) the consequences of RNA oxidation on protein synthesis rate and fidelity; (iii) the role of redox active metals in mediating prooxidant and antioxidant properties; (iv) the signal transduction pathways altered in Alzheimer disease that allow neurons to evade apoptosis; and (v) mechanism of phosphorylation control of oxidative damage to neurofilament proteins.
	Clyde F. Phelix, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Anatomy & Neurobiology, UTSA Clyde.Phelix@utsa.edu Emphasis is on extrahypothalmic influences on hypophysiotrophic and hypophyseal hormonal systems in CNS stress arcs. The majority of the anatomical work deals with chemical identification and morphological verification of brainstem and limbic afferents. Functional correlates involve neuroanatomical and pahrmacological inventigations of the role of neuronal pathways, between limbic-hypothalmic regions and brainstem cardiovascular regulatory centers in hemodynamic regulation during stress. The influences of environmental factors on gene expression in neuronal populations participating in the development of hypertension are a primary interest. Collaborations allow correlative investigations of chemoreceptive functions of area postrema, neurophysiological functions of transmitters in the hippocampus, and neurochemical effects of cocaine and other drugs of abuse on dopamine and serotonin in the basal forebrain.
	Rama Ratnam, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Systems & Computational Neuroscience, UTSA Rama.Ratnam@utsa.edu Research is focused on auditory processing in frogs and toads, and active electrosensory processing in weakly electric fish. The research program is broad and uses a mix of theory and experiments to understand these modalities. Interest lies in 1) the signals that originate from the environment, 2) how they are transformed into an internal neural representation, 3) the computational mechanisms that group and segregate distinct signal sources and suppress noise, and 4) how the information comes together to give us a coherent perception of the world around us.
	Robert D. Renthal, Ph.D. Professor of Biochemistry, UTSA Robert.Renthal@utsa.edu Research focus includes: 1) Insect sensory reception: How is information stored and transferred by social insects? Ant colonies are considered to be prime examples of "self-organizing" systems. This idea is being tested by examining the mechanisms of pheromone signalling by ants, using methods ranging from proteomic analysis and electron microscopy of ant brains to studies of whole colony behavior; and 2) Cell membrane assembly: How are integral membrane proteins assembled in lipid bilayers? Using biophysical and genetic methods, studies are involved in association and folding of model transmembrane peptides and integral membrane proteins.
	Fidel Santamaria, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Computation and Neural Systems, UTSA Fidel.Santamaria@utsa.edu Research inclides a wide set of experimental techniques, such as whole cell recordings and confocal/2-photon microscopy in vitro, as well as extracellular recordings in vivo. Modeling work has spanned from detailed morphological and physiological models of the cerebellar cortex to Monte Carlo simulations of molecular diffusion in spines and dendrites using massive parallel computers. Although the fundamental concepts studied are applicable to all neurons, most of them work has been done with the cerebellum. The very regular structure of the cerebellar cortex allows us to ask questions about the computational power of this network applied to different tasks and problems using in vivo and in vitro techniques. For these reasons the lab is initially using the cerebellum as a model system.
	Stephen P. Saville, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Genetics, UTSA Stephen.Saville@utsa.edu Primary studies the opportunistic pathogenic fungus Candida albicans. C. albicans is part of the normal human microbiota but it is also capable of causing disease (candidiasis), both superficial and severe, in an expanding population of immunosuppressed patients. Some of the highlights of this research program are: i) the role of morphogenetic conversions (shape changes) in the pathogenesis of candidiasis, ii) analysis of global gene expression changes during infection and iii) high throughput screening of small molecule libraries in an attempt to identify potential new therapeutic agents for candidiasis.
	Janakiram Seshu, B.V.Sc./Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Bacterial Pathogenesis, UTSA J.Seshu@utsa.edu Research interests focus on two infectious diseases: 1) Lyme Disease: Determining the role of linear plasmid 54 (lp54) encoded genes of B. burgdorferi in the infectivity of mammalian hosts, and Characterization of the mechanisms of interactions of B. burgdorferi with mammalian-host cell surfaces; 2) Q fever: Identification of T cell epitopes of C. burnetii, and Modification of select C. burnetii antigens to enhance protective T cell response against virulent C. burnetii.
