Faculty Research & Service

Dr. Benedict C. Albensi's Research Team: Alzheimer's Disease and Memory

Benedict C. Albensi, Ph.D., BCMAS, CRQM is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. He is best known for his work with factors involved in ageing, cognition, and Alzheimer's disease (AD), such as nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB), a mediator of inflammation but also a required molecule for memory.

He obtained his Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Utah's Medical School in 1995. Subsequently, he was awarded a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, working with Drs. Faden and Pekar, where he developed MRI methods for investigating head trauma and cognition. He then went on to work as a Postdoctoral Scholar with Dr. Mark Mattson, an internationally recognized leader and the most highly cited neuroscientist (for 20 years), at the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging - University of Kentucky. While in Dr. Mattson's lab he was the first to show NF-kB is required for hippocampal synaptic plasticity in mammals. Other appointments have included the Cleveland Clinic, NPS Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, Case Western Reserve University, St. Boniface Hospital Research Ctr., and the University of Manitoba.

Over the last few years, his work has largely focused on mitochondrial dysfunction in AD.  Recently, the Albensi lab has shown very early deficits and sex-based differences in mitochondrial function before the appearance of plaques and tangles, the classic hallmarks of AD. He has been ranked in the top 1% worldwide by Expertscape.com for his number of publications from 2010-2020 in 7 areas including Alzheimer Disease (0.48%), neurocognitive disorders (0.76%), tauopathies (0.98%), dementia (0.85%), NF-kappa B (0.42%), memory (68%) & energy metabolism (0.68%).

Dr. Richard Deth's Research Team: Brain Research and Integrated Nutrition ( B.R.A.I.N.)

The B.R.A.I.N. Center at NSU will focus its research efforts on those metabolic pathways which support the unique functions and energy demands of the brain. This focus includes antioxidant requirements as well as the interconnecting pathways that support epigenetic regulation of gene expression.

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Dr. Jean Latimer Research Team: Breast and Solid Tumor Cancer

• DNA repair
• Stem cells
• Breast tissue engineering
• Breast cancer etiology
• Leukemia recurrence
• Genomic instability
• Mutation
• Precocial breast development
• Environmental causes of cancer
• Chemotherapy drugs that impact Nucleotide Excision Repair
• Somatic mutation in autism

Learn more about the AutoNation Institute for Breast Cancer Research and Care

View Dr. Jean Latimer's Lab on ResearchGate 

Dr. Appu Rathinavelu's Cancer Research Team

Cancer research conducted by Dr. Appu Rathinavelu at the NSU's Barry and Judy Silverman College of Pharmacy is focused on developing new therapeutic methods for early detection of cancer and discovering new drugs that are useful for less toxic treatment of cancers. The new drugs that have been developed and patented in his laboratory for blocking the blood vessel formation in the tumors are called anti-angiogenic agents. These agents would make the tumors to starve by blocking the blood vessel formation that could eventually lead to shrinkage of cancers.

Dr. Rathinavelu's laboratory is also attempting to identify specific genes and gene mutations that would trigger tumor angiogenesis process in breast, lung, prostate and colon cancers. Once the responsible gene(s) or gene mutation is identified, the team can develop suitable drugs to nullify those mutation related, cancer causing effects. Combining this strategy with genetic engineering approach, his team is in the process of designing recombinant proteins that can provide anti-cancer effects.

Dr. Rathinavelu's laboratory is collaborating with scientists from Florida Atlantic University (FAU) and Florida International University (FIU) and testing several plant-derived natural products such as Genestein, Resveratrol and Curcumin as complimentary agents for enhancing the therapeutic potentials of drugs during cancer treatment.

Dr. Robert Speth's Research Team: Cardiovascular Research

• Brain angiotensin system and its physiological actions,
• Brain angiotensin receptors and binding sites
• Angiotensin metabolizing enzymes
• Radioligand binding assays
• Receptor autoradiography
• Radioiodination of ligands for receptor and enzyme characterization

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Dr. Dmitriy Minond's Research Team: Drug Discovery for Melanoma and Rheumatoid Arthritis

Dmitriy Minond, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Rumbaugh Goodwin Institute for Cancer Research. His research interests are drug and probe discovery for metalloproteases in cancer and other diseases. His main contribution to the field is a discovery of non-zinc-binding inhibitors for multiple zinc metalloproteases that are currently used for translational and pre-clinical studies for various therapeutic indications.

Dr. Minond received his undergraduate degree in Biology and Biochemistry from Odessa State University (Odessa, Ukraine) and doctorate in Chemistry and Biochemistry from Florida Atlantic University (Boca Raton, FL). Dr. Minond completed his post-doctoral studies at The Scripps Research Institute (2006-2010) after which became an Assistant Member at Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies (2010-2015) and, consecutively, an Associate Professor at Harrison School of Pharmacy at Auburn University (2015-2017). Dr. Minond has joined NSU in 2017. Dr. Minond is a member of International Proteolysis Society and American Peptide Society. Dr. Minond authored more 50 scientific articles and book chapters. Dr. Minond is an inventor on patents for drug discovery in cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and rheumatoid arthritis. He also serves as a reviewer for multiple scientific journals, NIH, and DOD grant review panels. Dr. Minond is a recipient of multiple grants, including Florida Biomedical Council and NIH R01 “HTS for selective inhibitors of meprin a and b” in collaboration with Scripps Florida.

Dr. Minond’s current research is focused on drug discovery for melanoma and rheumatoid arthritis.

Dr. Michelle A. Clark Research Team: Molecular Cardiovascular Research

Cardiovascular research conducted by Michelle A. Clark, Ph.D. and her research team is focused on delineating the molecular pathways that are involved in blood pressure control. This research encompasses pharmacology and neuroscience, specifically determining the role of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) in the control of hypertension and other types of cardiovascular diseases.

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Dr. Yadollah Omidi Research Team: Nanomedicine and Bioengineering

• Drug delivery and targeting
• Multifunctional nanomedicines and nanobiomaterials
• Theranostics
• Bioengineering
• Vaccines and immunotherapeutics
• Diagnostic nanobiosystems

View Dr. Omidi's Profile

Dr. Anastasios Lymperopoulos' Research Team: Laboratory for the Study of Neurohormonal Control of the Circulation

• Molecular pharmacology
• Physiology and biology of G protein-coupled (heptahelical or seven transmembrane-spanning) receptors
• Heart failure
• Cardiovascular disease
• Neurohormonal control of the circulation
• Adrenal physiology and pharmacology
• Receptors for adrenaline and noradrenaline
• Catecholamines
• Receptors for Angiotensin II
• Signal transduction
• Gene therapy
• Transgenic mice and rats
• Aldosterone production regulation
• Regulation of adrenergic and angiotensin receptors
• G protein-coupled receptor kinases
• Beta-arrestins
• Novel "biased" G protein-coupled receptor ligands

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Dr. Hamid Omidian’s Research Team: Polymers, Hydrogels, Drug Delivery Technologies

• Abuse-Resistant Medications,
• Reducing alcohol absorption into systemic circulation,
• Gastric retention
• Oral drug delivery
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