	Valerie M. Sponsel, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Biology, UTSA Valerie.Sponsel@utsa.edu Research looks at growth and development in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, which is easy to grow, has a short life cycle, has a small genome, and produces thousands of seeds per plant. By making genetic mutants of Arabidopsis we are able to select for mutant plants in which processes that are known to be controlled by gibberellins are altered. For example, by screening for and selecting plants that are extremely short or extremely tall we can investigate whether these mutants are altered in their biosynthesis or response to gibberellin. An investigation into which biochemical processes have been altered or perturbed in a mutant can lead to a clearer understanding of how those processes operate in wild-type individuals. In turn this information may be use to determine how plant growth or development could be manipulated in a specific manner to improve crop productivity and yield.
	Garry Sunter, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Plant Pathology, UTSA Garry.Sunter@utsa.edu Main research focus is directed toward the study of plant gene expression, DNA replication and plant-pathogen interactions using single-stranded DNA plant viruses of the family Geminiviridae as a model system. One aspect of the research involves transcriptional regulation. In many viral systems, gene expression follows a temporal sequence that is closely coordinated and during the initial stages of infection viral DNA replication and transcription rely entirely on the host and in many cases some of the viral proteins initially expressed are subsequently involved in the regulation of other viral genes. A second interest involves the role of viral genes in host gene activation. Geminiviruses rely primarily on host replication and transcriptional machinery to express their genes and amplify their genomic DNA.
	Judy M. Teale, Ph.D. Professor of Immunology, UTSA Judy.Teale@utsa.edu Studies include the immunobiology of infectious diseases concentrating on two different pathogens.  The first pathogen is Mesocestoides corti, a cestode parasite that serves as a model of neurocysticercosis (NCC), an infectious disease of the central nervous system that results in epileptic seizures and symptoms associated with increased intracranial pressure.  Both cellular and molecular approaches are being used to delineate the associated immune response and resulting pathology.  The second pathogen is Francisella tularensis, a Class A bioterrorism agent that causes severe morbidity and mortality when inhaled.  Current studies indicate that this pathogen suppresses the early immune response by inducing immunosuppressive cytokines.
	Andrew T. Tsin, Ph.D. Professor of Biochemistry and Physiology, UTSA Andrew.Tsin@utsa.edu Research focus is to understand the biochemical and cellular/molecular events in the eye related to normal visual functions and to abnormal/disease conditions. A major emphasis of this is to investigate the mechanism of pigment regeneration in the cone visual system. Using animals models, the kinetics of cone pigment bleaching and regeneration are studied in details using biochemical methods. The cellular mechanisms of cone pigment regeneration are also studied using Muller cells and retinal pigment epithelial cells in culture. An additional emphasis is to learn how hyperglycemia and/or insulin induce vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) secretion by retinal cells. Growth factors such as VEGF, transforming growth factor (TGF), and bone morphological proteins (BMP) are assayed for protein end-product using ELISA. The expression of these proteins is measured by RNA protection assays.
	Yufeng Wang, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Bioinformatics, UTSA Yufeng.Wang@utsa.edu Research focuses on the comparative genomics, molecular evolution, and population genetics of gene families. Approaches range from the use of cutting edge bioinformatic and genomic tools, to statistical modeling and analysis based on evolution and population genetics theory. Interest is in (1) the evolutionary mechanisms and population genetics of infectious diseases; and (2) the molecular evolution of vertebrate gene families, with a particular emphasis on the age distribution and functional divergence of duplicated genes, which are believed to provide the raw material for functional novelty in higher eukaryotes.
	Tao Wei, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, UTSA Tao.Wei@utsa.edu Exploring mechanisms that certain subpopulations of bacterial cells take different actions in response to some DNA damage agents. Since DNA replication is required for cells living under both modes and can be affected by replication inhibitors, we thus investigated the influence of hydroxyurea -a class I ribonucleotide reductase inhibitor on the growth behaviour switch of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. An increase in biofilm cell mass was found in response to sub-inhibitory concentrations of hydroxyurea. It is hypothesized that the biofilm response results from DNA release and the stimulated attachment of the cells experiencing chromosome replication inhibition.
	Nicole Y. Wicha, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Biology, UTSA Nicole.Wicha@utsa.edu Research focuses on understanding how the brain processes language in real time using both behavioral and brain-imaging techniques, in particular event-related brain potentials (ERPs), which is a non-invasive direct measure of electrical brain activity with excellent precision in the time domain. These techniques to study the brain processes underlying language comprehension, such as how the monolingual brain comprehends written and spoken sentences, and when and how different sources of linguistic information (e.g., grammar and word meaning) affect our ability to understand an utterance.
	Floyd L. Wormley Jr., Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Microbiology & Immunology, UTSA Floyd.Wormley@utsa.edu Studies involve using Cryptococcus neoformans as a model organism to study host-fungal interactions for the purpose of developing novel immune therapies and/or vaccines to treat or prevent invasive fungal infections. C. neoformans, the causative agent of cryptococcosis, is a fungal pathogen that frequently infects the central nervous system (CNS) of immune compromised individuals causing life-threatening meningoencephalitis. Exposure to C. neoformans via the inhalation of cryptococcal spores into the nasal passages is very common in the general population. Nevertheless, cryptococcal infections in the United States predominantly pose a significant health risk in immune compromised populations (i.e., individuals receiving corticosteroid therapy, individuals with lymphoproliferative disorders and organ transplant recipients).
Biomedical Engineering Mentors
	Hai-Chao Han, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, UTSA haichao.han@utsa.edu Research goals are to establish a biomechanical model of artery buckling and to determine the role of mechanical factors in artery buckling. The research objectives are to establish biomechanical models for three common forms of artery buckling under blood pressure and axial elongation. Both theoretical model analysis and experimental measurement approaches will be used to determine the critical loads that lead to arterial buckling including the critical internal blood pressure, axial elongation, and twist angle. The effect of arterial diameter, length, wall thickness, material nonlinearity, and initial curvature on artery buckling will be evaluated. Model predictions will be compared to experiment results using porcine arteries and veins.
	Yufei Huang, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering, UTSA Yufei.Huang@utsa.edu Research is focused on developing computational approaches for understanding gene regulation and cancer biology, specifically in the following topics: 1) analyzing high throughput data including microarray data, Mass Spectrometry data, protein array data; 2) integrating disparate high throughput data for the purpose of uncovering gene networks; 3) metabolic pathway reconstruction and analysis for infectious disease; and 4) understand the regulatory role of noncoding RNA  in cancer. The long-term goal is to develop computational algorithms and software for data integration, uncovering gene networks, etc.
	Joo L. Ong, Ph.D. Department Chair of Biomedical Engineering, UTSA Professor of Biomedical Engineering, UTSA anson.ong@utsa.edu Research is focused two main projects related to calcium phosphate ceramics for use in medicine: 1) research on repairing bone defects as a result of orthopedic trauma.  Projects involved have included modifications of scaffold architecture and the evaluation of bone responses to optimized scaffold properties; and 2) to better understand the biological basis for successful orthopedic and dental implant therapy by elucidating the phenomena that govern osseointegration.  Central to achieving this goal is the need to understand the mechanisms which control early responses of bone cells, both at implant surfaces and in the micro-environment associated with the cell-implant interface.
	Xiaodu Wang, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, UTSA xiaodu.wang@utsa.edu Current research focus is to explore whether the bone remodeling process is one of mechanisms of introducing age-related changes in the collagen network. Moreover, it is attempted to examine whether such changes contribute to the decreased toughness of aged bone. To address these issues, secondary osteon and interstitial bone specimens will be directly tested so that effects of bone remodeling on the molecular, microstructural, ultrastructural, and mechanical properties of bone in these regions can be studied individual. Recent developments include techniques and approaches to perform the experiments required for testing bone specimens from secondary osteons and interstitial bone regions.
Chemistry Mentors
	Carlos D. Garcia, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Chemistry, UTSA carlos.garcia@utsa.edu Microchips are one of the most promising analytical platforms due to the great advantages with respect to conventional bench-top equipment. Microfluidic devices are able to offer custom design, high throughput, sensitivity, selectivity and portability. In order to achieve a real point-of-care measurement device, simple instrumentation has to be integrated to drive the injection and separation. Electrochemical detection (ECD) methods have been widely applied for the detection of bio-compounds because they are less susceptible to decreases in signal magnitude during miniaturization and are already portable and inexpensive. For these reasons, research focus is on studying the design, operation and biological applications of microchips and capillary electrophoresis, as well as rational design of biosensors.
	Waldemar Gorski, Ph.D. Department Chair of Chemistry, UTSA Professor of Chemistry, UTSA waldemar.gorski@utsa.edu Research focus includes 1) Electroanalysis: development of electrochemical sensors and biosensors for biologically important molecules. In particular, development of sensitive electrochemical sensors for hormone insulin and new amperometric biosensors based on the immobilized oxidase enzymes for glucose, lactate, and glutamate; and 2) Electrocatalysis: preparation and characterization of inorganic catalytic surfaces for the development of a variety of electrochemical devices such as sensors, biosensors, biological fuel cells, and clean chemical reactors. The focus here is on the design of multicomponent inorganic systems displaying synergistic effects.
	George R. Negrete, Ph.D. Professor of Chemistry, UTSA george.negrete@utsa.edu Research focus includes 1) Asymmetric Synthesis: Development of new asymmetric synthesis methodologies, 2) Green Chemistry: Design and implementation of aqueous synthetic organic methods, 3) β-Homoamino Acids: Design and implementation of new approaches to prepare diverse β-homoamino acids, 4) Novel Lipopeptides: Synthesis and properties of fatty-derivatized amino acids, and 5) Chemical Carcinogenesis: Synthesis and properties of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon analogs including BPDE-deoxynucleoside adducts.
	Cong-Gui Zhao, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Chemistry, UTSA cong.zhao@utsa.edu Research focus includes: 1) Asymmetric synthesis and reactions: Design and synthesis of new chiral ligands for asymmetric epoxidations, C-H oxidations and episulfidations, and application of these new methodologies in asymmetric synthesis, 2) Small ring compounds: Synthesis and reactions of dioxiranes, cyclopropanes, episulfides, oxaziridinium salts and organometallic peroxo complexes, 3) Oxidation: Novel asymmetric oxidations with dioxiranes, oxaziridinium salts and MTO, and 4) Phosphorus chemistry: Application of cyclopropylphosphine oxides in the synthesis of heterocyclic nature products.
Computer Science Mentors
	Kay A. Robbins, Ph.D. Professor of Computer Science, UTSA krobbins@cs.utsa.edu Research focuses on visualization, analysis and management of multimedia data sets, particularly those generated from scientific experiments in three major application areas: biological applications (in neuroscience, immunology, and bioinformatics), pattern forming systems and geophysical systems. Recent developments include extracting wave structure from experimental data and am applying these techniques to understand the structure of cortical response. A major software development project called Davis has been developed to implement the data analysis techniques in a practical working system for scientists.
	Jianhua Ruan, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Computer Science, UTSA jruan@cs.utsa.edu Research interests lie in the broad areas of bioinformatics and computational biology, with an added interested in developing data-analytical methods and tools to make complex biological data more understandable and useful. Specifically, current algorithmic developments are in: 1) Functional and structural properties of biological networks: Identify topological properties to characterize biological networks, Connect these topological properties to biological functions, and Understand high-order organizing principles of biological networks; 2) Transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulatory networks: Identify cis-regulatory elements and modules; 3) Microarray data analysis: Gene co-expression networks; and 4) RNA secondary structure prediction.
	Qi Tian, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Computer Science, UTSA qitian@cs.utsa.edu High throughput data in biology is accumulating rapidly, coming from not only genome sequencing projects and microarray experiments, but also from genetic polymorphism measurements, protein interaction experiments, SAGE experiments, protein mass spectroscopy experiments and the like. They are being used to build models of cellular processes. These include cell-cycle control models, metabolic networks, regulatory networks and so on. High throughput microarray technology has provided tempo-spatial specific expression profiles of thousands of genes simultaneously. However, the use of these data present several problems to biologists, whether they intend to establish links between single nucleotide polymorphisms and demographic history, examine conditional expression of genes using cDNA microarrays, examine protein expression using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectroscopy or construct regulatory networks.
	Carola Wenk, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Computer Science, UTSA carola@cs.utsa.edu Research emphasis is on geometric algorithms, especially shape handling and shape comparison, with biomedical applications. Research projects in computational biology are usually collaborative, involving collaboration with a biomedical lab which provides the necessary data, including: 1) Spot Detection in 2D Electrophoresis Gels, 2) Combining 2-DE Gels with Microarrays, and 3) Semi-Automatic Computation of Neuron Morphometrics for Cultured Neurons.
Physics Mentors
	Liao Chen, Ph.D. Professor of Physics, UTSA liao.chen@utsa.edu Research focus includes: 1) Atomic force microscopy: current pursuit includes extensions and applications of this new formula into various biomolecules; 2) Molecular motors: current efforts are to build a three-dimensional multi-body model and to establish atomistic simulations for refining the model parameters; 3) Non-equilibrium statistical physics---Langevin dynamics (stochastic processes) is ubiquitous in materials physics, chemistry, and engineering. Yet its solution is very difficult to achieve for most problems of fundamental and practical importance. Base on its path integral formulation, systematic approximations and numerical methods are being developed for physical and biochemical systems; 4) Transition and reaction pathways: research efforts in this area are to compute fluctuations around the minimum energy path and to develop efficient algorithms for transition path sampling; and 5) Electronic transport in semiconductor nanostructures.
	Lorenzo Brancaleon, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Physics, UTSA lorenzo.brancaleon@utsa.edu Two main research areas include: (i) protein conformational changes induced by exogenous molecules: research investigates the binding of porphyrin-like photosensitizers to globular proteins (currently lactoglobulin and tubulin) and the effect of the irradiation of the porphyrin/protein complex on the conformation (secondary and tertiary) of the protein; and (ii) use of smart materials for the formation of coexisting phospholipid phases: investigating the deposition of phospholipid bilayers on highly epitaxial ferroelectric film.
	Dhiraj K. Sardar, Ph.D. Professor of Physics, UTSA dhiraj.sardar@utsa.edu Laboratory research is focused on the syntheses of lanthanide-based nanoparticles, having characterized the optical properties of these nanoparticles. The development of RE-doped metal oxide nanoparticles for biosensors has been proposed, with the objective that RE-doped nanoparticles that will be suitable for imaging and immunoassay applications will be designed. Rare earth (RE)-doped metal oxides are a promising new class of particles that can serve as a luminescent tag or reporter for affinity or immunoassays in biomedical, environmental, food quality, and drug testing probe. These nanoparticles possess several attractive attributes such as a small size, a large Stokes shift, sharp emission spectra, long luminescence lifetime, and good photo-stability. The small size of RE nanoparticles would allow them to replace fluorescent molecules or complexes in analytical applications. The large Stokes shift enables one to subtract the excitation wavelength by filtering, while the long lifetime allows the time-gated detection and subtraction of the background autofluoresence.
	Miguel-Jose Yacaman, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Computer Science, UTSA miguel.yacaman@utsa.edu My research interests have always been very broad. However, my primary interest has been the structure and properties of nanoparticles including metals, semiconductors, and magnetic materials. I have done research on: synthesis and characterization of new materials most of them nanoparticles, surfaces and interfaces, defects in solids, electron diffraction and imagining theory, quasicrystals, archaeological materials, and catalysis.